ã€ŠAn Elder&#x27;s Revolution - The Art of Sect Politicsã€‹


 Chapter 1: Breakthrough

    ¡°That¡¯s all for today, please leave me alone.¡±

    The disciples hurriedly started packing up their notes and getting up. He watched as each of them bowed before leaving the room, the last of them carefully closing the door. As the silence settled around him, Elder Ma Rong couldn¡¯t help but let out a quiet sigh.

    It wasn¡¯t one of exhaustion, advanced cultivators like him could easily handle large amounts of both physical and mental stress, but rather one of sorrow. A contemplative sorrow that he had been finding himself fall into more and more frequently these days.

    He had in recent times been forced over and over to realize just how far his ideals and ambitions for the sect were from being possible to implement.

    It might have been foolish, but with the recent addition of Elder Xue Yan to his faction he had hoped that he could squeeze at least a few minor reforms out of the pillar families.

    Convincing her to back them hadn¡¯t been an easy task and neither had it been a cheap one. The woman was, after all, primarily moved not by conviction or moral code but rather by the sort of opportunistic greed that was sadly rather common for a powerful cultivator.

    The families though remained unmoving and didn¡¯t allow for any changes whatsoever of how the sect ran to take place. Even while they were constantly fighting amongst themselves, their influence remained insurmountable for Ma Rong and his Reform Faction.

    Adding to his worries was the fact that his lifespan was slowly but surely reaching its limits. While his abilities as an alchemist had so far allowed him create all kinds of elixirs and pills to extend his lifespan to one far beyond that of an average cultivator in the sixth stage of Dao contemplation, he was undoubtedly approaching the point where his body inevitably couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    The only option left to him if he wanted to further extend his life was to break through to the seventh stage. It was doubtful, whether he even had enough time left to do so. Even if he did, he would need to spend most of it in closed door meditation. He had no doubt in his mind that the pillar families would jump at the opportunity his absence would provide them to once and for all crush his faction.

    This put Ma Rong before an impossible choice. He counted himself amongst the few cultivators who didn¡¯t fear death on a personal level, but to die now without accomplishing anything for future generations would render the fight he had fought for the entire six hundred years of his life wasted.

    His former disciple Guang Lai was a skilled alchemist in his own right, but he lacked both the strength and the skill to take over the leading position in the Reform Faction as of now. Not to mention that the families would never again make the mistake of allowing someone who wasn¡¯t aligned with them to take lead of the Alchemy Hall, that Ma Rong was currently presiding over.

    The wrinkled, old man was pulled from his thoughts by a sudden ripple in the fabric of reality. It was subtle, something only those who had reached the realm of Dao contemplation could feel at all, but it was still something rather rare. That was because it would normally only be caused by one thing: Someone of that very realm moving up a stage in his comprehension of their Dao.

    This ripple was the same, as confirmed by the much less subtle sound of an explosion that followed close behind it. Ma Rong frowned. This could hardly be good news as, to his knowledge, none of the elders in his faction were close to a breakthrough.

    He got up from his chair and moved to open the door, already preparing himself for the worst.

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    ¡­

    Liu Wei stood in the middle of the room, taking in his surroundings while feeling his emotions return from the dulled state they had taken on during his breakthrough. He had done it. He had reached the eight stage of Dao contemplation, which put him on the same level as the sect patriarch and above all other elders. And yet he couldn¡¯t bring himself to feel any excitement.

    During the breakthrough he had felt it. Truthfully, he had known for quite some time but had yet refused to accept it. He had hit his limit. He wouldn¡¯t be able to progress any further than this.

    The progress towards reaching the eighth stage had been glacial, but at least there had been progress. Now though, he could feel instinctively that no amount of meditation could move him forward anymore.

    This was to be expected of most cultivators. At some point their progress would slow down, their potential exhausted, and the time that was relentlessly pursuing them would catch up. But him? The great genius of the Lunar Peaks Sect? This had not been a fate meant for him! Not yet at least!

    He had shot past the early stages of Dao contemplation with a speed unmatched in sect history, despite the fact that his chosen Dao was fire, which the sect didn¡¯t even specialize in. All signs had pointed to him eventually becoming the patriarch and perhaps even to him being able to accomplish soul ascension. But then he had suddenly hit a wall. After he had reached the fifth stage, his progress had slowed down abruptly and continued doing so with every single step he took forward.

    He had had been less than two-hundred years old back then. Less than half his present age of roughly four-hundred and fifty years. And yet he had only managed to move up three further realms in all that time. And now he was supposed to stop? Only two stages before ascension?

    He couldn¡¯t believe it. His face contorted with anger and his soul roared with power, attempting to push back as the reality of the situation crashed down on him in full force. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to destroy anything and everything in his range, to lay this sect, forsaken by the heavens, to ruins at his own hands.

    And then that moment passed. Liu Wei reigned in his emotions with the strength of will he had gained over hundreds of years of life and experience. He had neither reason nor ability to destroy this sect.

    Now calm and collected again, he could sense someone approaching the room he was in. He quickly focused on bringing down the temperature around him, which his breakthrough and subsequent rage had brought to levels seriously harmful to lower cultivators.

    For all that this weakness was their own fault, he wouldn¡¯t risk this triumphant moment, that he would hold over the other elders, being disturbed by the sudden collapse of some unimportant disciple. His ego wouldn¡¯t be able to take that, not today.

    ¡­

    Qingge held one hand to her chest, feeling her racing heart while attempting to calm it down by breathing deep and slow breaths. Having a nervous breakdown would certainly not help her situation.

    At least that was what she believed to be most likely true. She didn¡¯t really have any clue as to what the situation was in the first place, that was part of the problem. The explosion that had occurred had already been confusing enough, but much less than the fact that seemingly every elder in the sect had suddenly showed up, wanting to speak to Elder Wei.

    Qingge was currently assigned his personal assistant, as such it was her task to inform him of the matter. That was the main source of her anxiousness.

    Every cultivator would at some point, usually rather sooner than later, learn to be cautious of all things they didn¡¯t properly understand, especially when they were walking among those more powerful than them. With Elder Wei, it was more than that.

    The man was widely regarded amongst members to be extremely harsh in his treatment of members and disciples alike. Qingge knew first hand, just how true that regard was. While she had so far managed to avoid catching his anger, she had seen many a punishment handed out in her time as his assistant, often for even the most minor and unintentional offenses. It was particularly bad, if one happened to catch him in a bad mood.

    She feared that whatever was currently happening, might put him in one. The fact that the temperature around her was noticeably rising as she walked towards his room didn¡¯t exactly help to alleviate that fear.

    Qingge took another deep breath before approaching the door. She was still not exactly calm, but it would have to do. The immensely powerful cultivator Elder Wei was, he had most certainly already felt her presence, so she couldn¡¯t exactly stand around in front of the room and take her time to relax.

    Summoning all her courage, Qingge straightened her back and knocked on the door.

 Chapter 2: Congratulations

    ¡°You may enter.¡± Liu Wei kept the impression on his face decidedly neutral as one of his attendants entered. He knew the girl, she had been his assistant for quite some time now, but he never bothered to ask her for her name. After all, what meaning had the name of someone so insignificant and replaceable to someone like him?

    ¡°This humble servant of yours greets the Honorable Elder!¡± The girl bowed deeply at that.

    ¡°I care little for the greetings of a junior member. What has you disturb me here?¡± A pointless question. He knew very well that the other elders would arrive here following his breakthrough. He was merely making sure the girl conducted herself with the proper respect, given their disparity in status.

    ¡°Honorable Elder, I am here to inform you that multiple elders of the sect have arrived and wish to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Inform them that I will shortly arrive to meet them.¡± He could have gone to meet them immediately as he didn¡¯t have any preparations to make, but he couldn¡¯t resist making them wait on him a little. He had no true friends amongst the elders and outright disliked most of them. All of them arriving to meet him like this was too good an opportunity to assert some of his newly gained superiority, to pass up on.

    ¡°As you command, Honorable Elder!¡± The girl bowed again at that, before hurriedly leaving the room.

    Liu Wei waited for a few minutes before following her. For all that he enjoyed the powerplay, he didn¡¯t want to give them too much time to strategize on how to deal with his breakthrough quite yet.

    The hallways he moved through to get from his private quarters to the Enforcement Hall¡¯s main reception room where the elders would be waiting were empty of disciples and members safe for the guards positioned at regular intervals. With the number of protective formations around, ensuring nobody could go where they weren¡¯t supposed to go, their main job was in truth opening doors for those higher in status than them.

    When he entered the reception hall, almost all of the sect¡¯s elders were present. The first one to greet him was Elder Meixiu Xia, the matriarch of the Xia family and leader of the Healing Hall. Hidden behind her soft and warm beauty was one of the sects most capable and cunning political minds. She never spoke without hidden intentions, never missed an opportunity to grab benefits for herself and never slipped out of her kind and compassionate facade. This had allowed her to become the second most powerful person in the pillar families¡¯ faction, right behind the sect patriarch, despite several other elders having a higher level of cultivation than her.

    ¡°Greetings Elder Wei,¡± she said, slightly lowering her head in a gesture that could easily be interpreted as either a slight bow or a nod, ¡°Allow me to congratulate you on your success in breaking through. I am delighted to observe your miraculous growth reaching new heights!¡±

    A straight up lie. Seeing him grow was not at all in her interest and he knew full well that she hated when things that weren¡¯t in her interest happened. Starting a fight without a good reason wasn¡¯t her style though and also wouldn¡¯t fit with the mask she liked to put on.

    Liu Wei wasn¡¯t very bothered by that. Bowing to the strong, however insincere, was the way of politics and duty of the weaker. He could respect the skill she had at this game just as he could respect one¡¯s strength in cultivation. As such, she was one of the elders he didn¡¯t particularly dislike or despise.

    The same could not be said about the next one to come forward. Sun Liang was the one person amongst the elders that he would not only say he disliked but that he would actually describe as a personal enemy of his.

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    That grim snake was one of the oldest elders of the sect and had been his primary rival for centuries now. What grievance had started their relationship, Liu Wei could not recall, but they shared a deep seeded hatred for each other, that was only strengthened by the fact that they had been close in cultivation level for quite a long time now.

    Liang had been one of only two other elders beside him that had managed to reach the seventh level of Dao Comprehension. He led the Formation Hall and was the long-time patriarch of the Liang family.

    ¡°My congratulations, Elder Wei. I had believed your talent to be long dried up, but it seems you have managed to surprise me once again.¡± Sun Liang said, his mocking smile barely managing contain the veiled rage he was clearly feeling.

    ¡°Thank you, Elder Liang. I hope I can soon see you catch up to me.¡± Liu Wei taunted. His rival had been stuck at the seventh rank for far longer than even he and both of them knew he didn¡¯t stand much of a chance at ever breaking through again. Not that that was any different from the situation he himself had now found himself in. But those thoughts could be thought later.

    ¡°I hope so too¡±, was all Elder Liang managed to say before storming out of the room, Liu Wei quietly patting himself on the shoulder for clearly hitting his mark.

    ¡°Congratulations from me as well.¡± Ma Rong spoke next. These congratulations were much more genuine than the previous ones, which Liu Wei appreciated. Ma Rong and him weren¡¯t by any means allies, mainly because of the alchemist¡¯s strange infatuation for those inferior to him, but he respected the old man. He didn¡¯t bend to others because of their position and he actually possessed the skill to back up his conviction.

    As Liu Wei continued to exchange pleasantries with the other elders, the political instinct he had built up over centuries took over his words and he let his mind wander. Those empty words were truly nothing more than formality. The true effects that his breakthrough would have on sect politics would only start showing at the next meeting of the sect council. Until then he would have to decide on the course of action he wanted to pursue now, regarding his position in the sect. The other elders would undoubtedly do much of the same.

    A sudden wave of silence brought his attention back to his surroundings. His sight followed the eyes of the other elders, who collectively looked towards the entrance of the hall.

    There, clad in blue and white robes adorned with gold, stood Patriarch Long Zhao. The tall and handsome man exuded an unmistakable aura of pride and honor that demanded obedience of all those before him. He was the spitting image of the honorable, benevolent and heroic cultivator that mortals might imagine when thinking of one.

    Liu Wei knew, of course, that all of this was show. The patriarch was no less a shrewd political thinker than any of the other elders present. Despite that, it was still impressive how fitting the man¡¯s image was to his position of sect patriarch.

    One after the other the elders bowed down to him, as Long Zhao made his way across the room towards Liu Wei. When he stood before him, the latter followed suit. His bow was slighter than any of the other elders¡¯, deliberately so as he had just risen to match the patriarch¡¯s cultivation. He wouldn¡¯t show any more deference than absolutely necessary.

    ¡°I see you have successfully broken through to the eighth tier. An impressive feat.¡± The patriarch spoke, his voice low and slightly contemplative.

    ¡°Your kind words honor me, patriarch. You have long since risen to the same challenges.¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t take away from your achievement. The sect can truly count itself lucky to have you.¡± In a louder voice, directed at everyone he added: ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you are eager to talk to Elder Wei about his achievements, but we should allow him some time to get used to his new strength. Let us delay our talks to the sunrise of the third day from now at which point we shall hold a formal council meeting.¡±

    At this declaration Long Zhao turned to leave with the elders hesitantly following him.

    The intentions behind this were clear. The patriarch didn¡¯t want any of the elders to jump ahead and start their own negotiations with Liu Wei, especially not when he was now for the first time during his reign matched by another sect member in cultivation. He intended to delay all political changes so the pillar families could talk amongst themselves first and he could prevent any instabilities to form that could threaten his power.

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t mind it. He¡¯d already anticipated this and he would need some time to figure out his own goals anyway. For now, he decided to leave the Enforcement Hall¡¯s premises and retreat to the comfort of his home, where he would hopefully find the peace of mind he needed right now to process his new situation.

 Chapter 3: Punishment

    The Lunar Peaks Sect was located on three large mountains that were situated next to each other, forming a rough triangle. It consisted of thousands of buildings large and small, housing the sect¡¯s members and facilities.

    The nine halls of the sect were evenly spread across, with three of them being located on each mountain. The sect¡¯s headquarters where the patriarch resided stood atop the highest of the mountains, overlooking the entire sect.

    Walking along one of the many roads that lead through the sect was an outer disciple by the name of Zixin. His steps had a bounce to them and plastered across his face was a poorly suppressed grin.

    A recent growth spurt had led the 16-year-old to complete the Qi Gathering realm just yesterday, months ahead of most of his peers. Just a few hours ago he had taken his very first steps into the Body Reformation realm and his instructor had even given him permission to retrieve a Qi Refinement pill from the alchemy hall, which would help him move along this new path even faster.

    Once again eyeing the pill which was contained in a small wooden box which he clutched with both of his hands, he sped up even more. He wanted to be in his room and start cultivating as soon as possible. It was early in the afternoon and if he skipped dinner, he could put in at least seven to eight hours of cultivation before it was time to sleep. He would show up in to training tomorrow morning showing off an impressive leap in his cultivation to the instructor.

    If he used this pill and kept up his effort, he would continue to outgrow the others, maybe even enough for one of the halls to notice him and accept him as an inner disciple.

    His dreamy thoughts were cut short when he, distracted as he was, ran straight into a wall. The impact was so hard that the box containing his pill was flung out of his hands while he himself staggered backwards, fell and promptly landing in his behind.

    Highly confused by the sudden obstacle, Zixin looked up only to find his face freeze in shock as he discovered, that what he had run into was not in fact a wall but a tall, stern-faced man with long, white hair.

    Shock quickly turned to dread, when he recognized the man¡¯s robes as those of an elder.

    ¡°I am terribly sorry!¡± Zixin blurted out, as he hurriedly got on his feet and into a deep bow towards the man.

    ¡°Not just a bumbling fool who can¡¯t watch where he walks, but discourteous as well. You are to address me as honorable elder at all times.¡± The man¡¯s voice was cold as ice.

    ¡°I-¡± Zyxin¡¯s voice stuttered ¡°I apologize, honorable e- elder¡±

    He could practically feel the man¡¯s gaze lingering on him. The man remained silent for a few moments during which every second felt like hours to him.

    ¡°Your apology is warranted but in no way sufficient. You shall receive proper punishment for your actions.¡±

    Zixin felt a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead and his heart pounded faster and faster.

    ¡°What is this box you were carrying?¡±

    Zixin froze a second time. Please no

    ¡°A Qi Refinement pill, honorable elder.¡±

    ¡°What did you receive it for?¡± The Elder asked, as the box floated to his hand and he looked at it with visible disinterest.

    ¡°I recently stepped into the body reformation realm, honorable elder¡±, Zixin said sheepishly.

    ¡°What an inconsequential thing to celebrate.¡±

    The box was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of flame. Only a second later the flames receded, leaving nothing but a few particles of ash suspended in the air. Zixin could do nothing but helplessly watch as the wind picked the last remains of his precious pill up and carried them away.

    ¡°You will hand yourself in to the enforcement hall, where you will be punished with one hundred lashes. After that, you will sign up for punitive labor for three months before you will be allowed to return to your cultivation.¡±

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    Zixin expended all of his effort to prevent himself from breaking down in tears right then and there. This would not only make him lose the lead he had before the others, perhaps even make him fall behind, it would also mark him as an outcast. Who would want to associate with someone in bad standing with an elder?

    ¡°Do you accept?¡±

    ¡°I accept, honorable elder.¡±

    Without losing any more words the elder stepped around him and left. Zixin stood motionless in the same spot for a while longer, before falling to his knees and beginning to cry.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei¡¯s mood was sour. It had been quite a while since he had been met with such disrespect from a lowly disciple. But what annoyed him most wasn¡¯t even the actions of the disciple. It was his feelings.

    Having actively participated in cultivator¡¯s politics for over 300 years had taught him to see through almost any facade someone could possibly put up. Only the most skilled actors amongst the sect elders could still hope to hide their true emotions from him. That was to say that when it came to dealing with those members of the sect outside of the council of elders, Liu Wei could read their emotions like an open book.

    Those he punished, especially the younger ones, almost always seemed to share one central emotion, one that was utterly confusing to Liu Wei: Bewilderment.

    Liu Wei could understand if they were scared. He could understand if they were sad. He could understand if they were angry at him, or even at themselves. All of those were emotions that he could picture himself to have if he were to be punished for offending someone more powerful, not that there was anyone like that left in the sect. What he couldn¡¯t understand was the total lack of understanding the disciples had as to why they were being punished.

    How could they not understand? It was the natural order of things. The weak had to grovel before the strong. Nobody would question a human swatting an annoying insect so why would anyone question this?

    It was this lack of understanding, this unasked question of ¡°Why?¡± on the face of that disciple that had made Liu Wei want to break out of his character and scream at him. That ruined his mood for as long as he thought about it. And, ironically, he didn¡¯t even know the reason it made him this angry.

    Unable to get rid of the bitter aftertaste the situation had left him with, Liu Wei decided that he had had enough of this stroll through the sect. Basking in the admiration of the lesser ones would bring him no further pleasure after this.

    It took barely a thought for him to rise into the air and start flying rapidly in the direction of his residence.

    ¡­

    The place Liu Wei called home was a tall and imposing pagoda that stood rather close to the base of one of the mountains within a forested area. It was quite the unusual place for an elder of his status to live, but Liu Wei had erected it before he had held any real power within the sect and he didn¡¯t see any good reason to relocate.

    When he arrived, Liu Wei¡¯s thoughts had cleared up and he had stopped thinking of the previous incident. Unfortunately, that did little to help his mood as he had instead turned to thinking about his troubled cultivation again.

    Sitting down, he forced himself to once again go over the entire situation from the start.

    His predicament hadn¡¯t really started with the breakthrough. Ever since the breakthrough to the fifth stage, his speed of progress had been stalling. In many ways, this was to be expected. As a cultivator furthered their understanding of their chosen Dao, they would naturally approach the limits of their capacity to learn. This would continuously slow them down until their progress was ground down to practically nothing.

    His own slowing down however was notably different to a normal cultivator in that it was much more sudden. His speed of cultivation had barely shown any signs of slowing down before he had reached the fifth stage.

    After struggling against this unexpected roadblock for over two-and-a-half centuries, Liu Wei had managed to ascend all the way to the eighth stage. But whereas he had previously been able to slowly inch himself forward, he had at the very moment of the breakthrough felt himself hitting a totally insurmountable wall.

    An attempt at contemplating the Dao confirmed what he already knew: he was making literally no progress at all, not even the tiniest bit.

    To his understanding, what normally brought cultivators in the Dao Contemplation Realm to a halt was the inability to answer the questions that pursuing their understanding brought them to.

    This was undesirable in its own right, but it still allowed them to utilize certain methods to progress. From witnessing great manifestations of their Dao in the physical world, over absorbing natural treasures to feel the nature of their Dao, to simply consuming powerful pills that were tailored to help them understand more ¨C There were ways one could answer questions that were outside of their normal range.

    Liu Wei however found himself faced with a totally different conundrum: There were no more questions to ask. Contemplating his Dao was completely pointless as there was nothing left to contemplate. Theoretically, this was the state that one should find themselves in when they had reached the tenth stage of Contemplation and as such built up a complete interpretation of their Dao.

    Liu Wei however was evidentially two stages short of that. This left him with no path ahead whatsoever as his path to progressing was completely cut off. It would do him no good to start a search for great, undiscovered natural treasures, ancient artifacts, inheritances of long forgotten masters or the ingredients for a potent pill. None of that could help him overcome this wall. The longer he thought about it, the more hopeless it felt.

    This wasn¡¯t who he was however. If he was the type to lose himself in despair, he would have drowned in it long ago. He couldn¡¯t solve this problem, at least not for now, so the next best thing to do was to solve the things he could.

    It was time to decide what his future stance in regards to the sect should be.

 Chapter 4: Unraveling a path

    ¡°Acquire wealth.¡± These two words were enough to describe the goal that Liu Wei had always followed when it came to his political decisions so far. There were many resources that could be used to accelerate one¡¯s cultivation by leaps and bounds so it was only natural for him, who didn¡¯t have access to the enormous amounts of generational wealth that the top cultivators of the pillar families possessed, to focus his efforts entirely on this prospect.

    He didn¡¯t care who held the power, he didn¡¯t care for who won their struggles against whom and he didn¡¯t care whether the sect was at peace or at war. He always went with the option that benefited himself the most financially. In practice that had meant switching sides between differing pillar families as an ally and, ever since he had gotten hold of the Enforcement Hall, promoting conflict with other sects as much as possible.

    The Enforcement Hall wasn¡¯t overly strong when it came to economic prowess, but it was the sect¡¯s main center of martial power. That meant that it¡¯s influence, though always great, was practically unrivaled during times of war. And that influence could in turn be sold for great amounts of wealth in the council.

    Prior to his breakthrough, Liu Wei had intended to keep following this exact strategy. The power his new stage gave him would make him even more valuable an ally and using the wealth that would follow as well as the incredible personal wealth he had already built up, he had intended to force his progress through the last two stages.

    He had purposefully never used those methods to increase his cultivation as long as he could still progress reasonably fast without them, as the usage of resources to further one¡¯s understanding in the Dao Contemplation Realm eventually showed diminishing returns.

    What he hadn¡¯t expected was to run into a situation where he would see his wealth become practically useless to him.

    Not only did this make his decision to delay his usage of them seem terribly misguided, it also meant that all his previous plans were completely useless now. This left Liu Wei in a situation where he truly didn¡¯t know what to do next.

    Sure, he could keep building his political power. Becoming sect patriarch wasn¡¯t feasible because he lacked the support from the pillar families. They were called pillars for a reason; the sect was heavily based around their power. But that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t continue to increase his own. There were plenty of ways to do so. The problem was that political power wasn¡¯t really a goal, it was the means to achieve one.

    Truthfully, increasing one¡¯s personal power through cultivation was little different, but at least that one didn¡¯t have a clear upper limit so it allowed one to always delay the question of what to use that power for. Except to Liu Wei, it suddenly did have an upper limit now, so avoiding the question was no longer an option.

    It was just that he didn¡¯t have an answer. His physical needs were well and truly taken care of and it was highly unlikely that that would change at any point in the future. He lived in about as much comfort as a person could and he was a highly reputed elder of a powerful sect, at least regionally. He couldn¡¯t come up with a single need that he had and yet his chest was home to a burning ambition that exploded with anger and disagreement at the thought of simply living out the rest of his life like this.

    He truly didn¡¯t know what to do.

    The circumstances he was in had his head spinning, as he found himself surrounded by seemingly unsolvable puzzles as a direct result of increasing his cultivation. And so, not seeing any way forward for himself, he decided to do something he hadn¡¯t done in more than a century. Something, that had no logical benefit whatsoever to him: Sleeping.

    Cultivators in the realm of Dao Comprehension didn¡¯t need to sleep. The most effective and pleasant method of resting that was accessible to every single one of them was meditation. Even then, they truly didn¡¯t need much rest in the first place unless they had been wounded or otherwise exhausted by outer factors.

    In fact, most found the idea of sleeping repulsive. They would need to give up their defenses, their thoughts and even their time for doing so, with no tangible benefit. They would instead be bombarded by the unordered, uncontrolled mishmash of thoughts their primitive instincts thought therapeutic to them in the form of dreams, when meditation could provide them with better results without any of the drawbacks.

    Nonetheless, right now nothing seemed as appealing to Liu Wei as the thought of escaping this hellish maze of thoughts that he was trapped in for a while. He made his way to his personal treasury, where he dispelled the defensive formations and, once inside, searched through the large spatial gem that held his more mundane possessions.

    When he had found and retrieved the bed that had gone unused for so long, he took it, left the treasury and simply put it in the middle of his living room. Upon laying down on it, he closed his eyes and concentrated to force all of his thought processes to a stop. And just like that, he slid away into the silent world of dreams.

    ¡­

    He sat in a small boat, floating peacefully along a river. In his hands a fishing rod, on his head a straw hat, protecting his eyes from the sun that shone from a spotless blue sky. A supreme calmness permeated every aspect of the world around him.

    A gentle tugging on the fishing line informed him that something had bitten. He needed just a gentle flick of his wrist to launch the fish out of the water and into the air, right towards him. Once it was in range, he expertly caught it with his free hand.

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    A light but satisfied smile on his face, he turned his catch around. It was long and slender, its silver-grey scales glittering from the water that was left on them reflecting the sunlight. Its eyes¡­

    He stopped. Staring at him were not the eyes of a fish, but those of a human. And he knew them. They belonged to a disciple that he had punished. And more importantly he knew the question that they were asking him: Why?

    Suddenly the sky went black. Lightning streaked, thunder roared and a heavy rainfall hit him out of nowhere. The previously tranquil river was suddenly wild with activity as waves shook the boat and currents threw it around. It only took a few moments for the boat to capsize and for him to be thrown into the black water below.

    ¡­

    He stood before a crowd of people. Everyone was listening to his words; he was teaching them. He talked of cultivation, of the realms and their stages, of the history of how this process had been developed by the ancestors of their people.

    His words were hungrily devoured by his students, they were anxious not to let a drop of the knowledge given to them escape.

    He paused for a moment, to give them time to finish their notes. He let his eyes wander through the crowd while he waited, scanning them in satisfaction of his lesson.

    Suddenly his eyes met another pair of eyes, looking up at him. They weren¡¯t the eyes of a keen listener. And he knew them. They belonged to a girl, a girl that he had once punished. They screamed at him the question: Why?

    Suddenly every single person in the crowd looked up. Every single one of them had a pair of eyes that he recognized. And all of these hundreds of pairs of eyes were asking him the same question: Why?

    ¡­

    An old hut on a mountain¡­ Why?

    ¡­

    A busy street¡­ Why?

    ¡­

    Floating high in the sky¡­ Why?

    ¡­

    Walking through a dark forest¡­ Why?

    ¡­

    Liu Wei awoke with a gasp. His heart was pounding, his breath went fast and he was drenched in sweat. For a while, he just laid there, staring at the ceiling and catching his breath.

    After calming down a little, Liu Wei separated himself from the blanket that was stuck to his back and sat up. Looking outside he saw that it was the middle of the night.

    Never in his hundreds of years of life had he experienced anything that had attacked his mental state this brutally. The fact that his own brain was to blame for this experience was nothing short of absurd.

    He had chosen to sleep with the hope of escaping the feeling of helplessness for a while, instead he had been drowned in it. He shivered as he inadvertently remembered the thousands of pairs of eyes that had had stared at him.

    How was it that even remembered them so well? He didn¡¯t remember the names any of the people they belonged to, not the offenses they had committed, not the punishments he had handed them. So why did he remember their eyes?

    Liu Wei frowned, pushing the images to the back of his mind. There were more important problems to tackle right now. Only, the images refused to be moved away. The more he tried to ignore it, the more intense the eyes seemed to be staring at him.

    His frown deepened. This was unprecedented. Control of his own mind was something he had been training for hundreds of years. He refused to have a simple dream wrestle it away from him.

    Moving to the floor and into a meditative position, Liu Wei evened his breath and sharpened his focus. For a moment, his mind was still, devoid of any thought, like the undisturbed surface of water.

    Then, in an instant, he slammed the entirety of his consciousness with all of its weight against the silent wall of eyes staring him down.

    That worked. Of course, it did. As the eyes receded, Liu Wei felt a tension he hadn¡¯t even allowed himself to acknowledge release its grip. Only to pause when he realized that a single last pair of eyes was still there, still staring at him.

    He examined it, carefully. It was like all the other ones, yet somehow it was different. It seemed oddly familiar and while it asked the same silent question as the others, this one didn¡¯t seem to be directed at him.

    The realization hit Liu Wei like a landslide. These eyes were not those of some disciple, it were his own.

    Had he had any capacity to pay attention to his body, he would have been thankful to already be sitting on the floor because the dizziness that hit him, as all of his mental barriers broke down and long suppressed memories came pouring in, would otherwise have thrown him of his feet.

    Alas, he was entirely occupied taking in the scene playing in his mind.

    He saw a version of himself that no other person alive would be able to identify as him anymore. The unimportant outer disciple that he had been, long before his talent would begin to shine and long before he would climb the ranks despite his humble background, was suspended in a deep bow before the towering figure of an elder.

    Liu Wei could feel the fear, feel the confusion that his past self had felt back then. The scene was a perfect mirror of him punishing a disciple.

    Why did this scene shock him so much? It wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t known that he had been on the receiving end of punishment back in his days as a disciple.

    The fact remained the same: The strong could lord over the weak as they wished. Such was the natural order. Why did this explanation suddenly feel so empty? It was something he had known and practiced for nearly all of his life. Something all of the other elders would agree with him on.

    No, not all of them! A picture of Elder Rong flashed before his eyes.

    There were elders that rejected this order. And the more Liu Wei thought about it, the less it made sense to him.

    Both the cowering disciple and the mighty elder were him, just at different points in his life. If those two roles could be occupied by the same person, what sense did it make that one of them should have the right to treat the other that way?

    None. That was the answer. What separated them, be it time, talent or fortune, was after all entirely out of their control.

    Liu Wei felt a crack forming in his very sense of self. His personality, his beliefs, his entire outlook on the world was founded on the very thing he was currently questioning. If his superiority in power did not make him superior in right, who was he to act in the way he did?

    One crack turned into many as all of his flimsy attempts at justification failed before his own ruthless questioning.

    Liu Wei couldn¡¯t bring himself to stop, even though he knew full well that what he was doing was seriously dangerous. A cultivator as old as himself couldn¡¯t just turn over and renounce all that their world-view was based on. If his self-conception was to fully collapse under this pressure, he ran the risk of literally becoming lost in his own mind, perhaps forever.

    It was already too late to go back though. He had opened doors that couldn¡¯t be closed anymore, not by any means he possessed. He needed to somehow form his sense of self anew and he needed to do so sooner rather than later if he wanted to survive this whole ordeal.

 Chapter 5: A New Path

    Zixin groaned as he carefully sat down at one of the tables in the dining hall of the outer disciples. The wounds on his back that he had received the previous afternoon would take a few more days to fully heal up, even though he had used most of his meagre funds to purchase some low-grade healing supplies.

    His body was already tougher than that of even the most hardened adult mortal because of his cultivation, but the lashes he had received hurt him badly nonetheless. That was nothing to the loss of his pill and the time it would take until he was allowed to cultivate again though.

    Zixin¡¯s dreams of being noticed by one of the halls and becoming an inner disciple had been shattered before he even got the chance to fully form them.

    Even his instructor and his friends had slightly distanced themselves from him after hearing that he had incurred the wrath of an elder. Needless to say, this had hurt more than anything else, even though Zixin couldn¡¯t really blame them. Another frustrating thing. He could blame no one but himself for his idiocy.

    It was late noon and he had just come from a long session of scrubbing the floor in the outer relations hall. After eating he would have to go to his next assignment of sweeping stairs in the commerce district. Punitive work wasn¡¯t exactly interesting to say the least.

    Zixin stopped eating as the crowded room suddenly grew silent. Looking up, it didn¡¯t take him long to identify the reason for this. Standing by the entrance was the same elder that he had offended just yesterday. Zixin heart began pounding once again as he watched the elder¡¯s eyes scan through everyone present before settling on him.

    Thoughts raced through Zixin¡¯s head as the elder made his way to him with firm steps. Had he somehow made another mistake?

    As the old man stood before him, Zixin quickly scrambled to his feet to properly bow before him.

    ¡°This disciple greets the honored elder.¡±

    Glancing upwards, Zixin saw the elder looking down at him with the same contemplative look as the day before. Finally, when the silence began to become unbearable the man spoke:

    ¡°What is your name, disciple?¡±

    ¡°This disciple¡¯s name is Zixin, Honorable Elder!¡±

    ¡°Zixin then, very well. I am here because my punishment for your actions yesterday was quite a lot too hard.¡±

    Zixin was completely lost for words on this. Had the punishment been too hard? It had been hard, that was for sure. He didn¡¯t really have a measure for what was an appropriate punishment for offending an elder. He didn¡¯t even really understand what he had done that was worth punishing, but then again, he was just an outer disciple, what did he really know?

    ¡°Please stand straight.¡± The elder continued. Zixin did as he was told.

    ¡°I, Elder Liu Wei, wish to formally apologize to the outer disciple Zixin for my overly hard punishment.¡± At this declaration, Elder Wei slightly declined his head. Zixin felt the entire hall collectively drawing in air.

    ¡°Your remaining punishment is hereby forgiven. Please take this as a recompense.¡± Elder Wei handed him a small wooden box. It looked much the same as the box that Zixin¡¯s pill had been in, the only difference being that it was intricately decorated with beautiful engravings all around.

    ¡°This contains a Superior Qi Refinement pill alongside a mid-grade healing pill and a level three spirit stone.¡±

    Zixin gasped. The spirit stone alone was worth more than the entirety of his possessions.

    ¡°This concludes my business here. I hope everyone present will continue to put in their full effort to continue the journey of their cultivation.¡±

    With that, the elder turned around and left, leaving behind a hall of baffled disciples and instructors.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei carefully monitored his own emotions as he exited the hall. He had expected to feel at least some amount of shame in this. It was, after all, the first time ever since he had become an elder that he had so openly admitted to a mistake.

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    He couldn¡¯t find any shame to speak of though, in fact he felt quite good about himself. Bringing out the words of apology had taken quite the effort, especially doing so while sounding calm and certain about when he had in fact been as nervous as a disciple on the day of an important assessment.

    Now that it was done though, it felt as if he had accomplished something important and as if in doing so, he had removed a heavy burden of his shoulders.

    If there had been any doubt in his mind remaining about this new path, he was treading on, being the right one, this feeling was enough to fully dispel it.

    For now, it was time to return to his home. Apologizing to disciple Zixin had been a priority of his, both because it had weighed on his conscience and to verify his new ethical compass. Now that it was done though, there were lots of plans to be made regarding how he would act in the future.

    He didn¡¯t yet have any concrete ideas for how to act, but knowing himself and how little this sect¡¯s structure fit his newfound ideals, he had little doubt that while this apology would raise a lot of eyebrows when the elders heard of it, it would soon be overshadowed by far more drastic and politically important actions.

    ¡­

    ¡°Did the latest report from the eastern commercial district arrive yet? If we want to do something about the growing black market over there, we have to act on the information we receive as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°I know, senior Li. I assure you once again that I shall notify you as soon as I receive the report.¡± Qingge replied to the discomposed man.

    ¡°I trust that, it¡¯s just¡­ alright. I¡¯ll try to be patient.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior Li. I am sure you won¡¯t have to wait much longer.¡± She offered him a reassuring smile.

    ¡°I hope so. See you later, junior Qingge.¡±

    As he left the room, Qingge couldn¡¯t help but let out a relieved sigh. Guowei Li was not a bad person but he tended to be a little overexcited when it came to his work. Not that she could complain too much about that, she would take dealing with someone with too much diligence over dealing with someone with too little a hundred times over. Especially when that person was above her in status.

    Qingge couldn¡¯t help but let out a silent yawn as she refocused on the documents before her. It was early in the morning, just before dawn, but she still needed to get some paperwork done before she accompanied Elder Wei to the council meeting.

    One could never tell just how exactly these meetings would go and given the elder¡¯s recent breakthrough, she suspected this meeting would be long, tedious and charged to the brim with politic interests. Luckily, she didn¡¯t have to participate all that much in those, but as his assistant it was expected of her to be able to lay out all important facts about the recent actions of the enforcement hall.

    She just hoped the whole thing would be over by the evening and not stretch out long into the night or even to the following day. Staying awake that long was one thing and entirely possible without much discomfort at her level of cultivation, but remaining concentrated throughout was a different one.

    Looking up from her work as the door was once again opened, Qingge already prepared to once again calm Guowei Li¡¯s worries. Stepping inside however was not the overly worried department head but her fellow attendant Daiyu.

    ¡°Good to see you. What brings you to me this early?¡± Qingge asked, immediately lighting up at the sight of the girl that was one of her closest friends in the entire sect.

    ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m here to inform you that Elder Wei has just arrived.¡±

    Qingge immediately felt her heightened mood sour again.

    ¡°This early? Aren¡¯t there still a few hours left till the beginning of the meeting?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you the reason myself. He looked to be in a pretty good mood though.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s something at least. Could you go greet him first? I¡¯ll be right after there. Just need to put away all of this stuff first.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing. See you there!¡± Her friend left the room at that.

    Qingge hurriedly sorted the mess of documents on her table as well as she could and straightened her robes before following her.

    Upon arriving in the entrance hall, Qingge quickly moved into a bow to greet the elder who seemed to be waiting for her there.

    ¡°I greet the Honorable Elder!¡± she exclaimed.

    ¡°Greetings, junior member Qingge.¡± The elder replied in a rather warm tone.

    Qingge paused briefly. She couldn¡¯t remember the elder ever addressing her by name before.

    ¡°How can I serve the Honorable Elder?¡± She asked after catching herself.

    ¡°I know this is contrary to my prior instructions, but please drop the honorific language as much as you comfortably can. It will make conversing easier.¡±

    This one truly caught her by surprise.

    ¡°As you command, hon¡­ As you say, Elder Wei¡±

    ¡°Alright. I didn¡¯t want to disturb your work, but I need you to prepare the most recent and complete report on the Enforcement Hall¡¯s assets, both financial and personal, that we have access to. We will need it for the upcoming council meeting. Is that doable?¡±

    ¡°Of course, h¡­ Elder Wei. I will prepare it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Have someone help you, if it¡¯s hard to do in time.¡±

    ¡°I will consider it. Is there anything else I can help with?¡±

    ¡°No, that would be it. Please arrive here half an hour before the start of the meeting. Oh yeah, and mentally prepare yourself for change.¡±

    With those words, the elder left the two friends behind, moving in the direction of his own office.

    ¡°Want me to help with that report?¡± Daiyu offered.

    ¡°That would be great. Let¡¯s do it together.¡± Spending some time with her friend, Qingge thought, might help her process the confusion about what had just happened a little better.

 Chapter 6: The Council of Elders

    Political power in the sect mainly originated from three sources: The sect patriarch, the nine halls and the council of elders.

    The sect patriarch acted mainly as a figurehead of the sect, which even by itself was quite a big deal as society at large put great value on tradition and social norms. The role also came with the position of highest judge in the sect though, as well as being the one to handle official relations with other sects.

    The nine halls were significant because they handled pretty much all aspects of day-to-day life in the sect. Each was headed by an Elder and every member that wasn¡¯t given specific other duties by the sect would work for one of the halls. The sect¡¯s economy, its security, its intel and many more things were all handled by different halls.

    The halls also had quite a lot of freedom when it came to how they handled their own members and the resources available to them. On top of that, the halls could all pick and train their own disciples from the pool of outer disciples. The exception being the training hall which was exclusively responsible for training those disciples not selected by another hall.

    The council of elders finally was the collective assembly of all elders and the patriarch. To become an elder and thereby a member was straightforward: One simply needed to reach the realm of Dao Contemplation.

    The council made decisions through vote with every elder having exactly one vote to give. The patriarch¡¯s vote possessed tie-breaking power. On paper, this meant that every elder in the council held the same amount of power over its decisions. In reality, this was of course not the case.

    Besides things like bribes, debts, threats and the binding power of social norms, this system was also limited by the enforceability of the council¡¯s decisions. In theory, they were absolute and overruled any other authority within the sect. In practice, if a bunch of weaker elders were to start making decisions against the councils most powerful members, if these were to simply start ignoring the decisions there was very little the former could do about it.

    This situation had of course rarely ever occurred in the sect¡¯s entire history. The mere fact that it could was enough to deter such actions. On top of that, the council had been held firmly in the grasp of the pillar families for millennia with almost no interruption.

    Per tradition, council meetings were held in the patriarch¡¯s palace on the sect¡¯s highest peak at sunrise, roughly twice a year.

    As Liu Wei made his way up the mountain towards said palace with his assistant Qingge trailing behind him, he found himself lost in thought about the upcoming meeting. He had hatched out quite a bold plan for what he wanted to do. He was doubtful of many things, but he was quite sure that none of the other elders would have been able to foresee it.

    Despite that, nothing was ever certain in politics, so he didn¡¯t allow himself to feel secure quite yet. For all that change in character would take them by surprise, everyone present at the meeting had hundreds of years¡¯ worth of political experience, some much more than even he had.

    Arriving at the imposing building, Liu Wei was greeted by a host of mortal servants already waiting for him at the main entrance, their sole purpose to lead him in before hurriedly scurrying off again.

    Upon entering the room in which council meetings were held, Liu Wei let his gaze wander between those who were attendant. On the side of the pillar families, everyone beside Jiang Peng and the patriarch was already present. The latter would only make his entrance when the meeting officially began and for the former it was very much in character to arrive late.

    Jiang Peng, patriarch of the Peng family was the head of the manufacturing hall and notorious for being the least diplomatic person imaginable. Or, as Liu Wei would personally put it: A hot-headed idiot.

    He would start fights whenever he got the opportunity to do so. A couple years back, he had physically attacked another Elder Lan Shi during a council meeting. And, given how he was also not particularly strong for the patriarch of a pillar family, he had been beaten into a pulp by her.

    Besides the elders from the pillar families, Ma Rong and his former disciple Guang Lai were also present, as were Xue Yan and the staunchly neutral librarian Shirong Yuan.

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    This left the elders Meng Hui and Lan Shi, both members of Ma Rong¡¯s reform faction.

    Meng Hui was the polar opposite of Jiang Peng, as non-confrontational as one could imagine a centuries old cultivator to be. He was head of the training hall, which held basically no power compared to the other halls, and the only reason he had even managed to climb to the third rank of Dao Comprehension was constant support from Ma Rong.

    Lan Shi however was of a different kind. She had clawed her way up to the fourth rank of Dao Comprehension pretty much by her own, driven less by ambition and more by a deep resentment towards the pillar families.

    While both of them were of the same mind when it came to treating those without a backing fairly, Liu Wei truly respected only Lan Shi.

    After individually greeting the present elders, Liu Wei sat down on one of the empty chairs situated between the two factions. There was no need to give up to everyone present with whom he would align himself in the future. Qingge positioned herself a little distance behind him on his left, as had the other elders¡¯ assistants. They would only step forward to partake in the meeting when asked to do so.

    The remaining three elders arrived over the next few minutes, bringing the total head count to fourteen elders and fourteen assistants. The only one still missing was now the patriarch. Some of the elders just waited in silence, but many of them still conversed in a hushed tone. They were likely making some last second changes to the agreements they had met before the meeting.

    All voices died out when the door opened once again and the patriarch finally entered. His steps were slow and deliberate as he strode through the room, all of the elders rising to their feet on respect.

    As the Patriarch Long Zhao arrived at his slightly elevated chair, he turned around to face the elders and addressed them in a solemn voice:

    ¡°I am pleased to see that everyone has made it here today. As acting patriarch of the Lunar Peaks Sect, I hereby declare that the meeting of the council of elders has officially begun.¡±

    At this, he sat down on his chair, the elders following suit. It was all quite the spectacle to behold and would probably be genuinely impressive to an outsider looking at it. Alas, all present knew full well, that it was nothing but a righteous play, designed to hide the much less righteous politics that would follow. Such were politics.

    ¡°Before we move to discuss the main topic of the day, the fortunate matter of Elder Liu Wei¡¯s recent breakthrough, I suggest we deal with some official sect business first. Does everyone agree?¡±

    Long Zhao¡¯s suggestion was met with approval from all sides. Pushing the main topic of discussion back was a common thing to do, as these tended to be the most controversial and could not only take a long time to discuss, but also to leave behind several people in a sour mood that wasn¡¯t conductive to further discussions.

    ¡°Very well. First off, I have something that I would like to address. The Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect have recently approached our sect with a proposition. They want to jointly host a tournament for the younger generations and have asked for our approval.¡±

    These were two of the four powerful sects in the region alongside the Lunar Peaks Sect and the Roaring Thunder Sect.

    ¡°Why would they even need to ask our approval for this?¡± Jiang Peng asked.

    ¡°My guess is that they want to avoid ostracizing us by acting together without informing us considering both of them already have an ongoing feud against the Roaring Thunder Sect.¡± Meixiu Xia offered.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see a problem with it. I have confidence in my hall¡¯s disciples. Let us show them the supremacy of our sect.¡± Sun Liang chimed in.

    This was met with agreement from several elders.

    ¡°If we agree on that, how should we decide which disciples to send?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s have each hall choose a couple of their disciples.¡±

    ¡°I disagree. We should send only the disciples most fit to represent the sect.¡±

    ¡°How about hosting an internal competition to determine those worthy of participating?¡±

    ¡°I like that idea. It will motivate our disciples to train even harder.¡±

    ¡°But what about the cost of such a thing? Other sects hosting a tournament is one thing but¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­we also have to consider the age advantage when talking about¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­our hall would be very much fit to host¡­¡±

    As the debate went back and forth on even the most minute allocations or responsibility, Elder Liu Wei remained strategically silent. It would ensure that his words had more weight behind them later on and with his focus turned away from political power and gaining wealth, he found that he had no real agency in this debate. Not before settling his plans for the meeting today.

    Over the next few hours, dozens of issues were brought up and debated, gradually turning from more relevant to less and less important things. Dispute over the mining rights to a newly discovered vein of spirit ore, increasing beast migrations from the grand forest to the north, a diplomatic incident with a merchant family in one of the nearby cities¡­ Many of these things could easily be solved outside of a council meeting but was brought up to gain political leverage in one way or the other.

    Only when the sun had long passed its zenith did discussions die down. Everyone had achieved their minor goals and was ready to move on.

    ¡°Now that we have had time to discuss the more mundane matters, I believe we should move on to the main topic of todays meeting.¡± The patriarch¡¯s words rang heavy.

    ¡°Elder Liu Wei¡¯s breakthrough.¡±

    It was only now, that the real council would begin.

 Chapter 7: Negotiations

    Meixiu Xia was the one to open the conversation.

    ¡°If I may, I would like start out by saying that we should all be happy over Elder Wei¡¯s impressive feat of breaking through to the eighth stage. I am aware, that there are some amongst us that hold a degree of personal animosity towards him. But I ask all of you to put that behind you for a moment and see this for what it is: a great opportunity for our sect as a whole.¡±

    Liu Wei agreed with her on this, even though his idea of an opportunity now strongly deviated from hers. It wasn¡¯t as if she was truly happy about his breakthrough either way. This was just a roundabout way of reminding him of the loyalty expected of him. By framing his strength as an opportunity for the sect, she simultaneously framed it as belonging to the sect. Which in turn, at least in her mind, belonged to the pillar families.

    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m certain that I speak for all of us when I say that the pillar families would love to further our cooperation with you, Elder Wei, and do our utmost to support you in your further cultivation.¡±

    The fact that Sun Liang continued sitting in his chair with a straight face further confirmed what Liu Wei had already known: There had been talks between the families prior to the meeting and this entire speech was most likely pre-written.

    ¡°I certainly agree with that statement, though I would like to add that not just the pillar families would be keen on working together with Elder Wei.¡± Ma Rong spoke up.

    ¡°Nobody questioned that, Uncle. It is just not important enough a declaration to be spoken in the same sentence as the cooperation with the pillar families.¡± All eyes turned towards the speaker, Zheng Rong.

    The Patriarch of the Rong family had a deep seeded hatred for Ma Rong that went back to the fact that the later had turned away from his family decades before Zheng Rong had even been born. This wouldn¡¯t have been that big of a deal if Ma Rong hadn¡¯t gone on to become not just an Elder but also the greatest alchemist throughout the northern sect alliance, taking away the dominant position that the alchemy focused Rong family had previously possessed.

    ¡°Please calm yourself, Elder Zheng Rong. This isn¡¯t the time to live out your personal feuds.¡± The Patriarch¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but very firm, the kind of voice that doesn¡¯t allow any objection.

    ¡°Let us instead talk about the benefits we are able to provide to Elder Wei. As you all know, this sect has a traditional focus on the Dao¡¯s of Earth and Water. For that reason, most of the central treasures are sadly of little use to you, Elder Wei.

    Which was a great stroke of luck to the pillar families, since it provided them the perfect justification for not handing him any of them, something they would have refused to do either way.

    ¡°That being said, the Zhao family has recently acquired a sunfire gem of perfect purity from one of the southern volcanoes which I am sure would be beneficial to your cultivation. We would be happy to provide you with it as long as you guarantee to remain a force that defends our sect¡¯s traditions.¡±

    This was it. The bidding had begun.

    ¡°The Zhong family possesses a fire attuned sword of the peak Dao Comprehension tier that we would happily add to that of the same conditions.¡±

    ¡°The Peng family can offer a millennia old cinder flower that has achieved consciousness.¡±

    The Patriarchs of several other families continued making their offer until Ma Rong spoke up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe our traditions to be worthy of preserving simply on the merit of them being old. Quite the opposite actually, I think all of you have already heard me point out that something being old is in fact all the more reason to consider changing it. Which is why I want to offer implore Elder Wei to instead work towards bettering this system for all of us. Under that condition I can offer something the alchemy hall has recently produced: A tier nine Dao Realization Pill.¡±

    This had the room go completely silent for a short while. Ma Rong¡¯s status as the best alchemist far and wide gave him access to incredible amounts of wealth, but this was impressive nonetheless. A tier nine Dao Realization pill would be an incredible boon to any cultivator in the Dao Comprehension realm. It alone was easily worth twice what the pillar families had offered up until now.

    For all that they were shocked by the fact that Ma Rong could successfully produce such a pill, they weren¡¯t intimidated however. The pillar families had spent millennia building up their wealth as rulers of this sect. When they worked together, no one could ever dream about outbidding them. Patriarch Long Zhao spoke up.

    ¡°It is our traditions that have allowed our sect to thrive for the thousands of years it has existed. Protecting them is paramount to ensure our continued prosperity.¡±

    What he meant but didn¡¯t say of course was the prosperity of the pillar families.

    ¡°But as you have made such a generous offer, nobody shall call us stingy. The Zhao family expands its offer by the spiritual essence of a true Phoenix.¡±

    Before the elders could continue bidding further, Liu Wei decided to finally speak up. Since couldn¡¯t even use cultivation resources anymore, he had never intended to accept any of the offers in the first place.

    The sole reason he hadn¡¯t spoken up yet was to have the elders take their guard down a little. Surprise was a powerful tool of negotiation and having everyone present be absorbed in a bidding war before interrupting them in the middle of it was the perfect way of throwing them out of balance.

    ¡°If I may interrupt you, I would like to say something.¡± He kept a decidedly neutral face as all eyes in the room turned to him.

    For the first time this evening he could make out a hint of anxiousness on some of the faces of the otherwise so confident heads of the pillar families. Until now, the conversation had been going exactly the way they wanted. Outbidding the reformers and buying his complacency was the perfect way to reestablish the stability of their rule. Whatever he had to say now could hardly benefit them.

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    ¡°I am honored by the esteem in which you hold me to be so willingly ready to give up your resources to help me further my cultivation. But since this discussion concerns my future position in the sect, I feel the need to tell you that this isn¡¯t what I currently desire.¡±

    Their anxiousness increased slightly. It was still only a miniscule amount, something that nobody without extensive experience would ever be able to discern, but it was enough to confirm to Liu Wei that his plan was working.

    ¡°I have thought long and hard on this over the last days and I have already arrived on a conclusion about what I think my future within this sect is.¡±

    They knew he was playing up their fears, it was a method as old as day, but that didn¡¯t matter. The reason this method was so old and so widely used was because it was very much effective.

    ¡°Let me be frank: As I have reached the same level of cultivation as the sect patriarch, sect law states that I have the right to challenge him to a duel for leadership of the sect.¡±

    The tension in the room rose to a maximum. This was what they feared. This was the reason that him breaking through was such a big deal.

    It was impossible to tell who would win in a duel between them. The Long Zhao possessed by far the better weaponry, but Liu Wei¡¯s Dao of fire was amongst the strongest Daos in terms of combat strength. Long Zhao was half a century older but Liu Wei¡¯s rapid early growth had meant that they had spent roughly the same time in the Dao Contemplation Realm. Both of them had fought countless battles in countless wars against beasts and cultivators alike and as such held extensive combat experience.

    Liu Wei took in the heavy atmosphere for a few more moments before continuing to speak.

    ¡°I do not intend to do so.¡±

    A wave of relief traveled through the room.

    Becoming patriarch would not help him accomplish his goals. Becoming patriarch didn¡¯t mean taking control of the sect from the pillar families. Even the current patriarch couldn¡¯t do so, despite simultaneously leading one of them. They didn¡¯t fear losing power. They feared the humiliation it would bring onto them if someone not from their ranks took the role of representing the sect.

    From the moment he assumed the role of patriarch, they would be monitoring his every move. They would never let him make any significant changes, especially not once they realized his true ambitions for the sect. As such, becoming patriarch was not a viable option. He had a different plan.

    ¡°However, I do want to change the position which I occupy within the sect. As such I would like to propose a change of responsibilities in hall leadership.¡±

    The prevailing mood switched to curiosity. Halls were usually only reassigned upon the previous leader¡¯s death. Switching halls was possible, as long as both the involved leaders agreed on it, but it was rarely done. The Enforcement Hall that Liu Wei led was considered to be one of the most powerful halls alongside the Alchemy Hall and the Outer Relations Hall, which made his proposition especially curious.

    ¡°I would like to request a three-way-switch: I want Elder Lai to take charge of the Resource Gathering Hall, Elder Shi to take my position as leader of the Enforcement Hall with me taking over the Training Hall.¡±

    This had the room dumbfounded. Why the hell would he want the Training Hall? Had he gone mad? The Training Hall was the weakest of the halls by a long shot. The only reason it was even considered one was that it made the administration of the outer disciples and their instructors easier.

    The training hall had no economic output whatsoever, its only income came as direct funding from the sect. It also lacked any other kind of power, both militarily and politically. Being leader of the training hall was basically as good as not leading any hall at all.Why would someone who had just gained himself such an advantageous position just hand away their power like that? The elders couldn¡¯t make sense of it.

    Meixiu Xia was the first to catch herself.

    ¡°If you want to take charge of the training hall, may I ask why you don¡¯t want to simply swap with Elder Hui?¡±

    Liu Wei couldn¡¯t help but admire her ability as a politician. She had already overcome her confusion, or at least managed to suppress it, and was trying to gain as much ground as possible.

    The real reason Liu Wei wanted Lan Shi to have the Enforcement Hall rather than Meng Hui was the same reason Meixiu Xia would prefer the later: Meng Hui was of weak character, a proper coward. He wouldn¡¯t get in the way of the pillar families even though he was part of the opposing faction. Lan Shi on the other hand did not only hold no fear of them, she despised them.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t openly say that. That was what Meixiu Xia was banking on in asking him this question in the first place. To her misfortune however, he had long foreseen this questioning and had taken the time to craft a proper response to it.

    ¡°Of course you may ask, Elder Xia. As you know, Elder Lai practices the Dao of Nature. In my opinion, this is a better fit for the Resource Gathering Hall than Elder Shi¡¯s Dao of Earth. On top of that, Elder Shi¡¯s martial focus means she is the perfect candidate to take over the Enforcement Hall in my stead. Since I was already proposing a swap, I thought it beneficial to the sect, to include this additional clause.¡±

    An airtight reasoning. He could practically see the gears turning in her head, as she tried to come up with a reply that could invalidate it, but she couldn¡¯t. The whole situation had caught her too unprepared. Even so, Liu Wei didn¡¯t want to risk giving her and the other elders any additional time to think.

    ¡°As is common practice, in addition to the leadership I would also like to swap any current financial assets the halls possess.¡±

    This was paramount as he would need the funds if he wanted any chance at executing his plans for the training hall.

    ¡°I would first like to ask Elder Hui and Elder Shi if they agree with the swap.¡±

    This was the easy part. The swap was entirely to both of their benefits as both of them would gain control of a more powerful and profitable hall than they currently held. He looked towards the two. They were still confused by the whole thing, but they had managed to compose themselves for now. They understood that pushing the deal through as fast as possible was paramount if they didn¡¯t want the other elders to start attacking it. Lan Shi was the first to speak.

    ¡°I agree to Elder Wei¡¯s proposal.¡±

    ¡°I agree as well.¡±, Meng Hui echoed.

    ¡°Then I will now ask Patriarch Zhao to cast a vote of the council.¡±

    The patriarch hesitated a moment before giving in.

    ¡°I will do so.¡± Then, announcing in a louder and more official voice: ¡°As per the request of Elder Wei, the council shall hold a vote over his proposal. If you wish for the swap to take place as proposed, answer with a yay. If you don¡¯t want it to, answer with a nay.¡±

    This was the critical part. The deal wasn¡¯t truly to the pillar family¡¯s advantage, after all none of them were losing any power and while the reform faction was gaining power, Liu Wei had just clearly taken their side with this proposal. If he were to belong to the opposing faction either way, weakening him as its potential strongest member was actually in their interest. The sole reason for them to block the deal was to foil any potential plans that he might have.

    But for all that the pillar families controlled the sect, their margin in the council was actually not that big. The reform faction only had four actual members to the pillar families nine, but counting Liu Wei, Xue Yan who had recently been brought to support the reform faction, and librarian Shirong Yuan who, neutral as he was, had no reason to vote the proposal down, only two of the pillar family¡¯s members would need to vote in favor of the proposal for it to have a majority.

    In the end, it wasn¡¯t even that close. The pillar families¡¯ votes were split in half on the issue and all other elders supported it.

    That finalized it: With a majority of eleven to four, the swap of halls would take place.

 Chapter 8: The Aftermath

    ¡°Are you trying to tell me that those twenty thousand level one spirit stones just went missing overnight?¡± Qingge burst out at the older cultivator. This was a major breach of etiquette as the man was her senior both in age and position, but she just couldn¡¯t contain herself anymore.

    After that eventful council meeting that she was still trying to fully wrap her head around, she had been given the grueling task of organizing the transfer of the financial assets of the entire enforcement hall over to the training hall. The first part had been comparatively easy as she had stayed behind at the palace to work out a timeline for the transfers and checked which of their owned assets overlapped and as such could just stay where they were. It had been a long night but at least it was only paperwork.

    Unfortunately, that was where the real work started. The Enforcement Hall had incomparably more wealth stored up than the other two, which meant that it was now her job to track all of that wealth down to prepare it for transfer.

    She understood that the custom of swapping all assets alongside the hall leaders was set in place so that it wasn¡¯t possible for one elder to just plunge his hall into crippling debt and then sneakily swap themself out of it before it came crashing down on them, but the rule didn¡¯t account for the headache it was to have to work with hall departments who really didn¡¯t like having their funds taken away.

    Or for the fact that some members of those departments took certain liberties when it came to the proper usage of their department¡¯s funds. Members like Zemin Bai, head of the southwestern department of the Enforcement Hall.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare speak to me like that. Who do you even think you are to accuse me of anything?¡±

    Qingge bit her tongue. Of course he would react like that. She was just a junior member without any significant background or connections after all. She couldn¡¯t allow herself a lapse in judgement like this. The stress truly was getting to her.

    Seeing her remain silent, the lanky man seemed to get even more emboldened. ¡°That¡¯s right! You really thought you would get through with this, didn¡¯t you? Maybe it is actually you who at fault in this matter. You should look through your own subordinates, maybe one of them stole those spirit stones. Don¡¯t bother me with the matter again at least.¡±

    Qingge felt another flare of anger at the man rise up. How could someone be so bold about his own dishonesty? He was seriously trying to shift the blame onto her! She couldn¡¯t just let that happen, but what could she do about it?

    Suddenly an idea began to form in her head. She had never dabbled into this kind of powerplay herself, but in her time at the council meetings, she had seen enough of it to write an entire book. It was time to imitate some of the tactics she had witnessed.

    ¡°I am truly sorry for overstepping my boundaries like that.¡± She could see the mans self-satisfaction grow even further at this.

    ¡°It is truly not my place to make judgements like these, I shall report this matter to Elder Wei at once.¡± Glancing up from her lowered head, she could practically see her words impact his face like a thrown brick would impact a glass pane.

    His overconfident expression shattered in a single moment, leaving behind nothing but a hint of panic. Elder Wei¡¯s reputation was well known among the members of his hall and they truly feared him for it.

    Qingge straightened her head and gave Zemin Bai a smile. A simple polite gesture, but just wide enough to signal him that she knew exactly what she was doing. His panic only grew at that.

    ¡°Now, now, I don¡¯t think we should bother the elder over something as trivial as this!¡±

    ¡°I see no other solution, since we need to find an answer as to what happened.¡±

    ¡°Okay please hear me out. I might have¡­ borrowed some of those funds. Not with the intention to steal them or anything like that, I assure you. I¡­ I had every intention of returning them of course. I thought I would just get it done with quickly, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t report the whole thing.¡±

    Qingge didn¡¯t respond, she just kept smiling and holding eye contact.

    ¡°I¡­ please just give me a couple of days and I will return them to you in full. No need to report anything to the elder.¡±

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    ¡°Alright, that would be perfect. I am sure the elder has better things to do anyways.¡±

    The man let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

    ¡°Yes, of course. Very well, I will return to see to my duties if you don¡¯t need me anymore.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Senior Bai. Have a nice day.¡±

    Without further words, the man turned around and left, leaving Qingge alone with her thoughts.

    That worked even better than expected. She had surprised herself with how easy it had been to keep her act up as she had delivered her hollow threat. She hadn¡¯t felt the slightest amount of pity at watching the man squirm in fear before her. He had started the whole thing after all.

    Goddamn, the amount of time and headaches I could have saved myself if I had done things this way from the start. Well, whatever. I¡¯m done now either way.

    The southwestern department had been the last one she had needed to take care of. The only thing left before she could finally take a well deserved break was writing up a report for the elder, which she estimated would only take her about half an hour. Tired but satisfied, she started making her way back to her office.

    ¡­

    Elder Ning Bai, patriarch of the powerful Bai family and the great Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s leading strategist was at a total loss. The way recent council meeting had went had not only totally blindsided him, but continued to elude any explanation he could conjure up in his mind.

    The fact that Liu Wei hadn¡¯t let himself be bought by the pillar families wasn¡¯t enough to shock him. Sure, it had been what he had expected, based on the man¡¯s prior behavior. But as an experienced politician, Ning Bai knew full well to never assume he could fully predict the behavior of another cultivator his age. Someone this old and experienced was almost sure to have experienced their fair share of politics and to have learned never put all of their cards on the table.

    As such, Ning Bai had made sure to fully prepare himself for every eventuality. Or at least he had until the meeting had proved him wrong.

    He had considered the possibility that Liu Wei might challenge the patriarch and even that he might join the reform faction. He would, after all, never have a chance to truly be part of the pillar families¡¯ faction. No matter his strength, in the end he was just a single elder. The families would never truly treat him as one of their own. As such, going with the faction that he could not only join as a true member, but that he actually had a solid chance of becoming the leader of, had at least some actual merit.

    But why in all heavens would he want to give away the Enforcement Hall? It just didn¡¯t make any sense. Why would he want the training hall? It didn¡¯t have any value.

    Ning Bai resisted the urge to slam his fist on ¨C and through ¨C the table he was seated at. He had completely forgotten how it felt not to know what was going on.

    He sent a sliver of qi into one of his rings. This would trigger an enchantment which would alert his servants that he had an order he wanted fulfilled. It was one of the many pointless novelties that his family had collected alongside other more useful treasure throughout its long history.

    A few moments passed until a servant knocked on the door. Ning Bai loudly gave him permission to enter.

    ¡°Oh, supreme patriarch of our esteemed family, how may I serve you?¡±

    ¡°Send a message to the Zhong family. Ask them to set up a meeting with Elder Zhong. Dismissed.¡±

    ¡°As you command, honorable patriarch!¡±

    With that, the servant hurriedly exited the room. The conversation with Yue Zhong was something urgently needed to get done. All of the families conducted their own espionage, but just as no other family could match the Bai Family¡¯s scholars, the practitioners of the Dao of Shadow from the Zhong family were unmatched in the art.

    Yue Zhong herself was quite the scary personality, quiet and reserved but supernaturally perceptive. Well, that and the fact that she was an assassin who, if it came down to it, was probably capable of killing almost any elder in the sect before they even noticed.

    Ning Bai stopped himself, before he could get lost in pointless thoughts again. He had better things to do, many of them. For now, he decided to brief the family¡¯s leadership about the recent developments. It wasn¡¯t his favorite activity, but it needed to be done nonetheless so that his family could function at full capacity. He left the room and went towards the room used for discussions.

    Before he could get there though, he stumbled upon one of those he was going to meet.

    ¡°Yi. What are you doing here?¡±

    The visibly aged woman was one of the Bai Families strongest members and a possible candidate to archive the Dao Contemplation Realm in her life. Before her kneeled a middle-aged man of far lower cultivation.

    ¡°Patriarch! What a pleasant surprise. I was just thinking about what to do with this pathetic bug over there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the insult coming from someone as calm and benevolent as you. What did he do to earn your ire like that?¡±

    ¡°This sad byproduct of some side branch of our family decided it would be a good idea to steal from the Enforcement Hall and get caught. Now he came with his tail between his legs begging us to bail him out.¡±

    ¡°Our family doesn¡¯t have use for someone like that. If he got caught, it should be his punishment to take. Send the Enforcement Hall a reimbursement and an apology. He can work his debt off in one of our mines. We really don¡¯t need to give Elder Wei any reason to go after our family right after his breakthrough.¡± The man let out a silent whimper at that.

    It was his own fault and only his own. The Bai family gave its members a lot of freedom and invested great amounts of resources into them. In return they were expected to assist the family, not drag it down. If someone stole without the skill to hide it, they would need to take the fall.

    ¡°Very good, that¡¯s the perfect way of dealing with this stain of a man.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, once you are done here, please come to the meeting room. I want to brief the leadership on the events of the council meeting.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, patriarch.¡±

 Chapter 9: A New Beginning

    Liu Wei stood at the entrance of the Enforcement Hall¡¯s main building. As he waited for the arrival of Lan Shi, he felt a tinge of nostalgia.

    He didn¡¯t really have any lingering attachments towards it, but he had nonetheless led the Enforcement Hall for well over two hundred years now. Today marked the end of that, and at the same time the start of something new.

    As such, he felt that strange mix of sorrow and excitement, of ideas and uncertainty, that was characteristic when one moved on to a new chapter in their life.

    Turning to his assistant, Qingge, he furrowed his brow. There was one last thing to settle before handing over the hall.

    ¡°There is something I need to ask you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± The woman had gotten used to using informal speech in talking to him. It probably still felt strange to her, as it did to him. But if he wanted to change himself to fit his new path, getting used to thinking of others as equals was simply a necessity.

    ¡°You will have to make a decision. With my department from this hall, you can either remain my assistant and move to the Training Hall or remain here. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t fault you either way.¡±

    He could see that his question surprised her. Her face then turned to an expression of intense pondering. Liu Wei believed he already knew her answer, but the decision was hers to make anyway.

    ¡­

    Qingge was deep in thought. Somehow during all of the work that preparing the transfer had been, this question had never occurred to her. She had simply assumed she would continue fulfilling all her duties, never stopping to realize that that didn¡¯t make any sense.

    It wasn¡¯t that easy of a question to answer. On one hand, being an elder¡¯s assistant was a role that granted her certain freedoms and protections, which she had recently gotten a taste of in her dealings with department head Bai. On the other hand, it also meant quite a lot of additional work that came her way.

    The recent shift in Elder Wei¡¯s personality had been a mostly positive one, as far as she was concerned, but she couldn¡¯t really predict how it would develop.

    Ultimately, there was one thing that weighed the most heavily though: The Enforcement Hall was where her friends were. Keeping contact between the halls was possible, but it was also much harder. After all, the training hall was on an entirely different mountain, easily a few hours of travel with her current level in cultivation.

    Qingge loved her friends quite dearly and she couldn¡¯t just give that up for a potentially better position.

    She also wasn¡¯t working in the Enforcement Hall by accident or coincidence. She had first joined it out of the genuine wish to do something against all of the hidden troublemakers and corruption in the sect. That wish remained, though mostly pushed back, to this day.

    ¡°I would like to remain in the Enforcement Hall if possible.¡±

    ¡­

    That¡­ wasn¡¯t quite what Liu Wei had expected. In fact, he had never even considered it a possibility. He had asked the question mostly because he now thought it was right to leave people a choice instead of just ordering them around, but he hadn¡¯t truly stopped to think about the consequences of that stance.

    When leaving the hall, he had naturally assumed that he would take his assistant with him. To him, that seemingly obvious truth hadn¡¯t even related to the question he had asked.

    It was ridiculous, of course, because thinking about it, her answer was clearly predictable. Her peer group, her home, the environment she was familiar with; all of those were here. It wasn¡¯t like he had been a particularly good employer either, at least for the large part of her time working for him. The more he thought about it, the more obvious her answer seemed.

    His surprise quickly turned to disgust at his own readiness to dismiss the wishes of another person so quickly just out of habit. How could he still be so blind despite all the changes he had supposedly went through? It seemed like he would need to monitor his own behavior quite a lot more rigorously going forward.

    ¡°Very well. Then, as my last act as leader of the Enforcement Hall, I shall free you of your duties as my personal assistant and promote you to the position of general hall manager. I wish you success for your future career and cultivation.¡±

    Qingge paused for a few seconds before answering.

    ¡°I¡­ Thank you, Elder Wei.¡±

    It was truly a shame to be losing such a capable worker. Nonetheless, if Liu Wei wanted to claim morality for his cause, he would most certainly need to follow through when the consequences kicked him in the gut. Besides, the Enforcement Hall would certainly need capable personnel after Lan Shi took over. She would have big ambitions for its future, just as he did for the Training Hall.

    Speaking of that, he spotted the woman up in the sky, hovering towards them at a moderate speed.

    Upon their breakthrough to the Dao Contemplation Realm, cultivators could, to a certain degree, form their own appearance according to their wishes. It would then remain the same until they started approaching the limits of their lifespan again. Most either chose to regain a youthful look or to simply remain looking old as they were.

    Lan Shi was an exception to that. She had taken the appearance of a middle-aged woman, roughly in her forties. Her fierce expression complemented her weathered, battle-scar-ridden face in showing the world who she was.

    Liu Wei had experienced his fair share of struggle in his life, as had most cultivators his age. But compared to her, he had to admit, it was truly little. Lacking both a background and any significant talent in cultivation to speak of, she had reached the place she was at by virtue of her unfaltering spirit alone.

    The path of the cultivator had originally begun as the path of defying the fate humanity was dealt by its nature. In that sense, Lan Shi embodied the true essence of a cultivator better than perhaps any other individual throughout the sect.

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    Her looks reflected that. She looked like that which she should have been: Not an elder in the fourth stage of Dao Contemplation, but a simple warrior, destined to die in obscurity before ever achieving something worth of notice.

    She had defied these expectations, had defied her very fate and every fiber of her being seemed to scream of that defiance to the world around her. Liu Wei had always thought that worthy of his respect, even when he had still worked alongside the pillar families and against her and her faction.

    ¡°Greetings, Elder Shi. I have been expecting you.¡± He said as the woman landed a few feet away from them.

    ¡°Elder Wei. It¡¯s¡­ a pleasure. Do you¡­ have anything left to do here?¡± The woman said, eyeing him with a mixture of uncertainty and suspicion. This was the first time they had met since the meeting and she probably still didn¡¯t fully trust the entire deal.

    Not that he blamed her. He hadn¡¯t shown her or the remaining reform faction any reason to give him that trust yet and the deal was truly not advantageous to him, at least on the surface. He would rectify both of these things in the months and years to come, but for now the most reasonable explanation for his behavior from the outside was some scheme. Not that that was entirely false either.

    ¡°You need not suspect any foul play, Elder Shi.¡± Liu Wei said, putting on a slight but friendly smile. ¡°I simply wanted to hand over the reins in person.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand, I didn¡¯t mean to insult you, Elder Wei.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t. I am fully aware that my actions look strange from an outside perspective right now. You and the other elders are just going to have to live with that for now, though I assure you that you and your faction are going to be the first ones I¡¯ll inform of my motives.¡±

    A slight show of friendship but not an open commitment. Just as much as Elder Wei was willing to give them while not behind closed doors for now. It was still enough to visibly lift the other elder¡¯s mood.

    ¡°Alright, I can accept that.¡±

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get the ceremonial stuff behind us. I, Elder Liu Wei of the Lunar Peaks Sect hereby transfer my command of the Enforcement Hall to Elder Lan Shi of the Lunar Peaks Sect.¡±

    ¡°I, Elder Lan Shi of the Lunar Peaks Sect hereby accept my new role as leading elder of the Enforcement Hall.¡±

    Liu Wei gave her a nod.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. Here is the control token.¡±

    He took the palm-sized slate out of his special ring and cut the connection his soul held to it. This artifact served to let the owner control the formations that were deployed throughout the hall.

    After handing it to her, she in turn handed him another one.

    ¡°Here is the control token for the training hall. Elder Hui gave it to me.¡±

    Her face remained neutral but her eyes clearly showed excitement now. If Liu Wei had to guess, this hall was probably what she had dreamed of until now. Not just because it brought her power, but because it represented a completely new level of opportunity to hold the pillar families accountable for their actions.

    ¡°Before I go, this is Qingge. She was formerly my personal assistant and is now one of this hall¡¯s general managers. If you need anyone to show you around, I¡¯d recommend her, she is among the most capable people here.¡±

    ¡°I remember her from past council meetings. Thanks for the recommendation.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. I bid you goodbye for now.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye then.¡±

    At that, Elder Wei gave both of them a respectful nod and ascended a few meters into the sky before turning around and flying towards the southwestern mountain, the base of which the training hall was located at.

    ¡­

    The Training Hall¡¯s premises were defined by two things: For one, they were big. Whereas proper sect members would live in one of the sects many residential areas, disciples were housed by the halls that were training them. And since outer disciples made up over two thirds those, the Training Hall had to provide living space for an average of sixteen times more people than each of the other halls.

    The second thing one would immediately notice about them was how run-down they were. Most areas of the sect were exceptionally well taken care of, every roof cleaned, every step swept. It was a matter of pride for sects like these. The Training Hall¡¯s premises on the other hand, while not in blatant disrepair, were rather dirty and rugged by comparison.

    The hall simply lacked the funds to commission cleaning for every single place, so most non-essential maintenance was expected to be taken care of by the disciples themselves.

    As Liu Wei strode towards the hall¡¯s central building, he couldn¡¯t help but think through his recently resurfaced memories of the brief time he had spent here as a disciple. It stood to reason that almost every single building that had stood here back then had long been replaced, yet it was as if the place hadn¡¯t changed at all over the last four centuries.

    He supposed, that was the way most things were in the sect. Forced into stagnation by not only a leadership that was at all times made up of centuries old cultivators but also by the millennia old order that had been put in place and was being fiercely protected by the pillar families. It was a stark contrast to the ever-changing cities of the mortals.

    Approaching the main building, the road widened into the large open space that was used for assemblies. Standing on it was a long row of people who, upon seeing him, unanimously bowed to him.

    ¡°We greet Elder Liu Wei.¡±

    Coming forward was an old, wrinkled man who had put on a benevolent smile. His body language was that of a fragile, subservient aged man, but his eyes betrayed the cunning appraisement of a seasoned politician. The slight limp in his steps was entirely played and Liu Wei suspected that the smile was as well.

    It was a good way to remind him that even this unassuming place that none of the sects powerful would ever give a thought to was its own stage of small-scale power-struggles. It had its own rules, its own groups and its own tyrants.

    ¡°I am Mei Feng, chief instructor of the Training Hall. We are delighted to be graced by your honorable presence.¡± The man¡¯s voice was soft and quiet, perfectly contributing to his servile self-portrayal.

    ¡°Greetings, Mei Feng.¡± Liu Wei gave the man a nod. ¡°And greetings to everyone here. I look forward to working with all of you in the future. For now, please return to your duties.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to show you around?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to take away of your time for something as trivial as that. I am sure your position as chief instructor comes with lots of duties that require your attention. I shall have someone of less importance help me with that.¡±

    ¡°I shall do as you say, elder. I thank you for being so understanding.¡±

    Liu Wei could clearly see that the man had planned to be the one to introduce him to the hall, but his sweetened words were effective. The man was clearly charmed by having his importance praised by an elder and was fine with going along with it.

    Truthfully, Liu Wei doubted that the man¡¯s schedule was really that full. As a general rule of thumb: The further up one was on the command chain, the more freely they could decide how much they wanted to work and to his eye, Mei Feng seemed like the kind of person to delegate most of their responsibilities to their underlings.

    The reason he didn¡¯t want to be led around by him was that Liu Wei felt that he would just be told whatever was most beneficial to the chief instructor¡¯s personal position. While he had absolute faith in his own ability to discern his lies from truth, Liu Wei didn¡¯t have the patience to put up with such a conversation for long.

    Looking around the slowly dispersing crowd of instructors, Liu Wei settled on a rather tall and muscular man who looked to be in his thirties.

    ¡°Excuse me, could you spare some of your time?¡±

    ¡°E-Elder? Of course, how can I be of help to you?¡±

    ¡°I need someone to show me around the hall. Could you do that?¡±

    ¡°Naturally yes, elder.¡±

    The man was clearly flustered, but his speech showed signs of a returning confidence that seemed natural to his character.

    ¡°Perfect. What is your name?¡±

    ¡°I am Guiren, elder.¡±

    ¡°Very well, instructor Guiren. Please drop the formal speech for now.¡±

    ¡°Alright, can do. So, where you wanna start?¡±

    Guiren was clearly happy about being allowed to return to casual speech. The instant switch was enough to catch Liu Wei completely of guard. He had asked for it himself, but he had nonetheless never been addressed this casually since his days as a disciple.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to start with the main building since we are already here.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get started then.¡± The instructor said, not hiding his enthusiasm.

 Chapter 10: The Training Hall

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for the storage area. I believe that makes all of the important parts of this hall, unless there is something else you are interested in?¡±

    Though his speech had slightly bounced back from its informal extreme after he had once again remembered who he was speaking to, Guiren¡¯s enthusiasm hadn¡¯t waned for the entirety of their tour. It wasn¡¯t played either, the man seemed to genuinely care about the Training Hall and his work there.

    ¡°You have yet to show me any of the training areas this hall provides to its disciples which seems counterintuitive considering its role. Any specific reason for that?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just¡­ I didn¡¯t know if you wanted to see those. I mean¡­ as an elder, you wouldn¡¯t really have any reason to visit them, would you?¡± The man seemed noticeably awkward.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t want to offend you or anything¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m genuinely curious as to why you think that I wouldn¡¯t need to know.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ you know¡­ because you don¡¯t have a reason to ever go there as an elder. You don¡¯t have to, like, personally train or supervise the disciples. If you ever wanted something from one of them, you could just let them be called to you.¡±

    It made sense in a way. Considering how this sect operated, there was no way an elder would ever take the time to run after some outer disciple to advise them. Even without all the concerns about honor and status, the simple fact was that amongst the few elders who they had, they lacked the time.

    A cultivator of that level had a sheer infinite number of pursuits they could devote themselves to that would benefact the sect or themselves. And that was before factoring in the immense amount of time they would usually dedicate to cultivation.

    And even if all of them were to dedicate all of their time and effort towards teaching the disciples, that would still not be enough to justify them running around between training spaces. With the sect taking in an average of about a hundred new disciples in every year, and with every one of the outer disciples being given fifteen years before they were made into full members while inner disciples got twenty years, the sect constantly had over a thousand and six-hundred disciples.

    Of course, even with that in mind, Liu Wei would still need to inspect the training areas regardless. If he wanted to change how this place operated, he would first need to gain a good understanding of how it currently operated and in what aspects it was lacking.

    ¡°I would like to inspect the training areas either way.¡±

    ¡°As you say. It¡¯s going to be a bit of a walk though, as I didn¡¯t plan this in our original route.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Please lead the way. While we walk, what drove you to being an instructor?¡±

    Guiren took a moment to consider the question.

    ¡°I decided to be one after the war against the Rising Eagle Sect.¡±

    The Rising Eagle Sect had been a rather powerful sect that had come into a territorial dispute with the Lunar Peaks Sect. The hostilities had ultimately led the sects to war about fifteen years ago. The conflict had been brutal but not a particularly close call. By the end of it, while it had cost the lives of several hundred members, the Rising Eagle Sect had been utterly defeated and was consequently dissolved.

    ¡°Back then, I was hungry for any chance to prove myself in battle. I joined the fighting forces alongside many of my colleagues and friends. It was going well until we were caught in the open by a Dao Attunement cultivator.¡± He paused for a couple moments.

    ¡°I was amongst the few in my group who made it back alive. The experience shifted who I was. Previously, I had thought my purpose to lay in battle. After that, I couldn¡¯t believe that anymore. Instead, I found a new purpose. Preparing those who come after me for¡­ that.¡±

    He went silent. Liu Wei didn¡¯t disturb him; it wasn¡¯t his place. They both walked in silence for a while. For an elder like him, war had always been mostly a matter of opportunity. Of weighing risk against potential profit. Back then, he had never thought to consider the individual fates of the less powerful. If memory served correctly, he himself had been one of the driving forces in driving the sect towards that war.

    Some, he knew, considered war itself to be unjust. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to quite agree with that just yet. Those who would refuse to fight for what they believed in would see it crumbling away. But war wasn¡¯t glorious. It wasn¡¯t something to calculate with. If all human lives carried an inherent value, as he had now started to believe, taking even one was a last resort.

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    ¡°This is where the training area begins.¡± Guiren stated.

    Before them were several large but simplistic buildings.

    ¡°In there is where we hold theoretical lessons. Behind that are the fields for practical training.¡±

    ¡°How many of each of those things do you do?¡±

    ¡°Theory is usually taught once a week. Practical training is each day except for Sundays.¡±

    ¡°How big are the groups for each of those sessions?¡±

    ¡°They take all of the sessions in the same groups. We split each generation in two groups of equal size. That makes roughly thirty to forty disciples per group.¡±

    ¡°How many instructors are there to oversee each group?¡±

    ¡°One instructor per group.¡±

    Liu Wei frowned. While this was exactly what he had expected, it was still a hard pill to swallow. Inner disciples were trained by a multitude of experts in different fields, while their groups were no larger than five. Those who hailed from one of the pillar families were also given individual tutelage and training from the day they could speak. This system wasn¡¯t designed to give everyone a fair chance. It was no wonder that the outer disciples were rarely among those to reach any significant heights in cultivation. They weren¡¯t ever given the chance to do so.

    For an organization as rich and powerful as the Lunar Peaks Sect to not be able to take care of even their own disciples was truly a sad display. How could he have lived in a system such as this for as long as he had without ever seeing that?

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t leave you instructors with a lot of time to cultivate yourselves, would it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one of the things a good instructor needs to give up on.¡±

    ¡°That explains reasonably well why there is such a shortage of instructors, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Guiren clearly didn¡¯t know how to respond to this, so Liu Wei decided not to put him on the spot.

    ¡°That aside, could you tell me a little about the internal workings of this place?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the impression that the previous leader was particularly involved with the hall. So, who made the decisions in his place?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ most of the management is done by Chief Instructor Feng.¡±

    ¡°What do you think of the man?¡±

    Guiren seemed clearly conflicted on what to answer.

    ¡°Please be honest with me.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t really like him. He can be quite controlling at times.¡±

    ¡°That coincides with my first impression of him. Don¡¯t worry, this conversation will remain private. For now, I think you have shown me everything I wanted to see. You are free to go. I will remain here for a bit and look around on my own.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder.¡±

    ¡°It is me who needs thank you for showing me around and telling me all the things you told me. We will see each other around, of that, I am sure.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s great I could be of use to you. Goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    ¡­

    Chonglin let out a long groan as he got up from the ground. He took a moment to catch his breath as he stared daggers at his opponent, who had just sent him there.

    Zixin¡¯s grin only widened at that. He had just won the fifth bout in a row, even though Chonglin had tried his hardest to beat him.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t even fair. Your cultivation is higher than mine.¡±

    ¡°You know full well that doesn¡¯t make that much of a difference at our level. You just need to train more.¡±

    At that, he raised his wooden sword and charged forward, restarting their combat.

    What he had said was mostly true. While Zixin¡¯s cultivation may have given him a slight edge over his friend, it wasn¡¯t really that much. The main reason Zixin was currently winning over and over again was his heightened moral. Ever since Elder Wei¡¯s apology, not only had his previous worries been solved, but he had also discovered the actual worth of the elder¡¯s gift.

    The pill he had been given wasn¡¯t just a stronger version of the original, it worked completely differently. While the former would grant a short but intense boost to the efficiency of cultivating in the Body Reformation Realm, this one spread its effect over an extended amount of time. Even now, Zixin could still feel the effects of the pill help him whenever he cultivated. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it would last for, but it had already helped him more than he had ever dared to imagine.

    But even that was nothing in comparison to the spirit stone. Spirit stone was a kind of crystalline ore that would form underground in Qi-rich environment and that was mined for the high amounts of Qi it contained. It had many uses such as being used for the creation of artifacts and formations. For that reason, it was the main currency used by cultivators to trade other cultivation resources. Spirit stone was assigned grades that signified the amount of Qi in a single piece. Each grade signified an increase in contained qi by a magnitude of ten.

    Prior to this one, Zixin had only ever owned rank one spirit stones. He had thought long and hard about what to use this sudden wealth on.

    In the end, cultivation resources were the only way. While owning a powerful weapon would be nice, any weapon he bought now would not be of any use while he remained a disciple. Disciples weren¡¯t allowed to leave sect grounds without supervision and they most certainly weren¡¯t allowed to fight anyone even if they did.

    Zixin had also decided to share some of his fortune with Chonglin. He had been the only one of his friends to stay firmly by his side when he had received the punishment and had offered to keep him up to date with what they learned in their theoretical lessons. While he might be a little lazy at times, Chonglin was brave and determined nonetheless and the whole incident had served to bring the two even closer together.

    Zixin¡¯s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he suddenly found himself sitting on the floor. Chonglin had managed to disarm him with a sudden upwards slash and had then continued to throw all of his weight into a tackle that the distracted Zixin hadn¡¯t even noticed.

    ¡°Now who is the one who should train more?¡± His friend taunted, a grin now plastered across his face.

    ¡°I was just not focused.¡± Zixin replied. ¡°One more round.¡±

    ¡°Being able to focus is an ability in itself, not an excuse for you to fall back on.¡±

    Zixin turned around to see that Instructor Guiren had returned.

    ¡°Now, care to show me your progress?¡±

 Chapter 11: Secrecy

    Liu Wei stood before the main office of the Alchemy Hall. He had spent the four weeks making himself more familiar with his new hall and planning on how to improve it.

    The biggest problem facing the training hall was its lack of resources. Directly using them to train disciples was only one of the many things that required them. More instructors would need to be hired and paid, training equipment would need to be bought and, if possible, Liu Wei also wanted to subject the entire complex a proper renovation, if only to lift the spirits of all of those it housed.

    The resources that Liu Wei had brought along from the Enforcement Hall could be used to solve those problems in the short term, but that would leave him back at square one when they were used up. Even if he tapped into his rather large personal wealth, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain the hall for all that long.

    No, the hall needed something different: A proper income. But that was easier said than achieved for a hall that was entirely focused on training disciples. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t think of a business his hall could start. The problem was, that the pillar families¡¯ elders could and most certainly would simply block him from doing so with the justification that it wasn¡¯t within the Training Hall¡¯s field of responsibility. The challenge was finding something that they wouldn¡¯t be able to use this line of reasoning for.

    Still, he already had an idea for something fitting regardless. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to implement though and he would also need to wait to the next council meeting to actually start doing it. As long as nobody could argue that this didn¡¯t overstep the boundaries of the training hall, it wouldn¡¯t need to pass a vote, but for major new pursuits like this, a hall would still need to bring them up before the council.

    That left him with plenty of things to prepare in the meantime though. It also didn¡¯t solve the other big problem standing in his way: Even if he managed to procure enough resources to train all of the outer disciples to a similar standard to the inner ones, the pillar families could still just take the best of them away from him.

    All of the other halls could offer any disciple they wanted the position of an inner disciple, directly trained by them. They could do this during the initial recruitment but also at any point afterwards.

    While the disciples could technically decide to forego this offer, doing so would be madness. Not only were inner disciples given access to a vastly more resources and better training, they would also retain the status of a disciple for five more years.

    While junior members were technically ranked higher than both outer and inner disciples, becoming one was not at all advantageous. Contrary to disciples, members were expected to actively contribute to the sect through work, which would leave with far less time to pursue their cultivation. They also had to pay for their own living expenses and handle their training and cultivation on their own. That was why five more years spent as a disciple were a great benefit.

    They also were one that Liu Wei couldn¡¯t replicate for his disciples. Even with the best training and possibly some level of loyalty towards the Training Hall, he couldn¡¯t ask any of the outer disciples to reject the offer to become an inner disciple, especially not when they had little time left otherwise.

    This could lead to a situation where the pillar families could simply wait for his disciples to be trained on the expense of the Training Hall and then take the talented in as inner disciples shortly before they would otherwise grow into members.

    Five years were plenty to indoctrinate someone who had just been isolated from their previous social circle.

    Coming up with a solution to this challenge that the pillar families wouldn¡¯t be able to block in the council had been the most difficult part, but he had come up with an idea that might work. It was essentially a balancing act between the freedoms the halls had to act as they saw fit and the regulatory power that the council held.

    Liu Wei certainly had a good guess as to why nobody had ever tried reforming the Training Hall like this before him. No one had simultaneously had both the political power to push them through and the motivation to do so. The powerful elders would nearly always hold more powerful halls and even if not, they belonged to the pillar families more often than not either way. The current system was perfectly adjusted to their needs and whims, no need to change anything about that.

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    Even Liu Wei¡¯s solution was something he couldn¡¯t implement by himself. That was why he was now here at the alchemy hall in the first place.

    Stepping inside, Liu Wei was immediately greeted by the unmistakable scent of alchemy, a wild mixture of acrid smoke, fresh herbs, the sweet tone of sugar and the invigorating fragrance of perfected elixir.

    The hall was, as always, a flurry of activity. Cultivators old and young rushed from one hallway to another, some carrying alchemical components, others thick batches of paper, others again stacks of boxes containing finished products. It was an organized chaos, impossible to unravel or understand without being part of it, akin to a beehive.

    This was the working culture that Ma Rong had spent centuries fostering within the hall. Between the alchemists of this hall age, rank and personal honor were secondary; the one thing that mattered was their work. This enabled a unique level of cooperation between them, that made them more productive than any other group in the entirety of the sect. Indeed, no other sect in the entirety of the northern alliance had this powerful of an output when it came to alchemy.

    Through this chaotic yet impressive scene, Liu Wei made his way to the counter placed at the back of the main hall. When the girl that stood behind it recognized him as an elder, she bowed deeply.

    ¡°Greetings, honorable elder! How can I be of service?¡±

    ¡°I want to commission the creation of some pills. I would like to talk to someone of high enough status to facilitate that.¡±

    ¡°Of course, honorable elder! I shall call for someone immediately! If you could follow me into a waiting room so you don¡¯t have to stand here.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    The girl led him through a hallway and into a well-furnished room that was noticeably quieter than the rest of the building.

    ¡°Please wait for a few moments, someone qualified will arrive immediately.¡±

    With those words, the girl left him alone. Liu Wei sat down on a couch to wait. He didn¡¯t actually come here for pills of course. But it was a good enough excuse not to warrant any additional suspicion from the elders of the pillar families. They had their eyes and ears planted everywhere throughout the sect which meant that someone like Liu Wei needed to act with caution when he didn¡¯t want them to notice what he was doing.

    The door opened up again, but the one to enter wasn¡¯t the girl from before or some senior manager of hers but the leader of the Alchemy Hall as well as the reform faction, Ma Rong himself.

    Liu Wei stood up to greet the old man.

    ¡°Elder Rong. It is good to see you.¡±

    ¡°Elder Wei. Please follow me. I will gladly advise you on the ¡®pills¡¯ you search.¡±

    ¡°That fills my heart with joy.¡±

    These were the respective phrases that had been agreed upon to signal that everything was alright and they could proceed as planned.

    Ma Rong led Liu Wei through the hallways, now devoid of any other person. A couple turns later, they had arrived at a door that was covered in a myriad of complicated formations. Ma Rong took out a token and held to the door, which prompted it to open.

    He signaled Liu Wei to head inside, following him closely. As soon as both of them had stepped through the door, it shut again. The room in which they now stood was largely empty with the exception of five chairs that were forming a circle in its middle. Sat upon three of those chairs were Elder Lan Shi, Meng Hui and Elder Guang Lai who, alongside Ma Rong, made up the reform faction.

    As the two newcomers joined them, Liu Wei studied the impressions the four had towards him. Ma Rong was hard to read, having mastered the art of controlling his facial expression throughout his long life. If anything, Liu Wei though, he could see the tiniest hint of a deep contemplation in his face.

    Lan Shi seemed sure of herself, but retained a slight suspicion, though one born of caution rather than hostility. Ever the polar opposite of her, Meng Hui was visibly nervous with a sliver of hopefulness.

    Guang Lai finally, seemed purely curious. He was the youngest of the elders, only reaching Dao Contemplation a decade ago. A former direct disciple of Ma Rong, he had inherited many of his idealist opinions, or perhaps one could say he had been protected from having them overwritten through the pillar families¡¯ indoctrination. Tough he was amongst the weakest elders for now, he was the clear successor of Ma Rong¡¯s political legacy.

    Liu Wei took a moment to clear his thoughts. It hadn¡¯t been easy to organize this meeting with full secrecy and even though these elders wouldn¡¯t be nearly as hostile of an audience as the council would, he had yet to build the trust that they would need for him to become a true ally to them. It would be a rather unpleasant setback for him to squander this opportunity.

    When he had readied himself, he broke the silence that permeated the room:

    ¡°I greet all of you. Thank you for entertaining my wish for this meeting.¡±

 Chapter 12: What is Power?

    ¡°Since this isn¡¯t an official occurrence, please allow me to be blunt, Elder Wei: Why are you doing¡­ all the things you are doing?¡±

    Lan Shi¡¯s gaze was piercing and inquisitive, like that of a scholar encountering a phenomenon that seemed to be incompatible with their understanding of the world.

    Liu Wei took a deep, audible breath.

    ¡°That is a very loaded question, Elder Lan Shi. Seeing as that is partly the reason, I asked all of you for this meeting, I shall answer it in full. It is going to be quite the long explanation though, if you can excuse that.¡±

    ¡°Please take all the time you would like. We are just glad you are willing to entertain this at all.¡± Ma Rong gave him a friendly smile and a nod.

    ¡°Then I would like to start with a bit of a philosophical question. It might seem at most tangentially related, but by the end of this, I assure you I will tie this back into the original question.¡±

    This statement got them to raise some eyebrows. They were already accustomed to his less-than straightforward style of approaching topics from the way he had conducted himself during the council meeting, but this was nonetheless something new. Elder Rong was the once again the one to answer.

    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Could each of you please tell me, what your definition of power is?¡±

    ¡°Our definition of power? What has that¡­ Actually, whatever. Power is the ability to hurt others¡±

    ¡°I would add that it is also the ability to protect oneself from harm.¡±

    The answers that Lan Shi and Meng Hui gave respectively fit both of them perfectly. They also proved that the average cultivator didn¡¯t much concern themselves with purely philosophical questions of definition. After all, the time that they could spend thinking about something like that, they could also spend cultivating.

    He himself had only started asking himself those questions after he had lost his ability to do so. He trusted that the others would also be able to come up with a much better definition given some time. Guang Lai was the next to speak up:

    ¡°I agree with both of you, but I think power is more than that. It is hard to put in words, it¡¯s like¡­ something that can take many shapes, only one of which is how strong one person is.¡±

    ¡°I think what you are struggling to put in words is that power is a complex construct made up of a multitude of factors such as personal strength, tactical intelligence and social bonds.¡±

    As expected, Ma Rong¡¯s definition was much deeper and broader, though it wasn¡¯t exactly what Liu Wei was working towards. Which was fortunate, as it gave him the opportunity to have the last word.

    ¡°Now, none of these definitions are false by any means. They are not, how I would define power though. In my opinion, the broadest and simultaneously most precise definition is as follows: Power is any individual¡¯s or any group¡¯s ability to enact or enforce change upon the world or to prevent change from being enacted upon it. The most powerful entity would therefore be the entity with the greatest ability to enact or prevent change. If you compare the definitions brought forward by you, I believe you will find that all of them can be assimilated into this definition without changing it.¡±

    ¡°That is true.¡± Ma Rong said after a brief pause, sounding genuinely interested.

    Without waiting for the other elders¡¯ reactions, Liu Wei continued:

    ¡°Now, as Elder Ma Rong pointed out previously, there are many kinds of power. As such, there are even more ways to accumulating it. One of them, in fact one of the best ones, as the distribution of power all throughout our society shows us, is to increase one¡¯s personal strength by cultivating. Of course, power can simultaneously also be used to help this pursuit, for example by assisting one in gaining resources for their cultivation.¡±

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    Liu Wei briefly paused, looking around to gauge the reactions of his audience. All of them were listening intensely, only Lan Shi showing slight signs of impatience.

    ¡°Now, there is another property of power, or rather of those who hold it that is worth discussing. Namely, the motivation to use it.

    Take someone who has a near infinite ability to enact or prevent change. Let¡¯s further say that they have no motivation at all to ever do either of these things to the point where it is assured that they will never, ever do anything of either, no matter the state the world might take. Can we truly say that they even have any power at all? I mean, if there is no possibility of them ever enacting any change, is it right to say they could do so?

    What I am trying to get at is a central property of power, which is that it needs a motivation to matter.

    I call this motivation meaning. This meaning can be anything, even just to survive, and every human possesses it to some extent. The important thing is that it needs to be big enough to encompass the power one holds, otherwise part of that power is irrelevant. Just surviving in any way isn¡¯t enough meaning for, say for example a king at the height of his power.¡±

    Liu Wei made another pause in his speech, to give the elders the time to think through his reasoning. When he was sure everyone was caught up, he continued:

    ¡°Cultivation, as we all know, has no clearly defined upper limit, at least none that has yet been found. Cultivators may at some point be outrun by time as they fail to advance their cultivation quick enough to expand their lifespans further, but that is simply a failure at the personal level.

    Cultivating to gain power and using that power to advance one¡¯s cultivation is essentially an infinite cycle of meaning. It is my personal belief that it is this cycle that is responsible for the lack of care that many cultivators hold towards morality, justice or a ¡®good¡¯ world. They never need to search for any meaning besides cultivation.¡±

    That was quite the claim he was making, but it was truly what he had come to believe. While he had no way to prove it, it made the most sense when trying to explain the average cultivator¡¯s behavior. Most importantly, it served to explain why he himself had accepted the way the current sect¡¯s system was for so long.

    ¡°That is an interesting thesis, I have to admit. I have to question you though, Elder Wei: Couldn¡¯t you extrapolate this reasoning to most if not all kind of powers?¡±

    ¡°You are not wrong, Elder Rong. At least from my limited knowledge of mortal politics, this seems to hold true to a certain extend. Using power to accumulate more power, thereby lifting power from its actual identity of a means to an end to the end in itself is certainly not limited to the world of cultivation. That is beside the point though.

    I promised at the beginning, that I would tie this discussion back into the reason for my actions, so let me do exactly that. Alongside my last breakthrough, I have completely and utterly lost the ability to advance my cultivation.¡±

    This revelation plunged the room into a deep silence that nobody dared to break.

    As the full implications of what he had just told them began to sink in on the other elders, remained perfectly still, only slight eye movements indicating that they were even alive.

    Not only was this basically completely unheard of for cultivators in the Dao Contemplation Realm, it was also something that most cultivators would probably slaughter entire villages to keep secret. It was a vulnerability that was nearly unthinkable to simply expose in front others.

    Liu Wei though, believed it necessary. Not only would opening up about this make the process of building trust towards them a lot easier, it would also make planning a lot easier, as his new allies could more accurately account for his strengths and weaknesses.

    The first one to break the silence was once again Ma Rong. He spoke slowly and carefully, keeping his eyes on Liu Wei¡¯s reactions.

    ¡°What you are saying is, that you yourself were trapped in this proposed cycle of meaning. You then lost your ability to cultivate, meaning you were not able to continue it.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Having lost this central piece of who I am as a person, I started pondering about the way I would move forward. This culminated it me confronting my moral understanding of the world and finding it to be lacking. I have since arrived at the conclusion that not only was the way I personally acted wrong, so is the entirety of the system which I am part of.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to cast doubt upon what you are telling us, but I have never heard of someone in the Dao Contemplation Realm completely losing their ability to cultivate.¡± Lan Shi interjected.

    ¡°Neither have I, but I challenge you to explain the actions that I have taken since my breakthrough in any other way.¡±

    Getting them to fully believe him was not something he would be able to accomplish in a day, but he didn¡¯t need to. For now, he only needed it to be the most believable explanation for his actions, since they would benefit them and their cause either way.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put the matter of whether we believe everything you just told us aside, why have you asked to meet with us in the first place? I doubt you simply wanted to sate our curiosity.¡±

    Liu Wei allowed a slight smile to crest his lips.

    ¡°To make a long story short: I want to join your cause in changing this sect.¡±

 Chapter 13: Forging Bonds

    As anticipated, the reactions to this announcement were positive across the board. For all their caution and political instinct, all of the present elders were genuinely invested in their cause. Having someone as powerful as Liu Wei join them was the absolute best-case scenario for them.

    Amongst all of them, Ma Rong seemed the most excited, his wrinkled face beaming with an uncharacteristic joy.

    ¡°If everyone agrees, I would be happy to have you join us.¡±

    ¡°I agree, of course.¡±

    ¡°So do I.¡±

    ¡°I see no reason not to.¡±

    ¡°Then I welcome you as a member of our faction.¡±

    ¡°Thank you all for your trust. I shall make sure not to betray it. If you don¡¯t mind, there are still some things that I want to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Please go on.¡±

    ¡°Alright. First of all, let me reiterate that none of this is a negotiation. I have some things that I would like to offer my help with and some that I would like to ask your assistance for, but I am not in any way trying to tie them together. My cooperation and help are wholly unconditional and you are free to decline any requests you wish.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to come of as pressuring them. On top of that, he believed that all of his requests had enough merit for the others that they could stand on their own.

    ¡°To start, I would like to talk about the Enforcement Hall. Elder Shi, am I right in assuming that you are planning to utilize it to attack many of the pillar families¡¯ hidden dealings?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you are.¡±

    ¡°In that case I would like to offer you my full backing in any and all actions that the hall takes against them, as long as they remain grounded in sect law.¡±

    ¡°I will gladly accept that.¡± Lan Shi¡¯s eyes gleamed with a grim anticipation at this. This declaration gave her a lot more freedom when it came to her actions against the pillar families.

    ¡°The next thing I would like to talk about is my plans for the Training Hall. I believe this is something you¡¯re still quite curios about, since I haven¡¯t yet explained my reasoning for wanting to lead it.

    It is quite simple: I want to improve the conditions for the outer disciples. My ultimate goal would be to create a system in which any disciple is treated the same and there is no need to separate them in terms of inner and outer disciples at all. My first step towards that goal is improving the training conditions for the outer disciples as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°I assume you will need a lot of resources to accomplish that, won¡¯t you?¡± Meng Hui asked.

    ¡°Yes, that is true. I am not about to ask you to sponsor my hall¡¯s operations though, if you thought that. I am aware that your halls all need their funding to properly function and to fund your other operations. What I want to do making the training hall itself profitable.¡±

    ¡°How would you accomplish that? The other elders won¡¯t simply let you start businesses with your hall.¡±

    ¡°I know. The halls can only operate within their designated field of responsibility. That limits the Training Hall to providing training. It doesn¡¯t limit who it can provide training to though.¡±

    ¡°You plan on providing training to non-disciples?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Currently, the average sect member won¡¯t receive any training after their time as disciple. The pillar families provide it to their own, of course, but the only time the other members get to hone their skills is either in real battle or in private spars. I believe that professionally organized and supervised training is something that many members would be willing to pay for. The same goes for consultation in matters of cultivation.¡±

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    ¡°That could work. You would need a lot of capable instructors though.¡±

    ¡°That is why I am bringing this point up. I will use the assets that I brought from the Enforcement Hall to jump-start this entire undertaking. I will be hiring veteran fighters and other experienced members and I wanted to confirm whether it was alright with you if I extend these offers to members of your halls. The Enforcement Hall specifically would be a big target in this case.¡±

    ¡°I am fine with that; I will be reorganizing the hall either way. I can even supply you with a list of good candidates.¡±

    The other two elders gave affirmative nods.

    ¡°Thank you all. Then I would like to bring up my final proposal, something which would require active cooperation from your halls.¡±

    ¡°Please do so.¡±

    ¡°On the next council meeting, I will propose a joint project to all halls willing to accept: This project concerns, all newly taken inner disciples from those halls. The respective hall would from then on cooperate with the Training Hall in handling their education. The Training Hall would continue to provide them basic guidance, living space and sustenance, while the cooperating hall would focus solely on providing them resources and specialized training. I ask you to accept this proposal.

    On the surface, it will simply allow the cooperating halls to stop wasting resources on things outside of their usual field and thus take on more disciples. The actual reason for this program is different though. By ensuring the disciples remain in the Training Hall, it will become impossible for the halls to indoctrinate them to their cause.

    Because of this, none of the pillar families¡¯ halls will accept this proposal, at least that¡¯s what I expect. This however leaves us in a good position either way. Whenever one of their halls invites an outer disciple to join them, I would like you to counter with an invitation of you own. To most disciples, the prospect of keeping in touch with their friends will be enough for them to decide to take your offer. This means that the other halls will mostly lose the ability to take on disciples after their initial admission.

    My hope is that this will eventually force them to join this cooperative program as well, which would be a great step towards a system where all disciples are treated equally. Even if they don¡¯t, they will lose out on so much talent, that they will seriously suffer from this, while the sect will be filled up with a new generation of disciples who haven¡¯t been stripped of their ideals, which will serve to bring the sect closer to a just system.¡±

    This was the solution that Liu Wei had come up with after weeks of contemplation. It would not need to be voted on, because it was a direct matter between halls, which would prevent the pillar families from outright blocking it, while still having the potential to reform the entire system. There was no doubt in Liu Wei¡¯s mind that the pillar families would look for ways to avoid that outcome, but it was at the very least worth an attempt.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the shrewd move, Elder Wei. I see you have put quite some thought into this. You can count on the Alchemy Hall to follow that plan.¡±

    ¡°The same goes for the Reinforcement Hall.¡±

    ¡°The Resource Gathering Hall as well.¡±

    ¡°I have to thank you once again. I look forward to our cooperation. Let us make this sect a better place. Now, this concludes the things I wanted to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Great. There are quite a number of topics I would still like to address though.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to do so, Elder Rong.¡±

    ¡­

    Shirong Yuan stood atop the northern mountain¡¯s peak, his eyes trailing off in the distance. The cold wind blowing in his face carried the rare note of change in its trail.

    He was old, older than any other individual in the sect, and over the course of his long life, he had learned to listen to the unspoken words of his chosen element. Wind was a herald of things to come, and though most may have thought this saying nothing but superstition, he knew that, as many of the old tales, it was based on a grain of truth.

    Nobody, not even the Dao could know what the future held, but there were signs of possible futures that one could pick up on.

    The possibilities that the wind told him about today were ones that were filled with conflict and bloodshed, but also with opportunity and cleansing. It was the taste of change.

    Shirong Yuan grimaced. That could mean many things, from great good to terrible disaster. He had sworn to his master to protect this sect and its legacy with his life and soul, just as the latter had sworn to his own master. He would abide by this oath with everything he had, as long as he lived. Such was the fate of a guardian.

    He would meet this change and he would judge it and if he deemed that it threatened the sect, he would fight it. That was all he could do.

    Shirong Yuan felt a shiver in his bones. It wasn¡¯t the cold; no mere cold weather would even so much as inconvenience a cultivator of the Dao Contemplation Realm. It was his age catching up to him.

    He was old, far older than a cultivator of his level ought to be. He didn¡¯t use some powerful alchemy or ancient treasure to keep himself alive. It was simply his will to keep breathing, as it was not the time for him to die yet.

    But it would be soon. Guardian or not, no human was made to live eternal and Shirong Yuan didn¡¯t have the power to keep on fighting what was inevitable for much longer.

    Then, his disciple would have to carry the torch, a duty that he would hopefully be ready for, when the time came.

    But not yet. Shirong Yuan felt that he still had a role to play in this world before he could leave it. What that duty was, nobody could know, not even he himself. Only time would grace him with an answer, as it had always done.

 Chapter 14: Preparations

    ¡°Chao, I need you to put up a public notice to both staff and disciples of the training hall.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do so immediately. What should it contain?¡±

    ¡°I will be holding a speech about cultivation and make several important announcements next Friday at sunset. It will take place on the main plaza. Attendance is recommended but voluntary to disciples and mandatory for all staff members.¡±

    ¡°Is that all?¡±

    ¡°That is all.¡±

    ¡°If you excuse me, I shall go put it up right now.¡±

    ¡°You are excused.¡±

    At that, the middle-aged man hurriedly left. Liu Wei let out a sigh. His new assistant Chao was honest and eager, but Liu Wei still missed the high degree of competence his prior assistant Qingge had possessed. In the past few days, he had had to do a lot more administrative work then he was used to, slowing down his progress in preparing for the coming recruitment campaign.

    Looking back, he should have asked his new allies for some help in preparing the whole thing, but he had neglected to do so. Establishing contact to them again for something this trivial was out of question, as they had agreed to try to keep their new ties as hidden as possible until the next council meeting. A simple safety measure to ensure the opposing faction had as little as possible to work with.

    It was standard procedure in sect politics to only ever reveal what was necessary, when it was necessary. That was the reason espionage was so incredibly important and the Zhong family had consistently been one of the most powerful pillar families through all of its history.

    In any case, Liu Wei was almost done with said work. After that, he would only need to write the speech that he intended to hold before finally having some space to breathe.

    Writing that speech would be rather easy, despite the fact that he had no experience in teaching disciples, as he would only touch on topics that were very familiar to him. It wouldn¡¯t even need to be a masterpiece, as its main purpose was to establish that he would be taking a more active role in the disciples¡¯ education going forward.

    That was something he had decided on after consulting with Ma Rong. Not only would it help the disciples in their cultivation efforts, it would also serve to provide them a positive example of what an authority figure could be like, which would hopefully help form them into less selfish and more empathetic sect members later on, something that was indispensable if they truly intended to permanently better the sect.

    Catching himself as he realized that he had once again lost himself in thoughts, Liu Wei ended his own subconscious attempt at hiding from the financial calculations and sect member records that were still waiting on his desk and once again dove into his work.

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    ¡­

    Dodging and ducking in all directions, Zixin utilized what he had learned through hundreds of hours of extensive and intense combat training to accomplish the far less dangerous, but certainly not less trying task of weaving himself through the crowd of outer disciples that had formed on the plaza before the Training Hall¡¯s head office. Long rows of benches had been set up, but most of them had already been occupied.

    Elder Wei¡¯s speech on cultivation was something no outer disciple he knew would want to miss. An elder sharing his knowledge was an incredible occasion, something that hadn¡¯t happened once in the entire time Zixin had been a disciple of the sect. The fact that it was the elder who Zixin had made a personal experience with was just a cherry on top.

    Even if the speech hadn¡¯t been held by an elder or even anyone of importance, any excuse to escape from the dull life of an outer disciple for even a few hours was a good one. The past month had been an endless repetition of combat training, theory lessons and concentrated cultivation, as Zixin had not allowed himself any leisure time.

    Slowly but surely, others in his group were starting to reach the Body Reformation Realm and Zixin was set on keeping his lead at least for a while longer. He knew that this would probably not go on forever, as people¡¯s talents started showing in the higher realms, but his competitiveness didn¡¯t allow him to fully accept that yet. At least for now, he remained the rising star of his group and he thoroughly enjoyed having that spot.

    Spotting his Chonglin¡¯s characteristic broad figure in the crowd, Zixin made his way towards his friend who had recently joined him in his realm.

    ¡°Hey, there you are!¡±

    ¡°Zixin. Late as always.¡± Chonglin teased him while sitting down on the spot that Chonglin had kept free for him.

    ¡°I still had to finish my exercises. Besides, it¡¯s not I who am late, it¡¯s you who is always so early.¡±

    ¡°Which is a good thing, because otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have anywhere to sit anymore, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    ¡°True, I guess. Anyway, what do you think the speech will be about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more interested what the announcements will be about.¡±

    ¡°Why the hell would you care about some announcements? It¡¯s probably just some administration stuff.¡±

    ¡°If they didn¡¯t concern the outer disciples, why would the elder announce them to us and not just to the staff. Besides, I don¡¯t think Elder Hui ever made any announcements.¡±

    ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t hold speeches either.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s just knowledge about cultivation. Instructors have that as well.¡±

    ¡°You are not actually trying to tell me that an instructor knows as much about cultivation as an elder, are you?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, but the things that an elder knows and an instructor doesn¡¯t are not things we can understand right now either way. Besides, he would never tell us about those in a speech.¡±

    ¡°You have a point, but I still think this is going to be interesting. Why would he be holding the speech otherwise?¡±

    As Chonglin was about to respond, the two¡¯s argument was cut short as Elder Wei emerged from the building.

    Instead of the mostly white robes he had worn both times that Zixin had previously met him, which were the official robes signifying his status as an elder, he was wearing brown ones. Their design reminded him of the robes the instructors wore, only that they were adorned by decorations similar to the sect elder robes.

    With seemingly no effort, Elder Wei suddenly began ascending into the air. When he had reached a few meters of height, maybe five or six, he stopped in place and, levitating perfectly in place, looked over the crowd.

    Zixin wasn¡¯t sure, if it was just his imagination, but he felt like the elder¡¯s eyes had stopped on him for a brief moment before moving on.

    After a few more moments, the Elder Wei closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his unreadable expression of neutrality gave way to a soft, benevolent smile.

    Then, he began to speak.

 Chapter 14.5: A Speech

    ¡°Alright, thank you all for attending this little speech of mine. Right of the bat, let me make one thing clear: The fact that disciples of all ages have been allowed to attend means that the level of knowledge amongst all of you is quite diverse. What this means is that those of you who are more curious, educated and/or more advanced are going to be hearing some or even many things they already know. Despite that, I am pretty confident that nearly everyone here is going to be able to take away at least one or two things they didn¡¯t know previously.

    Now, before we dive in: Cultivation is a human invention. There is no great heavenly path that was laid out for us. There is just the way nature is. The path that we now call cultivation was first charted by the earliest ancestors of our civilization, hundreds of millennia ago as a way to better survive this hostile world of ours. It has been in constant development over all of this time.

    What we are talking about today, the way of cultivation that all of us practice, is called ¡®soul cultivation¡¯, more commonly known as ¡®true cultivation¡¯. It is, in many ways, the best path of cultivation that is commonly known to us, hence it¡¯s widespread use. This path of cultivation dominates the three continents our civilization spans over. It is however by no means the only existing path of cultivation. You might, for example have heard of ¡®false cultivation¡¯, better known as ¡®body cultivation¡¯ or the infamous practice known as ¡®demonic cultivation¡¯.

    For now, you only need to know these paths exist. What you are treading on is, I say so with certainty, a strictly superior path to all other paths that exist within your or even my reach. There are stories and myths of far-of lands where completely foreign methods are practiced, but even insofar as these might be true, they are beyond any of our reaches.

    The only time you would need to worry about the other types of cultivation is thus, when you step out of the sect into the world without being supervised by sect members. Something that won¡¯t happen before you become members yourselves.

    With that out of the way, let¡¯s dive into soul cultivation. Today¡¯s speech won¡¯t focus on any specific details, but will instead serve as an outlook on the path that you are all just beginning to walk upon. We will start from the first realm and work our way up from that.

    The Qi Gathering Realm should be familiar to all of you, since all of you are either in this realm or have finished it already. It is simple really. All around us, permeating everything in the world, both living and not living, is an energy known as Qi. Utilizing this energy is the central thing that all cultivation is based upon.

    The realm of Qi Gathering is about one thing and one thing only: learning to sense this energy, learning to move it, and drawing it into your body. This Qi that you draw into your body is different from that which naturally permeates you. Since you have willingly drawn it into the bounds of your existance, you will subconsciously hold it in place. Some of it may escape your grasp again, but as you get better at controlling Qi, your body will slowly start being filled with denser and denser Qi.

    The control you learn to exercise is key to this realm. Without it, it is impossible to progress further. A powerful cultivator could instantly fill your body with the densest Qi, without the control it would do nothing but disperse again. This is why, uniquely, there are no shortcuts through this realm. Some have more talent in moving Qi than others, but everyone can eventually learn it through effort and training.

    Once you have reached sufficient control over your Qi that you manage to fully saturate your body with it, it is time to continue on into the second realm. The average person will take about five years for this step.

    The next realm is the realm most of you are currently in. The realm of Body Reformation. This Realm is the first time you will actually use Qi for something. While previously, nothing truly separated you from a mortal, this Realm will mark your true embarking on the journey of cultivation.

    The essence of the second realm is to use Qi to modify it in preparation for future cultivation. It is simply a physical setup so the further steps can be taken. You will be guided through the different stages of the Realm by your instructors, but just to give you an outlook: The first thing you will do it to make a subtle change to the entirety of your biology to transform your body into a natural vessel for Qi

    This is what you need the Qi you have gathered in the previous realm for. Once that is done, Qi will naturally stream into it and you won¡¯t have to worry about holding it in place anymore.

    This change will take you roughly another three to five years which ties into the reason we recruit you between the age of ten and twelve. The realm¡¯s stages after this require your body to be mostly matured, as it will otherwise interfere with your future development. It simply doesn¡¯t make sense to start cultivating much earlier than at ten years old.

    Once the Qi is flowing into your body, there are several further changes you will need to make on it, before moving on to the next realm. It takes an average of ten years to finish it with proper focus and supervision.

    While saturating your body with Qi is quite healthy, this Realm is also the first to grant you a significant increase to your natural lifespan. While the average mortal will only grow around seventy to eighty years old even under the best conditions, those that have completed body reformation will naturally live to about one hundred and twenty-five and additionally be immune to most natural diseases.

    As a sidenote before we move on, body cultivation essentially boils down to an infinitely repeating cycle between a modified version of these realms and extensive physical training. Not only does this lead to a sharper initial increase in power, but it is also significantly simpler to accomplish. That is the reason for its prevalence among cultivators who are not part of any sect.

    Moving on, the third step in soul cultivation is the Core Formation Realm. It is remarkably similar to the first Realm in that your main objective during it will be drawing in Qi. The key difference is, that now with your reformed body, holding it in won¡¯t be what you will be concerned about.

    With Qi flowing freely into your body and remaining there, your body¡¯s natural state is now already being saturated with Qi. The problem is, that the amount of Qi that can fit into your body isn¡¯t anywhere near enough to accomplish what the step to the next realm needs you to do.

    For this reason, you will start drawing in additional Qi and condense it from its original non-tangible form into a semi-tangible core within your abdomen.

    In this form, the Qi will have extremely strange properties. To the touch, it acts most like a gas, but with its own gravitational field, strongly attracted to the center of the core. Visually, it will also start out in a gaseous form, but as you condense it more and more, it will first take on the appearance of a liquid and then of solid matter.

    According to these changes in appearance, the realm is roughly divided into the low, the middle and the high stage of completion. These stages say little about the strength of the cultivators though, as simply having a lot of Qi within your body doesn¡¯t really make you much stronger.

    Now, demonic cultivators go on by driving forcefully driving pathways through the entirety of their body and filling them with Qi, making them able to utilize it directly. Higher realms will see them develop these pathways further and further, outfitting every part of their body with incredibly fine sub-pathways. While this does accomplish the goal of making them more powerful, it will also start messing with their bodies ability to feel things and eventually with their brain, stripping them of their ability to have emotions and empathy. Over time they become little more than intelligent beasts, bloodthirsty and callous.

    That used to be the standard pathway of cultivation, allowing only those willing to throw away all that makes them human to progress further than everyone else. Luckily, better methods have since been developed, though some cults, worshipping the old ways, remain to this day. The better method that I am talking about is of course soul cultivation, and we will now start exploring the realm that gives it its name.

    The fourth realm of soul cultivation is the Soul Realization Realm. Once you have reached the peak of the Core Formation Realm, meaning that you have filled you core with Qi to the fullest, which takes those who finish it an average of twenty-five years, you will finally start working on your first proper breakthrough.

    Up until this point, moving between realms isn¡¯t really an issue, it is just a matter of having to complete one step before moving on to the next. Hypothetically, you could even continue to utilize Qi to change your body while you are already in the core formation realm. Doing so would be a terrible idea, sure, but it would be possible.

    What you will now encounter is different. While the Realms up until now are all divided purely for the purpose of definition, from now on, they are separated by actual challenges, walls that you will have to overcome in order to step into the next realm.

    Stepping into the Soul Realization Realm will be achieved by utilizing the Qi in your core to draw a manifestation of yourself, something that we have taken to calling the soul, into the physical world.

    Now, understanding this part without having learned how to feel your soul and how to utilize your Qi in order to achieve this part is practically impossible. Don¡¯t beat yourself up about it though, you will have plenty of opportunity to research it once you come close to needing it. By that time, none of you will be disciples anymore, so you won¡¯t be guided through it, but the sect does provide the opportunity to do so without requiring any form of payment.

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    For now, just know that the soul is the ultimate thing that makes you ¡®you¡¯ and that once you have manifested it into the world, it will become the new center of your existence. You will be able to experience the world in a wholly different way and critically, you will gain the ability to utilize your soul to interact with Qi in completely new ways.

    From this point on, the soul is the central key to your cultivation and only then will following the path of soul cultivation begin to truly pay off.

    Let me warn you though: The manifestation of your soul will not be an easy task and as such, not everyone will succeed the first time they try. The problem is, while later breakthroughs are the same in that regard, unlike them, this one can¡¯t be repeatedly tried.

    Your attempt at breakthrough will see you utilize the entirety of the Qi you have accumulated in your core. Should you fail, you will be left without a core. While forming another one and attempting breakthrough again is possible, attempting to do so is pointless if you don¡¯t have access to an abundance of resources to speed up the progress.

    As I said previously, completing a core takes an average of twenty-five years. Cultivation is always a race against time, and losing those years would usually be the same as losing that race. By the time you would have finished your second core, you would already be around seventy-five years old, unless you possess an ungodly amount of talent or recources to help you along the way. That would make it truly difficult to finish the next realm within your lifespan. Not impossible but difficult.

    All that is to say, you shouldn¡¯t rush this breakthrough the first time. As much as wanting to gain time on your path forward is understandable, patience will pay off here, as failure will cost you dearly.

    One should only attempt this breakthrough once they are absolutely sure that they know what they are doing.

    Putting the issue of breakthrough aside, once you have stepped in this realm, you will be able to utilize your soul in a number of ways. Of those, two are especially notable:

    The first one is the ability to utilize Qi to strengthen movements of your body. By directing Qi to reinforce an action with additional energy, you will be able to perform singular feats of great strength. In a similar vein, you can use this to improve your bodies toughness to defend from attacks.

    The second is the so-called ¡®soul sense¡¯. Scholars used to call this ability ¡®divine sense¡¯, but that term doesn¡¯t accurately portray what this sense is. Essentially, it is your soul¡¯s ability to perceive the world around you. You will be able to track movements and the location of physical objects as well as the flow of Qi without ever laying your eyes upon them.

    Both of these abilities will grow stronger as you progress your cultivation further.

    The way to progress through the Soul Realization Realm is harmonizing your soul with your body in which it now resides. This process requires intense meditation, but it will also bring you great benefits. Whereas the abilities I just discussed will require intense focus to use at first, the further you progress into this realm, the easier it will become.

    The breakthrough this time around is not so much stepping into the next realm, but finishing the process of harmonization of this realm. The further your body and soul are already harmonized, the harder it will become to harmonize them further. This process is only finished, once they are in perfect harmony, which will lead to the unification of soul and body.

    This process takes those who complete it an average of fifty years. Take these words with care though, as they can be deceiving. The average person needs far more than fifty years to finish this process. The fifty year average only accounts for those who manage to achieve that breakthrough. It doesn¡¯t measure those who don¡¯t though.

    Many cultivators die of old age, still chasing this breakthrough. Others give up, once they realize that it is out of range for them. On average, only every tenth cultivator who manages to manifest his soul also manages to achieve unification of soul and body. Members of our sect are given much better chances at this, but still only one out of three manage to take this step.

    If you want to be amongst those, you will need incredible perseverance and determination. But you can do it.

    And for those of you that do, incredible benefits will be waiting.

    For a cultivator who achieves the unification of their soul and body, the abilities that they would previously need to concentrate to use will become a permanent part of them. Their body will now be strengthened at all times without needing to think about it and the soul sense will become just as natural of a sense as sight, smell or hearing are to them.

    That is not all though. Unifying your body with the manifestation of your ego will solidify its place in this world and thus drastically increase your lifespan. Where you could previously grow to be roughly one-hundred and twenty-five years old, you will now be able to live up to an average of two-hundred and seventy-five years, more than doubling your lifespan.

    And all of this is still just what you receive from finishing this realm. However, through completing the unification, you will also open up the gates to the next realm, which you will now be able to step into without any further difficulty.

    All that is to say, this breakthrough is what most who pursue the path of soul cultivation strive for as their ultimate goal. Some don¡¯t even start stepping into the next realm, many don¡¯t make an attempt to ever complete it. In any case, those who have reached this point can truly call themselves an accomplished cultivator.

    That being said, cultivation is a pursuit of excellence, and where much has been achieved, there is always more to reach for. That in mind, let us focus our attention on the fifth realm, the realm of Dao Attuning.

    This is the first point at which our cultivation meets the Dao. Most of you have probably heard the term at some points in your life, if you haven¡¯t, don¡¯t worry. I shall explain it as far as you will be able to comprehend it.

    The Dao, or rather the Daos represent the mystical essence of that which our world is made up of. When I say essence here, I don¡¯t mean it in the physical way of some kind of energy. I mean it as the central and final truth of existence. The Daos are concepts, they are rules that govern the elements.

    You will only be able to even start grasping this concept, once you can observe the world through your soul. That is because a Dao is to an element, what your soul is to you. Soul cultivation is as powerful as it is, because it allows us to perceive and interact with the Dao.

    At the start of the Dao Attuning Realm lies a choice. A choice that will define your path as a cultivator from that point onwards. The choice, which Dao you want to pursue. Our sect mainly pursues the Dao¡¯s of Earth and Water, but it allows you to freely choose one of your own.

    The Dao you pursue will determine your abilities, it will determine what resources can help further your cultivation and it will determine your place in this world. Not everyone fits well with every Dao, some people are exceptionally talented in a specific one. In any case, this choice isn¡¯t an easy one, but it is also one that you will have plenty of time to think about before reaching that point.

    Once you have made your choice though, you will truly be ready to step into the Dao Attuning Realm. You do this, by starting to imprint your chosen Dao upon your soul. Throughout this process, your soul will continuously change its nature as the element you have chosen becomes part of it and thereby of your very being. We call this process ¡®attuning¡¯ your soul to a Dao.

    The reason this can only be done after achieving unification is this change. Should you attempt to impress a Dao upon your soul before unifying it with your body, the element would overtake it and thereby destroy your ego. Only the perfect bond to your body prevents this from happening, as it essentially keeps your soul¡¯s structure intact and you in control, even while changing its form.

    As you start attuning your soul to an element, you will start being able to convert basic Qi into elemental Qi. This elemental Qi will allow you to influence this element outside of your body. This ability in its different manifestations is the main form of offensive and defensive ability that high level cultivators use.

    Elemental Qi can even be used to create the respective element, though this isn¡¯t equally easy to do with all elements. Generally speaking, the closer an elements form is to that of pure energy and thus to Qi, the easier it is to create. While fire and lightning are effectively nothing more than just forms of energy and can thus be created extremely effective, solid matter like earth is extremely difficult and inefficient to create.

    Another ability of an attuned soul related to that is that it is capable of storing great amounts of elemental Qi within itself. It will even convert some of the Qi that is naturally drawn into your body because of what you did in the Body Reformation Realm into elemental Qi on its own, providing you with a steady trickle of regeneration.

    There are many other things an attuned soul is capable of, depending entirely on the element. Water Qi, for example, is great to be used in healing techniques, while fire Qi helps with forging and alchemy. Earth is great for building, sculpting and crafting in general, while someone with the wind element might even be able to already fly in this realm.

    The further you progress in attuning your soul and thereby in the realm, the better it will become at those things. You reach the peak of the realm once you have fully attuned your soul. This may sound easy in theory, but in reality, it is an agonizingly slow process, that takes those who complete it an average of one-hundred and fifty years.

    As I said, many cultivators never complete this realm in their lifetime. That is surely in part owed how hard it is to reach that point, but it is also in part due to a different thing: once you have finished attuning your soul, you will hit the next big wall. A wall so big, it borders closely on being insurmountable.

    The step into the Dao Contemplation Realm is one that only fifteen currently living members of our sect have taken: The fourteen elders and the patriarch. That is despite thousands of members who have reached the peak of the Dao Attuning Realm during the time that those sixteen individuals succeeded.

    The success rate at stepping into the Dao Contemplation Realm is hard to measure, but what is for sure is that it is so low that the entirety of the northern sect alliance only has about a hundred people who have managed to do so currently.

    Reaching the Dao Contemplation Realm is achieved by examining your chosen Dao through your now attuned soul and contemplating its nature. Once you reach a high enough level of fundamental understanding of it, you will break through to the first step of the Dao Contemplation Realm.

    The Realm itself is split into ten stages, each of which you can only reach by improving your understanding of the Dao you pursue.

    The abilities that the realm provides are mostly dependent on the pursued Dao, but some, like flight, are something that every cultivator in this realm will gain.

    I could go into more detail here, but while I encourage all of you to aim for it, the chances of this information ever becoming relevant to even one of you are rather slim.

    There is also a realm beyond Dao Comprehension, but the only one to ever reach that mythical stage within this sect was our venerable founder, many millennia ago. Sadly, Information on it has long been lost to time, as far as I know.

    To wrap up this speech then, let me say one more thing: The path I just laid out ahead of you is one of great length and incredible hardship. But as you ready yourself to walk it, don¡¯t lose your hope or sight of what you want to accomplish. For all its hardship, this path is one that has been carved out by the very ancestors of humanity, by the founders of our civilization, by an uncountable number of geniuses, scholars and heroes.

    You are not the first to embark on this journey and you will not be the last. It is that which gives you the fortune of not having to travel alone. Your peers, your seniors and even your juniors will accompany you, just as you will accompany them. I will personally help guiding you and lighten your burden, even if the steps you take will have to be your own. I ask all of you to do the same. Help each other along and if one of you falls, help them back up. If you do that, you will one day look back and be surprised by how far you have already come.¡±

 Chapter 15: Announcements

    As the crowd of disciples broke into an applause, Liu Wei allowed himself a moment of self-satisfaction. His speech had quite obviously hit its mark exactly how he had intended.

    In all honesty, it wasn¡¯t that great of a speech, after all much of its purpose had been an informative one. To many of the disciples though, it had been perhaps the first decent speech they had heard in their lives. They had, after all, been accepted into the sect when they were only between ten and twelve years of age.

    For all that sects liked to stylize themselves as the central hubs of culture and scholarship, most of that was merely a superficial fa?ade. Sure, there were actual scholars like those of the Bai family amongst them, but those were mostly focused on practical and strategical knowledge, rather than more artistic pursuits. And while there were indeed some among them who were capable of writing and holding speeches that would have even a centuries old cultivator shiver with feelings of grandeur and purpose, none of those speeches would ever reach an outer disciple. They were to cultivate and to train, not to educate themselves in higher forms of rhetoric.

    It was regrettable, but it wasn¡¯t something he could change, at least not in the short run. Until the training for outer disciples had even remotely caught up to that of the inner ones, he would need to focus on efficiency above all.

    Speaking of that, it was now time for the actually relevant part of this event. The speech was something he had included mainly to set a tone for his future actions. That still left him with the need to take those actions though. The announcements he was about to hold would mark the official start of his effort to reform the training hall.

    When the noise had died down, Liu Wei once again started speaking:

    ¡°Now, as much as it makes me happy that my speech seems to have resonated with many of you, it wasn¡¯t the only reason I called you here today. I have something I want to announce to all of you, as it is something that concerns every member and disciple of the Training Hall.¡±

    Truthfully speaking, it would concern nearly every member of the sect, at least in the long run, but Liu Wei refrained from phrasing it that way of course.

    ¡°As most of you probably know by now, I have only recently taken up the position as leader of the Training Hall. I have spent the past weeks examining it thoroughly to ascertain how I can best serve this new duty of mine.¡±

    That was the truth, though he had been concerned with more than just that. Eying the rows of instructors and other staff revealed mostly curiosity. One man seemed very anxious though: Chief instructor Mei Feng.

    This was rather expected. Over his time here, Liu Wei had expended some effort to collect additional information on him, revealing that his first instinctual assessment had been more than correct. Making use of the lack of oversight and attention the Training Hall had been receiving both from the sect and from its own leader, Mei Feng had effectively transformed himself into the hall¡¯s unofficial leader. Besides lording over its members and neglecting his duties, he was diverting a significant portion of the hall¡¯s already few resources into his own pockets.

    To him, a leader that actually took his job seriously seemed like a threat to his position. He wasn¡¯t wrong about that either.

    ¡°In the following days, weeks and months, I will be introducing several changes to the workings of this hall. To give all of you time to prepare for them, I will be announcing the first of those right now.

    First of all, in order to reduce the workload on the existing ones, as well as improve the quality of the education, the hall will be hiring additional instructors, starting immediately. To accommodate them, the hall¡¯s existing personal will also undergo a significant restructure.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Next up: the hall will be increasing the resources assigned to each disciple. Alongside this will come a general increase in payment across all personal.

    Of course, nothing comes without a potential downside. To prevent this sudden influx of resources from being misappropriated, we will be cooperating with the enforcement hall to establish a completely new division, focused on internal investigation and combatting corruption.¡±

    All of this was essentially just set-up for the things yet to come, but it was still more change than the hall had experienced in centuries. Both the instructors and the disciples were locked in a mix of disbelief and euphoria, at least most of them were.

    Mei Feng¡¯s face had lost all of its color. This was clearly beyond even what the old man had thought to be the worst case.

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t particularly care. The man was an interesting phenomenon to understand the inner workings of the training hall, but he wasn¡¯t a threat. Confronted with the power of an elder, he could do absolutely nothing to even so much as hinder the progress Liu Wei made.

    ¡°For now, that mostly covers it, but there is another thing I would like to address at the occasion. As some of you might have heard, the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect are planning to hold a tournament next year to which disciples from all sects in the northern alliance are invited.

    To determine which disciples will be sent there, our sect will hold an internal competition, hosted by the outer relations hall. Any disciple can enter this competition free of charge and I would encourage those of you willing to test themselves to enter. Even if you don¡¯t believe yourself capable of winning, it will be a good experience to improve your skills.¡±

    This announcement had little to do with Liu Wei¡¯s goals, it was simply a means of relieving the tension his previous ones had built up in the crowd.

    ¡°That ends my announcements. For now, I bid you goodbye, and wish all of you a good night. I am sure you have a lot of things to talk to each other about.¡±

    With those words and a last nod, Liu Wei descended to the ground and retreated into the building, leaving the crowd behind.

    ¡­

    As the outer disciples started leaving, Jia let herself drift with the movement of the crowd. Blocking out the increasingly loud chatter, she focused on recalling the words of Elder Wei over and over again in an effort to commit them to memory.

    She couldn¡¯t afford to lose any of them to less important thoughts of her, neither could she allow herself to form any opinion of them, as that would taint her memory.

    As the disciples scattered to move to their respective dorms, the tide of people surging through the streets grew thinner until it had completely dispersed. Jia didn¡¯t follow any of them though. As much as she would have liked to go into her room, or that of one of her friends to spent the next hours exchanging theories and cooking up rumors about what had just happened, she still had something to do.

    Leaving the dorm district behind, she hurriedly traversed the now empty streets. The sect¡¯s streets were completely secure, but she was nervous nonetheless. What she was doing right now wasn¡¯t strictly forbidden, but it was highly irregular. If she was seen by someone, she would doubtlessly be asked some questions, questions she wouldn¡¯t be able to give a good answer to. It would be awkward at best, highly suspicious at worst.

    Once she had left the Training Hall¡¯s premises completely, a wave of relief washed over her. Out in the general districts, nightly activities were far more common, meaning she would not stand out as much.

    After a couple more minutes of walking, she arrived at an unassuming little house, not standing out in any way to the unknowing. Before entering, she made sure to straighten her robes and mentally repeat the elder¡¯s words one more time. Then she knocked.

    The door opened almost immediately, a black figure donning a white mask greeting her from behind it.

    ¡°We have been expecting you. Hurry, the lady is waiting in person.¡±

    Jia didn¡¯t allow herself any outer reaction, at least no obvious one. Internally though, she felt her heart pick up in pace rather quickly, something that would undoubtedly not escape the person she was about to meet.

    Reeling in her stress, she stepped inside. The masked person led her through a few corridors until they arrived at another closed door. This time, there was no need to knock though. As soon as they stood before the door, a voice from behind it addressed them:

    ¡°You may enter.¡±

    Taking a deep breath, Jia did as commanded.

    Inside, seated on a simple wooden chair, was none other than Lady Zhong herself, elder of the sect and matriarch of the family that Jia served. Her spotless white skin beneath her flowing black hair would have given her an otherworldly beauty if it were not for her cold and dark aura that seemed to weave around her like living shadows.

    ¡°Sit.¡±

    Jia did as commanded. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the masked one retreating and closing the door behind them.

    ¡°You may now tell me everything the Elder has said. Word for word.¡±

    ¡°As you command, my lady.¡±

 Chapter 16: A Hall Reborn

    When Elder Shi had first asked her to help her organize a thorough reorganization of the Enforcement Hall, including dismissal of nearly ten percent of its members, Qingge had been genuinely terrified that she might come to regret the decision not to follow Elder Wei almost immediately after making it.

    Even without losing that many people, she had already been busy enough with endless floods of paperwork, complaints and internal disputes. If she was assigned even more work, she would have to decide between giving up any personal life she had left and giving up on her cultivation completely.

    As it turned out though, none of her fears materialized. Not only did Elder Shi involve herself quite directly with the process, Qingge also quickly learned that the woman seemed to little regard for things like seniority, status and legacy.

    Pretty much everyone associated with a pillar family was unceremoniously given the boot, alongside a host of other incompetent, corrupt or otherwise unsuited high-ranking personal. The complicated and impractical report structures were done away with in favor of a far more efficient command chain.

    Gone were the days of highly independent departments, utterly lacking internal oversight and complicated rules of whose actions to persecute and whose to turn a blind eye to. No longer did every action require a long chain of seeking permission of one¡¯s superior.

    Much of what was changed actually came from the input that Qingge gave herself, as Elder Si was impressively receptive towards suggestions from her.

    All in all, it was almost scary how much more efficient this new Enforcement Hall was compared to before. The required paperwork overall was more than cut in half even while the hall¡¯s overall operations were sped up. It would take some time for everyone to get used to these new regulations, but when that was done, Qingge estimated that the hall would be at least twice as efficient as before, even after the staff loss.

    The reason she had done these estimations was another change the reorganizations had brought, though one that Qingge had most certainly not planned herself. Namely the fact, that she had found herself nearly at the top of this newly implemented hierarchy.

    Her promotion to general hall manager by Elder Wei had already been quite a quick raise for someone her age, even though the hall¡¯s central administration that she was in charge of due to that had been doing little more than documenting, organizing and relaying information to the divisions.

    Now though, it had been set up to act as a central hub which all divisions had to report to. This provided oversight and simultaneously prevented them from constantly butting their heads over their responsibilities with no one but the elder to resolve their disagreements. Creating a central division like this had been Qingge¡¯s idea, she just hadn¡¯t anticipated it being her division.

    Qingge let herself fall back into her chair and took a few deep breaths. In a few minutes, she would need to host the first full meeting of division heads since the reorganization had been completed.

    She still didn¡¯t know how to feel about being the one to do this. On the one hand, she knew that she should be happy to be in this position, as it was one that many would envy her over. On the other, it still felt wrong to order anyone around, especially since she didn¡¯t really feel like she had earned any of it. She couldn¡¯t show herself as a weak and indecisive leader though, since that would defeat the purpose of the halls receiving oversight in the first place. It was all quite overwhelming to say the least.

    The door burst open to reveal Daiyu, donning an overly serious expression.

    ¡°The division heads have arrived, miss general manager!¡±

    Qingge pouted.

    ¡°Quit teasing me about it. I didn¡¯t choose this.¡±

    Daiyu¡¯s face visibly tensed as she struggled to keep her expression from morphing into a smile.

    ¡°Yeah sure, miss clueless reorganization planner.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth, damn it!¡±

    ¡°I know, but do you seriously expect me to shut up about it?¡±

    Qingge let out a resigned groan.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Anyway, I wasn¡¯t kidding. You need to come if you don¡¯t want to be late. Or wait, maybe having them wait for you would suit your new position.¡±

    ¡°By the ancestors¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Wei stood before the assembly of all old and new instructors of the Training Hall. On top of the previous thirty instructors, ninety new ones had been selected and hired.

    ¡°Hello everyone, I am Liu Wei, leader of this hall. As all of you know, this hall is undergoing a major reorganization at the moment. Today, I¡¯ll brief all of you on the arrangements going forward.

    Let us start with the financial aspect. Your individual payments have of course already been discussed with you on the basis of your experience and skill.¡±

    They were all being paid a rather average amount for their skill. Liu Wei didn¡¯t want to underpay them, but had he also wanted to make sure not to attract the people who were only interested in their payment. A good teacher had to care about their students.

    The selection process had been quite thorough to ensure that he was hiring the right applicants, but even so additional safeguards were always something good to put in place.

    ¡°What I want to talk about is our new policy of disciple funding. For every disciple, the Training Hall will from now on put forward five rank two spirit stones per month. The instructors will be in charge of these funds.

    "You are free to decide how to utilize them to benefit the disciples. Whether you use them to acquire additional training equipment, buy pills or something else, you are free to do what you think will benefit your them the most.

    "There are only two rules: For one, these resources need to be distributed fairly on all students. Rewarding someone for a particularly great effort is fine, as is helping someone catch up when they have fallen behind for reasons out of their control. But I don¡¯t want to see you picking favorites. If you are caught doing so, you will be punished.

    "The second rule is something which I wish I wouldn¡¯t even have to mention, but seeing the recent case of former chief instructor Mei Feng, it seems like I do. These resources are handed to you to the benefit of your disciples. If you have any thought of misappropriating them for your own benefit, I strongly advise you to let them go this instant. Your usage of them will be tracked, documented and investigated for irregularities. If anyone is caught using them for anything but helping to advance their students development, they will be let go immediately and formerly charged with embezzlement by the enforcement hall.¡±

    Liu Wei scanned the faces before him for their reactions. Most seemed accepting or even satisfied with this, which strengthened his confidence in having picked the right people for this, though some, especially from the instructors that had already worked here prior to his arrival seemed like they had been caught thinking exactly of that.

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t concern himself with it too much though. He had already made an example out of the most corrupt members of the hall, including Mei Feng, so he had confidence that the thread of investigation would be enough to keep most of them in check. At some point, some of them would try either way, but he would make put enough measures in place that all of them would be caught.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s move on to your actual work. For the coming months, every new instructor will join one of the already existing groups of disciples. You will learn from the instructors already with those groups and assist them in the training they give. I want you to focus on properly learning how to teach and refresh your knowledge of cultivation in this time. After that, the disciples will be divided into smaller groups that you will be assigned to over a longer time.¡±

    In truth, Liu Wei was using this arrangement to buy time until the next council meeting. While most of the instructors would be assigned to train disciples, some of them, ones with experience in actual battle or in cultivation theory, had also been specifically picked to be the first ones to work in his training program for members.

    The plan was to have a hundred instructors work with disciples, while the remaining twenty would work with members. This would put the instructors and disciples on a comfortable one-to-ten ratio. Not nearly the quality of education that inner disciples were getting, but enough that individual attention could be paid to all of them. If his other plans for the training hall worked, he could work to slowly increase the quality of education further from there.

    Twenty instructors for his new program were enough to test the waters, without being so many that it would be hard to reintegrate them with the others, should it fail. There were already enough risky factors in his calculations, so he was playing it rather safe in this case.

    ¡°From here, I¡¯ll let my assistant Chao take over. He has prepared a full list of who will be assigned to which group.¡±

    Liu Wei took a step back to make room. Chao, list in hand, stepped forward and began reading out the names. The man wasn¡¯t quite the public speaking talent, his voice so monotone that Liu Wei could feel his thoughts immediately drifting somewhere else.

    With the recruitment done for now, all pieces were put in their place for the next council. All that was left to do for now was to supervise the creation of his internal investigation unit and the progress of his new instructors.

    Going silent like that for a few months would hopefully also direct the attention of the pillar families to something else. Namely the Enforcement Hall, which planned to be anything but silent in the following months. Lan Shi had already finished internally restructuring it to his knowledge and would undoubtedly start cracking down on the families ¡°less official¡± dealings. How effective this diversion would be would only show on the council.

    Until then, he could only bide his time. Before his breakthrough, he would have appreciated something like this, as he would have had time to cultivate. Now though, he couldn¡¯t help but feel impatient for the next steps in his plan. It was a truly strange feeling, but he vowed to appreciate it a little. After the next council, he doubted he would have this much free time again in a long while.

 Chapter 17: Smithing, Strategy and Schemes

    Sparks flew off in all directions as a blade was struck with a force great enough that, were blade and anvil made of normal steel, both of them would shatter in a thousand pieces. As they were though, they withstood the powerful strike, only the blade being slightly formed by it.

    The following strike was much the same, as were the ones following after that. The entire process was accompanied by the ear shattering ringing of metal hitting metal. Scathing heat, originating from a formation driven oven completed the atmosphere of the room.

    It wasn¡¯t a nice place to be, at least not by the standards of the average person. For Jiang Peng though, it was perfect. In here, he could fully let loose and direct all of his anger into strikes at a piece of metal, while also doing something actually productive.

    That was a great arrangement, because anger was something that he had quite a lot of. That had pretty much always been the case, but especially in the past few months.

    Not only did the heads of the other families look down on him, but now he was also supposed to accept that some shitty elder without any background now matched the strongest of them in cultivation?

    He, Jiang Peng, should have been the one to rise above all the other elders. But instead of him, luck favored some arrogant piece of shit who didn¡¯t even have a proper legacy! Why in all heavens was he so unlucky?

    His muscles bulged as he brought down his hammer on the blade before him once more.

    It was his birthright to rule. His birthright to lead. His birthright to surpass. Before that pretender of a patriarch Long Zhao had ascended to the throne, the Peng family had ruled this sect. Jiang Peng had always known that it was his destiny to take back that place. So why did the world not comply? Why could he barely progress his cultivation? It was outrageous!

    He could not let his ancestors down. He couldn¡¯t. He needed to retake what was rightfully his. To hell with the other families, to hell with those pretenders without one and to hell with Liu Wei!

    Jiang Peng was certain that the only reason that lucky bastard had given the Enforcement Hall to that accursed wench Lan Shi was to spite him specifically. Oh, how he hated that woman, that spawn of hell!

    He brought down his hammer. Again, and again and again.

    He would never live down that humiliation that had been brought upon him the day she beat him during the council of elders. He didn¡¯t have his weapons with him back then, otherwise he never would have lost.

    And now, now she had the audacity to get in his way once again, even more than ever before! To meddle in the affairs of his family!

    He would have his revenge, even if it cost him everything. He would wash the humiliation he had felt that day of himself with her blood. He would¡­

    The blade snapped. His last strike had been too much for it to endure. For a while, he just stood there, before picking up the pieces while muttering curses against everything and everyone he could think of.

    Only after that did he notice the knocking on the door.

    ¡°In with you!¡± The anger still leaked out of his voice.

    In came a visibly trembling youngling, dressed in the robes of his family.

    ¡°I am terribly sorry to disturb you, great patriarch, but I have been tasked to inform you that the meeting with the other family heads is starting shortly.¡±

    ¡°Get out of my sight, as if I needed a reminder of that!¡±

    As the youngling practically ran off, Jiang Peng held himself back from punching the wall. He didn¡¯t want to meet anyone right now, but he had little choice if he wanted his family¡¯s voice to be heard. The last time he had remained absent from a meeting like this, the other family heads had had the audacity just to make their decisions without him. They truly lacked any respect for him and the Peng family.

    Still grumbling, he started making his way to the patriarch¡¯s palace where the meeting would take place.

    ¡­

    Ning Bai patiently sat in his seat to the right of Sect Patriarch Long Zhao, waiting for the meeting to begin. As per usual, Jiang Peng was the late to arrive. Waiting for him was disgraceful, but they did so anyway. It was not so much out of respect and more to spare them all from the headache of dealing with one of the man¡¯s tantrums.

    At this point, one could only wonder if the entitled hothead even wanted to be taken seriously. He still basked himself in the glory of his ancestry and continued gobbling up the resources his family had accumulated over generations, only to compensate for his own meager talent. And even though everyone could tell that the man was nearing the end of his lifespan, he refused to start setting up a successor.

    Not that it usually bothered Ning Bai particularly much. In the end, all the other pillar families were his competitors. Why should he care if one of them teared its own work to the ground. Right now though, when they truly needed the pillar families to work together in the face of a faction that dared to rise against them, it was annoying to say the least.

    The door flung open and in came the subject of his thoughts.

    ¡°Here I am.¡±

    ¡°I am sure it didn¡¯t escape your notice, Elder Peng, but you are late.¡±

    ¡°So what? You didn¡¯t start without me, did you?¡±

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we did not.¡±

    ¡°Then everything¡¯s alright, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s start already, I have other things to do.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Very well then. Now that we have all arrived, let us do what we have come here for. The purpose of today¡¯s meeting is to decide on a course of action regarding the next council meeting.¡± Long Zhao spoke up.

    ¡°With the recent changes to the sect¡¯s balance of power, it is important that we work together to ensure our families¡¯ continued power and prosperity. I believe that the recent actions of the Enforcement Hall are especially worthy of our attention.¡±

    The Enforcement Hall? That was what he wanted to focus on?

    ¡°Most certainly. Elder Shi dared to throw our people out of her hall. We can¡¯t leave this provocation unanswered!¡± Meixiu Xia agreed.

    ¡°She even had some my family¡¯s wares from the northern markets confiscated, it¡¯s unacceptable.¡±

    ¡°We need to make an example out of that bitch, I tell ya.¡±

    Before the elders could fall deeper into their mindless complaining, Ning Bai interrupted them:

    ¡°As much as I agree that Elder Shi has stepped out of line, I think we should start by discussing the much greater threat of Elder Wei¡¯s current actions.¡±

    ¡°Elder Wei? Let¡¯s just let that fool throw his resources away like he has been doing. Elder Zhong has him under supervision. Right now, Elder Shi is the much bigger problem.¡±

    ¡°I vehemently disagree. Elder Shi¡¯s rebellious escapades are annoying at most, they have no chance at dealing serious damage to us.¡±

    ¡°Well, Elder Wei¡¯s actions haven¡¯t done any damage to us yet. So why would we want to change that? Man¡¯s gone mad, nothing more.¡±

    Jiang Peng was being the shortsighted fool he had always been, Ning Bai wasn¡¯t surprised in the slightest by that.

    ¡°Listen Elder Bai, as much as I would love to show Liu Wei where his place is, I have to agree with Elder Peng here. Elder Shi¡¯s actions have been much more problematic in recent times.¡±

    What he hadn¡¯t expected, was the other elders backing him up.

    ¡°Yes, but they were and still are also entirely predictable. Elder Shi has always been using and will continue to use all of the means at her disposal to try and enforce her feeble sense of justice. As long as we make sure those means don¡¯t grow too much, she remains easy to handle.

    Elder Wei on the other hand has already managed to surprise us once, on the last council. That is something we need to prevent from happening again.¡±

    At this, patriarch Long Zhao indicated that he wanted to speak.

    ¡°Elder Bai ¨C you know how much I value the brilliance of your mind. It would not be an overstatement to say that none of us here can match the depth of your strategic genius. But please allow me to point out that you, to my understanding, have failed to yet come up with even just a plausible theory on why Elder Wei is currently acting the way he is acting.

    So, lacking even that, I fail to see how we could formulate a plan to deal with him. Unless that has now changed, I would like to ask you to let us focus on the thing that we know to be a tangible threat to wealth of our families instead of chasing ghosts. ¡°

    Ning Bai had to bite his tongue to avoid shooting back against this unthinkable insult. Who did that pretender think he was? Ning Bai had advised the sect for as long as he had been an elder and never before had he been talked down to like this. His strategic advice was being disregarded solely because he hadn¡¯t been able to explain these unprecedented moves that Liu Wei had taken since his breakthrough.

    These fools cared only for their wealth. They saw a tiny crease in the curve of their profit and all they could think about was how to stop it. They had lived in the comfortable security of his calculations for so long that they had forgotten their fear of the unknown, could no longer appreciate the danger it could pose.

    The fact that he could not explain Elder Wei¡¯s actions was the very reason that Ning Bai was so paranoid. As long as he could not understand it, the only reasonable way of handling them was to always assume the worst. Compared to this danger, what were some minor changes in profit?

    ¡°¡­ I understand, patriarch. I only ask that we all remain vigilant regarding Elder Wei¡¯s moves.¡±

    He had no options but to give in for now, what else was he to do. If he was right, the others would soon learn of the danger that Liu Wei posed and when that time came, he would be the one they needed to look to.

    ¡°We will of course do that, Elder Bai. Now, let¡¯s get back to the matter on hand. Elder Shi has recently been using the Enforcement Hall to attack our families¡¯ businesses on the black market. Any proposal on how to handle that?¡±

    ¡°She isn¡¯t one to give in to pressure. We will need to force her hand.¡±

    As the other elders returned to their meaningless discussion, Ning Bai remained silent, pondering once again what Liu Wei might be up to.

    ¡­

    As the debate went on, Meixiu Xia repeatedly glanced at the silent Ning Bai. Right now, he was probably thinking of all of them as mindless fools, not able to see the bigger picture.

    Never in a thousand years would he suspect that it was in fact he himself who was the one currently lacking insight. The praise that Patriarch Zhao had spoken was true, the man¡¯s mind truly was a miracle. To his own misfortune though, he was also keenly aware of that and would as such never suspect that someone was able to fool him.

    In truth, Meixiu Xia had already discussed the matter of Liu Wei in quite a lot of depth with Long Zhao and Yue Zhong. The unofficial alliance of the three families was her own brainchild and had been pulling the strings of the sect for over half a century.

    The basic premise was simple: With the Zhao family¡¯s martial strength, the Zhong family¡¯s dominant hold on information and her own political talent, the three were able to enforce almost anything that they could agree on, no matter what the other families wanted.

    All three were in agreement that Liu Wei was far more of a threat than any of Lan Shi¡¯s pathetic attempts at damaging them. It was just that the conclusion they had reached on how to handle it was very different from anything Ning Bai might imagine.

    The proud and upright man liked to think of the pillar families as a unit, a unit that he, as the head strategist of the sect, directed. Any threat to this unit, he would try to stamp out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

    When handling external politics, this way of thinking was perfect to handle relationships with other powers. That was why he was such a good pick as a head strategist and as the leader of the Outer Relations Hall.

    When it came to internal sect politics though, it was simply flawed. The pillar families worked together not out of conviction but out of convenience. They weren¡¯t the unit that he thought of them as, but separate parties with separate interests and the real power struggle in the sect was the one happening in between them.

    As such, a threat like Elder Wei always represented an equal amount of opportunity to those who knew how to use it.

    Since the immediate threat to the status quo of Liu Wei making an attempt for the throne of the patriarch had been averted, Meixiu and her partners had agreed to not only let the man cook up whatever he was planning, but perhaps to even foster those plans of his.

    If the pillar families agreed to take the threat of Liu Wei head on, all of them would be taking damage in equal matter.

    Instead, the three would then make sure that the eventual conflict that would ensue would exclusively hit the other families and not them, using Liu Wei to weaken their political rivals.

    While doing so with Ning Bai would be difficult, the already weakened Peng and Rong families would be easy to push the right way and Sun Liang¡¯s hatred for Liu Wei would undoubtedly make him vulnerable to the very same strategy.

    Like this, they could tighten their grip on the sect even further without expanding any resources of their own. This pretty little piece of intrigue was the reason they were currently pushing the conversation away from Liu Wei.

    If everything went how it was supposed to, they would not only remain undisturbed by Liu Wei, they would even come out on top.

 Chapter 18: Rumbling at the Horizon

    The Northern Sect Alliance was an alliance in name only. In ancient times, when the grand forest hadn¡¯t yet separated the peninsula that its sects were located on from the rest of the continent, acting as a united body had been a great way of protecting themselves against the more powerful sects of the central continent.

    However, since then, not only had they themselves grown in power enough that they could take care of themselves, but their geographic isolation meant that they were now of little interest to the larger regions of the continent.

    Because of that, the institution of the Northern Sect Alliance had been left to fade away, though no one had ever bothered to officially abolish it. Nowadays, the term was mostly a convenient way of addressing all of the sects on the peninsula, as well as their territory, since they didn¡¯t belong to another larger institution like a kingdom.

    Despite its comparatively small geographical size, the region was rather prosperous and would probably have been rather influential if its geographical location didn¡¯t prevent it from interacting with the other forces on the continent.

    Most of the alliances wealth and power flowed through four great sects: The Lunar Peaks Sect, the Serene Plains Sect, the Parting Clouds Sect and the Roaring Thunder Sect. All of them had their unique strengths, their own powerful treasures and their own spheres of influence amongst the lesser sect.

    If one sat all their pride aside, they would have to admit that it was truly impossible to say which sect was the strongest amongst them. Their endless power struggles would turn in one direction or the other, just like in recent times the Serene Plains Sect and the Parting Clouds Sect had found themselves weakened by a few poorly fought wars which had led them to temporarily ally with each other. But in the long run, no sect had been able to establish itself as the leading force in millennia.

    If it came to determining who the strongest singular cultivator was, though, the picture was much clearer. Beyond any reasonable doubt, the answer could truly only be one name: Xing Zhou, Patriarch of the Roaring Thunder Sect.

    He was a whole two steps ahead of all other cultivators who could even dare to lay a claim to the title of strongest, having reached the tenth stage of the Dao Contemplation Realm. While the Realm of Soul Ascension continued to elude his efforts, nobody in the Northern Sect Alliance had anywhere near as much of a chance at reaching it as him.

    And all of those things he had accomplished while following the mighty Dao of Lightning. It was needless to say that if any cultivator had the right to revel in his accomplishments, it was Xing Zhou.

    He, however, did no such thing. For what burned in his chest was not pride, arrogance or contentment, it was ambition, the feeling that accompanied all those destined to leave behind a mark. This peninsula had remained fragmented for too long and he would be the one to unite it. It was only right for the sect that was ruled by the most powerful cultivator to stand above all other sects.

    The other sects could ally with each other, they could scheme, they could hole up and hide, but in time they would all fall to his might.

    ¡°Tell me, Elder Fan, what is the status on that little tournament they have decided to host?¡±

    The man who stood by the side of his throne stroked his long beard in thought. The only reason that his sect had not yet taken its rightful place at the top was the fact that few people were suited to practice their chosen Dao, the Dao of Lightning. Because of that, the sect had comparatively few members and more importantly few powerful elders. Song Fan, though, belonged to those few.

    ¡°It is as we expected. Nearly all important sects have affirmed their attendance. The only ones who haven¡¯t, are those we directly control.¡±

    ¡°It seems, the prestige a tournament held by two of the great sects offers is still too much, even with how much they have fallen in recent times.¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°People still can¡¯t imagine one of the great sects to be able to take two others on. This is the balance that has kept the alliance stable for so long.¡±

    ¡°They will come to regret these beliefs eventually.¡±

    ¡°Not if they hold them strongly enough to choose a side. Without doubting your strength, we are not ready to take on the combined strength of dozens of smaller sects alongside the two great ones.¡±

    ¡°Then we shall show them just how wrong they are. Prepare to send a message. Our sect will participate in the tournament. And tell the other elders to prepare their people. We have waited for long enough.¡±

    ¡°As you command, patriarch.¡±

    ¡­

    Zixin threw himself to the left, narrowly missing the wooden sword that stabbed the air where, less than a second ago, his chest had been.

    ¡°Good, but now you¡¯re off balance.¡±

    The words proved true, as Zixin failed to find any leeway to dodge the quickly following sideway slash. He managed to drag his own sword up in time to intercept the hit, but lacking the footing needed to absorb the resulting impact, he tumbled to the ground.

    ¡°You are getting better, but you¡¯re still too reckless. The only move that is allowed to leave you no room for a follow-up is the slash that lops off your opponent¡¯s head. Think ahead.¡±

    ¡°But how am I supposed to think ahead in the middle of a battle? I didn¡¯t have time to think when you threw that stab. I needed to get out of the way.¡±

    ¡°Your mistake wasn¡¯t that dodge; it was not being prepared for a stab. You were wide open. At that point, you had basically already lost. Take a page out of your friend¡¯s book. You beat Chonglin in physique and instincts, but he is far better than you at analyzing the flow of battle.¡±

    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that mean that physique and instincts are more important? I defeat him all the time when we spar.¡±

    ¡°They are more important, but as you climb the ladder of cultivation, these differences will disappear. A cultivator¡¯s physique is almost entirely governed by his level of cultivation, as are the speed of his instincts.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I get it. I will try my best to be more careful. Thank you for your guidance.¡±

    ¡°Great. You¡¯re one of the most diligent students I ever had. Keep it up, and I am sure you can achieve much.¡±

    As Instructor Guiren turned around and left for another disciple, Zixin mentally replayed their fight in his head. Ever since there were more instructors to oversee them, Guiren had taken the time to individually spar with them. While it did show Zixin how long of a way he still had to go, it had also greatly helped him to improve his skills.

    He and Chonglin had decided to take a shot at fighting in the competition that would take place next month. They both knew that their chances at making it to the tournament were minimal at best, but they wanted to do it anyway. Whether it was the naive hope that they could somehow pull off a miracle and be chosen for the tournament, or just the feeling of not wanting to be left out, they would not stand at the sidelines for something like this.

    Ever since then, they had trained themselves to the bone. They would wake up early in the morning and skip breakfast to get some meditation in before going to class for the day. When the classes were done, they¡¯d do a few hours of cultivation to rest their bodies and then go back to sparing and physical training until they barely had enough strength left to drag themselves to their rooms before falling asleep.

    Zixin had decided that if they were going to participate, they would truly give it their all. He had also decided to drag Chonglin along with him in this. While his friend was far less excited in the beginning, even he seemed to become more and more fired up as the tournament approached.

    Their training was so hard on them that Zixin had had to invest the majority of his newly found wealth in healing pills, just to get their bodies to keep up. It wasn¡¯t the magical miracle-pill that Zixin had been imagining, but it was certainly effective.

    Having finished his analysis of his spar, Zixin looked around for his friend. He had come up with some new ideas he wanted to test out in a spar.

    Before he could find him though, Zixin¡¯s attention was captured by something else. Right at the entrance of the courtyard on which they were training, stood Elder Wei. He was talking to Instructor Guiren, gesturing in his usual calm and serious manner.

    Sadly, Zixin couldn¡¯t make out the instructor¡¯s reaction. He was naturally curious, but approaching to listen in on the conversation was of course impossible.

    Suddenly, he saw the instructor pointing in his direction, followed by the elder¡¯s eyes looking upon him. Feeling caught, he quickly averted us gaze, pretending to be practicing some sword swings.

    Of course, knowing that he was somehow involved did little to soothe his curiosity, quite the opposite actually. What in the world were they talking about. Zixin kept throwing quick glances at them between his swings, but their conversation seemed to have moved on. A little later, the elder left.

    Unable to do anything about his gnawing curiosity, Zixin returned to his effort at searching the courtyard for Chonglin. Now that he had something to talk about, he wanted to meet up with his friend more than ever.

 Chapter 19: The Council Meets Again

    ¡°We have thus come to the conclusion, that you have deliberately expelled sect members from your hall based on them hailing from the pillar families. Would you care to explain yourself?¡±

    Meixiu Xia closed her statement with a wide smile and a nod to Lan Shi. It wasn¡¯t the kind of smile that was benevolent or cooperative, it was the kind that seasoned politicians use to clearly issue an unspoken threat. Ever the speaker of the pillar families, it was clear why she had been chosen to be the one to open these accusations.

    ¡°I have yet to see you present me with any concrete proof that isn¡¯t based on some feeling of yours, that shows I didn¡¯t just expel these members because I wasn¡¯t happy with their performance. Against many of them, as you know, I even brought open corruption charges. I will gladly present you with the collected evidence on these.¡±

    Lan Shi returned the smile, though it was clearly strained. She wasn¡¯t an incompetent negotiator like Jiang Peng, but her true nature was still a lot more martial than what she was showing right now. She was only holding back, because they had agreed beforehand that it would be best for her to do so.

    ¡°I find that hard to believe though, the numbers clearly speak against you.

    ¡°I can only repeat myself, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough of your pretentious bullshit. We all know what you did and you¡¯re going to answer for it.¡±

    Jiang Peng blurted out.

    ¡°You fired people because of their family and thought you could get away with it. Well, tough luck, you won¡¯t.¡±

    Liu Wei could make out the tiniest notion of irritation in Meixiu Xia¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t take well to being disturbed in her act by someone as incompetent at negotiation as Jiang Peng. Liu Wei himself on the other hand couldn¡¯t have asked for a finer gift.

    In the last council meeting, he had kept quiet for the most part. This time was different. He now had allies and clearly defined goals and he was ready to draw the lines. He would use this opening to insert himself into the conversation.

    ¡°I agree with you, Elder Peng. Treating people differently based on their familial background is highly immoral. In fact, I suggest we ban the practice altogether.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for the elders to catch on to the poison in these words. It was Ning Bai who responded.

    ¡°Could you please drop your play, Elder Wei? We are trying to hold a debate here and that kind of attitude is not conducive to it.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Elder Bai. Then let me be straight: I fail to see how the pillar families have any right to accuse another elder of a practice that they have been continuously practicing for entire millennia.¡±

    ¡°The incredible discourtesy of your words aside, I shall give you a straight answer. We aren¡¯t any random families; we are the pillar families. We helped build this sect into what it is today. Her actions are an insult against us and as such against this sect¡¯s entire legacy.¡±

    Sun Liang¡¯s words were quiet, more hissed than spoken. As always, he reminded Liu Wei of a snake that was hiding in a human¡¯s skin.

    ¡°I could say the same about your shameless attack on a hall¡¯s established autonomy in deciding who it wants and who it doesn¡¯t want to have working for it.¡±

    ¡°Do you truly want to do this?¡±

    Sun Liang asked, letting the pressure of his soul leak into the room.

    ¡°Do you?¡±

    Liu Wei countered the pressure, by releasing part of his own soul¡¯s.

    ¡°Enough.¡±

    The voice of the patriarch thundered through the room.

    ¡°The halls¡¯ autonomy was never and will not be questioned. We will rest this matter for now, but the pillar families shall open a joint investigation of whether or not Elder Shi¡¯s actions were justified. That is all.¡±

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    The tension in the room relieved itself and Liu Wei released his pressure as his rival did the same.

    He had gone quite far off script, having been overwhelmed by an unexpected amount of anger at the pillar families¡¯ shameless display of double standards, probably because he had felt so reminded of the way he himself used to be.

    It wasn¡¯t a big problem, as the outcome of the situation was pretty much all they could have hoped for, but he would need to be more careful in the future. Had this gone differently, the conflict could have turned out violently, which would not at all have aligned with his goals.

    He also had more things he wanted to accomplish on this meeting than butting heads. Far more important things. While it had been clear to him, that he would stand in open opposition to the pillar families after this day, he had expected the escalation to be quite a bit slower.

    As the discussion was expertly steered on to some minor issues that would help calm the situation by Meixiu Xia, he exchanged a nod with Lan Shi who was looking at him with a newly found notion of respect. It seemed like there was at least some positives to his outburst.

    ¡­

    As far as Meixiu Xia was concerned, this council was going great so far. Jiang Peng¡¯s outburst hadn¡¯t been planned, but it had served their goals perfectly. While it was a little annoying that they hadn¡¯t been able to slap Lan Shi on the wrist a little more, she would gladly take a few minor losses in profit if it served her overall goal of stoking the flames between Liu Wei and the other pillar families.

    At the very least Sun Liang and Jiang Peng would from now on be focused on trying to combat Liu Wei. That focus would be lost elsewhere, which would create opportunities for her own family to exploit. She was already looking forward to it.

    It was naturally of paramount importance that Liu Wei himself didn¡¯t take notice of their scheme, hence why they had had to intervene before the rivals were literally at each other¡¯s throats. If they had let a fight break out right here in the council, all eyes would have turned to them in suspicion afterwards. It had already been enough of a hassle the last time that had happened, when they had provoked a fight between Jiang Peng and Lan Shi.

    ¡°I believe the Outer Relations Hall should be entitled to a quarter of the profit from this venture. After all, we are the ones facilitating these trades.¡±

    ¡°A quarter? That is an insult! I can offer you no more than ten percent!¡±

    ¡°I believe that to be the true insult, coming from a family as rich as the Rong family. We won¡¯t even begin to negotiate below twenty percent. Don¡¯t forget that our hall¡¯s diplomats have been the one to create this relationship in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Anybody could have done that. After all, which merchant wouldn¡¯t want to be in a relationship with our great sect. Fifteen percent and not a single spirit stone more.¡±

    With the elders having returned to haggling over profits again, it seemed like the tensions in the room had cooled down enough. If Liu Wei still had an agenda on this council meeting, he would likely be bringing it forward soon.

    Seeing as he indicated his wish to speak once the previous debate had ended, her guess had been correct.

    ¡°As many of you undoubtedly know already, I have spent the majority of my time since the last council concentrating on the Training Hall. I believe the hall to be of extreme importance for this sect, as it is responsible for shaping the future of the majority of our new members. As such, I have started the process of reforming the hall in an effort to improve the efficiency with which it fulfills this role.

    I am certain it hasn¡¯t escaped your notice that I have already begun instituting a row of changes. These, however, are just the beginning of my plans for the hall. As such, I would like to announce two larger projects to the council, which I plan to undertake with my hall.¡±

    Meixiu Xia perked up. These were likely to be quite important, considering he had waited for a council meeting to unveil them.

    As much as they had created their own schemes and plans already, even she and her secret allies weren¡¯t sure what exactly Liu Wei was attempting with his current efforts. Their best guess so far was it being some elaborate cover-up, designed to divert their attentions from something entirely different. There were a lot of holes in that theory though, so maybe what followed could give them a better idea of Liu Wei¡¯s machinations.

    ¡°The first of those announcements concerns a new program that the hall is going to facilitate: In order to improve our sect¡¯s fighting capabilities, the hall is going to offer willing sect members combat training and individual counseling regarding cultivation. For these services, the hall is going to take fees depending on the level and amount of training, that are going to be used to fund the program as well as our disciples training.¡±

    That was a big thing. So far, the hall hadn¡¯t had any way of generating a profit, but if this worked, that would change. Meixiu Xia wasn¡¯t sure how much members would be willing to pay, if at all, in order to receive professional combat training, after all it wasn¡¯t really her area of expertise, but just the possibility of the Training Hall becoming profitable was of incredible significance.

    So far, it couldn¡¯t even be called a real hall, but if it started turning a profit and expanding, what they were witnessing here was potentially the rise of a true ninth hall. This had the potential of shaking the sect to its foundations. And it was only the first announcement. If there was one thing that even those not educated in politics at could guess, it was that the second one would have equal, if not greater impact.

    ¡°Now, the second thing I would like to inform you about is that the Training Hall is planning on creating a program in partnership with all willing halls. This partnership is one regarding the treatment of inner disciples.¡±

    What?

 Chapter 20: Conclusion

    ¡°¡­ As such, this program seeks to utilize the strengths of the Training Hall to support the upbringing of our sects most talented disciples while simultaneously broadening their horizons by allowing them to interact with more of their peers.

    Not only can the Training Hall more easily house and feed these disciples, allowing the partnering halls to completely cut those costs, it also has a lot of experienced instructors that can help administer basic combat training. The disciples would also be able to spar with more people, both outer disciples and inner disciples of other partnering halls, allowing them to gain broader combat experiences than if they only ever had a few fellow inner disciples to practice with.

    The specialized education on the other hand, would of course continue to be administered by experts specifically chosen by the halls. I firmly believe that this combination would lead to a better overall learning environment for the inner disciples.¡±

    Liu Wei continued to carefully observe the reactions of the elders. Over the course of his speech, they had switched from disbelieve to anger and finally to a hint of fear, as they had realized just how serious he was about this.

    ¡°You¡­ You can¡¯t do that. The council will not allow it.¡± Zheng Rong stammered after several seconds of silence.

    ¡°I think you misunderstood, Elder Zheng Rong. I am not asking the council for permission; I am informing you all of this offer. As a project between halls, this falls firmly into the realm of their autonomy.¡±

    Zheng Rong didn¡¯t retaliate, Ning Bai responding in his stead.

    ¡°It is an insult to think that you want to house our sect¡¯s talents in that¡­ that dirt hole of yours.¡±

    ¡°As I already mentioned, I am already in the process of reforming the Training Hall to a place much more deserving of its function. I also want to remind you that that ¡®dirt hole¡¯ is where the sect has already chosen to have the majority of its disciples live.¡±

    ¡°Nevertheless, what you are attempting is a huge break with sect tradition. I urge you to think it over.¡±

    ¡°The debate of tradition versus progression is, as I understand it, an ongoing one amongst the ranks of this council. Because of that very fact, I am not trying to force this on anyone here. If no hall leader believes this idea to be of merit, it will simply remain an idea.¡±

    ¡°I believe it of merit.¡±

    The deep, raspy voice of Ma Rong called out.

    ¡°The Alchemy Hall will partake in this project.¡±

    ¡°The same naturally goes for the Enforcement Hall. I am always open to change.¡±

    Lan Shi added, without missing a beat. After a few moments of silence, Meng Hui gave his stuttering affirmation as well.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t even closed the debate on whether or not this is allowed yet. How can you just carry on like this? This is an insult!¡±

    Ning Bai was slowly losing his cool.

    ¡°There is no debate on that, except if you want to start discussing the halls right to autonomous action. Let me remind you though, that that is a concept of this sect, older than even the pillar families.¡±

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    ¡°Elder Bai, please moderate yourself. It would be hugely embarrassing if the patriarch had to step in a second time this meeting.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ you¡¯re right, Elder Xia. I don¡¯t know what I was thinking. Let it be known, however, that I remain in opposition to this project.¡±

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t doubt, that this wouldn¡¯t be the last he was hearing from Ning Bai or the other elders of the pillar families about this, but this was to be expected. The pushback he had received for this was actually less than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was an aftereffect of the previous argument.

    ¡°I will keep your objections in mind. Only time will truly be able to tell, who was in the right. Anyways, that is all I wanted to discuss with the council today. I return the word to my fellow elders.¡±

    The council didn¡¯t go on for long after this. His own faction had already brought up all their concerns and the pillar family leaders were much too distracted to return to their normal bickering. After a few necessary things had been discussed, the council was adjourned by Long Zhao. Liu Wei left with a sense of accomplishment, though he did feel like he had missed something.

    ¡­

    Elder Hu Chen was spent. After the last council meeting, he had thought that no council meeting he would ever attend after that could shock him anymore. Yet, that one was truly peaceful compared to the one he had just been at.

    The world of politics was usually defined by quite slow and gradual changes. After all, the most powerful people all spent the majority of their time cultivating and honing their skills.

    It was something that Hu Chen very much welcomed. What had happened in the last two meetings and what, much to his dismay, he suspected would keep happening, was very unusual, even by the speed at which it happened alone.

    Hu Chen couldn¡¯t really tell where his distaste for quick and sudden things came from. Perhaps it was the feeling of not being in control of that change that was so hard to feel.

    He was an elder of the sect, a cultivator of the Dao Contemplation Realm. As such he was hypothetically a member of the sect¡¯s elite, one of the most powerful people in the entire Northern Sect Alliance.

    In truth though, he was little more than a slave to the pillar families. They had sponsored him, given him the support that he had desperately needed to reach the level of cultivation that he was at. It was a great gift, but it was one that came at a price.

    His soul had been strained and permanently damaged from the overuse of low-quality cultivation medicine. His understanding of the Dao was forced and baseless, he had not been given the time to build it up organically. Not only had he little chance of ever progressing beyond the first stage of Dao Comprehension, his current strength was also far lower than it ought to be.

    His position wasn¡¯t one ha had achieved by his own merit, but one that had been handed to him. Every elder, no matter their strength, had the same right to vote on the council. He was there to back up the decisions of the pillar families, because the opposition had grown too large for their comfort. The leaders of the pillar families didn¡¯t like to lift other members of their own family to the level of Dao Contemplation as that would mean creating a potential rival to their leadership.

    It was quite depressing to think about it, but that paranoia was the only reason Hu Chen existed at all. Without it, he would long have died an ordinary sect member, either in battle or simply of old age.

    Yes, now that he thought about it, he was quite certain. This was the origin of his dislike for change. It reminded him that he was just a tiny boat, barely allowed to stay afloat in a sea of forces, infinitely greater than him.

    As he slowly walked the way home, captured by his melancholy, his eyes fell on the village-like structure that was the Training Hall. It was already dark, but the eyes of a cultivator his level could easily make out the distant houses and the few remaining lights.

    He vividly remembered his time there. He had been just another frog in a well, unable to see the wider world for what it was, powerless to the extreme. And yet, never in his life had he felt more hopeful and alive than back then.

    A faint smile played over his lips at the memory. Perhaps he should pay the place a visit sometime, instead of yet another helpless attempt at fixing his mess of a cultivation.

    Continuing onward, he allowed himself to reminisce a little more, bathing in the tranquility that his temporary escape from the complicated and exhausting world that he was caught in granted him.

 Chapter 21: The Fire of Youth

    As the door leading to his private chambers closed behind Liu Wei, he felt a heavy weight fall off his shoulders. He had done it. He didn¡¯t like admitting it, but despite his confidence in his plan, he hadn¡¯t been able to shake of the fear of something going wrong until the very end. Even on the way back, his success had felt unreal, unstable. Only now was it beginning to set in, that everything had worked out fine and that he could proceed as planned.

    He would direct the Training Hall to new heights, he would fight the injustice taking place and in doing so, he would change the sect forever. Slowly, as his thoughts turned to this future, his relief made way to excitement.

    It was the same kind of rush that one would get when managing to raise their cultivation or when preparing for a fight that they were confident in winning. The promise of accomplishment, of one¡¯s efforts paying off. Only, this one was stronger than in any of those cases. Because what was to come wasn¡¯t just a personal gain, it was a gain to everyone. The right thing.

    The path he was treading on was the right one. Liu Wei was more certain of that than ever. But for now, he would need to reign in those feelings. To reach that future that he was dreaming of would take a long journey. It was now, more than ever, important that he remained focused on the present.

    First of all, he would need to ensure that his new plans actually worked as he was hoping they would. For that, a few things were necessary.

    He had decided that it was best to delay the announcement of the Training Hall¡¯s new services to the wider sect for a while longer. To be specific, he would announce them on the disciple¡¯s competition that was to be hosted in roughly a month.

    Not only would most of the sect¡¯s members be gathered there to watch the fights ¨C it was one of the few forms of entertainment that most cultivators liked to participate in ¨C but the atmosphere of the combat would also put them into the right mood to consider the offer more positively.

    Until then, he would still need to make some preparations. First of all, he needed to commission a proper cleaning and maintenance of the premises. It was a bad idea to greet all of the members that would come here to train with a bad first impression.

    Second, he would need to inform the instructors that he had selected for the job of the plan. Now that it had made it through the council, there was no need anymore, to keep it particularly secret, even if it hadn¡¯t been officially announced.

    Giving them time to prepare for their new roles would ensure a much smoother start for the program. He also wanted to give them the option the decline their new position. They had been hired with the expectation of teaching the outer disciples and if they wanted to continue doing that, he wouldn¡¯t force them to do something else.

    In case too many of them felt that way, it was important that he had enough time to find good replacements before the program launched. For now, he had only prepared a small number of possible replacements.

    Finally, there was another idea that had come to him. If he wanted to generate excitement for the Training Hall¡¯s new offer and its changes in general, it would be great if some of the outer disciples did better in the competition than expected.

    ¡­

    Zixin curiously observed the other disciples that were present in the room alongside him. When today¡¯s morning had promised to bring just another day of the same old training routine, it had clearly deceived him.

    He had just been heading to the courtyard their class for the day was set to take place in alongside the other disciples when he and Chonglin had been singled out by Instructor Guiren.

    He had told them that they had been summoned to the hall¡¯s headquarters and subsequently sent them there. After arriving there, they had been led to this room in which they were waiting alongside several other disciples who, apparently, had received the same summons. What exactly they were waiting for, none of them knew.

    Needless to say, this had left them with quite a lot of questions. The mood amongst the ten of them that were currently inside the room was diverse, ranging from apprehensive to purely curious. Zixin was the latter. He had decided to be cautiously optimistic about the whole ordeal.

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    After all, he was quite certain that he hadn¡¯t done anything he would need to be fearful about. He simply didn¡¯t have time for that, considering how busy he had been with training lately. He also had the confidence boost of being here together with his friend, while most of the others were here on their own.

    They had already been here for quite a while now and beside several other disciples being brought one after the other, not much had happened yet. When the door opened again, Zixin expected nothing else than another newcomer, but quickly realized that the man who had brought all of them here was alone this time.

    Chao, as he had introduced himself on their first meeting, held a list in his hand that he seemed to check everyone off on, before addressing them:

    ¡°It seems we aren¡¯t missing anyone. Just a heads up, you are going to meet Elder Wei in a few moments, prepare to conduct yourself accordingly. Alright then, please follow me, everyone.¡±

    Without giving them much time to think, he turned around and began marching off. Zixin was the first to free himself of the shock the words had left them in, and hurriedly moved to follow him. At his movement, the others also came to their senses and did the same.

    Quick glances to the sides revealed that their nervousness had just increased many times over. Zixin would probably have felt the same, were it not for the fact that he had already met the elder twice in person. While the first time wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant, the second one more than made up for that.

    To Zixin, it was mostly his curiosity that had exploded. What in the world could the elder want with them?Whatever it was, at least he would find out in a few moments. As they came to a standstill before a door that had two guards posted outside, Zixin straightened his back and reminded himself of the proper etiquette a disciple should show before an elder. After several long moments, they were beckoned in by the familiar voice of the elder.

    ¡­

    As the disciples entered the room, Liu Wei carefully observed each of them. One of them, Zixin, he naturally already knew. He had been quite surprised at the coincidence when Instructor Guiren had pointed him to the boy.

    The disciples besides Zixin seemed quite nervous, as was to be expected. Not only had they just been summoned by an elder and probably had no clear idea as to why, that elder also had a reputation for handing out unreasonably hard punishments in response to minor, often accidental offences. Or at least Liu Wei imagined that he might have that reputation amongst outer disciples.

    In any case, Liu Wei hadn¡¯t had a couple of kids brought before him just so he could watch them be scared of him. It was high time he relieved them of some of their fear.

    ¡°Hello. Thank you for coming here. Please be at ease, you are not in any sort of trouble. Quite the opposite actually.¡±

    The disciples seemed to collectively breathe a sigh of relief at this, losing a lot of their tension, though not all of it.

    ¡°The reason you are here today is directly related to the competition next month. I am sure all of you are looking forward to it, considering how hard you are training.¡±

    The tension now fully turned to curiosity, as they could finally start making rough guesses as to why they were here.

    ¡°All of you have been selected by me after consulting with your respective instructors. I was pointed to the ten of you as the most hardworking individuals when it came to training for the event.

    For reasons that I can sadly not yet reveal to you, the Training Hall would benefit from a good representation by its disciples in the competition and thereby from your efforts. This, and the fact that I like to reward hard work, leads me to the following proposal: I would like to personally administer training to you in the following weeks leading up to the tournament.

    In return, I would only request that you remain humble before your fellow disciples and that you give both the training and the tournament your best efforts. You aren¡¯t expected to win or reach any specific standard, I only ask that you try. You are of course free to decline my offer if you wish to do so. Now, what do you think?¡±

    The disciples were unanimously struck silent. His offer was an extremely generous one and they knew that. Not to mention outer disciples, inner disciples and even those who hailed from a pillar family rarely had the chance to receive direct tutelage by an elder.

    Liu Wei felt a hint of guilt at dropping something of this caliber on their heads so suddenly, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. There weren¡¯t really many alternatives and on top of that, he still had his pride as an elder.

    Despite his change in outlook on the world, over four hundred years of successful cultivation were still something to be proud of. He certainly wouldn¡¯t cause them intentional discomfort, but he also wouldn¡¯t bend over backwards just to make receiving the already positive news as comfortable as humanly possible to them.

    The first disciple was the one that Liu Wei recognized as Zixin¡¯s friend. He spoke clear, with only the tiniest hint of trembling in his voice and complemented his statement with a neat bow.

    ¡°I gratefully accept your gracious offer, honorable elder.¡±

    Dispelled by his words, the other disciples followed suit. None of them seemed to seriously think about declining his offer, not that he would have expected them to. But as his experience with Qingge had taught him, not relying solely on one¡¯s own expectations when it came to the wishes of others could never hurt.

    After the last of the disciples had finished, a rather timid looking girl that had to seriously pull herself together to stop herself from stuttering too much, Liu Wei continued, giving them a genuine smile.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m happy that all of you accepted my proposal. We will shortly discuss the specifics of when and where I would like to train you, but first of, I want to get to know you a little. Please start by properly introducing yourself, if you would.¡±

 Chapter 22: Sweat, Tears and a Little Bit of Blood

    A veil of silence and darkness yet laid over the peaceful meadows and woods of the mountains that were home to the Lunar Peaks Sect. The sun was not yet gracing their peaks with its rays, though the moon had already left for other horizons, no longer shining its mysterious glow upon them. The first birds were crooning their melodies into the darkness, calling to a world that had yet to wake up to a new day.

    Through an open window that led to an equally dark room, these melodic calls reached a youngling who, despite his previously deep sleep, noticed their touch. Slowly convincing himself to open his eyes, the youngling stared at the ceiling for a moment, his mind not yet awake enough to have him do anything else.

    As it slowly returned to him who he was and what he was to do, Zixin rolled himself out of the comfortable sanctuary that was his bed and drowsily made his way across the room.

    Plunging his head in the bucket of cold water that he had brought here yesterday helped him in coming to his senses quite quickly. His day was going to be busy, as all of his days had been lately, and he couldn¡¯t let himself dally any longer. Heaving the bucket over his shoulder, he left the room.

    Turning to the left, he didn¡¯t need to walk far before reaching his first stop. Chonglin¡¯s room was in the same dorm as his, just three doors away. Opening the door without even trying to knock, Zixin went straight in. His friend never woke up this early without Zixin lending his assistance.

    Standing above the sleeping Chonglin, Zixin opened his mouth to speak, only to stop himself and close it again. An idea had bloomed in his mind, one that made him adorn his face with a wide, slightly sinister smile. Without further ceremony, he emptied his entire bucket of water on his unsuspecting victim.

    The satisfying splashing sound drowned out the startled cry of his friend, and Zixin broke into loud laughter.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Chonglin made an attempt at speaking before stopping himself and loudly breathing instead. It took quite a while for him to steady himself, all the while Zixin simply couldn¡¯t stop laughing. It wasn¡¯t even that funny of an action, but something about his completely soaked friends face of terror and shock was just too much for him.

    Several moments later, Chonglin spoke up again.

    ¡°What the hell was that for?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Zixin broke into laughter again at his friends offended face.

    ¡°I told you not to sleep in so much.¡±

    ¡°As if I could help it. Look at this, everything is wet!¡±

    There was honest despair in his voice, as if someone had just told him that a family member had died.

    ¡°Relax and get up. We have stuff to do.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ can¡¯t you give me a little time?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to slack off. The competition is in less than a week. If you want to laze around, do it afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Just give me a minute, will you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to wait outside and start warming up. If you take too long, I¡¯ll come back with a second bucket.¡±

    With those words, Zixin turned on his heels and left his friend behind.

    As soon as he was out of the dorm, Zixin broke into a light jog. Like this, he headed towards the well, where he refilled his bucket with fresh water. After making his way back, bringing the bucket to his room and meeting up with Chonglin, the two of them, jogging side by side, made their way through the still empty streets and out of the Training Hall¡¯s premises.

    While the first few sessions of the elder¡¯s training had taken place inside the Training Hall, he had decided after a few days to relocate it to his personal residence. There, they had more space and were largely undisturbed by outsiders. The only downside was having to travel back and forth every morning and evening, something that Elder Wei had decided to treat as additional endurance training.

    The residence was located on the base of the eastern mountain, while the Training Hall was located on the south-western one, similarly on the base. This meant that the way took about an hour in the morning, when they were rested and about two in the evening, when they were completely exhausted from the day of training.

    ¡­

    The disciples started arriving just in time for the first rays of light to shine down on them as they gathered in front of his pagoda. Today¡¯s first arriver was a girl by the name of Jinghua. She was amongst the oldest of the bunch, together with Zixin and Chonglin, belonging to the same generation of disciples as the two, though she was in the other class.

    The reason none of the older disciples had been chosen was that Liu Wei was focusing his efforts on the categories for disciples younger that eighteen years.

    Eighteen years was when most inner disciples finished the first part of the Body Reformation Realm and thus started making the physical changes to their body. It was possible to reach this point earlier than that, but it generally didn¡¯t make sense as the bodies natural development and the manual changes induced through the usage of qi would interfere with each other.

    From this point onward though, disciples could use as many resources as they had available to speed up their cultivation without any major drawbacks, which was why the differences between outer and inner disciples would quickly grow from this point onwards. Liu Wei could not yet try to compete with that, as much as he would have liked to.

    Over the next couple of minutes, the other disciples arrived one after the other. Once the group was complete, Liu Wei stepped out of his Pagoda.

    ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Elder Wei¡±, they replied, perfectly synchronized. Over the last weeks, he had managed to get them to reduce the formalities they used to a minimum. Surprisingly, it had been much more difficult than it had been with the older members.

    ¡°We will start with the training immediately. As per usual, you will begin by sparing with each other and I will offer commentary.¡±

    They started almost every training session this way, since it allowed him to check the level that each of them was at and thus decide how they should individually progress.

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    Losing no time, the disciples paired up, picked up training weapons from the stash that was already prepared beside the building and started fighting.

    ¡­

    Zixin let loose a flurry of slashes from all directions, increasing the pressure on his opponent, but she remained calm and concentrated while taking multiple steps backwards. A month ago, Zixin would have been delighted to see that he was pushing her back. Now he knew better.

    ¡®There is no shame in giving up space and no gain in making an opponent do so. If your moves can be countered simply by moving backwards, you are the one loosing energy on them.¡¯

    Those were the words of Elder Wei. As he had examined his fights, he had found them to be true. As long as the opponent didn¡¯t panic at being pushed back, it wasn¡¯t a disadvantage to them, at least when there was no limit to space in which the fight took place.

    Zixin hadn¡¯t blindly gone for an obsolete gain though, his heavy push was part of a larger strategy he had thought out. Slowly, he slowed down his attacks, feigning exhaustion. Jinghua, who he was fighting, took the bait. Changing from her defensive stance, she moved in to attack.

    This was what Zixin had waited for. Instead of stepping back to defend, he stepped forward, closing the distance between them even more. Throughout the training sessions, Zixin had worked out his strengths and weaknesses with Elder Wei¡¯s help. Knowing them was important, since he could use that knowledge to use his strengths to their fullest potential while trying to mitigate his weaknesses.

    Zixin¡¯s main strength were his quick instincts. They were a step above all of the other disciples and aided him greatly when it came to quick exchanges, even more so in a close distance.

    This was exactly the kind of situation he had just managed to enforce. Ramping up his speed again, Zixin began to mercilessly rain attacks on Jinghua, while simultaneously blocking her attacks with ease. Realizing her mistake, she tried to step out of his range. Zixin held pace with her, not letting her escape.

    After thirty more seconds of brutal exchange, he finally found an opening, striking down on her hand with the handle of his sword, sending hers flying. Before she could even realize what. Had happened, he had put his wooden blade against her neck, signifying his victory.

    ¡°I yield, I yield¡­ Ah man, I thought I had you for sure already. Good fight though, good fight.¡±

    ¡°Same to you. You shouldn¡¯t have stepped in; you had the advantage while being defensive.¡±

    ¡°I thought I could end the fight right then and there, but you are right.¡±

    ¡°Well done, both of you. Especially you, Zixin, that¡¯s why I told you controlling the fight¡¯s flow is important.¡±

    Elder Wei had approached the two of them while they were focused on the fight without either of them noticing.

    ¡°Jinghua, fight Chonglin. The boy needs to work on his offense a little more and you seem to not yet have learned your lesson about feints and diversions. Also eat this.¡±

    He tossed a healing pill her way. Both she and Zixin looked confused for a while until realizing that his hit to her hand had actually drawn some blood. Elder Wei wanted them to be in perfect physical condition whenever they fought freely.

    They had also done training on how to fight on when they were hurt, but since they would be able to heal themselves between battles in the competition and the fights were unlikely to go on for long if one side was already hurt, they didn¡¯t spend much time on it.

    ¡°Zixin, you come with me. We are going to have a little spar so you can show me what you are capable of.¡±

    Chonglin had developed his analytical thinking to an incredible degree over the training with the elder. Having switched to a spear as his main weapon, he was at all times in control of the battle-flow, able to use it both to keep his opponents at a distance and, using it like a staff, fight them in close range. He had also gotten scarily good at putting his opponents in situations they didn¡¯t want to be in and using it to his maximal advantage.

    Zixin¡¯s little feint might have been able to fool Jinghua, but it would never have worked on Chonglin. It was so impressive that Zixin was only slightly mad at the fact that his friend had started consistently beating him in their latest spars, despite Zixin still being at a physical advantage.

    ¡°As per usual, I am going to limit myself to a level of strength and speed that is lower than yours. I want you to try beating me with all you have.¡±

    Zixin readied himself. For a few more moments, he measured his opponent before exploding forward with an overhead slash.

    Elder Wei gently took half a step to the side and angled his blade in a way that made Zixin¡¯s slide right off to the side. Before his training with the elder, this would already have been the end. Zixin would have lost his balance and been right open to a counterattack.

    Luckily, he had learned to anticipate something like this and instead turned his leftover momentum into a spin that he used to deliver a sidewards slash. Unsurprisingly, this missed the elder, who had already stepped out of the way. At least Zixin had driven him out of the range he would have needed for a counterattack.

    Zixin attacked again. And then again. And again. No matter what he tried, he couldn¡¯t land a hit on the elder, even though he was moving noticeably faster. He wasn¡¯t frustrated at this though. He had learned early on that trying to measure himself with the elder was a foolish idea. Even without their physical difference, the man had hundreds of years of experience of fighting in actual life-or-dead battles. Instead, he needed to use this as a learning experience.

    The elder wasn¡¯t trying to defeat him. If he wanted that, he could undoubtedly do so in a matter of seconds, even while continuing to limit his strength. Instead, he was fighting Zixin to teach him.

    Once he had started looking, he had found that every block, every strike, every step of the elder contained a message specifically directed at Zixin. Whether it was pointing out a mistake, informing him about a shortcoming or encouraging him to try out some new move, everything the elder did was a direct response to what Zixin had done immediately prior.

    Not only was it astonishing to think just how quickly the elder must actually be thinking to tailor not only an efficient counter to Zixin¡¯s attack but also do so in a way that specifically told him something, it also made for an incredibly efficient training method. Each and every spar that Zixin had with the elder would result in a noticeable improvement of his swordsmanship and also help him grow further in the following spars with other disciples.

    As Zixin immersed himself in these messages and the fight went on, he could literally feel himself improve. The spar must have gone on for ten minutes or more until Zixin felt like he couldn¡¯t absorb any more knowledge for now. Panting heavily, he lowered his sword.

    ¡°You have stopped. Why?¡±

    ¡°I felt like I couldn¡¯t learn any more from the fight for now.¡±

    ¡°That is all well and good, but I also gave you an assignment, didn¡¯t I? I told you to try your best to defeat me.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I did though. I thought that it was clear that going on for longer wouldn¡¯t have changed anything about the outcome.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t hit you, no matter how hard I tried. I also couldn¡¯t tire you out, because even though you limited yourself to an inferior physique, your movements were much more efficient than mine. As such, the logical conclusion to this fight was my defeat.¡±

    ¡°Your logic is sound and you are also correct about how this fight would have ended. There is still a lesson I want to teach you here though. Giving up is a natural part of life. If there is a task that you feel you can¡¯t complete despite all effort or that the effort it would take to complete the task wouldn¡¯t be worth it, giving up is usually the right course of action, given that your calculations are correct.

    This doesn¡¯t apply to a fight though. A fight is a situation where you can either win or lose, there is no in between. Losing usually means death. While this doesn¡¯t apply to mock fights, we take those to prepare ourselves for actual combat so the logic should stay the same.

    Death is the ultimate equalizer. No matter what you had in life, death means that you will lose it all. Thus, giving up in combat is never an option. No matter how small your chance of winning might be, you have only lost once you are either dead or have given up. Fleeing or negotiating a surrender are different things, but giving up is never an option you should give yourself in combat. Never.

    In this training environment it is acceptable, since it could equally be characterized as a surrender, but if you ever find yourself in an actual combat situation, which is very likely to happen eventually, remember to never give up as long as you are still breathing.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I understand, elder. Thank you for your lesson.¡±

    ¡°It is my pleasure. Once you are recovered, you should go fight Chonglin. As you are now, I would wager my guess that you can beat him. Once that has happened, send him to me, I¡¯m going to spar with him.¡±

 Chapter 23: Born for Greatness

    The soothing tones of a zither resonated through the large room, bouncing between the walls of marble before being absorbed by the fluffy carpet that laid upon the oaken floor.

    Played with great care and experience, the melody emerging from those tones reached out to a sleeping girl, weaving themselves in between the silken blankets and sheets of her bed and carrying her from the realm of dreams to the real world.

    As the girl wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up, a maid stepped to the side of her bed.

    ¡°Good morning, Young Lady Qiao. I hope you rested well.¡±

    Qiao answered with a slight nod and a smile before slipping out of her bed. Moving to a mirror, the maid who had followed behind was joined by a second one and the two began to help her into her robes and do her hair for the day. When she was satisfied with her looks, Qiao dismissed them with a wave of her hand and walked out of the room.

    Waiting for her outside was Lifen, her head maid. At her arrival, the old woman performed a quick curtsy before addressing her.

    ¡°Good morning, Young Lady Qiao.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Lifen.¡±

    ¡°Let me accompany you to the dining room.¡±

    The two walked in silence for a while before Qiao decided to speak up.

    ¡°Please remind me of my schedule for today.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Young Lady Qiao. After breakfast, you will start the day with a lecture in swordsmanship. After that, you are scheduled for battle strategy. At noon, your honorable grandfather has asked to speak with you, so your lecture in etiquette has been canceled. This is followed by swordsmanship again until late afternoon. Because of the upcoming competition, your poetry lessons in the evening will be swapped for physical training.¡±

    ¡°Grandfather, huh? Do you know what he wants to talk about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, he did not mention that as far as I am informed.¡±

    Qiao¡¯s grandfather was the mighty Ning Bai, patriarch of the Bai family. She didn¡¯t know him particularly well, he had seldomly chosen to meet her. She might have been more talented than most of his grandchildren, but it wasn¡¯t as if she was unique to someone who had lived as long as him.

    She would naturally work to change that in the future, but for now he was just the patriarch of her family to her. Not that her position as a direct child of the main family line didn¡¯t have its benefits¡­

    As they arrived in the dining room, Lifen made her arrival known to the present.

    ¡°Young Lady Qiao has arrived!¡±

    The large room was still rather empty, safe for two of her cousins, both younger than her, and a couple of servants. It was a little to early to see more activity, since most of those who would eat here preferred to sleep a little longer. Everyone from the main branch of the family who lived in their main estate and wasn¡¯t an accomplished cultivator ate here. It wasn¡¯t particularly likely that Qiao would remain here for long.

    She was the most talented child of the Bai family her age, perhaps even the most talented of the sect. While that didn¡¯t mean much in the larger picture, it did pretty much ensure that she would rise to become a powerful cultivator in time.

    Sitting down at one of the long tables, Qiao turned her mind to the question of what kind of breakfast she fancied today.

    ¡­

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    ¡°Your talent with the blade never ceases to impress me, Young Lady Qiao.¡±

    ¡°Enough of the flattery. I know that I¡¯m good, tell me how to get better!¡±

    ¡°As you say, Young Lady. If there was anything that you should work at, it would be your footwork. I don¡¯t mean to question the grace with which you move, but I think you could improve the stability of your steps.¡±

    Qiao rolled her eyes. Swordsmanship was the only of her classes that she was truly passionate about. She didn¡¯t particularly dislike the other things, she could see the use of strategic prowess and political adeptness, she just didn¡¯t care for them that much. Sadly, the current lecture was given to her by her least favorite swordsmanship teacher. The man didn¡¯t lack skill in his subject, it was just his attitude that she disliked.

    She generally didn¡¯t mind subservience; it was just that he seemed more afraid of hurting her ego than of her blade. It made learning far less efficient than it could be as she had to practically drag any words that weren¡¯t blind praise out off him.

    ¡°Alright, what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, that is up to you, Young Lady.

    ¡°By the¡­ alright, we¡¯ll go for another spar.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Young Lady¡±

    Swinging her sword at the man, Qiao tried to shake of her frustration and instead focus on the advice he gave her. Focusing on her footwork, she tried to figure out, just how exactly she was lacking stability.

    ¡­

    Ning Bai was deep in meditation when his door was knocked on. After taking his time to finish his current thoughts and stash them away for later, he opened his eyes and answered.

    ¡°You may come in!¡±

    The door was opened and, trailing behind one of his servants, his granddaughter Qiao entered the room. After stepping before him, both she and the servant went into a deep bow.

    ¡°We greet the honorable patriarch of the Bai family.¡±

    ¡°Servant, you may leave. Qiao, please sit with me.¡±

    He waited until the servant had left before continuing.

    ¡°I presume you prefer we skip the formalities?¡±

    ¡°If you wish so.¡±

    ¡°Alright. The reason I called for you today is to tell you something. You see, lately, some of the other pillar families have been looking down on our family.¡±

    That was a particularly mild way to put the humiliation they had brought upon him and the subsequent disaster that had occurred in the council meeting. They hadn¡¯t even had the decency to admit to their failure afterwards. The girl didn¡¯t need to know that though.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a particularly serious situation, but I have decided that it does warrant a response. This is where you come into play. In the upcoming competition, I need you to utterly defeat all of the competitors sent by them.

    I am confident that you can beat them, after all you are the genius of your generation. I wouldn¡¯t have called you here if I just needed you to win. I want their defeat to be as humiliating as possible.

    Show everyone just how much superior the Bai family¡¯s genius is to their own youth. If possible, make the fights against other disciples look closer than they actually are to make their disciples look even worse by comparison. That should remind them not to mess with our family.

    Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand, patriarch.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident you can fulfill my assignment?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, and I shall work to the utmost of my ability not to disappoint you.¡±

    ¡°Very well. That is all then.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your trust, honorable patriarch.¡±

    With another deep bow, the Qiao left. Alone again, Ning Bai decided to quickly return to his meditation before he could fall into thoughts about how incompetent the other family leaders were once again. The message he would send them would hopefully be enough to bring them to their senses.

    ¡­

    Since Qiao still had some time left before her second class in swordsmanship for the day began, she was relaxing in the garden. Despite its beauty, members of her family rarely came here, which was why it was an excellent spot to relax for a while.

    She didn¡¯t quite know how to feel about the assignment she had received from her grandfather. On the one hand, it was good that she was being noticed for her skills and she certainly had no qualms with showing it off before a crowd a little. She very much liked being admired, who wouldn¡¯t, honestly. Those who said otherwise were just coping with the fact that nothing about them was worth admiring.

    On the other hand, Qiao knew that politics were a dangerous game to play and she certainly wasn¡¯t keen on receiving some kind of backlash from the other families. Sure, the Bai family was powerful, but she had no illusions that they could take on all the other families at once. She just hoped that the situation was not more serious than her grandfather had told her.

    It also left a bad aftertaste in her mouth that she was being used as nothing but a political tool to improve the stand of her family. There wasn¡¯t really anything wrong about it from her grandfather¡¯s perspective, she might even have acted similarly, were she in his position. It just didn¡¯t sit quite right with her.

    Ultimately though, it wasn¡¯t as if she had a choice in the matter. The patriarch of the Bai family had given her a command and as a member of the Bai family, she would naturally follow it, no matter what it entailed.

    Having come to this little satisfying conclusion, Qiao stood up. It was time to head to her swordsmanship class. Perhaps a little sparing would wash her worries away.

 Chapter 24: The Competition Begins

    Today was the day. Zixin couldn¡¯t help but shudder thinking about it. He felt both anxious and exited at it. Anxious, because he couldn¡¯t help but wish he had done even more to prepare for this day and excited because he was burning to finally put what he had learned to use.

    There wasn¡¯t really much he could win or lose today, his chances at being chosen to go to the tournament were slim at best. There were other prices to be won, but all of them paled in comparison to the biggest price of them all, the one that he had already won: the training from Elder Wei. It had transformed him and the others in every conceivable way. Be it mindset, physical abilities or skill, he was not at all comparable to the person he had been previously. He was honestly confident he could beat two or three of his prior self at once.

    That was also the source of the anxiousness though. While there wasn¡¯t much for him to win personally, Elder Wei would profit, if they did well and Zixin didn¡¯t want to disappoint him. He was grateful for every minute he had been allowed to spend with the elder and didn¡¯t want him to regret any of those minutes. That was why he had to perform well today.

    Zixin was currently walking alongside the other disciples, since they had decided to head to the competition grounds together. They had spent the last day doing only light training and heading to sleep early in order to be well rested when the competition began, and it already paid off. Zixin felt great, despite the fact that they had already been walking for two hours.

    The competition would be held in the sects official sparring grounds. Zixin had only been there once, back when he had taken the entry exam, which was also held there. He remembered there to be many small, open fighting stages alongside one large arena. The place was located near the base of the northern mountain, so it was quite the walk from the Training Hall.

    The competition would begin in the late morning, they still had some hours left to get there. If they were right about how long it would take them to get there, they would even have a little time left to rest and warm up.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei stood atop one of the outer walls of the arena, looking down on the stream of people approaching the sparring grounds. Most of them were disciples, some of them here to participate, others just to observe. There were also quite some members amongst the mass, but most of them were expected to only arrive tomorrow.

    The first day would only be consisting off elimination rounds, since there were far too many disciples who would participate to have them partake in a proper tournament. Thus, the real spectacle would only start from the second day onwards.

    Participation was free and so many disciples would just try their luck, if only for the experience. Especially since Liu Wei had actively encouraged the outer disciples to do so.

    Speaking of outer disciples, Liu Wei spotted the group he had trained approaching in the distance. They were moving at a moderate speed in order to conserve energy for the fights waiting for them, as he had told them to.

    Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t certain that any of them would have the ability to really stand out in this tournament. Teaching them had actually gone a lot better than he had expected. All of them had worked extremely hard, impressively hard actually. On top of that, he had found teaching a lot easier and more enjoyable than he had thought he would, considering he had next to no experience in it.

    That being said, a month¡¯s work could only accomplish so much compared to years upon years of dedicated teaching. The pillar family descendants especially would probably prove hard to beat.

    In the end, Liu Wei genuinely didn¡¯t know. He had concerned himself little with the strength of those who hadn¡¯t even really started cultivating in the past. As such, he had little knowledge of how they compared to each other.

    Without turning around, Liu Wei¡¯s soul sense informed him that he was being approached. Continuing to focus on his group of disciples, he greeted the newcomer.

    ¡°Ma Rong. To what do I owe your presence?¡±

    ¡°To nothing in particular, Elder Wei. I just saw that you were standing here on your own and thought I¡¯d pay you a visit.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it. How has the Alchemy Hall¡¯s business been going?¡±

    ¡°In contrast to you and Elder Shi, I am not currently implementing any great changes. As such, it has been going quite like it usually does. More importantly, what about your project?¡±

    ¡°Everything is ready. The instructors I have selected have largely taken the news positively and have been preparing to take up their roles. The facilities have also been readied and the Training Hall looks cleaner than it has in a millennium. I am ready to make the announcement to the wider sect. What about the Enforcement Hall? Have you spoken to Lan Shi recently?¡±

    ¡°I have. The pillar families are dragging their feet with their investigation, as expected. There isn¡¯t really much they can do other than pressure her verbally though and as you know, that is pretty much useless against her. Still, they are managing to slow down the hall¡¯s operations, which has her pretty annoyed.¡±

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    ¡°Well, as long as it¡¯s only that, I think we can be quite satisfied. I had expected a much more drastic response to be honest.¡±

    ¡°As had I and my gut instinct is telling me that there is more to come.¡±

    ¡°There certainly is. We can only wait to see in what form. Anyways, do you have any disciples in this competition?¡±

    ¡°Some of my hall¡¯s disciples are participating, but I am not particularly invested. We focus on alchemy and not on combat after all. What about you?¡±

    ¡°As you know, I have encouraged all outer disciples to take part if they can, since I think it would be a good experience for them. I have also been personally training a couple of disciples in the hope that they can create interest in the Training Hall¡¯s new capabilities.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad move. I hadn¡¯t fancied you a teacher, though I suppose it is not the most drastic change that you have gone through in recent times.¡±

    ¡°Neither had I. I found it surprisingly fulfilling however. I am even thinking of continuing to do it, though with reduced intensity.¡±

    ¡°Lately, you never cease to fascinate me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll choose to take that as a compliment.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Dear disciples and members of the Lunar Peaks Sect, I am happy to welcome all of you here today in my role of sect patriarch.¡±

    The handsome man who looked like he was in his early thirties floated above the crowd, the fourteen elders of the sect, flying slightly lower than him in circular formation. Many of them, Zixin had never seen once in his time in the sect and so he squinted his eyes in an attempt to get a good look at them.

    ¡°The purpose of today¡¯s competition is to determine which of you will receive the great honor of representing our sect in the tournament hosted by the Serene Fields Sect and the Parting Clouds Sect next fall. It goes without saying that this is simultaneously a great honor and a great opportunity. As such, it shall only go to those most worthy among you.

    Today¡¯s competition has been organized and will be hosted by the Outer Relations Hall. It¡¯s leader, Elder Bai, will now brief you on the specifics. I wish all contestants good luck and hope to see a fair and inspiring competition.¡±

    With these words, the patriarch descended slightly until he was in the center of the circle formed by the elders, while one of them, presumably Elder Bai, rose up.

    ¡°I am Elder Ning Bai, leader of the Outer Relations Hall and as such, host of today¡¯s competition. I will now inform you of the rules of the competition.

    First up, the general circumstances: The tournament that this competition is leading up to will be divided in for categories, depending on the participating disciples¡¯ ages. The age brackets are as follows: The first one will happen for disciples up to the age of fourteen. The second one for those between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. The third one between the ages of nineteen and twenty-four and the last one between the ages of twenty-five and thirty.

    Today¡¯s competition will be divided in the same groups, though with the distinction that your relevant age is not that which you currently are but that which you will be when the tournament starts.

    From each of these age groups, our sect will send ten participants to the tournament. Now, since over 1200 disciples have registered to participate, a little less than one in thirty participants will be chosen. Please don¡¯t be discouraged from further improving yourself, should you not make it.

    What will take place today is the qualification round. Since we can¡¯t host the fights of 1200 disciples in the arena, only two hundred will qualify for the following round, fifty for each age group.

    After that, each age group will have their fights on one of the following days to select the ten disciples who will be qualified for the tournament. All disciples who qualify for the main round will be housed free of charge inside the arena so they don¡¯t have to repeatedly make their way here.

    I will now explain the rules of the first round. As you have all seen, the arena is surrounded by open sparring stages. Two hundred of those have been marked, fifty per age group, and an examiner will stand by each of them. From each of those stages, a single person can qualify.

    The rules are rather simple: anyone can claim a stage designated for their age group while it is still empty. Once someone has claimed a stage, they may be challenged by any contestant within their age group. If someone remains unchallenged for a full hour, they qualify. If someone beats three challengers in a row, they also qualify. A stage that someone has qualified from will not be used anymore.

    There are limits to how much you can challenge: if you lose any fight, defending or challenging, you will not be allowed to challenge anyone two hours. If you have lost three fights, you will be automatically disqualified. You will also not be able to challenge the same person twice. All of those rules are in place to prevent unfair behavior.

    Don¡¯t even think of trying to circumvent these rules. Before any fight, your name will be recorded by the examiner responsible for that stage. These records will be checked afterwards and if it is found that you have ignored any of the rules, you will not only be automatically disqualified, but also severely punished.

    The examiners will also make sure, everything remains fair. Use of artifacts, your own weapons or performance enhancing drugs is banned. Ignoring or preventing a surrender is banned. Deliberate cruelty is banned. Violation of any of those rules will result in your opponent automatically being declared victor as well as your disqualification.

    The weapons that will be used are provided at the stages. All of them are dulled in order to prevent serious injury. If you should be seriously injured nonetheless, there are professional healers present who Elder Xia from the Healing Hall has kindly provided us.

    For now, that is all, I hope that all participants have a fair and exciting tournament.¡±

    At those words, the crowd of disciples practically jumped over each other in a race to the stages. Zixin wanted to do the same, but was held back by Chonglin.

    ¡°Why are you stopping me? We need to get to the stages!¡±

    ¡°There is no advantage to claiming a stage early. We need to wait until the strongest have already claimed their own stages, that way they won¡¯t challenge us.¡±

    ¡°But what if they all qualify before we can? We need to be as fast as possible!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, man. There is a reason they gave this competition an entire day. As long as we are somewhere amongst the fifty strongest in our age bracket, we have plenty of cards to play. The strong will not be challenged that much in the beginning and the weaker will not win four fights in a row. For a start, we need to get a good feeling for the situation, then we can start trying for a stage.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Okay, you are right. We need to get going anyways, even just to watch.¡±

    ¡°Course. Just didn¡¯t want you to run off in a panic.¡±

 Chapter 25: The Qualification Round

    Wen Dai was rather annoyed. He had been one of the first to claim a stage for himself only for some Liang family brat two years his junior to come along and challenge him for it. Of course, he hadn¡¯t tried to fight him. While he was confident that he could have won because of the age difference, despite the fact that the kid was most certainly better trained than him, but messing with the pillar families was never a good idea.

    While they couldn¡¯t possibly punish every single disciple that dared fighting one of their own in the competition, his current and future position as an inner disciple at the Formation Hall made him entirely dependent on the Liang family¡¯s goodwill. He wouldn¡¯t risk that this easily.

    Although, looking back, he might have, had he known what would follow. Twice he had found a rather easy target for a challenge and twice someone had challenged and beaten them before him.

    When he had finally managed to secure himself a challenge and beaten his opponent, he had remained unchallenged nearly fifty minutes until another inner disciple had come along and challenged him. He had narrowly won only to instantly be challenged by another inner disciple who had been able to use his exhaustion to defeat him.

    The two-hour wait after this had been agonizing as he had to watch as one easy target after the other had disappeared. Now he only had one chance left at securing himself a spot in the second round and most of the spots were already claimed. He needed a stage with an easy opponent and he needed it fast. It was already afternoon and he had no desire of inviting the disgrace of not even making it to the second round upon his family.

    The Dai family was a martial family from Moonlake, the largest city in the territory subordinate to the Lunar Peaks Sect. While they were obviously worlds away from the power of the pillar families, they enjoyed quite an amount of influence themselves, at least locally.

    As the family heir who had been accepted in the Lunar Peaks Sect, a lot of expectations laid upon Wen. He couldn¡¯t disappoint his mother, the family¡¯s matriarch, by failing to distinguish himself even to such a basic level. He had to gather achievements within the sect in order to gain political capital for his family that he would one day lead.

    This competition was the perfect place for that. Wen Dai even hoped to be amongst the ten to be sent to the tournament. That way, he would truly be noticed, officially acknowledged by the sect to be amongst the worthiest disciples. That was the kind of title that a family in the cities could ride on for decades to come.

    Walking around between the stages, Wen¡¯s attention was drawn to a stage around which quite a few people were gathered. Upon it stood a boy with brown, disheveled hair and a slim but muscular build who seemed to be around his age. More importantly, the boy¡¯s robes were those of an outer disciple ¨C an easy target!

    Wen Dai didn¡¯t know why none of the people surrounding the stage had challenged him yet ¨C perhaps they had already lost too many fights ¨C but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to waste this prime opportunity.

    Running up to the examiner, he shouted from a distance:

    ¡°I want to challenge this disciple!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, please calm yourself. Your challenge is acknowledged. May I know your age?¡±

    ¡°I am seventeen.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Your name?¡±

    ¡°Wen Dai, heir of the Dai family.¡±

    ¡°Okay, let me just check with the list of participants¡­ Ah yeah, I found you. Let me just¡­ Okay, your challenge has been recorded.¡±

    The man seemed not the slightest bit impressed upon learning that Wen was the heir of a family. Not that surprising, there were plenty of young heirs in the sect, every family that could would try to get an heir accepted. Most of them would eventually leave when it was their time to take over the family, but the bonds to the sect remained.

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    Still, Wen would make sure, that in the future, everyone would gasp in awe at when a member of his family mentioned their name.

    ¡°Now, that the formalities are dealt with, what is your weapon of choice?¡±

    ¡°I fight with the sword.¡±

    It was the standard weapon for cultivators and that for good reason. It was an honorable weapon, easy to transport and excellently suitable for enchantments. Generally, most cultivators used bladed weapons, since blunt ones were usually not readily available at for higher stages of cultivation.

    ¡°In that case, you can pick one that fits you from the stash over there. Your opponent will also be using a sword.¡±

    Wen Dai headed over to the stash of weapons and began searching through the swords that were available. They were all rather well made, balanced and sturdy, though a cut below his personal weapon. Nobody would waste a master smith to create sparring weapons after all.

    Picking a sword of middling length and thickness, Wen returned to the examiner, presenting it to the man.

    ¡°I have picked a weapon.¡±

    ¡°Very well then. You may step up on the stage.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, examiner¡±

    Wen Dai let out a breath of relief. Everything had worked out in the end. He just had to beat some outer disciple and he was basically guaranteed to have secured a place in the next round. Most of the stronger people were already qualified or had at least secured their own stage. To be challenged by another disciple of his caliber again, Wen would need to be exceptionally unlucky.

    Stepping onto the stage, Wen finally took the time to take a better look at his opponent. The spot in the next round was something that he would now deprive the boy of, so the least he could do was make some note of him.

    The boy had an athletic build and was of average height, making him quite a bit smaller than Wen Dai who was rather tall. He looked rather handsome, considering his dirty face and unwashed hair. He was visibly nervous, biting his lip.

    Understandable. Considering that Wen was an inner disciple and easy to identify as a strong fighter by his rather broad build and sharp eyes, the boy probably knew he was out of his depth but couldn¡¯t bring himself to give up yet. Not that it mattered ¨C this fight would hardly cause Wen enough struggle to gnaw at his stamina.

    Bravery was something that Wen, as a cultivator, had to acknowledge. Even if it was pointless.

    ¡°Inner Disciple Wen Dai, heir of the Dai family has issued a challenge to Outer Disciple Zixin! Please bow to each other.¡±

    Zixin ¨C Wen would remember that name, at least for a while. It was an act of generosity that he would gladly extend to the boy. Finishing his bow, Wen locked eyes with his opponent who had begun to tremble slightly. The announcer¡¯s voice rang out again:

    ¡°The duel has officially started!¡±

    For a moment, none of them moved. Wen gripped his sword more tightly and held it out in a challenging pose.

    ¡°I will give you the first strike.¡±

    Without answering, the boy ¨C Zixin ¨C rushed forward, delivering an obvious vertical slash that Wen easily sidestepped. He countered with a quick horizontal slash that his opponent barely managed to block, losing his balance and stumbling backwards. Or at least that was how it should have gone.

    Instead, the boy dropped to the ground, landing on all fours and ducking below his attack. Before Wen could even ponder what had just happened, the boy launched himself up with another attack, this one much harder to defend against. It seemed that he had deliberately played weak in an attempt at surprising Wen.

    While the surprise had worked, Wen wasn¡¯t going to lose this easily. Blocking the attack and retaliating with one of his own, he prepared himself for a more difficult fight than he had originally assumed.

    The following exchange was a hard one. While the boy wasn¡¯t quite on Wen¡¯s level and was thus continuously being pushed back, the way he weaved between his attacks and delivered his own quick and light stabs was certainly impressive, especially for an outer disciple.

    Nonetheless, fatigue was building up in his movements, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain this kind of combat for long. Wen, on the other hand, was barely warming up.

    One or two minutes later, he had forced his opponent to the edge of the stage. Grinning triumphantly, he prepared himself to land a finishing blow. Only to be completely taken aback when the boy suddenly dodged several of his strikes in a row while moving around him in an almost dance-like matter. Suddenly, it was Wen whose back was turned towards the edge.

    Before he could properly process what was happening to him, a sly grin appeared on the boy''s face. Wen felt the foot in his stomach before he saw it coming. Thrown backwards, he suddenly landed on the floor ¨C the floor off the stage.

    Befuddled, his brain refusing to acknowledge what had just happened, he could only stare blankly to the boy who he had just been fighting as the announcer spoke words that he couldn¡¯t comprehend.

    ¡°Outer Disciple Zixin has won the duel! He has hereby defeated three challengers in a row through fair combat and thereby advances to the next round of the tournament.¡±

    As a crowd of outer disciples stormed on the stage, enthusiastically embracing the boy, congratulating him to his victory, Wen Dai, heir of the Dai family could only remain seated where he had fallen down as he shook his head over and over.

 Chapter 26: The Second Round

    The qualification round had gone far better than Liu Wei had expected. Eight out of the ten disciples had managed to qualify themselves despite a tough competition. He had watched many of the fights himself, from a distance of course, and was quite proud of how his disciples had won.

    The three oldest had done especially well. While Chonglin had managed to outmaneuver all four of his opponents so well that they practically defeated themselves, Jinghua had won her fights by completely tiring her opponents out with her excellent defense. The last challenger, an inner disciple, had fought her for over thirty minutes before collapsing to the ground. It had been quite the spectacle.

    Zixin had had by far the worst luck, being attacked by multiple inner disciples and losing two of the stages he had fought himself on because of exhaustion. On the last one, the same had almost happened again, if not for his excellent understanding of the situation.

    Zixin had correctly understood that he was outmatched with how exhausted he had been and had used the rules of the competition to his advantage. He hadn¡¯t needed to defeat his opponent; he had just needed to get them of the stage. It had been quite nerve-wracking to watch that one, but all that mattered was that he had managed to prevail.

    Other than the eight of those he had trained, three other outer disciples had also made it into the second round on their own. Overall, it was quite the success. For now, there was only Ning Bai¡¯s closing speech for the first day left, after that they would all be done for the day.

    ¡­

    Zixin was still shivering on his entire body. When that monster of an inner disciple had stepped onto the stage and even his attempt at a surprise attack had failed, he had thought it was all over. It was honestly a miracle he was still in the tournament right now.

    The issue wasn¡¯t even with his strength. He was pretty sure that he could have beaten that inner disciple in a fight, had he been in top condition. The issue was that his preferred way of fighting, a quick, close ranged exchange of blows, was not exactly designed to leave him with a lot of stamina afterwards. The real challenge today had been the consecutive nature of the fights.

    He could only hope, that he would be allowed to properly rest between fights tomorrow, otherwise there was a good chance it would get pretty embarrassing for him.

    Come what may, for now he needed to be content with the fact that he had qualified for the second round and try to calm down. Looking up, he saw that Elder Bai was about to begin his speech. Shaking his head to regain his concentration, he focused on the man¡¯s words.

    ¡°Dear disciples, the first round of the competition has finished. I want to congratulate everyone who made it to the second round. To those who didn¡¯t: I hope you are not too distressed about this fact. The nature of this round meant that while skill was of course the most deciding factor, there was also quite a bit of luck involved. While you can¡¯t continue fighting in this competition, you are welcome to continue attending the competition as viewers. For disciples, this is completely free of charge.

    Those who have qualified: once I have finished my speech, please follow the examiners who will be responsible for your age group. They will direct you to your sleeping quarters.

    Once everything has been properly verified, you will be divided into groups of ten, meaning five groups per age bracket. In these groups, you will fight everyone exactly once. The two disciples with the highest number of wins will qualify for the tournament.

    As I told you previously, the fights in the lowest age bracket will take place tomorrow, the second lowest in two days and so on. All fights will be held inside the arena before an audience of sect members, disciples and elders. Please prepare yourself thoroughly.

    That is all for today, I wish you all a good rest tonight.¡±

    After Elder Bai had finished his speed, several examiners stepped forward. The first of them shouted:

    ¡°Qualified disciples between age ten and fourteen, please follow me!¡±

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    The disciples in question got up and slowly made their way through the crowd. Once they were gathered, the examiner led them away in the direction of the arena. A second examiner then shouting the same phrase for the next age bracket. This one included Zixin and Chonglin and so the two pushed themselves through the crowd to the front.

    ¡°Alright group, please follow me. I¡¯ll show you where you will sleep.¡±

    ¡­

    Group fights it was. Qiao couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how exactly her grandfather expected her to deal humiliating defeats to all the pillar family disciples if she wasn¡¯t even going to get the chance to fight them. It was his competition to organize though, so not really her problem. She would simply eliminate every pillar family disciple that she got a chance to fight, for anything else, she couldn¡¯t be blamed.

    She hadn¡¯t watched the fights of the younger disciples that had taken place yesterday, since she had little interest in watching children swing sticks at each other. Apparently, some outer disciples had made waves by beating multiple inner disciples in duels, but other than that, she hadn¡¯t really missed anything.

    Instead, she had taken a long walk through the adjacent forest. She rarely had time to do something like that, but since her tutors weren¡¯t here and she couldn¡¯t train much anyway, because she had to be in perfect condition for the fights, it had been the perfect opportunity. The nature around the Lunar Peaks Sect was of a beauty so fulfilling and whole, it was hard to believe that it was natural at all.

    The vibrantly colored flowers, the tall and majestic pine trees, the sated green of the lush grass ¨C all of those were results of the high natural levels of qi in the area. That was of course also the main reason why the sect was located here.

    While a high ambient qi wasn¡¯t directly beneficial to cultivation, the resources that would be created by it certainly were. Be it the abundance of qi-rich plants that would serve as ingredients for alchemy or the rich veins of high-quality spirit ore that could be mined, the natural wealth of the mountains it was built on had directly contributed to the power that the Lunar Peaks Sect held today.

    Right now, Qiao was warming up her muscles; the second round of her age-group was just about to start. They hadn¡¯t been informed of the group compositions yet, but she didn¡¯t really worry. There was no one her age who was currently able to beat her. While some of them might be similarly talented in cultivation, she was undoubtedly the best fighter at the moment.

    A knocking at the door brought her out of her thoughts.

    ¡°Come in!¡±

    In came one of the examiners, carefully lowering his head before speaking.

    ¡°Young Lady Qiao Bai, the disciples have been asked to assemble. The competition will begin shortly.¡±

    ¡°Very well, lead the way.¡±

    ¡­

    Rows upon rows of people were looking down on Zixin and the other disciples as they entered the arena in a group, led by the examiners. He had rarely seen this many people in one place. He knew that the sect measured around ten thousand members and disciples, most of them probably being present here today, on top of many more mortal servants. He hadn¡¯t realized just how overwhelming it would be to be the center of attention for a crowd this large.

    If he had been nervous before, he was close to completely breaking down now. Looking around made him dizzy. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°You alright?¡±

    The concerned voice of Chonglin reached him through incomprehensible mix of the thousands of voices from the crowd.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look too well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I feel a little sick, but it¡¯s gonna be alright.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? If I can do anything for you, just tell me.¡±

    ¡°No, nothing you could do, but thank you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The conversation was enough diversion for Zixin to regain his focus. Closing his eyes for a second, he steeled his resolve.

    Just ignore the crowd. Focus on your task.

    Opening his eyes again, he already felt better. He wasn¡¯t here to stare at the crowds, he was here to put the skills he had built up to good use.

    As the group of disciples arrived in the middle of the arena, Elder Bai began floating from a podium until he was directly above them. Without further delay, he began speaking.

    ¡°Dear members and disciples of the Lunar Peaks Sect, dear participants of the competition: The third day of the competition will now begin. I have already explained the rules to you all. Your examiners will inform you of the group compositions and organize the battles. Good luck to everyone.¡±

    An examiner stepped forward, holding up a list that he began reading names from.

    ¡°¡­Group one: Inner Disciple Cheng Rong, Outer Disciple Chonglin, Inner Disciple Qiao Bai, Inner Disciple Guozhi Zhao, Outer Disciple Zixin, ¡­¡±

    Wait, what?

    He and Chonglin were in the same group? That was quite the coincidence. Zixin didn¡¯t even know whether he should be happy about that or not. On the one hand, it meant they had to fight each other. On the other, it meant he wouldn¡¯t be left quite as alone here.

    Once the list had been fully read out, more examiners stepped forward.

    ¡°Group two, please follow me!¡±

    Following the examiner that had called them, the ten disciples moved away from the other groups. All of this was happening faster than Zixin had expected it to, but he supposed it made sense. The crowd wanted to see fighting, not endless formalities.

    ¡°Alright everyone, this is where we will hold our fights. There are no hard limits to the space you can fight in, just don¡¯t run of completely please. Let me just read out the order of fights, then we will begin immediately. The first duel will be between¡­ Outer Disciple Zixin and Inner Disciple Qiao Bai!¡±

 Chapter 27: Childs Play?

    So this was the game her grandfather was playing. Qiao¡¯s entire group had been stacked up with disciples from the pillar families. Specifically, with the younger ones amongst those who had qualified. She didn¡¯t expect any difficulty from fighting any of them.

    The outliers that were the two outer disciples had confused her at first, but with the reveal of the fight order, their purpose had been made clear to her. She would start of fighting one of them in the very first duel from their group. By feigning hardship, she would undersell her actual strength only to completely demolish the pillar families¡¯ disciples. The last fight would be against another outer disciple, reminding the audience of her supposed weakness.

    While the outer disciples would of course also fight against the others directly, it didn¡¯t really matter. The audience only ever clearly remembered the first and the last fight anyways, the between would be more of a general feeling. And Qiao would make absolutely sure that she was the center of attention during that time.

    That¡¯s a good way to bring as much humiliation as possible upon the other families. They must have really hurt grandfather¡¯s pride.

    Having made a general plan for the event, Qiao turned her attention back to the outside. She didn¡¯t have to focus in order to present the elegant and graceful demeanor that she always put up when in public. Through hundreds upon hundreds of hours of training, it had become second nature to her. Still, before an audience like this, it couldn¡¯t hurt to make sure her etiquette was on point.

    As the other disciples moved back to make room for her and her opponent, Qiao drew her sword, all the while keeping her expression cold and aloof. She wasn¡¯t the kind of person to pander to an audience by throwing them false smiles or faking insecurity. She would win their hearts through action.

    As the signal to start was given, Qiao had to hold herself back from rushing forward immediately. While she liked taking the initiative in fights, she could not know for certain if an outer disciple would be able to take even a single serious attach from her. The last thing she wanted was for this fight to end before it had even started.

    As it turned out, that was an unnecessary worry though. Before Qiao could even make up her mind on how to start the fight instead, the boy was already directly in front of her, opening with a running stab. Qiao instinctively stepped to the side while already bringing her sword down in a counter.

    This would have been the end of the fight and as such a huge blunder from her side, had the boy actually been the reckless beginner that Qiao still took him for. Instead, he threw his sword upwards, deflecting her attack while simultaneously creating a sideway spinning force that he used to throw his overextended body out of her reach, landing firmly on both feet, guard already up.

    Qiao was baffled. She had never seen anyone use momentum that way before in all of her swordsmanship lessons. It wasn¡¯t as if his sword was an extension to his body, it was more like his body was an extension to his sword.

    While she was reasonably certain that she could reproduce the move without much difficulty, which she would most definitely try once she was back home, she couldn¡¯t think of any explanation for where the boy had learned it.

    One thing was certain though: This boy ¨C Zixin, as she now remembered ¨C hadn¡¯t made it into the second round by dumb luck, as she had previously assumed. He possessed some serious skill. This suited her purposes.

    Ending their standoff, Qiao rushed forward to attack. Her attacks rained down on Zixin, one after the other. He didn¡¯t retaliate, entirely occupied with keeping up his defense against her onslaught. That was what he it looked like, at least. Now that she was paying more attention though, Qiao noticed that his muscles were still partly relaxed and his strained expression was a facade. He was still holding back.

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    Slowly driving him back, she noticed several openings in his defense, all of which would need her to step further in, if she wanted to exploit them. These were baits. Zixin wanted her to get closer to him. Naturally, Qiao did him the favor.

    As soon as she had done so, Zixin¡¯s pattern changed. From purely defending, he went into an aggressive exchange, dodging her attacks by mere centimeters while mercilessly raining down attacks. Qiao prevented herself from gasping in surprise: he was fast.

    As she retreated step after step, her mind raced: how had she underestimated her opponent this much? And how was someone of this skill still an outer disciple. This sort of speed would be enough to defeat most inner disciples his age. Qiao¡¯s attempt to play up his skill had been totally unnecessary.

    That meant that she could now end the fight though. Ramping up her speed to match his while standing entirely still, Qiao locked eyes with Zixin. Once he had noticed, she gave him the faintest of smiles, impossible to perceive from the outside, only just visible to him. Then she sped up again.

    Now, Zixin was the one being pushed back. Qiao kept steadily increasing the speed of her attacks, soon driving him completely into the defensive again. As both his expression and his moves became more and more desperate, the most difficult task was actually not the fight, but keeping the grin that wanted to creep to her face back.

    It was a side of her that she rarely gave in to, since it was so difficult to keep is from showing to the outside, but crushing the boy¡¯s confidence like this ¨C Qiao loved it. It wasn¡¯t a feeling befitting of someone of her status, but Qiao absolutely reveled in being superior to others. Already knowing she would win while the opponent still clung onto a last sliver of hope ¨C delightful.

    Before her emotions could get out of hand even more, Qiao delivered a quick chop to her opponent¡¯s hand which flung away his weapon. Then, she simply put her sword to his neck.

    ¡°I yield.¡±

    Zixin¡¯s breath was heavy as he stammered the words that ended this duel. Only now was it, that Qiao noticed the roar of the crowd. Whether it was her beauty, the strength of Zixin despite being an outer disciple, or something else, the crowd¡¯s attention had rested entirely on them.

    Qiao returned her sword to its scabbard before acknowledging the crowd with a simple nod. Then, after readjusting her pose, she returned to the other disciples of the group who were seated on wooden benches of to the side.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei leaned back into his chair. Though Zixin had fought well, his defeat had regrettably been set in stone from the moment the fight had begun. The girl that had been his opponent was visibly more skilled than him in any aspect.

    Not only was she quicker and stronger than him, she also possessed an overwhelming amount of skill, compared to the boy who, for all of its effectiveness, had only ever received a single month of proper, individual training. Even in the end, she had still been holding back, never bothering to dodge a single attack and instead simply deflecting all of them.

    Zixin wasn¡¯t to blame for his defeat, none of the other disciples Liu Wei had trained would have been able to win against her. The boy had accomplished more than enough, much more than Liu Wei had been expecting from him. Even so, seeing his trainee be outmatched like this somehow still stung a lot more and a lot deeper than expected.

    His recent experiences had taught Liu Wei to listen more closely to his feelings than he had ever done in the past, which was why he wouldn¡¯t just be dismissing this sting. Still, now was not the time to ponder on it. Seated in between his fellow elders, as he was, he needed to focus his attention on surveying them instead of giving them something to survey. Information was power and even tiny emotional reactions could serve to give away some of it.

    On top of that, there were a lot more fights in which his disciples would partake. Liu Wei wouldn¡¯t dishonor their efforts by diverting his attention from them.

    The crowd was still in ecstasy from watching the first duels, Zixin¡¯s had actually pulled a special amount of attention. There was no doubt in his mind that people were already talking about the exceptional strength of the outer disciple. With many more fights to come, his announcement at the end of today¡¯s battles would hopefully be met with great interest.

 Chapter 28: A Genius

    Zixin pressed the formerly white piece of cloth to his sleeve, staining it with even more red, as he swallowed the medicine that had been provided to him. He had known, of course, that a sword wouldn¡¯t suddenly stop hurting just because it was blunted, but he hadn¡¯t been prepared for just how brutal these fights had turned out to be.

    During training, the focus hadn¡¯t really been on defeating the opponent but rather on learning from the fight with them, while the fights in the qualification round had usually been ended preeminently once one of the parties had been forced of the platform.

    In contrast, the current matches only ended once one of the duelists submitted or was physically unable to continue the fight. Since the stakes were high, this had led to multiple instances of opponents beating each other to near unconsciousness.

    Zixin¡¯s first match, the one against Qiao Bai, had been comparatively tame, simply because of how outmatched he had been. Once he had been disarmed, he had lacked any way to try and still fight back.

    The following fights had often been much closer calls though, the last one having been particularly bad. Despite receiving ample treatment from the medical staff, Zixin felt terrible. The feeling of the medicine taking effect and starting to knit his skin back together wasn¡¯t helping either. No matter how effective, having one¡¯s flesh forcefully rearranged was very much the opposite of pleasant, the burning itch hurting more than any of his wounds.

    Even so, it was a welcome distraction from the chilling feeling of disappointment that was slowly clawing its way forward from the back of his mind. Zixin hadn¡¯t made it. All of his duels were over and he hadn¡¯t managed to secure a spot for the tournament.

    Cognitively, this wasn¡¯t a surprise. He had never believed that he could make it, had never allowed himself to believe that. He knew his strengths, but that also meant that he knew his limits. No matter how much he had improved in the last month, he was still just an outer disciple. The fact that he had been able to go head-to-head with inner disciples and even some pillar family members was astonishing in its own right.

    Emotionally though, he had naturally hoped for some sort of miracle. He had tried not to acknowledge these emotions, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t there. This miracle, however, had failed to manifest. Now that his last duel had ended, that fact began to settle in, shredding his hopes and dreams in the process.

    Four wins, five losses. Many of both only by a hair¡¯s breadth. Though Zixin knew he should have been thankful for even that much, he couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter. With a little more training, a tiny bit more determination or even just a little grain of luck, maybe things could have gone differently¡­

    He took a deep breath. This wasn¡¯t the time for regret. No matter the overall outcome, today undoubtedly marked the greatest achievement of his entire life so far. He shook his head to free it up, immediately regretting the gesture as he was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness. Yeah, right, he still had that head injury.

    A few moments of trying his best not to fall over later, when his sense of directions had largely returned to him, Zixin looked over towards the opening where the fights were taking place. The current duel having just ended, he could spot Chonglin getting ready for his last fight of the day.

    His friend had five victories under his belt, owed to the fact that Zixin had been beaten by him when they had fought each other. The days of Zixin winning this matchup were long gone, nowadays it was roughly fifty-fifty.

    This put Chonglin into joined third place within the group with two other contestants. He had actually beaten the second place, a boy named Guozhi Zhao, in their duel. With the exception of Qiao Bai, most of the contestants in the group were actually remarkably close to each other in skill. Not that it mattered. In the end, only the number of wins one had accumulated counted.

    The last opponent he would fight was Qiao. Zixin felt a sting of guilt: he genuinely wanted to cheer for his friend and believe in him, but he seriously couldn¡¯t picture the girl losing against him, or really any opponent. Over the short span of the last few hours, she had established herself in his mind as an unscalable wall. An untouchable flower, as deadly as it was beautiful.

    Their fight had lasted no longer than she had permitted it to last and it had ended no sooner than she had intended for it to end. She had been playing with him all along. A fact made clear by how easily she had been able to end all the other fights against opponents that were clearly on Zixin¡¯s level, if not above.

    She was, there was no doubt in his mind, what every child dreamed of being, what every adolescent envied and what every parent prayed for their child to be: A true genius, chosen by the world itself and blessed by the heavens above.

    The crowd certainly felt the same way, focusing all of its attention at them, every time she stepped up to fight. Just as she was doing right now, her youthful beaty mystified by her cold, almost melancholic expression. Zixin couldn¡¯t help but bite his lip in anticipation to seeing her fight once more.

    ¡­

    Qiao was utterly bored. The rush she had felt from in her first fight from establishing her superiority and showing of her skill to the crowd had long since subsided. Not only did her grandfather¡¯s orders leave her no room to draw the following ones out like the first one, which meant she had to end them before they could even begin to unfold, she had also had to discover that, to her dismay, none of the other disciples in her group were even remotely as interesting to fight as the outer disciple.

    They weren¡¯t weaker per se, but their fighting styles were much more streamlined and boring compared Zixin¡¯s unfamiliar way of fighting. On top of that, most of them had already resigned to losing against her by the time she fought them.

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    All of that had turned this competition into a pointless, boring exercise in waiting for weaker contestants to finish their battles. The crowd¡¯s roar, that had been so exciting to be the center of in the beginning, had quickly turned into a constant nuisance of background noise. There weren¡¯t even any stakes involved for her: Her participation in the tournament had been set in stone from the beginning and she also didn¡¯t need to fight for attention from the pillar families because she was literally part of one.

    She could only thank her ancestors that this whole ordeal would be over soon.

    Actively working to prevent her boredom from finding its way into her expression or mannerisms, Qiao gave a passing glance towards her opponent. The slightly chubby boy was the second outer disciple in her group and he had actually done even better than Zixin had.

    Despite that, Qiao didn¡¯t expect much from this fight. She had watched some of his battles and concluded that his main strength seemed to be strategic prowess and exploiting an opponent¡¯s weaknesses. That strategy had been working well against the less experienced disciples in the group who were simply not accustomed to being challenged in this way. Against her though, it would be a fruitless effort.

    She constantly worked on challenging herself in new ways and, as a result, had very few weaknesses that could be exploited. She wouldn¡¯t be drawn in by cheap tricks and feints. Maybe she would need to pretend to be though, in order to draw out this fight.

    The boy had a face filled with fearful determination. He clearly knew that he wasn¡¯t her match, but he was also not willing to give up because of that. Some, Qiao knew, would find this kind of spirit admirable. She didn¡¯t, though. It was simply an act of delusion to stand up to a power that one had no chance of overcoming. A meaningless gesture of misplaced trust in some nebulous destiny, code of honor or a miracle.

    It was a delusion that suited her purpose though. Or rather her grandfather¡¯s purpose. If the boy was to give up from the start, the entire effort of arranging him to be Qiao¡¯s last opponent would have been for naught.

    Not willing to wait even longer than she had to, Qiao initiated the combat. Rushing forward in order to meet the boy, she raised her sword to deliver the first strike.

    She didn¡¯t actually get to strike, of course, since the boy immediately delivered a stab that drove her back. The spear he was using gave him a good advantage over her in range.

    Following the opening, the two began trading blows. The boy stabbed, Qiao slashed, both of them blocked each other¡¯s attacks. Qiao hadn¡¯t allowed this kind of exchange to happen with any of the pillar families¡¯ disciples, instead opting to disarm each of them before they could even start to fight back.

    The exchange itself strongly fed into Qiao¡¯s already preeminent emotion of boredom. Nothing about the way the boy was fighting was interesting. His stabs were slow and methodical, prodding for weaknesses and openings that Qiao didn¡¯t have.

    After two or three minutes, Qiao decided that this had to be enough. Her earlier fight against Zixin had already been a great show and this fight¡¯s length would still suffice to create a contrast to her previous battles. It wasn¡¯t the perfect performance, but she wasn¡¯t having any more of this. Ramping up her speed, she moved in for a decisive blow¡­

    ¡­ Only to awkwardly retreat again when she realized that she couldn¡¯t deliver it. The boy¡¯s speed hadn¡¯t changed, neither had his technique. This technique however had just prevented Qiao from going through with her attack without receiving a blow herself. Naturally, that was something she would never allow to happen from an outer disciple.

    When Qiao tried again, the same thing happened. This hadn¡¯t just been a coincidence; it was a pattern. One that she had failed to notice previously, since she hadn¡¯t really tried attacking in earnest.

    Taking a closer look at the boy¡¯s attacks confirmed her assumptions: his moves were entirely focused on not giving her an opportunity to land a good hit. The reason he had bored her so much was that he hadn¡¯t even been really trying to hit her.

    Qiao grimaced internally. This would not stand. She couldn¡¯t have some outer disciple prevent her from controlling this fight as she pleased. Moving in again, she began to continuously attack this strange and unusual defense with all the skill and speed she had.

    It didn¡¯t take long for her to land a hit to his arm, but it wasn¡¯t a decisive one. The boy flinched, but he kept on fighting regardless. Whenever Qiao tried to land a serious attack, his spear was suddenly in the way. Not by blocking her hit, but by attacking her in a way that would guarantee to hit her, should she commit to the attack.

    Like this, she was forced back over and over.

    ¡­

    Several minutes of attacking later, the boy¡¯s stubbornness was seriously starting to grind on Qiao¡¯s nerves. While she had already landed well over a dozen hits on him, none of them were major enough to prevent him from fighting on. And fight on he did.

    He had not yet come even close to hitting her once while himself taking enough punishment that he would have already been unconscious, if they had been using real weapons. She wasn¡¯t even breaking a sweat yet, while he was audibly gasping for air. And yet he wouldn¡¯t resign.

    It was the sort of disobedience that Qiao was not only not used to, but that she also felt the immediate desire to stamp out in full force. But that wasn¡¯t possible here. Because for all that the boy was clearly on his last leg, he continued to successfully prevent her from landing a decisive strike.

    While that came at the cost of being open to more and more of her minor attacks, it meant that Qiao would need to finish this battle through attrition, rather than through a clean knockout. The thought alone was outrageous!

    Qiao redoubled her efforts in attacking, but to no avail. Every time she thought she had found an opening, she¡¯d be forced back once again before she could capitalize on it.

    Several more grueling minutes of mounting frustration went by before the boy finally collapsed to his hands and knees. Qiao let out an exasperated sigh; finally, this was over. But as the boy looked up to meet her eyes, all she got from him instead of a resignation, was a grim, defiant look, his hand still grasping onto his spear.

    Qiao finally snapped. If the boy didn¡¯t want to give in, he would need to feel the hard and proper consequences for that insulting behavior. Gritting her teeth in order to prevent herself from breaking her image, she stepped forward while rising her sword high above her head. She would knock him out for good and hopefully give him a headache he wouldn¡¯t forget for a while in the process.

    Suddenly, her foot having not even touched the ground yet, Qiao¡¯s senses screamed at her. Mistake! This step had been a mistake! Every muscle in her body tensed up in an attempt to jump backwards, but it was already too late to do anything about it.

    As Chonglin ripped his spear backwards, sweeping her off her feet, she felt like everything slowed down to a crawl. Every second seemed like minutes and yet she was frozen, unable to do anything about what was happening. Where had she gone wrong? How long had he planned to do this without her noticing? Was every hit she had landed nothing but a distraction? Or was it just an incredible coincidence? She couldn¡¯t tell anymore.

    As the thoughts raced in her head, the last thing she saw was the shaft of the spear that Chonglin had swung around in a single, smooth motion, aiming for her head.

    Then everything went black.

 Chapter 29: Roar of the Crowd

    Liu Wei was at the edge of his seat ¨C literally.

    At the back of his mind, he noticed that he had lost control of his facial expression, his surprise having slipped out for all to see. He was too preoccupied staring at the disciple he had trained to address that right now though.

    It didn¡¯t really matter either, because all who could have seen it were the other elders, none of whom had any capacity to pay attention to him right now. For all of his bewilderment, Liu Wei was still the least confused amongst all of them.

    Chonglin had just accomplished something should have been impossible, sending a wave of pure shock through the entire audience that had gone completely silent, watching him with bated breath.

    Then, as if a spell that had been silencing all of them had been broken, they roared.

    From one moment to another, the arena was filled with cheers louder than ever before. As medical staff rushed forward to treat the two fighters, Liu Wei finally forced himself out of the stupor that he had fallen into.

    Watching as the scene continued to unfold, Liu Wei tried to comprehend what he had just watched happen. It hadn¡¯t escaped his notice that Chonglin had been attentively observing every one of Qiao Bai¡¯s fights from the beginning, while not paying any attention to any of the other contestants besides his friend Zixin. Now it was clear, why.

    The boy had been working on a strategy to face her. What he had come up with was exactly what Liu Wei would have advised him to do: She was superior to him in every way. As such, the only option was to play for time and bet on her hubris to deliver him an opening.

    That was exactly what had happened. The girl, while incredibly well trained in both strategy and swordsmanship, clearly had the same issue of character that many powerful cultivators with inadequate combat experience tended to have. Had she not continuously all of her effort on trying to find an opportunity to finish the fight with a single, clean blow, she could have ended it long ago.

    Even then, she wouldn¡¯t have lost without her massive blunder in the end. She had disregarded her opponent so completely, she hadn¡¯t even accounted for the position of his weapon. It was ridiculous.

    It wasn¡¯t her shortcomings alone that had decided this fight though. Even with all of them, she was still an opponent far outside the reach of anyone in her group. It was Chonglin¡¯s meticulous planning and his incredible persistence that had led to his victory. He had absorbed what Liu Wei had taught him to absolute perfection, going above and beyond what he had expected of the boy.

    Deep inside him, alongside his beaming pride, Liu Wei felt something stir. That something immediately caught part of his attention, even as another part continued to observe Chonglin reunite with Zixin down in the arena, the latter throwing the former to the floor in an explosive hug.

    Liu Wei tried to prod whatever he was feeling, but failed to comprehend what it was. A few moments later, it was gone. As much as his curiosity perked at this, he shelved his questions for now. Right now, what was happening here was more important.

    ¡­

    ¡°You did it! You fucking did it! You won!¡±

    Zixin shook his friend by the shoulders again and again. Watching that fight had stressed him out terribly, especially after he had realized that Chonglin was actually keeping Qiao in check. Its conclusion had Zixin absolutely exhilarated. The last time he had been that pumped up was when he had been accepted into the sect.

    All Chonglin could manage to answer Zixin¡¯s cheers was a tired smile. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, he had struggled to even stand up, all of his energy used up.

    It had already been about fifteen minutes since then and the atmosphere of the crowd still wasn¡¯t showing any signs of calming down, even though there were no more fights happening. All of the other groups had finished earlier than them, Chonglin¡¯s and Qiao¡¯s fight had been the very last to conclude.

    Now that he was thinking about it, shouldn¡¯t the elders be addressing them by now?

    As if they had just been waiting for someone to think of them, multiple figures levitated out of the elders¡¯ loge and towards the center of the arena. Zixin could make out Elder Wei as well as the sect patriarch, but strangely not Elder Bai.

    Once in place, the patriarch began to speak, the crowd immediately going quiet in order to listen to his words.

    ¡°Dear disciples, dear sect members, this round has officially concluded and it has been determined who will qualify to participate in the tournament. Unfortunately, an urgent matter has come up, demanding Elder Bai¡¯s immediate attention, hence I will be the one to announce the winners.

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    Before that, I want to congratulate all participants for their excellent performance today. Please honor them with me through a round of applause.¡±

    As the noise of the crowd returned to once again wash over the disciples, Zixin couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether the absence of Elder Bai was connected to the fact that Qiao, who was also from the Bai family, had just suffered that defeat.

    An elder like him wouldn¡¯t feel shame over something like that though, would he? I can¡¯t really think of any emergency that would require one specific elder to act while the others can continue to lay back though¡­ But what do I know.

    He was just an outer disciple after all, ignorant to the sect¡¯s inner workings. It was most likely just a weird coincidence.

    ¡°Well then, I don¡¯t want to make you wait. One last thing before announcing the winners: Every participant who has made it to the second round and secured at least one victory for themselves will receive a reward, determined according to their ranking in the group. You will be informed of the details later.

    Let us begin then, with the winners of group one. The most wins, eight to be exact, have been gathered by Inner Disciple Qiao of the Bai family. The second place is shared between two disciples, both of them having achieved six wins: Inner Disciple Guozhi Zhao and Outer Disciple Chonglin.¡±

    Zixin froze up. He had completely forgotten about that. In his head, he had already put Chonglin in third place before the last battle had even begun. He hadn¡¯t expected to need to take another victory into account. But what did this mean? Who would qualify?

    He wasn¡¯t the only one to feel the suspense apparently, as murmurs traveled through the otherwise silent crowd.

    ¡°In cases such as this, the elders have decided to hand the victory to whomever beat the other person in their direct confrontation. In this case, this means that the second disciple to qualify for the tournament is Outer Disciple Chonglin!¡±

    The crowd erupted into cheers once again.

    ¡­

    A pretty hard push had been needed in order to get the other elders to agree to this resolution. While the fact that it was objectively the fairest way of doing things had been helpful, the central factor had been the fact that a boiling Ning Bai had kept angrily demanding that he alone should be allowed to decide who was most worthy to represent the sect. The otherwise so calm strategist had not taken the hit that his granddaughter¡¯s defeat had dealt to his pride particularly well.

    The end result was one that Liu Wei was utterly satisfied with. Beyond all political calculations, Chonglin genuinely deserved to qualify. Liu Wei thought so and as did the crowd, as was evident by their cheers. Whether the reason was that they perceived Chonglin as an underdog, or simply that he had won the most climactic battle of the day, they had clearly taken a liking to him.

    He would congratulate him and the other disciples in person later. For now, the true purpose of his little training program needed to be accomplished. As the patriarch finished his speech, Liu Wei went over the wording of his announcement once more.

    Then, he rose through the air to the level of the patriarch.

    ¡°Dear sect members, dear disciples, dear contestants. I, Liu Wei, have an announcement I would like to make from my position as leader of the Training Hall.

    For a long time, the Training Hall has long stood in the shadow of the other halls, its sole purpose being the training of the sect¡¯s outer disciples. But times change.¡±

    Yes, they did. At least Liu Wei hoped that they would and he would give his everything to ensure so.

    ¡°I believe that the Training Hall carries with it much untapped potential in its ability to benefit our sect. As many of you may know and as you have also been able to perceive during today¡¯s competition, I have already implemented a program to improve the education that it provides to the disciples, hoping to strengthen our future generations of members. Now, I would like to inform you of another project that I have been working on.

    From today onwards, the Training Hall will start offering services to all willing members in the form of professionally supervised combat training and consultation in all matters of cultivation. I hope that this will help improve the sects combat capabilities as a whole as well as fund additional measures to improve the training of our disciples.¡±

    Liu Wei paused for a moment to give everyone time to grasp what they had just heard. It didn¡¯t take long for the whispers in the crowd to grow louder and turn into vivid discussions. People were at the very least curious. Before the atmosphere could grow too out of control, he resumed talking.

    ¡°The basic of our program is simple: we will generally offer our services to anyone below the Dao Attuning Realm. The prices will vary depending on your realm and on how advanced the help you seek is.

    If demand turns out to be beyond our current capacity, we will work to increase it while those who can¡¯t be handled yet will be put on a waiting list in order of their application. We have positioned personnel at the exit of the arena to brief you on the specific pricings and more, should you be interested. Otherwise, all information can be found by visiting the Training Hall directly.

    For those within the Dao Attuning Realm, there is also the option of attending a reoccurring group session where I will be personally advising you on cultivation, though the number of seats for this will be very limited.¡±

    Gasps could be heard throughout the arena. This was his final trump card. It didn¡¯t matter that most members of the sect would not even be eligible for this program, the simple prospect of being able to receive personal attention from an elder was enough to lend credibility to the entire program.

    Members who didn¡¯t belong to a pillar family often fought for their whole lives to be noticed by an elder. It was something they perceived as a chance to achieve glory and power beyond their wildest dreams. Much of it was just that ¨C dreaming, but it was a great motivator nonetheless.

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t have an issue with spending a few hours every month teaching sect members ¨C he had just spent the majority of the last month training disciples after all.

    ¡°That was all I had to say. I hope to see some of you come to the Training Hall and try out our program. Beyond that, I hope you enjoy the remaining days of the competition. Thank you for your attention.¡±

    As conversations were reignited, Liu Wei descended to go and congratulate his disciples.

 Chapter 30: A Spark of Inspiration

    ¡°I want that boy.¡±

    ¡°Chonglin?¡±

    ¡°No. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I would be happy to accept him as well. But need Zixin to become an inner disciple of the Enforcement Hall.¡±

    ¡°May I ask why exactly?¡±

    ¡°He has got the mindset. I know it when I see it. The mindset that one needs in order to overcome all odds.¡±

    ¡°What mindset?¡±

    ¡°He is an incredibly hard worker, am I right?¡±

    ¡°I suppose you are.¡±

    ¡°I thought so. He also didn¡¯t show any kind of jealousy when his friend qualified for the tournament while he didn¡¯t. He was just happy for him. This combination of ambition and honor is what I am looking for. He will make a fine disciple.¡±

    Lan Shi hadn¡¯t given Liu Wei any space to breathe as soon as he had been outside the range of the other elder¡¯s ears.

    ¡°So why are you asking me instead of just making an offer to him? We already have an agreement on that, don¡¯t we?¡±

    Liu Wei couldn¡¯t see the reason Lan Shi wasn¡¯t just taking Zixin under her wings immediately. Making this process easy and effective had been the entire purpose of their hall cooperation program after all.

    ¡°Think of the boy. He undoubtedly feels indebted to you and would probably straight up refuse the offer to transfer to another hall if he was just approached from the outside.¡±

    After thinking on it for a moment, Liu Wei found himself agreeing.

    ¡°You are right, I didn¡¯t consider that. Anyways, I don¡¯t have any objection to him becoming an inner disciple as long as you treat him well.¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡±

    ¡°I will approach him about it. If he agrees, I¡¯ll send word to you, so you can register him as disciple of your hall.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡±

    ¡°You have nothing to thank me for. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for consulting with me on this matter.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only natural.¡±

    ¡°Many of our peers would disagree with you on this matter.¡±

    ¡°Many of our peers are selfish bastards.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ Anyways, I¡¯ll inform you of Zixin¡¯s decision soon. If it¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll excuse myself now.¡±

    Lan Shi answered with a nod before turning around and heading off. Liu Wei¡¯s thoughts lingered on their conversation for a while longer before he refocused. He would talk to Zixin after the competition was over. Until then, he would also need to decide what to do with Chonglin.

    The boy would need to be properly prepared for the tournament now that he had qualified. While Liu Wei could have taken up that task himself, it wasn¡¯t really worth the effort on a purely rational level, as much as he liked the boy and wanted to reward his effort.

    Right now, he wanted to focus on something else though: Investigating whatever he had felt in the immediate aftermath of Chonglin¡¯s win. Whatever it was, he needed to identify it. To be able to do so in peace, he would head to his residence.

    ¡­

    The sun had sunken beneath the horizon, leaving the world and all that occupied it behind to fend for themselves in the darkness till the next morning. There were places in the vastness of this world where this darkness would have been a reason to cower in fear, to hide and to roll up in some hole. Under the tranquil safety of the Lunar Peaks though, all it meant was that a blanket of silence was laid upon the forests and fields as the creatures of the day peacefully drifted into the realm of dreams.

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    Quietly listening to the noises of the night, produced by those left awake in this otherwise sleeping forest, Liu Wei loosened the grip he held on the world around him, dropping out of the air and steadily landing on the ground before his residence.

    He breathed in deeply, taking in the atmosphere of the nightly forest. Everything was as usual and yet the air seemed heavier than usually. Not the depressing and desperate kind of heavy, that seemed to make it difficult to breathe and suck the joy out of all life. No, it was heavy with meaning and expectation, as if it was waiting for an event of great importance to take place.

    Perhaps it was just imagination, rooted in the fact that the last time Liu Wei had come to this place intending to unravel a mystery had been the catalyst that had changed his life forever and set him on the path that he was now walking on with so much conviction.

    Whatever the case, idling around would not get him anywhere. Liu Wei dispelled the protective formations intended to fend of unwanted visitors in his absence and entered the pagoda.

    After reactivating the formations and heading to the second floor, where his meditation room lay, he wasted no time to sit down cross-legged and turn his focus towards his mind. Before entering meditation, he would have to determine the best method of finding whatever he was looking for. This was easier said than done considering he had no idea what it even was.

    Perhaps the most pressing matter was making sure that whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t harmful to him. To this end, Liu Wei decided to start by checking himself for curses.

    Curses were one of the less common methods cultivators could use to cause each other harm. They were essentially just a small part of a soul, split off and imbued with intend that the user of the curse would then implant into someone. If left unattended, the curse would then slowly siphon of qi from the victim¡¯s soul over a long period of time before suddenly exploding outwards with a variety of effects, attempting to deal as much damage to them as possible.

    If it worked, a curse could cause serious harm or even outright kill someone. The trouble was that it rarely did. Not only was it difficult to implant a curse into someone without them noticing, it was also rather trivial to detect a curse once it had been implanted, if one knew what to look for. Any experienced cultivator somewhat rooted in common sense periodically scanned themselves for curses as a basic safety measure.

    On top of that, splitting off a part of one¡¯s soul would incur the kind of permanent damage that few would be willing to take upon themselves. To this end, curses were rarely at all and it was exceedingly unlikely that Liu Wei was dealing with one in this instance. Back when the techniques were first developed, and people didn''t know to keep an eye out for them, many fell to curses. In recent times though, it had become exceedingly rare to them, especially with how the many different kinds of poison that had been developed presented a much less risky alternative.

    Nevertheless, caution had never hurt anybody, especially when all it took to scan oneself for curses was examining the souls qi-flow for a few minutes, looking for irregularities.

    Liu Wei¡¯s expectations were confirmed when he found nothing of note this way. This meant that the phenomenon in question was very likely to have originated from within himself. The best way forward was probably a process of eliminating what it was not.

    For starters, Liu Wei was certain that it wasn¡¯t simply a bodily function or physical stimulus like an itch. It also wasn¡¯t a purely psychological effect, like an emotion. That left all things in between, mainly those related to qi or the Dao. Phenomena like these were bound to leave behind some sort of mark that he could identify.

    This would suffice. Liu Wei closed his eyes and entered his meditation. The first thing he did was shut all off his senses of and suppress his emotions. Both were just noise that would hinder him in his search. Then, the sensation that he was looking for at the front of his mind, he plunged his consciousness into his soul.

    Consciously examining one¡¯s soul was an experience that could not be properly described with words and that was impossible to fully grasp for those who had not experienced it themselves.

    The soul was the essence of one¡¯s self and as such, it was both observer and observed in this case. It was like looking into a mirror while simultaneously seeing through the eyes of one¡¯s reflection; a truly paradoxical experience.

    Liu Wei was used to it; he had done it many times in the past after all. Slowly and methodically, he combed through every part of his soul, looking for the unfamiliar feeling he had felt.

    Time was impossible to track in this state. Every moment stretched out into an eternity and yet an infinite number of eternities seemed to rush by every moment. But at some point, he found it.

    Had he needed to wager a guess, Liu Wei would have assumed that it took him quite a while, based solely on the fact that he had already searched through most parts of his soul when he finally identified the phenomenon.

    It was difficult to grasp but it could be most likened to a spark. It seemed to have sprung into existence in reaction to Liu Wei¡¯s emotions. And the place of its origin was¡­

    The Dao of Fire.

 Chapter 31: Reignited

    Liu Wei pulled out of his soul, just in time before his emotions overcame their suppression, a wave of confusion washing over him. Had this hit him while he was still in there, it would have given him one hell of a headache.

    He couldn¡¯t help it though. Why in the world had his Dao reacted this way?

    Now that he had tracked it down, Liu Wei could easily observe and analyze the spark. It was a tiny thing, insignificant at first glance, but contained within it were a plethora of things. There was a notion of pride, similar to what he had felt in the moment of its creation, a speck of curiosity and a plethora of other emotions, all related in one way or another to the experience of teaching. All of it was wrapped up in a miniscule layer of fire qi. The more Liu Wei studied the spark, the more confused he grew, because with all of his cultivation knowledge, he could only think of one thing this could possibly be: an epiphany.

    Epiphanies were a phenomenon that cultivators in the Dao Contemplation Realm could experience in moments in which their emotions were highly aligned with core principles of their Dao. They were created without human intent, simply as a result of this alignment and they could help a cultivator advance their understanding of the Dao in a similar way to cultivation resources.

    Liu Wei had never experienced an epiphany before and neither had most cultivators in the Dao Contemplation Realm. They were rare to occur by themselves and actively chasing after them was rarely seen as worth the effort, because the benefit they provided was truly not that large.

    What was confusing about this was that Liu Wei was very certain that he hadn¡¯t been emotionally aligned with his Dao at all. If fire was anything, after all, it was the purest expression of destruction, of volatile and unbound consumption of all it touched. And that wasn¡¯t at all what he had felt.

    Then it clicked.

    To say that the realization struck him like a thunderbolt would be the understatement of the century. In one moment, it seemed like the question of what was wrong with Liu Wei¡¯s cultivation would grow by yet another mystery. In the next, everything was clear. It couldn¡¯t even be said that the mysteries were solved because there truly hadn¡¯t been any to begin with. His troubles had all been entirely of his own making.

    Fire was destruction. That much was true. But it wasn¡¯t just destruction. People didn¡¯t cook their food over a fire in order to destroy it. They didn¡¯t heat their oven to kill themselves. They didn¡¯t light candles to burn something down.

    Fire was destruction, but it was also light. It was warmth. It was safety. It was transformation. An element couldn¡¯t be fully described with a single of its traits. Just as any human needed to drink water to survive and yet could drown, when submerged in it, fire also was made up of many different traits, all of which were equally important to its existence as a whole.

    Philosophically, this was evident and something that Liu Wei had naturally always been aware of. Yet he had somehow never thought to apply this very thing to his contemplations on its Dao, its essence.

    To him, the Dao of Fire had always represented destruction. What he had been doing was akin to someone trying to map out a continent by exclusively staring at the map of a single kingdom. It was bound to fail.

    Every cultivator starting to research the Daos would learn from the very beginning that every Dao consisted of a near infinite number of simultaneous truths, some of them working alongside one another, others standing in opposition. To contemplate a Dao was to strife for understanding of those truths and to use that to build what one might call a full picture of the Dao in one¡¯s mind. This full picture, representing the tenth stage of Comprehension, would not be all-encompassing but rather one of an infinite number of possible interpretations of the Dao.

    To this end, the way one went about understanding their chosen Dao and on which of its many truths they wanted to focus was mostly up to the individual. Two individuals who contemplated the same Dao could come to wildly different interpretations of their Dao without either of them being wrong. What one could not do however was taking a singular truth, a singular property of an element and declare it a full understanding of that Dao.

    Liu Wei had run into a wall neither because he had lacked the ability to understand, not because there was nothing left to learn. His view had simply been too narrow to gain an understanding of the whole.

    Why? He was currently struggling to understand that himself. He had broken through to the first stage of the Dao Contemplation Realm on the back of his understanding of this truth. From then on, he had continued in a way which felt natural to him. The only reason he had gotten as far as the eighth stage of Dao Contemplation with his fundamentally flawed approach was probably, as silly as that sounded, the fact that he was a genius.

    An average cultivator below the realm of Dao Contemplation would probably not be able to even build up a deep enough understanding of a single truth to break through at all. In fact, it wasn¡¯t at all unlikely that what Liu Wei had encountered was actually a common roadblock early on in a cultivator¡¯s pursuit of the Dao.

    A rookie mistake, only that he wasn¡¯t a rookie but a four-and-a-half centuries old expert. If his theory was right, a normal cultivator would naturally be led to starting to contemplate other truths in order to progress. He on the other hand had been far too entrenched in his ways to consider something like that when it had started to become a problem.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    On top of that, he was the only powerful cultivator of the Dao of Fire far and wide. The peninsula that the sect was located on didn¡¯t contain good environments for its practitioners and his choice to follow it had been largely based in the arrogance of a young genius. As such, he had never held any meaningful conversation with others who pursued the Dao of Fire, from whom he could have learned of his mistake.

    It was a perfect mix coincidences and circumstances that had led to this embarrassing mess of a mistake. A mistake which had cost him two-and-a-half centuries of cultivation and that he would probably never have discovered, were it not for the incredible stroke of luck that that epiphany represented.

    What exact truth his emotions had aligned with in that moment, he wasn¡¯t sure. It was probably either the light that fire could produce and that could guide the way for others or the nurturing warmth it could give off. Either way, it wasn¡¯t something he would ever have had the chance to experience, had he marched on along the path of selfishness.

    That led him to another thought: His entire new concept of life was based upon the assumption that he couldn¡¯t cultivate anymore. But now, that assumption was probably no longer true. Something that, surprisingly, he had mixed feelings about.

    Sure, it provided him with new and unexpected tools to realize his goals. A higher cultivation could go a long way to help him in his pursuit of a more just world. It also presented a potential pitfall though: Cultivation, the feeling of outrunning death, of understanding the core principles of the world, of increasing one¡¯s grip on reality ¨C it was addicting.

    As much as it hurt to admit it, the previous version of Liu Wei had been little more than an addict, always searching for additional ways to fulfill his desire to grow ever stronger. The only reason he had been able to become who he was now was because of the forced withdrawal that his inability to further cultivate represented. Now that this withdrawal was no longer forced, who was to say that he wouldn¡¯t fall back to his old ways?

    Liu Wei knew the sweetness of the call and he dreaded the speed at which the thoughts had started crawling back into his head. What if he just focused on cultivation for now? Not forever, no, he didn¡¯t need to abandon his cause. Just for one little century. Or two. He would become stronger, so strong that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about any opposition as he brought justice to the world. All those hindrances would be irrelevant, nobody in the sect would be able to stand up to him. All he had to do¡­

    No! This couldn¡¯t be allowed to happen. If he allowed himself to fall back into these patterns, he might never find a way out of them again. As it stood, he himself was at risk of becoming his own path¡¯s greatest danger.

    He wouldn¡¯t be abandoning anyone. He wouldn¡¯t be abandoning the disciples he had trained, the members he had employed, the allies he had made. The cause was nonnegotiable.

    To this end, he would need to create for himself a set of unbreakable rules, a framework to contain his addiction, to prevent it from seizing control over his actions. Something like this couldn¡¯t be easily done though. If he truly wanted these rules to carry weight, he could not touch them at all, once he had formulated them. Otherwise, they might as well not exist. This in mind, Liu Wei got to work.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Never in his life had he held a negotiation with someone as cutthroat and unyielding as himself just now. It had taken hours upon hours of fighting with his own desires to create a framework of rules in which he could be confident. In the end, the only way he was able to accept it was by continuously keeping in mind that there was no option in which he would cultivate more than this. It was either cultivating while constraining himself or not cultivating at all.

    In the end, the set of rules that he had come up with was rather simple:

    First, he would never, under any circumstances, prioritize cultivation above any other activity important to his cause and he would never prioritize a solution to any problem that required cultivating if there was any alternative at all.

    Cultivation would be a last resort for when everything else he could try had failed and a filler activity for when he couldn¡¯t find any other useful activity.

    Second, he would never use any cultivation resources to further his cultivation.

    Resources took little time to use and would as such be the perfect way for him to circumvent the first rule. If he allowed himself to use resources at all, he might start to use the time he couldn¡¯t spend cultivating to procure resources for the cause only to then funnel them away to advance his own cultivation.

    Ensuring resources were of no personal value because he couldn¡¯t use them was also a good way to ensure he stayed as free of greed as he could. That was important because greed was a pathway to corruption, he needed to look no further than to the pillar families to understand that.

    Finally, he needed someone in whom he could confide. Unbreakable rules bore the risk of becoming a burden and Liu Wei wasn¡¯t stupid enough to believe that circumstances would always remain within the scope of his current calculations. Giving himself the right to define exceptions however, was naturally not an option.

    As such, he needed a person he could trust to make those decisions for him. They would be allowed to make exceptions on a case-to-case basis or even make change to the rules to account for things Liu Wei had not foreseen. They could also monitor Liu Wei¡¯s behavior and inform him if he exhibited troublesome patterns that escaped his own notice.

    Currently, the only person Liu Wei trusted to have both enough integrity and expertise to fulfill this role was Ma Rong. He had proven himself to be a truly honorable and committed person long before Liu Wei had joined his cause and would neither try to take advantage of Liu Wei through this position, nor be intimidated into making any compromises. Liu Wei would have to speak with the old alchemist on this matter.

    These rules would be effective immediately and with them in place, Liu Wei could finally relax his worries a little. Slowly, still cautious, he allowed them to be replaced by joy. He was a true cultivator once more.

    Diving into his understanding of the Dao, he dissolved the layer of fire qi around the spark that was his epiphany. As the contents merged with his understanding, he could practically see the walls of his horizon widening with new questions to be answered and new truths to be uncovered. His understanding, which had seemed so complete and impossible to expand previously, was no more than a single branch on the massive tree of knowledge that made up the Dao of Fire and all that was beyond it was just waiting to be explored.

    At this prospect, all remaining trepidations were shoved aside by enough excitement to make his soul roar with delight.

 Chapter 32: A Visit

    The Training Hall was bustling with activity. The new program had been a hit beyond anybody¡¯s imagination, so much that even now, two weeks after Elder Wei had announced it, there were still lines of sect members standing outside the several improvised administration centers that had been put up in order to somehow deal with the flood of incoming requests. In between them, hastily hired helpers were running around, carrying stacks upon stacks of paper while doing their best not to trip over outer disciples.

    While Hu Chen lacked a proper point of reference, not having been to the Training Hall in many years, just like the other elders, he was positive that the hall hadn¡¯t been this lively in centuries. Certainly not during his time as an outer disciple at least, that much he was sure of.

    That wasn¡¯t the only thing that had changed compared to his years here. The outer disciples seemed much more upbeat and playful than he had ever seen them and the same could be said about the few instructors he had seen on his stroll. The streets were clean and the buildings properly renovated, leaving little to distinguish them from any of the sect¡¯s settlements. It was like the Training Hall he knew had been replaced by an entirely different one altogether.

    Once the first rush was over, he imagined that this place could have quite the nice atmosphere. For all that he had dreaded change and still did, he had to acknowledge that this was probably for the better. If only this wouldn¡¯t lead to further frictions in the council¡­

    He knew better than that though. For all that his information was limited by his lack of connections and subordinates, Hu Chen was no fool. He had served the pillar families for most of his life and he understood how they worked, at least from the outside. They wouldn¡¯t take a shift in the power balance away from them in stride, especially not with how things had been going recently. He had no way of predicting when or how they would respond, but they certainly would. And once they did, he would undoubtedly be caught up in it as well.

    What if things were to truly escalate? The pillar families usually didn¡¯t expect him to actually fight any important enemies, as they were well aware of his weakness and didn¡¯t want to lose his vote in the council. But what if internal fights were to break out? He certainly wouldn¡¯t be kept in reserve. He shuddered just thinking about it. To someone like Liu Wei, he was little more than a fly that could be swatted away without a second thought.

    ¡°Elder Chen.¡±

    Hu Chen almost jumped in surprise at hearing the voice of the very man he had just been thinking about. Doing his best to reign in his shocked expression in the second it took him to turn around, he faced his fellow elder who had just come out the entrance of a large building.

    ¡°Elder Wei!¡±

    He barely managed to get the words out without stuttering but had to pause briefly afterwards to not stumble on his words during the next sentence.

    ¡°What a pleasant coincidence.¡±

    ¡°A pleasant coincidence indeed. I just came back from some business I had with a few disciples of the hall. You should know them; they were the ones who fought in competition on day three.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem the least bit bothered by the fact Hu Chen was walking around on his hall¡¯s premises. That didn¡¯t really mean anything though, Liu Wei was well known for the seasoned politician he was and could easily hide his true emotions if he so chose to.

    ¡°Yes, I remember. Truly an impressive bunch, especially considering they are outer disciples, if I may say so.¡±

    Hu Chen could do little but play along. Elder Wei was well known for his temper and not offending him right now was top priority, especially since the man had joined up with the opposing faction. Not that Hu Chen had any say in being with the faction he was¡­

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes, they are. Though outer disciples some of them are no longer, but I digress. May I ask what has led you here?¡±

    ¡°I was just¡­ taking a stroll. I hadn¡¯t been to the Training Hall in a long time and wanted to reminisce on old memories a little while also taking a look at the changes that have been taking place.¡±

    That sounded like terribly like a lie that someone had spontaneously come up with, even though it was nothing but the truth. This didn¡¯t help to make him any less nervous. Liu Wei thoughtfully eyeballed him for several moments, each of them seeming like years.

    Then, suddenly, his expression softened into something resembling¡­ amusement? It was hard to tell because it was just a minimal expression, but at least it was clearly not hostile.

    ¡°I understand. I hope I didn¡¯t disturb you?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not.¡±

    Hu Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Alright. Would you mind if I joined you on your walk?¡±

    Please no!

    ¡°I would be delighted, Elder Wei. I hope this doesn¡¯t interrupt your schedule?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, I can always make some time for a fellow elder of mine.¡±

    By my ancestors.

    ¡­

    On a divan of red velvet, located in a beautifully decorated room within the Training Hall¡¯s headquarters, Hu Chen sat and wondered, how in the world he got here. Seated opposite of him, a table between the two, was one of the people he feared most in the entire sect and by extension the world. Currently, they were being served tea.

    ¡°It has truly been a long time since we have had a proper talk beyond just exchanging pleasantries, Elder Chen. What have recent times brought for you?¡±

    He picked up his freshly filled cup and took a sip.

    ¡°Nothing much really. I have been kept busy by my duties to the sect and my cultivation.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a lie though it also wasn¡¯t the full truth. There were little duties he had towards the sect, mainly just fulfilling minor diplomatic missions that were too unimportant to warrant sending another elder. His cultivation was certainly keeping him busy however, though not in the way one might expect.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Hu Chen wished he did as well. He had been constantly guessing and theorizing, but he still didn¡¯t have any idea what exactly Liu Wei wanted from him. It wasn¡¯t like he had much of anything to offer to someone like him.

    ¡°If you have been wrapped up in cultivation, may I ask if we can expect you to break through soon?¡±

    If only¡­ Hu Chen took a sip of tea to delay having to answer. It had a mild but complex aroma with a note of sweetness and spread out in a wave of invigorating energy. Clearly qi-infused on an expertly level, perhaps brewed with some sort of spirit herb. A luxury that he would never afford himself, the meagre resources he possessed better spent elsewhere.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I have run into some problems due to my earlier cultivation practice.¡±

    Quite the euphemism for the fact that he would almost certainly die of old age before even coming close to fixing his mess of a cultivation. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was better than living in delusions about one¡¯s position.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to sour your mood.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing worth apologizing over. I am aware of my position and have come to terms with it.¡±

    Liu Wei¡¯s expression became readable for a moment, showing a solemn respect, but no pity.

    ¡°It takes a brave man to do so.¡±

    Hu Chen once again found himself caught by surprise. That was something he had seldomly been called and never by another elder.

    ¡°If there is advice I could assist you with, don¡¯t hesitate to seek me out."

    Advice, huh? He certainly could use that.

    ¡°Thank you for your offer. I will consider it.¡±

    After a long moment of silence, their conversation returned to something more normal. They spoke about the upcoming tournament, the recent developments from the cities and many other matters about the sect, none of them particularly important. After a while, their cups had emptied, their conversation came to an end and Hu Chen left after bidding Liu Wei farewell.

    Coming out of the Training Hall, he was still none the wiser about Liu Wei¡¯s intentions about this meeting, but at least he had made it out unscathed. Truthfully speaking, it had been quite the enriching experience, despite his constant nervousness and fear.

    He didn¡¯t even quite know what he had been so afraid of all along. Liu Wei had turned out to be a rather reasonable conversational partner, if very mysterious.

    For now, Hu Chen was still glad it was over though. He would need some time to calm himself after this encounter.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei¡¯s eyes followed Elder Chen for a while before he disappeared between the many people walking along the busy street.

    He had never held any respect for the man back in the day. Nowadays, just like on so many other matters, his perspective had changed. He could now see beyond the fact that he was a puppet of the pillar families who would never have reached his position without handing them his total subservience in return for their help and see him for what he was: a broken man.

    It would be misguided to see him as more a victim of the pillar families than the thousands of sect members whose work they were building their wealth upon and it wasn¡¯t his suppression that Liu Wei was fighting to end. Compared to many others, he was still very fortunate and the only reason he was suffering from his position so much was that he had the privilege of having enough to know the full extend of the imbalance between him and the other elders. His woes stemmed from not having the power that he believed an elder ought to have, yet others could never even dare to dream about becoming one.

    Still, the position he was in wasn¡¯t an easy one and if Liu Wei had been dealt the same hand, there was no guarantee he would have taken a different path. As such, there was no need for hostility towards him, even though the two stood on politically opposite sides of another and there was little hope that would change any time soon.

    Moving on from this, Liu Wei turned his mind to the events just before his chance encounter. He had gone to meet his trained disciples and inform them of the offers made to them. All eight who had made it to the second round had received offers from at least one hall to be accepted as inner disciples.

    Lan Shi had, upon further discussion, extended her offer for Zixin to both Chonglin and Jinghua. The three had jointly entered the Enforcement Hall and would be receiving training to the highest of standards from now on. Lan Shi would even provide them personal attention, though she hadn''t taken any of them as a personal disciple.

    Of the others, three had been accepted into the Resource Gathering Hall, one into the Alchemy Hall and one into the Outer Relations Hall, meaning he would not continue to live in the Training Hall.

    Regarding Chonglin, Liu Wei had decided that it was best to hand his regular training over to the Enforcement Hall but that he would give the boy special training sessions leading up to the tournament. Anyone who had managed to surprise him like that deserved at least this much and the boy¡¯s talent, while not extending to cultivation itself, clearly had the potential to make him a powerful cultivator regardless. The tournament was an opportunity for the boy to set himself up for the future. While it was his to grasp, Liu Wei would happily give him the best chances he could.

    Liu Wei let out a satisfied groan and just bathed in the peace and quiet for a time.

    With the Training Hall up and running, it was fair to say that the first stage of his plan had been a resounding success. There were lots of things to do but he felt more optimistic now than ever before.

 Chapter 33: Interrogation

    ¡°Three crates with spirit stones of grade two and three, an equivalent value of seven thousand five hundred tier one spirit stones. Several copies of restricted cultivation manuscripts. Half a dozen protective artifacts. And on top of all that, an entire barrel of spirit wine?

    Mei Feng, you have been expelled from your role of head instructor on suspicion of corruption and embezzlement and now we find you trying to leave sect grounds with a cart of all of those things, conveniently hidden below a blanket. I don¡¯t even know what to say.¡±

    Qingge gave the old cultivator a piercing glare.

    ¡°Excuse me, I don¡¯t understand. I am merely conducting regular trade on behalf of the Outer Relations Hall.¡±

    ¡°Why is it then that neither the hall nor the sect could give us any records of ever possessing these goods or of tasking you to conduct trade in their name? And how is it that you planned to trade manuscripts restricted to the sect that aren¡¯t to be brought outside without explicit permission?¡±

    ¡°This is all a big misunderstanding, see¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough. I have neither the authority nor the intention to pass judgement of either kind on you. I am simply a manager and thus tasked to document cases of suspected illegal activities like this. Your case will be handed to a formal investigative unit who will be tasked with dealing with you according to the evidence their work will produce.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, it¡¯s not that serious, don¡¯t you think? I''ll admit that I was maybe a little sloppy with the registration process, but it¡¯s all in good faith. I would have taken all proper steps afterwards; you have to believe me! Listen, how about I compensate you for your efforts and we forget the whole thing?¡±

    Qingge nodded.

    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be sure to add attempted bribery to your charges.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? Oh, you little bit¡­¡±

    Mei Feng surged forward, raising his fist in an attempt at attacking Qingge, but was stopped dead in his track by one of the guards ramming a knee into his stomach. For a moment, he just remained in his pose, hand still raised as if stopped in time. Then he collapsed to the floor. All of those things happened before Qingge even had the chance to react.

    While she flinched at the attack, she quickly recovered. This wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had happened and she was already somewhat used to it. As the highest-ranking administrator of the hall below the elder, she was constantly accompanied by several personal guards, one of them a combat focused cultivator in the low stages of the Dao Attuning Realm, whenever she was dealing with business like this.

    She hated to be babysat like this, but she had to admit that her personal strength as a cultivator of the Core formation stage did necessitate something like this, as she was constantly dealing with much older and more advanced cultivators, often very angry ones at that. The tasks she dealt with tended to do that.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. Please bring Senior Feng here to the punitive unit and report his attack and attempted bribery. I will send them a full report of the incident and the secured goods later today.¡±

    ¡°Will be done.¡±

    Qingge wiped away the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead. This was the third case she had had to deal with just today and it was only noon. The sect had recently seen a surge in criminal activity, especially smuggling cases like this one. Between directly involved sect members like Mei Feng, merchants, servants and traveling cultivators, the amount of illegal goods being discovered had more than doubled compared to just two months ago. This coincided with a rapid rise of banditry in the sect-controlled territory.

    There was so much to do that, despite the efficiency gain that the restructuring had brought, they were stretched so thin that they had to pause their investigation into the corruption cases within the sect. Qingge had a hunch that this fact might be at least tangentially related, but since she didn¡¯t have any evidence and their ongoing efforts to find the source of the problem had not yet yielded any results, she was powerless to do anything about it.

    ¡°Ugh, my head hurts. Why can¡¯t all just it be a little easier?¡±

    ¡°Everything alright, Miss Qingge?¡±

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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Senior Yang. I¡¯m good. Just a little exhausted, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be done for the day soon.¡±

    Qingge straightened her back and gave her guard a smile.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡­

    Things were really not going as they should have been.

    Right now, Mei Feng was supposed to be well on his way to the city of Moonlake, a cart full of valuables in tow. If everything had just worked out, he could have made it big. He might have even been able to push through the entire remainder of the Soul Realization Realm just from the profits of this deal alone.

    Instead, he was sitting in a holding cell, waiting for a punishment. Even worse, any attempt at bribing himself out of the situation had failed. Not even the guards had been willing to cooperate, even though Mei Feng had been willing to pay them out of his own pockets.

    If only that damned Liu Wei hadn¡¯t meddled, he could have continued comfortably living with what he made from the Training Hall and none of this would have happened. Why did he even care? It wasn¡¯t like Mei Feng had taken any of his stuff. What difference did a few spirit stones even make to the sect? Nobody had even noticed before the meddling bastard had arrived.

    But no, that stuff was ¡®allocated to the outer disciples¡¯, well so what? Mei Feng was a full member of the sect and had been one for over a hundred years now. How were some brats more important than him? If the sect refused to give him the resources that he needed to push through the Soul Realization Stage, what was he supposed to do? Die?

    The door to his cell swung open, interrupting his bitter thoughts. With a grim expression, he looked at the people entering his cell only for that grim expression to quickly turn into one of shock, once he realized whose presence, he was now in.

    ¡°This lowly sinner greets the honorable and renowned elder!¡±

    What in heaven¡¯s name was Elder Shi doing here? His plan of arguing himself out and simply refusing to admit anything was out of the window before he had even started.

    ¡°Sect member Mei Feng, can I take that statement as an admission of guilt?¡±

    ¡°Your brilliant mind would never betray you on things like this just as I would never dare to try and lie to someone of your status. I admit everything.¡±

    There was only one way to go when talking to the top brass of the sect: flattery. Anything else was just asking be killed.

    ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s get to the point. Where were you supposed to bring these goods?¡±

    ¡°What? I¡­ I¡­¡±

    Like I would tell you that!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Honorable Elder!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t play games with me.¡±

    ¡°I truly don¡¯t know. I was approached by a shadowy figure just yesterday evening. They threatened me and told me that I was to bring this cart out of the sect and into the forest below. They said that they would kill me, if I refused or if I checked the contents of the cart! I, the sinful coward that I am, didn¡¯t dare to refuse.¡±

    Mei Feng was proud of his performance. A cultivator admitting their own cowardness would never be questioned. Sure, it would be looked down upon as shameful conduct, unworthy of his position, but what did he care about the opinion of others?

    ¡°Guards, please leave this room until I call you back. Close the door behind you.¡±

    Huh?

    Before Mei Feng had time to even process what was happening, he was alone in the room with the elder.

    ¡°Sect Member Mei Feng, I will now tell you something, so listen well. Commit every word to memory and do not utter a single one before I ask you to. I don¡¯t know you, but I certainly know those just like you. You feel like you are not treated well enough by the sect and perhaps you are right. This sect doesn¡¯t treat its members equally, not even remotely so.¡±

    Lan Shi¡¯s face remained entirely unmoved throughout her speech.

    ¡°But you, you do not deserve my sympathy for that. Your solution to feeling like you don¡¯t have enough is to take. Not from those who rightfully owe you, but from those from whom you can easily get it ¨C from those below you.¡±

    Suddenly, the stone floor below Mei Feng¡¯s feet began to move, pillars of rock shooting up before twisting and wrapping around his legs like chains, locking him in place.

    ¡°I can tell you, why you act like this. It is because your issue lies not with the system of injustice itself but rather with the fact that it is not you who benefits from it. You look at those standing at the top not with rightful anger, but with envy. You envy them for being able to oppress, for being able to take what they want.¡±

    Further pillars shot up, wrapping around his wrists and pulling his arms above his head, forcefully stretching him to his full length. The grip only continued to tighten further and further as this was going on and Mei Feng could feel his bones creak under the pressure.

    ¡°You lie, you bribe, you betray, because that is what you deem the easiest way for you and you think it all justified because you weren¡¯t given what others were, even as you continue to hurt those who were given even less.¡±

    A crushing pressure exploded outward from the elder and every blood vessel in Mei Feng¡¯s body seemed to freeze solid. His thoughts had long been reduced to nothing but a fearful whimper and his eyes were unable to turn away from the woman¡¯s emotionless face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can deceive me; don¡¯t think I can¡¯t see through every one of your pitiful lies. And don¡¯t make me repeat myself again, because then you would truly learn what it means to regret something. Where were you headed?¡±

    The pressure lifted just enough so Mei Feng could speak, though it took great effort to do so.

    ¡°M-Moonlake C-City. The p-port district. D-don¡¯t know m-m-more.¡±

    For a long moment, Lan Shi just stared at him. Then, the pressure lifted and the stone shackling him receded into the floor. No longer being held up, Mei Feng fell to his knees and stared to the floor, his eyes unfocussed.

    ¡°Guards!¡±

    Once the guards had arrived, she gave them orders, Mei Feng not able to understand any of them, and left the room without sparing him another glance.

 Chapter 34: A New Destination

    ¡°In other words, a fight between two cultivators in the Dao Attunement Realm is usually not a fight of attrition. Conserving qi isn¡¯t wrong per say, but you need to avoid taking risks for that. Because of how much the realm improves your offensive capabilities over your defensive ones, a single well connecting hit can be enough to decide the battle.

    This stands in stark contrast to fighting those in a lower realm than your own. Here, qi management becomes the key to victory, because the best bet that a group of weaker enemies have to defeat you is waiting for you to use up your elemental qi.¡±

    ¡°What about a group battle between Attunement Realm fighters?¡±

    ¡°Same as the one-on-one. While having more qi to fight the remaining enemies might seem useful at first, consider it from this perspective: The sooner you are free of your own opponent, the sooner you can help the others on your side defeat theirs.

    Remember though, all of this is just theory in the end. The actual strategy most likely to achieve victory can and will change drastically depending on a myriad of situational factors. Throughout the next sessions, we will identify some of them and hopefully help you to develop an instinct for these things.

    For now, before we end for today, I want to give you something to think on: Your first thought when facing any opponent should not be how to fight them, but whether to fight them at all. A retreat doesn¡¯t have to be a defeat, depending on what you are giving up on.

    Next time, we will be talking about environmental advantages: how to gain them, how to use them and how to deal with your opponent using them.¡±

    With that, Liu Wei dismissed the group and left the room, heading for his private chambers. The second session he had held for the Dao Attunement Realm members had gone about as well as he had hoped, though he was honestly still a little shocked about the lack of knowledge many of those people possessed.

    If it was about some philosophical or theoretical things, he would have expected that from the start, but this was about combat. It was the one thing that cultivators were supposed to be good at and these weren¡¯t some disciples, they were senior members, most of them over two-hundred years old.

    He supposed it only made sense though. The last time these people had been properly taught was back when they were disciples, ever since then the only time they would have refreshed that knowledge were the few times the sect went to war. Between spending time revising their strategical knowledge and cultivating, they had probably always chosen the latter, a fact that might have been instrumental to them being able to reach the Dao Attunement Realm in the first place.

    It was a troubling picture, but that was how it was. At least Liu Wei could hope that with him lecturing them, this knowledge would start to spread amongst them and their peers again.

    Other than that, things had been going great over the last weeks. With how good his training program had been received, it was safe to say that it would remain a permanent service of the Training Hall, even after the initial rush had died down.

    In fact, the expected profits were so good, Liu Wei could afford to start utilizing the resources carried over from the Enforcement Hall much more freely. The instructors pay and the disciple¡¯s allocated resources had both been increased already and the process of hiring additional personal had long begun.

    Besides that, there was another project that had been at the back of Liu Wei¡¯s mind for quite some time now but that he hadn¡¯t hoped to be able to start so soon: He wanted his disciples to receive a broader education.

    Not being indoctrinated by the pillar families was a good start, but if the future sect members were supposed to seriously want a more moral city, widening their horizons a little was probably a good idea. To achieve that without taking away from their cultivation so much that it would sabotage his previous efforts, Liu Wei was planning to replicate the success of his first speech to the disciples.

    Speeches were a great medium for delivering broader information within a reasonable time, especially on topics like morale, philosophy, history and similar things. They could also be conceived as a kind of free-time activity, perfect for bringing a little education to the disciples without forcing anything on them. Nobody would become an expert just from that, but that was fine since Liu Wei wasn¡¯t looking to create scholars.

    There was only one problem that remained: who would hold those speeches? Obviously, Liu Wei lacked the time to write or perform them, especially since he himself was not knowledgeable on many of the topics. For all his age, he was still a cultivator, specialized on battles and warfare at that. While his advanced cultivation compared to his age had afforded him some free-time, especially in his younger years, that he had partly spent on educating himself, he was still mostly ignorant on matters not concerning cultivation. Even his recent interest in morals and philosophy had only amounted in a few weeks of actually dealing with it.

    Most cultivators were the same as him or even worse off, as his sessions with the Dao Attunement cultivators had showed him. The image of cultivators as wise, all-knowing hermits that mortals had was entirely a fabrication of their own mind and the cultivators¡¯ self-portrayal.

    Almost entirely at least, because there was one notable exception within the sect: the Bai family. Their scholarship was legendary in the entirety of the northern alliance and they possessed a genuinely broad and deep understanding of this world. Trouble was: Liu Wei could hardly ask them to hold the speeches he was planning. Not only would they probably straight up refuse him, even if they accepted, they would naturally propagate exactly the world-view that Liu Wei was trying to keep the pillar families from planting into everyone¡¯s mind.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Liu Wei also doubted he would find any sect members willing to give up their time for cultivation to start painstakingly teaching themselves general knowledge. And again, even if he did, it would take them years to educate themselves to a point where they could start properly teaching his disciples.

    Liu Wei hadn¡¯t yet been able to think of any appropriate solution, but he was sure there was one. Compared to the other things he had accomplished, just how hard could it be?

    ¡°Elder Wei!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Chao?¡±

    ¡°A messenger from Elder Ma Rong has arrived. He wants to talk to you regarding the Alchemy Hall¡¯s supply of cultivation resources to the Training Hall.¡±

    And there goes my evening of relaxing cultivation¡­

    ¡°Tell the messenger there is no need to report back. I¡¯ll go meet Elder Rong right now and will arrive there long before him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll relay that, Elder!¡±

    Seeing no reason to stall, Liu Wei stepped out onto the balcony as soon as his assistant had left the room and took off towards the Alchemy Hall.

    ¡­

    ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Elder Rong.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing. In the end, it is not you or I who will profit from this, but the sect and its members. It has been most pleasant meeting you, as always, Elder Wei.¡±

    ¡°The pleasure was mine. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll return to my hall now to inform them of our new arrangement.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. I can¡¯t help but admire your diligence.¡±

    Ma Rong let out a friendly chuckle.

    ¡°The world won¡¯t move itself.¡±

    Liu Wei took his leave after a polite bow towards the older cultivator.

    The arrangement the two had just talked about concerned the recent changes within the Training Hall. With his training project turning out such a success, Liu Wei had been increasing the allowance of each disciple quite a lot and as a result, orders to the Alchemy Hall had exploded. To keep the administrative effort down, they had just decided to handle the basic training resources via monthly bulk orders, depending on how much it was estimated the Training Hall would need in any particular month. It was a very basic arrangement that was utilized for basically all trade between halls, but the Training Hall had so far never ordered enough to make such a deal necessary. Another sign of things changing, or perhaps rather a result of it.

    Outside the Alchemy Hall, just as Liu Wei wanted to take off into the air, he happened to run into Lan Shi who was just leaving an adjacent building. Upon noticing him, the elder strolled over and greeted him.

    ¡°Elder Wei. Good to see you.¡±

    The woman had become noticeably more casual and friendly towards him compared to their original relationship. It had been like this for a while but only now did Liu Wei notice how different this was compared to the times when he had still worked with the pillar families. Sure, they had treated him with courtesy, but none of that had ever been real, nor had he ever deluded himself into believing it to be real. It had been a show, a mere play in which all participants were informed of these interaction¡¯s dishonest nature but continued acting nonetheless. He hadn¡¯t thought about it before, but being greeted by someone who was genuinely happy to see him rather than just superficially pretending to was¡­ nice.

    ¡°Good to see you as well. How are things going over at the Enforcement Hall?¡±

    A grim smile crossed her lips.

    ¡°I told you about the increase in smuggling activities, didn¡¯t I? Well, I believe we have found a lead on the orchestraters. They seem to be hiding in Moonlake City and we even found out about the location of a planned handover.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I call good news. How did you find out?¡±

    ¡°Remember that head instructor you kicked for corruption, Mei Feng? That rat of a cultivator was caught smuggling goods. Your former assistant Qingge was the one to arrest him.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m particularly surprised he would be involved in something like this. Couldn¡¯t have said it in advance but it fits in well with my impression. Oh, and I told you Qingge was competent, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Competent doesn¡¯t even begin to properly describe it. That girl¡¯s got a brain in her head that could supplant many an elder¡¯s. I would already have considered taking her in as my personal disciple if her personality wasn¡¯t so different from mine. She¡¯ll actually be the one to lead the expedition to Moonlake.¡±

    ¡°You are planning an expedition?¡±

    ¡°We figured if they¡¯re not only brave enough to focus their efforts on our sect but even dare approach members, there has got to be some more to this than a regular old smuggling ring. Better safe than sorry, so we¡¯re sending a proper investigative unit.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡±

    The reason Liu Wei had asked was that a detachment like this was otherwise quite unusual. Normally, the cultivators of a sect didn¡¯t concern themselves much with the mortal cities and would at most send two or three members to deal with problems who would then cooperate with local forces to organize as much manpower as they needed. Liu Wei himself hadn¡¯t been to a mortal city in centuries, despite often passing by them on his many travels.

    Cultivators had, after all, not much to gain from mortals. Sure, those beneath the Dao Contemplation Realm needed things like food to sustain themselves but they would just have that shipped to the sect alongside all other necessities. In a similar vein, the martial families and other local powers would visit the sect whenever either party needed something of the other. And other than that, the cities simply didn¡¯t offer anything of value to a cultivator. What needed they care about mortals and their goods and merits?

    This time, Liu Wei felt the realization coming long before it hit him. It had, since his breakthrough, become somewhat of a routine but at this point, he was starting to feel embarrassed about how often he seemed to be oblivious to obvious truths and solutions.

    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ Elder Shi, would you mind if I accompanied your expedition to the city? I just had an idea for which I¡¯ll need to head there.¡±

    Mortals had nothing to offer? Really? Well, what about the exact solution to the problem he had spent the last several days pondering? Mortals may have been more limited in their actions but the only fundamental difference to cultivators was that they lacked the talent, resources or even just the motivation to cultivate. That didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t capable of any of the other things cultivators did, that didn¡¯t directly require personal strength. Not cultivating even meant that they had much more time to spend on these things than members of the sect could ever dream of. If there was any place one should look if they wanted to find, say, capable scholars or philosophers, it would be a mortal city.

    ¡°I mean¡­ sure. Of course, you can join them, who am I to stop you? But if you don¡¯t mind me asking¡­ what exactly are you planning to do there?¡±

    Visibly, it was now Lan Shi¡¯s turn to be confused. She had every right to be as she had no idea what Liu Wei had just realized. Mortal scholars would be the perfect people to teach the disciples some proper morals. Perhaps the reason Liu Wei hadn¡¯t thought of this was that the idea of a mortal teaching a cultivator was something so foreign to him it simply hadn¡¯t seemed like a possibility.

    Liu Wei smiled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I want to recruit some people for the Training Hall.¡±

 Chapter 35: Traveling

    It was a beautiful spring day, like most spring days were in this region. A fresh breeze carried the harmonic tunes of singing birds and rustling leaves through the forest, caressing the blooming flowers and flowing through the fur and feathers of its inhabitants.

    Among those inhabitants, strolling lazily through the forest, was a mighty beast. It didn¡¯t have a name, didn¡¯t need a name for it didn¡¯t understand the concept of names. Its understanding of the world was limited to just two categories: Itself on the one hand and prey on the other. That was sufficient because the beast was the crownless ruler of this forest. Where its mighty claws fell, no being dared challenge it and where its powerful fangs snapped, there remained no foe to oppose it.

    The beast loved the spring, loved the fresh breeze, loved the tune it carried. It was a time of plenty for a hunter like itself, a time of feasting day in and day out. Today though, the beast wasn¡¯t on the lookout for food. Just yesterday, it had feasted on several village children that the spring had lured far to deep into its forest. Then, when they had come to search for them, it had feasted on their parents as well. Because of that, the beast was full and content right now.

    But then its ears picked up on something: far of in the distance, there was the sound of hooves on stone. The beast was full and content, but what could a little extra snack hurt it? The beast turned towards the distant sound and began its hunt.

    The sound was distant but the beast was fast, when it wanted to be fast. There was no prey that could escape it, once the beast had decided to pursue it and so the sound quickly grew closer. Soon, it had reached its target and with a mighty roar, it broke out onto the open street.

    Several humans on several horses alongside a carriage. Just as the beast had expected. A feast. Forgotten were its previous meals, now there was hunger. Hunger that could only be stilled by blood. The beast lunged itself at its prey.

    A flash of something glistening, a stinging pain, a warm feeling around its throat. Something was wrong. Suddenly, the beast felt dizzy and tired. It wanted to lay down, wanted to sleep. It knew that this wasn¡¯t a good idea. It had just wanted to do¡­ something¡­ something else. But it was so tired. Just for a moment. The mighty beast, lord of the forest, closed its eyes.

    And it was no more.

    ¡­

    Qingge blinked. Then she blinked again. But nothing changed.

    She wasn¡¯t dreaming, they really had just been charged by a rather colossal bear seemingly out of nowhere. Qingge had known that the forests around here harbored some beasts but she hadn¡¯t expected any of them to just attack a group of cultivators. Beasts normally possessed instincts that warned them from attacking those far above their own strength. How in the world had this thing survived up until now?

    ¡°Looks like we got ourselves a dinner for later, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I admire your enthusiasm, Senior Yang, but we have neither the means to transport this carcass, nor the time to butcher it right here.¡±

    ¡°But bear tastes amazing, especially when prepared with¡­¡±

    ¡°We have a mission to complete. And I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to eat amazing food once we¡¯re in the city.¡±

    The man looked slightly dejected, but he nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it.¡±

    Qingge flinched at the sound of Elder Wei¡¯s voice. She hadn¡¯t noticed him having left the carriage and standing directly behind her.

    ¡°Elder Wei¡±, Yang exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry, we didn¡¯t mean to interrupt your meditation.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    The elder¡¯s ring flashed and the massive body of the bear disappeared.

    ¡°But Qingge is right, we should get moving again. We can rest and talk in the evening.¡±

    With those words, the Elder Wei reentered the carriage. Qingge followed and soon, they were moving again.

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    Elder Wei¡¯s presence with them had been a rather big surprise that they had learned of just yesterday, but thankfully he had been adamant about not wanting to inconvenience them any further and so Qingge had only needed to make minor adjustments to the planning. These minor adjustments had however led to her now sharing a carriage with him. A fact that, had she not been his assistant for so long, would have probably make her explode from nervousness.

    Even so, it was rather hard to concentrate on cultivating like this and the bumpy road didn¡¯t make it any easier. Still, Qingge knew she had to be thankful for getting the opportunity to cultivate at all, instead of riding besides the carriage like the others were. And she also needed to use any opportunity she could get to do so, since her duties to the sect didn¡¯t leave her a lot of free time in the first place.

    And so, she did her best to shut off everything around her and focus her attention solely on guiding the Qi her body drew in to her core and condensing it there, drop for drop.

    ¡­

    When Qingge next opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that the carriage had come to a halt again. The next thing she noticed was that Elder Wei wasn¡¯t seated opposite to her anymore.

    Slightly confused by these facts, she opened the carriage door and promptly found the reason for those circumstances. Evening had fallen and the others had made camp. Elder Wei was seated beside a large fire and was¡­ giving advice (???) to a couple of guards who were in the process of butchering the giant bear. One of them came over to greet her.

    ¡°Lady Qingge, there you are.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me we stopped?¡±

    ¡°We figured the smell of grilled bear would see to that.¡±

    Qingge shook her head and jumped down to the forest floor, joining the others at the fire. What followed was an evening of laughing, telling stories, drinking and eating a whole lot of grilled meat. Qingge had never witnessed sect members act this relaxed and informal around an elder but Liu Wei didn¡¯t seem to mind. It was like a dream, completely removed from their usual lives in the sect.

    It was late at night when she went back to the carriage to catch some sleep.

    ¡­

    When she woke up on the carriage floor, Qingge was supremely thankful for having the body of a cultivator. Were she a mortal, she would surely be suffering from heavy back-pain right now, as well as a nasty hangover. She had never felt the latter herself, but she had very much witnessed others who had and she had no interest in the experience.

    After she washed herself in a nearby river and had a proper breakfast, it was time to depart once more and Qingge returned to the carriage, spending the day cultivating once again.

    And so, this rhythm repeating itself, they traveled on, day for day until almost an entire week had come to pass. They remained largely uninterrupted throughout it, with the exception of passing through some minor villages and having a run-in with a group of bandits who turned tails and ran as soon as they realized whom they had just tried to extort for safe passage. Besides cultivating, Qingge also held a few longer conversations with Elder Wei, catching him up on the Enforcement Hall¡¯s latest business and shaking off most of her remaining nervousness regarding him.

    It was the afternoon of the sixth day since their departure when this comfortable pace finally came to an end with a knocking on the carriage door and an accompanying call.

    ¡°Miss Qingge! Elder Wei!¡±

    Qingge opened her eyes and took a moment to shake of the confusion that naturally came with disrupting her meditation. She then stood up, intending to open the carriage door before stumblingly realizing that they were still moving. Instead, she opened the window and stuck her head out, looking to see who had called her. Outside, her guard Yang had ridden up besides the carriage and was keeping pace.

    ¡°What is it, Senior Yang?¡±

    ¡°Sorry to interrupt you, but we are approaching the city.¡±

    Qingge turned her head to look forward and indeed, there it was. From this angle, it was difficult to see much so she opened the door and swung herself over the carriages roof, landing on the front seat, beside a startled mortal coachman. Now able to fully appreciate the view, she gasped for air. She had last been to a city as a young girl, before she was accepted into the sect and even then, the city she came from hadn¡¯t been nearly as large as this.

    Just a few hundred meters downhill lay Moonlake City, the largest city subordinate to the Lunar Peaks Sect and rivaled in size only by two other cities throughout the entire Northern Sect Alliance. Spreading out for miles, houses and streets dominated the landscape and in the far-off distance, the lake the city was named after stretched out to the horizon.

    Qingge knew that around one million people were supposed to live here, but until now, she hadn¡¯t been able to properly picture the implications of that. The crowds she had witnessed inside the sect at occasions like the recent competition were nothing, absolutely nothing before this city and the concept of something this large being governed by her sect simply wouldn¡¯t fit into her head.

    As they neared the city, the houses disappeared behind the massive wall surrounding the city. It was easily two or three times as tall as the one around the sect and probably at least ten times as thick. On closer examination though, it was not only lacking defensive formations like the ones on the sect¡¯s, it was also heavily run down, chipped and damaged in many places and lacked all polish.

    Before the large gates leading into the city, a long line of people, both on wagons and on foot had formed, but when their group approached, all of them parted to make way. They were already getting many more stares than Qingge was comfortable with, but right now, her curiosity outweighed every other emotion so she remained seated where she was.

    The city guards only needed to take a single look at the robes they were wearing and were quick to make way just as the crowd had done and so they entered the city.

 Chapter 36: Moonlake City

    The streets of Moonlake City were crowded to the extreme. Merchants, messengers and beggars, elderly, adults and children, wealthy and poor, overfed and starving. The houses varied anywhere between large, luxurious mansions and rundown shacks. There was a constant noise that made it impossible to talk at normal conversation level.

    At some point, Qingge had retreated into the carriage, just so she could hear her own thoughts again. That was important because she had much to think about right now. She had naturally known of the cities size but she hadn¡¯t truly thought about what that size meant for her group and their task. Combing even a tiny part of this city would take weeks of coordinated effort and this already difficult endeavor was made infinitely worse by the fact that everyone was interested in them. On their entire way through the city, they couldn¡¯t ender a street without immediately having hundreds of pairs of eyes rest on them.

    This would make conducting a proper investigation infinitely more difficult as they would undoubtedly be talked about wherever they went. To make matters worse, they suspected at least part of the cities leadership to be involved with the smugglers in some way, simply because of the scale of the operations. If these people began to suspect that they were being investigated, they would immediately start covering their tracks.

    It took Qingge a while to order these thoughts and another one to start formulating a coherent plan, but at some point, she had one up and running. In order for it to work, she would need to do some convincing though.

    ¡°Elder Wei?¡±

    The elder didn¡¯t respond. He seemed to be lost in thought, motionlessly staring out the window.

    ¡°Elder Wei?¡±

    The elder almost seemed to flinch, noticeably catching himself.

    ¡°Sorry, I was lost in thought. What is it?¡±

    ¡°I know you are here for business off your own, but would you mind lending us some assistance in our task?¡±

    A week ago, Qingge would never have found the courage to ask him something like this directly, neither would she have dared to repeatedly call for him. Even now though it still felt immensely wrong but she had grown confident enough around him to act like this, since she deemed it strictly necessary.

    ¡°How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I believe our investigation is going to be strongly stalled if word about our goals here gets around.¡±

    ¡°That is reasonable enough. How would you have me counteract that?¡±

    ¡°Could you¡­ If it doesn¡¯t bother you too much¡­ Could you visit the city¡¯s prince with us and make up some reason why you are here that doesn¡¯t touch on our mission? We could then introduce ourselves as your entourage and thus draw attention away from ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ How would you proceed then?¡±

    ¡°We would organize ourselves some alternative clothing so we can¡¯t immediately be identified as part of the sect anymore. That way we could move without too much attention.¡±

    This plan was highly unusual for cultivators of their standing. In fact, it was probably offensive even just suggesting something like this to an elder of the sect which¡¯s members didn¡¯t want to be known as such. That was without the part that required that elder to openly lie about their purpose in public to lesser. Cultivators weren¡¯t necessarily opposed to lying, as long as it benefited their purpose, but they certainly were opposed to being thought off as liars. Despite that, Elder Wei didn¡¯t seem offended by the proposal in the slightest but instead seemed thoughtful. After a while, he answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad plan, but it would severely restrict you in your investigation nonetheless. While it is true that moving as members of our sect will alert your targets, moving without a background will limit the questions people will be willing to answer you severely and might even get you caught up in unnecessary conflict.¡±

    Qingge didn¡¯t retort. Not only were the things he said very much true, it also wasn¡¯t her place to press him if he didn¡¯t want to act this way. Just as she was trying to think of an alternative, Elder Wei spoke up again.

    ¡°I have an idea. You see, while I¡¯m not nearly as well connected as the pillar families, I do have some ties to rather powerful families in this city. Among them, there are some that I have a very high degree of trust in. Well go ahead with your plan regarding the visit to the prince but I¡¯ll contact that family in order to forge false identities for you. We¡¯ll see about the specifics, but we¡¯ll make you into some nobles hailing from a distant city who are not to be trifled with but also harmless to the smuggling ring. That way you can go about your investigations without any problems. Does that work?¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Thank you for going so far to help us, Elder Wei! That sounds absolutely perfect.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead with it then. Guard Yang, please direct us to the prince¡¯s palace.¡±

    ¡­

    Bingwen Lu¨® or, as his full title went, Prince Governor Bingwen Lu¨® of Moonlight City, was a powerful man. To be exact, he was the most powerful man of the most powerful city far and wide, at least by his measure. Adding to that, he was an accomplished cultivator, having reached and completed the elusive realm of Soul Realization. On top of all that, he had ties to one of the most powerful sects in the realm, the legendary Lunar Peaks Sect, strong ties, as he had once been a member of this mighty force before leaving to fulfill his duty as his family¡¯s new head.

    In the time since, the once fierce warrior had admittedly grown quite the impressive belly and shed his previously intimidating look for one more fit to a man of his statue, but that had done nothing to minder his prestigious strength.

    At the moment, the grand Bingwen Lu¨® was fulfilling one of his many important duties which came in the form of eating a luxurious meal and holding light conversation with important officials of the city. Bingwen Lu¨® was a man who took his duties very seriously and so his first reaction when one of his butlers interrupted him was one of irritation.

    ¡°My prince, I have important news.¡±

    Bingwen Lu¨® grunted.

    ¡°What news could possibly be important enough that they can¡¯t wait until I¡¯m done eating?¡±

    ¡°These news, I¡¯m afraid my prince.¡±

    Grumbling at the witty retort, Bingwen Lu¨® fully turned his attention away from the heavenly honey-glazed swan on spirit-herbs that lay before him towards the butler.

    ¡°Fine, what is it?¡±

    ¡°A group of cultivators from the Lunar Peaks Sect has arrived in the city. They are currently making their way towards the palace.¡±

    Now that did get his attention.

    ¡°A group you say? An entire group? By my ancestors¡­ How long until they are here?¡±

    ¡°Roughly half an hour I would say.¡±

    If multiple cultivators came together, the business they had here was sure to be truly important. Bingwen Lu¨® reached for his handkerchief to wipe away the building sweat. Then he resolved himself. He wasn¡¯t just anybody, he was Bingwen Lu¨®. He could handle this. Breathing in, he started hurling instructions in all directions.

    ¡°Gentlemen, the dinner is over. Get yourself into your finest clothes, I want all of you in the throne-room in fifteen minutes at the latest. Butler, bring me my festive robes alongside my sect-token. Servants, hurry and clean this table up. Someone inform the cooks; they are to prepare the finest meals they can. Spare no costs but spare time, the first course has to be ready in at most thirty minutes. Has anybody seen my children? I want them in the throne room as quickly as possible. And find me the minister of finance. He should still be in his room, tell him his illness is no excuse today. I need him with me right now. Where¡¯s the herald when I need him, he needs to be instructed immediately. Get the petitioners out of the main hall, they can whine to me about their problems some other time. Is anyone dealing with the guard¡­¡±

    It was a chaotic thirty minutes but when all was set and done, Bingwen Lu¨® was seated on his throne and everything in the room was in proper order to receive high guests. To his right stood his two children currently at the court, followed by his staff of advisors. To his left, the city¡¯s ministers were lined up. Further down on both sides stood his honor guard, forming a corridor and behind them were the lower courtiers.

    If Bingwen Lu¨® had been any other prince governor, him being seated would be a gross breach of conduct but the fact that he had left the sect when he was already a senior member combined with him governing this city and being the host meant that, in his current function, he socially outranked other senior members. As such, being seated was appropriate. Were he to visit the sect or just meet them on the street, things would be different but knowing the ins and outs of these functions was one of his strong suits.

    Just as everything was ready, a servant appeared.

    ¡°My prince, they have arrived!¡±

    ¡°Well what are you waiting for, let them in!¡±

    The servant retreated and only moments later the voice of the court¡¯s herald sounded.

    ¡°Our esteemed guests hailing from the revered Lunar Peaks Sect are welcomed with great joy by the honorable Prince Governor Bingwen Lu¨® of Moonlake City, patriarch of the grand Lu¨® family!¡±

    With this, the doors swung open and the guests began entering the hall. Leading the procession was a rather young-looking woman and while looks didn¡¯t mean anything in the world of cultivators, the cultivation that Bingwen Lu¨® could feel from her confirmed that she couldn¡¯t be particularly old, as she was still in the core formation stage.

    Her position in the procession, her confident steps and the fact that two guards in the Soul Realization Realm shadowed her however, made it abundantly clear that she was nonetheless an important figure.

    Maybe the daughter of an important member of one of the pillar families?

    Next up came a large and fierce-looking man who Bingwen Lu¨® could immediately feel to be in the Dao Attuning Realm. Perhaps the leader of this group, the man was flanked by several other cultivators, all in the Soul Realization Realm. However, before Bingwen Lu¨® could start analyzing the man¡¯s complexion further, his heart dropped.

    Behind the man, donning an incredibly calm and unreadable expression, hands clasped behind his back and carrying himself with an otherworldly grace and purpose in his steps, was an old, man with long white hair. Bingwen Lu¨® didn¡¯t need to look at his beautifully adorned special robe, didn¡¯t need to feel the man¡¯s unfathomable cultivation.

    Because he knew the man. Liu Wei, the dancing flame of the north, had already been an accomplished elder back when Bingwen had entered the sect as a young boy, over a hundred and fifty years ago. He was famous throughout the lands for his genius, for forging his own path with the Dao of Fire, for his peerless skill in combat. His recent ascent to the eight stage of Dao Contemplation only added another layer to this fame. And this man, this living legend stood before him now, had visited Moonlake City in person. And Bingwen Lu¨® had received him while seated!

    In all his time governing this city, in all his life even, Bingwen Lu¨® hadn¡¯t made such a colossal blunder! He wanted to throw himself to his knees before the elder, beg for forgiveness for this conduct, but it was like he was petrified. No muscle in his body obeyed his command and so all he could do was remain seated there, waiting for his judgement.

    ¡°Best greetings, prince Lu¨®.¡±

 Chapter 37: Casual Conversations

    ¡°I am greatly humbled and infinitely honored by the esteemed presence of the glorious Elder Liu Wei!¡±

    Lacking any better options, all Bingwen Lu¨® could do was stammer out praises in an obvious attempt at covering up his misbehavior. The elder¡¯s expression remained elusive, but at least he hadn¡¯t yet pointed Bingwen¡¯s insult out, though he had undoubtedly noticed it.

    ¡°Allow me to introduce my followers. This is Junior Member Qingge, general manager of the Enforcement Hall. Over there is Senior Member Yang, her personal bodyguard. This is¡­¡±

    General manager. His guess about her being from one of the pillar families seemed to be wrong but the revelation about a senior member being assigned as her bodyguard made her seem even more important. Bingwen Lu¨® cursed his lack of recent knowledge about the sect¡¯s internal business. In any way, she was most definitely not someone to be trifled with.

    ¡°¡­ I have come here because we have gotten reports of activities of a cult of demonic cultivators in the area and upon arriving, I saw fit to first inform prince governor Bingwen Lu¨® about our intentions.¡±

    ¡°I am eternally grateful for your consideration, admired Elder Wei. Say, now that you are here, would you do me the honor and join me for dinner? It would bring me great pleasure to be able to provide the best this city has to offer to esteemed guests such as you after such a long journey.¡±

    ¡°We will happily accept your offer.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like the finest music to my humble ears! Please, let me guide the way!¡±

    Finally having an excuse to leave his seated position, Bingwen Lu¨® basically jumped out of his throne and before his guests, deeply bowing over and over the entire way to to the dining hall. The elder seemed willing to overlook his blunder and so Bingwen Lu¨® would make sure that his behavior was spotless from now on.

    ¡­

    Qingge had never eaten this good. While cultivators certainly didn¡¯t live in bad conditions, they also didn¡¯t drown themselves in luxury and extravagance, at least not in the Lunar Peaks Sect. Too much luxury was frowned upon as waste, not just of one¡¯s resources but more importantly of one¡¯s time. Those were things for mortals to lose themselves in while cultivators followed higher pursuits.

    On occasions like this though¡­ well, the more hypocritical would say that not enjoying this feast to its fullest would be an insult to the host¡¯s hospitality. Qingge didn¡¯t need such fancy bullshit though; she cared little for what was appropriate for a cultivator and what not. And so, she could freely enjoy the miracle that was an experienced cook¡¯s artwork.

    Not totally freely though, because for all that she enjoyed the food, she didn¡¯t allow herself to forget why she was here. As such, she remained reserved in her demeanor and her true attention was fully with the conversations she held with the cities various officials.

    ¡°I am sure they are in capable hands then. Alas, I know the pain of having to manage the security of larger areas and no matter how skilled the leader, the individual underling¡¯s shortcomings are ultimately bound to lead to inevitable mistakes which in turn lead to greater problems, aren¡¯t they? Especially in a city of this size, I imagine. I truly don¡¯t envy your position, commander.¡±

    ¡°You are truly absolutely right miss Qingge! Just the other day and entire wagon of silver was stolen right before it arrived at the palace. I couldn¡¯t have done anything differently, I tell you. The guards I had assigned simply didn¡¯t pay attention. Probably tired and hungover from a night in one of the taverns in the port district, these incompetent fools. But the prince blamed me, can you imagine that? Me, even though I couldn¡¯t have done anything differently!¡±

    ¡°Now that doesn¡¯t seem fair at all. Listen, I¡¯ll try to put in a good word for you when I speak to him.¡±

    ¡°You would do that for me? I can¡¯t thank you enough.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing. Say, you mentioned the port district just now, isn¡¯t that a nightmare to manage? I imagine it¡¯s an absolute hotspot for crime.¡±

    ¡°You can say that again! You won¡¯t believe this, but just two weeks ago¡­¡±

    The time Qingge had spent sitting in council meetings and listening to the elders of the sect try to outdo each other in wit and speechcraft had undeniably paid off as Qingge found herself easily leading the conversations towards topics of interest to her mission without ever revealing her hand. What would surely still be a lackluster performance amongst the politically active cultivators of her sect was more than enough in this court. The officials were wholly unprepared for tactics like this and the fact that Qingge¡¯s body did much better resisting the alcohol than theirs did the rest.

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    While she naturally couldn¡¯t get the truly important details out of them without asking directly, she was already gathering many clues and ends which she could follow in the coming days. Beyond that, understanding the general political and societal situation of the city would definitely be helpful as well. Besides all of that, Qingge felt very wrong acting like this, but what could she do?

    At some point in the evening, Elder Wei said something to the prince that Qingge couldn¡¯t hear upon which the two of them stood up and left. Shortly after, the minister of finance excused himself as well, citing an apparent illness and feeling unwell. This wasn¡¯t optimal as Qingge had yet to talk to either of them and would have liked to take the chance. She couldn¡¯t do anything about it though and whatever Elder Wei wanted to privately tell the prince was probably even connected to their plan, so she returned her attention to those she was already talking to.

    ¡­

    ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience, prince, but I wanted to talk to you under four eyes. You see, a man of your experience has surely already recognized that an elder like me wouldn¡¯t normally move out of the sect to handle mere rumors of a demonic cult. You see, while that information isn¡¯t false, it is also not the entire truth. I wanted to inform you of my true purpose for coming here.¡±

    Bingwen Lu¨® was making attempting not to reveal too much of his emotions but was very obviously flattered to be receiving this kind of special treatment from an elder of the sect. Lifting the ¡®prince¡¯ on a pedestal was an easy way to make sure he didn¡¯t start questioning what he was told.

    It was a strategy often deployed by the politically savvy, simply because it tended to work very well. Arrogance and pride were potent toxins to the human mind after all. Even the title of ¡®prince¡¯ was used by the sect primarily for this reason. It was based on ancient times when these lands were still controlled by a central kingdom and the cities were governed by actual princes. Nowadays it mostly meant not having to deal with overly ambitious governors too much, though at this point the tradition of the title itself was reason enough not to change it. Not that Liu Wei was especially fond of this love for outdated traditions¡­

    ¡°You surely understand that what I am about to tell you is not meant for other¡¯s ears, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Of course, elder. I would never betray your trust. Should we¡­¡± The man looked around nervously. ¡°Should we move to a more secure place?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have made sure nobody is listening in on us.¡±

    An outright lie. They were in fact very much being listened in on, which was half of the reason Liu Wei was having this conversation in the first place. Just around the next corner, a man was pressing himself to the wall, attempting to not make a noise, ignorant of the fact that the range of Liu Wei¡¯s soul sense made his efforts completely irrelevant.

    Unbeknownst to either the prince or the listener, Liu Wei would now be feeding them the very distractions that they were hoping to avoid.

    ¡°You see, our sect has spent a considerable amount of time tracking the tomb of an ancient and powerful cultivator who was active in this region. Besides several of his valuable possessions, the tomb is also thought to contain an inheritance left behind by him in the form of a technique or something similar. I don¡¯t need to mention that something like that is highly valuable to my sect, do I?¡±

    He could practically feel the wonder, excitement and greed rising in both of his listeners.

    ¡°And something like that is hidden in the city?¡±

    ¡°I have to disappoint you, prince, but that is not what we think. Not to mention that a structure like that would undoubtedly have been found during this city¡¯s many restructurings and expansions. What I hope to find here are additional context clues and possible locations from the various historical archives and academies.¡±

    This lie itself was carefully designed to suit his purposes. For starters, it was very much based in truth, because the particular tomb Liu Wei was talking about did actually exist. The thing was, he had actually already found it and claimed everything inside several decades ago.

    His story also explained what he would be doing in the city¡¯s archives and academies, places he very much planned to visit. His own goals there didn¡¯t need to be kept secret, but in this particular case, the truth was actually not very believable from an outside perspective which might throw up unwanted paranoia.

    To top it all off, these stories reaching the right ears might lead the crime ring Qingge was pursuing to try for this inheritance themselves, possibly exposing weaknesses in their secrecy. After all, they had clearly demonstrated an interest in cultivation related goods through their smuggling.

    ¡°I understand. Can I assist you with this in any way?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, I¡¯m fine on my own.¡±

    That was the truth, he certainly didn¡¯t need the assistance of a misinformed governor.

    ¡°I understand. Thanks for informing me of this.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing. Come, let us walk a little more before we return to the others.¡±

    Liu Wei led the way, deliberately walking in the direction of the eavesdropper. He walked slowly, giving the man enough time to prepare himself to not look suspicious, but not enough to simply disappear down the hallway. He wanted to know his identity, since that might help to make Qingge¡¯s job a little easier.

    Once they turned the corner, the met the now seemingly unassumingly strolling figure.

    ¡°Minister of Finance, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°My prince, I hope I didn¡¯t disturb your conversation. I was simply returning to my quarters as I am still feeling unwell.¡±

    ¡°It is okay, we were just having a little chat, right prince?¡±

    ¡°Very much so. Don¡¯t let us stop you, and go rest. I hope you¡¯ll feel better soon, the court has need of your expertise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, prince. With your good wishes, I¡¯ll surely recover quickly.¡±

    With that, the man continued on his path and Liu Wei had accomplished everything he had set out to do this evening. A slight smirk etching itself on his face, he went to return to the feast alongside the prince.

 Chapter 38: The Li Family

    ¡°The Li Family isn¡¯t that politically active, as far as I know, but they are certainly a powerhouse within this city regardless. Their focus on martial strength makes them an important part of the city¡¯s army. They also have quite a few members currently part of our sect if I remember correctly.¡±

    ¡°Wait, is this the same Li Family that senior Guowei Li from the Eastern Criminal Department is from?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, you two know each other. Their current patriarch, Niung Li, is his older brother. He is an upright person and demands the same from his family, which is why I have chosen them as your contact in the first place. I¡¯m certain they¡¯ll be happy to help you stamp out a criminal organization.¡±

    The group was currently making its way through the busy streets of Moonlake City¡¯s busy streets, crowds splitting to let them pass unimpeded. It was late morning and they had left the palace after sharing a breakfast with the prince. They were all on foot, since they had left the carriage and horses behind for now to avoid drawing attention as much as possible. Not that this was working out particularly well, as the hundreds upon hundreds of curious glances following them attested to.

    ¡°Here we are. This is the Li Family¡¯s residence.¡±

    Qingge stopped in her tracks. The estate that their guide was gesturing towards was¡­ unassuming. She had expected another pompous mansion like the prince¡¯s palace or the other estates of powerful family¡¯s they had passed on their way here. This one, while undoubtedly very large, was much more subtle by comparison. In its elegance and beauty, it resembled the architecture of the sect¡¯s resident zones more than the overly decorated homes of the city¡¯s wealthy.

    Elder Wei took the lead, approaching the guard standing beside the gate: ¡°Greetings, young man. We would like to speak to the patriarch of the Li Family, if possible.¡±

    ¡°Of course, honored cultivator. Please follow me.¡±

    The visibly nervous guard led them through a small garden and into what seemed to be the main house, telling the first other person they met to immediately inform the patriarch of their visit. Once inside, they were brought into a brightly lit room that was largely empty safe for the round table with simple chairs in the center and a few decorative vases and paintings off to the side.

    After being asked to sit down, they didn¡¯t have to wait long for the family patriarch to show up. As he entered the room, Qingge just barely managed to stop herself from audibly gasping. She knew that appearance didn¡¯t mean much in the world of cultivation and she was herself currently traveling with someone who had lived for over four centuries but still, she had never met anybody who looked this old.

    The man¡¯s sunken face bore scars and marks of battles long past, his skin seemed brittle, like it could crumble away at the slightest touch and the cane he was leaning on seemed like the only reason he didn¡¯t just fall down and disappear into nothingness right then and there. The sole remaining sign of life was the fierce glimmer in his wise eyes.

    Qingge hadn¡¯t had the chance to think about it, but she supposed the man¡¯s appearance only made sense. Those who cultivated outside of the sects almost exclusively followed the path of body cultivation, simply because it was so much more accessible. This man was probably the same, considering his brother had been sent to the sect. With Guowei Li nearing two hundred years of age and this man being his older brother, it was a testament to his talent and the family¡¯s methods that he was still alive at all.

    ¡°Honorable Elder Wei, it fills this old man with great joy that you would come to visit him and his family! I deeply apologize, but my physical condition prevents me from bowing to you in proper form.¡±

    The man¡¯s voice was raspy and slow, but despite that it still seemed to carry an intangible weight, like the wisdom and conviction of ages was contained within it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I take no offense. It¡¯s more than enough that you have come to meet us on such short notice. Please sit down with us.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your grace, elder.¡±

    After sitting down, the old man took a long look around, studying the faces of all who were present.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all. If I may introduce myself, I am Niung Li, patriarch of this humble family you have come to visit.¡±

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    A moment of silence followed before Qingge realized that, as the official leader of their party, it was her turn to speak next.

    ¡°The pleasure is ours, Niung Li. I am Qingge, general manager of the Enforcement Hall. I have the fortune of being acquainted to you brother, Guowei Li.¡±

    The patriarch¡¯s ancient face lit up with new life at the mention of his brother.

    ¡°I am honored to meet you, miss Qingge. If you would be so kind to do me a favor, I would like to ask you to send my regards to my brother the next time you see him.¡±

    ¡°I will gladly do so once I return to the sect.¡±

    Once the others had all introduced themselves, Elder Wei took the floor again.

    ¡°Now that pleasantries are out of the way, I would like to cut to the chase. Qingge and her party have come to this city for a specific purpose. My own reason for coming is separate from that but I have decided to lend them a helping hand where I can.¡±

    He continued by quickly summarizing the events that had led up to the expedition and its purpose to Niung Li.

    ¡°We have come here because we would like to ask for your help in this matter. Should the organization catch wind of the fact that they are here to investigate them, they will undoubtedly retreat from the city as quickly as possible. To prevent this, I would like to ask you to help us fabricate alternate identities for the members of the party that allow them to conduct their investigation while drawing less attention to themselves.¡±

    The old man took a moment to think before answering.

    ¡°I am deeply honored by your trust in our family, Elder Wei. While deception is neither our strong-suit nor my preferred way of action, I understand that not every problem can be solved by charging it with a sword and a battle-cry. I will gladly offer you all the assistance me or my family can provide.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much for your generosity. I will be sure to compensate your family for any potential costs of losses it may incur due to this. Qingge, as the leader of the investigation and expert on the matter, I believe you should be the one to discuss the specifics of this arrangement.¡±

    Turning to Niung Li, he added: ¡°We should probably involve the rest of your family¡¯s leadership as well, shouldn¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have them recalled from their duties immediately.¡±

    ¡°No need for that, we can wait till the evening. Whatever we end up deciding, I doubt we will put it into practice before tomorrow anyways.¡±

    ¡°In that case, can I offer you a place to stay for the mean time?¡±

    ¡°We would greatly appreciate that.¡±

    ¡­

    Elder Wei¡¯s assessment turned out to be more than right, as Qingge and the others spent the next several days staying with the Li Family, discussing the specifics of the operation. It turned out that disappearing and returning wit nobody noticing was quite the difficult task when the eyes of an entire city rested upon you. Between working out a time frame, informing themselves about relevant information and carefully constructing their fake identities, there were lots of things to keep in mind.

    In the meantime, Qingge acquainted herself with the family members her age and even started sparring with some of them in between meetings. To both her and their surprise, she was thoroughly beaten in most of these spars. Soul cultivators were, after all, wholly dependent on their soul granting them the ability to strengthen themselves with Qi and later on interact with the Daos. Qingge, not having manifested her soul yet, was little more than a worse version of a body cultivator for now and it would still take her quite a number of years to change that.

    At least that was what she told herself in order to distract from the fact that she had really been slacking in her combat training ever since she had started working at the Enforcement Hall.

    When everything was planned and ready, the group made a second visit to the palace, this time led by Qingge. There, they announced that they had found a track and would now head out of the city to hunt for the demonic cult. They didn¡¯t touch on why Elder Wei wasn¡¯t with them anymore but the rumors he had started to spread were undoubtedly already making their rounds through the cities upper class so the conclusions people would draw were easy to calculate.

    Following this little public stunt, the party took its horses and the carriage and left Moonlake City. To the public eye, they wouldn¡¯t return.

    After traveling for the better part of a day, they met up with several members of the Li Family, who had had an easy time slipping out of the city unnoticed due to their position in the army, to enact the next part of their plan. Near a small village, an old and previously abandoned building had been refurbished. Here, they would stay for the next few days and afterwards leave their carriage, horses, clothes and other identifying belongings.

    New clothing, weapons and even new horses and a carriage were already stored here, all generously supplied by the Li Family. In addition to these, they would change their hairstyles and be given makeup typical for young mortal nobles. They would adopt new names to fit and during their time here, learn mannerisms that would fit their new identities.

    To top it all off, Elder Wei had supplied each of them with different pieces of subtly enchanted jewelry that would hide their cultivation from the soul-sense of outside observers, making them appear like ordinary mortals, just in case they were probed by someone with a soul sense. In the sect, they would be caught by the very first detection formation they passed, not to mention that the elders would naturally be able to see past this enchantment, but in a city like this, it would more than suffice.

    Like this, not even the prince would think to associate them with the cultivators he had met just days earlier, should they come face to face. A lot of planning had gone into these obfuscations so they weren¡¯t about to lose them to some bad coincidence.

    All of these things in place and accompanied by members of the Li Family that would pose as a guard sent to meet them as guests, they set out for their unofficial return to Moonlake City.

 Chapter 39: The Academy

    Liu Wei casually strolled along the streets, full of busy mortals who didn¡¯t spare him a second glance. He had done as Qingge and her group and changed his clothes to something less attention-grabbing than his usual sect robes, though his intent wasn¡¯t to completely obscure the fact he was a cultivator, but rather just to make it less obvious to the masses. Now that Qingge had formerly launched her investigation, he finally had time to pursue his own goals in the city and while secrecy wasn¡¯t strictly necessary for them, constant attention from everyone around him would undoubtedly become an annoyance rather quickly.

    He didn¡¯t have time for additional slow-downs. He hadn¡¯t even originally intended to involve himself so closely into the investigation, but he hadn¡¯t been able to help himself with how easy it was for him to make his fellow sect members to such great effect.

    It wasn¡¯t that bad either way. He had planned to contact the Li Family regardless and what were a few days to a man as old as himself and with goals this monumental anyway?

    As for these goals, he could feel them rapidly growing out of reach, even as he progressed towards them. Before this visit, he hadn¡¯t been to a mortal city in decades if not centuries and as such, his arrival here had shown him an uncomfortable blind spot in his previous plans.

    He had previously only thought off the injustice occurring right under his gaze, in his own sect. But naturally, it didn¡¯t stop there. It extended far beyond it, into other sects and, most notably, into the vast populations of mortals. If anything, the sect seemed like a paradise of equality compared to the city. Some of the mortals were drowning themselves in excess while others were literally starving to death. It was a tragic sight.

    Liu Wei had spent a significant amount of time pondering these problems over the last few days and had arrived at a harsh conclusion: he currently wasn¡¯t in a position to do anything about this. Sure, he could seek to rectify singular cases of injustice but with the millions upon millions of mortals populating the sect¡¯s territory, any impact that he might have would be pretty much negligible. He would instead continue to focus his effort on changing the sect itself. The values he was trying to imprint on it would hopefully spread out from there, should he be successful.

    And for now, that meant he had better things to do than to further follow along his spiraling pathway of thoughts, as the large sign reading ¡®Moonlake Academy¡¯ hanging above the gate he had arrived before reminded him off.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei had never been at a mortal academy before and he was already surprised with the academy grounds being nothing like he had imagined them to be. Where he had expected something roughly resembling the sect¡¯s Training Hall, they were more resemblant of a large park with paths trailing in between patches of vegetation.

    Spread out among them were benches and tables, some of which were occupied by pairs of groups of people dressed in simple but elegant robes of mostly black and grey color. Most of them were occupied with conversations they were holding or with stacks of parchment they were either reading, or taking notes on. The first pair that Liu Wei listened in on seemed to be fiercely arguing about the merits of a particular¡­ type of wood in ¡®recent architectural trends¡¯.

    A second was completely absorbed in their debate on different subspecies of donkeys and a larger group he came by was seemingly competing on who could make the most inflammatory statement about the works of someone named ¡®Geming Lei¡¯ who Liu Wei could only assume to be another academic.

    They were all topics that Liu Wei considered supremely uninteresting and yet these mortals were managing to position an ever-continuing number of questions about them in a way not entirely dissimilar to a cultivator¡¯s contemplation of the Dao.

    In the center of the park was a large complex of buildings resembling architecture from the sect. The largest was revealed by a sweep of the soul sense to be a library. While that was certainly impressive, considering that it seemed to rival the sect¡¯s own library by sheer volume, written knowledge was not what Liu Wei was seeking. With no other indicator of where to go, he decided to head into the second largest building for a start.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    The building¡¯s interior was a large hall with multiple stories of walkways, connected in several places by stairs, going along its outer walls. From these walkways, doors led off to separate rooms in all directions but the front. It was teeming with people rushing from room to room or standing around and talking with their peers.

    In the center of the room stood a large board upon which different topics were denoted alongside room names and times. From the look off it, these were the lectures held today. Deciding that familiarizing himself with the place and the system would be beneficial, Liu Wei skimmed the lessons that were soon to be held. It was late morning and most of the lectures dealing with ethics were apparently held later in the day, but there were still three options available at least.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Liu Wei to decide on the one named ¡®Advanced Ethical Philosophy: Exploring Finiteness¡¯. The other two were labeled as ¡®basic¡¯ and ¡®beginner¡¯ respectively so he couldn¡¯t imagine them to be that interesting.

    The lecture was said to be taking place in ¡®Lecture Hall 14¡¯ and it didn¡¯t take him long to spot the corresponding door on the second floor and he headed there, wasting no time to enter the room.

    Several Benches were arranged in rows on a slight slope, reminding him of the ranks of an arena, facing a small podium at the front. Feeling slightly out of place, he headed to one of the rows in the back and sat down on an arbitrary seat.

    Over the next minutes, the room filled up with people, until it was roughly at half capacity by number of seats. Then, a man who was noticeably different from the rest entered. His robes were pure white and he was walking on a cane, clearly being of a rather advanced age, maybe in his sixties or seventies. Nevertheless, a certain air of authority seemed to surround him, not unlike the presence of an early-stage soul cultivator, though the man was a mortal through and through.

    The room immediately grew quiet as the newcomer made his way towards the podium, followed by a docile looking younger man who was carrying a stack of papers, probably an assistant to the former. After reaching the desk situated on the podium and having accepted the papers, the old man spent a few moments sorting through them in silence. Then he turned towards the room and began to speak with a raspy voice:

    ¡°Hello everyone, welcome back. I¡¯m pleased to see all off you here with me today. Now, considering the topic of this class, I think it¡¯s quite appropriate we pick up where we left off without dallying for long. As we talked about last time, the transient property of human accomplishment seems to have quite dubious implications regarding notions of personal honor under the traditional school of the honorable Yaozu Wu, at least when viewed through the lens of more recent theory. As you know, however, Master Wu¡¯s work is the basis of many modern models of ethical conduct and questioning it comes with a whole host of additional problems. In today¡¯s lesson, we will get into the question of how to approach these and potential solutions for this dilemma. First off, as always, I ask you to assume the following¡­¡±

    The lecture went on for roughly two hours and left Liu Wei absolutely stomped. He had known that mortals could naturally spend much more time of their short lives on activities outside the range of diligent cultivators, but this was far beyond any of his expectations. He was reasonably sure to have understood the broad picture of what the professor had been getting at, but he certainly didn¡¯t feel like he could rephrase the specifics in his own words, much less debate someone about them.

    A lot of that could definitely be chalked up to his complete lack of prior knowledge on the subject, but even beyond that it was incredibly impressive. By comparison, his own philosophical contemplations seemed, while not wrong, incredibly banal. There was a growing feeling of admiration for the accomplishments of the mortal mind in Liu Wei.

    That feeling was mixed with another one however. Because as deeply reflected and impressive this philosophic exploration was, it was also completely useless. As transcendental as the theories were, they were completely inapplicable to any actual actions. It was nice to know these thoughts existed, but he wasn¡¯t going to change the sect with fancy hypotheticals and insightful abstractions. Aside from the fact that most of his disciples wouldn¡¯t understand a thing if he put them inside this kind of lecture, he wanted to install a basic sense of right and wrong in them, not make them question the nature of their own existence.

    Had he known just how serious the ¡®advanced¡¯ part of the lectures title had been, he wouldn¡¯t have visited it to begin with. But he had, apparently based on residues of his own old arrogance, assumed, that the things that a mortal would consider advanced would naturally be basic knowledge to a cultivator. It was laughable to think that he had assumed he would have to tutor his hires before they could start teaching the disciples¡­

    Regardless, he would take this as good news. As long as he found some people teaching more basic ethics, they would most certainly be able to tutor his disciples better than he ever could on the topic. And if, along the way, he could pick up some additional philosophical knowledge as well, he would consider that a¡­ welcome bonus.

 Chapter 40: High Society

    Qingge stood at a large table; the members of her expedition seated around it. Before her lay several pieces of parchment with notes scribbled all over them alongside a large map of the city. She shifted around in her clothes, trying to find a way to make them less distracting.

    She had to concede that the several layers of silk and other expensive fabrics, interwoven with strands of silver and gold looked quite impressive but she would nonetheless never understand why the mortal nobility was willing to put themselves through this just to show off their wealth. Despite having been tailored specifically for her, the robes never felt as though they were sitting quite right and she suspected that a single wrong move would tear them apart.

    On top of that, the makeup was making her feel itches the likes of which she hadn¡¯t had ever since she had completed the Body Reformation Realm. She could only hope these things would get better once she was used to them.

    Looking around the room one last time before focusing on the people before her, she began speaking.

    ¡°Alright everyone, let¡¯s begin. We¡¯ve taken our time preparing but now it¡¯s finally time to begin the investigation. I¡¯ll start with what we already know: We are dealing with a criminal organization that is big enough to have made connections with a sect member. They deal in smuggling cultivation resources from the sect into the city.

    Mei Feng was supposed to deliver his goods to the port district, but from our conversations with the Li Family, that doesn¡¯t seem to actually mean a lot. The district is massive and is apparently a hotspot for criminal activity, smuggling, gambling and all things adjacent. Nonetheless, I want five of you to head there from now on. Look around, integrate yourself, see if you can pick up on useful information, rumors, anything. If necessary, hand out a bribe or pretend you are interested in buying some things. I¡¯d go there myself, but with these clothes, I¡¯d stick out like a sore thumb.¡±

    Qingge and Yang were posing as the young lady and master of the fully imaginary Cui Family from one of the nearby cities, while the others were their entourage, made up of lower members of the family. As such, the two of them were by far the flashiest when it came to their outfits. Qingge envied being able to wear somewhat simple clothes, but putting herself in a lower position would have made any public interactions with her team extremely awkward.

    ¡°The Li Family has informed us of the locations of the various black markets in the city, at least those that they are aware of. You will investigate these in teams of two or three and take note on who is selling cultivation goods.

    Finally, there is the matter of the minister of finance who was spying on the conversation between prince Luo and Elder Wei. We don¡¯t know whether he is directly affiliated with the organization or simply a curious noble, but the false information he picked up on will undoubtedly make rounds in the higher circles and reach our targets as well. We have already established that they are not particularly afraid of crossing the sect and they are demonstrably interested in cultivation resources so they will almost certainly take the bait. Three of you will monitor the library for anyone looking into old tombs and the likes. Our targets might not be the only interested party, but anyone we find is a potential lead.

    Meanwhile, Yang and I will be discreetly integrating ourselves with the city''s high society and see if we can find any useful information that way.¡±

    Qingge ended her little speech and after discussing a few specifics and assigning the roles, everyone stood up and dispersed to prepare for their various tasks. Qingge strolled to her room to store away the documents and make some final adjustments to her clothes before heading out. They were residing in a large and luxurious manor owned by the Li Family that had previously not been in use. It was located conveniently close to the edge of the city''s upper district that was closest to the port district, making it easy to access both the lower and higher parts of society.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Already waiting for her at the gate stood Yang, clothed in equally pompous garments as her own.

    ¡°Ready to meet your noble peers, Young Lady Cui?¡±, he asked with a smirk.

    ¡°Sure, esteemed ¡®brother¡¯.¡±

    ¡­

    Qingge was not ready for this.

    In order to start meeting the nobility, Yang and her had decided to visit a restaurant called the ¡®Scarlet Rose Pavilion¡¯ that they had been informed was frequented by the city''s rich higher class. That idea, by all means of measure, had worked out perfectly. The two were currently seated at a table in the middle of a large room, decorated with vases, paintings and all manner of meaningless adornments one would imagine in a place such as this.

    All around them were pairs and small groups of people who unmistakably belonged here, with how their clothes and jewelry were showing off their wealth. They were feasting, drinking and holding shallow conversations and generally seemed to be having a great time. Yang and Qingge had already been approached several times and subjected to what she was sure these people considered normal small-talk.

    And Qingge hated every second of it.

    On the surface, the dinners they had had on their first visit to the palace had been rather similar in nature. The major difference was that back then, she hadn¡¯t had to play a role. Sure, social conventions were strict and demanded to be followed, but in the end, Qingge was still Qingge, a cultivator from the Lunar Peaks Sect. Right now, she wasn¡¯t. She was Mingzhu Cui, a young woman from the mortal nobility who was on a visit to Moonlake City on family business. She wasn¡¯t a respected and feared outsider to the people here, she was one of them and playing that role was incredibly stressful.

    Introducing herself with a family name, listing associates and showing off her wealth in subtle but unmistakable contests of power, showering the other party in meaningless flatteries and being showered in return, she couldn¡¯t stand any of it. It seemed like an even shallower imitation of her least favorite parts of the way cultivators of the sect acted.

    Thankfully, Yang had been doing most of the talking and he didn¡¯t seem bothered by all of these things at all. Had Qingge not known him better, she would have been led to believe he actually felt at home in this environment.

    It was easy to forget, with how he didn¡¯t look a day older than thirty-five, even without the makeup he was currently wearing, that he was actually an old and powerful cultivator who had been in the sect for well over a hundred years. With that amount of life experience, it was no wonder a room full of mortal low nobility couldn¡¯t shake him the least bit.

    Qingge sighed internally as a waitress served them the fourth appetizer of the day, a miniscule portion of food on an oversized silver plate. At the rate these courses were delivered, they would be here all day. It was tempting to order some kind of alcoholic drink to make the time pass faster, especially since drinking was something only done on rare occasions in the sect, but she had to keep a clear head in case something important happened. She wasn¡¯t here on a vacation after all.

    Before she could take her mental complaining any further, a commotion at the entrance caught Qingge¡¯s attention. A larger group of people had entered and several of the groups in the room alongside a whole host of staff members were scrambling to meet them at the entrance.

    The attention seemed to mostly rest on a tall young man, maybe twenty-five, with a sharp face, long black hair and comparatively simple robes, though he was still adorned with more gold and silver than even the sect patriarch. Still, if Qingge¡¯s instinct wasn¡¯t off, he looked like a cultivator.

    A questioning look towards Yang was answered with a slight nod.

    Her lips formed the words ¡°How strong¡± without actually making a noise and Yang answered by pointing at her and whispering the words ¡°Body Cultivator¡±, using a sliver of Qi to make sure the words reached her and only her.

    A young body cultivator then. That wasn¡¯t surprising, few people dabbled in soul cultivation outside of the sects. And considering the general response to him, the man was well known and highly regarded around here. Probably an heir to some noble family of sorts. Qingge already wanted to return her attention to the pitiful amount of food in front of her, when she noticed that his gaze had stopped on her and Yang and he was approaching their table.

 Chapter 41: Young Master

    Shun Gao looked around the crowd of people greeting him. No one important seemed to be present, or at least if they were, they hadn¡¯t come to greet him. The ones surrounding him all belonged to pretty minor families, if they were of nobility at all. Not that it mattered, he wasn¡¯t here to do politics after all. As the first child of his father who was in turn the direct heir to his grandfather, the head of the mighty Gao Family and advisor to prince Luo, his position was absolutely secure and few in the city could match his standing. Instead, he was here to unwind.

    Shun grimaced. He was still in a pretty sour mood as the last days had been anything but pleasant. A few weeks ago, some orphaned boy from a lower family branch had picked a fight with one of his idiotic younger cousins. That fight had escalated to the point where the two had officially dueled before an audience of family members. Unexpectedly, said boy had won and even seriously injured his cousin, which had in turn made more people mad and so on and so forth.

    In what should have been the end, that brat had been put before family trial but instead of accepting his punishment, had disappeared. As if that hadn¡¯t been enough of a headache, several important cultivation manuscripts as well as the family¡¯s research into the inheritance that had been the hot topic of conversation behind closed doors lately had disappeared alongside him, and now everything was in complete disarray. It was made even worse by the fact that with the festival coming up, his family really didn¡¯t have time for these things right now.

    That all was to say, there was a lot on Shun¡¯s mind and right now, he wanted nothing more than to lay back and relax a little in the presence of good company, food and drinks. That combination was hard to find so he had settled for the rather mediocre company a visit to the Scarlet Rose usually provided in exchange for the much better food and drinks.

    ¡°Honored Young Master, I¡¯m sure you are, in your never-ending wisdom, already aware of how much my daughter idolizes you! I know, of course, that you are out of her league entirely, but if you would allow me to say so, a union of our families would be greatly beneficial to both sides, I am sure of that. If you could put in a good word with your grandfather, I am sure that one of your esteemed cousins¡­¡±

    ¡°Young Master, your martial talent is truly only rivaled by the brilliance of your mind! Inspired by your greatness, allow me to make a proposal. I¡¯m a merchant, you see, and my company has recently gained a foothold in several cities to the south-east. I believe a partnership¡­¡±

    ¡°I have heard great things about the young master, but seeing you in person, I must say you truly exceed all rumors or perhaps you simply elude the ability of words to describe a person! If you would be willing to hear this lowly one out, I believe there is something that might be of interest to you. You see, my family operates several workshops in town and if you could forgive my bragging, I daresay that nobody in the entire region matches our woodworking skill¡­¡±

    Shun raised his voice and spoke in the friendly but commanding tone he had perfected for so long now:

    ¡°Alright, alright, I hear all of you. I would gladly talk about these things at length, but before that, I would like to properly arrive and enjoy one of this establishment¡¯s exquisite drinks. I suggest you all make way for now and perhaps do the same. I will inform you once I am ready to speak.¡±

    With that he waived them aside and stepped further into the room, focusing in on one of the waiters he knew from his rather frequent visits as the numerous petitioners slowly trickled back to their seats.

    ¡°I would like a table for me and my companions.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Young Master. Any particular table you would like?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll look around for one that suits my interests. In the meantime, you can prepare a couple bottles of wine for us. And, as usual, whatever you can wholeheartedly recommend as a menu today.¡±

    ¡°Your wishes shall be my command, Young Master.¡±

    With a deep bow, the waiter excused himself, finally leaving Shun free to enter the restaurant. As he surveyed the room for any people he ought to greet for their status, his eyes fell on a pair, a man and a woman, that was seated in quite a central position. Their clothes clearly announced their status as nobles, probably of a rather high standing, but he recognized neither of them. That wasn¡¯t that unusual, though to his instincts it felt like they were the kind of people he should know.

    Their clothes were not remarkable in their surface quality but the composition was surprisingly tasteful. Most lower nobles just threw as many layers of gold and glamour on themselves as they could reasonably afford and carry. The two were also built quite well, at the very least training, if not cultivating. Last but not least, they were simply very good-looking.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Shun was quite proud of his looks, he had inherited a good foundation from both his mother and his father and he had built upon that foundation from the second he had hit the Body Reformation Realm. Despite that, he had to admit that the man, though probably a little older than him, was probably his equal in that regard. The woman was equally pretty, though her hair was regrettably done in a way that didn¡¯t emphasize that too much.

    In any case, he had to know who these two were and whether or not his instincts were correct so, after pointing to a table for his companions to occupy, he casually strolled over to the pair, ignoring the looks of envy that were shot at him from all across the room.

    "Greetings! ", he exclaimed as he came to a halt before the table of the two strange individuals.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met. I am Shun Gao, Young Master of the Gao family. May I know who you are?¡±

    The Lady seemed slightly stunned by his sudden approach, perhaps she recognized his prestigious name, but was quick to follow her male companion who had stood up without the slightest sign of disturbance and was first to answer.

    ¡°We are pleased to meet you, Young Master Gao. I am Boqin Cui; this is my sister Mingzhu Cui. We hail from Brittlestone Town and are currently visiting Moonlake City on family business.¡±

    That explained why Shun Gao hadn¡¯t seen them before. Brittlestone, a town well known for its production of high-quality ore was quite a distance from Moonlake City after all. It wasn¡¯t enough however, to sate his curiosity.

    ¡°I understand. If I may ask, what does your family do?¡±

    This time, it was the lady who spoke up.

    ¡°We have a long history of trading within and beyond the city. We also own and operate several of the city¡¯s mines.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a coincidence. The Gao Family is in the merchant business as well. We are actually one of the major suppliers of luxury goods to the Lunar Peaks Sect and have been so for several generations. Several of our ancestors were even members themselves. Needless to say, we are in quite a good standing with them.¡±

    Shun Gao enjoyed the sight of the eyes of the two widening at the realization of who they were talking to, but he didn¡¯t give them any time to respond.

    ¡°Now, as much as I am enjoying this conversation, I don¡¯t want to leave my companions waiting for me. Besides, as you may have witnessed, there are quite a few people here who wish to talk to me, so I will have to excuse myself. It would be a shame, however, not to follow up on this happy coincidence. I¡¯m sure you have heard that our city will be celebrating the festival of the seven heroes in a couple of days. Come and see me at my family¡¯s estate at noon on the first day and I will graciously show you around the festival¡¯s attractions personally.¡±

    The two exchanged a look before the lady answered.

    ¡°We gratefully accept your offer, Young Master.¡±

    ¡°I know. Well, I will see you later, then. Goodbye.¡±

    With that, Shun Gao turned around and left, pleased with the outcome. He would have all the time in the world to find out what was so intriguing to him about the two. And while he was at it, maybe he would introduce the lady to one of his cousins. As far as he was aware, his family didn¡¯t have significant presence in Brittlestone. If he could be the one to change that by setting up a nice and stable alliance and using that to help his family swallow up some of that delectable ore production, he might be able to further secure his favored position.

    There was lots of potential for both entertainment and gain here. And most importantly, the sweet flavor of distraction was already starting to wash away the bitter taste the last few days had left in his mouth.

    ¡­

    Qingge¡¯s gaze lingered at the back of the young noble who was strolling away from them with the confident steps of someone who had just effortlessly won the final round of a martial tournament.

    He reminded her of the progeny of the pillar families, with the one key difference that his senseless bragging and abundant confidence was backed up by much less actual power.

    In the wake of the recent increase in smuggling activity, the Enforcement Hall had been more actively involved in monitoring transport of goods to and from the sect, so she was vaguely aware of the Gao Family and the role it played to the sect.

    The ¡®luxury goods¡¯ Shun Gao had been talking about were some occasional deliveries of wine, silk and other things cultivators usually had little use for. They were not special in any capacity and were also exclusively for the use of the pillar families. If the Gao Family truly believed their standing to be worth anything meaningful to the Sect, they were sorely mistaken. Qingge knew the pillar families well enough to confidently say that a single wrong word or look would be enough for them to drop and replace the Gao Family without batting an eye, no matter how long their relationship had lasted.

    His invitation was truly a stroke of luck though. With how the other people around treated him, his family was most definitely prestigious. The Li family was extremely powerful, but their influence mainly extended over the city¡¯s military and the countryside. A family with good connections within the city was bound to open some doors which would otherwise have remained closed.

    That aside, the coming festival had already peaked Qingge¡¯s interest before Shun Gao¡¯s invitation. Occasions like this one were always fraught with underhanded activities and they also tended to loosen people¡¯s tongues on information that they might normally not give out. If they were lucky, they might find some interesting clues to who was pulling the strings on the smuggling operations.

 Chapter 42: Counterattack

    Again!

    Qiao¡¯s muscles burned as she forced herself to repeat the movements for another round. Small clouds of dust whirled up behind her steps as she performed her wild and deadly dance.

    Again!

    As the blade in her hand cut through the air so fast it was barely visible to the naked eye, it sung the tune to her precise and graceful movements.

    Again!

    But it wasn¡¯t good. It wasn¡¯t good enough. She wasn¡¯t good enough.

    Again!

    Suddenly, one of her legs gave out and she stumbled, falling to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she got back up and picked up her sword which had slipped her grip. This wouldn¡¯t do. She needed to be better.

    She was the best of her generation. She was faster, stronger and more skilled than anyone her age. And yet, she had lost. She had finished first in her age-group, but she had still lost. To an outer disciple. He had shattered everything she had taken herself for. He had forever stained her image. And her grandfather hadn¡¯t so much as given her a single look ever since. And it was all her fault.

    She hadn¡¯t been fast enough. She hadn¡¯t been strong enough. She hadn¡¯t been skilled enough.

    Qiao tried to repeat the sword-movements she was practicing, but once again stumbled and fell. This time, she didn¡¯t get up again. Instead, she turned to lie on her back and just stared at the sky, breathing heavily. It was so high and so vast. Unreachable to her, just like the past.

    She couldn¡¯t even be properly mad at the boy. He hadn¡¯t cheated, he hadn¡¯t tricked her, he hadn¡¯t even been better than her. But he had beaten her anyways. She had no one to blame but herself.

    Ever since that fateful day, Qiao had spent most of her time training. The family was okay with it, since she would compete in the tournament in the fall and she was treated as one of the favorites to win in her age-group. But it wasn¡¯t just that. They no longer cared as much about what she did or didn¡¯t do. She wasn¡¯t the promise of success she had been before the competition anymore. She had lost the glister of perfection she had spent so much time carefully polishing.

    She would prove them wrong, no matter what it took.

    ¡°Young Lady, are you alright?¡±

    Lifen, her head maid was standing over her, her face filled with a mix of concern and hesitation. The aged mortal woman had been assigned to taking care of Qiao ever since she was a toddler, since her parents had other duties to prioritize. She was also one of the few people who hadn¡¯t treated her any different after her defeat.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lifen. I¡¯m just exhausted.¡±

    ¡°Excuse my intrusion, but I¡¯m concerned about you. I don¡¯t know much about cultivation and the like, but you have been pushing your body so much that it just can¡¯t be healthy.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about me, Lifen. I know where my limits lie.¡±

    ¡°I have no doubt in your ability, Young Lady.¡±

    The old woman went down to her knees beside her.

    ¡°But I also know that you aren¡¯t feeling well.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it, if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    With a gentle movement, her wrinkled yet strong hands picked up Qiao¡¯s head and placed it on her lap before wiping away her built up sweat with a handkerchief and starting to pick out bits of dirt from her hair.

    ¡°Just keep in mind that you can do nothing to change the past. Focus on the future instead.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe try and take a walk to clear your head. You¡¯ll feel better and more focused afterwards.¡±

    Maybe she was right. Letting her thoughts spiral wasn¡¯t going to get her anywhere. Also, changing the old woman¡¯s mind on something like this was probably impossible anyways. Qiao took a deep breath, keeping her eyes closed as she felt the air rush into her hungry lungs. Then, as she exhaled, she opened her eyes once again. She had made up her mind.

    ¡°All right, you win. I¡¯ll take a break and go on a walk.¡±

    Lifen gave her a warm smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear, Young Lady.¡±

    After returning the smile for a moment, Qiao stood up and started heading towards the exit. She didn¡¯t get very far before Lifen spoke up again, some of her usual strictness having returned to her voice.

    ¡°Stop where you are. I appreciate you going along with my suggestions, but you aren¡¯t going anywhere looking like that.¡±

    ¡­

    Freshly bathed, groomed and clothed, Qiao stepped outside again. No particular destination in mind, she just started walking. As per usual, the nature was breathtakingly beautiful as soon as she got a little way into the forest. As of late, she hadn¡¯t taken any time to appreciate it, not even in her usual relaxation spot in the estate¡¯s garden.

    The last time she had taken a proper walk through the forest had been on the day of the competition¡­ She shook her head. She didn¡¯t want to think of that right now. Instead, as she walked along the small path down the mountain, she listened to the sounds of the forest.

    Rustling leaves, humming bugs, singing birds and the occasional splashing of a small stream. Lifen had been right, she already felt more at peace than before.

    Sometime later, the high-pitched laughter of several voices mixed itself into the melody of the forest. After a few minutes, a small group of disciples came into view. They were walking in the opposite direction and, once they noticed Qiao, respectfully made way for her, only picking up on their conversation again when she was some distance away.

    Qiao suddenly noticed that she had nobody to laugh with like this. The other kids in her family were all rather competitive with each other and once her talent had started showing, she hadn¡¯t been given much time to socialize anyway. She probably didn¡¯t seem very approachable either with her cold and graceful demeanor, her polished beauty and her well-known skill.

    She had many distant admirers she was aware of and quite a few acquaintances her age, but nobody she would call a friend. All other disciples her age she knew of had friends. Even the ones in her family had their groups and cliques. The closest relationship she had was that with Lifen, but that simply wasn¡¯t the same. It had never bothered her up until now, but suddenly she felt like she was missing out on something.

    Great. Now she had laid down one set of worries only to replace it with another. She let out a deep sigh. What was wrong with her lately? Hadn¡¯t she long been taught better than to let herself be controlled by flimsy emotions?

    Lost in these thoughts, Qiao wandered down the path, barely noticing that the frequency with which she was passing groups of disciples gradually increased. Only when she arrived at a large gate over which the sign reading ¡®Training Hall¡¯ was hanging did she realize how far she had walked.

    Qiao hesitated. On one hand she could just turn around and walk back. She had already walked for much longer than she had wanted to. On the other hand, now that she was already here, she might as well take a look. Even if she turned around now, it would already be so late that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get much done today anyways. And the last time she had been here had been ages ago¡­

    That did it. She would take a look at what all the fuss people were making about the Training Hall recently was about. She just had to make sure not to draw any attention. As far as she understood, Elder Wei wasn¡¯t exactly well disposed towards her family and she didn¡¯t want to cause some kind of incident. She wasn¡¯t forbidden here, but she also didn¡¯t want to explain to anyone from her family why she was taking long walks and exploring the sect instead of training for the tournament. Curious, if a little apprehensive, Qiao stepped inside.

    On first impression it was all rather¡­ unremarkable. The buildings were in good condition but all awfully plain and uncomfortably cramped together. Besides these plain buildings and a couple of training fields, there wasn¡¯t much to see¡­ though Qiao wasn¡¯t sure what else she had expected. The most notable thing was that there was quite little activity going on at all despite it being early afternoon. Were these guys all slacking off?

    Qiao was already toying with the idea of just leaving again, when she turned a corner to see the main building. That wasn¡¯t what drew her attention though because on the open plaza in front of it, there was quite a commotion happening.

    A large crowd of people, both disciples and members of all ages, had gathered and there was visible turmoil, though the crowd was blocking Qiao¡¯s view on what was actually happening. With rising curiosity, Qiao approached and then slowly weaved her way to the crowd. When she had finally made it to the front, her breath stopped.

    Standing there, alongside a large dispatchment of senior members were several sect elders. Qiao recognized Sun Liang, Zheng Rong, Jiang Peng and Hu Chen. And at the head of them all, currently speaking to the crowd with his recognizable loud and commanding voice was her grandfather, Ning Bai.

    ¡°¡­that is why, effective immediately and until further notice, we are suspending all activities of the Training Hall and arresting all active instructors for investigation on accounts of suspicions of thievery and smuggling in an attempt to undermine the Lunar Peaks Sect.¡±

 Chapter 43: Standoff

    Zixin ran like he had never run before. All his training paid off as he weaved through the forest, ignoring the pathways whenever they weren¡¯t straight enough. He was getting nasty scratches all over his body and absolutely ruining his newly acquired robes that he had been so proud of, but none of that was important right now; Speed was all that mattered.

    When the group of elders had shown up, Zixin had felt straight away that something wasn¡¯t right. Elder Shi had told him that many of the other elders were not happy with the changes Elder Wei had made to the Training Hall. When they had called for a general assembly for all staff members, Instructor Guiren had told Zixin to go get Elder Shi as fast as he could. He had never seen the normally laid back and confident man so tense.

    Zixin had no idea what the elders were going to do, but he did know that Elder Wei was currently not in the sect and he was sure that was the reason they were acting now. Elder Shi could fix this. She was strong. She could fix this. But he needed to tell her it was happening.

    He and Chonglin had been supposed to meet her at her residence tomorrow morning with a few other disciples. It was located near the foot of the mountain the Training Hall was on, quite nearby. With his usual jogging speed, it took Zixin barely half an hour to reach it. He was much faster right now.

    Zixin could only hope that the Elder wasn¡¯t at the Enforcement Hall right now. That would take several hours to get to, even if he could keep up his speed. It would all be too late then. She had to be here.

    Banishing all further distracting thoughts, Zixin instead focused on his breathing. He was close now, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to keep up his sprint. Steady. He could do this. He had trained as much as he could. He hadn¡¯t skipped a day since the competition. Two steps, dodge a tree, jump over that bush. It wasn¡¯t far.

    He broke through to the clearing. Summoning the last strength he had, he stumbled towards Elder Shi¡¯s pagoda. When he had reached the door, he raised his arm to knock, only for the door to open before he had a chance to. Elder Shi¡¯s momentarily questioning expression immediately shifted to concern as soon as she got a look at Zixin¡¯s state.

    ¡°Zixin, are you okay? What happened?¡±

    ¡°Instructor¡­ sent me¡­ Training Hall¡­ elders¡­ they¡¯re doing¡­ something.¡±

    Completely out of breath as he was, Zixin could only try to stammer an answer. Lan Shi¡¯s face hardened.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Without another word, she disappeared into her pagoda, only to resurface moments later, holding a small bottle in one hand and slinging a massive hammer over her shoulder with the other.

    ¡°Drink this, go inside and rest. You did well, I will take care of everything else.¡±

    With that, she handed Zixin the bottle before stepping past him and basically exploding into the air. Before he could blink, she had disappeared behind the treetops.

    ¡­

    Guowei Li was fuming. He was used to seeing the pillar families overstep boundaries and ignore rules and had to deal with it as much as few others. But this was outrageous even by their standard. This was a blatantly politically motivated move and outright reckless abuse of another elder¡¯s absence from the sect. The kind of behavior that could get people killed in the aftermath.

    And most importantly, this was an infringement on his fucking job!

    His department had been occupied with this smuggling activity for months and he had been working overtime in an attempt to get a hold of these slimy bastards as quickly as possible. In fact, the only reason he was even here was because he desperately needed to clear his head with a bit of practical combat after three straight days of running from clue to clue, questioning suspects and organizing patrols. And if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that whoever was behind this was damn sure not part of the Training Hall. He had to do something about this.

    ¡­ what though? Guowei was a cultivator in the high Dao Attunement Realm. The head of a department of one of the most powerful halls in the sect. His family was one of the most powerful noble families far and wide. But before the elders, he was nothing. Nonetheless he pushed himself through the still confused crowd.

    What he was about to attempt was potentially extremely stupid, but he would do it anyway. He couldn¡¯t stop the elders, but he could at least try to lay the groundwork for a future challenge to their behavior. He stepped out of the crowd and before Elder Bai, immediately lowering his head into a bow.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°I apologize for disturbing you, Honorable Elder. I am Guowei Li, head of the Eastern Criminal Department from the Enforcement Hall. My department has been assisting in the investigation of the smuggling ring.¡±

    ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t been very successful then. What is it you want?¡±

    ¡°In the interest of furthering the investigation, I would ask that you share the evidence pointing towards the Training Hall with my department.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I feel inclined to justify myself before some department head.¡±

    ¡°That is not¡­¡±

    Before he could finish the sentence, a booming voice interrupted him.

    ¡°¡­not very convenient.¡±

    With those words, Elder Shi descended from the sky, landing directly in front of him.

    ¡°Because I would also like to hear your reasoning behind whatever you are trying to do here.¡±

    If her harsh tone wasn¡¯t enough to deduce that the woman was angry, the massive hammer she was holding loosely at her side and the cracked floor tiles where she had landed certainly were.

    ¡­

    Now this was inconvenient.

    Ning Bai didn¡¯t find Elder Shi¡¯s display particularly intimidating. Aside from the fact that he was two steps of the Dao Contemplation Realm above her, there were three other powerful cultivators just behind him, including Sun Liang who was a truly fearsome opponent.

    Nevertheless, he really would have preferred to deal with the other elders later. That was because, unlike anyone else around here, Lan Shi held the same formal status as him and could thus not be easily dismissed. He also couldn¡¯t formally overrule her, since this was neither his hall, nor his hall''s responsibility. As a matter of fact, from a purely legal perspective, she held the upper hand as head of the Enforcement Hall.

    Now, that didn¡¯t actually mean all that much, but she definitely had grounds to argue against their actions and knowing her, she would do exactly that. It would have been much easier if he could just have presented her with a fait accompli.

    ¡°Please calm down, Elder Shi. We are merely here to assist in ending the smuggling problem that has been plaguing our sect.¡±

    ¡°Assist? Whom? Because as I remember it, this problem should be for the Enforcement Hall to deal with and I can¡¯t remember asking for any assistance.¡±

    ¡°Well yes, ordinarily dealing with crime like this is the domain of your hall. However, since all of us suffer from this issue, you surely can¡¯t blame us for taking initiative in trying to solve it. The Enforcement Hall, after all, has not been very successful in its attempts to do so, perhaps because it is more occupied with your foolish and needless investigations into our families¡¯ personal affairs.¡±

    Ning Bai could practically see sparks spraying from the woman¡¯s eyes at that remark. He forced down a smile. She would take the bait and forget about her original point; he could feel it.

    ¡°Those things have nothing to do with each other. My hall is merely investigating possible cases of corruption. All our suspicions are based on real evidence, unlike this senseless action against the Training Hall.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but our actions are based on evidence. Who do you take us for?¡±

    ¡°And what evidence would that be?¡±

    ¡°I find myself confused. Did you not personally interrogate the previous head instructor, Mei Feng, after he had been caught in the act? Who could be more obvious targets of investigation than the members of the hall he had been part of for half a century?¡±

    ¡°The Training Hall has recently been reorganized. Mei Feng and several others were removed on suspicions of corruption.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but is it a stretch to assume he still had contacts there?¡±

    ¡°You are telling me that merely sharing the same place of work as someone is grounds for arrest?¡±

    ¡°I am someone who values results above all else. I am not going to idly stand by as our sect is robbed of its wealth by outsiders.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can just do whatever you want. Our sect is governed by rules, not arbitration.¡±

    ¡°On that, I concede, though I suspect we have different notions of what that actually means¡­ Elder Shi, in light of your concerns, I will make you an offer.¡±

    The whole point of this ordeal was to deal as much damage to Elder Wei¡¯s plans, whatever they were, as possible. By holding his subordinates as a bargaining chip and ruining his hall¡¯s income, they were going to force him to step back in line with the pillar families¡¯ order.

    Originally, they had planned to just cart the prisoners off to some depleted mine and hold them there, but with Elder Shi here, that was off the table. If Ning Bai was right about her, she was more concerned about these people¡¯s well-being, rather than any larger strategical advantages.

    While that was annoying in its own right, it did make negotiating with her much easier.

    ¡°I understand that you are worried about the proper procedures in dealing with these subjects. To alleviate that worry, I will allow their arrest and interrogation to be jointly conducted by our subordinates and members of the Enforcement Hall.¡±

    ¡°Why should I accept that when their arrest in itself isn¡¯t justified.¡±

    ¡°Well, otherwise we will have to escalate this issue to a council meeting, which would be a huge¡­ inconvenience to everyone involved, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Even with the unfortunate recent outliers, the Pillar families had a firm grasp on the council. This was especially true when the one who had caused them was currently absent from the sect. The council could and would justify any action he wanted to take against the Training Hall and Elder Shi was well aware of that. With the Hall Head absent, even the concerns about Hall Autonomy were off the table.

    Ning Bai didn¡¯t actually want to involve the council because that would take up valuable time, but Elder Shi had no way of knowing that. With this threat, she had to choose between having at least some oversight over the treatment of the prisoners or being completely pushed away.

    Her piercing scowl turned even darker. For a moment, his instincts told him to tense his muscles and prepare for an attack, but he kept his relaxed stance. Then she relented.

    ¡°All right. I am willing to compromise.¡±

    Ning Bai didn¡¯t hide his satisfied smile. This had been a foregone conclusion.

 Chapter 44: The Festival of the Seven Heroes

    With the weeks she had already spent in the city, Qingge had believed herself accustomed to its massive crowds. She had been mistaken. Sloshing through the broad streets bathed in the golden light of the afternoon was a veritable sea of people that was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The entire city¡¯s population was out at once and even more people were streaming in from the surrounding settlements.

    And it wasn¡¯t just the numbers that were mind-blowing. People were wearing clothes in all kinds of different colors, embroidered with exotic and unique patterns. Many were donning masks in the shape of animals or wondrous, painted faces.

    The atmosphere was light and frolicsome. Musicians and showmen were entertaining the crowd at every corner and the alcohol was starting to flow.

    But the main attraction of it all were the thousands upon thousands of lanterns that were hanging on and between buildings. They came in all shapes and forms but most notably many of them were hung up in configurations of seven, all painted with different symbols that were consistent between the groups.

    Qingge was incredibly fascinated by all of these new impressions. A part of her felt like a giddy child that wanted to run around and explore these new and exciting things. And, perhaps more importantly, escape from the one thing that was currently dampening said fascination and excitement.

    ¡°¡­By the way, these lanterns naturally represent the seven heroes in whose honor the festival is held. That large one stands for the legendary founder of our great city. Then we have the general who led us to victory in the famed city-war of the bloody river, the lone warrior who defeated the terrible scourge of Moonlit Forest and the admiral who brought down the pirate-king and his fleet. Then we have the messenger who sacrificed his life to inform the city of the approaching relief-force during the nine-year siege and the physician who saved the city from the horrible red plague.

    ¡°Finally, there is the prince of the city who is revered as the seventh hero. Not specifically the current prince of course, but whoever is holding the office.

    ¡°Anyway, as I was saying, this is the highest celebration of our city. Aside from the day of reverence of course, but that one is held throughout the Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s territory. We have a lot of festivals specifically because it¡¯s a great way to keep the peasants happy and to drum up public support for the sponsoring noble families. Not to brag, but my family is one of the premier patrons of several of these. This one in particular is jointly hosted by all great families though, as a show of unity.

    ¡°On that subject, you might note that¡­¡±

    Qingge did her best to feign interest as the annoying limpet of a cousin Shun Gao had brought along droned on about the specifics of organizing a parade and his grand personal merits in the matter. No thanks. Qingge had enough headaches organizing actually important stuff, like sect security or an ongoing criminal investigation she was in the process of conducting.

    Alas, there was little she could do to escape and all of her polite attempts at signaling the guy that he could maybe, possibly, kindly shut his damn mouth for a while had been either completely ignored or, if she was reading the man correctly, not even noticed in the first place.

    Qingge threw a pleading glance at Yang, but her bodyguard could only helplessly shrug as he was currently embroiled in a conversation about the merits of body-cultivation with Shun Gao, who took both of them for practitioners. Not exactly the most riveting topic either, but Qingge would have preferred it a dozen times over her current one. Especially since it was an actual conversation and not a monologue with occasional interruptions to allow for approving nods.

    No use though, since Shun was clearly more interested in talking to Yang than her. Or maybe, if Qingge¡¯s sneaking suspicion was accurate, he actually just wanted to pair her up with his cousin for whatever reason. If that was the case, Wencheng Gao, that was the tone-deaf idiot¡¯s name, was very eager to assist him in that desire.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Actually, now that she thought about it, that gave her an idea. As much as she would have liked to enjoy the festival, she was here to gather intelligence. For that, this whole situation might actually be a blessing in disguise. She just had to start taking the initiative.

    Qingge slightly slowed her pace, letting herself fall behind. Wencheng, lost in his own conversation matched her speed without even noticing and the others seemed more than content to let it happen. Soon there was enough space between the pairs that she was certain Shun Gao couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying over the noise of the crowd.

    Next, she turned her full attention to Wencheng, taking a moment to consider how blunt she could be without him noticing something was off. It didn¡¯t take her long to come to a conclusion: very blunt.

    Taking the next bump in the road as an opportunity, she pretended to trip and let herself fall right in his direction, letting out a surprised yelp as she did. He caught her by reflex.

    ¡°Young Lady Cui! What happened? Are you alright?¡±

    Qingge took a moment, pretending to catch her breath and recover from the shock. Then she looked up at him, giving him her best shot at a thankful expression.

    ¡°I just tripped. I¡¯m just fine thanks to you.¡±

    Apparently, her questionable acting skills were sufficient, because the man¡¯s face took on a noticeable shade of red. Qingge continued on.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little exhausted because of our long walk, but don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    With that, she separated herself from the flustered man, gave him a little thankful bow and signaled him to continue walking. As they did, he looked at her concerned.

    ¡°Should we stop for a while so you can take a rest?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to bother you and your cousin. It¡¯s clear that both of you are talented young cultivators with plenty of strength to spare.¡±

    Wencheng beamed.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, we are. Not to brag, but I¡¯m kind of considered a rising star in the city. A pretty big deal, if I do say so myself. But aren¡¯t you and your brother cultivators yourself?¡±

    Qingge put all the sorrow and worry this whole ordeal had caused her into her tone as she answered.

    ¡°We are, but unlike you or him, my talent is meager. I haven¡¯t really been able to make any progress in quite a long time and I¡¯m quite frail by nature.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry to hear that. Is there any way I could help you?¡±

    Now she had him right where she wanted.

    ¡°You¡­ would do that for me?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ naturally only if I can afford it¡­ you know¡­ my means are limited¡­ and I have many commitments¡­ but if I can¡­ of course.¡±

    Qingge had to work hard restraining herself from letting out a laugh, watching Wencheng backpedal. It was clear that while he was very eager to impress her, he was also not very keen on the idea of actually giving up anything significant. Luckily for him, what Qingge wanted wouldn¡¯t personally cost him anything.

    ¡°I understand that your talent requires nurturing. I couldn¡¯t possibly ask you to give up any of your resources for me. But you know¡­ my family has plenty of money, there just isn¡¯t anything to spend it on in Brittlestone City. So, if you know of somewhere I could acquire some cultivation-materials myself, I¡¯d be deeply thankful.¡±

    This was dangerous territory. The trade of resources relevant to cultivation was heavily restricted outside of the sects. You couldn¡¯t just walk into a store and buy them; you¡¯d have to go get an explicit permission from one of the sects. That didn¡¯t stop people from privately circulating them anyways, but businesses that sold them commercially to people without permit were actually hot water.

    Nonetheless, Wencheng lit up at her suggestion.

    ¡°Sure, I know a few people who might be able to help you with that.¡±

    Jackpot.

    ¡°Now, they wouldn¡¯t just work with anyone¡­ but with my referral, you need not worry. Like I said, my name holds quite a bit of weight around here!¡±

    Somehow Qingge doubted that this actually was the case, but she was more than happy to let him continue to brag if it meant she got what she wanted out of him.

    ¡°Your generosity truly knows no bounds. I¡¯d be deeply indebted to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a man of honor and virtue! You can count on me. You know what, the sooner the better. I can take you to them right now.¡±

    With that he heightened his pace to catch up to the others and called out.

    ¡°Cousin! Let¡¯s head to the Blue Lotus Pavilion. Young Lady Cui needs to rest.¡±

    The man in question seemed slightly irritated at first but quickly settled once he had considered it.

    ¡°Sure, you can go there. You¡¯ll have to count me out however. The parade of the seventh hero will start shortly and I need to be seen in attendance alongside grandfather. Prince Luo attaches great importance to such matters of ceremony.¡±

    That was even better than Qingge had hoped. With him out of the way, she wouldn¡¯t have to explain herself to someone much more adept. Before Wencheng could consider how that diminished his own position in comparison, Qingge jumped in.

    ¡°Then we will have to part ways here. I extend my utmost thanks to you for your hospitality. I hope we will meet again.¡±

    Turning to Wencheng again, she continued.

    ¡°Would you lead us to the pavilion?¡±

    After everyone had bid each other farewell, the group of now only three people continued on.

 Chapter 45: Contact

    The Blue Lotus Pavilion was a tall but unassuming building, located at the back end of a narrow alley. It was the kind of place that tended to go unnoticed by most passersby in the otherwise pompous upper district, like the housing of servantry.

    Unlike with the housing of servantry however, this was very much by design. Whoever owned the place was happy not to draw too many prying eyes to it, an unusual choice for a restaurant, to say the least.

    ¡°This is it. Follow my lead and don¡¯t ask unnecessary questions. They don¡¯t like that around here.¡±

    As Wencheng Gao led Qingge and Yang inside, he was visibly nervous, quite the change from his previous attitude. Qingge felt the same. Not necessarily out of fear, there was little in the city that could harm her with a Dao Attunement Realm cultivator by her side, but because of nervousness.

    Whoever was illegally selling cultivation resources in the city was quite likely to be related to the smuggling ring. That kind of stuff didn¡¯t grow on trees. Well, some of it did, but these trees were held under tight control by the sect and their yields would still need to be processed by expert alchemists before they could be meaningfully used for cultivation.

    As the three stepped inside, the opening of the door rung a small bell. Other than that, the inside was equally austere and unassuming as the outside. Everything seemed old and dusty and the floorboards creaked slightly as an old lady with a crooked back and wrinkly skin walked around a corner and approached them.

    ¡°Now if these aren¡¯t three lovely youngsters who have found their way into our humble establishment! How can I serve you dears?¡±

    Her voice was low and raspy, her tone familial. Everything about her seemed harmless and endearing. She seemed like the kind of meek, grandmotherly figure any parent would let their child play with without a second thought.

    Qingge lived in a world where one learned quickly not to underestimate the elderly, but she couldn¡¯t imagine this lady as anything other than a lovely old granny. That was, of course, rather alarming considering what she knew about this place.

    ¡°Greetings, my lady. I am Wencheng Gao and I would like a private room for the three of us.¡±

    ¡°Anything for you, my dear. Any specific requirements for the room?¡±

    ¡°If possible, I would like one on the second floor. And no windows please.¡±

    The last part was said with a meaningful undertone. This kind of defeated the purpose of a supposedly secretive code, which it clearly was, but Qingge supposed that was just on brand for someone like Wencheng.

    The old lady didn¡¯t show any unordinary reaction to the demand.

    ¡°No problem, dear, I¡¯ll have it done.¡±

    With that, she walked back to the corner and called out:

    ¡°Sweetie! There are guests here!¡±

    A short while later a girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen turned the corner.

    ¡°What is it, granny?¡±

    ¡°I need you to guide these splendid youngsters to their room. They want to sit on the second floor. Give them the best room we have there.¡±

    ¡°Sure, granny.¡±

    Turning to the three, she did a curtsy.

    ¡°Welcome to our humble pavilion. Please follow me.¡±

    With that, she guided them up a flight of stairs to their left. Several narrow corridors later, they arrived at a particularly sturdy looking door. The girl took out a key and unlocked it, before bidding them inside.

    The inside of the room was completely different from the part of the establishment they had seen so far. The floor was covered by a thick red carpet and the wall was full of paintings and other decorative pieces. There were several luxurious armchairs situated around a robust oaken table that was covered in artistic engravings and a silver chandelier bathed everything in a dim but warm light.

    ¡°Your company will arrive shortly. Can I bring you something to drink in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have a bottle of wine. Bring us something good.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    With that, the girl left the room. It didn¡¯t escape Qingge that she locked the door behind her. Wencheng spoke up again, his nervousness even more visible than before.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°All right, until now everything went well. In a couple of minutes, someone will arrive from whom you can buy what you want. You¡¯ll have to arrange the deal and return in a couple of days when they have everything ready.

    ¡°One piece of advice, don¡¯t try to haggle with them. I tried once and it didn¡¯t go over well. Pay their price or don¡¯t. Of course, you¡¯ll have to buy something, now that we¡¯re here. You can¡¯t just chicken out, or you¡¯ll put me in a terrible position.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, buying is what we¡¯re here for.¡±

    After that, the three waited mostly in silence. After a while, the girl returned with the wine. Only Wencheng drank, but he drank enough for all of them, seemingly in an attempt to calm his nerves. Just as he was about to empty his fourth cup, the door opened again.

    This time, it was a man that entered. He was tall and slender, clothed entirely in tight black robes. The tips of his equally black hair and his acutely trimmed mustache were the only part of his face that were visible, the rest obscured by a mask of silver and a cone hat of straw.

    ¡°Greetings, customers. You¡¯re here to do business, I assume?¡±

    The man¡¯s voice was low but silky smooth and he spoke with an undefinable accent. There was a light but strict tone to his voice that seemed to hover vaguely between humorous and threatening.

    ¡°We are. These two would like to acquire some cultivation resources.¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence, that is just what we have to offer.¡±

    The man sat down at the table and turned to Qingge and Yang while pouring himself a cup of wine.

    ¡°What exactly are you looking for?¡±

    Qingge spoke up. She didn¡¯t try to hide the insecurity in her voice, it fit well with the image she was trying to project.

    ¡°Umm¡­ We are body cultivators. I am looking for something to speed up my progress, since my cultivation has slowed. I have no specific knowledge of what would be appropriate for such a thing.¡±

    ¡°I will think of something for you. What are your means?¡±

    ¡°I am looking to spend about a thousand taels of silver.¡±

    That was a good amount, at least in a mortal city, while also not being enough to throw up any flags. Cultivators didn¡¯t usually use silver in large quantity so she would have to ask the Li family to help her out, but she could easily repay them in spirit stones. There wasn¡¯t really a fixed conversion rate, but that amount was well within her budget. She could even cover it from her personal salary, if she needed to.

    ¡°For that amount, we can make some things happen.¡±

    The man¡¯s voice didn¡¯t betray any of his emotions as he took out and unfurled a scroll. He then started silently contemplating over it while occasionally sipping on his wine. After a few minutes, he looked up again, fixating on Qingge.

    ¡°Personally, I would advise you to buy several lower-grade items, rather than a single more potent one. In your price-range that is going to give you the greatest benefits.¡±

    For what it was worth, that was actually good advice.

    ¡°Since you have no specific wants, let me make you an offer. For a thousand taels, I can get you three low-grade Body Shaping and one mid-grade Qi-Gathering Pill. I¡¯m being generous here, since you two are first-time customers.¡±

    That price was ludicrous, but actually still lower than Qingge had expected. For all their scarcity, it seemed like fear of the sect¡¯s retribution still pushed the price of these resources down by a good amount. That, and maybe the black market didn¡¯t quite know how to properly evaluate the value of what they were dealing with, leading to higher price-fluctuations.

    For now, Qingge pretended not to know about these prices either and turned to Wencheng for assistance.

    ¡°Young master, do you think that is a good deal?¡±

    ¡°You should take it!¡±, Wencheng said with a serious face.

    ¡°Alright, if you say so I will trust you. I accept that deal.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll have the goods ready for collection in two days from now. Return here with the silver at sunset. Only the two of you, nobody else. Is that clear?¡±

    His tone became very serious at the last part.

    ¡°Absolutely clear. We¡¯ll come alone.¡±

    They absolutely wouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Good. I trust that you understand that betraying us wouldn¡¯t be good for the state of your health.¡±

    With that, he took one last swig of his wine, emptying the cup, before slamming it on the table with a sense of finality and rising from his seat.

    ¡°Unless you have any other business you want to take care of, I¡¯ll leave you for now. You will be guided back out of the room in a couple of minutes. We¡¯ll meet again in two days from now. Don¡¯t forget to be punctual, it¡¯s a matter of good manners.¡±

    With that, he turned on his heel and left.

    ¡°Whew, everything went well.¡±

    Wencheng let out a loud sigh and wiped the built-up sweat of his forehead. He then spent the rest of their time in the room thoroughly emptying out the remaining wine in the bottle.

    After the girl had returned to ¡®guide them out¡¯ which was naturally a euphemism for letting them out of the previously locked room and the three had left the building, Qingge turned to him to say her goodbyes.

    ¡°I think we have had enough for the day. I deeply thank you for your generous help, young master.¡±

    That was actually true, even though he had a very wrong idea of what that help had encompassed.

    ¡°It pains me to part ways with you, Young Lady Cui, but you are right. Today, enough has been done. Let us meet again!¡±

    Let¡¯s not. For all his helpfulness, the stumbling drunkard was still not exactly pleasant to be around.

    Once Qingge and Yang were alone, she turned to him with a questioning look.

    ¡°How was he?¡±

    ¡°Dangerous, but not particularly so. Body cultivator, well trained, poison needles in his sleeves. Probably relies on a mix of stealth and speed.¡±

    ¡°And the woman?¡±

    ¡°Also a body cultivator. Accomplished but well past her prime. No stronger than an average mortal adult and probably less agile. No weaponry either, she wasn¡¯t there to fight.¡±

    ¡°Thought so. She didn¡¯t seem dangerous to my senses at all.¡±

    Still, two accomplished cultivators working in the same extremely safe and secretive location, selling a whole host of different cultivation resources¡­

    ¡°I think we got our target. They have to be working for or at least be associated with the organization we¡¯re after.¡±

    Yang spent a moment in thought before he replied.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re right. Way too big of a coincidence for another smuggling group of this size to exist.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll call off the others from their tasks. We need to prepare for an operation. Two days from now at sunset.¡±

 Chapter 46: Academic Issues

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Professor Lei, but the academy can¡¯t let you publish this. No amount of revisiting your argumentation or clarifying their implications will change that. As long as this work sticks to the core ideas and beliefs it represents, it¡¯s going nowhere.¡±

    Geming Lei audibly sighed. Though he had hoped otherwise, he had certainly expected this. Still, how many times would he still have to have this discussion?

    ¡°Look, we¡¯ve been over this. Just because you don¡¯t agree with my work, it doesn¡¯t mean that you can¡¯t publish it. As long as it makes for a valuable addition to the field of discussion, it should be out there.¡±

    ¡°Professor, you¡¯re making it sound like it¡¯s a personal thing. It is not. The academy publishes heaps of stuff that both I personally and the leadership broadly disagree with. The issue is that it¡¯s not just us. Nobody agrees with you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m aware that most of the academic scene¡­¡±

    ¡°All of it.¡±

    ¡°¡­disagrees with my standpoint, partly because it¡¯s quite uncomfortable and partly because somebody makes it harder for me to publish my work, but that¡¯s not a valid criterion to judge the argument on. It is also not your call to make, it''s other academics who ought to judge the argument based on its own merits.¡±

    ¡°I could point out that it breaks with literally all convention on the matter, or that it is clearly just a more radical continuation of your other work which was already widely criticized. But I won¡¯t. Because this isn¡¯t a debate. I¡¯m informing you of the academy¡¯s decision. We are not publishing it, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The last time we thought that was a good idea, we experienced the largest backlash in over fifty years. Three of your colleagues resigned in protest. You¡¯re a great asset to this academy and if you write another book on the foundations of ethical theory or something like that, we¡¯ll gladly publish it. But you¡¯re not worth another controversy of this scale.¡±

    With that, the voluminous man who was the current director of the academy threw the manuscript at Geming Lei¡¯s chest, who reflexively caught it.

    ¡°You are dismissed, professor.¡±

    For a moment, Geming Lei just stood there in silence. Then, with another sigh, he bowed.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you for your time.¡±

    There was nothing left for him to accomplish here. The director was a strong-willed man, and it was clear he had already made up his mind. Geming turned around and left the room to make his way back to his office.

    This was another setback but it wasn¡¯t as if he wasn¡¯t used to these at this point. He couldn¡¯t even be properly angry at the leadership. It was the same with them as with the rest of the academic community. They weren¡¯t stupid, they were just stuck in the worldview that had been taught to them. That and also just careful. Geming Lei couldn¡¯t deny that he was flying close to the sun with his work.

    There were good reasons academics tended to exempt cultivators from any deep ethical considerations. They didn¡¯t take well to being criticized or being told what to do. Or asked for help. Or really anything that didn¡¯t involve copious amounts of praise and reverence.

    Most philosophers either pretended they didn¡¯t exist at all in their thought-models, or they kept it within Yaozu Wu¡¯s classic doctrine.

    Cultivators, their bodies freed from the coils of mortality and their minds opened to the deepest truths of the world couldn¡¯t be properly grasped with the confines of the mortal mind, so any attempt to explain, judge or regulate their behavior should only come from other cultivators.

    It was blatant and willful ignorance but just taking the time to properly deconstruct and challenge it had been enough to create a tempest of outrage when Geming Lei had first done it. Ever since, his image was plagued by infamy, only worsening with each further step he took along this path.

    On some days, he cursed his academic instincts that had led him to push back against these attacks instead of just ceding ground on this issue when it first arose. Now he was well into his fifties, and it was likely that if anything, he would be remembered for the boring and uninspired summaries and overviews of other people¡¯s works he had written on the side, just to secure continued funding. His true life¡¯s work would die with him, ignored and forgotten forever. Not what he had imagined as a young and upcoming philosopher when he had first secured a place at this prestigious academy.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Oh well, such was his lot. The truth remained the truth and Geming Lei had long resolved not to compromise on that.

    Geming Lei clutched his manuscript that was never going to be turned into a book now. ¡®Three whole lifetimes ¨C on the Lu¨® Family and cultivators ruling mortals.¡¯ Perhaps he truly was a little suicidal.

    He let out a dry chuckle, earning him several puzzled looks from the surrounding students. Didn¡¯t matter. He wasn¡¯t going to be allowed to teach them anything important anyway. The academy didn¡¯t trust him enough to assign him anything but the most fundamental topics. For which, once again, he couldn¡¯t blame them. He wouldn¡¯t trust himself either.

    Some time and a lot of self-deprecating contemplations later, Geming Lei had left the more populated and pristine parts of the academy, made his way through the dusty and much less visited archive and finally reached the empty and narrow corridor at the end of which his humble office was located.

    Its remoteness was a true signifier of his low standing within the academy, but he didn¡¯t mind it. In fact, its proximity to the archive and the surrounding emptiness made it the ideal place to spend long days doing nothing but thinking, strolling to the archive and back, hardly ever being interrupted. Except for the occasional lost student, he didn¡¯t get many visitors here.

    As such, he was appropriately surprised when he noticed the man casually leaning against the wall next to his office door. He was wearing simple grey robes, but his strikingly white hair and truly magnificent well-groomed beard nevertheless provided a striking contrast to the dim surroundings.

    His age clearly too great to be a student and his posture much too dignified to be an assistant of some kind, Geming Lei found himself wondering who this strange old man was. He didn¡¯t interact too much with his colleagues, but he would still recognize the man if he was a professor at the academy. Perhaps a visiting one then? That didn¡¯t feel too right either, but it was the best he could come up with. But what would a visiting professor be doing here? Geming Lei approached him.

    ¡°Greetings. Can I help you?¡±

    ¡°That remains to be seen¡­ You are Professor Lei, I assume?¡±

    The man¡¯s voice was deep, sonorous and exuded confidence.

    ¡°Yes, that would be me.¡±

    ¡°Good, very good. I was looking for you. If it¡¯s alright, I would like to ask you a couple of questions regarding your work.¡±

    ¡°I- well of course. You can ask away, but would you like to come in first?¡±

    ¡°Happily.¡±

    ¡°Great. Let me just¡­¡±

    Geming Lei fumbled to pull out his key while clamping the manuscript under one arm. When he had gotten it, he unlocked and opened the creaky old door.

    ¡°After you. You can sit right there. Let me just get a second chair really quick¡­ Sorry, I¡¯m not well prepared for visitors¡­ Okay.¡±

    Sitting down and putting the manuscript on the table in between them, Geming Lei turned his attention to his visitor.

    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about your work on cultivators.¡±

    Well, the surprises just kept on coming.

    ¡°My attention was recently drawn to it by unrelated circumstances. I read your work on it in ¡®redefining guidelines for ethical considerations¡¯ and quite a lot of what you have published since. I¡¯m not an expert in the field so I can¡¯t comment on it too much, but I will say that I was deeply impressed by your argumentative prowess.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­ thank you very much. There aren¡¯t too many people who think like that.¡±

    ¡°I have noticed, though I don¡¯t fully understand why. To get to the point, I firstly wanted to ask you if you are still working on the topic.¡±

    ¡°I am, though not to much success. This right here is my latest book, though the academy has declined to publish it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. ¡®Three whole lifetimes¡­¡¯. It sounds quite interesting, what exactly is it about?¡±

    ¡°It builds upon my earlier conclusion that cultivators ought to be judged by the same moral standards as anybody else by doing exactly that. It examines the dynamics and ethics of a cultivator ruling over generations of mortals. Based on archived incidents, it takes the Lu¨® Family as its main focus of consideration, especially the current prince¡¯s great-grandfather, the previous regent of the city who was in power for well over a hundred and eighty years. That¡¯s what the title is referencing.¡±

    ¡°Quite the topic. I can imagine how it might throw up some flags in people who value their safety and standing in this city.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely right.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s alright, may I ask for what reason you continue on regardless? I¡¯m certain you¡¯re aware that you could be much more successful if you turned your mind to other topics.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not entirely sure myself to be honest. Part of it is definitely that it just won¡¯t leave this thick skull of mine. And the other part¡­ I think it¡¯s just that I believe that as someone who contemplates and comments on ethics, it¡¯s my duty to try and rectify what I perceive to be one of the field¡¯s biggest blind spots. The world depends on us philosophers to figure out what¡¯s right and what¡¯s wrong, that¡¯s the whole reason we exist. I¡¯m just trying to do my best not to let it down.¡±

    ¡°An impressive stance to take, especially backed up by action. Thank you for your honest answer. I think it¡¯s time I repay you in kind by properly introducing myself.¡±

    As he talked, the man straightened his posture, and his already dignified feeling was now clearly joined by an air of regality. Suddenly, Geming Lei understood what kind of man he was facing.

    ¡°I¡¯m Liu Wei, Elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect. Pleased to make your acquaintance, professor.¡±

 Chapter 47: Recruitment

    Oh.

    Oh!

    Geming Lei had known he was setting himself up for disaster. But no one ever truly expects disaster to befall today. It¡¯s always a feeling for some time in the nebulous future. How ironic that he had been pondering his legacy just half an hour ago.

    Interestingly, while he could feel his heart start beating faster, his thoughts were totally calm. He didn¡¯t think himself a particularly brave man, but this situation was just out of his control now and it didn¡¯t feel like any amount of panicking would help.

    It was remarkable, how long his mind was managing to stretch out this short moment of time, but it came to an end as the Elder resumed speaking.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be alarmed. I have already told you how I feel about your work and I¡¯m not intending on harming you in any way. In fact, I am here precisely because I agree with your work.¡±

    Geming Lei swallowed. He did his best to let the Elder¡¯s words calm him, but he wasn¡¯t quite as relaxed as he would like to be. Which was a euphemism for the fact that he was still barely managing to breathe enough air to continue sitting here. At the same time though, his curiosity was certainly captured.

    ¡°How so?¡±

    Not his most eloquent question, but it was all he could get out right now.

    ¡°Well, I have recently found myself questioning the fact that my sect is ruled by corruption, greed and force. Ever since then, rectifying this state has become the focus of both my mind and my actions."

    That did it. Geming Lei¡¯s fear subsided in its entirety to make more room for the curiosity.

    ¡°A revolutionary elder? Now that¡¯s quite something. I don¡¯t think I have ever heard of anything similar before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the first one, not even in the current sect. It¡¯s just that these kinds of conflicts usually don¡¯t leak to the outside.¡±

    ¡°I see. That actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe I need to readjust my view on the world of cultivators after all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, we are still a minority. Which brings me back to my reason for being here. I came to the city because I intend to change that. Consequently, I have an offer to make you. I¡¯d like you to educate the sect¡¯s disciples in matters of morality.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°You heard me correctly. The bulk of our disciples have, up until now, only ever been educated in matters of combat and cultivation. I want to instill a sense of actual morality and fairness into them. There is no one in the sect who is both capable and willing to teach them, so I came to this city to find someone who could. I have stayed at the academy for quite a while now and have concluded that you would be by far the best choice.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m honored.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that, but that is not the matter on hand. The question is whether you want to accept this position or not. There are quite a lot of upsides and downsides attached to it, so allow me to elaborate.

    ¡°First off, let me go over the position you would take. The main thing I would expect of you would be regularly holding lectures, open for the disciples and all other willing sect members to attend. You¡¯ll be free to determine their exact content, but the purpose of teaching the listeners moral behavior should always remain the focus.

    ¡°This is where the first downside comes into play. The people you¡¯d be teaching aren¡¯t academics, they¡¯re children without any proper education, so I imagine that this task would be quite¡­ boring for you, since you have to start at the lowest of foundations.

    ¡°Other than these lectures, you¡¯d be free to hold additional events like debates and similar, or just to continue your studies. Of course you¡¯d be lacking access to the academy¡¯s faculties, like the archive and such. To compensate, I¡¯d give you access to the historical records of our library.

    ¡°One other thing to note is your personal safety. While you¡¯d naturally be under my protection and I¡¯d do my best to ensure your well-being, I need you to be aware that this is still quite the dangerous position to take. As I have already said, my faction is in the minority inside the sect so most of its leadership would likely want you gone. As a mortal among cultivators, you¡¯d also not be able to defend yourself against any attacks.

    ¡°As for accommodation and compensation, I can guarantee you that it¡¯s going to be better than anything a professor can receive here. From my assessment of you, I doubt that matters to you much, but it still needs to be said.

    ¡°Lastly, I don¡¯t need you to make you choice right now. You can take a couple of days to think it over, I can return then.¡±

    Geming Lei didn¡¯t take much time to answer.

    ¡°No need. I have already made my decision. I accept.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°I have spent my whole life telling people what is right to do. If what you are saying is true, then this is my chance to do something good. What a terrible hypocrite would I be if I didn¡¯t take it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a brave man, Geming Lei.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to be. I¡¯ll still need a few days to wrap up my business with the academy though.¡±

    ¡°Naturally. There are also some things I could help the people I came here with. Head to the Li Family¡¯s residence when you are done, you¡¯ll find me there.¡±

    With that, the Elder rose to his feet and Geming followed suit.

    ¡°It has been a pleasure meeting you, professor. Oh, and in the meantime, take this. Just in case you need it.¡±

    With a bright flash, the ring Liu Wei was wearing produced a small golden plate which he then handed over. Engraved on it were three mountains beneath a full moon, the symbol of the Lunar Peaks Sect.

    ¡°This is a token of association. Should any trouble arise with the academy, don¡¯t hesitate to make use of it. Goodbye, professor.¡±

    Geming Lei bowed deeply.

    ¡°Thank you. It was an honor.¡±

    After returning the gesture and giving him a last smile, the Elder turned to head out.

    Once he was gone, Geming Lei sank back into his chair. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his head was spinning. Just what had just happened? He¡¯d need some time to properly process this.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei stepped out into the open. This had been surprisingly easy, all things considered. He certainly hadn¡¯t come here expecting to find someone so perfectly suited to teaching his disciples.

    From what he could tell, Geming Lei was a genuinely good person. He wasn¡¯t afraid to break with tradition and he was clearly very knowledgeable when it came to his field. That was everything he could hope for.

    With this issue taken care of, only the one with the smugglers remained. If possible, he wanted to help Qingge take care of that in the coming days so the expedition could return to the sect alongside him. He trusted them to take care of it without him, but it would just be more convenient that way.

    He¡¯d go visit them tomorrow and see how much they had learned. For today though, he¡¯d allow himself some time off. Maybe he¡¯d have himself a cup of tea with old Niung Li.

 Chapter 48: The Birth of a Rebel

    This wasn¡¯t fair.

    Qiao was lying on her bed, her head buried face first into one of her massive pillows.

    Grandfather had lost his mind. Why would he do something like this?

    She was educated well enough to understand that this was a political move. There was no way her grandfather actually cared about some smugglers. Not when he was acting like this, rolling up with a host of other elders and apprehending an entire hall.

    She didn¡¯t know whether this was a smart move. Considering this was her grandfather, it probably was. But she didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t fair. Just looking at the scene of a bunch of armed guards taking in dozens if not hundreds of incredulous people had been enough to confirm this. There was nothing all of these people could have done to collectively deserve this. Qiao had tried, but she couldn¡¯t believe that.

    So then why did grandfather do it? Were he and the other family heads not the ones trying to uphold order and fairness in the sect? So why did they act like this? Even if the other elders were trying to stoke up chaos and undermine the sect¡¯s strength, their subordinates were hardly the ones to blame!

    And what about the disciples? How was Qiao supposed to prove she was better than Chonglin if he couldn¡¯t properly train? Her victory would be worthless and all her training for nothing!

    It was all just not fair. She didn¡¯t want her side to be the ones doing something like this.

    And now? What now? What was she supposed to do about this? Try and convince her grandfather to change his mind? No shot. Even if they would let her see them, there was no way he cared about her enough to give up a strategy he had come up with. Just the thought of her trying to argue with grandfather was ridiculous.

    But just going back to her training didn¡¯t work. Qiao had already tried, but it had just felt wrong. She couldn¡¯t just go on like nothing had happened. Even if it didn¡¯t change much in the large picture, there had to be something she could do! Was she this powerless? Had years of training her body and mind amounted to nothing?

    Qiao wanted to talk to someone. But to whom? Lifen wouldn¡¯t be able to help her this time and Qiao didn¡¯t want to bring her into this. It was dangerous enough for her to be having those thoughts and for all she knew, her maid was genuinely appreciative of her family.

    She didn¡¯t know anyone else good enough to trust them with what she was thinking. Or rather, the people she did know well enough, she specifically didn¡¯t trust because of that. She felt lonely.

    Giving herself a push, Qiao sat up. This wouldn¡¯t do. Wasting away in her bedroom, spiraling into negative thoughts wouldn¡¯t help anybody.

    ¡°Lifen!¡±

    A few moments went by before the old woman entered the room.

    ¡°Yes, young lady?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going out.¡±

    ¡°Have you recovered from your illness?¡±

    Qiao had told her that she wasn¡¯t feeling well earlier to explain why she wanted to stay in bed.

    ¡°Mostly, yes. I am going for a walk to get back on my feet.¡±

    ¡°Anywhere in particular you are headed?¡±

    ¡°No, just the forest.¡±

    That was a lie. Qiao knew where she would go.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get you some practical clothing if that is alright.¡±

    ¡°That is perfect, thank you.¡±

    If she wanted to do something, whatever it was, there was only one place to go right now. She¡¯d return to the Training Hall.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡­

    ¡°Come on, get up. Don¡¯t just sit there. What¡¯s gotten into you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ just¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    Zixin looked at up Chonglin, then back at the ground. How could he be so unfazed about what had happened?

    ¡°What to do? Train. That¡¯s what we are here for.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Instructor Guiren¡­ and all the others¡­¡±

    How could they just go on when everything had gone so wrong?

    ¡°I know. But what are you supposed to do about that? If anything, that¡¯s one more reason to keep training. It¡¯s the only way you are ever going to be able to change anything.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t know how.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how? Come on, stop kidding me. You are the one who kept dragging me to train every free minute. If there¡¯s anything you know in that thick head of yours, it¡¯s how to do that.¡±

    Chonglin was right, like always. Zixin kept staring at the ground. He had done that. And objectively, it was what he should be doing right now. But he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to¡­

    With a massive splash, a bucket of cold water was emptied above his head. Zixin winced and let out quite a high-pitched shriek. Not his proudest moment. It took a few seconds before he caught his breath again.

    ¡°What was that for?¡±

    He immediately knew the answer he would get.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought someone might need to be woken up.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Okay! I see how it is. You want some? I¡¯ll get you some!¡±

    With that, he jumped from his seat, already reaching for his wooden sword. He¡¯d have to keep his worries for later, right now there was some smugness to wipe off of his friend¡¯s face.

    ¡­

    Qiao pulled up the hood of the long cloak she had thrown on. She really didn¡¯t want to be recognized right now. Not only did she not want to explain what she was doing here to her family, she also wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the disciples here were less than well-inclined towards her. She couldn¡¯t even blame them after what her grandfather had done.

    In the end, it didn¡¯t matter because nobody seemed to care about her presence at all. The streets were more populated than the last time she had been here, but the atmosphere was noticeably gloomy. Most disciples seemed to fulfill their duties or training, but they were all silent and tense, many not actually focused on their tasks. Others were just strolling around or playing dice.

    Qiao felt like shit. This situation was her grandfather¡¯s fault. And just what was she hoping to accomplish here? Nevertheless, she kept walking. Turning around now would just be hiding from the truth.

    A few minutes of walking the streets later, she found her attention drawn by a spar happening on one of the training fields. It was an outlier in that it seemed very energetic and intense, not at all fitting the surroundings. When she came closer, Qiao realized that she recognized the faces of the fighters: Chonglin and Zixin.

    It was almost entrancing to see them fight. Each of them clearly knew the other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses and was trying to exploit the hell out of them. Qingge liked to describe her martial style as a dance, but this was like a well-rehearsed choreography. Moreover, both of them had clearly gotten much better since the last time she had fought them.

    Zixin¡¯s fighting style had remained just as erratic and risky as she remembered it, but it had more of a continuous flow to it than before, becoming both more elegant and efficient. On closer examination, Qiao realized that he had incorporated part of her style into it to achieve that. Chonglin on the other hand had vastly improved his method of preemptive defense. Instead of standing mostly still like in the fight against her, he was now constantly moving with his opponent, alternating between putting pressure on them while also preventing them from going in for a proper attack with his spear¡¯s superior range and giving them ground only to make them run into a wall of defense. It was quite scary, even though it was probably much less effective than it could be, since Zixin knew what he was up against. Both had also worked on their speed and strength a lot.

    It would be disheartening if it wasn¡¯t so damn impressive. Despite all of the work she had put into training herself, these two had kept up with her pace. How on earth had they been outer disciples if they were this talented? Did they have something she didn¡¯t?

    ¡­Now that she thought about it, of course they did. They had a dedicated training partner. Someone they could go all-out on and who would answer in kind. Someone who they could grow alongside of. She had her teachers, but that wasn¡¯t the same thing. She couldn¡¯t push herself to try and beat them, they were too good for that. They¡¯d never dare to overpower her, even if she was doing terribly. And they certainly wouldn¡¯t grow from their spars themselves, outside of the payment they received from her family of course.

    Suddenly, an idea bloomed in Qiao¡¯s mind. One that she was scared to think out, but it was probably now or never.

    As the fight came to an end, Zixin had eked out a victory, she entered the field and sheepishly approached the two. Chonglin was first to notice her.

    ¡°Hey there, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve met. Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Chonglin and this idiot over here is Zixin.¡±

    Their attention turned to her, Qiao pulled back her cloak to reveal her face, earning her two confused gasps.

    ¡°Um¡­ Young Lady Qiao. I apologize for not recognizing you. What¡¯s the reason for your visit?¡±

    Qiao gathered her courage. She had never asked for something like this, but she had fought in front of a crowd of thousands without issues. How hard could this be?

    ¡°I-I¡­¡±

    Very hard apparently. Her hands were trembling, and she felt her face starting to glow red. Which, in a vicious cycle, only further added to her embarrassment. She took a deep breath before she continued, doing her absolute best but only partially succeeding at keeping her voice steady.

    ¡°I was¡­ wondering if you would¡­ maybe¡­ let me train with you.¡±

 Chapter 49: Pursuit

    The sun had started to set, and the darkness was trying to creep into the streets, held back by thousands upon thousands of lanterns that were still hung up all over the city. The festival was still ongoing and there were uncountable people still out on the streets, drinking, laughing and playing games. Whereas in other areas of the city, their numbers had fallen much since the first day, no such thing was happening in the upper district. The people here didn¡¯t need to get back to work to be able to feed themselves and their families, so they kept on partying as long as the festival was ongoing.

    Walking alone amongst the crowd, one amongst thousands, was a young woman, carrying a small but visibly heavy chest in her arms. In isolation, it would have made for a strange picture but in a crowd like this, it went unnoticed save for a couple of cursory glances.

    Qingge was quite content with that, because it meant less trouble for her. She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, which meant answering as little questions as she could.

    She was, of course, not actually alone. In fact, she was probably with one of the biggest groups out around here tonight. It was just that nobody knew, because the fifteen or so people currently shadowing her were doing a good job.

    They had spent the last two days in a rush, preparing for this as much as they could, scouting the area, going over their costumes and discussing possibilities. Qingge felt readier than ever. Now if only that damn box of silver wasn¡¯t so heavy. Had Yang been with her, he could have been the one to carry it, but he was leading the others.

    It had been the most difficult decision they¡¯d had to make. On one hand, they had been told to arrive together. The emphasis had been on not bringing anyone else, but her showing up alone might still arouse suspicion. On the other, he was the only Dao Attunement Realm cultivator amongst them and having him play the bait would waste his skill.

    In the end, they had decided like they had because his abilities for the pursuit would more than make up for any suspicion that his absence might create. And such it turned out that Qingge had to carry the damn silver.

    At least she was nearly done, finally turning into the alley. As she approached the Blue Lotus Pavilion, she leaned into her theatrical side and played up the difficulty she had carrying the silver, breathing heavily and making her hands tremble.

    Once she was at the door, she wanted to knock but was interrupted when two men stepped out of a shadow off to the side. She didn¡¯t have to play being startled.

    The first man was the one she had met here two days ago with his tall and slick look, black robes and silver mask. He was holding a small wooden box. Much cruder than what they used in the sect but clearly a container for pills.

    The second one was a striking contrast to him, short and broad-shouldered, packed with muscles, the beard- and maskless face riddled with scars. The type of thug who would get into fistfights in bars over a wrong glance, though there was a hint of clever mischief sparkling in his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come alone?¡±

    The man in the silver mask was the one to speak.

    ¡°There was a boy with you last time, wasn¡¯t there? Weren¡¯t you supposed to come here together?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know.¡±

    Qingge did her best to layer frustration into her voice.

    ¡°My dear brother has, in his wisdom, decided that filling himself up to the brim with brewage and chasing around some tavern maidens was more important than helping me get my cultivation in order."

    If she was guessing correctly, these people probably dealt with foolish young nobles of this kind rather often.

    ¡°I see. My condolences.¡±

    His voice remained as cold and monotone as before while he said that.

    ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter as long as you have brought the silver. Am I right to assume that¡¯s what¡¯s in that chest?¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Of course. One thousand taels, as we agreed on.¡±

    Qingge held out the chest and the burly man stepped forward and grabbed it.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Turning to the building, he called out.

    ¡°Girl! Get us your scale!¡±

    A couple moments later, the door opened and the young girl who had served them the last time brought out a scale and weights. As the thug-like man started to weigh the silver, the silver mask turned to Qingge again.

    ¡°Now, as I said, I have gotten you three low-grade Body Shaping Pills and a mid-grade Qi-Gathering one. The Body Shaping Pills are as easy and straightforward as it gets. When you take them, they open up your body for change, making it easier to reform. You¡¯ll notice that it takes less concentration and less time to progress. They last for a couple of hours; I would advise you to make the most of that.

    ¡°The Qi-Gathering pill on the other hand is a little more complicated. On the one hand it will supply your body with a large amount of Qi the moment you take it. On the other, it will continue to draw it in for several days. Take it after you¡¯ve already emptied your body of Qi and are ready to cultivate for an extended period of time. The last of the pill¡¯s effects will have worn off after a week or so.¡±

    Done explaining, he looked down to the other man.

    ¡°Everything fine?¡±

    ¡°Aye, looking good. All the silver¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Good. Here you go.¡±

    He handed Qingge the box.

    ¡°We will head out now. I strongly suggest you stay here for a couple more minutes. Following us is a terrible idea.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I will have a drink before heading out.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t going to be part of the pursuit anyways, so anything she could do to make them more relaxed was good in her book.

    ¡°It was a pleasure doing business with you.¡±

    ¡°So it was for me, Young Lady. Return if you ever need more goods. For the right price, we¡¯ll always be able to help you.¡±

    Not if Qingge was successful, they wouldn¡¯t. She smiled and bowed before turning to the girl.

    ¡°Do you still serve tea at this hour?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lady.¡±

    ¡°Then I would like some.¡±

    When she looked back, the two men were already gone.

    ¡­

    Yang stood at the entrance to the alley that led to the Blue Lotus Pavilion and wondered for the hundredth time whether this was a good idea.

    He hadn¡¯t been a proponent of him and Qingge splitting up, mainly because he had other priorities than the others in the expedition. As her bodyguard, his immediate concern was her safety, not the success of her investigation.

    In the beginning, he had only taken on this job because Elder Shi had personally asked him to and he idolized the woman, but with time, Qingge had grown on him. It was a nice feeling to care about someone when all he had ever done before in his hundred and twenty years of life had been fighting and getting stronger.

    That was why it had been hard for him to accept this plan. He trusted Qingge not to do anything stupid, but he didn¡¯t trust the people she was dealing with. Who could tell if they would suddenly try something reckless?

    In the end, he had let himself be convinced regardless because he didn¡¯t want to be a burden to the others. That didn¡¯t make his nervousness go away though.

    A few more minutes of doubt later, something finally happened. Two people approached from inside the alley, entering the range of his soul sense. One of them was the silver mask, he could tell by the Qi-loaded poison needles in his sleeves. The other was carrying something that he guessed to be the chest of silver.

    Once the two emerged, these suspicions were confirmed. So the deal had been a success. The two immediately dived into the crowd and Yang waited for a while before following them. Now that he had their signatures, he didn¡¯t need a line of sight to track them, he just needed to stay in their general vicinity.

    He employed all of his skills to move through the crowd as unnoticed as possible. He wasn¡¯t trained for stealth and his skills paled in comparison to those who were, but as an old and powerful cultivator, he still had perfect control over his body and a supernatural awareness of his surroundings, even without counting the soul sense.

    The others had all been positioned in places where they could see the alley as well and now that they had seen the target, most of them were swarming out to important chokepoints in case Yang somehow lost them.

    It seemed like that wouldn¡¯t be the case though. His two targets moved with urgency, but not faster than the crowd allowed them without standing out.

    After a couple of minutes, it was clear that they were leaving the upper district and heading for the docks. Another suspicion confirmed then. That presented a problem, because as the streets became emptier, it became harder for Yang to remain unnoticed. He gave them more and more space as they went on and started to alternate between using his soul sense and tracking them by eye. His sense was rather well developed but its range remained limited by his stage of cultivation.

    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to follow them for all that long. After a few unexpected turns into and through some back alleys, they arrived at a warehouse. At the door, they knocked in a specific order and were let in by an obscured figure. Yang immediately signaled the few people who were following behind him to surround the building, but nobody had come back out after a few minutes. That confirmed that this was the destination.

    ¡°We¡¯ve probably got their hideout. Two of you remain here to keep an eye on it, the others go and inform everyone. We¡¯ll make plans on how to proceed tonight.¡±

    Their operation had been a success. Yang wondered what Qingge would think about it.

 Chapter 50: Teatime

    Qingge relaxed considerably as the girl led her inside the unassuming building. She had been considerably more tense than she had realized during this whole ordeal and now that it had been completed on her part, that was falling off of her.

    Having gotten used to being generally safe pretty quickly with Yang always around to protect her, being in a situation where she was not with people who were potentially hostile to her, should they find out about her identity, hadn¡¯t been a pleasant experience.

    Maybe she was relaxing a little too much, after all she was still in a place of criminal activity right now, but the only people here were a young mortal girl and an old lady she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to be properly afraid of.

    Besides, as far as she knew, these two were only here to keep up a harmless front. The ones more deeply involved with the organization had just left without catching on to her.

    ¡°Oh, sweety, you brought a guest with you!"

    The wrinkly old woman was seated in a rocking chair in the corner of the room they had just entered. There were several tables spread around it, an open door leading into a small but well-kept kitchen.

    ¡°Good evening, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a nice young woman. Oh, wait, do I know you? Of course, you were here with two other lovely youngsters just the other day, weren¡¯t you? You must excuse me, my memory¡­¡±

    ¡°She wants to drink some tea, gran.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course!¡±

    The lady slowly rose from her chair, reaching for a wooden walking-cane that was leaned to the wall next to her, which looked equally ancient and crooked as she did. Once she had it, she slowly made her way through the room towards Qingge.

    ¡°What kind of tea can I get you? Do you want green or red tea? Or maybe something fruity? How strong do you like it brewed? Do you drink it with sugar, honey, milk, or maybe with a shot of liquor?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­ Red tea, please. Strong flavor but with a shot of milk and a little honey.¡±

    She probably had a long night ahead of her, it couldn¡¯t hurt to have something to help her stay awake. Not that she ever drank anything else when it came to tea.

    ¡°Sure, my dear. Just give me a couple of minutes. Sit down anywhere you like in the meantime. Sweety, would you help me light the fire?¡±

    ¡°Of course, gran.¡±

    With that, the old lady shuffled towards the kitchen, the girl following her closely. Meanwhile, Qingge took her at her word and sat down, picking a table from which she could observe both the entryway and the kitchen.

    She took the time waiting to properly check the contents of the box she had been given. Sure enough, it contained the four pills she had been promised. On a cursory inspection, they seemed very well-made, having no inconsistencies in their form or any kind of visually noticeable impurities.

    She couldn¡¯t actually say for certain whether they came from the sect since only high-grade pills and above were stamped with its mark, but they hadn¡¯t been made by an amateur, that much was for sure.

    Alchemy was one of the things Qingge knew next to nothing about, but their group had a member who was rather well-versed for someone not working for the Alchemy Hall. Qingge would ask her to properly analyze the pills once she got back.

    Looking up after closing the box again, she absentmindedly watched the old woman as she brewed the tea over an open flame. Yang had estimated her to be as strong as an average adult and Qingge trusted his senses more than her own, but it was still almost impossible to imagine. Every single one of her actions had the slow and gradual deliberation to it, that developed in people who couldn¡¯t depend on their muscles to support any careless movements.

    Qingge returned to her thoughts. Assuming they¡¯d be successful in finding the smugglers¡¯ hideout, what would the best approach be? A direct assault would be the fastest and safest way, but it bore the risk of alarming any remaining members of the organization. If there were several hideouts, a significant number might escape.

    An infiltration on the other hand, while it was the approach Qingge personally favored, was much riskier on a personal level, since getting found out would expose them to a dangerous situation. It would also be extremely time-consuming, since they¡¯d have to manufacture even more identities and slowly work themselves into the circle of the smugglers.

    They weren¡¯t on a hard time limit, but Qingge would rather not drag this out for too much longer if possible. As long as they didn¡¯t strike, the organization would continue stealing from the sect and the people in her group would understandably want to get back to the sect as well, so they could properly continue their cultivation.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    They sadly didn¡¯t have anyone specializing in stealth, so they couldn¡¯t go the middle-path of sneaking in and gathering information that way either. This wasn¡¯t an oversight; they just couldn¡¯t get anyone, since the Information Gathering Hall was extremely aggressive at poaching disciples and members with that particular talent.

    Qingge sometimes wondered, just how strong the Zhong Family¡¯s grip on the sect was in the dark. With their pale skin, their focus on the Dao of Shadow, their unique stealth techniques, their iron discipline and even more rigid hierarchy than the remainder of the sect, they were a true enigma to even the usually well-informed upper circles of the Enforcement Hall, as she had recently learned¡­

    ¡°There you go my dear, strong red tea with milk and honey.¡±

    Lost in her thoughts, Qingge hadn¡¯t even properly registered the old woman approaching with a porcelain teapot, the girl following behind her with a cup and a jug of milk.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re here all alone, how about I keep you a little company?¡±

    Qingge took a moment to think but couldn¡¯t see any issue with it. Maybe she would even find out something interesting.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am, if you want to.¡±

    ¡°Of course I want to my dear, of course.¡±

    She poured the tea into Qingge¡¯s cup in a proficient but strained movement before shuffling over to the other side of the table, leaning her cane against it and sitting down.

    ¡°Could you get me a cup as well, sweety?¡±

    ¡°As you say, gran.¡±

    With that, she turned her attention to Qingge, an endearing smile stretched across her dry lips.

    ¡°You see, we don¡¯t get many guests here, especially not from outside the city. You do come from outside, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Qingge was immediately alert. She hadn¡¯t divulged this part of her story to anyone the old woman should be in contact with. She quickly took a sip of her tea to avoid showing her reaction. It had a strong and bitter aroma with a light earthy note. Quite a good brew, though Qingge immediately started adding more honey.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from Brittlestone. How did you guess?¡±

    ¡°Well, you clearly came here with a guide the last time, didn¡¯t you? You also don¡¯t behave quite like the usual youngsters we get around here. They tend to be more assertive and less perceptive. It¡¯s really not how it used to be¡­ Seems like they have a better hold on proper upbringing in your city.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ really don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, I don¡¯t expect you to. It¡¯s the kind of thing you¡¯ll start noticing once you¡¯re old like me. Instead, tell me. How is it like in Brittlestone?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s a beautiful city, though not as large as this one. It¡¯s calmer, more relaxed and less colorful.¡±

    ¡°So, so¡­ What does your family do?¡±

    ¡°We mostly own and operate a couple of mines, though we¡¯re also in the merchant business.¡±

    ¡°Mines, you don¡¯t say! I haven¡¯t had that with any customer before. Where are they located? What ores do they produce?¡±

    Qingge had rarely talked to someone so immediately inquisitive, and she started running out of made-up answers.

    ¡°They¡¯re to the west of the city, in the hills. We have mostly iron and copper, but one of them recently found a rather large vein of silver.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, what a stroke of luck! That must be very profitable for your family.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed. We are truly blessed.¡±

    Qingge felt increasingly uncomfortable under the woman¡¯s gaze. She felt like her disguise was being seen through and became painfully aware of the fact that she hadn¡¯t brought a weapon.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you are. Now tell me, you came here to increase your cultivation, is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ yes?¡±

    ¡°You see, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wondering about. If your family has difficulty acquiring cultivation resources in your city, why would they spend their money to funnel the few they can acquire on someone of low talent?¡±

    The woman''s tone had shifted to something accusing. Instinctively, Qingge tensed her muscles only to realize that she couldn¡¯t. Her entire body suddenly felt numb, like she had just woken up from a deep slumber.

    Poison!

    ¡­

    The girl jumped to her feet, or at least attempted to do so. What it actually amounted to was little more than a slow rising. Granny reacted anyway, grabbing her cane and swinging it in the very same motion.

    She hit the defenseless girl in the head, flinging her several meters through the room where she collapsed on the floor with nothing but a silent whimper.

    There she remained, knocked out cold.

    Granny, that was how she had called herself instead of that dreadful name since several decades now, had known that there was something off about the girl since the first time she had stepped foot in here. It was more instinct than observation, but something about the way she moved didn¡¯t match her appearance. It was something she was very well-versed in, considering how much time she had spent perfecting her own behavior.

    Talking with the girl had confirmed her suspicions. She knew most of the cities in the surrounding area and had personally lived in Brittlestone for several years. There were no mines in the west and certainly no hills. Also, there was no silver to be found around there and even if there was, it would most certainly be monopolized by the city¡¯s government the moment it was discovered.

    Granny looked down at the girl. The poison she had given her wasn¡¯t actually dangerous, just numbing and weakening, only noticeable once you tried to make fast movements or exert force. It also had the unique property of being highly reactive to Qi in the subject¡¯s body, barely having an effect on mortals and low-level cultivators.

    That made it her favorite poison of all, since she could use it on people out of pure suspicion without any aftermath, should she turn out to be wrong.

    Its only real downside was that it was prohibitively expensive, difficult to create and rarely found in the possession of anyone outside of a sect. Luckily, her connection had supplied her with quite a generous amount, so that wasn¡¯t a serious issue.

    The girl wasn¡¯t who she had pretended to be. For the poison to react this quickly and strongly, she would have to be at least in the seventh cycle of Body Reformation, maybe more. If that was the case, she would never have collapsed this easily though. That left only one option open: She was a soul cultivator.

    For someone like that to come here, someone powerful had to be involved. One of the great families, maybe the Li or even the Luo Family. Highly dangerous in any case.

    They would have to lock the girl up real tight and see if they could get any information out of her. Unfortunately, if she was truly this well-trained, it was unlikely that their usual methods of interrogation would have much of an effect.

    Putting her cane aside, Granny picked up the limp girl¡¯s body, throwing it over her shoulder.

    ¡°Sweetie, get me the keys to the cellar.¡±

 Chapter 51: In a Pickle

    Qingge did her hardest to keep all her muscles fully relaxed, no matter how uncomfortable. It was made extremely difficult by all of the adrenaline pumping through her body, but a single twitch might be enough for the old woman to realize that she was still conscious.

    When she had realized that she had been poisoned, her brain had gone into overdrive and she had made the split-second decision not to try and fight back. In the state she was in, she wouldn¡¯t have stood any chance of winning regardless, so wasting strength and time on trying was a bad idea.

    Instead, when she had been hit, she had used all the strength she had left to throw herself along with the attack, weakening the impact while making it appear stronger. Then she had played unconscious.

    So far so good. Well, at least as good as the situation could turn out after she had already let herself be poisoned. Her head still pulsed with a searing hot pain where she had been hit and her thoughts were hazy. That and she was still poisoned.

    Oh yeah, and she was currently being carried deep underground by a violent grandmother. She had heard the basement door being opened, and then another door and since then they had been descending some kind of stone stairway, as far as she could tell from the sounds. What was for sure was that they weren¡¯t in the basement anymore.

    On second thought, maybe her situation really wasn¡¯t that great.

    At least there was one front she could try to improve on, namely the poison. She had quickly noticed that it acted much stronger in her chest region than anywhere else and closer inspection had shown that it did so specifically in proximity to her core. This had led her to theorize that it reacted to her Qi, which was much denser in that region.

    And while the poison paralyzed her body, she could move her Qi just fine.

    Her ability to manipulate Qi had always been one of Qingge¡¯s biggest strong suits. It had in fact been the very reason she had been accepted as an inner disciple by the Enforcement Hall back in the day despite her lackluster talent for combat. It had always helped her cultivation immensely and it also came in handy right now.

    Qingge started by pushing all the Qi that wasn¡¯t in her core out of her body, making sure not to send any of it towards the old lady. As a body cultivator she had no way of sensing Qi outside of her body but if an excess amount entered her, she could feel it.

    Immediately, Qingge could feel the effects of the poison easing up. Her core itself didn¡¯t seem to cause any issue, since the Qi inside was already in its liquified state. Sadly, this alone didn¡¯t seem to suffice, as the effects stabilized rather quickly, still with most of their strength intact.

    If only it¡¯d be so easy¡­

    Qingge took a moment to think. Once the poison was activated, it seemed like it didn¡¯t need a continued reaction with Qi to sustain its effects. Luckily, there was another thing she could try because while she had pushed out her Qi, Qingge had felt the poison slowly being pulled along with it.

    Carefully, she converted a miniscule amount of the Qi in her core back into its raw form and pushed it outwards in a quick burst through a specific part of her body. The poison moved outwards as well. She repeated the action several times and sure enough, soon several small drops of poison were pushed through her skin and quickly evaporated.

    It wasn¡¯t an easy process, and it wasn¡¯t quick by any measures, but if she kept doing this, she¡¯d eventually be able to remove the poison from her body. So she went at it.

    Meanwhile, the part of her mind that wasn¡¯t occupied moving Qi in repetitive motions turned outwards again and noticed that they had long stopped descending and were now just moving horizontally. The air around them was cold and damp, the old woman¡¯s steps echoing through the air like they were in some kind of long hallway.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Maybe the canalization? In a massive city like this, that might make for a decent hiding place. Were they located this deep though? Qingge hadn¡¯t paid exact attention but with how long they had descended, they had to be at least forty to fifty meters underground right now.

    Eventually, Qingge started hearing distant voices that slowly grew louder as they progressed. It was a group of three or four men and from the sounds of it they were playing some kind of game. Once they had come close, the woman stopped and called out to them.

    ¡°Hey there, you useless lot! You know you¡¯re not supposed to play cards while on guard-duty.¡±

    One of the men answered, his deep and rough voice sounding apologetic.

    ¡°Granny! We¡­ Well, we need to pass the time somehow, don¡¯t we? It¡¯s not like anything ever happens in these blasted catacombs anyway.¡±

    Catacombs? Qingge had heard in passing that there was a massive net of ancient mineshafts below the city and that parts of it had a history of being used to store the dead. Was that where they were? She wished she had listened more closely back then.

    Also, was Granny just how they called the woman? There was no way this was specifically her grandson.

    ¡°And you better hope it stays that way you disobedient brat!¡±

    ¡°Who you got there?¡±

    ¡°This girl was snooping around in our business. I knocked her out with poison. Before you get any terrible ideas, she¡¯s a soul cultivator and probably belongs to one of the major families.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit, don¡¯t want nothing to do with that. I assume you¡¯re gonna get her to the big man?¡±

    ¡°In a cell, that¡¯s where I¡¯m gonna bring her. I¡¯ll talk to the boss about it later.¡±

    So there was a boss, and he was down here. Qingge had just basically solved the case. Now, if only that was of any use to her right now.

    ¡°Got it, got it. While you¡¯re there, could you tell him we could use a case of liquor here?¡±

    ¡°Ha! You better hope I don¡¯t tell him what you¡¯ve been up to, otherwise he might send you his dogs instead.¡±

    With that, ¡®Granny¡¯ continued on, soon leaving the guards behind.

    From now on, they ran into more and more people, many of whom exchanged a quick word with the old woman. There was not a lot of relevant information, but Qingge managed to glean that the grandma was apparently a rather high-ranking member of this organization.

    Meanwhile, she had finally managed to expel all of the poison from her body and could already feel her strength returning. That was good news, even though her chances of fighting her way out were probably close to nonexistent. She was stronger than her captor, if she correctly assessed the old woman, but against several trained body-cultivators she¡¯d be helpless.

    If she had already gone through soul realization, this would be an entirely different story; before that, a soul cultivator had basically no advantage over a body cultivator. Even after it, taking on a whole group of them was completely out of question before at least the high stages of the realm.

    Her major advantage right now, however, was the element of surprise. They didn¡¯t know she was conscious, let alone ready to fight. As long as that stayed true, she might be able to figure something out.

    After walking for a while longer, the old woman stopped again.

    ¡°Hey, you there. I need you.¡±

    ¡°How can I help you, Granny?¡±

    ¡°I need this girl locked up. She¡¯s a soul cultivator that was snooping around.¡±

    ¡°A soul cultivator?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s powerless right now. I¡¯ll talk to the boss about what to do with her, but I need your guys to keep her secured.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re able to handle a proper prisoner. We usually only handle the occasional drunkard who forgot their place.¡±

    ¡°As I said, she¡¯s powerless. Give her some of this here every couple hours and she won¡¯t even be able to fight a child, much less your drunkards. How do you think I beat her?¡±

    ¡°I see. How much exactly?¡±

    ¡°Five or six drops, diluted with water every six hours should more than do the trick. Not more, the stuff is expensive.¡±

    ¡°Got it. Anything else you need, Granny?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that once I¡¯m back from the boss. Actually, wake her up before then, he might want to speak with her.¡±

    With that, Qingge was unceremoniously dumped on the floor. She almost tried to cushion her fall, only barely managing to keep up her act. The landing on the stone floor was hard, but she luckily didn¡¯t hit anything important.

    After a moment, she heard a door slam shut and then she just lay there, feeling the cold stone beneath her as the adrenaline finally wore off. She didn¡¯t dare to move but could at least open her eyes. From what little she saw through the darkness she was in a small empty room with uneven walls of stone.

    And entirely alone.

 Chapter 52: Regret and Reaction

    Qingge wasn¡¯t here. What had started out as a mildly bad feeling when she hadn¡¯t been there to greet them and had slowly built up into serious paranoia while they searched the house for her was quickly morphing into a wild panic.

    She wasn¡¯t here. Heavens above, she wasn¡¯t here! Yang tried to breathe deeply and slowly. It didn¡¯t help. The thoughts kept coming.

    Qingge wasn¡¯t stupid, she wasn¡¯t forgetful, nor was she reckless. She knew exactly where her limits lay and what her absence here would imply. Thus, there was no explanation for the fact that she wasn¡¯t here! No explanation other than something having gone seriously wrong. Terribly wrong.

    They shouldn¡¯t have split up! It was his fault; the Dao be damned! He was her bodyguard. Preventing her from getting in harm''s way was his task. How could he have been so reckless? By the ancestors, what had happened?

    Yang didn¡¯t want to think about it. He did anyways because it wasn¡¯t like he had a choice. Like he had time to relax and calm his feelings. He needed to act. Now.

    ¡°Three of you head back to the pavilion as fast as you can. Let nobody in and nobody out, I don¡¯t give a damn about your disguise. The rest of you, gear up and get ready. Once you¡¯re done, head to the warehouse and bring my armor. I¡¯m heading to the Li Family to ask for assistance. Whether I get it or not, we¡¯re storming tonight. Make haste!¡±

    With that, Yang stormed out of the door, leaving the others behind. As soon as he was out in the open, he gathered his strength and jumped straight onto the next roof. No time to use the streets. Then he started to run.

    Achieving the unification of body and soul wasn¡¯t an easy task, it was in fact brutally difficult. There was a reason why most soul cultivators considered it the final frontier of their cultivation journey. But those who did it changed so fundamentally that it was hard to wrap one¡¯s head around the fact that they too had once started out as mere mortals.

    As Yang shot across the roofs of the nightly city, barely spending one or two seconds on each before returning to the air, he could not admire the inhuman speed he was moving at. In fact, he didn¡¯t feel satisfied at all. He wanted to be faster, even faster.

    A minute had not passed since his departure when he landed in the middle of the Li-Estate¡¯s courtyard, almost giving the singular patrolling guard a heart attack.

    ¡°WHAT THE¡­ Who?¡±

    ¡°I need to see the patriarch. Right now.¡±

    ¡°Cultivator Yang? I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t¡­ ¡°

    The man started but stopped himself when a combination of taking in what he had just heard and seeing Yang¡¯s stressed impression made it dawn on him, that this was probably rather serious.

    ¡°Never mind, follow me. I¡¯ll get you there.¡±

    With that, the two were off, quickly crossing a few rooms and hallways before arriving at a closed door. The guard hesitated two long seconds before firmly knocking.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Li, Cultivator Yang urgently wishes to speak to you.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    The guard opened the door for Yang who stepped inside, only to stop in his tracks when he realized that the patriarch was in the company of Elder Wei. The latter examined him with a curious look before speaking up.

    ¡°Yang, you don¡¯t look so good. Has something happened?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Elder Wei¡­¡±

    Yang stared at the floor.

    ¡°Qingge¡­ has gone missing. We assume she has been captured.¡±

    ¡°Captured¡­ by whom?¡±

    ¡°The organization we are investigating. We were¡­ she was¡­ I wasn¡¯t with her¡­ We¡­¡±

    Before Yang could properly vocalize what had happened, Elder Wei interjected.

    ¡°No need to explain, at least not right now. Do you have any idea where she might be held?¡±

    ¡°We know their hideout¡­ probably¡­ and the place she disappeared.¡±

    ¡°That should suffice. Since you came here, I assume you have a plan?¡±

    ¡°I was going to order an attack on both locations tonight.¡±

    ¡°I see. I understand your need for urgency. Niung, could you¡­¡±

    ¡°No need to ask. If you can give me an hour, I¡¯ll ready an attack force.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Yang, could you fill me in on the details in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°As you command, Elder.¡±

    ¡­

    Yang marched through the streets at the head of what could only be called a small army. In just a single hour, in the middle of the night, Niang Li had called forth and organized over a hundred well-armed men. Some of them were functionaries of the family itself while others were part of the city guard and the military.

    Yang didn¡¯t spend much thought on it, but this was a massive show of force, a true testament to the Li Family¡¯s power. It was quite apparent why they didn¡¯t need to participate in the petty politicking that the other families seemed so fond of and were still considered one of the great houses.

    Niung Li himself wasn¡¯t with the force. The patriarch was much too old to join the fight himself so he had handed command over to Yang. They were headed towards the warehouse, while Elder Wei would take over at the pavilion. The man had correctly pointed out that he didn¡¯t need any assistance.

    Yang¡¯s nerves had calmed down considerably in the meantime. He was still anxious but he didn¡¯t let that influence his thoughts or actions now that there was something he could actually do. Instead, the military part of his mind had taken over, entirely focused on how he could best lead this offense without needlessly endangering any of the people below him.

    He had no idea how many enemies they would have to deal with, but considering the level of organization this group had, he didn¡¯t expect them to be weak. Nevertheless, he was cautiously confident now that he had a group of this size on his side.

    Once they arrived, they¡¯d need to act as quickly as possible to retain the element of surprise. Many of their enemies would barely get up from sleep before having to fight, that was a considerable advantage.

    On the flipside, they had the disadvantage of not knowing the terrain. There was no way an entire hideout was crammed inside just one warehouse, no matter how big. At the very least, Yang expected a large and well-fortified cellar system. They¡¯d need to be careful while advancing and properly secure their rear, lest they be caught in an ambush.

    Some time and several severely scared passersby later, they reached the warehouse.

    ¡°Senior Yang! We were wondering what was taking you so long. But it seems you didn¡¯t idle about.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Are you all ready?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we are. We have your armor right here.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Yang immediately started putting it on. In the stories and legends of mortals, cultivators were said to fight with nothing but their robes on, but that was naturally nothing but imagination run wild. They would be pretty stupid to forego the protection of leather and steel.

    The set Yang had brought wasn¡¯t his fully plated war-armor but a lighter, more flexible armor that was easier to transport. It was still engraved with several enchantments though, that would make it nigh-impossible for a normal blade to pierce it.

    ¡°What about the pavilion? Is there also a force that will attack there?¡±

    ¡°No need to worry about that, Elder Wei is personally headed there.¡±

    ¡°The Elder himself? Yeah, you don¡¯t have to tell me not to worry.¡±

    Once Yang had fully donned his armor, he turned to the group behind them and addressed them in a loud voice.

    ¡°Attention everyone! There are three objectives to this attack. First is a rescue. The enemy has captured a woman by the name of Qingge. She is of average height, has brown hair and green eyes. Many of you already know her.

    ¡°The second objective is securing the location. That means we work through this place methodically. I want nobody to charge through recklessly, no room stays unaccounted for. A group will stay behind at the entrance and capture anybody who attempts to flee. Don¡¯t needlessly kill, any prisoner is valuable, but don¡¯t hesitate either. Your own safety is paramount, don¡¯t take any unnecessary risks.

    ¡°The third objective is the capture of the leadership. If in any way possible, we take them alive. I¡¯ll personally lead the charge so I¡¯ll see to that myself if possible.

    ¡°If they aren¡¯t fools, they¡¯ll have noticed us already, so we have no time to waste. Me and my group will break in first, the rest of you will surround the building and advance orderly once we have gained enough ground inside.

    ¡°May luck and bravery be on your side, everyone.¡±

    With that, Yang drew his sword, a long and broad blade meant to be used with both hands, lifted it high above his head and pointed its tip towards the warehouse. Then he raised his voice one more time.

    ¡°Forward!¡±

 Chapter 53: In Captivity

    Qingge was freezing. That wasn¡¯t a problem cultivators usually had to deal with, but with how cold it was down here, combined with the fact that she had spent a considerable time without moving at all, it had started to get to her. Of course, the bucket of icy cold water that asshole of a guard had thrown in her face to ¡°wake her up¡± hadn¡¯t helped at all.

    At least she didn¡¯t have to pretend to be unconscious anymore, so she was now sitting in a corner of the small room. Well, if one could call it that. In reality it was much closer to a cave, the only halfway straight wall being the wooden boards haphazardly thrown together to form a barrier keeping her inside. The door wasn¡¯t any better and if there was no one guarding this place, Qingge had no doubts that she would be out of here in a jiffy.

    Sadly, a glance through the gaps had already confirmed that that wasn¡¯t the case, at least two people standing outside, spears in hand to make sure she didn¡¯t go anywhere.

    So Qingge waited. As bad as her current situation was, it wasn¡¯t the total disaster she had first made it out to be. Getting out of here by herself would be anywhere between difficult and impossible but luckily, she wasn¡¯t by herself. The others would almost certainly have noticed her absence by now and it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out where to look for her.

    If she could just wait this whole thing out, it still wouldn¡¯t be the worst thing in the world. After looking at it like this, her nerves had calmed down considerably, which gave her mind room to go to work analyzing what she had learned and fitting it into the picture of what she already knew.

    First off, these guys were hiding in the old catacombs of the city. With how expansive these seemed to be, this was likely the best hiding place one could ever wish for, but it was also extremely inconvenient. They had to make do without daylight, fresh air or any of the other myriad things that could be found aboveground.

    For Qingge, this was clear proof that this wasn¡¯t just a ragtag group of thugs. There had to be someone strong and either respected or feared enough to keep bandits like the ones she¡¯d heard earlier in check, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t submit themselves to something like this.

    There also had to be someone from the sect involved in this, someone influential enough to organize things on that side, because there was no way they were doing it from here. Not just a subordinate, but a proper partner who had probably been the one to approach them in the first place. Qingge had already suspected as much back in the sect.

    If she had to guess, one of the pillar families or at least one of their higher functionaries had orchestrated this. Perhaps to sow chaos within the Enforcement Hall, perhaps to misappropriate funds from other areas of the sect, perhaps for some other reason.

    The question then became who exactly it was. Off the top of her head, Qingge crossed the Zhao, Xia and Zhong families off the list. Patriarch Zhao and his family were pure warriors who gave a great deal of importance to personal and family honor, while Meixiu Xia just seemed too good-natured to come up with a plan like this.

    Qiao absolutely wouldn¡¯t put it past the Zhong Family to pull such a move but if they did, she doubted that anyone would ever get wind of it.

    The Alchemy Hall hadn¡¯t been the primary target of the scheme, so Qingge was also rather certain that Zheng Rong was not involved. That left three likely culprits. Between Sun Liang, Ning Bai and Jiang Peng, Qingge could imagine each as the initiator of a plan like this.

    Thought out like this it was pretty sad, after all these were supposed to be the shining examples for young cultivators to follow after but working in the Enforcement Hall had robbed her of those illusions.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Working out who actually was behind it all would have to wait until she could properly interrogate someone, but having a working theory might help her build pressure in such a situation.

    She hoped they¡¯d be able to catch the leader alive, he ought to know the answers to quite a lot of her questions. The guards had called him the ¡®big man¡¯ so he ought to be rather recognizable, hadn¡¯t he?

    Qingge¡¯s question would be answered far sooner than she¡¯d expected because just as she had finished the thought, she heard the sound of heavy steps approaching.

    ¡°Hey there, what is it?¡±

    ¡°Is this where the girl is?¡±

    ¡°The one Granny caught? Yes, she¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Did you wake her up already?¡±

    ¡°Sure did.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. The boss wants to see her.¡±

    ¡°Oh my. If I wasn¡¯t such a heartless bastard, I¡¯d probably pity her.¡±

    At that, both men broke into laughter. The second guard interrupted them.

    ¡°I still have a heart and if you don¡¯t want me to have to pity you two, get to it. The boss doesn¡¯t like being made to wait.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, smartass. We¡¯ll start right away.¡±

    With that, the door to Qingge¡¯s cell opened and two of the men entered.

    ¡°You there, get up. You¡¯ll have to say hello to the boss now.¡±

    Slowly, making sure to pretend it was a taxing task, Qingge rose to her feet. She looked at the two guards in a neutral expression but chose not to speak.

    ¡°There, there; you almost got it!¡±, the guard encouraged her, a wry grin on his face and his tone dripping with sarcasm.

    ¡°The stuff Granny gave you really did you in, didn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t worry, just follow us one step at a time.¡±

    Qingge did just that. Not only did she have to keep up the act, walking as slow as possible actually suited her purpose as she could try and subtly look around, memorizing as much of the place¡¯s layout as possible.

    They were indeed in some kind of old mine, though its new inhabitants had outfitted it with makeshift walls, doors and furniture.

    After passing through several shafts, Qingge started hearing a buzz of voices in the distance that they were closing in on. Then, two turns later, they suddenly entered a large open hall with several dozen people in it. They were laughing, drinking and playing dice on several tables throughout the room, but Qingge barely took notice of them.

    Her entire attention was drawn to the center of the room where, perched on a wooden seat too crude to call a throne but too grand to call a chair, sat a person whom the description of ¡®mountain¡¯ would have done much more justice than that of ¡®man¡¯.

    A colossus of bulging muscle, he was easily more than two meters tall even while sat down and the broadness of his enormous frame was such, that it was hard to determine where the torso ended, and the arms began. His bare upper body was riddled with deep scars, old and new, and the one eye that remained functional, the other having nothing left but an empty socket in its place, gleamed with a sadistic confidence that was almost strong enough to hide the subtle gleam of cunning beneath it.

    When he noticed her, a wide grin exposed many missing teeth beneath his massive, wild beard. He then knocked on the armrest of his seat and the whole hall went silent. After relishing in that silence for a while, he began to speak, his voice rough and deep like an abyss.

    ¡°Would you look at that! Is that the mighty soul cultivator you spoke of?¡±

    Only now did Qingge notice that the old woman stood right by his side, obscured by the shadow of his massive frame.

    ¡°I told you she is poisoned.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you; I can see that myself.¡±

    ¡°As I said, we need to interrogate her. We don¡¯t know who sent her to snoop around.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to say, you¡¯re quite na?ve for your age.¡±

    The giant let out a bellowing laughter, the low baritone reverberating through the hall.

    ¡°There is only one group that sends around soul cultivators like it¡¯s nothing. She¡¯s from the sect.¡±

    At that declaration, a murmur swept through the crowd. The giant¡¯s grin only widened.

    ¡°I smell fear in here¡­ Anyone who wants to run?¡±

    He let his gaze wander around.

    ¡°Thought so.¡±

    ¡°You need not worry. We have a guarantee of protection from our partner. The sect isn¡¯t going to do anything, even if some idiot from there tries to look into us.¡±

    A partner who protected them, huh? So Qingge¡¯s guess had been exactly right.

    ¡°In fact, I think we just did them a huge favor. Someone get me the envoy over here! I think he might be more than a little interested in this girl.¡±

    Someone from the sect was here? That wasn¡¯t good. It was in fact terrible news for Qingge¡¯s continued safety, but before she could spend too much time thinking about the implications, a man burst into the halls in full sprint.

    His clothes were covered in splatters of blood and drenched in sweat. Once he had made it before the throne, he cried out:

    ¡°We¡¯re under attack! The warehouse has been breached!¡±

 Chapter 54: Assault

    After a second of shock, Qingge internally rejoiced. The attackers were undoubtedly her group, and it seemed like they had found another entry point. So the operation had actually been a success, at least in a way.

    Meanwhile, the people around her began to panic, wildly discussing with each other, some already jumping from their seat. Before the room could further descend into chaos, the giant slammed his hand onto his throne, recentering attention on him.

    ¡°Silence you cowards!¡±

    Then, addressing the newcomer, he asked:

    ¡°Who exactly is attacking us?¡±

    ¡°A massive group of warriors, at least a hundred. I think they are from the Li Family.¡±

    ¡°Heavens be damned, those fuckers¡­¡±

    He got up from his seat, rising to his full height. Towering over the room like that, his face contorted with anger, he became even more imposing.

    ¡°What are you waiting for, get your asses off the ground and ready up! We¡¯ll rip them apart!¡±

    The crowd followed his direction, hurriedly dispersing to find their armaments. Meanwhile, the giant turned to the old woman.

    ¡°You get the girl back to her cell and make sure she stays there until we¡¯re done here.¡±

    She only nodded before approaching Qingge.

    ¡°Okay then, follow me my dear. Granny¡¯s gonna get you to safety. Oh yeah, and drink this. We wouldn¡¯t want you getting any dangerous ideas.¡±

    She reached into her robes, pulled out a small vial and held it out to Qingge, who took and downed it with a look of disdain. The color- and tasteless liquid immediately started reacting with her Qi, but this time she was wise to the trick.

    The last time she cleansed this poison, it had set her cultivation back by at least a couple of weeks and she had no desire to repeat that. Instead, she immediately emptied her body of Qi and prevented any more from flowing in. Like this, the poison was totally harmless, and it wasn¡¯t like she could use her Qi to do anything relevant anyways.

    Having dealt with that issue, she followed the old woman back to the tunnels.

    ¡­

    Yang threw himself forward, slamming into the ragtag line of defenders like an avalanche, relying on pure strength and weight to drive them backwards. Several of them stumbled backwards and were quickly knocked out with a series of kicks and punches that none of them could even try to defend against. The gaps they left behind were quickly filled by Yang¡¯s allies, who then swung around and hit the remainder of the line from behind.

    This was the first attempt at an organized defense they had met since their first charge several minutes ago. It seemed that while well-organized by some measures, their enemies hadn¡¯t been at all prepared for a large-scale attack.

    Not that it likely would have mattered much. While there were many body cultivators in their midst, they were simply not in the position to offer up much of a resistance to a well-trained group of soul cultivators.

    Organizing themselves around Yang and cooperating in a tight formation, they were breezing through without much trouble and all the Li Family¡¯s army had to do was follow them, clean up stragglers and properly secure the rear.

    As the last parts of the line collapsed, the remaining bandits trying surrendering, Yang strode further inside the room they had mounted their defense in. Notably, there was an open trapdoor that led to a rough spiraling staircase of stone.

    They had swiped through most of the warehouse right now and found little of note or value. Some crates of low-grade cultivation resources and silver, but nothing on the scale they had been expecting.

    It logically followed that there was either another base they were missing, or there was more to this one they hadn¡¯t seen yet. Considering that the bandits had chosen this room to retreat to for their final stand and that this staircase reached beyond the limits of his qi-sense, the latter was probably the case.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Yang stepped onto the staircase. It had been hewn right into the stone and while he wasn¡¯t too knowledgeable on mining operations, it looked to him like this had been done quite recently.

    He turned around to check up with the others. Once he had made sure everything was alright and no serious injuries had been sustained on their side, he raised his voice to address the group.

    ¡°This staircase goes down quite deep, I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s something down there. My team will go down there and check it out right now. The rest stays up here and gives this place a thorough search to make sure we didn¡¯t miss anything. Once you¡¯re done with that and have all the prisoners properly secured, you can send down reinforcements in case we¡¯re not back yet.¡±

    With that, he returned to the staircase and, followed by his companions, began his descent into the dark.

    ¡­

    ¡°Okay girl, now get in here again. You should get used to it; this might be your home for quite a while.¡±

    Qingge didn¡¯t intend for that to be the case at all. The entire place was in chaos, all the bandits rushing around to get their weapons or to join the defense. And unfortunately for the old lady who was currently opening the door to the prison cell, that included the guards in this tract.

    She had been sure to keep her eyes open while she pretended to drag herself along and not only this room but also the adjacent tunnels were completely devoid of life safe for the two of them. And that meant she didn¡¯t have to play this game anymore.

    ¡°What the¡­¡±

    Qingge¡¯s knee slammed into the old lady¡¯s stomach. For a split second, she felt compelled to hold back, not to go too hard on her brittle frame, but she reminded herself of the fact that this little old granny was able to easily hoist her over her shoulder and carry her all the way from her pavilion down here without taking breaks.

    She seamlessly transitioned into an uppercut. The old woman who had still been reeling from her first attack staggered backwards. She was quick to recover however and already reached into her robes.

    ¡°You little shi¡­¡±

    Before she could finish her insult or pull out whatever she was looking for, a high kick to the temple sent her flying to the floor. She didn¡¯t get back up.

    Qingge looked down at her. She didn¡¯t feel guilty for the surprise attack, the old woman had been the first to employ that tactic. She picked her up and carried her into the cell before closing the door behind her and locking it with the key which had been thrown to the ground during their short battle. That ought to keep her off her tail for a while.

    Then, she went back into the tunnel she came from, doing her best to look or listen to any activity so she didn¡¯t run into anyone.

    Time to look for an exit.

    ¡­

    Yang slid down towards the unknown at high speed. When it had become clear just how long this staircase was, he had opted to use his earth Qi to melt it into a smooth slope instead. Not only was this faster, it also prevented any of his enemies from leaving this way.

    Finally, easily sixty meters underground, the slope ended and shot out into a long tunnel. He didn¡¯t have long to wonder just where he had ended up because less than twenty meters away a large group of bandits had gathered, ready for battle.

    Well, Yang wouldn¡¯t want to disappoint them, would he? This place, an old mine or whatever else it was might have been a great hideout, difficult to find and easy to defend. But it was also one of the worst places imaginable to fight a cultivator who was using the Dao of Earth.

    Not only was he literally surrounded by his element from all directions, but natural earth Qi was abundant down here, almost as much as in the caves of the Lunar Peaks Sect. As a Dao Attunement cultivator, Yang¡¯s stores of Qi were rather limited, so he had originally fought while conserving as much of it as possible. But down here, he could go all out without having to worry about running out.

    He intended to do just that. Sword drawn and held at his side, he slowly walked towards the group of enemies, his pose tauntingly open. They didn¡¯t need any more persuasion to attack.

    When the first assailant came charging at him with a spear, Yang sidestepped into the wall, disappearing from view for a short moment before emerging behind him and beheading him with a clean slash.

    Before the man had fully collapsed, Yang was already standing before the second opponent. He ducked a swipe while mentally pulling at the ceiling above them, a large rock coming loose and knocking him out before he could try anything else.

    After stepping over his body, Yang stomped the ground, causing it to shake enough to stagger the entire group. Three of them went down in quick succession. Only one of them had it in him to still charge him after that.

    Whether commendable bravery or breathtaking stupidity had brought him to this action didn¡¯t matter, it was a bad idea either way. Yang cleaved his sword straight in half before grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him at the ceiling where the stone temporarily liquified, letting him glide in before immediately rehardening and encasing him, only the face sticking out.

    After that display, the dozen bandits who were still standing decided that flight was their best option. They didn¡¯t get very far as the latter collapsed the entire ceiling a few meters down the hall. One of them was unlucky enough to make it there just in time to be instantly crushed to death, the others staggered to a halt and could only turn around and stare at Yang with the terrified expression of an animal caught in a trap.

    Just as the other cultivators started arriving from the staircase-turned-slide and stepped into the tunnel, Yang raised his voice.

    ¡°Throw your weapons away and surrender, or come and fight. We¡¯ll be done here quickly either way.¡±

 Chapter 55: A Perilous Escape

    Qingge was ducked behind a pile of crates, waiting. She was so close. After several wrong turns, dead ends and close calls with roaming bandits, she was pretty sure that she had found the tunnel that she had originally been brought through. She¡¯d never seen it, but she had paid close attention when the old woman had carried her, so she remembered and recognized the turns and distances they had taken.

    Unfortunately, the news of the attack had seemingly not traveled back here, so right in front of her way out of here, two guards were sitting at a table, drinking and playing dice. Qingge had already spent five minutes contemplating the best course of action, and she still wasn¡¯t sure what to do.

    Sneaking past them was out of the question; they were positioned right in the center of the tunnel and there was no cover to utilize. She wasn¡¯t confident that she could defeat them either because she didn¡¯t know how strong they were, meaning that the risk was just too high. So far, outrunning them seemed like the best shot she had; she was quick on her feet, and they were weighed down by their weapons. That was risky as well though, because she¡¯d still need to search the tunnels for the exit and if they chose to pursue her, that was a no-go.

    Just as she was about to make a decision, Qingge¡¯s luck decided to kick in. That, or the copious amounts of alcohol these two were downing.

    ¡°Ugh, I really need to piss.¡±

    ¡°Well fuck off then, you¡¯re not doing it here! Our shift is still like four hours long.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure. Let me just refill my mug, I need it for the trip.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a¡­ hicc¡­ damn drunkard, you know that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk¡­¡±

    With that, the guard trudged away, mumbling something about the other¡¯s mother.

    Now this was an opportunity if Qingge ever saw one. Sneaking past two pairs of eyes seated opposite from one another was beyond her, but sneaking past one, apparently a very drunk one at that, that sounded like something she could manage.

    Once the second guard had wandered out of sight, she didn¡¯t waste any time. She left her hiding place and slowly creeped along the wall. The guard¡¯s entire attention was focused on rigging the pack of cards before him with the subtlety of a small child, so she made it past him without a problem.

    She was already down the hall, about to turn a corner when he suddenly called out.

    ¡°Hey, you! What are you doing there?¡±

    Shit!

    And then he was already running at her. Qingge spontaneously decided to fight instead of running. That way, she still benefited from the fact that he was alone right now.

    She walked around the corner and then turned, preparing herself to strike as soon as he got into range. Drunk as he was, he fell right for it.

    That was about where the good things ended though, because Qingge misjudged the timing of her attack. Her attack only grazed the back of his head, enough to stagger him but not to decide the battle. Qingge jumped backwards trying to dodge as he retaliated with a swing of his sword, but she wasn¡¯t fast enough. The hit grazed her shoulder, tearing through her clothing and drawing blood. The wound wasn¡¯t too deep, but she could still immediately feel a searingly hot pain rising.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    This was bad, very bad. Since she lacked a weapon, she was completely outranged and also on a timer until the other guard returned. Her only option was to go on the offense. She closed the distance, barely ducked another slash and then tackled her opponent, throwing them both to the ground, and luckily getting him to drop his sword.

    What ensued was the opposite of what one might imagine two cultivators fighting to look like. Instead of gracefully exchanging blows with perfect martial techniques, the two punched, kicked and wrestled, each trying to subdue the other with all they had.

    Qingge was quicker and more accurate, but her opponent had the advantage in weight and toughness. In sum, they were very evenly matched. After what felt like an eternity but was actually just a couple of minutes, Qingge was feeling her strength quickly dwindle when she suddenly noticed the sword laying just a meter away from them.

    She reached out for it, taking several bad hits to the face as a result. When she finally managed to grasp it, she drew it back with everything she had, hitting her opponent in the side. The man recoiled, giving her just enough room to perform a proper strike. This time, she hit the throat.

    Blood sprayed in all directions, mixing with that from the wound in her shoulder, and with a choked gasp, the man collapsed on top of her. Using the last bit of strength she had left, Qingge heaved the lifeless body off of her. Then she just lay there, breathing heavily while staring at the ceiling.

    She had never taken a life before. She had known that she might one day have to, but nothing could truly prepare her for this. She would have expected a strong wave of emotions right now but instead she just felt¡­ strangely empty. Like some part of her was missing, cut off alongside her opponent¡¯s life.

    It was¡­ just¡­ there was nothing in her mind that could properly describe it. She wanted to scream; she wanted to run. Or rather, she wanted to want that. But she couldn¡¯t. Somehow, she couldn¡¯t. Everything felt so meaningless. Was this what killing was like? Was this what everyone was trying to get stronger for? For this? She couldn¡¯t understand.

    Qingge clenched her fist and composed herself. She needed to snap out of it. She couldn¡¯t stay here. There was still another guard that would come back any minute now and notice his colleague¡¯s absence. He would undoubtedly come over here to check. She needed to get out of here before that happened. As fast as possible.

    Gathering what energy she had left, she forced herself to stand up and start walking. Her right hand was still tightly wrapped around the hilt of the sword as she left the scene of battle behind in the darkness.

    ¡­

    Qingge trudged and stumbled through the tunnels, looking for an exit that she didn¡¯t know the look of; driven only by her strength of will and the constant fear of a pursuer. One hand carried the sword, the other clutched her wounded shoulder that was hurting more with every passing minute.

    ¡­

    Should she turn left, or right? Should she keep going straight ahead? She didn¡¯t know anymore. What if she got lost down here? What if nobody found her? What if that was her end?

    ¡­

    What was that noise? Was someone there? Was it an animal? Or was it just a figment of her imagination? Qingge looked around but couldn¡¯t spot anything. So, she did the only thing she could. She continued on.

    ¡­

    Her sense of time was gone, it felt like she had been down here forever. Every now and again she stopped for a while, leaning against a wall to rest a little and listen for distant noises.

    ¡­

    Dripping water, the occasional buzzing insect¡­ and then, suddenly, footsteps. This time, they weren¡¯t imagined, that was for sure. She held her breath. Moments later, she could see a distant shimmer of light. Someone was approaching.

    Qingge bit her lip. This couldn¡¯t be true. She was tired, too tired to run and there was nowhere to hide, not with the trail of blood that she left behind. Standing up straight, she grabbed the sword with both hands and braced herself. She wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight.

    When the approaching person came around the corner, she had to squint, so blindingly bright was the light after her time in the dark. Before she could properly see anything, the steps quickened and a familiar voice called out:

    ¡°Qingge?¡±

    A world of pressure fell off of her. The sword slipped from her tired hands and fell to the ground with a clatter. Before Qingge could follow it, the steady arms of Elder Wei caught her in a tight embrace.

    ¡°Heavens above, what happened to you? Everything is alright. You¡¯re safe.¡±

    She was safe.

    ¡°Everything. Is. Fine. You can rest now.¡±

    She could rest.

    Qingge felt that Elder Wei made her drink something, she felt that he picked her up and started carrying her back the way he came. But it was like she was just a distant observer, separated from it all by a thick veil of her own consciousness.

    She was warm and comfortable, nothing hurt anymore. And slowly, everything faded away.

 Chapter 56: Underground Dealings

    Yang and his group jogged down the tunnels in loose formation. They had quickly realized that their previous approach of trying to meticulously secure the location was absolutely impossible to execute down here.

    This being an old mine, there was a network of hundreds if not thousands of tunnels, constantly splitting up and looping back on each other. There were also likely several entrances available to the bandits. In a situation like this and without a map of the area, there was nowhere to start or stop when occupying and no way to prevent enemies from fleeing or ambushing them.

    Consequently, they had decided to opt for a different plan: A quick and precise strike at the head.

    Instead of allowing themselves to be surrounded and whittled down, they moved as quickly as possible with the goal of finding and capturing the enemy leader. Securing them was by far more important than preventing the escape of every singular bandit, because they were the most likely to hold key information.

    As they moved, the token Elder Wei had given Yang suddenly shattered. He didn¡¯t let his focus slip, but internally rejoiced. This token was connected to a similar one that the Elder held, and they had agreed to shatter them by injecting them with Qi, once they had found Qingge. At the next opportunity, he stopped for a moment to inform his team:

    ¡°Elder Wei has secured Lady Qingge. We can now focus entirely on capturing the leadership.¡±

    After a quick confirmation with the others, they continued on, renewed confidence in their steps. A group of enemies they encountered minutes later was readily dispatched without any issues. A quick interrogation of a few of the survivors confirmed that they were still on the right path.

    In general, they had met less and less resistance as they went deeper, the groups of enemies growing smaller and less frequent. This meant that either their morale was already broken, and a substantial number had fled, or they were mounting up for a final defense somewhere. Considering the behavior of the ones they did meet, Yang suspected the latter.

    They were rarely eager to engage them and mostly gave up within a few moments of fighting. These weren¡¯t the brave few still willing to offer up resistance, they were the timid advance parties that had been sent out to buy time and were aware of it.

    In any case, their numbers were mind-boggling to say the least. Including the ones from the warehouse, Yang had counted at least three hundred enemy fighters so far, at least half of them possessing some level of cultivation. With undoubtedly several hundred more strewn throughout these tunnels, this was truly a true force to be reckoned with, akin to many a smaller city¡¯s standing army.

    Some time and a few smaller engagements ¨C all won without notable occurrences ¨C later, the tunnel made way for a large hall of sorts and the group stopped in their tracks.

    ¡°Well, now we know where they all went.¡±

    Yang¡¯s companion was right, and his dry delivery of the remark would have been quite funny under normal circumstances, but right now there was no time to laugh. The hall was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of bandits, armed and ready to fight.

    Right in the center stood a colossus of a man, his massively muscular frame discernable even beneath the thick steel plates of his armor. He had slung a massive bladed mace over his shoulder and his one-eyed face showed a grim but confident grin.

    They had found the leader.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei was back in the tunnels, moving towards the bandits'' hideout.

    He had brought Qingge up into the pavilion and properly checked that her healing process was running smoothly before leaving her in the hands of her companions who had occupied the place and descending back into the mines. After that, he had just retraced his steps to where he had met her and was now following the trail of blood she had left behind, illuminated by a floating ball of cold flames he had created.

    He had been shocked when he had seen her and while her condition wasn¡¯t immediately threatening, it had been quite bad. Given time, her reformed body would have probably helped her pull through on her own ¨C it was mostly just exhaustion that had driven her to the edge of fainting ¨C but he was glad it didn¡¯t have to come to that.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    So right now, Liu Wei was very eager to find the ones responsible for putting her in this state, which is why he had decided to return here despite his confidence in Senior Member Yang¡¯s ability to wrap this up on his own.

    He quickened his steps. Qingge had really made it far, considering how long he had already been following her trail, though the state of her concentration was clear from how many unnecessary detours she had made in getting there. What a stroke of truly good luck it had been that they had actually met in this massive network of tunnels!

    This place and its history were actually rather remarkable; Liu Wei had learned about it during his time at the university. Many thousands of years ago, in the founding era of this city, deposits of silver had been discovered here and the mines had first been dug.

    The silver was quickly exhausted but instead of closing up, the mines had been used and expanded for millennia to come, supplying the growing city and its surroundings with the high-quality stone they needed. Over time, they and the several natural cave structures they connected with had become the largest singular underground complex on the peninsula, stretching on for several hundred kilometers in total and retaining that position to this day.

    Only with the rise of Brittlestone Town as the premier mining location of the region had they slowly lost their relevance. That didn¡¯t mark the end of their story though. Over time, they had been used as shelter during wartimes, as a storage area and as catacombs for the city¡¯s dead. At some point, an entire subculture of people who lived down here had even developed and flourished for hundreds of years.

    Only when these people became increasingly hard to control and tax, had the city finally come down on them and the mines had eventually been closed up and mostly forgotten. Today, only the scholars still cared about these tunnels.

    At least that was supposed to have been the case, though the bandits clearly thought otherwise. They had dug new access points and apparently transformed them into their base of operations. Clever, Liu Wei had to give them that.

    Going back to the here and now, he noticed something ahead with his soul sense. A short time later, he came across a scene of battle. The body of a man, his throat cut open lay on the ground in a pool of dried blood that connected to the trail he had been following.

    That explained what had happened to Qingge. She had fought ¨C and won ¨C against this man, most likely having been confronted by him during her escape. Their injuries matched and pointed to a long and tough battle fought mostly without weapons.

    If Liu Wei had to wager a guess, Qingge had been unarmed from the start and managed to disarm this man at the start of their fight. The fight had concluded when one of them had gotten ahold of the weapon again, they had fought over it, wounding each other and finally killing the man. The weapon in question had probably been the sword she had carried with her.

    That meant his purpose for coming here was void. He had found the perpetrator, but he wasn¡¯t in a position to capture him. Besides, the man had already paid for his actions¡­ with his life.

    He continued on regardless. Now that he was here, he might as well lend a helping hand in rounding up the bandits.

    A while later, he came upon a table with a deck of cards and a half-filled mug of beer on it, a man reclined against the wall with a second mug, this one empty, snoring close by. He ignored both.

    The next thing that caught his attention after traversing several empty tunnels were the cries of an old woman which led him to a sort of improvised cell.

    ¡°Let me out of here you bastards! Can¡¯t anybody hear me? That damned girl locked me in here! Let me ouuuuut! I¡¯ll skin you all alive if you don¡¯t hurry you useless boneheads!¡±

    From what his soul sense was telling him, the woman was indeed small and old, but she was also a body cultivator carrying several Qi-intensive poisons on her body. After deliberating for a moment, Liu Wei did her the favor. The door was locked, so he unceremoniously broke it out of its hinges.

    ¡°Finally, someone decides to jump over their overweight shadow and make themselves useful. You know how long I was¡­¡±

    The lady stopped speaking and took a step backwards once she saw Liu Wei.

    ¡°Quite the sturdy door for its appearance, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Liu Wei was quite amused by the situation.

    ¡°Who¡­ who are you supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°I assume when you speak of ¡®that damned girl¡¯, you are referring to Qingge, the member of my sect your group captured?¡±

    He had ignored her question entirely, but its answer seemed to start dawning on her nonetheless.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. In fact, I¡¯m demonstrably just a prisoner here myself. They kidnapped me from my¡­ my tea shop.¡±

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°It¡¯s impolite to lie to your seniors, you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ but¡­¡±

    ¡°I think it would be best if you just stayed silent and followed behind me. We can discuss the specifics of your situation later. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Very much, sir. But you see, my old bones would have trouble keeping up with you. If you let me, I¡¯ll find my own way out of here and wait for you outside.¡±

    ¡°A nice attempt, but I can see that you¡¯re a cultivator. Now stop wasting my time and get going.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ As you say, sir.¡±

    That taken care of, Liu Wei made his way back to the main tunnels, now with an old lady in tow and in a considerably better mood.

 Chapter 57: The Battle Below

    Yang¡¯s mind raced. What should they do? This would be a difficult battle to win, but if they retreated now the enemy might take that time to escape to somewhere in these mines. Their chances of finding them after that were small. In truth, having them all together in a room like this was very convenient, if they were able to take advantage of it.

    The enemy had the numerical advantage but as far as he could tell, few of them were particularly strong. The leader was a notable exception, but Yang could deal with that himself.

    And then there was the matter of honor. How would them running from a confrontation with their declared enemy reflect on the sect? After all they¡¯d done, after they¡¯d kidnapped Lady Qingge, could they just turn their backs now?

    That did it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll fight. Get ready to charge on my command.¡±

    He adjusted his blade and focused on the enemy.

    A large fraction of the bandits ¨C at least a third of them ¨C had come together and assumed a defensive formation of several lines, each carrying long spears. Charging in there like this would be little better than suicide, at least for his companions.

    If they managed to break them up though, they¡¯d be ill-prepared to fight them in close quarters. Luckily, Yang could do exactly that.

    He focused his attention and his will on the ceiling, pulling out a large amount of his remaining Qi and bolstering it with more from the environment. Then he started to shake.

    The hall was actually rather well supported, and the stone was strong so he couldn¡¯t just pull the ceiling down entirely, but he didn¡¯t need to. Making the bandits feel like he could, was entirely enough.

    Pebbles and small rocks started to rain on the formation. Immediately, shuffling and panicked calls began. One bandit was hit in the head and knocked out. Then the next. Larger rocks started falling. The calls grew louder and turned to cries. The first people started breaking away from the line, but the bandit leader barked a command and the unrest subsided again.

    Then, a massive boulder broke free and slammed right in the middle of the line. Two bandits managed to jump to the side, but three others were instantly crushed. The line broke apart. Some people tried to run to the side of the room, others tried to advance, it was a full-on rout.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    Yang and his group charged. He was the first one to crash into the line, swinging his sword in a wide angle. Before, he had fought in a conservative manner, trying to preserve as many enemy lives as possible. Now, with his companion¡¯s lives directly at stake, he didn¡¯t hold back anymore.

    The first bandit was split in half at the torso before he could even try to retaliate. A few more tried to draw their sidearms but were each killed or heavily wounded before they could even get them out.

    As more bandits rushed in from the sides, the next minutes turned into true carnage. Yang surrendered his actions to the warrior in him, the one who had struck fear into the hearts his enemies on the battlefield before he had even achieved unification. The part of him that he kept locked away in his day-to-day life, the one that reveled in war, battle and bloodshed.

    Then, suddenly, his instincts screamed to jump to the side. He listened to them just in time to see the place he had just stood turn into fine dust beneath the colossal mace swung at him. Yang was confident in his body¡¯s resilience, but that would have hurt even for him. Retreating a few steps, Yang refocused his mind on the challenger.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The giant leader of the bandits had donned his helmet and was standing before him like a living mountain of dark steel. He wasn¡¯t attacking anymore, instead just standing there, mace casually at his side, looking at Yang. The battle around them raged on but no one on either side dared approach. Then, he spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the sect, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I am.¡±

    ¡°We were guaranteed you wouldn¡¯t attack us.¡±

    ¡°I know of no such guarantee. If you tell me who gave it to you, I¡¯ll gladly rip their traitorous throat out though.¡±

    The bandit chuckled.

    ¡°Sure you will.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not prolong this.¡±

    ¡°No. Let¡¯s not. Before we fight, what is your name?¡±

    ¡°Yang.¡±

    The bandit chuckled again.

    ¡°Just Yang, huh? Very well, I¡¯ll engrave that name in my mace. I¡¯m Gang Hou, the Demon of Brightleaf.¡±

    With that, he swung his mace down, Yang stepping back just enough that it missed him by a single inch. For all his strength, size and surprising speed, the man wasn¡¯t exactly hard to read. ¡®Demon of Brightleaf, huh?¡¯

    Yang took a moment to consider him while dodging further attacks. He was a body cultivator, but not an ordinary one. His size and stature weren¡¯t something people attained naturally. He had recklessly abused the cultivation process to gain strength at all costs, that was the only explanation. At this point, he was probably spending most of his time cultivating and using many costly drugs just to keep his massive body stable. Even so, this wasn¡¯t something just anybody could achieve ¨C his natural talent had to be immense.

    Looking at it like this, the warrior in Yang began acting up again. He was likely the strongest body cultivator he¡¯d ever meet. He wanted to test himself against this man. Wanted to see, who was stronger. He didn¡¯t know what was driving him so much, but he couldn¡¯t resist it.

    And so, when the mace rushed down again, instead of dodging, Yang swung his sword against it. The impact was so immense it made his arms tremble and his blade creak. But both held. Swords weren¡¯t made for this kind of usage, but his was broad and thick. That and it was engraved with powerful enchantments, that made it much stronger than any steel ought to be.

    His opponent was visibly shocked at having his attack stopped like this, so Yang went on the offense. Their weapons clashed with a force that could bring down walls. Again. And again. And slowly, he was gaining ground.

    Yang¡¯s body and soul ached under the pressure, but it wasn¡¯t the time to back down. Every inch gained was a rush of pride and accomplishment. Every strike reflected a statement. The bandit¡¯s strikes became quicker and more desperate, but that didn¡¯t help him. Yang remained strong. Unmovable like a mountain, unstoppable like an avalanche. Just for a single moment, he felt himself become one with his element.

    A strength unlike anything he had ever felt before flowed through his body. In this single moment, he could feel the Dao of Earth itself move his body. A final strike.

    The giant hunk of metal that called itself a mace flew through the air in a high arc, hitting the wall before crashing to the ground next to its bearer. Yang put a foot on the man¡¯s chest and his blade to his neck.

    ¡°Surrender, Demon of Brightleaf. You are defeated.¡±

    ¡­

    Zian Bai frantically moved through the tunnels, away from the battle. All of this was not supposed to happen. Why in all heavens was the Enforcement Hall here? And more importantly, why had nobody informed him of it?

    He was wasting his time in a mortal city, dealing with dirty bandits and playing diplomat for a pretend king, all for the sake of his family and they thanked him by not even informing him when the sect decided to do something about it?

    No more! He¡¯d return there at once and demand answers! Luckily there were multiple entrances to this damned maze, so he could get out of here without anyone noticing. He didn¡¯t have the slightest desire to have a run-in with the Enforcement Hall cultivators right now.

    He just needed to go get a few important documents first. His personal quarters, if he could call that dirty hole in the ground that, were just ahead. Just one more turn to the right, then the second tunnel to the left¡­ and there he was. Reaching for his key, he grabbed hold of the door, only to notice that it was unlocked.

    Well, that was strange. He was normally more careful than that. Scratching his head, he opened the door and stepped inside, only to immediately want to turn around and leave again. Sadly, he knew very well that it was much too late for that, so instead he just stood there.

    In the room, just a couple meters away from him, the old woman that these lunatics called their grandmother stood, her gaze helplessly cast to the floor. And next to her, casually reclined on a chair, sat Sect Elder Liu Wei, one of the most powerful men in the entire alliance, one of the documents Zian Bai had been here to get in his hand.

    After continuing his read for a moment, the man looked up. His face was entirely without expression, but his gaze was intense, like a searingly hot flame.

    "Now who do we have here?"

 Chapter 58: Breakfast

    The sun had risen above the horizon, bathing the city in its warm and gentle light. Its denizens were slowly starting to go about their daily tasks, most of them totally oblivious to the events that had transpired far below their feet during the last night.

    As the suns rays reached through the open window and met a sleeping girl, warming her face and tickling her nose, Qingge¡¯s consciousness slowly returned to the real world. She¡¯d had terrible dreams last night, of battles and bloodshed, endless tunnels and unbreachable darkness, so she was happy when she awoke wrapped in warm and comfortable sheets, her body rested and healthy. Ready for another day of investigation.

    It was only when she pulled back those sheets that she started to wonder: shouldn¡¯t they be blue? Since she¡¯d been given the opportunity to choose, she had specifically picked the ones in her favorite color, a rich cobalt blue. Also, now that she thought about it, she had also specifically chosen the room with a window to the west so that she could admire the sunset after a long day of work. So how was it that she had just been woken up by the sun?

    Looking up revealed the obvious answer to her questions: she just wasn¡¯t in her room. But where was she then and how had she gotten here?

    As the wonder helped her mind clear from the residue drowsiness, it slowly dawned on her: The mines! The battle! The blood! It was all real!

    As the pieces of her memory started slotting back together into a coherent whole, Qingge felt dizziness overcome her. She remembered the poison numbing her movement. The helplessness as she was dragged into the deep. The face of the man she had killed. The fear and paranoia as she had aimlessly wandered through the tunnels.

    She unwittingly touched her shoulder, but there was nothing there. No signs of a wound, no crusted blood, not even any leftover pain. It felt just as perfectly normal as the rest of her body. That was right. She had been rescued. She remembered the blinding light. The soothing voice. The endless relief she had felt. The warm sensation spreading through her body.

    Qingge took a deep breath. Those memories in place, she already started to feel better again. She¡¯d need some time, or maybe a lot of it to sort out this mount of unresolved feelings she had accumulated in a singular night, but for now she felt ready to start figuring out what was going on.

    First things first: Where was she? She looked around the room. It was spacious and clean but, except for a few essentials, mostly empty. As she got up, she noticed her clothes laying neatly folded on a chair next to the bed. Not the ones she had worn yesterday, mind you, ¨C those were probably done for after that adventure ¨C but her sect robes.

    After throwing them on, Qingge walked over to the window and took a look outside. A couple of meters below her, the Li Estate¡¯s garden stretched out. So that¡¯s where she was.

    Wasting no time, Qingge headed to the door. She was becoming more and more curious about what had actually transpired last night. Hopefully everything had gone well¡­

    ¡°Lady Qingge!¡±

    As soon as she had opened the door, Qingge was greeted by the image of Senior Yang shooting up from a chair positioned right next to it he had been sitting on, his expression a mix of excitement and concern.

    ¡°Do you feel alright?¡±

    Qingge couldn¡¯t help but grin at the display of the elder cultivator.

    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯m good.¡±

    His face momentarily shifted to relief before returning to concern.

    ¡°I apologize for allowing you to be captured like that. I have failed to fulfill my duty as a bodyguard.¡±

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t be ridiculous, I was the one to push for this approach myself! In hindsight, I have to admit that it might¡¯ve been a little reckless though¡­ But what¡¯s done is done. It turned out okay, didn¡¯t it? Actually, how did it turn out? I know that you guys mounted an attack and since you¡¯re here I assume it went okay, but could you fill me in on the details?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly do so, and I¡¯d like to hear your side of the story as well. But in the interest of not having to repeat ourselves to many times, I think we should head downstairs first.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    After a short walk through the building, they stepped outside where a table had been put up in the garden. Seated around a colorful buffet of bread, various fruits and juices as well as other delectables were Elder Wei, Patriarch Li and a middle-aged man with graying hair Qingge didn¡¯t know.

    Elder Wei was the first to notice their arrival, greeting them with a warm smile.

    ¡°Qingge, I see you¡¯ve awoken. Do you feel better?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Yes of course, Elder! Thank you for saving me!¡±

    ¡°I was happy to. Come, sit with us. You must be hungry!¡±

    Now that she thought about it, yes; she very much was. As a matter of fact, she felt like she hadn¡¯t eaten anything for three days straight. Qingge followed Elder Wei¡¯s invitation, sat down and dug in. The food tasted amazing, and she felt waves of relief washing through her with every bite she took.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Only upon finishing the third of the delicious red fruits to her left did it occur to her, that the elder wasn¡¯t the only one present here. Not only had she neglected to greet Patriarch Niung Li, she hadn¡¯t even introduced herself to the other man. With a guilty expression, she looked up from her food. Luckily, the men seemed more amused than offended by her antics.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. I haven¡¯t introduced myself. I¡¯m Qingge, junior member of the Lunar Peaks Sect in service to the Enforcement Hall.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m honored to make your acquaintance, Lady Qingge. I am Geming Lei, just a lowly scholar from the academy.¡±

    ¡°This,¡± Elder Wei interjected, ¡°is Professor Geming Lei. Author of several highly interesting pieces of innovative ethical philosophy and the reason I came to this city. He will accompany us back to the sect.¡±

    ¡°Pleased to meet you, professor.¡±

    ¡°Now that the formalities are out of the way, I think we should start filling each other in on last night¡¯s events. I¡¯ll start, since my role in this was comparatively minor. After I found you and brought you back to the surface, I left you with your companions and went back down.

    ¡°I followed your trail and found the bandit hideout where I picked up a totally innocent old lady who was locked in a cell as just another victim of the bandits and an equally innocent member of the Bai Family who assured me that he was actually conducting his own investigation into the bandits and had successfully infiltrated them.

    ¡°We¡¯ve put the two into house arrest right next door for the time being. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be eager to share a lot of interesting information with us. The latter was also considerate enough to leave us with a bunch of written proof.¡±

    So it actually was the Bai family. Qingge had already suspected the involvement of one of the pillar families, but to hear it confirmed like this¡­ She felt her blood start to boil! How could anyone be so devoid of honor? And how could they be amongst the ones in charge of the sect?

    ¡°That¡¯s actually about it from my side. Most of the work was done by Yang here and of course your other companions. But to fill in the gaps from me, perhaps it¡¯s better you start by recounting what happened to you?¡±

    Qingge took a moment to think.

    ¡°Okay. So it all started after I¡¯d successfully made that exchange. The two men who took the silver told me I should stay at the pavilion for a drink. I think that was just a measure to make be sure I didn¡¯t follow them¡­¡±

    Qingge spent the next fifteen minutes recounting the events of last night in detail, using the opportunity to properly order everything in her own mind as well. The others were particularly impressed by the way she got rid of the poison, Elder Wei specifically being full of praise for her. After she was done, Yang followed with his story.

    ¡°¡­which actually got the remaining bandits to surrender as well. After that, it was just a matter of securing them all and meeting back up with the rest of the forces. We spent the rest of the night sweeping through the hideout, picking up as many stragglers as we could. There¡¯s still a lot of people down there, properly mapping the place out and securing the stolen goods.¡±

    ¡°Say, Yang, that feeling that you had. Am I right to assume it felt like a sudden, inexplainable urge?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder.¡±

    ¡°So if you had to describe an origin, you¡¯d say it came from inside you?¡±

    ¡°I think so. I couldn¡¯t make out any external influence, at least.¡±

    ¡°Thought so. Yang, I believe I know what happened to you. My congratulations, I believe you experienced spontaneous enlightenment.¡±

    ¡°Enlightenment?¡±

    ¡°Spontaneous enlightenment, yes. Note that the cultivational term has very little to do with the original meaning of the word. It¡¯s a rare phenomenon, ¨C extremely rare actually ¨C where a cultivator in the Dao Attunement Realm experiences a temporary moment of comprehension of the Dao they follow. In other words, what you experienced in that moment was the strength of a Dao Contemplation cultivator.

    ¡°It''s not well understood what causes the experience, since it occurs in so few people and is always spontaneous and unpredictable. From my personal experience I can tell you, that I tended to have them in moments of strong emotion combined with being in extraordinary situations and a high degree of ambient elemental qi.

    ¡°The process is always the same: the cultivator feels a sudden urge to do something that is in some way connected to their understanding of the element in question. If they give in, the urge and an accompanying feeling of satisfaction will build up as they continue, culminating in the sudden moment of connection to the Dao.

    ¡°In any case, I can tell you that this bodes extremely well for your future cultivation. Keep the feeling you had in that moment in mind and meditate on it. You will be able to use it as a foundation of your understanding of the Dao once you¡¯ve made it through the Attunement Realm. It¡¯s not by any means a guarantee of a breakthrough, but it massively increases your chances.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, Elder!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help. You¡¯ve proven yourself a loyal guard and a skilled commander. It¡¯s only right that you¡¯re rewarded for your deeds.¡±

    Suddenly, the front gate burst open with a loud bang. Moments later, Prince Bingwen Luo came marching in, flanked by several officials and two long rows of armed men. His head was colored in a bright shade of red, combining with his plump figure to make him look remarkably similar to an angry toddler.

    Niung Li had already risen to his feet and now performed a respectful bow.

    ¡°My prince. What has led you here?¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Li! What is the meaning behind the sudden mobilization of your troops? I demand an explanation right this instant!¡±

    The man¡¯s high-pitched voice was trembling from anger but was significantly less intimidating than he probably hoped. Qingge, at the very least, wasn¡¯t particularly impressed and from what she could see, Niung Li didn¡¯t seem to be either.

    ¡°We were attacking a criminal organization. I apologize for not informing you beforehand, but it was an urgent situation.¡±

    ¡°Urgent situation? Urgent Situation?!? I¡¯ll tell you what an urgent situation is! A sudden large-scale mobilization within my city! That¡¯s an urgent situation! I don¡¯t care what you wanted to do, that kind of behavior without my agreement is unacceptable! I will¡­¡±

    Elder Wei chose this moment to speak up.

    ¡°The Li Family was acting at my explicit request. I apologize for any inconvenience that this might have caused.¡±

    It was quite impressive to witness how quickly all color left the prince¡¯s face.

    ¡°I- I- I- Honorable Elder! I¡­ I didn¡¯t know¡­ You¡­ I¡­ There is no need to apologize, no need at all! This- this is just a misunderstanding, that¡¯s all. I- I didn¡¯t want¡­ didn¡¯t mean to disturb you! If you don¡¯t mind, I will excuse myself.¡±

    With that, the prince turned on his heels and fled the scene even less elegantly than he had arrived. His entourage was quick to follow, save for one of the apparent councilors. The aged man had a sharp look to him and his demeanor was that of a military man.

    ¡°Honorable Elder, Uncle Niung, you must forgive the prince¡¯s temperament. He has spent the whole night rolled up in the castle''s cellar in fear of a coup d¡¯¨¦tat.¡±

    After a short moment of silence, the entire group broke into laughter.

 Chapter 59: Departure

    The following days that they still remained in the city went by quickly and without incident. There was much to do and little time to do it, so everyone was kept busy with their work and wrapping up their business.

    The survey of the hideout went smoothly, the responsible teams finding a total of three additional access points throughout the city and one outside it. Recovering the masses of hoarded goods was a labor-intensive process that would still take some time, but at least it was in process.

    All remaining cultivation resources would be shipped back to the sect over the following weeks, but it was agreed that most of the silver generated by their trade would be left to the Li Family and the various people who had helped bring down the organization. The sect had little use for such amounts of mortal currency and trying to track down the individual buyers would be nigh-impossible.

    In total, over four hundred bandits had been captured with an additional two hundred being killed during the raid. With their ongoing interrogation, many more arrests were being made by the day.

    After another visit to the palace, an appeased and reassured Prince Luo had agreed to cooperate with the Li Family to lead the investigation inside the city. Together they would remain unopposed as they snuffed out the remains of the organization and assessed its ties to various noble families. To this end, they would retain control of most of the prisoners and their interrogation. It was a convenient arrangement, since it meant that the Enforcement Hall could focus solely on the sect¡¯s side of things.

    The one bandit they hadn¡¯t captured, as far as Qingge could tell, was the man with the silver mask. She had even had all of the captured and killed bandits looked over for his likeness, but it didn¡¯t seem like he or his thuggish companion were among them. A pity: she would have liked to solve this mystery as well, but it wasn¡¯t important enough to spend time on and if they had really gotten away, they were likely out of the city by now.

    Zemin Bai, bandit leader Gang Hou and a few other prisoners who were suspected to know more would be taken to the sect for extensive interrogation since Qingge didn¡¯t want to make Elder Wei wait for them any longer than necessary, and there wasn¡¯t much she could do before returning to the sect anyways, since she¡¯d need to consult with Elder Shi first.

    She had reviewed the documents and found rather conclusive proof that there had indeed been a larger involvement on the side of the Bai Family. Several members were mentioned by name or had even written some of the correspondence themselves. With the higher ups, it was a little more difficult, but there were definitely allusions to the family leadership as well.

    Much of Qingge¡¯s limited amount of free time had been spent conversing with Professor Lei. He had offered to help her with looking through the documents, ¨C he had been a massive help in sorting and categorizing the hundreds of pages ¨C which was how they had started talking. As it turned out, the mortal was a true wellspring of interesting facts and ideas, mostly historical or philosophical in nature, in turn sucking up any information about the sect¡¯s internal workings and cultivators in general like a sponge.

    Sometimes, the two would be joined by Elder Wei, who would offer up anecdotes about the historical events and figures that Geming Lei talked about, having seen many of them in person. Other than that, the Elder would spend his time listening to lectures at the university, drinking tea with Niung Li or cultivating.

    Yang was keeping himself busy training his combat skill with the Li Family¡¯s members and following Elder Wei¡¯s advice to meditate on his enlightenment, though he suspended that activity whenever Qingge left the house to follow her around.

    She was honestly fine with that; her abduction had left her more paranoid than before, and his presence helped a lot to calm her nerves. She was hopeful that this nervousness would subside once she was back in the familiarity of the sect, though she wasn¡¯t sure if she could ever trust nice old ladies with teapots again.Stolen story; please report.

    ¡­

    And so, one early morning, the group had gathered in the garden of the Li Family once again. It was time to depart. The Li Family had retrieved their carriage from the village it had been left at and supplied them with a second, steel enforced one, to transport the prisoners. Their horses were packed with various gifts that the noble families had left them and some of the more valuable retrieved cultivation resources that they didn¡¯t want to trust a normal caravan with.

    They had held a feast last night, celebrating their achievements and their many newfound friendships. Now, only Patriarch Niung Li and a few others from the family¡¯s leadership were here to see them off.

    ¡°Elder Wei, Lady Qingge, Cultivator Yang, everyone. I humbly thank you for granting this old man the honor of your visit. Know that, should you ever return to this city, even if this old one may not be around anymore, the Li Family¡¯s gates will always be open for you.¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Niung Li, it is us who have to thank you. Your hospitality, your kindness and your assistance have been invaluable to us all. If your family is ever in need of assistance, don¡¯t hesitate to call on me, I¡¯ll be sure to answer. May our friendship last till the last of us has turned to dust.¡±

    The two old men both bowed deeply before each other, everyone else following suit. For a long moment, a solemn silence hung in the air. Then, the group turned to leave.

    Qingge climbed inside the carriage after Elder Wei, sliding to the other side to make way for Professor Lei who would be joining them, since he had never learned how to ride. When everyone was in place, their small trek got into motion.

    As the first people woke up and curiously looked after them from their windows, they made their way down the very same streets they had ridden through on their first arrival to the city. Technically, they had already departed once in the meantime, but this felt much different, because it was final.

    They had accomplished much on their visit here and as the carriage drove through the massive gates that guarded entry through the enormous walls, Qingge felt a tinge of nostalgia. Despite all the hurdles, this had been a fun trip, a real shakeup from her life at the sect. Soon they had made it to the hills and as the sun rose above the horizon to illuminate the city and the seemingly endless lake behind it, it gradually disappeared from their view.

    Like this, they slowly made their way back towards the sect. They had spent about a month in the city in total and the freshness of spring was slowly giving way to the long and warm days of early summer. The flowers and trees were in full bloom, the colorful and lively nature embracing them as they passed through the forests and fields.

    They traveled during the day ¨C Qingge and Elder Wei spent most of their time cultivating while Professor Lei scribbled something on an empty scroll he had brought along ¨C and rested at night.

    When they sat around a campfire, sharing stories and laughter, they felt like they¡¯d been on the road together for years. This time around, it was Professor Lei who surprised everyone when he brought out an old guqin and started playing. The pieces he played were quiet and melancholic, telling beautiful stories of love, loss and of yearning for the unreachable. In those moments, beneath the endless canopy of stars, even the wind seemed to hold its breath to listen.

    On the third day, they ran into the same group of highwaymen they had already met on their trip here, this time catching a few to properly frighten them before letting them go. Sadly, they didn¡¯t encounter another suicidal bear they could grill though, which Qingge would have preferred. Instead, they had to stick to their rations.

    The day after that when they passed through a village, they were almost pulled into a feud that some boy who claimed to have been exiled from a powerful family of Moonlake City for his unequalled talent in cultivation had started against the village elders.

    He had apparently tried opening their ancestral graves in search of a supposed ancient inheritance of a powerful cultivator. When they had stopped him, he had declared them his enemies and started trying to whip up a rebellion amongst the villagers.

    In the end, despite several members of the group declaring their desire to slap some sense into the boy, they didn¡¯t interfere and continued on their travels unimpeded.

    Upon being questioned that evening, Elder Wei remarked that while the boy¡¯s talent certainly seemed to be above average, it wasn¡¯t anything especially remarkable. As for the inheritance, he was rather certain that the village didn¡¯t hold anything significant, though he couldn¡¯t be entirely certain.

    Besides these two minor events, they remained undisturbed. And so, on the fifth day of their travels the first of the sect¡¯s mountains came into view, its jagged crown of stone majestically towering above the surrounding hills and dells.

    They¡¯d make it there by tomorrow.

 Chapter 60: A Tumultuos Return

    Liu Wei¡¯s soul sense informed him that a group of cultivators was approaching them. Since one of them was in the Dao Attunement Realm, this could only be a delegation from the sect. They¡¯d reach it in a couple of hours, so he wondered what was so urgent they couldn¡¯t wait till then. He broke off his meditation and opened his eyes.

    His cultivation had been coming along very well, impressively so. It had taken some time to adjust to the new parameters he was working under but now that he had done so, he was progressing smoothly. In fact, he had mostly regained the astonishing speed of progress he¡¯d had back when he¡¯d first started shooting through the realms of Dao Contemplation, the speed that had seen him be hailed as the greatest genius of his time.

    Just like back then, his mind seemed to naturally grasp the concepts that others would need to painstakingly analyze, making his progress almost effortless. He had already experienced several new epiphanies as well, now that he was looking out for the connections between his Dao and the humans around him. One when he had rescued Qingge from the cold, dark tunnels and several while in conversation with Geming Lei or during lectures at the academy. It seemed like philosophy was a lot more relevant to cultivation in the Dao Contemplation Realm than anybody had previously realized.

    It was a good thing he had put guardrails for his cultivation into place prior to this, because he could already feel just how addicting it was. They were working though: he hadn¡¯t once considered phasing out his other actions in favor of cultivating more.

    The group of cultivators had reached them and were slowing down.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got company.¡±, Liu Wei informed the others before getting up and stepping out of the carriage. Qingge was quick to follow him, Geming Lei hesitating before doing so as well.

    He made his way to the front where Yang and a few others were greeting the new arrivals. At the front and center of them was Guowei Li, his face serious and sorrowful.

    ¡°Greetings everyone. Manager Li, I¡¯m happy to see you. We met up with your brother in the city, he was of great help to us. He asked us to send you, his regards. What has led you to meet us here?¡±

    ¡°I humbly greet Elder Wei. I¡¯m happy to hear that my brother is alright and that my family could be of help to you. I apologize for interrupting your travels, but there have been developments in the sect that Elder Shi thought you needed to be informed of before your arrival there.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like good news.¡±

    It sounded quite alarming in fact. What could have happened that involved both Lan Shi and him to such a degree that he¡¯d need to prepare himself before returning?

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t. You see, several elders under the leadership of Elder Bai have exploited your absence to take all employees of the Training Hall prisoner, citing possible connections to the smuggling ring.¡±

    ¡°They WHAT!?!¡±

    Liu Wei wasn¡¯t the only one shocked. All of the present members of their group showed signs of dismay, Qingge in particular gasping in disbelief.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ Elder Shi attempted to intervene, but she only managed to negotiate a joint supervision of the prisoners by the Enforcement Hall.¡±

    Ning Bai, that reckless bastard. This was a step¡­ scratch that, this was an entire marathon too far. Though it was a dishonorable thing to do, exploiting another elder¡¯s absence wasn¡¯t unheard of, but outright arresting an entire hall? Had he lost his mind?

    Liu Wei forced himself to breathe slowly. He needed to remain calm and think about solving this situation. Anger wouldn¡¯t help anybody.

    ¡°Thank you for informing me. This would have been quite a thing to come back to unwittingly. I¡¯m grateful for Lan Shi¡¯s assistance, she surely did the utmost of what was possible. For now, please join me in the carriage, I want a detailed account of what happened, and Qingge can bring you up to speed on the current state of the investigations.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°As you wish, Elder Wei.¡±

    ¡°Yang, please don¡¯t delay. The sooner we arrive at the sect, the better.¡±

    The next hours were spent exchanging information and putting together plans. As the group passed into sect grounds proper, Liu Wei had decided that he would go to meet Ning Bai immediately, not seeing any reason to delay.

    He would demand the immediate release of all of his subordinates and confront him with the evidence of his family¡¯s involvement in the smuggling directly if necessary. Freeing the innocent from their captivity was the immediate priority, any possible plans for retribution had to wait.

    ¡°Manager Li, may I ask that you take Professor Lei to the Enforcement Hall and make sure he remains safe until this ordeal is over?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Elder Wei. Leave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s good to hear.¡±

    ¡°Elder Wei, may I make a request?¡±

    Qingge spoke, sounding unsure of herself.

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t hurt to ask, can it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to follow along if possible. I can¡¯t bear doing nothing while my fellow sect members are imprisoned like that¡­ And- And surely it could be helpful if someone from the Enforcement Hall is present!¡±

    ¡°Very well, you can join me. Keep yourself in the background though in case things get serious.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll do my best not to be a burden.¡±

    ¡°Good. And don¡¯t worry too much, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re heading to war.¡±

    ¡°Should we bring Zian Bai as well?¡±

    ¡°No, that would give Elder Bai the opportunity to start the conversation with outrage and steer it away from the actual issue. He¡¯s skilled at those sorts of games. Zian Bai and all available evidence will be brought to the Enforcement Hall. Manager Li, please make sure that they are kept safe from meddling.¡±

    When they arrived at the intersection between the Enforcement Hall and the Outer Relations Hall, Liu Wei had the carriage halted, he and Qingge stepping outside. Yang was quick to meet them.

    ¡°Elder Wei, will Qingge follow you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she has asked to do so.¡±

    ¡°Then I must come as well.¡±

    ¡°I know of your commitment and won¡¯t hinder you. Be aware that this might put you in a bad light before Elder Bai though.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    Liu Wei looked around, meeting eyes with each of the members he had now spent the last six weeks with, and giving each of them a nod of respect.

    ¡°This is where we part. We have arrived back at the sect and our duties will lead us away from each other. Every single one of you has done great work in the past one and a half months and it has been a great pleasure traveling and working alongside you. I hope and expect the best for each of your journeys going forward, be it as a cultivator, a member of your hall or something else entirely. Good luck.¡±

    With that, the trio got moving, splitting away from the rest of the group which Guowei Li now assumed the command of. Along the forested path, towards the Outer Relations Hall.

    There was of course no guarantee that they would find Ning Bai there, but the Bai Family¡¯s estate was located rather close to it.

    They had retained uninterrupted control of the hall for many generations after all. It had long become a core part of their image and their influence to be the external face of the sect, just like it was for the Zhong Family with the Information Gathering Hall or like it had been for the Rong Family before Ma Rong had split from them, taking the Alchemy Hall with him.

    After roughly half an hour of walking, the forest cleared, and the Outer Relations Hall came into view. Standing in front of its gates was Ning Bai, a confident expression on his face, flanked by Sun Liang and Jiang Peng. Except for Zheng Rong, that made all of the elders who he had been told were involved in the capture of his hall¡¯s members. At least directly.

    ¡°Ah, Elder Wei. I figure you¡¯re here for an audience with me?¡±

    Ning Bai¡¯s tone was confident, condescending even. Liu Wei had to wonder what had happened to the thoughtful diplomat he had thought the man to be. He¡¯d always been prideful, but what might have driven him to such extremes?

    No matter. He¡¯d done what he¡¯d done and if he wanted to play like this, Liu Wei was more than happy to respond in kind.

    ¡°Absolutely correct, Elder Bai. I see your mind has not dulled since the last time we spoke. Let me respond in kind with a little guess myself. You brought backup, because you fear retribution for your knowingly unjust actions.¡±

    Liu Wei could see his words hit the mark. While Sun Liang remained unimpressed, Ning Bai¡¯s face visibly flinched with anger. Jiang Peng didn¡¯t even bother trying to hide it.

    ¡°Elder Wei, I don¡¯t know what you are talking about, but I¡¯m shocked you¡¯d make such unfounded accusations targeting this one¡¯s honor. I demand an immediate apology.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t especially impressive of a refute, just about what you could hear from any entitled brat if you listened in on their arguments.

    ¡°Believe it or not, I did not come here to hear demands but to make them. You are to order the release of all members of the Training Hall at once.¡±

 Chapter 61: The Turning of Times

    ¡°Elder Wei, you are overstepping your boundaries. I understand your anger at the state of your hall, but it doesn¡¯t suffice to justify your insulting behavior. Besides, even if I wanted to release your people, I can¡¯t. They¡¯re suspects in an ongoing investigation. Until their innocence is conclusively proven, they can¡¯t be let go!¡±

    ¡°They are not suspects by any reasonable measure.¡±

    ¡°They are associates of a proven traitor. Of course they are suspects!¡±

    ¡°So you claim loose association as sufficient evidence to warrant suspicion and even arrest of entire groups of people?¡±

    ¡°At the discretion of an elder? Yes, I do. But listen, since you seem so adamant about your position, I will try my best to accommodate your wishes. We all benefit from keeping our relations on the grounds of friendly cooperation after all. Naturally, I expect¡­¡±

    ¡°You can keep your offers to yourself.¡±

    ¡°What? But¡­¡±

    ¡°Since you have stated your position on suspicion by association, I think I should point out that the recent expedition mounted by the Enforcement Hall, which I accompanied to Moonlake City was successful in finding and taking down the smuggling ring.¡±

    Ning Bai¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°I personally participated in the raid on their hideout. For our purposes here, one person I took captive there is of especially significant interest.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are¡­¡±

    ¡°Zian Bai, a member of your own family!¡±

    For several seconds, the silence was absolute. Then, in a low, almost hissing voice, Ning Bai answered.

    ¡°Elder Wei, I advise you to choose your words very carefully now.¡±

    Liu Wei continued unbothered.

    ¡°I also found documents conclusively proving Zian Bai¡¯s long-term involvement with the group and pointing to several senior members of your family directly involving themselves. At that point, I think it¡¯s reasonable to assume a directive from a higher authority¡­¡±

    Suddenly, Ning Bai started to scream with anger.

    ¡°ENOUGH! I will not see you attempt to tarnish my honor any further! An insult like this is without precedent!¡±

    ¡°So basically, you¡¯re saying that your baseless accusations that go against all common practice are to be taken with utmost seriousness, but incriminating evidence brought against you and your family is to be dropped on grounds of the fragility of your own ego?¡±

    Ning Bai stood still, stunned at that remark. Liu Wei paused. While it had encompassed his thoughts rather well, it had come out quite a lot harsher than he had intended to phrase it. The larger issue at hand though, was that he hadn¡¯t said it.

    Slowly, slightly incredulous, he turned around to look at Qingge. She had come forward from her position, now standing next to him. Her face was shaped by genuine anger, her hands cramped into fists. At the same time, her eyes were filled with tense trepidation and sweat was building up on her forehead.

    More than understandable, considering that she had just told off an elder.

    ¡­

    Qingge immediately regretted having spoken up. What in the world had gotten into her? Was she suicidal? She¡¯d even promised Elder Wei to stand back! She needed to apologize, bow and get out of the damned way.

    ¡°Your family supported a criminal organization to enable it to steal from your own sect and when people went out to deal with it, you abused their absence to cause even more chaos!¡±

    The words kept coming regardless. And somehow, it felt incredibly right.

    ¡°All you want to do is take as much as you can for yourself and when you can¡¯t have it, you trample it because you¡¯d rather no one had it than anyone but you!¡±

    She knew that this was a terrible idea, but she was just so, so done with this bullshit. How could anyone be so selfish, so opportunistic and yet so prideful at the same time? Elder Wei was living proof that they didn''t have to be this way, so why would they?

    ¡°Even when you¡¯re called out on it, you insist on possessing some self-appointed moral high ground. Your utter disrespect for this sect, its members and the very laws your ancestors helped create is apparent to anyone paying even half-hearted attention!¡±

    Qingge breathed heavily, while staring at the opposing elders. Having vented all of her frustration, the full extent of what she had just done was still just starting to dawn on her.

    She flinched as Elder Bai¡¯s face turned from disbelief to anger and then to uncontained hatred. Suddenly, she felt the pressure of his soul bearing down on her, freezing her in place unable to move a single muscle.

    ¡°You¡­ You insolent little¡­ You damned bitch, I¡¯ll make you pay for that!¡±

    Qingge could do nothing but watch in terror as he stepped forward, a sphere of water gathering in his hand before morphing into the shape of a long whip. With a lazy twist of his wrist, he swung his new instrument against the air, producing a deafening crack before raising his hand, preparing to strike.

    What happened next went by too fast for Qingge to properly comprehend. In one moment, Yang was suddenly in front of her, his arms stretched out protectively. In the next, a bright flash of light forced her to close her eyes, immediately followed by a wave of heat washing over her, so intense that she could feel the built up sweat completely evaporating from her forehead. Finally, there was a loud crash hitting her ears like a thunderclap.

    Had this attack been directed at her or Yang, they would have been reduced to steam and ashes in an instant. But it hadn¡¯t.

    ¡°I was being as charitable with you as I possibly could. I gave you ample opportunity to step back, admit a mistake, correct your actions. You could have walked away from this with your honor intact.¡±

    Elder Wei¡¯s voice was calm and quiet. Yet, despite the surrounding heat, the cold wrath that they contained was enough to send a chill down Qingge¡¯s spine. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that Elder Bai was not standing before them anymore.

    ¡°But you refused that. You refused to listen to reason. Refused to give in. No, you had to argue the inarguable because that¡¯s what your ego demanded.¡±

    The man had been flung a good twenty meters before hitting the solid body of the mountain, his impact having left behind a small crater in the stone. Below that, he was struggling to stand up, his robes singed and, in some places, burned away, revealing bruised skin.

    ¡°And now you, you who dares to call yourself a scholar, try to kill a member of the very sect you swore to protect for speaking the truth before you.¡±

    Elder Wei¡¯s eyes were glowing with white fire and his face was expressionless. Little flames were dancing across his fingers in mesmerizing patterns, the air around him shimmered from the heat and Qingge could feel the Qi all around and even in her own body swinging in a strange, rhythmic motion that seemed to originate from him.

    Sun Liang and Jiang Peng had both assumed combative stances and were surrounded by glowing fields of energy, likely the product of defensive artifacts. Sun Liang seemed grim and calculative while Jiang Peng¡¯s expression was fearful, like he was ready to make a run for it at any moment. At the third realm of Dao Contemplation as he was, he would likely not have survived the attack Liu Wei had just casually released.

    Like this, tension almost unbearable, the two sides remained at a silent standoff for several moments. Then, in a sudden motion, all of them shifted their attention to the sky. Following their gazes, Qingge could make out a trio of flying figures approaching at high speed. Once they were near them, they slowed down and descended towards them.

    Elder Ma Rong was the first one to land. His expression was, calm and thoughtful. Qingge couldn¡¯t remember ever seeing him any other way. He gave Elder Wei a quick nod before turning to the others.

    Next was Elder Xia. Visibly distressed, she immediately rushed over to Elder Bai and gently pushed him to sit down again. She then started gathering water above her palms and running it over his wounds. The master healer she was, any bruises and scratches seemed to immediately disappear under her influence.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    The last person to descend was Sect Patriarch Long Zhao. Instead of dropping from a few meters¡¯ height like the others, he smoothly floated to the ground, landing exactly in the middle between the two parties. His expression was stern as he surveyed the situation, looking over each person individually and everyone his gaze landed on acknowledged him with a bow of respect.

    When his gaze met Qingge, she felt as though it pierced right through her, revealing every thought, every feeling and every little secret she possessed. When it moved on after several moments, she realized that she¡¯d had unwittingly held her breath.

    Finally, after Elder Xia was finished with her treatment of Elder Bai, the Patriarch spoke.

    ¡°Elder Wei, tell me what has happened.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Patriarch. When I arrived from¡­¡±

    Before he could get any further, Elder Bai called out, his tone accusatory.

    ¡°Honored Patriarch! Elder Wei has attacked me without any¡­¡±

    ¡°Elder Bai,¡± The Patriarch interrupted him, his voice loud and strict, ¡°I did not ask you to speak.¡±

    Visibly confused, Elder Bai opened and closed his mouth several times, not knowing how to respond. With a nod, the Patriarch signaled Elder Wei to continue.

    ¡°Okay then. As you know, I was recently away from the sect for a prolonged time. When I arrived back here, I learned that Ning Bai had taken the entire staff of the Training Hall captive under the ridiculous premise of investigating the recent smuggling activity.¡±

    Elder Bai opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it at the last moment.

    ¡°Naturally, I made my way here to confront him about this and demanded their release, as there is no sufficient evidence for them to be held in captivity and their absence is severely interrupting the progress of the sect¡¯s disciples.

    ¡°When he continued to deflect, I confronted him with the fact that the Enforcement Hall¡¯s investigative unit which was at Moonlake City alongside me managed to find and destroy the organization responsible for the smuggling and that we, in the process of raiding their hideout, encountered and arrested a member of the Bai Family. Several written documents that conclusively proved his involvement and also strongly pointed to additional collaborators from his family were found as well.

    ¡°This over here is Junior Member Qingge, general manager at the Enforcement Hall and leader of the aforementioned unit, she accompanied me here. When she restated these allegations, admittedly in a rather offensive way, Elder Bai completely lost control of his temper, exclaiming that he would, and I quote ¡®make her pay¡¯ accompanied by several tasteless obscenities which I refuse to repeat here.

    ¡°He then attempted to attack her with a move which would surely have killed her, an injustice which would not allow me to idly stand by and also an insult to both me and the sect. I intervened, mounting a counterattack before he could execute his. That leaves us at the point just before your arrival.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Elder Liang, Elder Peng, can you confirm this course of events?¡±

    The two turned to look at each other. Then, Sun Liang answered, while Jiang Peng nodded along.

    ¡°Well¡­ mostly, yes. There are a few points which I would word and value differently, but the general claims are indeed correct. I want to add that while the two of us came here at his request, we were not in the know. We couldn¡¯t have expected this sort of conduct from a fellow elder after all.¡±

    ¡°I understand¡­ Very well, I have made my decision!¡±

    ¡°Patriarch, you have got to hear me out!¡±

    Elder Bai seemed more and more desperate.

    ¡°Your perspective will be taken into account, Elder Bai, but I do not need any further information. As the highest judge of the sect, I have deliberated and shall now present my verdict!

    ¡°Firstly, all members of the Training Hall are to be freed immediately! Their captivity goes against all precedent and the principle of hall autonomy. As leader of the Training Hall, Liu Wei holds the final say over their fate, so long as it doesn¡¯t collide with any council decision.

    ¡°Secondly, Elder Bai¡¯s attack on Junior Member Qingge was a valid reason for Elder Wei¡¯s interference. He shall not be held accountable for it, since he was provoked by her words, but neither shall Elder Wei.

    ¡°Thirdly, any public accusations against the Bai Family regarding the smuggling organization are to be refrained from! This matter will be investigated by the Enforcement Hall which shall organize all evidence and findings and then present them to the council. We will then debate their merit and act accordingly.

    ¡°That is all.¡±

    Elder Wei was the first to speak.

    ¡°I thank the Patriarch for his wise judgement. If you allow it, I will go and free the members of my hall now.¡±

    ¡°Granted. You may leave.¡±

    After bowing respectfully, Elder Wei turned around and signaled Qingge and Yang to follow him. Soon, they had left the scene behind and reentered the forest. Qingge breathed a long sigh of relief. Then, as she could finally relax a little, the shame kicked in. She had failed the faith Elder Wei had put in her and destroyed the ongoing negotiations with her stupid tantrum. The entire situation had been her fault. He had even had to safe her life again!

    ¡°Elder Wei¡­ I apologize for my outburst! I don¡¯t know what came over me.¡±

    ¡°It was a reckless thing to do, and it contradicted my orders. Had I not been present, you would not be alive anymore right now.¡±

    The Elder paused for a while before continuing on.

    ¡°But your anger wasn¡¯t misplaced and your accusations justified. I do not blame you for it, nor am I irritated or disappointed. We are lucky that everything turned out well in the end, and I must admit that I very much enjoyed putting Ning Bai in his place. That attack was¡­ almost therapeutic in a way.¡±

    He chuckled before turning serious again.

    ¡°Be warned though. Ning Bai isn¡¯t known to be forgiving, nor do I think I hit him hard enough to make him forgetful. You have made a powerful enemy today and though he should think twice about trying to directly harm you again, he will surely try to get back at you in time.¡±

    Qingge swallowed. If that was the price for her stupidity, she''d accept it.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Elder Wei studied her face for a long time, his expression unreadable.

    ¡°I hope you do.¡±

    ¡­

    Meixiu Xia¡¯s personal garden was truly a sight to behold. A whole host of servants was tasked singularly with seeing to it, meticulously caring for every single of thousands upon thousands of flowers, bushes and trees, all arranged in a flawless display of complex, unparalleled beauty. A truly impressive formation kept the temperature constant and supplied fitting amounts of humidity to keep the garden in full bloom all around the year.

    As she strolled through this living artwork, the matriarch of the Xia Family allowed a serene smile to play across her lips. This was a great occasion. She would even go so far as to call it historic. Her little suggestion to Ning Bai more than a month ago had turned out far better results than she could ever have imagined.

    The Training Hall had suffered plenty of damage, its business completely halted for a month and the security of its employees permanently called into question.

    More importantly, Ning Bai had managed to absolutely ruin the image of his entire family as the honorable voice of reason it had been perceived as for so long. So complete was his failure that even the elders he had brought along for support had seen the writing on the wall and abandoned him.

    It was entirely possible that the idiot would launch into a full-on feud against Liu Wei after today¡¯s events. Even if he didn¡¯t, his hurt pride would undoubtedly drive him to further foolish actions and with his image destroyed, any attempt to reassert his position would only further diminish his sway over the other elders.

    With this, the millennia long rivalry between their two families over the position of central diplomatic hub of the sect had effectively been settled. The Xia Family had won. For at the very least as long as Ning Bai was in control, there was no coming back from this. And after that, the Xia Family would already be so entrenched as to make a comeback of his successors virtually impossible, Meixiu Xia would make very sure of that.

    It did sting a little that she had to be the one to tear down a proud and storied legacy like that of the Bai Family, but in a cutthroat world like this everyone had to look out for themselves.

    For a short moment, her smile widened, turning sinister with a hint of madness mixed in, though nobody was here to see it.

    Who was she trying to kid, she loved it this way!

    Epilogue

    Things had settled down in the Training Hall after the return of the instructors. Regular training schedules had been resumed and the disciples had been quick to rebound, more eager to learn now than ever. There¡¯d even been talk of an upcoming addition to the hall in the form of regular lectures for anyone to attend. Their contents weren¡¯t yet revealed, but reception was generally positive.

    With the promise of security that Elder Wei¡¯s returned presence and dealings with the situation had provided, even the patronage of members had returned, if careful. The Hall¡¯s service was still one they desired and so no amount of political insecurity was enough to keep them away for long.

    Qingge strolled through their midst, her mind occupied with her dealings with the Bai Family. In the end, nothing much had come of their connection to the smuggling operations, no matter how clear it was. A couple of lower members had been convicted and a few compensation payments made, but no true punishment or even condemnation of their actions occurred.

    She stopped in place for a moment, watching as an intense match between two disciples played out. She recognized one of them as Chonglin, the boy who had pulled off the most unexpected and glorious win in the competition a couple months ago. The girl he was fighting had her face partially concealed by her hood so she couldn¡¯t tell who it was, but she was freakishly good.

    Qingge continued on. She had really tried a lot and knew that Elder Shi had pushed hard for proper consequences to the Elder¡¯s actions, but it seemed like the pillar families remained mostly untouchable. Mostly.

    It was hard to evaluate objectively, but Qingge did feel like things were changing ever so slightly. She was rather certain that before Elder Wei¡¯s mysterious change of heart and Elder Shi¡¯s takeover of the Enforcement Hall, even the small slap on the wrist the Bai had received would have been impossible to achieve.

    Qingge arrived at the main building and was taken inside by a staff member who had been waiting for her. Elder Wei had asked her to come here and already waited for her in his office, a saintly smile on his face. Unusually, he was wearing his ceremonial robes, decorated with artful golden embroidery. She hadn¡¯t seen him wear those ever since his breakthrough.

    Upon her entry, he bowed his head in a gesture of respect and began speaking, his tone solemn and warm.

    ¡°Qingge, it¡¯s good to see you. I apologize for taking up your time by summoning you here; I know you¡¯ve been busy, but there¡¯s something I don¡¯t want to postpone anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯ve known you to be talented and skilled for a long time, but recently I¡¯ve seen you truly exceed all of my expectations.

    ¡°You¡¯ve demonstrated leadership quality and organizational skills in your leading of the investigation. You¡¯ve shown great resourcefulness and an admirable tenacity in your escape from captivity. And you¡¯ve proven beyond any doubt your bravery and uncompromising willingness to fight against injustice when you stood up to an elder of the sect in the name of others.

    ¡°I¡¯ve slowly come to realize what I¡¯ve lost in you when I gave you up as an assistant that day and I frequently find myself wishing I¡¯d treated you better so that you may have decided otherwise. But what¡¯s lost is lost and the sect certainly benefits a great deal from the work you put in for the Enforcement Hall, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not trying to turn back the clock or invalidate your past decisions.

    ¡°What I¡¯ve been contemplating on and what I wish to ask you today is something else entirely. I don¡¯t want to lead you on any further just because of my old penchant for dramatics so I¡¯ll ask you directly:

    ¡°Junior Sect Member Qingge, would you like to become my disciple?¡±

 Chapter 62: Breakthrough

    The wind rushed through the highs and lows, chastising itself in an erratic pattern of unpredictability. It stopped and turned and turned again, it rose only to fall back down. It drove into the treetops, shaking off the leaves and carrying them along in its wild dance.

    Autumn had arrived and it had painted the sect in its golden-red colors, brought storm and rain and blown away the searing hot tyranny of the sun that had lasted for months. Its message was one of transience and the beauty therein and though the inhabitants of this sect were some of the least likely people to listen, it would make itself known regardless.

    The wind flew on, whirling the leaves in beautiful patters and diving into the hair of a girl that skipped through the forest with swift and proficient steps, uncaring of the way it messed up her hair. Qiao was boiling with giddy anticipation, as she always was on Sundays.

    Ever since Professor Lei had arrived at the sect and started giving his weekly speeches, she¡¯d had a good excuse to be at the Training Hall regularly. She¡¯d wake up early in the morning, arrive there three hours later, just in time to attend the lecture. After it was over, just about before noon, she¡¯d spend the remainder of the day training with Zixin and Chonglin. Only in the late evening would she start making her way back, arriving home well in the night.

    Qiao hoped she didn¡¯t make Lifen worry too much, but this routine had grown way too close to her to consider changing it. For the first time in her life, she could enjoy something else than winning and being complimented on her talent. She¡¯d discovered that while, yes, winning felt good, it was way more fulfilling to share those wins with others, teach them how to do it and racing forward alongside each other.

    She didn¡¯t know how she had managed to live without anyone to do this with before, but it was actually becoming harder to keep up her mask of cold, uncaring superiority in public as it slid further and further away from her actual feelings. Dropping it once a week had become a reprieve she desperately needed and looked forward too throughout it.

    Today though, today was not just one of these days. Today was special, even more special. Because it was the last day they would stay in the sect. Tomorrow, they¡¯d finally depart for the great tournament that she¡¯d been working to prepare for all this time.

    She didn¡¯t feel anxious to prove herself anymore, what had proving herself ever done for her? But she was very much looking forward to it. The challenge of meeting all the best fighters her age and comparing her skill against them was making her blood pump and the promise of getting to travel not just beyond the sect, but even beyond its territory and seeing so many new things had her bubbling with excitement.

    And she wouldn¡¯t just be there alone, Zixin and Chonglin would come along! Zixin wouldn¡¯t get to fight sadly, but he¡¯d still be there to train with them the entire way. It was a dream Qiao hadn¡¯t known she¡¯d had come true.

    Qiao sped up, falling into a jog. She couldn¡¯t wait to be there!

    ¡­

    Qingge sat cross-legged; her eyes closed in deep concentration.

    ¡°Steady your breathing. There is no reason to feel nervous.¡±

    The calm and soothing voice of her master washed over her. That was easier said than done.

    ¡°We have worked hard to prepare you for this. You will succeed. And even if you should fail, there will be another time.¡±

    That was crazy to think about, but it was true. Most people didn¡¯t get a second chance at this, but she was now amongst the few lucky exceptions to the rule.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t committed to anything yet. If you get there and feel like you¡¯re not ready, you can stop at any time.¡±

    Slowly but surely, Qingge could feel Master Wei¡¯s reassuring words take their intended effect. Her mind calmed, focusing on the task at hand and dampening her nervousness. Finally, she successfully steadied her breathing, and her meditative trance deepened.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°Very good. Take your time. Now go ahead and examine your core.¡±

    She followed the instructions that reached into her mind from far away and focused on her core. Its strange, semi-permeable form had become fully solid, giving off a thick haze of Qi as its gravity pulled in more of it than ever, only to eject it again because there was no room for it.

    It seemed absolutely insane just how quickly she had jumped to this point. In just over four months she had gone from being somewhere between the low and middle stage of the Core Formation Realm to reaching its peak.

    It was all the doing of Master Wei. He had spent the last four months guiding her and supplying her with more resources than she would ever have expected to lay eyes on while she did nothing but cultivate all day. Elder Shi had even placed her on leave at the Enforcement Hall during the entire time.

    They had discovered that Qingge¡¯s talent at Qi manipulation mixed extremely well with this kind of resource-heavy cultivation, as she was extremely efficient at pulling any additional Qi injected into her to her core. And that was how they had gotten here.

    Qingge¡¯s trance deepened further.

    ¡°You have found your core. Now pull on it, move it, make sure the Qi is perfectly synchronized with your will. Once you¡¯ve done that, don¡¯t let go of it anymore, keep it attached to your mind even as you move your attention away.¡±

    Qingge did as instructed. This part came easily to her, she¡¯d already done this when neutralizing the poison back in the city. It felt so long ago, like it had been in another lifetime¡­

    ¡°Good. Very good. Now focus your attention on yourself.¡±

    This was the part that had been difficult to get a hang of. Normally, one would approach feeling their own soul slowly over many months and even years as they furthered their cultivation into the Core Formation Realm. Qingge had sped through it, making it difficult to grasp the concept. Eventually, her master¡¯s guidance had helped her understand it though.

    ¡°Start with your body. Feel your connection to the floor. Move past it.¡±

    Qingge felt the floor disappear beneath her. It was still there, of course, but it had been locked out of her mind.

    ¡°Feel the air on your face. Move past it.¡±

    Qingge felt the air disappear.

    ¡°Sever your connection to the world. Focus only on yourself.¡±

    Qingge levitated on an empty void. It was neither dark nor light, it was purely empty. There was only herself and the steady voice of Master Wei echoing through the nothingness.

    ¡°Now focus on your mind. Your thoughts, your dreams, your ambitions. Your fears, your faults, your memories. Everything that makes you you.¡±

    Qingge¡¯s mind turned in on itself. A million images flashed past her and a million feelings washed over her. Her consciousness seemed to stretch out into an eternal ocean of being, filling the entirety of the empty void, only to collapse into a single drop of her very self.

    ¡°You have found your soul. Feel it. And when you¡¯re ready, let the Qi of your core flow into it. But before you do so, shut out my voice.¡±

    Echoes. Echoes in the eternity. And then silence. Absolute silence. Qingge was entirely alone now, but she was not afraid. There was so much of herself here, more than she had ever felt. In this state, solitude had no meaning anymore.

    She didn¡¯t know if it had been minutes, hours or days, but she felt ready now. She pulled on her Qi and pushed it into her drop of self, her soul.

    She felt it resist. She pushed in more. Its resistance redoubled.

    More.

    Her core was already half consumed, and it still wouldn¡¯t budge.

    More!

    As she pushed all the Qi she had into it, Qingge felt something shift. Suddenly, the last slivers of her core were being pulled in, hungrily consumed. When all of it was gone, more Qi started being pulled in from the surrounding.

    Like the pull of her core, only a thousand times stronger, the Qi rushed in and fell into the drop that was her soul like it was a bottomless hole. As it took in more and more Qi, the drop condensed even further, shrinking until it was only a singular point in space.

    And then, suddenly, it exploded outward.

    Her soul expanded rapidly until it filled out her entire body, but it didn¡¯t move past its limits. Instead, it remained there. She remained there. Because this thing that had just become physical, that was Qingge. It was her just as much as every part of her body was, maybe even more than that.

    Qingge was pulled out of the emptiness. Or maybe rather ejected from it, because that emptiness was no more. The space beyond the physical was now occupied by her soul. She had succeeded.

    As her senses returned to her, Qingge¡¯s world expanded. For a moment she could see, no, feel the Qi around her, whirling from the sudden pull it had just experienced. She could also feel the objects in her vicinity, without seeing or touching them. Soon, that experience ended, and her senses returned to normal, but she could feel that she¡¯d be able to draw on this new sense again, through enough concentration.

    Next, she noticed that her control over her Qi had fundamentally changed. Her soul was the medium that controlled her interaction now, or maybe it had always been. With her soul becoming physical, she knew that she should be able to use it to strengthen her movements with Qi now. She¡¯d need to try that as soon as possible.

    For now, she looked up to Master Wei. The elder was sitting across from her, studying her, his face beaming with pride.

    ¡°Congratulations, Qingge. You have just stepped into the Soul Realization Realm!¡±

 Chapter 63: Friendship

    ¡°¡­which became the driving factor behind the city¡¯s growth. Now as I already alluded to, the surrounding cities, especially those part of the pentarchy, didn¡¯t particularly enjoy witnessing Moonlake¡¯s rapid rise to power and prosperity.

    ¡°We¡¯ll come around to their eventual response in the next lecture, when we¡¯ll cover the City-War of the Bloody River and how Moonlake came to establish its ties to the Lunar Peaks Sect. To complement that, we¡¯ll also start exploring the ethical implications of war and warfare.

    ¡°Please remember that there is going to be a one-month break before that, since a large part of you will be off to see the tournament from tomorrow. In the meantime, I¡¯ll hold open discussion-rounds instead, those who remain at the sect are welcome to join me for that, same time, same place. For everyone else, I advise you to take some time during your travels to reflect on what you¡¯ve learned here so far.

    ¡°As always, thank you for your attention and have a great week.¡±

    Zixin joined the rest of the crowd in applauding loudly as Professor Lei left the podium. Like always it had been a phenomenal two hours, a real shakeup from the endless training and cultivation that took up most of their time. Not that Zixin disliked those things, he enjoyed them a lot more than the majority of his fellow disciples actually, but even he certainly welcomed a little variety to his routine.

    Like most, he had been rather skeptical about being taught by a non-cultivator in the beginning. With all the instructors they had, what could a mortal possibly add? He¡¯d only gone to the first lecture, since Elder Wei had officially recommended it. He hadn¡¯t missed a single one since.

    The Professor was incredibly smart and knew about all kinds of things Zixin had never even considered before. He felt the horizon of his world expand with every minute he listened to the man, even while the fascinating stories he told captured his attention on their own.

    In his current series of lectures, the Professor talked about the history of cities and sects on the peninsula, following both personal and societal stories as he moved through the ages years or decades at a time. It blew Zixin¡¯s mind how much there was to know and think about out there.

    Clearly the others felt similar, since the crowd attending the lecture kept growing every week. The first lectures had been held inside, but they soon had to be relocated to the main plaza because they ran out of space. Attendance was free and everyone was welcome, so more and more people were likely giving it a try after hearing about it from someone else. Even a few members had started showing up lately.

    As the applause slowly faded, Zixin looked over to Chonglin who was seated right next to him. If Zixin was happy about these lectures, his friend had become a full-on enthusiast. He was even spending some of his allowance on ink and paper that he used to make detailed notes which he would review in between lectures.

    ¡°Are you done yet?¡±

    ¡°Almost, just give me a second!¡±

    Chonglin scribbled one more sentence on his scroll before rolling it up and putting it away alongside his ink and quill.

    ¡°Maybe you should have become a scribe instead of a cultivator.¡±

    Chonglin clicked his tongue as he stood up.

    ¡°Maybe I should have. I wouldn¡¯t have needed to deal with your comments then. Do you think the library would take me?¡±

    ¡°You know damn sure that wouldn¡¯t save you from me. Come on, let¡¯s get going!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually a fair point.¡±, Chonglin murmured as he followed behind Zixin.

    Qiao was waiting for them at the edge of the plaza. She always remained outside the crowd for the same reason that she was wearing a long cloak with a pulled-up hood: She didn¡¯t want to be recognized. Zixin understood her. She was likely the most well-known disciple their age, if not overall, especially after her stellar performance in the competition.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    She¡¯d also told them, that her family wasn¡¯t on good terms with Elder Wei, so neither side would be happy to learn of her regular trips here. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine ¨C Zixin vividly remembered what Elder Bai had done to the hall just a few months ago. Qiao wasn¡¯t to blame for that of course, but Zixin knew that cultivators were great at holding grudges.

    As Qiao spotted them approaching her, she kicked of the wall she had been leaning against and came towards them.

    ¡°Hey there, Qiao! How¡¯ve you been?¡±

    ¡°I? Well¡­ I have mostly just been training, like usual. And I¡¯m of course looking forward to the tournament. How about you two?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m honestly really nervous. I mean, I¡¯m not even gonna fight, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re afraid of water. And people. And¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Ignore him, he¡¯s been chewing my ear off all week about this and that that could happen once we¡¯re out there. Which means we¡¯re doing fine, business as usual.¡±

    Qiao snickered.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    The three got moving, continuing their exchange as they made their way towards the training court they liked to use.

    ¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re being too obvious!¡±

    Qiao twirled around Zixin¡¯s overhead slash, using the momentum of her turn to deliver a perfectly aimed blow to the top of his shoulder. They had agreed to use that as a substitute for hits to the head and neck, since they didn¡¯t want to actually hurt each other, so he was out.

    When Chonglin tried to use her preoccupation to deliver a stab with his spear, she shifted her weight slightly to the side, dodging it by a hair¡¯s breadth. Before he could recover, she stomped on it, pinning it to the ground. Instead of counterattacking immediately, she looked him in the eye and smirked.

    ¡°Good thought, but too slow. If you want to make something obvious like that to work, you¡¯ll have to work on your speed.¡±

    To Chonglin¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t give up or let himself be distracted. Instead, he tried to sweep his spear to the side to destabilize her. To his misfortune, she had worked hard on stabilizing her footwork since he had beaten her this way back in the competition so she didn¡¯t even budge, instead casually tapping his neck with her sword before he could react.

    ¡°You¡¯re out.¡±

    Chonglin dropped his spear and bent over, catching his breath.

    ¡°Just¡­ How?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad. I¡¯ve been mentored in this since I was five years old.¡±

    ¡°I know, but you¡¯ve gotten better again!¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what we¡¯re training for, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Stop beating yourself up over it just because you beat her once in the competition.¡±

    Zixin came over, rolling his shoulder. He was grinning widely, seemingly even more satisfied by the fight than her, despite his loss. Qiao was quite fond of combat herself, but this guy was a genuine battle-maniac.

    ¡°Besides, your style puts you in an inherent disadvantage once you fight someone repeatedly. Your opponents in the tournament won¡¯t have time to learn how to counter it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. If you can surprise them like you did me, you¡¯ve got a good chance to take second place.¡±

    ¡°Why second?¡±

    Qiao smirked again.

    ¡°Well, because I¡¯ll take first of course!¡±

    ¡°Anyways, you guys wanna go for another round?¡±

    Qiao laughed out. Something about Zixin¡¯s eagerness in contrast to Chonglin¡¯s strained, red face was just too funny to bear. His confused expression only made the whole thing even more hilarious, cracking Zixin up as well. Soon, all three were just standing in the middle of the training court, sharing an extended laughter.

    When they had finally gotten it together again, someone they hadn¡¯t noticed approach cleared his throat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to disturb you three, but¡­¡±

    Qiao staggered back in shock. Standing right next to them was an old man with long, white hair and an equally long and well-groomed beard. Elder Wei!

    ¡°E-Elder Wei! We¡¯re sorry, we didn¡¯t notice you at all.¡±

    Zixin bowed, Chonglin and Qiao following suit.

    ¡°I take no offense, Zixin.¡±

    Then he turned to Qiao.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met.¡±

    ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t think so, Elder.¡±

    ¡°Please do introduce yourself then. You seem¡­ familiar¡­ Oh, I¡¯ve got it! You¡¯re Qiao, the young talent of the Bai Family, correct?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡­¡±

    Qiao pulled off her hood and bowed again, keeping her eyes to the floor.

    ¡°You are correct, Elder.¡±

    ¡°And what might you be doing here?¡±

    Qiao felt his piercing gaze on her. Then, suddenly, Zixin stepped in front of her.

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ not doing anything bad! She¡¯s just training with us. She¡¯s our friend!¡±

    Their friend!?! Qiao felt the blood shoot into her head.

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    Elder Wei studied her for a while longer before continuing.

    ¡°I came here to talk to Chonglin and you about the coming tournament, but she might as well join us then.¡±

    Qiao felt a massive weight fall off her shoulders.

    ¡°Follow me, if you would. I¡¯d prefer to talk indoors over a cup of tea.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder!¡±

    Elder Wei headed off, Zixin and Chonglin following and Qiao trailing behind them. It was good that the Elder hadn¡¯t taken offense to her presence here, but her heart was beating faster than ever and her head swirled with a strange, warm feeling.

    Friends¡­

 Chapter 64: Setting Out

    Zixin and his two friends were sitting in Elder Wei¡¯s office, each a steaming cup of tea before them. He remembered how it had felt to come in here the last time. Everything about the room had seemed so large and overwhelming.

    Now on second look, it actually seemed rather cozy to him. There wasn¡¯t much besides a large desk, a fireplace and a metric ton of paper, stacked up in and on bookshelves, laying in piles and laying around loosely. He wondered how the Elder could find anything within this chaos.

    Zixin took a sip of his tea. He didn¡¯t have much experience with it, but he immediately knew that this one was exceptionally good. It tasted amazing and it actually felt like it refreshed him and removed his exhaustion. It was too hot for his taste though, so he started blowing it.

    Elder Wei had been off to the side, sifting through some of the documents, and had just found what he was looking for. Taking out a scroll, he came over and put it on the table, alongside two more he had located before. Then he sat down opposite them and looked them over with a friendly smile.

    Zixin couldn¡¯t help but notice how his impression of the room seemed to have morphed to accommodate the way he felt about the man. Back then, he had been an enigma and a force of nature. Nowadays, Zixin knew him to be a good and caring person.

    For a moment, he had been worried that the meeting with Qiao might bring out the part in the Elder that had punished him for his minor misstep all that time ago, but Elder Wei had proven that fear to be unfounded. Whatever part that had been had remained buried and he had remained his friendly and just self that Zixin had come to admire, even before the descendant of an enemy family.

    ¡°Is the tea to your likings?¡±

    Zixin and Chonglin nodded, Qiao hesitantly following along.

    ¡°Great. Now, I mainly wanted to talk about Chonglin¡¯s training schedule during the travel, but I figured I¡¯d show you a little something first, so you can appreciate what we¡¯re doing.¡±

    He unfurled the first scroll. Zixin had expected text but what greeted him instead was a delicate drawing of a sailing ship. On the side, there were sketches of the layout and several interior spaces.

    ¡°This is the Celestial Tidebreaker, the largest ship of the peninsula, build to fit over two thousand people. It¡¯s our sect¡¯s flagship and the vessel we¡¯ll use to travel to the site of the tournament. We¡¯ll spend tomorrow traveling to our sect¡¯s harbor by foot and arrive there in the evening. We¡¯ll board it right after and set sail in the morning, accompanied by several smaller ships.¡±

    They had already known they would travel by ship. Zixin had never been on one and was quite nervous about it, hence Chonglin¡¯s constant teasing. Elder Wei unfurled the second scroll.

    ¡°This is a map of the peninsula. We are here, the harbor is over there.¡±

    He pointed on several points on the map.

    ¡°We will sail along the coast all around until we arrive at this point. This is where we¡¯ll lay anchor, it¡¯s only two days march from there to the Parting Clouds Sect where the tournament will be hosted.¡±

    The third scroll was unfurled.

    ¡°This is the surrounding area. This map doesn¡¯t have the tournament grounds on it, since they will be specifically constructed for the occasion, but they should be around here somewhere, right between this city and the sect. Zixin, you¡¯ll be staying at the city alongside most of the members of the sect. Chonglin, Qiao, as participants you will receive housing on the tournament grounds.

    ¡°The tournament itself will take place over the course of ten days, and we¡¯ll spend around two weeks each on traveling back and forth. It¡¯s not the fastest method of transportation, but traveling with this many people is a logistical nightmare on its own.

    ¡°Now, to get to the training you¡¯ll be doing. I¡¯ll personally oversee it and help you prepare as best as I can. There¡¯s dedicated room for combat training on the ship, so we¡¯ll be able to make optimal use of your time on there. We will focus on¡­¡±

    From then on, the discussion drifted into the specifics of the training routine Elder Wei had drafted up for Chonglin. Zixin paid close attention, since he might be able to pick something up for his own training, so the time drifted away and before he noticed, an hour had already passed.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    After they parted with Elder Wei, they spent the remainder of the day training according to his suggestions, Qiao only heading back home long after the sun had set. Exhausted as he was from the day of hard training, Zixin fell asleep as soon as he hit his bed, drifting into a deep, dreamless sleep.

    ¡­

    Qiao¡¯s eyes opened with a realization: Today was the day!

    She¡¯d returned even later than usual so she hadn¡¯t been able to sleep all that much, but all tiredness immediately vanished at the thought, replaced by excitement and, for the first time, nervousness.

    She¡¯d never left the sect before and now she¡¯d suddenly not only travel beyond her place of birth, but actually outside of sect territory as well. And she¡¯d do so with her friends!

    Every time she thought that word, a little tingle of warmth spread though her chest. She¡¯d never had friends¡­ who knew what she¡¯d been missing out on! She could only hope that her grandfather kept himself busy with his recent problems because she was certain that he wouldn¡¯t take well to this.

    She¡¯d thought the same about Elder Wei, but that assumption had been based off of her knowledge of her Family¡¯s patriarch. Who knew Elders could be so different¡­

    ¡°Oh my! Good morning, Young Lady Qiao. You¡¯ve awoken early today, was your sleep disturbed by something?¡±

    ¡°Good morning! Nothing to worry about, I¡¯m just excited for today¡¯s events.¡±

    Qiao smiled at her maid.

    ¡°I understand. Let me help you get clothed.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your assistance.¡±

    Once she was in her robes, Qiao stepped out of her room. Lifen was already waiting for her outside.

    ¡°Good morning, Young Lady Qiao.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already here?¡±

    The old woman smirked.

    ¡°I figured you¡¯d be up early today. It¡¯s a big day after all.¡±

    ¡°It is.¡±

    Qiao gave her head maid a quick hug

    ¡°When exactly do we depart?¡±

    ¡°One thing at a time. First, it¡¯s time for breakfast. You didn¡¯t think I¡¯d let you leave in an empty stomach, did you?¡±

    The two started making their way downstairs.

    ¡°Your luggage has been packed and brought down together with the rest of the family¡¯s. It will be brought to the ship along with your track, but you¡¯ll have to take care of it yourself while you¡¯re on there, since the majority of servants will travel on the other boats.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m old enough to learn how to dress myself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure your talent won¡¯t forsake you on that. Now, what do you want to eat today?¡±

    ¡­

    A massive trek of cultivators was marching northward in one long, continuous line. Even from her elevated position standing on the side of a hill, Qiao couldn¡¯t make out the end of it. Thousands of carts full of luggage were drawn along the road together with the track. In total, around three thousand members and disciples of the sect were joining in on this trip, in addition to about a thousand mortal servants. It was a true sight to behold.

    As one of the contestants, Qiao was positioned right at the front of the line along with the elders and senior sect officials. They had walked all day, starting from the late morning. For the mortals, the exhaustion was probably terrible to deal with, but to Qiao this was one of her easier days. She had mostly just been enjoying the nature and relishing in all the new things she was seeing.

    Every small village they crossed was a curiosity, every hill she hadn¡¯t climbed a breath of fresh air. Right now, she was even more excited than before, because they were just about to reach their destination. She had heard from somewhere that they would be able to see it once they were on top of this hill. She quickened her pace, skipping over the last couple dozen meters in a hurry.

    And see it, she did. Qiao¡¯s eyes widened as the humongous ship that had to be the Celestial Tidebreaker came into view. She¡¯d known the ship would be big, but this was massive. Calling it a ship was underselling it: this was a swimming palace! It was hard to imagine how something of this size would be able to move at all, much less sail around half of the peninsula.

    The harbor was surrounded by a small town of people singularly dedicated to caring for the sect¡¯s fleet. Qiao couldn¡¯t even make out the individual buildings from the distance she was at, yet this colossus seemed to tower over the surrounding area like a misshaped mountain.

    It only got more impressive the closer they came. There were many more ships docked besides it, each huge in their own right, but they all seemed like tiny row boats by comparison. By the time they had reached the harbor Qiao couldn¡¯t see the masts anymore, as they had disappeared behind the ship¡¯s towering bulk. It was a humbling feeling to stand before something this mighty.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ incredible!¡±, Chonglin, who had been walking close to her exclaimed.

    Qiao could only nod along in silent agreement, her words failing her.

    ¡°Do we have to¡­ enter that?¡±

    Zixin sounded more fearful than awed. Qiao couldn¡¯t even blame him, she understood where he was coming from. This thing had the feeling of a massive sleeping beast, best left alone

    ¡°I see you¡¯re appropriately impressed.¡±

    Elder Wei had closed in on them.

    ¡°The Celestial Tidebreaker is a true marvel of craftsmanship and architecture. Not to mention the whole thing is one large artifact, inscribed with thousands upon thousands of individual formations working in harmony to make it a true fortress of the seas.

    ¡°You know, this thing could withstand the attacks of most Dao Contemplation Realm cultivators. Even the patriarch or I would have to do our utmost over an extended period of time to break through its defenses.

    ¡°It has offensive capabilities as well, though not to the same extent. In times of war, we equip its deck with enchanted siege-weaponry. Manned by a crew of Dao Attunement cultivators, it gives us not only unrivalled control of the sea, but also allows us to attack strategic targets on land from a distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s one of the greatest treasures our sect possesses and the pride of all water cultivators we have. Now come on, we should get on board. You¡¯ll be able to choose your rooms that way.¡±

    And so they went, climbing a ramp and making their way into the belly of the beast.

 Chapter 65: At Sea

    Liu Wei stood at the railing and watched as the shoreline grew smaller and smaller. Out of all of the ship¡¯s quirks, he still found himself the most impressed by its speed. It wasn¡¯t the fastest ship out there, the others in their small formation had no issue keeping up, but it was faster than one would ever imagine something of this size to be.

    He knew how it worked of course ¨C several formations were supplied with Qi to turn and strengthen the local wind, blowing it right into the massive sails while others worked to reduce the water¡¯s resistance ¨C but seeing it in action was another thing entirely.

    Once the land was only visible as a thin strip above the horizon anymore, the Tidebreaker turned and began sailing parallel to it. Like this, they would continue on for most of their journey, always following the coast. The reason Shirong Yuan, who had the honor and duty to steer the ship, had distanced them so far from it was to avoid running aground on some of the shallower spots. The ship wouldn¡¯t be damaged by something like this like a usual one, but it would certainly still be a pain to get it moving again.

    Liu Wei stared at the waters. He had always felt a certain fascination with the sea. He didn¡¯t feel the special connection to it that cultivators of the Dao of Water had, but he still felt drawn to it in a way. A part of him had always wanted to explore what was beyond, the adventure beckoning him from beyond the horizon.

    They knew that there was more out there, but anything beyond that was an inextricable mess of truth, rumors and legends. The powerful cultivators didn¡¯t have time to go out on long voyages of exploring the unknown with no clear goal in mind ¨C cultivation, politics and the gathering of wealth kept them more than busy ¨C and to anyone else, the journey was too dangerous to risk.

    Out there, humans weren¡¯t the unchallenged masters. The sea, untamed and uncontrolled by their hands, was home to many mighty beasts, the likes of which did not exist on land, at least not anymore. Whales that could swallow entire ships whole, krakens that would pull them into the depths. Horrors beyond human comprehension that lurked and hunted in the deepest and darkest parts of the ocean.

    The shore was secure because these beings knew to stay away: for all their might, their bodies made for a mighty bounty that many of the most powerful cultivators wouldn¡¯t pass up on. But the open ocean was a place that most would ¨C and should ¨C not dare visit.

    Liu Wei had himself done so nonetheless, back in the days when he had first achieved the Realm of Dao Contemplation. A reckless act no doubt, especially considering that underwater was really the worst possible place to fight for a fire cultivator. It had been an experience that almost cost him his life, though he had eventually made it back ashore in one piece and with the body of a massive monster of the sea in tow.

    Ever since then, he had known to pick his fights carefully, not just based on the strengths of the opponent, but also the surrounding circumstances. It was a lesson that had brought him much success in the many wars he had participated in, so he considered the lesson he had learned back then one of the most valuable things the sea could have given him.

    He caught himself wondering, how he would fare out there today. He was many times more skilled and dozens of times stronger than back then after all¡­

    At great difficulty, Liu Wei pulled his gaze away from the water. He had other things to do than muse about the peculiarities of the sea. Training Chonglin, for example. The boy was making good progress without his help, but a little push certainly couldn¡¯t hurt when he was about to face off against the very best of his age.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    He looked around for the boy and found him marveling at the sea, just like he had just been doing. He was in the company of Zixin ¨C little surprise there ¨C and Qiao Bai.

    Their recent friendship had taken him entirely by surprise. Considering her lineage and her arrogant display at the competition, he would have taken the girl for someone who wouldn¡¯t associate with those of ¡°lesser¡± status, much less befriend them. It appeared to come from a genuine place though and who was he to judge her based on her family¡¯s actions? If anything, a girl from the pillar families integrating herself with normal disciples was a great thing to see and carried with it a lot of hope and potential for a better future.

    ¡°I see you lot are enjoying the experience, as far as I can tell.¡±

    They turned to look at him. Qiao was still a little trepidant around him, but much better than before.

    ¡°I want to show Chonglin the sparring area and start with his training. You two are free to come along if you want.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Elder Wei. We¡¯d love to, right?¡±

    Zixin turned towards Qiao who nodded along.

    ¡°Very well. Follow me, then.¡±

    Liu Wei led the three towards the stairs leading down into the ship. Just before heading under deck, he stopped. Qingge was standing not far off, enjoying the early sun on her face.

    ¡°Qingge!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ oh, Master Wei! What is it?¡±

    ¡°We are headed to the training areas, and you are going to come along. You dearly need to work on your form.¡±

    His new disciple was intelligent and talented in cultivation, but her combat skills were shockingly lacking. Any of the three youngsters he was bringing along could have easily folded her in half if she didn¡¯t have the cultivation advantage. Not everyone needed to be a masterful warrior, but a little skill in battle was indispensable for any ambitious cultivator.

    Qingge didn¡¯t exactly seem thrilled at the news.

    ¡°Do I¡­ have to? But¡­ Okay, understood.¡±

    And so, the group of five headed down into the ship.

    ¡­

    The ground tremored and shook as the hooves of a thousand galloping horses trampled down any vegetation and other obstacles in their way, the sound of their passing like roaring thunder. They were large and wild beasts, their frames muscular and lithe, and their hair ranging from deep gray to black. They were the kind of horses that were bred for war, difficult to tame but fierce and unflinching in battle.

    Each of these magnificent animals was ridden by an armed cultivator dressed in equally dark robes. It was sect tradition for each disciple to form a bond with a horse at young age and so these horses were perfectly under control, following their masters¡¯ directions without question.

    At the very front of this group, riding on an even larger horse of pitch-black color was Patriarch Xing Zhou, his wild black hair fluttering in the wind as he led the group through the plains, always headed towards the Parting Clouds Sect.

    His muscular frame matched the horse¡¯s large size, clearly standing out amongst the riders. His massive, curved sword was loosely hanging from his hip, and his favored longbow was fastened to his broad back.

    Behind him, knit in tight formation, were the eight elders of his sect, each carrying their own arms with them. Contrary to the lower members of the sect, they didn¡¯t need to do this, as they were all in possession of spatial rings; it was more of a statement towards the other sects than it was necessity.

    Xing Zhou grinned as he examined his horde. They were grim and resolute, exactly what he wanted out of them for the following days and weeks. The Roaring Thunder Sect would show the world its strength.

    They would arrive just in time for the tournament, no later, but also no earlier. There was no need to take time to rub elbows with their lessers, not with what they were planning to do there.

    They would come in peace and arrive unchallenged ¨C but they wouldn¡¯t leave that way. Before the tournament was finished, blood would flow outside of the arena as well.

    He spurred his horse, driving it to run forward even faster and small sparks of electricity crackled along his arms and out of his eyes. He couldn¡¯t wait.

 Chapter 66: Enjoying the Voyage

    ¡°So your cultivation speed has fully recovered now?¡±

    ¡°It has, yes. In fact, it feels better than ever. Or maybe that¡¯s just because it contrasts against my condition right before.¡±

    Ma Rong nodded slowly.

    ¡°It¡¯s really quite the unique experience you have made. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of a case like yours before. For something like that to happen, the subject would have to be of an incredible talent¡­ and, if you allow me to be open, also rather stuck-up.¡±

    Liu Wei chuckled.

    ¡°Sadly, I can¡¯t deny that.¡±

    Ma Rong chuckled as well and for a while, the two just sat there in silence, sipping on their tea and reminiscing about the days before Elder Wei¡¯s breakthrough. They had stood on opposite sides more often than not back then, and though they were never each other¡¯s primary enemy, the bond that was now connecting them in a permanent alliance and was slowly blooming into something resembling a friendship had not yet existed then.

    Liu Wei had a hard time grasping just how he had preferred the cold and heartless wealth of the pillar families over the genuine beliefs and open honesty of the old alchemist sitting before him now.

    ¡°In any case, now that you¡¯ve been progressing again for a while: Has that ¡®addiction¡¯ you¡¯ve talked about shown again? And do the guidelines you came up with work?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve certainly felt the temptation tug on me again, but I haven¡¯t felt anywhere close to giving in. I¡¯m not certain whether my own limitations or my new perspective on life contribute more towards that, but they both certainly do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. So you don¡¯t want to adjust the rules on anything, yes?¡±

    ¡°Nothing comes to mind.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Have you informed the others of my return to cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Yes, as we agreed on. They know you¡¯ve regained the ability and that you are voluntarily setting a strict limit to yourself. I haven¡¯t told them anything about our special arrangement though, since I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d be comfortable with that.¡±

    ¡°I thank you for your trustworthiness, though I never doubted it in the first place. I think it¡¯s best that it remains that way. I trust the others, but I would imagine Elder Shi in particular would probably try to persuade me to hasten my cultivation as much as possible if she believed there was a chance I would listen.¡±

    ¡°She did indeed express some discomfort at your careful approach, but she came around to accepting it quickly once I had explained your reasoning. She might be a little too zealous sometimes, but she¡¯s actually pretty considerate if you explain yourself to her.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡­ I might have to reconsider then. But that¡¯s for another time. For now, I¡¯d still like to grow accustomed to the new situation some more.¡±

    The two fell into silence again, each pursuing their own thoughts. The slow swaying of the ship was mirrored by the tea in their cups as they enjoyed the absolute silence around them. The room was, like all the elders¡¯ rooms, equipped with a formation that completely isolated its sounds from the outside. This prevented both unwanted third parties from listening in on anything important, as it did any noise from disturbing them.

    Once again, it was Ma Rong who broke the silence.

    ¡°If I may ask¡­ at your current speed of cultivation¡­ when do you expect to reach the next stage?¡±

    Liu Wei remained silent, considering the question for a long while.

    ¡°It is¡­ very hard to estimate, if I¡¯m honest. It¡¯s been so long since I cultivated at this speed that I¡¯ve lost all point of reference regarding the actual difficulty of these stages.

    ¡°On the one hand, I did the first five at an average pace of fifteen years each, but the stages naturally become more difficult to progress through. On the other, I feel like the centuries I¡¯ve spent cultivating since then haven¡¯t been for nothing, even if they were unproductive regarding my direct progress. Contemplating the Dao feels like my second nature by now and that will certainly have some influence as well.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Quantifying these factors against one another is nigh impossible, but if I had to wager a rough guess, I¡¯d assume it¡¯ll take me anywhere between twenty-five and seventy-five years to reach the ninth stage¡­ assuming everything continues to go well.¡±

    Ma Rong furrowed his brows.

    ¡°That¡¯s an incredible speed, even at the high end and before considering that you are limiting yourself. We are, in a way, incredibly lucky you hit the problem you did. Otherwise, you¡¯d certainly be patriarch by now and might even have founded another pillar family¡­ We¡¯ve got enough on our hands with the current ones!¡±

    ¡°The past is the past and will remain so forever. In the endless chain of coincidences and seemingly unrelated circumstances that have brought us to where we are today, what is one more possibility?¡±

    Ma Rong smirked.

    ¡°You¡¯ve certainly been enjoying your time at the academy, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I have. And I¡¯m certain that even you¡¯d be surprised at the sophistication of their philosophy. It¡¯s also much closer to the Contemplation of the Dao than you¡¯d think. I believe that, in a way, mortals are much more similar to us than most would dare to imagine.

    ¡°Actually, there is something I wanted to tell you about that as well. You remember that it was an epiphany that helped me regain my cultivation, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do.¡±

    Ma Rong looked at him with curiosity in his eyes, undoubtedly wondering why he was bringing that up.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve experienced several more while studying mortal philosophy, just in the few weeks that I spent in the city. I¡¯ve been mostly occupied with returning things to their proper order and pushing Qingge to the Soul Realization Realm since then ¨CI really wanted to get her there before the tournament, since perceiving it with her newfound sense will help her immensely¨C, so I haven¡¯t been able to devote more time to it, but I¡¯m almost certain that there is a deeper connection there that hasn¡¯t been properly explored yet.¡±

    ¡°Not just a cultivation genius, but also actively working on pushing the field forward I see. You continue to impress, Elder Wei. In all seriousness, that does sound like a very interesting phenomenon to explore. Epiphanies have always remained more curiosity than path up until now, since they appear so unpredictably. But if what you¡¯re saying is true, that might change. Seems like I¡¯ll have an excuse to visit Professor Lei some more in the time to come. Pleasant news if I do say so, I quite enjoyed his company last time.¡±

    ¡°On that topic, how do you intend to go about your own cultivation? You mentioned you¡¯d need to isolate for a long time if you wished to reach the next stage.¡±

    ¡°I would have to do that, yes. With you backing up the faction, it¡¯s become more viable of an option, but I still struggle to bring myself to it. At least for now, the situation is too volatile for my taste. If it stabilizes a little, maybe.¡±

    ¡°I can only encourage you to do so. It¡¯d be a great loss to the sect to see your age catch up to you prematurely. I won¡¯t push you, of course, it remains your decision to make.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Prematurely¡­ I¡¯ve been an elder of this sect since before you first saw the light of day!¡±, Ma Rong exclaimed, jokingly shaking his fist.

    ¡°I know, I know¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Qingge sat at the tip of the bowsprit, legs dangling above the quickly passing water, and enjoyed her life. The fresh breeze of the ocean rushed past her face, carrying its distinctive salty scent that she had quickly grown to love and blowing back her hair and the sun shone upon her, generously melting away all shivers the wind might have caused.

    She let her gaze wander over the foaming waves that approached like unbreakable mountains of water before the Tidebreaker¡¯s mighty hull effortlessly split them in two. The seagulls accompanied their voyage along the coast, occasionally settling on the masts or lunging into the water to pull out a fish.

    If the trip to Moonlake City had been a generally positive experience despite many hurdles, this right now was pure bliss. She was enjoying every second of the new experiences and she didn¡¯t even have to work. Except for the training with Master Wei, it was pure free time with no strings attached.

    Even that had turned out much more fun than she had expected. Her Master was an incredible teacher, and she could actually feel herself improve at a steady pace. It was nothing like the boring training she¡¯d done alone or with friends before.

    She was also starting to get more and more accustomed to her new abilities. She still had a long way to go, but working on it didn¡¯t even really feel like training because it was so incredibly fun to perceive the world in ways she hadn¡¯t known before and empowering her movements with Qi was so incredibly useful she did it all the time.

    Other than that, she loved to stroll over the deck with Daiyu, climb the rigging or just enjoy the amazing view and atmosphere out here. Most people up here were of a similar mindset, since the elders and many of the stricter senior members simply stayed below deck all day, cultivating.

    It had been eight days since they went on board and ever since then, everything seemed like one long and particularly happy dream to her. Funny how traveling always seemed to have that effect.

    Suddenly, a loud call from the crow¡¯s nest pulled her out of her thoughts. The position was filled mostly for ceremonial reasons, Elder Yuan would certainly spot anything of interest long before the lower cultivator, no matter the latter¡¯s elevation.

    ¡°Attention on deck! We¡¯re approaching the port!¡±

    Qingge sat up straight and looked out. Indeed, once she concentrated on the right area, she could make out a larger settlement on the far-off shore. Soon the ship started to slowly turn around, making its way towards that area.

    They had reached their destination.

 Chapter 67: Coming Ashore

    With a gentle chime, that could nonetheless be heard clearly throughout the room, the small, ornamented bell that hung next to the entrance door rung out. Liu Wei looked up from his cup of tea, his eyes meeting Ma Rong¡¯s who nodded. Then, both stood up.

    The bell was a signal that someone was outside, waiting to speak with them. Since the rooms were so isolated from the outside, knocking on the door didn¡¯t work and this unorthodox solution was necessary instead. Ma Rong pulled the door open, the formations keeping it shut immediately disbanding when they met his Qi-signature.

    ¡°Elder Ma Rong! O-oh, Elder Wei! I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, but we have arrived.¡±

    The young sect member bowed deeply, clearly startled by the fact that he was met by not one, but two elders. Ma Rong put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Thank you for informing us. You¡¯re free to go.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder!¡±

    As the young man bowed again before scuttling away, Ma Rong turned to Liu Wei.

    ¡°Seems like our chat must come to an end for now.¡±

    ¡°Seems like it must. A shame, but nothing is preventing us from continuing it at a later time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider that an invitation.¡±

    ¡°You should. Your brew was heavenly, but I can assure you that my tea tastes just fine as well.¡±

    Liu Wei respectfully declined his head, Ma Rong returning the gesture, and headed off. After a quick trip to his own room, where he picked up the few things he had taken out of his spatial ring during the week, he made to look for Zixin and his group. They wouldn¡¯t want to miss the landing after all.

    He found them in the sparring area where Qiao was just finished soundly defeating the other two once again. He had to hand it to the girl: she truly was a natural at this. In terms of pure speed, Zixin could almost match her, but she was miles ahead of him in actual combat skill. Chonglin was much slower than the two and despite his best efforts, couldn¡¯t counter her like he had in the competition anymore. Liu Wei knew that the inconspicuous genius was keeping some tricks up his sleeve he didn¡¯t want to show her before the tournament, but he was rather sure it wouldn¡¯t be enough, if the two even got to fight at all.

    Qiao¡¯s last defeat had been entirely her own pride¡¯s fault, a pride that she seemed to mostly have left behind as a result. Even as she delivered her well-meaning taunts, even as she light-heartedly gave them advice in the middle of the spars, her guard was never truly down, her concentration never truly wavered. He had not only observed that from the outside but also tested it out himself ¨C he¡¯d seen no reason to exclude her from the training he had given the other two ¨C so Liu Wei was very confident in his assessment.

    ¡°Elder Wei!¡±

    Like usual it was Chonglin who had spotted him first, but Zixin who initiated the conversation.

    ¡°How has your training gone? Do you feel ready to face the tournament?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ mostly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, because we¡¯ve just arrived!¡±

    Their eyes widened.

    ¡°If you want to see our landing, follow me above deck.¡±

    ¡­

    Despite of what he had said, the Celestial Tidebreaker couldn¡¯t actually dock at the port, which simply wasn¡¯t built to handle a ship of this size. Instead, it had to anchor several hundred meters of shore. From here, everyone but a small detachment that would stay behind on the ship had to transfer to the smaller ships that had followed along. The process took a whole two hours and left the latter very crowded and over-encumbered, but by the end of it everyone had made it ashore.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    The elders had naturally not been a part of the process, most staying in their rooms until the whole ordeal was over. After that, they simply flew over to rejoin the others. Counting the patriarch, there were ten of them who would attend the tournament. Every last one of the pillar family heads was present, none of them willing to forego the opportunity to play politics on such a scale. Liu Wei, Ma Rong and his disciple Guang Lai would be there as well.

    Shirong Yuan had elected to remain on the ship, while Lan Shi, Meng Hui, Xue Yan and Hu Chen had stayed behind to guard the sect, none of them particularly interested in political bickering with other sects anyway.

    Liu Wei could understand them well. He didn¡¯t look forward to that part either, if he was honest with himself. Politics between the four major sects on official meetings like this were often little more than self-reverential prancing, a pretentious game of trying to present one¡¯s own sect as the greatest of them all.

    The stakes were of course still very much real. Much of a sect¡¯s actual power was based on the allegiance of other, smaller sects and this was one of the two stages where these allegiances were formed, strengthened or changed, the other being war. That didn¡¯t make the whole thing any less daunting though.

    There was, however, another part of the tournament that Liu Wei very much looked forward to, that being the actual duels themselves. Chonglin¡¯s win in the competition had helped the Training Hall a lot and he had personally assisted his training ever since, so he really hoped he¡¯d do well here. It was always fun to watch what the newest generation of cultivators was up to, especially when one had their own horse in the race.

    Scratch that, he had two horses in it now. Qingge was a little too old to participate in the tournament herself, not that she would have done any good there with her current combat skills, but this was still very much the same generation that she would be contending with in the future. She¡¯d do well to pay attention to their names and skills in the days that were to follow.

    It was already late in the day, so marching off right now would gain them little. Instead, the evening was spent eating and drinking in an impromptu feast held for them by the town and they stayed there for the night as well.

    It was hard to say whether the townsfolk were hosting them out of genuine enthusiasm or out of fear. On one hand, cultivators were very much looked up to by most mortals and such a group of them arriving with the most massive ship they had ever laid their eyes upon was bound to feel like a significant event. On the other hand, if three thousand of them showed up at their doorstep, there was little they could do other than play along regardless of their feelings.

    As the first rays of sunlight found their way through the streets, the Patriarch gave the order for their departure. They¡¯d march towards the Parting Clouds Sect at fast pace, intending to arrive there in two days.

    ¡­

    Patriarch Tengfei Ye of the Serene Plains Sect was a quiet and thoughtful man. His light grey eyes were most often lost in the distance, searching the horizon for some unreachable truth. His beardless face carried a solemn melancholy that clothed every other emotion he showed in a veil of distanced consideration.

    He stood on a balcony, letting the wind of the heights they were in glide through his long brown hair as he stared, as so often, at the cloudy sky. Jinjing Liqiu approached him from behind, putting an arm around his shoulder as she arrived next to him.

    The two were an unlikely pair, that was for sure. The Matriarch of the Parting Clouds Sect was well known for her temper and her martial attitude. But despite this discrepancy, or maybe even because of it, they had shared a deep connection for well over two centuries now.

    Despite what other sects or even their own elders may think, it was this connection that had brought them to align their sects more closely with each other once they had both become their respective leaders. It was true that both had struggled in recent times, but that was more correlation than causation, although it had made pushing for the alliance a lot easier.

    ¡°I always have to wonder what you¡¯re thinking about when you stare like that.¡±

    ¡°Jinjing. We¡¯ve talked about it so many times.¡±

    ¡°So many times and the mystery still remains.¡±

    ¡°There is no mystery. I lose myself thinking about the future, the sects, the world¡­ And everything else.¡±

    ¡°You always say that like it¡¯s so natural.¡±

    ¡°It is to me.¡±

    Tengfei Ye turned his head towards her and smiled, the veil of melancholy disappearing for a moment.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t come here to talk about my contemplations, I can see that in your eyes.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t, you¡¯re just good at guessing. I¡¯m here to bring you news. The Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s group will arrive here tomorrow. Patriarch Zhao and Elder Wei are both present.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re here in full force, yes? Seems like our prestige hasn¡¯t fallen that far after all. Two Cultivators of the eight stage though¡­ they truly have become powerful. It¡¯ll be interesting to see how their internal structure has developed. With someone like Liu Wei, I can¡¯t imagine it to have gone over smoothly.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, no use in speculating. We¡¯ll know more tomorrow.¡±

    Tengfei Ye chuckled.

    ¡°No use in speculating? That¡¯s all I ever do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. The Roaring Thunder Sect is also approaching. It¡¯ll be four days until they¡¯re here at most. Patriarch Zhou leads them personally.¡±

    ¡°Four days until our peace and quiet are gone for good¡­ I didn¡¯t expect them to attend at all originally, much less with more than a token force.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what that arrogant bastard might want?¡±

    ¡°Sadly no. Well, I hardly imagine he¡¯ll want to try and improve our relations. Maybe he fears losing too much support if he doesn¡¯t show. Or maybe he thinks that his disciples will sweep away all competition. He has a long history of overestimating his sect. We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡±

    ¡°Typical.¡±

 Chapter 68: The Parting Clouds Sect

    ¡°Do you think that is higher than our mountains?¡±

    It was late noon, and the sun shone down on the jagged peaks in the distance. The mountain had entered their view yesterday already and had been growing larger at a steady pace ever since.

    ¡°I think so. But it may also just seem like that because there are no hills around and it stands alone.¡±, Chonglin answered Zixin¡¯s question, seeming unsure.

    The area around the mountain was indeed remarkably flat. It was mostly wide fields of grass with only the occasional tree making an effort to resist the strong gusts of wind that constantly swept over them.

    Zixin was having a hard time imagining that any other sect had a higher mountain than them, but he had to admit that this one was truly impressive.

    ¡°It is higher; by quite a lot actually.¡±, Qiao chimed in.

    ¡°It¡¯s called the ¡®Heaven¡¯s Challenger¡¯ and it¡¯s the highest mountain on the entire peninsula.¡±

    The name was certainly fitting. Where their own sect¡¯s mountains were wide and gentle, steadily rising into mostly symmetrical peaks that regally loomed above the area, this one was steep and irregular with several high peaks that abruptly rose and fell. It seemed like a clawed hand, striking at the sky with its dark rock.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got three though, they only have one. And I like ours more.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a competition. Or, well, it is, but it¡¯s not about who has the best mountains.¡±

    ¡°Why would they settle here anyway? It doesn¡¯t exactly look inviting!¡±

    ¡°For the same reason that our sect is located where it is. Qi. In this case, Wind Qi. The Parting Cloud Sect is famous for its mastery of the Dao of Wind.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Elder Yuan also cultivate that.¡±

    ¡°He is an outlier, just like Elder Wei. Actually, we¡¯ve got a lot of these in our sect, many more than is common. And that is without counting that Elder Ma Rong has basically established the Dao of Nature as a third path. We¡¯ve even got the entire Zhong Family following yet another Dao.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s uncommon?¡±

    ¡°Not that much, at least in the alliance. The Serene Plains Sect does it this way as well. It¡¯s basically a split in philosophy. One side argues that giving everyone the option to pursue the Dao they want lets them reach their full potential and makes the sect more flexible. The other poses that focusing on one Dao allows them to pursue it to the utmost and help each other more effectively. In practice, both approaches have provided good results so there really isn¡¯t any way to settle the debate.¡±

    ¡°You sure know a lot about the sects.¡±

    ¡°I know a lot about all kinds of boring stuff. I¡¯ve been taught about it since I was a young child.¡±

    ¡°You think that¡¯s boring?¡±

    ¡°Well, when the alternative is constant combat training, then no. When it is playing, finding friends and exploring the sect, then yes, sounds pretty boring to me.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯m happy enough with how things have turned out now.¡±

    ¡­

    It was afternoon when the trek was approached by a group of cultivators. They wore the robes of the Parting Clouds Sect and were led by an elderly woman with a strict expression. Liu Wei didn¡¯t know her, but he could feel that she was in the Realm of Dao Contemplation, so it logically followed that she was an elder of the sect.

    ¡°I am Ding Xiao, Elder of the Parting Clouds Sect and Matriarch of the Xiao Family. I greet you as head of the delegation sent to welcome you to our sect!¡±

    She bowed respectfully as the Patriarch stepped forward.

    ¡°I, Long Zhao, Sect Patriarch of the Lunar Peaks Sect, thankfully return your greetings!¡±

    ¡°I am honored to meet you. In the name of my sect, I invite you, the elders and all qualified participants of the tournament to come into the sect for a proper reception.¡±

    ¡°We naturally accept your invitation.¡±

    ¡°Then I shall lead you there while the rest of my group guides your companions to the city where they will be staying.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Elder Bai, could you please announce that to everyone?¡±

    ¡°As you wish, patriarch.¡±

    As Ning Bai took off to fulfill the instructions, the Patriarch signaled Elder Xiao to get going. The now considerably smaller group split off from the rest and followed her. Since there were no more mortals among them and they didn¡¯t have to pull any carts, they could move much faster than before and so they were soon closing in on the foot of the mountain.

    ¡­

    As they climbed the stairs hewn into the stone, Qiao looked up in awe. Now that they were on the mountain, she could make out buildings that were built on the steep cliffs, hundreds and thousands of meters above them. They were connected with bridges and platforms, held in place by thick ropes and stakes; a construction that looked to her like it would collapse in the first proper storm that hit it.

    What caught her attention most however, was that between those buildings and around the cliffs, people flew. Not in the way that cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm would fly; no, these people used long staffs with wing-like contraptions on them to glide around. They shifted their weight to steer, tipped the contraption downward to gain speed and spiraled in rising winds to gain height again. It looked so effortless¡­ like something she could do herself even¡­ and so incredibly fun!

    The other disciples were just as fascinated as her, staring at the acrobatic maneuvers with open mouths the entire time they ascended the mountain. It was a shame that Zixin wasn¡¯t with them right now. He wasn¡¯t participating in the tournament, so he¡¯d had to stay with the rest of the group. Qiao wondered if they¡¯d still get a chance to show this place to him.

    As the group crossed over the first rope bridges and platforms, they started to attract curios onlookers from all around. Some of them seemed to be uncomfortable with the attention, but Qiao was quite used to it. She simply kept her head held high and walked on without acknowledging it.

    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll meet the other contestants here?¡±

    Chonglin initiated conversation.

    ¡°Maybe the ones from this sect, but I don¡¯t think so. They¡¯re probably all at the tournament grounds already. This is more of a ceremonial occasion I think.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of practice with that. Anything I should know beforehand?¡±

    ¡°No need. You¡¯ll just need to stand there and maybe bow at the appropriate moments. The Patriarch will say a few words, as will the Matriarch of this sect, that¡¯s it. Maybe some of the elders will talk as well.¡±

    ¡°Coming all the way here seems like a lot of effort for something so minor.¡±

    ¡°Respect and ceremony are important; you should know that. It¡¯s the same between sects as it is inside them, just increased threefold. These relations are the basis of peace and war after all.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to mess it up.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t mess up if you just do what the others do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for that.¡±

    After a while longer, they were taken into a large, decorated pagoda. Inside was a big, open hall, the walls lined with beautiful paintings that showed cultivators slaying monsters and demons.

    Waiting for them was a row of people dressed in the same clothes as Elder Xiao, who quickly joined them.

    In the front and center stood a tall woman in long, blue-grey robes with distinctive golden ornaments. Her visual age was undefinable, her face seeming both old and young simultaneously and her pinned-up black hair complemented that feeling. She gave off an air of absolute strength that didn¡¯t allow any defiance to her will.

    ¡°I am Sect Matriarch Jinjing Liqiu, and I welcome you to the Parting Clouds Sect!¡±

 Chapter 69: Pleasantries and Agreements

    Nine of the most powerful and influential people one could imagine were seated comfortably around a large, round table of polished marble. The sky above and around them was turbulent, riddled with swirling clouds thrown around by the stormy winds, yet the air immediately around them was so calm that not even the tea in their cups stirred.

    The sect palace of the Parting Clouds Sect was a marvelous construct. Built entirely out of white marble that contrasted strongly against the dark rock of the mountain, it was a powerful relic of a bygone age, one which not a single person or group in the Northern Sect Alliance would have the capability to construct today. The control of the wind gave a clue as to its capabilities, but it was by far not its most eye-catching feature ¨C that would be the fact that the whole palace was suspended in the air several dozen meters above the peak of the mountain.

    For Jinjing Liqiu to invite elders of a foreign sect up here was a grand gesture of trust ¨C trust that she didn¡¯t really have in most people here if she was being honest. She¡¯d thought it necessary either way, since she needed to make absolutely sure that the Lunar Peaks Sect wouldn¡¯t join up with the Roaring Thunder Sect in opposition to hers in the coming weeks.

    The debate of who would receive the honor of coming up here between them had been rather fierce considering it had been held only with looks and subtle body language ¨C entirely without words ¨C and over the span of no more than a couple of seconds. It had undoubtedly left behind some sour feelings and hurt egos, but as long as none of those were directed at her sect that was simply not Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s problem. There was no way in the world she was letting the entire cadre of the sect¡¯s elders come up here; five were already more than enough!

    She focused on the five in question. Patriarch Zhao had been a given for obvious reasons. Elder Wei and Elder Liang were likewise obvious choices, their cultivation simply trumped all the others. Elder Ma Rong led his own faction within the sect, so his presence also made sense in a way ¨C what threw her off a little was that Elder Bai wasn¡¯t here.

    From what she remembered, he was one of the most prominent figures of the sect and sect diplomacy was his specialty. Clearly something had happened in the meantime, though she had no idea what it could have been. Not that she was complaining though; she much preferred the gentle Elder Xia who was here instead over his famously bloated ego.

    Besides the five and herself, Patriarch Ye and two elders from her sect were also here. Jinjing Liqiu took a sip of her tea before putting it down. As the hostess, it fell on her to initiate conversation.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to thank you for doing our sects the honor of participating in our tournament.¡±

    Patriarch Zhao answered.

    ¡°It is us who are honored. We are thankful that you are giving our disciples the opportunity to measure their talent in such a grand occasion.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be nearly as grand if it had to go without the talent of the Lunar Peaks Sect.¡±, Patriarch Ye remarked.

    ¡°Our disciples are indeed remarkably skilled,¡± Elder Xia answered, a playful smile on her lips, ¡°but surely you have your own uncut gems to show off, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°We sure do! But we¡¯ll have the tournament speak for itself on that.¡±Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Of course we shall.¡±

    What followed were several minutes of empty pleasantries, half of them exaggerated and the other half not even meant at all. It was the kind of talk that didn¡¯t require much attention to participate in once you got used to it and that barely anybody actually much cared about, but that was nonetheless necessary to maintain amicable relationships in these circles.

    The trick was being able to pay just enough attention to catch the important bits in between because even as they were masked by the light conversation, negotiations were constantly being woven between the mundanity of the phrases.

    An offhand mention of an elder of the Serene Plains Sect struggling on the cusp of a breakthrough turned into a direct request from Patriarch Ye for a special pill to Elder Ma Rong several minutes later. The old alchemist agreed ¨C he and the patriarch, the oldest and the most powerful nature cultivator on the peninsula respectively, had a long history of cooperating with each other.

    These kinds of deals were important enough to conduct and take note of, but not to warrant an actual, proper negotiation. Perhaps that was part of the reason this culture of longwinded, polite chats had developed in the first place.

    They also got caught up on the latest events in each other¡¯s sects. Elders were of course not the most reliable source of information in that regard, since they would only ever open up about things they wanted the others to know, but since not all of their internal interests aligned with each other, there was still a lot to learn this way.

    She was, for example, able to glean that Elder Bai had recently been in an altercation with Elder Wei, which probably explained his absence here. Even more interestingly, Elder Wei seemed to have joined up with the reform faction of his sect and taken over the Training Hall. Two actions that didn¡¯t fit at all with how she had been picturing him.

    The Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s entire situation was highly unique overall. On paper, it was probably the strongest sect of the current alliance, having the most members, the most Dao Contemplation Realm Cultivators ¨C two of them in the eighth stage and two more in the seventh ¨C and by far the best alchemists. Reality was much more complicated because it was plagued by an internal division, miles wider than any of the other leading sects. An entire subsection of the sect was more or less openly opposed to the ruling families and even the patriarch. And that faction appeared to be growing.

    Jinjing Liqiu could only thank the heavens that no such challenge to authority was taking place in her sect. She would probably lack the patience to deal with it without bloodshed.

    Regardless, after an eternity of varyingly interesting exchanges, the opportunity finally presented itself to bring up her true concern for this meeting.

    ¡°¡­I also heard that the Roaring Thunder Sect will be participating as well, is that correct?¡±

    ¡°It is. Xing Zhou and his followers are already on the way here, they should be arriving in a day or two. Speaking of which, there is a small request I¡¯d like to make.¡±

    ¡°Speak your mind.¡±

    ¡°As you know, our two sects¡¯ relationship with the Roaring Thunder Sect has been¡­ tense in recent years. We still hope to mend it and will be working in that direction in the coming weeks. But regardless of how it goes, I¡¯d like to ensure that this doesn¡¯t get any larger than it already is, both for the sake of my sect and for the peace of the alliance. That is why I want to ask the Lunar Peaks Sect to remain a neutral party in this matter, if at all possible.¡±

    The five cultivators exchanged a look before Patriarch Zhao answered.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think that¡¯s a reasonable request.¡±

    ¡°If so, can you please guarantee that your sect won¡¯t interfere in our conflict?¡±

    Another moment of silence, another round of looks. Then Patriarch Zhao rose to his feet and spoke, his tone solemn:

    ¡°I, Long Zhao, guarantee that the Lunar Peaks Sect won¡¯t interfere¡­ unless given a pressing reason to, of course.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t quite optimal because there was plenty of room to shift around the definition of a ¡®pressing reason¡¯, but it was probably as good of a guarantee as she could get from someone as shrewd as Patriarch Zhao. Jinjing Liqiu stood up as well and ever so slightly inclined her head.

    ¡°I thank you for your consideration, Long Zhao. Your wisdom is praised so highly for good reason.¡±

    This had been the most important part to make sure for the tournament. It would probably all work out well now.

 Chapter 70: The Eve of the Tournament

    Zixin took a swig from the jar of rice wine he had ordered and grimaced. He had asked the waitress for the strongest one, because he thought that, as a cultivator, he could easily handle it, and he¡¯d wanted to look tough in front of his friends. Now he was reaping the consequences, having to drink this sour swill while Qiao had chosen the sweetest one and Chonglin had just straight-up gone for a juice.

    Disciples didn¡¯t get to drink alcohol in the sect, so he¡¯d had no idea how it would taste. He wouldn¡¯t have been so keen to drag the other two into a restaurant otherwise. At least the delicious slices of grilled meat provided a good enough distraction, so Zixin grabbed another one. Chonglin, who had just done the same grinned at him.

    ¡°Gotta get down that taste somehow, am I right? I told you to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Smug idiot¡­ how would you even know how it tastes?¡±

    ¡°Some of the others got their hands on a barrel a few months ago. You know I had to try.¡±

    ¡°What? Why didn¡¯t you get me?¡±

    ¡°I tried, but you were preoccupied with training. Anyways, how about another competition?¡±

    Zixin perked up. He was always in for a competition.

    ¡°What do you want me to beat your ass at this time?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t beat¡­ anyways, wanna see who can eat more of these?¡±

    ¡°I think you underestimate how hungry I am from training.¡±

    ¡°I trained just as much as you.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah? Let¡¯s see about that. Qiao?¡±

    Qiao raised an eyebrow and snickered.

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll pass.¡±

    ¡°Your call. You can be the referee then.¡±

    Zixin raised his arm to call for the waitress. They were going to need more meat.

    ¡­

    ¡°I¡­ ugh. I cede.¡±

    Zixin groaned as he held a hand to his stomach. He felt like if he put one more piece of meat in there, he¡¯d burst.

    ¡°Well, who beat whose ass now?¡±

    Chonglin was as smug as ever, not seeming bothered in the slightest by the inhuman amount of meat he had just consumed.

    ¡°I¡­ I ate more before we started¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Any more excuses?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Honestly I¡¯m just happy I¡¯m not the one who has to fight in the tournament tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I try not to think of that¡­ I can¡¯t believe it starts already; the time went by so quickly.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve done everything you could. Just need to focus now and everything will be fine.¡±, Qiao, who had just silently sat back and enjoyed their quarreling so far, chimed in.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I never expected to get this far in the first place. Everything here is just a bonus.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­ hey, do you hear that?¡±

    Zixin¡¯s attention had been caught by a strange noise from outside. It was a low rumble of sorts, rather distinct, but difficult to describe.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°What sound?¡±

    Chonglin went silent, listening for a while.

    ¡°Oh, I know what you mean. Happen to know what that is, Qiao?¡±

    ¡°No idea. But I think it¡¯s growing louder.¡±

    Qiao stood up and headed towards the next window. Zixin followed her. She was right, it did grow louder. They looked outside but couldn¡¯t make anything out.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Chonglin had remained at the table. ¡°I think the floor is vibrating.¡±

    By now, Zixin could make out the direction the noise was coming from, so he leaned further out of the window. The restaurant they had picked was a good distance away from the city, so he had free visibility in every direction. Like this, he could finally spot the source of the noise.

    ¡°By the heavens, you have to see this!¡±

    In the distance, but quickly closing in on them, was a massive horde of riders on galloping horses. They pulled up a cloud of dust and dirt behind them and seemed to roll towards the city like a wave larger than anything they had seen during their time at sea.

    ¡°Wow.¡±, Chonglin who had quickly joined them commented. ¡°Who is that?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the Roaring Thunder Sect. They¡¯re the only group that uses horses on such a scale. Unless one of the cities has gone to war, but I don¡¯t think they would dare disturb the tournament with something like that.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense. They¡¯re the last of the great sects that hadn¡¯t arrived yet. I heard their patriarch is the strongest cultivator of the alliance.¡±

    ¡°What? Stronger than the Patriarch or Elder Wei?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy. I can''t even imagine it.¡±

    Zixin stared at the approaching horde with even bigger eyes now. The closer they came, the more details he could make out. The horses were all dark grey or black, as were the clothes of the riders. They were clearly cultivators from the way they dressed and looked, but they seemed a little more¡­ wild than the ones he knew. They were also openly carrying weapons; spears, halberds, bows¡­ everything. It was honestly a little scary, even though he knew they were just here for the tournament.

    As they passed by the restaurant only some fifty meters or so away, the walls shook, and the roaring noise was almost deafening. When they reached the city, they split in the middle, riding around it on both sides and disappearing from Zixin¡¯s view.

    For a long moment, nobody said anything. Many of the other guests had understandably been a lot more scared than them. From their perspective, this had been an unknown armed army riding towards their city. Many of them had tried to find hiding spots and were now sheepishly returning from them.

    Chonglin was the first to break the silence.

    ¡°That was¡­ quite the entrance, huh?¡±

    ¡°I think that was exactly the point.¡±

    ¡°Should we¡­ just had back for the day? I don¡¯t think I can relax here anymore after that.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Wei stood next to Patriarch Long Zhao, his hands crossed behind his back. They didn¡¯t say a word as they waited for the approaching cultivators of the Roaring Thunder Sect. The Horses didn¡¯t show any sign of slowing down as they raced forward, but neither of them moved a muscle. They were several centuries too old for cheap intimidation tactics like these.

    When there were only about two dozen meters between them, the horses abruptly slowed, the first of them coming to a stop just two meters before them. One had to admit that this was an impressive show of control, especially from those further back.

    After a couple second of standoff, a large and muscular man swung himself off of the largest of the horses, a wide grin showing through his bushy black beard.

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t old Long Zhao! And Liu Wei as well, what an honor to be greeted like this.¡±

    Like most cultivators of his level and standing, he practically emanated a feeling of power. His was not like the cold dominance of Jinjing Liqiu, nor was it like the radiant heroism of Long Zhao. Instead, it was a feeling of untamed, overwhelming might.

    ¡°Patriarch Xing Zhou. It is a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Is it? Because I¡¯m told that very often and I have the feeling not half of the people saying it also mean it.¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Zhou, allow me to comment that you haven¡¯t changed in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°But you have, Liu Wei. You¡¯re stronger than the last time we met, much stronger, but that¡¯s not all. I heard that you¡¯ve broken through, but I can feel that there is more.¡±

    The grin had vanished from his face, replaced by a concentrated stare. When he continued speaking, his words were quit and intense.

    ¡°You have changed, and your fire has rekindled. It burns brighter than ever, doesn¡¯t it? Unafraid and daring, ready to consume all. Perhaps one day¡­¡±

    He stayed silent for a moment before his grin returned.

    ¡°Well, we shall see. I would really like to exchange pointers with you some time.¡±

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t let the man¡¯s words throw him of. They were strange enough, and he would think about what he meant later, but he had expected something like this. Xing Zhou was well known for his excentric personality.

    ¡°I¡¯d be honored to. Perhaps we can do so after the tournament has concluded.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡­ Well, perhaps.¡±

    He inexplicably broke into laughter.

    ¡°It was nice meeting you two, but I don¡¯t want to bore my people. Let¡¯s talk more in the days to come!¡±

    Without waiting for an answer, Xing Zhou returned to his horse and signaled his group to follow him. Then, they rode around the two and off onto the tournament grounds.

 Chapter 71: The Opening Speech

    Jinjing Liqiu stepped out from the loge of the elders and rose into the sky alongside Tengfei Ye and amidst a whirling tempest of wind that could be felt throughout the entire arena.

    It was a massive, elaborate structure that their two sects had, in a showcase of their wealth and capabilities, constructed entirely from the bottom up specifically for this tournament. And it was filled to the brim with tens of thousands of cultivators from sects all across the Northern Sect Alliance.

    Virtually every sect had sent a delegation, most accompanied by their leaders or at least their elders, as well as put up a participant. Regardless of if you counted numbers or tried to value diplomatic weight, this was the biggest gathering of cultivators in several decades. The whole thing was a monumental diplomatic success that people would be talking about for years to come and a strong signal that their influence still reached far and deep.

    In the face of this, many of the smaller sects had already renewed their oath of loyalty to them and many more that had at least indicated a wish to deepen their relationship with them. It was a full-blown turnaround from their previous image.

    All that was left now was actually holding the tournament. To perfect their work, they were naturally hoping that their disciples would stand out with a good performance and while there was ultimately no way to guarantee this, they had done their best to sway the odds in their favor.

    They had trained their chosen participants to the best of their sects¡¯ abilities and even arranged the matchups in such a way, that high positions would be pretty much ensured for their best contestants. It was perhaps a little distasteful to do so, but if it meant a better situation for their sects, they were both willing to adopt such tricks.

    Once the two had arrived above the center of the arena and noise from the crowd had fully died down Liqiu started speaking, projecting her voice outwards through the use of Qi.

    ¡°Greetings, everyone. I, Jinjing Liqiu, Matriarch of the Parting Clouds Sect, welcome you all to this grand occasion.¡±

    ¡°I, Tengfei Ye, Patriarch of the Serene Plains Sect, extend my greetings to you as well. We are proud to see that all of you have followed our invitation to attend this tournament that our two sects are jointly hosting.¡±

    ¡°We are holding this event as a showcase and celebration of our next generation¡¯s talent and achievements in the art of cultivation. To this end, we have asked sects from all across the Northern Sect Alliance to put forward their most promising disciples of all ages to allow them to prove themselves before the united eyes of all important sects on the peninsula!¡±

    She made sure to emphasize that part, as it was the core message that this event was supposed to signal. The entire alliance, brought together under their actions.

    ¡°To ensure fair chances for everyone, the disciples have been split into four brackets according to their age. The bracket for those up to age fourteen will give the young ones who have only just embarked on their cultivation journey a chance to shine. That between fifteen and eighteen will encompass those who have made it into the Body Reformation Realm, but not yet started enacting the physical changes to their body. The one between nineteen and twenty-four will allow those who are quick at progressing through these changes to utilize that advantage, while the one for those up to thirty will favor those who have completed it with the most skill.

    ¡°Like this, quick adaptation to the life of a cultivator, good combat skills and extensive training, as well as both high speed and quality of cultivation are all covered in the different brackets of this tournament.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    In truth, this system was of course not nearly as fair as Tengfei Ye was making it out to be. Aside from the most obvious problems, like it heavily favoring those disciples at the upper edges of their age group or some of the younger disciples having been trained long before they were officially adopted as such, there were numerous more subtle ways that it could be exploited, most of which would naturally be identified and utilized by the majority of sects.

    In Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s experience, that didn¡¯t really matter though; a tournament like this was really not a great way to evaluate and compare the skill and talent of a large and diverse group of disciples in the first place, no matter the setup, and most people in the position to make decisions were aware of that. This was more so a way for sects to show off and measure each other in a matter that didn¡¯t involve actual conflict than for the actual disciples, so all that was needed was an illusion of fairness to maintain appearances.

    With Tengfei Ye having finished his segment of explanation, it was once again her turn to speak.

    ¡°The tournament will be held in a manner of single-elimination duels. The victor of any given battle will move on to the next round, the loser will be eliminated. To ensure that the most promising disciples aren¡¯t eliminated early, the matches have been arranged by an impartial party in a manner that ensures they won¡¯t meet each other in the first rounds.¡±

    This ¡®impartial party¡¯ didn¡¯t exist of course. Not only would that not make sense from a tactical point of view, but it would also be an almost impossible task to find a cultivator skilled enough to make all of these estimates in an accurate way based on the little information available who was truly impartial between all of the sects.

    ¡°As you can see, the arena has been split into five stages. In the early rounds, all of these stages will simultaneously be utilized. Because over five hundred disciples will participate in total, this is necessary to finish all the fights in a timely manner. The matches deemed most interesting and worthy of attention will always take place on the central stage. We can not guarantee the accuracy of these estimates though, as they are merely based on observations of our tournament examiners.¡±

    Another point that was important to emphasize, in this case to make sure not to offend the many sects that would inevitably not be featured on the main stage, while undoubtedly feeling that they deserved that spot. They could be angry at some anonymous examiner all they wanted, what mattered was that they wouldn¡¯t feel insulted by the hosting sects.

    ¡°There are a few additional measures and rules to avoid any tampering by outside forces. Participants will be monitored for the influence of strengthening substances. All equipment is provided by the hosts, so no enchanted artifacts influence the outcomes. The attention of the present cultivators will naturally detect anything that might otherwise slip through the cracks, so I would heavily disadvise anyone from trying. Failure to comply with this will lead to immediate disqualification from the tournament.

    ¡°A duel ends either by knockout, decision of the examiner, or yield. In the latter case, the other fighter needs to officially accept the yield, showing their agreement that the outcome of the battle has been sufficiently made clear. If they are of the opinion that this is not the case, we ask them to reject the yield and continue with the fight. This is necessitated to hinder intimidation tactics by making any such instances plain obvious to outside observers. For similar reasons, participants will only be informed of their matchup shortly before their turn.¡±

    All of that didn¡¯t truly prevent intimidation, but it did make it more difficult to pull off. In the end, that was all they could hope to accomplish without resorting to unreasonable measures. In the end, as with the other measures of fairness, it was mostly a matter of optics.

    ¡°Aside from that, we simply ask all competitors to honor the competition through acting fair and reasonable, depending not on tricks but on their own skill to succeed. In that spirit, we wish everyone the best of luck and hope that we have a tournament worthy of the honor and greatness of all the present sects!¡±

    With that the two floated back to the loge, leaving the eyes of the crowd behind. In their stead, the announcer they had chosen climbed a small podium built for him on the floor of the arena. The large, muscular man took the attention of the crowd with his loud, voluminous voice.

    ¡°Hello everyone, and welcome to the tournament! Since I¡¯m sure you are all ready for the fights to start, I won¡¯t leave you waiting. Our first duel on the main stage will take place between Xiaobo from the Silver Blood Sect and Chonglin from the Esteemed Lunar Peaks Sect! Let¡¯s welcome them with a cheer!¡±

 Chapter 72: The Opening Match

    Xiaobo bit his lip in a bid remain focused as he ascended the stairs to the central stage amidst the crowd¡¯s roaring noise. He ignored his aching joints and tried to stretch his bulging muscles as good as he could.

    To think he¡¯d have to fight someone from the great sects right in the first round¡­ No, he couldn¡¯t let that irritate him. Since he was going to win this tournament, this was bound to happen eventually.

    After what seemed like ages but really could only have been a few dozen seconds at most, he made it to the top of the stage. He looked around, looking for his opponent. It took him a good while to register the inconspicuous boy on the other side. Was this guy supposed to be a disciple of the Lunar Peaks Sect? He was easily a foot shorter than Xiaobo and, though his muscles were well defined, somehow seemed quite chubby. Not the fearsome enemy he had expected.

    Xiaobo breathed a sigh of relief. He was going to win this fight without issues. Maybe he just needed to shake of his fear of the great sects in the end. He knew he was the strongest here after all.

    Ever since the tournament had been announced a year ago and the Patriarch and Grand Elder had unanimously selected him to be their sect¡¯s nominee, he had been following their guidance to shape his body in that pursuit. He had strengthened himself, made himself larger and denser, improved his speed, everything. He was leagues ahead of any disciple his age now.

    It had felt amazing in the beginning, like he could suddenly achieve anything he wanted. His steps up and down the stairs of the grand hall had become lighter every day, even as he actually continued to increase in weight. Every movement that had used to be difficult and daunting was suddenly completed without effort and every session of cultivation was a rush. He could throw around the other disciples with ease and had to spar with the adults instead.

    After a while, the downsides had started to reveal themselves. The joints in his knees had been the first thing to start aching. His elbows had followed and from there, every other part of his body. His range of movements had decreased considerably as the muscles got in the way of everything and he had started to breathe heavier than he¡¯d used to. With these changes, sleeping had become hard, as had focusing enough to cultivate.

    Xiaobo knew, of course, that these were the exact reasons that you weren¡¯t supposed to change your body¡¯s physical layout before reaching adulthood. Everything would be fine though, he just needed to win the tournament first. His sect really needed that, as they had recently been pushed into a corner by two others. This win would help them regain their lost footing, not to mention the grand prizes that were surely waiting for the winner. They had devised this plan to achieve victory without even breaking the rules.

    The Patriarch and the Grand Elder had promised him that they would figure out a way to help him fix his cultivation after that. Once they were done, he¡¯d be back to the normal track again, just miles ahead of his peers.

    On top of that, he¡¯d have the prestige of having won the grand tournament before the eyes of all the sects in the land. Really, he was incredibly lucky to have been the one picked by his sect for this grand task. The Grand Elder would even consider taking him in as a personal disciple! Him, Xiaobo, the disciple of the Grand Elder! He couldn¡¯t wait for it.

    He tightened his grasp around the hilt of his sword and starred at the boy who stood between him and that dream. Then, the voice of the announcer boomed through the arena once again.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°As we can see, the participants on all stages are ready to begin their first fight! Let¡¯s not tally then: In the name of the glorious Parting Clouds Sect and the honored Serene Plains Sect, in the spirit of fair competition and in celebration of the next generation of cultivators, the tournament has officially started! Fight!¡±

    Xiaobo shot forward, eyes locked in on his opponent and sword poised to strike down with a force that could bring down mountains. He would end this quickly. Faster than even his own senses could keep up with, his powerful muscles propelled him across the spacious stage in mere moments¡­

    ¡­ and right into the braced spear that the boy had smoothly maneuvered in between them at the last second. Xiaobo threw himself sidewards with everything he had in a desperate attempt to correct his mistake, but his momentum worked against him.

    At least he didn¡¯t frontally run into the spear, instead only scraping along its side before stumbling past the boy and falling to the ground several meters away, but if this had been a sharp weapon, he would have ripped open his entire side. Like this, there was only a massive bruise and a couple of bloody scratches.

    Xiaobo immediately jumped to his feet again, blindly swinging out with his sword while wheeling around in a desperate defensive maneuver, only to notice, to his confusion, that the boy hadn¡¯t pursued him. He had only turned around, monitoring him with a focused expression while keeping his spear low but ready to use.

    A fresh shot of pain from the place he had been hit made Xiaobo wince ¨C had he broken a rib? Well, no way to check right now. He couldn¡¯t let his injury show, otherwise the examiner might call the duel, so he just clenched his teeth and readied his sword once more. He still had the advantage in strength and speed, he¡¯d just been too careless right now.

    This time, he approached slowly, taking care to keep mind of his opponent¡¯s movements. Once he had come into a certain range, the boy started moving with him, keeping the distance between them steady, but not raising his spear to make a move. Xiaobo was the one who had been hurt and thus needed this fight to end quickly, and it seemed that the boy had correctly assessed that. Consequently, it fell on Xiaobo to initiate combat once again.

    He stepped forward and struck from the side but had to pull back the moment he did so, as the boy¡¯s spear was suddenly in his way again. This pattern repeated a few times, his frustration rising alongside the pain in his side. To make matters worse, the aches which had been wiped away by the adrenalin in the beginning were now returning in force, making every movement a challenge and slowing him down more and more.

    Then suddenly, as he once again pulled back from an unsuccessful attack, the boy followed him closely and struck out at an odd angle. Restrained by his own muscles, Xiaobo couldn¡¯t even meet the attack, instead having to jump sidewards as quickly as possible.

    Just as he thought he was out of range, the boy attacked again, leveraging the full length of his spear for the first time and hitting him square in the chest. Xiaobo stumbled backwards and pulled up his sword in an attempt to defend, barely managing to deflect the third strike coming his way. When he attempted to counter, he once again found himself unable to follow through with his attack, having to pull back again.

    The boy didn¡¯t leave him any space to recover. Strike followed after strike with an intensity that Xiaobo couldn¡¯t have imagined the small boy pulling off. Any attempt to turn the tide hopelessly fizzled out as his strikes were predicted and preemptively countered. He took several more hits as he was driven back across the entire stage and into a corner.

    His mind raced, trying to find a way out, but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything. Then, when he was so far back that he couldn¡¯t step back any further, he started a final, desperate attempt. Once again, he raised his sword, once again his opponent moved to intercept it. But in a flash of inspiration, instead of trying to execute the strike, he kicked out.

    Surprising even himself at this point, his kick connected perfectly, catching the unprepared boy right in the stomach. He was thrown back several meters and wheezed as the air was driven out from his lung, Xiaobo¡¯s superior physicality finally showing itself.

    Before the boy could catch his breath, Xiaobo gathered the last of his strength and struck out in a wide arc. Just this once, the boy¡¯s spear wasn¡¯t in a position to intercept him. He was already preparing for the attack to connect, when the boy swiftly ducked his slash.

    Before Xiaobo understood what was happening, the boy had stepped close to him, his arm still fully extended from the attempted strike, and reversed the grip on his spear. He then swung the shaft upwards, using it to strike Xiaobo right into the face.

    For a brief moment, his vision blacked out, and when it returned, everything seemed to spin around him. He took several uncoordinated steps backwards and his sword slipped from his grasp. He barely noticed the boy kick it away.

    Any attempt to regain his focus failed and with his strength finally running out, Xiaobo stumbled and collapsed to his knees. The boy didn¡¯t need to land a finishing move, he fell to the ground on his own just a moment later. In his last moments of consciousness, he turned his head towards the elders¡¯ loge, his hazy gaze meeting that of the Grand Elder. It was filled with contempt and condemnation.

    Then the world faded into a sweet emptiness.

 Chapter 73: Heng Zhou

    ¡°From the mighty Roaring Thunder Sect¡­ a disciple we¡¯ve already witnessed honoring that name¡­ a descendant of the glorious Zhou Family¡­ he wreaks havoc onto his enemies with a strength that seems to be inexhaustible¡­ welcome with me¡­ Young Master Heng Zhou!¡±

    Heng Zhou stepped up onto the central stage, bathing in the rapturous applause of the crowd. He had shown them many times before that he was one for a good show. His opponents fell before his indomitable might and he had them crawl in the mud and beg him for his mercy before accepting their surrender. He was the hope and pride of the Roaring Thunder Sect, a position which he would not take lightly.

    And this was his time to shine! He had been assigned the very last match of today and as such of the quarterfinals. The crowd was riled up and ready for an exciting battle. It should have been the perfect moment.

    Yet right now, he was feeling conflicted. Something that he just couldn¡¯t make any sense of had happened. Just before he had been called out for the match, a senior member of his family¡¯s leadership had approached him. Acting all secretive, they had ordered him to lose the coming match on purpose but had refused to give him a reason for it!

    Heng Zhou just couldn¡¯t wrap his head around that! He was supposed to follow the orders of senior family members without question, but if he lost now, everything would be terrible! He would dishonor his sect and family, he would not receive the grand prizes that were intended for the winners and most importantly, he would squander the chance to impress Patriarch Zhou! Why would his family want that? And how could they make him do it?

    Was someone trying to trick him, because they wanted to prevent his rise? Had they made a mistake? Was he missing something?

    His thoughts were interrupted by the announcer¡¯s thundering voice.

    ¡°And now, from the venerable Lunar Peaks Sect¡­ the beautiful enigma, cold like ice¡­ representing the honored Bai Family¡­ a tempest of dancing perfection¡­ applaud for the last participant today¡­ Young Lady Qiao Bai!¡±

    With a slowly rising annoyance, Heng Zhou realized that the applause this time was even louder than the one he had received. And was that just his feeling, or had the announcer praised that girl more than him?

    What bullshit¡­ he had seen her fights himself. She was fast and skilled, but it was honestly not that impressive. If he wanted, he was sure that he could easily beat her. The crowd was only hyping her up because of her looks and her stupid mysterious act. Ripping that to pieces would be so incredibly satisfying¡­

    There was no way the Patriarch actually wanted him to lose, right? He probably didn¡¯t even know of this dumb ploy, whatever it was. Or maybe it was all just a test to see if he was fit for a leading position¡­ a leader couldn¡¯t back down because they were intimidated by some nonsense. Yes, that had to be it! They wanted to see if he would figure this out because they were considering him for an important position. Maybe the Patriarch wanted to take him as his disciple after seeing his talent firsthand¡­

    That settled it. He would crush the girl and prove his worth to the sect¡¯s leadership. The Patriarch would be proud!

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    Qiao quietly measured her opponent as she stepped onto the stage. Heng Zhou¡­ she had seen him fight a lot, because she had correctly predicted from the start, that she would need to face him at some point. He had soundly beaten all of his opponents until now, dragging out the fights towards the end in a tastelessly sadistic manner. A good fighter but not a good diplomat, that much was for sure.

    It was hard to accurately gauge the strength of other fighters in the tournament because as long as they were not properly challenged, they could hide their real capability. As Chonglin¡¯s example from the competition showed, this was a rather advantageous strategy and Qiao had certainly been making use of it herself as well.

    Heng Zhou had already shown himself to be capable of feats of immense strength, but what worried her was that he had so far revealed next to nothing in terms of his technique. He had mostly just overwhelmed everyone through force alone.

    Furthermore, he was a member of the Zhou Family, which was, by all measures, the most powerful family in the entire alliance. He ought to have been supported to the extreme from a young age. While he wasn¡¯t the direct disciple of an Elder, neither was Qiao. This would be an extremely tough fight. One that, looking at it objectively, he was probably favored to win.

    Qiao didn¡¯t let her nervousness show. She could do this. She had trained all this time for this exact situation. She had grown alongside her friends and learned from Elder Wei. She was ready. Chonglin had already been eliminated this round, as had all the others from the Lunar Peaks Sect in her age-group. They were counting on her!

    ¡°And now, get ready for an exhilarating match between these two talented contestants! Let the final match of today commence!¡±

    For a while, neither of the two combatants moved. Qiao held her sword loosely to her side as she monitored her enemy. He had his broad saber slung over his shoulder and was clearly raring to fight, though he restrained himself from rushing in, instead opting to taunt her.

    ¡°Afraid, huh? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯d be the same in your position. It¡¯s not every day that you are forced to face a prodigy from the most powerful sect in the Alliance. I¡¯ll try not to beat you down too badly, wouldn¡¯t want to scratch up your pretty face.¡±

    Qiao didn¡¯t show the slightest reaction. Cheap tactics like this were something her mentors had taught her to ignore long ago.

    Realizing his taunt hadn¡¯t quite landed to the effect he had probably imagined, Heng Zhou tried again.

    ¡°Actually, scratch that, you¡¯re not that pretty anyway. And from the way you¡¯re just standing there, it seems like you won¡¯t be able to put up much of a fight as I tear you apart. You probably got to this point by pure luck. Well, that has now run out.¡±

    Qiao let him continue talking for well over a minute, fully aware of how this entire scene would look from the outside. She wasn¡¯t one to deny an opponent the opportunity to make a fool of themselves. Instead, she took the time to clear her mind and calm her heart as he continued to waste his breath.

    When she was done, she started casually approaching, the tip of her sword still pointed downward. When she was a little closer, she interrupted the self-aggrandizing ramblings with a quiet, bit firm voice.

    ¡°Done yet?¡±

    Heng Zhou was momentarily stunned, then his face darkened.

    ¡°You asked for it.¡±

    And the battle began.

    Qiao sidestepped the first overhead strike and immediately had to jump backwards to dodge a follow-up kick. Next it was her turn, and she tested the waters with two slashes in quick succession which were both deflected with impressively little movement.

    The two continued exchanging blows like this for a while, neither willing to fully commit yet. As far as Qiao could tell, Heng Zhou used a style that minimized his movements to efficiently compensate for his longer and heavier weapon. His strikes were extremely forceful, making it hard to meet them directly, but he was clearly slower and less mobile than her.

    Consequently, her tactic should be dragging this fight out, letting him exhaust himself with his heavy attacks before overwhelming him with her speed. His should be driving her into a corner with attacks she could not face until she wasn¡¯t able to retreat anymore, then breaking through her defense with sheer force.

    Seemingly having come to the same conclusion, Heng Zhou forced her to step back with a mighty swing and started pursuing her.

 Chapter 74: Reminiscing

    Liu Wei stood on the edge of the loge, hands folded behind his back, and looked down onto the fight. It was quite a distance away, but using Qi to improve his already strong sight, he could still make out every moving muscle of the two contestants.

    It was an interesting fight and the two were closely matched, even though he was already quite certain about the outcome. Their struggle very much reminded him of his own first time competing in a tournament like this.

    It hadn¡¯t been nearly such a grand occasion ¨C something on this scale didn¡¯t happen to every generation of disciples ¨C and he hadn¡¯t even made it that far, but it was still a memory that he liked to look back upon.

    It had been a competition with several smaller sects from the surrounding area and he had managed to qualify by little more than pure chance ¨C just a youngling who had been freshly picked as an inner disciple after displaying a comparatively modest amount of talent with the sword.

    He vividly remembered the suspense of waiting for the next duel, not knowing the strength of the opponent he¡¯d have to face next; the exhilarating feeling of defeating another challenger and raising one¡¯s sword in triumph to the cheers of the crowd; ultimately, the mix of disappointment and relief of having lost, wrapped up in a blanket of pure exhaustion.

    That tournament had been a key experience in lighting the fire of ambition within his chest. There had been other geniuses back then, other rising stars that were looked up to by the remaining disciples and hailed as the vanguard of the next generation by the older cultivators. He had admired them as well. He had worked himself to the bone to become stronger, faster, better ¨C just for a chance to one day stand behind them.

    He sighed in a mix of nostalgia and melancholy. Liu Wei, Dancing Flame of the North, strongest elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect, had long since outgrown all of them and never stopped despite that. The last few of the young stars of his generation had faded out centuries ago. Just he¡­ that inconspicuous young disciple that had been eliminated in the third round by the hands of another inconspicuous disciple whose name and legacy had long been lost to time for the wider world¡­ just he was still here.

    And now he was the one to care for another generation¡­

    ¡°You seem contemplative. I hope we aren¡¯t disturbing you?¡±

    ¡°No, you aren¡¯t. I was just lost in thoughts.¡±

    Ma Rong, accompanied by Patriarch Tengfei Ye came up to him and joined him at the railing, looking down at the fight.

    ¡°Quite the impressive youngsters, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°They are.¡±

    ¡°Your Sect really showed up here with quite the talent, if I may say so.¡±, Tengfei Ye commented.

    ¡°You say that when your own have been the ones to steal the show.¡±

    They really had been. Two of the four half-finalists in this age group belonged to the Serene Plains Sect and they had done similarly well in the others. One of them, a descendant of the Patriarch himself, had been the one to defeat Chonglin. Liu Wei couldn¡¯t be happy about that, but he had to concede that it had been a deserved victory and a glorious defeat. The fight had been a marvel of strategy, prediction and wringing for minor advantages. In the end, Chonglin had been outdone at his own game.

    ¡°You are flattering me, but I can¡¯t deny that I am very proud of my sect¡¯s disciples. They have done great and deserve to be credited. I¡¯ll have to look out for them in the future as well. Their performance doesn¡¯t take away from these two though, they seem every bit as skilled as the others who have already qualified. Any guesses on who will win?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    He gestured at the fight. ¡°They seem equally matched to me.¡±

    ¡°I think we should keep our speculations on that to ourselves out of respect for the fighters.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, you are probably right. Let me change the topic then. Elder Wei, I hear that you have taken on a disciple recently, is that true?¡±

    ¡°I have indeed. Her name is Qingge.¡±

    ¡°That is quite the piece of news. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you haven¡¯t accepted any disciples before, have you?¡±

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then she is truly lucky. And surely of incredible talent to match!¡±

    ¡°She is very talented, yes, though that wasn¡¯t the whole reason I chose her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°She is a girl of great character, one that I value very much. And she is intelligent beyond her age, though she naturally still lacks the experience.¡±

    ¡°I see. Say, speaking of disciples, do you still own the tailfeather of that Ancient Storm Eagle Empress you slew a decade ago?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡­ I think I do, yes. Why are you asking?¡±

    ¡°You see, my own disciple has recently entered the Dao Attunement Realm. I would like to commemorate that achievement with a gift of appropriate proportions. He has been extremely fascinated with flight ever since I picked him when he was little, but since he is not a Wind Cultivator, he won¡¯t be able to gain it by himself before stepping into the Dao Contemplation Realm. I want to have an artifact crafted for him that skips that step, and the feather would make for a perfect base for that.¡±

    ¡°A generous gift, but I understand your sentiment.¡±

    It was generous indeed. True flight artifacts were exceedingly rare and valuable, requiring incredible expertise and exotic materials to craft.

    ¡°I suppose I could part with it. It won¡¯t come cheap though; we are both well aware of how seldom one of these Eagles makes its way to the continent.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t ever occur to me to offer you an unfair deal. Say, what do you say to this¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Qiao let herself drop to the floor, dodging a wide slash before rolling backwards out of range of the follow-up kick. She panted heavily as she jumped to her feet again, pointing her sword at her opponent in a challenging manner.

    This fight had been going on for well over twenty minutes now and she was feeling it in every part of her body. Heng Zhou wasn¡¯t off any better though. His face was red from exertion, his clothes were ripped and his body bruised from the countless minor hits that Qiao had managed to sneak in between her dodging and defending.

    Both of them had been getting slower and more conservative with their attacks as they tried to ration the little strength they had left. Neither of their original approaches had worked out, Heng Zhou being too skilled at defending to be overwhelmed by Qiao¡¯s speed and her being too aware of the surroundings and the situation to let herself be cornered ¨C her matches with Chonglin had taught her that. Consequently, the match had devolved into the brutal fight of attrition that had led them to where they were now.

    Heng Zhou once again brought his saber into the resting position that he favored and readied to charge in once again. This time, however, as he was moving the blade, Qiao noticed that it was shaking. This was new. She decided to try something, tightening her grip onto her sword.

    When Heng Zhou attacked her once again, she didn¡¯t try to dodge or deflect; instead, she met the attack with her own, putting in most of what she had left.

    With a mighty clang, the blades met. Qiao felt the shock run through her arm, but she held firm. Heng Zhou, clearly surprised by her move, struggled just the same but held as well. For a moment, Qiao thought that she had miscalculated. But then, when she took a step forward and pushed, planning to use that to get out of the bind, the resistance suddenly let up and her opponent stumbled.

    Now or never!

    Instead of jumping back like she had wanted to, Qiao advanced further and attacked again. Heng Zhou managed to maneuver his weapon in the way, but the angle was off, and he had not yet stabilized himself. When the weapons met, his saber was flung out of his grip and off of the stage. Before he could gather himself, Qiao had put her blade against his throat. For a moment, it seemed like he was not sure what to do, even like he was considering trying to attack her without a weapon. Then, a loud voice interrupted the two.

    ¡°Halt! The match is over!¡±

    The monitoring cultivator came from the side, pushing the two apart and putting himself between them.

    ¡°Young Lady Qiao Bai wins by disarming and securing her opponent!¡±

    It was over.

    Qiao wanted to lay down right here but forced herself to sheathe her sword as calmly and gracefully as she could, given her state. The words of the announcer flew over her as she slowly walked off the stage, down the stairs and towards the exit, all of her attention focused on keeping her head high and her posture acceptable.

    Like this, she made it out of the public eye and into the contestants¡¯ waiting area, where Zixin and Chonglin were already waiting for her. As they noticed and approached her, a supreme dizziness overcame her, accompanied by her full exhaustion.

    Before they could greet her, she lost consciousness and collapsed.

 Chapter 75: The Calm Beforeâ€¦

    Chonglin came running out of the entrance to the arena, where Zixin was waiting for him. He was clutching a large, ornamental chest of wood. He was grinning from ear to ear, undeterred as he almost fell over from its weight when he came to a stop.

    ¡°Zixin, we¡¯re rich!¡±

    Zixin laughed, sharing his friend¡¯s excitement. He had done so incredibly well in this tournament that it was hard to wrap his head around it. Finishing among the top eight from his age was a result that neither of them would have dared to dream of even after all of their training.

    ¡°You completely deserve it. Let¡¯s head out to celebrate tonight.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. But we gotta wait for Qiao first, she¡¯s still being briefed about the finals.¡±

    The award ceremony for the lower ranking contestants had already been held today, as tomorrow was all about the finalists. They were probably planning a special spectacle, considering the grandeur of this event so far.

    ¡°Oh, and we should probably store this somewhere safe before as well. I really don¡¯t want to carry it around for the entire night. See how heavy it is?¡±

    He handed the chest over to Zixin to demonstrate. He was right, it was heavy, even for its already large size. Hardly a surprise though, considering how many spirit stones were supposed to be inside. Higher grades of these were known to be very heavy.

    ¡°Huh you¡¯re right. That¡¯s quite something. Let¡¯s just put it in your room here, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    A few minutes later, Qiao came walking out of the arena. She still looked done in, though her face had regained some of its color. Regardless, when she saw the two, she smiled.

    ¡°Hey there. Sorry for collapsing on you like that!¡±

    ¡°You gave us quite the scare if I¡¯m being honest. Good to see you¡¯re up again. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Tired, mostly. But also, proud and accomplished. Thankfully I woke up just in time to see the ceremony as well. Congratulations, Chonglin. You are the only one among the top eight who doesn¡¯t have a powerful family in the background.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the encouragement. We¡¯ll be sure to cheer you on when you beat up the remaining contestants tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°We want to celebrate tonight, but seeing how you¡¯ll still have to fight, I suppose you can¡¯t join us?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but yes. I really just need to sleep right now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll just do another round after the finals.¡±

    ¡°Sure, that sounds great.¡±

    The two accompanied Qiao to her room, chatting about the fights of the day, before heading over to Chonglin¡¯s.

    ¡°Well, here we are.¡±

    Zixin placed the chest on the ground with a thud. They had taken turns carrying it, though he had insisted on doing most of the work since Chonglin had already had a taxing day.

    ¡°Now we can go and eat something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m starving as well. But before that¡­ don¡¯t you wanna look inside?¡±

    Chonglin¡¯s eyes were sparkling with contagious excitement. Now that Zixin thought about it, that sounded like a great idea.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s do that.¡±

    Not wasting any time, Chonglin pulled out a small golden key that he pushed into the lock. With an audible click, it sprung open and they lifted the lid together.

    Zixin almost stumbled backwards from the sight, inhaling sharply as his eyes adjusted to the bright light streaming out of the chest. He had known what Chonglin had won, it had been announced at the ceremony after all. Seeing it in front of him was a totally different experience though.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    With all the other contestants who had come this far coming from rich and powerful families, the prizes were naturally chosen to be significant even to them. To the two background-less friends who had until very recently been just outer disciples, it was unbelievable.

    Stacked before them was a mountain of spirit stones, each one brighter and clearer than anything they had ever seen. Chonglin picked one up and held it up in the air, turning it in all directions to marvel at it.

    The fist-sized gem was cut in a beautiful hexagonal pattern, its diaphanous surface so smooth it seemed like calm water, and it gave off a faint glow of light blue light from within. To them, who had never held something like this, it seemed like someone had pulled down a star from the sky and put it in a container of crystal glass.

    These were all grade four spirit stones, especially pure ones at that. A mountain of treasure that would even catch the attention of a senior sect member. Yet the truly grand prize was tidily stacked beside it, contained in small wooden boxes, decorated with fine, golden engravings. Dozens of valuable pills for cultivation, most of which Zixin hadn¡¯t had any idea existed before this.

    On top of that, Chonglin had been invited to pick out a weapon from the sect¡¯s armory and an advanced martial art to match after the tournament. It was truly an unbelievable reward.

    The two spent a long time marveling at the contents of the chest, though they didn¡¯t dare open any of the pill boxes yet, before they finally closed it back up and headed out for dinner.

    ¡­

    They were back at the restaurant where they had eaten on the eve of the tournament, feasting on the delicious meat that the place offered once again. This time, Zixin had even gone for a lighter and sweeter kind of wine that he could actually enjoy drinking. He still wasn¡¯t sure if he liked it better than just the juice that Chonglin was drinking, but it was a major improvement.

    They had been chatting and fantasizing about what they could do with all of their newfound wealth for several hours and the evening had already fallen, when the entrance door was flung open with a lot more force than usual, catching their attention.

    A group of about ten young adults came stamping in, visibly drunk and loudly discussing something with one another. Zixin wasn¡¯t really well versed when it came to the insignia of other sects, but even he could recognize the dark grey robes with the distinctive lightning-like patterns that they were wearing: these were disciples of the Roaring Thunder Sect.

    As soon as they were all inside, one of them shouted out to the waiter, confirming that observation:

    ¡°Waiter! A table! And hurry a little, we¡¯re from the Roaring Thunder Sect!¡±

    The man in question gave the patron he had been attending to an apologetic look before shuffling towards the new arrivals, repeatedly bowing deeply before them.

    ¡°Of course, good masters, your wishes are my command. Would that one over there be to your liking?¡±

    ¡°That one? No, that¡¯s too small for us. Give us that one.¡±

    The table he pointed to was already occupied by a large group of mortal merchants. The waiter tried and failed to hide a pained expression and Zixin winced as well. How incredibly rude could these guys be?

    ¡°I¡­ of course, good masters.¡±

    He turned around and went over to the table.

    ¡°I apologize a thousand times, but would you please make room for the honored cultivators?¡±

    The merchants didn¡¯t ever raise a fuss, already in the process of getting up and picking up their belongings to move to the other table. Once they were gone, the disciples didn¡¯t waste any time to occupy their table.

    ¡°Wine, get us wine! Lots of it.¡±

    Once they had gotten that wish fulfilled as well, the group returned to their conversation, speaking so loudly that it was impossible not to listen to them.

    ¡°Anyways, as I was saying, Heng Zhou loosing there was bullshit!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! I know how strong he is, I personally trained with him. I¡¯ve got two years of proper Body Reformation behind me, and he could still match my strength. There¡¯s a monster hiding in those muscles, I tell you.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the girl cheated?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t think of any other explanation.¡±

    Zixin winced again. To talk about Qiao like that; What was the business with these assholes?

    ¡°No way, man! They would have caught her from a mile away.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that she did it alone. Someone must¡¯ve helped her.¡±

    ¡°Once again, they would¡¯ve caught¡­¡±

    ¡°But what if they didn¡¯t want to? You know that the hosting sects are against us. I overheard a conversation between a few senior members. They were that the Lunar Peaks Sect may have joined up with them. They¡¯d get a free win and the other two would get to see us embarrassed. Remember, all the others from our sect lost today as well!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, you¡¯re right! To think they¡¯d stoop so low¡­¡±

    ¡°The Patriarch should put them all in their place. We¡¯re still the strongest sect after all!¡±

    ¡°I say it¡¯s right about time someone shows them their place.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Get me more wine!¡±

    They continued running their mouth while Zixin and Chonglin finished their meal. When they were done, they paid quickly left. Neither of them was in the mood for any more of these idiot¡¯s drunken ramblings. Not to mention that they might notice that they were from the Lunar Peaks Sect, and they really didn¡¯t want to find out what would happen then. No matter how much they had trained, they weren¡¯t in a position to fight with a bunch of older disciples who had already started strengthening their bodies through cultivation.

    Luckily, they got home without such an incident and as such, the encounter only left a minor bad taste in their mouths that they could easily forget considering the many victories of the day.

    They had no idea after all, that the sentiment they had just heard being expressed had been quickly spreading throughout the entire Roaring Thunder Sect¡­

    Or that it was being deliberately amplified by someone.

 Chapter 76: The Storm (1)

    Jinjing Liqiu monitored the crowd that had gathered in the arena below her. She watched for any of the dark grey robes that signified the membership to the Roaring Thunder Sect, but could barely make out any. It seemed like the majority of the sect had simply not shown up today.

    Initially, she had been elated when none of the candidates from her rival sect had made it through to the next round yesterday. Now, she was beginning to rethink that sentiment. As satisfying as it was seeing them fail, the injury to their pride was undoubtedly great. She had no interest in worsening relations with them even further, but that was exactly what currently seemed to be happening.

    More worryingly than the disciples and members, none of the Elders from the Sect had shown up today either. Only Patriarch Zhou was here, and his mood seemed to be rather abyssal as well. He hadn¡¯t greeted anyone upon arrival, simply moving to a seat far in the back and not getting up from there since then. Just about the minimal amount of face that the Roaring Thunder Sect could give them without just completely ignoring the tournament that they had come here to participate in.

    It was an unfortunate blemish on the otherwise perfectly successful diplomatic achievement that the tournament was turning out to be. Had she known this beforehand, Jinjing Liqiu would have arranged the fights differently to give them an easier time, but who could have ever predicted that the disciples of the mighty Roaring Thunder Sect would perform this badly?

    Well, it was too late now. She had to focus on the positives, which there were many of. All things considered, the tournament had gone just about as well as she could have wished for. Candidates from the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect had done amazingly well and were spread all throughout the final rounds. It was highly likely that they would win in several of the age groups.

    The Lunar Peaks Sect had also done quite well, which was good news in her book. The fourth of the great sects could go home satisfied with their performance, many prizes and a good impression of their two sects. Alienating them would have been a much bigger blunder than the Roaring Thunder Sect, who they were already clashing with.

    Perhaps she could extend an olive branch to Xing Zhou by arranging for a couple of show matches after the tournament where his sect¡¯s senior members could show off their strength and their prided lightning Qi.

    Now that she thought about it, that was a rather good idea. It would present their sects in a good light, showing the Roaring Thunder Sect that they were willing to give them a chance to redeem themselves. It would also function as a gesture towards the other sects, signaling that they were trying to work towards a harmonious coexistence of the sects in the alliance.

    The crowd would undoubtedly love it as well. To them, she could brand the entire maneuver as something ot the tone of ¡®giving us a glimpse into the possible future of these amazingly talented disciples¡¯.

    Yes, she would do that. She looked around, locating Tengfei Ye among the small crowd of elders in the loge. She needed to discuss this matter with him.

    ¡­

    Xing Zhou silently sat in his seat, a grim stare hiding the grin that was trying to creep onto his face. He didn¡¯t like having to hide his true emotions like this, he believed it to be unbefitting of someone of his strength, but he was happy to make an exception today. People would soon find out anyways.

    Their plan had worked out perfectly. He had to give credit to Elder Song Fan who had been the chief architect behind it all. Sure, it wasn¡¯t that complicated to begin with, but it still needed someone to coordinate the others.

    Spreading the sentiment of mistrust and resentment throughout the ranks of members and disciples so much that barely any of them had shown up today was an especially impressive achievement for a single night of work. He hadn¡¯t expected that part to work out this well and it spared them a lot of unnecessary sacrifice. He would be rewarded with a powerful position in the sect that would rise from their efforts.

    Of course there were others involved in that as well. The participants had all done a great job acting out their defeat to the crowd. Young Heng Zhou in particular had done put on such a convincing act, that even he would have been tempted to believe that the boy had tried winning in earnest, had he not known better.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    He had already noticed the boy before for his impressive physical strength, a trait that mirrored his own condition in his youth, but it seemed like he would have to pay some more attention to him once this was all over. Hard work had to be rewarded after all ¨C especially if it was hard work that benefited him.

    Xing Zhou sent another sliver of Qi into the amulet he had hanging around his neck. One of the great treasures of his family, this artifact was connected with a second one which would send out a pulse of Qi in return. Communication over long distances was difficult and most artifacts of this kind would shatter upon use or at least need to be properly repaired by an expert, but this one could be used repeatedly without damaging it. The signal it sent was also almost impossible to detect or intercept, which went a long way in not arousing any suspicion in situations like this one.

    After a while, the amulet pulsed with Qi twice, which Xing Zhou made sure to mask with his own Qi so nobody else here would notice. This was the signal they had agreed on to mark that everything was ready on the elders¡¯ side. It would soon be time for him to act then.

    He reclined in his chair and waited. Soon, the opportunity he was waiting for opened up in the form of the announcer shouting out the next match.

    ¡°And now, in a match that I¡¯m sure many of you have been waiting for, two amazing contestants will meet on the stage for the match to decide who will make it into the finals! From the Venerable Lunar Peaks Sect, you know her as well as I do, the jade-like mystery, the song of blades, Young Lady Qiao Bai! Facing off against her, from the most honored Serene Plains Sect, the peerless young warrior, the untouchable¡­¡±

    Xing Zhou stood up and unhurriedly strolled towards the front.

    ¡°That is the one who defeated my grandson, isn¡¯t she?¡±, he asked, speaking to no one in particular.

    He slowly replaced some of his feigned annoyance with mild interest, purely as an excuse to get up from his seat. He didn¡¯t actually care the slightest bit for the girl, she hadn¡¯t even actually beaten his grandson after all.

    Standing at the guardrail were a few other elders, as well as Patriarch Tengfei Ye, who seemed interested in the performance of his own sect¡¯s member. A welcome distraction.

    Other than that, the only one he took note of here was Elder Wei. The man wasn¡¯t involved in his plans in any capacity right now, but he was interesting nonetheless. What fascinated Xing Zhou about him was, that he seemed to carry the same flame of ambition, the same special something that he himself possessed as well.

    He didn¡¯t know how exactly he could tell, but he had been able to do so for as long as he remembered. It was little more than a feeling he had in his gut, but the few people he had met who¡¯d sparked it, had all turned out to be truly interesting cases later on. They seemed, in some way, to be destined to leave a mark on the world around them.

    He had taken to calling it the ¡®flame of ambition¡¯ because it seemed to describe the personalities of all of these people rather well. He¡¯d never seen anyone this strong exhibit it though¡­ except himself of course. How ironic that it was a fire cultivator carrying this ¡°flame¡±. He would make sure to pay close attention to his actions in the future.

    For now, his focus was required somewhere else though. The fight had been going on for a couple of minutes now was keeping the attention of everyone around him quite well. Xing Zhou sent qi into the amulet twice in quick succession, signaling his elders. They would start their action in exactly one minute.

    He turned away from it and began strolling towards the elevated seat of Jinjing Liqiu. As he walked, he began slowly activating his soul, while spending most of his attention on making sure as little of the agitated Qi leaked out as possible. He was wearing several powerful artifacts that aided him in these efforts, so the amount that actually got out and could be detected was so low that it wouldn¡¯t catch anybody¡¯s attention.

    Indeed, except for a couple of respectful bows from those he passed, nobody paid much attention to him as he came closer and closer to his target. He passed Jinjing Liqiu without so much as acknowledging her ¨C a rather disrespectful behavior, but very much in character for him.

    When he was just a couple of steps behind her, he stopped. Perfectly timed, his soul had finished powering up and he started pulling immense amounts of Qi from it and gathering them in his right hand, without turning around.

    Just as he was finished and about to strike, he felt a piercing gaze in his side. When he turned his head, his eyes met with those of Elder Yue Zhong of the Lunar Peaks Sect. Her expression made it clear, that she had noticed what he was up to. After a single moment of holding their eye contact, she turned around and started making her way towards Patriarch Long Zhao with hurried steps.

    Xing Zhou had no idea if she had any intention of stopping him, but if she did, that was the wrong move. Because it took him just a single second to finish preparing his attack.

    Nobody had time to be surprised as he unleashed the suppression of his soul and whirled around towards the Matriarch of one of the four great Sect of the Northern Sect alliance.

    Because in the very next moment, he struck.

 Chapter 77: The Storm (2)

    It all happened so suddenly and surprisingly, that Qingge would later need several hours of careful reflection to piece together that the event that started the sudden descend into madness was a bright flash of blue light, accompanied by an ear-shattering explosion. A shockwave traveled outwards from the loge of the Elders, strong enough to knock swaths of people of their feet and shake the arena down to its foundations.

    Then, only fractions of a second later, the ambient Qi all around them which would normally drift around in slow and aimless currents was swept up by a violent pull, turning into a wild storm in a matter of seconds as, unbeknownst to Qingge, over four dozen cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm simultaneously pushed their souls to full power.

    Before that process had even finished, a second, smaller explosion could be heard and bright bolt of lightning shot out of the loge¡¯s roof, spraying pieces of debris in all directions, before arching sidewards and shooting towards the horizon at a mindboggling speed. Moments later, several blurry figures shot out from that very same hole and raced after it.

    It was only after these figures had disappeared from sight that movement came into the crowd. Qingge was amongst the first to react, pulling Daiyu ¨C who had been knocked over by the initial blast ¨C to her feet while drawing her sword and making herself ready to fight. Many others did the same. Critically however, it was not immediately apparent to anyone, who was actually the enemy and so everyone just stood there, weapons drawn, waiting for something to happen.

    Tension was high and in hindsight, Qingge would realize that it would only have taken a single person breaking and mistakenly attacking someone else, for complete carnage breaking out.

    Before something like that could happen though, a familiar voice boomed put from the elder¡¯s loge, its tone loud and commanding.

    ¡°Nobody moves!¡±

    Surrounded by a blindingly bright aura of white flames, Master Wei came flying out of the loge and stopped above the center of the arena. His appearance, wreathed in flames, made him appear as an unchallengeable, higher authority and his tone brooked no disobedience.

    ¡°You will all put away your weapons and stay where you are until you¡¯re told otherwise. Now!¡±

    ¡­

    Cultivators from the Dao Contemplation Realm didn¡¯t usually keep their souls in their fully active state at all times. It interfered with normal activity because it constantly pressured everyone around them, required concentration and was also simply exhausting over long periods.

    Even while their souls remained in the dormant state, they still retained some access to their powers and when it came down to it, it took only a couple of seconds to fully awaken it. Because of that, it was usually fine not to have them active outside of exceptionally dangerous situations. Usually.

    When Xing Zhou had attacked Jinjing Liqiu, nobody in the room except him had had a fully active soul. Nobody could react, especially not her.

    It was an act of courtesy amongst cultivators to keep their souls inactive when they met up, a sign of mutual trust. Trust that, as it turned out, had been unwarranted. What Xing Zhou had done broke with all convention in a way which even Liu Wei, a breaker of convention himself, had never dreamt of. A guest attacking his host without warning, from behind no less. It was, by all standards, utterly despicable.

    Nobody had expected it, but cultivators were trained not to let their surprise paralyze them in situations like these. Within no more than three or four seconds, the entire Lunar Peaks Sect stood in fighting formation, souls powered up and weapons in hands, ready to defend themselves.

    But the need for that didn¡¯t arise. They hadn¡¯t been the target to begin with, and Xing Zhou wasn¡¯t planning to stay around and fight several dozen cultivators either way. As soon as he had confirmed that his attack had connected, he had wreathed his entire body in buzzing electricity before jumping straight through the roof and flying off at immense speed. Patriarch Tengfei Ye, his face filled with a cold wrath that Liu Wei hadn¡¯t thought the calm and measured man of displaying, had given chase.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    As soon as it was clear that there was no immediate danger here anymore, the first thing that Liu Wei did was rush out of the loge and into the arena. He had to make sure that the disciples were safe. Luckily, it seemed that the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s reckless surprise attack hadn¡¯t extended to them, as its few present members and disciples seemed to be just as shocked and unsure of what to do as everyone else.

    Sensing high amounts of tension regardless, Liu Wei quickly addressed the crowd, telling everyone to stay put. He didn¡¯t want any chaos erupting here, the mess was already big enough as it was.

    ¡°I know that you are all anxious about what has happened, but please wait for a while. For now, none of you are in immediate danger.¡±

    With that, he returned to the loge.

    The scene inside was one of tragedy and confusion. Most unaffiliated cultivators had retreated to the corners of the room where they were quietly whispering with each other. Most members of the Lunar Peaks Sect still stood where they had assembled in formation, unsure of where to go.

    In the middle of the room, Jinjing Liqiu laid motionless among the debris that was scattered over the floor. Meixiu Xia was kneeling next to her, her face strained with concentration as her hands, enveloped in water and glowing with Qi, slid over her back. Ma Rong was next to her, handing her ointments and occasionally feeding something to the unresponsive Matriarch.

    Around them, three elders of the Parting Clouds Sect and Patriarch Long Zhao stood, shielding the body from view and watching on with grim faces. When Liu Wei stepped to them, they made way for him as well.

    Upon closing in, Liu Wei was hit by the terribly familiar stench of burnt flesh. Where she had been hit, Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s robes had been burned away, revealing her back which was entirely charred black. It was impossible to tell, where the burnt edges of her robes began and the wound ended, as they had been fused together by the heat. Her hair and eyebrows had entirely turned to ashes and her unburned skin was red and swollen. Despite all that, she was still breathing, if only in short, irregular bursts.

    After a few silent moments, Meixiu Xia addressed him without turning her attention away from her patient.

    ¡°Elder Wei, can you make sure her temperature remains steady?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Liu Wei didn¡¯t have much medical expertise, he had always been a pure warrior and built his Dao upon the destructive potential of fire, but he could do that much. He kneeled down, taking one of Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s hands in his and spread his awareness throughout her body. Paradoxically, she was quite cold, so he pushed some gentle warmth into her, taking his time to make sure it spread evenly.

    ¡°Good. Keep her like this. And if possible, try to help her circulate Qi through her body, I don¡¯t have the capacity to do that right now.¡±

    He obliged, strengthening his awareness and taking control of Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s Qi. Despite her state and that she didn¡¯t fight him on it at all, it still required tremendous effort to do so, as her natural grip on her Qi was immense. Once Liu Wei had established his control, he began slowly circulating it through her body under Meixiu Xia¡¯s instructions.

    He mostly followed her blood vessels, aiding the blood in continuing its flow, especially throughout the burnt area. Occasionally, he pushed small amounts of warmth into her to keep her temperature normal. This repetitive, almost meditative motion continued for a long time as the best healer on the peninsula, aided by its most skilled alchemist, worked her magic. Slowly but surely, the unconscious matriarch¡¯s breathing stabilized, and she stopped losing temperature.

    ¡°This is all I can do for her.¡±

    Meixiu Xia removed her hands and sat back, breathing deeply in exhaustion.

    ¡°She will likely remain unconscious for a good time as her body heals, but she¡¯ll make it. Bring her somewhere safe and have your healers keep an eye on her. Everything should be fine then.¡±

    ¡°Lady Xia, we are forever in your debt. Your generous kindness will not be forgotten.¡±

    Meixiu Xia responded only with a nod and a gentle, exhausted smile. Somehow, Liu Wei had the feeling that this had been the exact reason for her efforts despite their sect¡¯s nominal neutrality.

    Before any more words could be spoken, the rooms attention was caught by another elder of the Parting Clouds Sect approaching quickly through the air and towards the loge. She had been part of the group that had chased after Xing Zhou.

    Upon her landing, it was immediately clear that things hadn¡¯t turned out smoothly. She wasn¡¯t hurt, but her robes were messy, singed in some places and ripped in others. She had clearly fought someone, and her expression was one of grave seriousness.

    One of her fellow elders quickly approached her.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The Matriarch. Is she¡­?¡±

    ¡°She is all right. She hasn¡¯t regained consciousness, but Elder Xia has assured us that she will get through it.¡±

    ¡°By our ancestors, that is good.¡±

    A momentary relief flashed over her face before it hardened again.

    ¡°Judging by your expression, I don¡¯t suppose that you were able to put down Xing Zhao?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t follow him for long, he was simply faster than us.¡±

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t fight? But¡­¡±

    ¡°We did, but not him. These bastards attacked the sect grounds!¡±

 Chapter 78: The Storm (3)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. With those gloves on your hands, you practically can¡¯t let go. This thing is very stable, and I¡¯ll make sure that the winds remain calm. As long as you don¡¯t start wildly flailing around, you¡¯re not going to fall. Even if you do, I¡¯ll be there to catch you before you even realize.¡±

    ¡°O-okay¡­ Thank you, elder.¡±

    Even though she tried to look resolute as she nodded along, the young girl didn¡¯t seem entirely convinced. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°It¡¯ll get better, trust me! It¡¯s completely normal that you¡¯re nervous right now.¡±

    Indeed, it was. Elder Ding Xiao herself had been nervous as well, way back in the day when she had first done it. After all, the sect was asking its young untrained disciples, barely in their teens, to jump off of a cliff, thousands of meters high, with nothing but a flimsy wooden staff and a bit of cloth to hold on to. The children were well within their right to be terrified.

    All of that would always fade away quickly however, once they discovered the absolute joy of flying, of riding the wind, dancing with the storm. Even to this day, when she had long gotten access to faster, more convenient and more reliable methods of flying, Ding Xiao still occasionally indulged in the old tradition, if usually under the guise of demonstrating the art to the disciples. Despite her reputation as a strict and serious elder, her soft spot for the younglings was rather well known throughout the sect.

    Her lips curled into a soft smile as she absentmindedly watched the young girl timidly hop of the cliff and screaming, first in fear, then in surprise as she was carried upwards by the winds instead of falling. The other children around her watched on in a mix of trepidation and envy, the latter emotion mostly coming from those who had already gotten their first flight behind them and were already craving for more.

    It would be a long time until they would be allowed to get into the air again. They would have to undertake proper training so that they would not require direct supervision from an elder next time. The first flight was simply an old sect tradition, its role more symbolic than actually helpful to the disciples.

    Ding Xiao¡¯s gaze wandered into the distance, even while she continued to monitor the girl¡¯s flight from the corner of her eye, towards the large arena that clearly stood out from the surrounding fields. She hoped that everything was going well with the tournament.

    Her daughter, her pride and joy, was the one to represent her family on this grand occasion. She had volunteered to stay behind at the sect to give the girl, who had achieved the Dao Contemplation Realm herself, some practice in political matters. She¡¯d one day lead their family after all, and Ding Xiao wanted to make sure she¡¯d be up to the task.

    Cultivators her age rarely had living children. Most lost both their fertility and the interest in it somewhere during the Dao Attunement Realm, simply as a consequence of their aging bodies, and by the time they became this old, they would have outlived any children they¡¯d had before that, if they didn¡¯t reach the Dao Contemplation Realm as well. Ding Xiao was well aware of how lucky she was to see that happen.

    She didn¡¯t mind staying behind with the few disciples too young to watch the tournament either, she actually enjoyed being able to guide them without any of the social constrictions she¡¯d normally have to deal with.

    Suddenly, she saw a bright flash of blue light coming from somewhere near the arena. For a moment, she was confused: there were some clouds, yes, but nowhere near enough to indicate a thunderstorm¡­ Then one of the rings on her hand began giving of a strong yellow glow ¨C an alarm!

    She went from confusion to alertness almost immediately. The ring was connected to the sect¡¯s monitory formations, and the yellow light meant that someone from the Dao Contemplation Realm with an unrecorded soul signature had just crossed them.

    Using her soul sense, she quickly checked where the thread of Qi that had activated her ring was coming from, following it with her eyes. It didn¡¯t take long for her to spot the small group of figures who were rapidly approaching the mountain while flying close to the ground. They ¨C she counted seven of them ¨C were wearing dark clothing that she recognized even from this distance: The robes of the Roaring Thunder Sect.

    This was an attack. By the heavens, they were being attacked! And she was the only elder here!

    She had to retreat into the sect palace. With its defensive formations active and a cultivator as strong as her there to defend it, it was practically unassailable. She could easily hold them off until reinforcements¡­

    Then it hit her. The children!

    They were far up the mountain, but still a good way below the peak. She`d make it there the blink of an eye, but the children would never make it in time!

    Would they be safe? If the Roaring Thunder Sect was attacking them, that was the first salvo in an active war. In that case, their goal here would be to rob, damage and destroy as much as they could, creating maximum chaos before quickly retreating. Would they stop before hurting their disciples? Would all of them do so? With cultivators, if even a single one didn¡¯t see the need to, that was enough. The children were utterly defenseless against them.

    Ding Xiao¡¯s old mind raced like it was still full of youth. She needed to make a decision, and she needed to make it quickly. There was no time for long consideration and reflection.

    Then she had made it. She jumped into the air, racing towards the girl who was still flying around and just starting to get a grip on how to steer herself by shifting her weight. She snatched her out of the air, ignoring the surprised yelp as she quickly unfastened her gloves and let them, along with the staff, fly away uncontrolled.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    The moment she landed back on the ground, she shouted out with a loud and strict voice.

    ¡°Attention, everyone! There is an emergency. Stay calm and follow me. Hurry!¡±

    Naturally, the disciples didn¡¯t exactly stay calm, but at least they did follow her, which was the important part. Ding Xiao guided them across several bridges and deeper into the sect, while continuing to urge them on.

    The place she was heading for was one of the larger gathering and sparring halls for the senior sect members, which was located relatively close by. It was partly built into the rock, so it could only be approached from one side, but it also stood entirely on solid ground, which couldn¡¯t be said about every building here. There was a small open area in front of it, from which steep cliffs fell off in all directions, only to rise again into other, small peaks. Overall, it was a very well defensible position.

    Once they had arrived at the building, she ushered all of them inside, counting them as they went past her. Luckily, everyone was present.

    ¡°Stay here and wait. Don¡¯t come out on your own, don¡¯t open the door. I¡¯ll repeat: Do not open the door. No matter what you hear from outside, ignore it and wait. For the sake of yourself and everyone around you. I hope I¡¯ve made myself clear.¡±

    She shut the door behind her and stepped onto the open space outside, her soul already roaring with power. With a flash from her spatial ring, a light set of leather armor appeared over her robes and a bow in her left hand. She didn¡¯t have time to put on proper enchanted armor, so this would have to do.

    She put an arrow onto the string, stepped to the edge of the plateau, and waited for the assailants to come into view, while doing her best to suppress her Qi so that they wouldn¡¯t know exactly where she was. They could undoubtedly still sense her presence, but she was hoping to get in a surprise attack on them.

    Her mind was totally calm, focused on the task at hand. For a few moments, she just stood there, breathing in the cold air, tumultuous from the wind and thin from the height. She had always loved this air¡­ Then they arrived.

    A group of three, it seemed like they had split up. In the short moment that she took to draw back the string of her bow, Ding Xiao¡¯s soul sense analyzed the strength of her opponents. One of them was strong, sixth or seventh stage. The other two were markedly weaker, one of them at the third and the other at the second stage. The latter was her target then. She loosened her arrow.

    The hit was spot on. The man barely noticed the arrow before being impaled through the stomach. Had he not been able to shift in the fraction of a second he had had, he would¡¯ve been hit in the heart. The force of the arrow, imbued with Ding Xiao¡¯s powerful Qi from the fifth stage of Dao Contemplation, was enough to throw him backwards and into the cliff behind him.

    Pushing her skills as an archer to their limits, the old cultivator loosened a true volley of follow-up shots on her opponents. Now that they were alerted to her location however, every single one of them was struck down by arching bolts of lightning that emanated from their leader¡¯s outstretched hand. His expression was a mix of determination and aggression as he rushed through the air, towards her.

    The other unhurt cultivator, a white-haired woman who nevertheless had a youthful appearance, stayed in his shadow as they advanced. Realizing that her arrows would no longer have any effect, Ding Xiao returned them to her ring alongside her bow, pulling out her favorite sword instead. She stepped back from the edge and calmed her mind and Qi once again. She would meet them up here.

    Seconds later, the two landed on the plateau, their weapons already raised. The man was carrying a four- to five-meter-long chain, ending in a nasty looking curved blade. The woman had a simple curved sword.

    They didn¡¯t hesitate before they attacked.

    Ding Xiao was immediately forced into the defense. Between dodging the chain that the man was wildly whirling around, charged with electricity, blocking the bolts of lightning he threw at her and fending of the pressure that the woman put on her in the close range, she saw herself quickly getting pushed back. Normally, this would be the time for her to retreat, but she couldn¡¯t. The children were still here, in the building just behind her.

    If she wanted to have any chance of getting out of this, she needed to get rid of the woman first, so she focused on trying to counter her attacks as best as she could.

    After several minutes of exhausting battle, she had almost given up hope when the woman made a mistake. Her swing was too wide, it left her too exposed. Ding Xiao pressed the advantage, rushing in to deliver a proper blow. She was faster than her, fast enough. Her sword lined up perfectly with the woman¡¯s heart as she stabbed it forward and¡­

    She was hit square in the chest by a massive stream of lightning. Her body was flung backwards as the electricity ravaged through her before dissipating into the earth. She smelled the burnt stench as her clothes and hair were singed, but strangely, she barely felt any pain.

    The next minutes were a haze. Her mind was calm and empty, as Elder Ding Xiao, matriarch of the Xiao Family, made her last stand, guided almost entirely by the instincts that had been engrained into her body in over four hundred years of fighting and training. The storm roared around the three fighting cultivators, driven by her Qi, but it could not reach her opponents. Soon, she was hit by another bolt of lightning, then another. Finally, in a lapse of her defense, the woman managed to chop her right arm straight off of her body. It was over¡­ Had long been over¡­ She had no more strength to fight on. The winds guided her sword to her other hand, and she fought on, though now lacking balance.

    She had long forgotten the concept of passing time when she noticed, at the edge of her soul sense, the rapid approach of several more cultivators. Her first thought went to the other four cultivators who were attacking her sect, but none of these felt like lightning Qi. No. She knew them. They were from her sect. Her fellow elders, her sisters, they were here! And there was another cultivator at their side, one with an aura that matched the Matriarch¡¯s in power.

    She watched as her opponents realized what was happening. She watched as the man jumped into the air with haste and flew off with all the speed he could manage. She watched as the woman tried to follow him but was caught at the foot by a root that burst out from the solid stone beneath her.

    Elder Ding Xiao, matriarch of the Xiao family, collapsed to her knees, and then completely. Suddenly her mind felt clear again, clearer than it had ever felt. The last thing she saw before her eyes fell shut was the woman who she had been fighting just a second ago being slowly wrapped in thorny roots, her face red from the strain before it too was enveloped by them. But none of that touched her mind in the slightest.

    No, her mind was filled with other thoughts, more important thoughts.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of her daughter, the joy of her life, who had long grown into a respectable cultivator of her own.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of the disciples she had defended and the many she had brought up before them.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of her youth. Of the friends she had once had. The man she had once loved.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of the cold wind, that yet embraced her like an old friend.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of the sky, hovering high above the problems of the world.

    ¡­

    Thoughts of the sun above it, shining down on an endless ocean of clouds beneath her feet, shimmering through her hair and warming her face.

    ¡­

    So many thoughts¡­ So many beautiful thoughts¡­

 Chapter 79: Declaration

    When the remainder of the group that had defended the sect arrived, everyone had already been briefed about the outcome of the attack. One of the enemy elders had been killed by Tengfei Ye, two more had been severely wounded before managing to escape alongside the others.

    Two of the defenders had been wounded as well, one during their chase of Xing Zhou, another in the battle at the sect. Much worse was the fact that Elder Ding Xiao had been killed as well. She had been one of the sect¡¯s most prominent elders and her demise would undoubtedly cut deep, especially at a time when their matriarch had been severely wounded as well.

    Lie Wei hadn¡¯t known the woman too well. She had been around his age, but he had never had too much contact with the elders outside of his sect¡¯s sphere of influence. Someone of her age and power was bound to occupy important positions in a sect however, so he could imagine the impact of her death.

    Besides killing an elder, the attackers had stolen an ample amount of treasure and done a great deal of harm to the sect¡¯s architecture. Liu Wei could imagine that it was rather easy do the latter, considering that most of the sect was made up of structures suspended high in the air, supported by nothing but ropes and wooden stakes. They hadn¡¯t made it into the sect palace though, so the sect¡¯s most valuable possessions were still safe.

    All of this had naturally sparked heated discussions, but now that the new arrivals entered the building, everything was dead silent. At their head was Tengfei Ye, his expression still darkened with wrath. When he saw Jinjing Liqiu¡¯s breathing, he sighed with relief.

    But few eyes were on him right now, because they were drawn to the woman walking next to him. Elder Liling Xiao¡¯s face was filled with a deep sorrow, yet it didn¡¯t show any signs of uncertainty. In her arms she carried the limp body of her mother, Elder Ding Xiao. When she started speaking, her voice was quiet and resolute, untouched by her visible grief.

    ¡°Honorable Elder Ding Xiao has given her life to defend the young, innocent disciples who have stayed behind in the sect from the attackers. One of her killers has been killed herself, the other has escaped like a coward. She lived long enough to see this happen.¡±

    For a long while, nobody spoke up. Normally, their Matriarch was the one who would be expected to respond here, but that was impossible for obvious reasons. Finally, Elder Boqin Kang, the oldest of the sect¡¯s elders stepped forward. The old woman¡¯s raspy voice rung through the silence in a solemn and reverential tone.

    ¡°Elder Xiao was valiant in her conviction and loyally served the sect to the last breath. She will be remembered as a true hero for a thousand generations to come, and her death shall not remain unavenged.¡±

    Patriarch Ye nodded slowly. Some of his usual thoughtfulness had returned to his expression, but there was still an ample amount of wrath on display. His tone was cold and distanced, void of emotions, but resolute nonetheless.

    ¡°There is no forgiveness that could ever be possible for the shameless treachery of the Roaring Thunder Sect. Their reckless transgressions demand punishment and I, Tengfei Ye of the Serene Plains Sect, hereby swear that my sect will walk on this path alongside the Parting Clouds Sect. There is no way forward but war!¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Several elders from both sects nodded along.

    ¡°I agree with Patriarch Ye. Our sect shall walk the path of war!¡±

    ¡°The Falling Petals Sect shall join your cause!¡±

    ¡°The Silver Blood Sect shall join your cause!¡±

    ¡°The Charging Boar Sect shall join your cause!¡± ¡­

    As the many allies of the two sects declared their participation one by one, those unaffiliated with them could only stand there with several kinds of expressions. The few that were truly independent and wanted to remain that way mostly looked at the ground in embarrassed silence. Those under the Lunar Peaks Sect looked towards Patriarch Zhao who was himself silently watching the procedure.

    But without a doubt, those beneath the Roaring Thunder Sect were the most uncomfortable. Their expressions ranged from uncertainty, over fear, to outright panic and several jumped onto the train of supporters, promptly switching sides.

    When the stream of supporters had finally dried up, the old Boqin Kang spoke up again.

    ¡°Patriarch Ye, as the highest-ranking cultivator between us and a trusted friend of our Matriarch, I think it would be appropriate for you to make the announcement to the crowd.¡±

    ¡°Is that what everyone here thinks?¡±

    Nods and words of agreement came from all around him.

    ¡°Then I shall do so.¡±

    ¡­

    With the long time that had passed since the incident, the crowd had settled down a little and hushed conversations about what might¡¯ve happened had started to pop up everywhere. Qiao, still standing on the central stage, couldn¡¯t partake in any of them and was growing increasingly uncomfortable with her position. Being at the center of the attention had felt great when her fight was actually the most interesting thing happening, but now she just felt exposed and wanted nothing more than to disappear into the anonymity of the crowd and share her thoughts with Zixin and Chonglin.

    She could reasonably guess that the flash everyone had seen was an attack by someone from the Roaring Thunder Sect, but that led to more questions than it answered. What had led to it? Who had it been directed at? What was going to happen now?

    At the very least, Elder Wei had seemed okay. Qiao hoped that the same was true for the other elders of her sect, especially her grandfather. She might¡¯ve been disillusioned from his methods, but she didn¡¯t want to imagine the challenges her family would face should he have been hurt.

    After what felt like an eternity and a half, finally someone showed up from the loge once again. It was Patriarch Tengfei Ye, and his presence immediately shut the crowd down. Everyone looked up to him with bated breath as he began speaking.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the chaos and confusion you have had to deal with, but the situation that we were met with is without precedent in the current era. I will be blunt with you all: The Roaring Thunder Sect has attacked the Parting Clouds Sect without warning.¡±

    A murmur rang through the crowd. Qiao swallowed. This confirmed her theory.

    ¡°The thing all of you saw and felt was the side effect of Xing Zhou launching a sneak attack against Matriarch Jinjing Liqiu. She is severely hurt and still unconscious at this time. Her life was preserved only due to the concentrated effort of several elders.¡±

    A sneak attack? That was dishonorable to the extreme, considering the sects hadn¡¯t been at war.

    ¡°While Xing Zhou escaped, the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s elders attacked the sect, plundering and destroying whatever they could before we arrived to stop them. Esteemed Elder Ding Xiao sacrificed her life to protect the disciples who had remained at the sect.¡±

    Another murmur, louder this time. The death of an elder was a great loss to any sect. Qiao could barely imagine how it would look like if, for example, her grandfather would suddenly be killed. It would leave the sect in utter chaos!

    ¡°The elders of the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect have come to the unanimous agreement that this treachery can only be interpreted in one way: as an act of war!¡±

    He paused for a moment, suspension hanging in the air.

    ¡°Our sects, alongside many others, have pledged not to let this injustice stand. And so, we shall answer their provocation in kind: We hereby declare war on the Roaring Thunder Sect!¡±

 Chapter 80: On the March

    Xing Zhao¡¯s deep laughter was so loud that not even the deafening noise of a thousand galloping horses could fully drown it out, but he didn¡¯t care. He wasn¡¯t one to restrain himself before his subordinates, especially not on such a grand occasion.

    He had ached to deliver that strike for decades now. That damned hag with her stubborn sect and her unbearable arrogance. She and her insulting alliance against his rightful hegemony had grinded on his nerves for longer than anyone could rightfully be expected to bear. And he wasn¡¯t anyone, he was the mightiest cultivator on the peninsula, a fact that this pretentious wench and her lackeys had always seemed all too eager to forget. The reminder was overdue.

    Well, now she was dead. At least that was highly likely, considering just how well his attack had landed. He had, regrettably, not been able to stay around to confirm it. He would have very much enjoyed watching the light fade from her eyes, but that would have been a foolish move to attempt.

    Apart from that, everything had gone to his satisfaction. He had even been able to give one of the idiots who had dared to follow after him a pretty good hit as well. Not fatal, but certainly something that would take him out of the upcoming war for quite some time.

    Lightning was deceptive in its destruction. On first glance, the wounds it caused seemed to be simple burns. Anyone with experience with it knew, however, that this was merely the most superficial layer of damages it could cause. Regardless of whether they were immediately treated, the lightning would commonly cause much less visible injuries that would take a lot longer to properly heal.

    Pretty much all of the members and most of the disciples had successfully escaped, ¨C the few that had been at the arena were a bearable sacrifice ¨C and Xing Zhao had joined up with them after he had shaken off his pursuers.

    The only thing that remained was waiting for the elders to catch up with them and seeing how their little maneuver had played out. It had already been a while since Xing Zhao had taken his place at the head of his horde, so they ought to be close by now.

    ¡­

    Night had long fallen, and the horde had encamped to rest from the day of travel when Xing Zhao¡¯s elders finally appeared at the edge of the massive area covered by his soul sense. He didn¡¯t move an inch from his meditative pose, opting to wait for the arrivals to approach his tent by themselves.

    It took several minutes for them to reach him and only when the entire group had appropriately kneeled down in the dust before his seat, did he slowly open his eyes to meet them with his strict gaze.

    What kneeled before him didn¡¯t so much resemble the council of elders belonging to the most prestigious sect in the lands as it did a ragged pile of misery. With the sole exception of Elder Fan, who was also the only one who hadn¡¯t kneeled down, instead standing behind the others with his hands clasped behind his back, all of them had sustained at least minor injuries and torn clothing.

    Yongnian Zhou, his own nephew, looked the worst of them all. He had sustained a brutal wound to his stomach and what remained of his robes was drenched in dried blood. Even more damningly, Elder Duan was missing. Xing Zhou felt the tiny remnants of his good mood that had them making him wait for so long wash away.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Elder Fan answered, his tone calm, almost casual.

    ¡°Well, as you might be able to infer, we were attacked. Tengfei Ye descended upon us, accompanied by over a dozen elders. They were there much sooner than expected. Lijuan didn¡¯t make it, she was caught by Ye himself while trying to flee. I would¡¯ve tried to free her, but I still had to pluck your nephew off the side of a mountain.¡±

    ¡°So we have truly lost Elder Duan¡­ Tengfei Ye and his group pursued me when I retreated but gave up rather quickly. They must¡¯ve headed straight for the sect after that. Probably had a hunch that something was off. Oh, and be mindful with your snarky remarks, Elder Fan. You are not exactly returning victorious.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°There is no war without sacrifices. Lijuan¡¯s death is unfortunate but tolerable; there is no changing it now. We have done a great deal of harm to their sect. We took what we could and destroyed what we couldn¡¯t. The resulting chaos will slow them down immensely, a tactical advantage weighing much heavier for our plans than the life of a single low-ranking elder.¡±

    If Song Fan was at all impressed or intimidated by Xing Zhou¡¯s irritation, he at least didn¡¯t show it. Ignoring the disapproving glances from several of the other elders who were still kneeling on the ground ¨C undoubtedly aware that Song Fan would probably stay just as cold had they been the ones killed today ¨C, the Sect¡¯s Chief Strategist continued unfazed.

    ¡°We have been outnumbered from the start and many of the small sects involved in this conflict are led by equally strong cultivators. That makes each of them, individually, replaceable. Much more replaceable at least, then, say, Elder Ding Xiao of the Parting Clouds Sect. Whom I personally killed today.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ you killed the old archer?¡±

    Ding Xiao was well known to be an extremely tough enemy, always finding some way to escape from even the most impossible situations.

    ¡°Well, she was the one to pin your nephew to the cliff. I couldn¡¯t let that stand now, could I? I took her arm, grilled her alive and watched her collapse with my own eyes. She is as dead as a rotten fish¡­ and probably less pleasant to the nose by now.¡±

    Xing Zhou immediately lightened up. Song Fan was right, that was worth more than the death of Elder Duan. Ding Xiao had not only been dangerously skilled in all matters of war, she had been a hero and a symbol to her sect. Her death would devastate their morale and throw their command chain into chaos, especially in the absence of their matriarch.

    He hated that his strategist was constantly playing games like this with his mood, holding back critical information just long enough that he would get worked up over nothing. Sadly, good subordinates were in short supply and with Elder Fan¡¯s recent breakthrough to the seventh stage, he was now undeniably not only the most capable, but also the strongest elder that his sect had.

    ¡°Very well, Elder Fan. I will concede that that is a great achievement. It doesn¡¯t wipe away the fact that your plan is responsible for the death of an elder of our sect and I expect you to exercise more care from now on, but it does bode well for our position in the coming war.¡±

    Then, addressing the other elders, he spoke with a measured tone.

    ¡°You can rise. Rest for tonight and take care of your wounds. Tomorrow morning, those of you who are not severely hurt will return here. We will assign you your tasks and forces, then split up like we discussed. Our time before the enemy properly organizes themselves is limited and we ought to make good use of it. Dismissed!¡±

    As the elders left his tent, Xing Zhao closed his eyes once again but refrained from returning to his meditation. Instead, he thought over their plan for the war once again.

    For all his personal strength and the success of their surprise attack, the simple fact remained that the Roaring Thunder Sect was severely outnumbered. The problem lay less with the two major sects they were facing and more with the myriads of minor sects that were their allies.

    Sure, the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect possessed some of the most powerful cultivators on the peninsula, but with Jinjing Liqiu eliminated, they had already lost their most fearsome fighter. Tengfei Ye matched her cultivation level but had never been as much of a warrior as her. Xing Zhou was strong enough to take him and several of his strongest allies on by himself and while few, he did have some very powerful elders at his disposal as well. There was a reason the two sects had had to bound together to stand up to his sect in the first place.

    The picture became much more problematic once the smaller sects were counted. The Roaring Thunder Sect had always had fewer subordinate sects than any of the other three. They demanded strict obedience and rich tributes from those under them, so they weren¡¯t exactly the most attractive ally and those below were held in place by fear, not loyalty.

    This strategy paid of well when it came to amassing resources for their cultivation and holding a tight grip on their territory, but it did mean that now, with an upcoming war, they could count on only about fifteen, at most twenty cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm, including their own sect, while they would have to face at least fifty. Individually, most of them were weak, but in their entirety, they were overwhelmingly strong. The Situation was even more dire when considering the numbers of lower ranking cultivators.

    For that reason, the Roaring Thunder Sect was naturally not planning on meeting them in an all-out battle. Their warhorses gave them a great mobility advantage and by the heavens, they were going to use that. It just so happened that an absolute majority of their enemies were currently concentrated in a single place¡­

    Tomorrow, they would split their force and start paying some visits to the many undefended minor sects that had tragically chosen to oppose them. Time would surely tell, how quickly they would change their stance¡­

 Chapter 81: Diplomatic Wrangling

    The next two days were¡­ chaotic, to say the least.

    It actually all began rather smoothly. With the shock of the attack still weighing heavily on everyone¡¯s minds, the initial rally behind Patriarch Ye¡¯s actions was strong. Right after the declaration of war, he ordered the immediate arrest of any members of the Roaring Thunder Sect that had remained behind. They offered little resistance beyond verbal protests, which were naturally ignored.

    For obvious reasons, the tournament wouldn¡¯t be continued anymore. Instead, a ceremony for the four remaining candidates was hastily thrown together where they were honored as equal victors, and the final prizes were split among them. The crowd was then disbanded.

    It was with these formalities finished, that the cracks began showing. The first thing that the new alliance tackled was setting up a command structure among themselves. Liu Wei agreed that this was the right cause of action, it was strictly necessary if they wanted to actually wage a war. That didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t glad that he didn¡¯t have to be part of these negotiations though.

    It was easy to forget, seeing all of these people act so decisively and unified in declaring their support for the Parting Clouds Sect, that all of them were powerful cultivators playing leading roles in their own sects, factions and dynasties. Most of them were shrewd politicians, hardened by hundreds of years in the cutthroat world of schemes and intrigues that surrounded cultivators, many were motivated more by power than even their own, twisted moral constructs and all of them had their own interests to look out for.

    They all agreed to fight the Roaring Thunder Sect for one or more of many reasons ¨C Xing Zhou¡¯s ambitions were a threat, his behavior was insulting, war brought with it opportunity and everyone else was doing it ¨C but the ¡°how¡± of the matter wasn¡¯t nearly as straightforward as one might think.

    An active war involving an alliance on this scale hadn¡¯t been seen on the peninsula since the days when the Northern Sect Alliance was still active in more but name. Those were times of legend and lore, far removed from even the oldest of the cultivators here ¨C nobody had any experience handling a force of this size.

    The most sensible approach from a tactical standpoint was setting up one central authority that controlled the entire force and having the Dao Contemplation Cultivators act as generals to lead these forces, executing the will of the commander. Politically, it quickly became apparent that this option was completely out of question.

    None of the sect leaders and elders present were willing to give up command of their own sects¡¯ members to anyone but themselves. They would bow to the will of the alliance, yes, but they would insist on remaining as intermediaries between it and their own subordinates. That effectively meant that the alliance wouldn¡¯t be acting as a single unified army, but as roughly two dozen small ones, all differing in strength and size and each beholden to their own sect¡¯s hierarchic arrangements.

    This would make cooperation between them more difficult as there were no unified ranks to clarify authority ¨C many of the smaller sects, for example, employed Dao Attunement cultivators as their ¡°elders¡± ¨C and organizing them a nightmare. It effectively necessitated even more layers of command because one leader could not possibly keep tabs on all of these moving pieces.

    Predictably, new problems arose from this with old and recent rivalries flaring up as the sects vied for the positions of higher authority. It was, summed up in one word, a mess. And a hot one at that.

    The question of how the central command would actually look like was also not immediately apparent. On the one hand, the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect were theoretically equal partners and as the grand sects they were, it was hard to imagine one of them bowing to the other¡¯s leadership.

    On the other hand, the Parting Clouds Sect didn¡¯t currently have a proper leader, their matriarch unconscious and not expected to wake up any time soon. Because of that, they had no one to match Tengfei Ye¡¯s rank or his strength who could step up as a co-leader of the alliance. Things were made worse by the fact that the two sects¡¯ good relations were mostly built upon the personal friendship of Tengfei Ye and Jinjing Liqiu. With her currently not present, the remaining elders of the Parting Clouds Sect were less willing to work with the Patriarch.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    The ultimate compromise for that particular problem was proposed by Elder Liling Xiao who, driven by her mother¡¯s death, had become one of the most active and resolute voices in the negotiations.

    She argued, convincingly, that it made too much practical sense for Tengfei Ye to lead them to consider anything else. He was the strongest and highest ranking among them and had proven his conviction through his actions in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt. His loyalty as a friend to Jinjing Liqiu could not be questioned and he could be trusted to treat her sect with the appropriate fairness.

    To calm the minds of her own sect, Elder Xiao proposed that a trio of their three most powerful elders should be given the power to veto any of his commands with a two to one majority. On top of that, they would be given positions immediately under his command, outranking all other members of the alliance. Once Matriarch Liqiu had awoken, this arrangement could be reformed into a dual command of the alliance.

    Somewhere in all of this chaos, the remaining sects under the Roaring Thunder Sect silently slunk away. The idea of stopping them and taking them, prisoner right here and now was floated, but ultimately shot down and buried in other conflicts. The prevailing mood was one of certainty that their alliance would be able to easily bring their enemy down, regardless of this hand of fools. There was no need to dirty their hands now and sink to the level of the Roaring Thunder Sect by violating the law of hospitality.

    Liu Wei was glad that it played out this way. With all the members, disciples and mortals around, a larger fight breaking out here would have quickly turned into a bloodbath that would have left him with no choice but to intervene even against his sect¡¯s orders.

    Regardless, this decision naturally still ruffled a lot of feathers, especially among those sects who had feuds of their own with those they had just let go. This only added to the quarreling amongst them.

    Sometime in the late evening, the Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s present elders retreated from the loge to hold an impromptu council meeting to discuss their stance on the conflict. Their initial position was simply a result of Patriarch Zhao¡¯s action ¨C or rather lack thereof ¨C in the moment.

    Liu Wei himself was split on the issue ¨C the whole thing kind off fell out of the moral framework he had set himself. In his opinion, Patriarch Zhou had to be shot down, yes. His ruthless ambitions were a permanent danger to peace and stability and his goals for this war stood in direct opposition to what Liu Wei wanted for the future. Instead of equalizing the field and lifting the oppression on the people, he wanted to centralize power even further.

    However, Liu Wei was far from the warmonger he had been in the past. The new alliance was heavily favored to win this war. It might take a while, but their overwhelming force would crush Xing Zhou, regardless of his personal strength. Whether the Lunar Peaks Sect joined them or not was largely irrelevant in that regard.

    Because of that, Liu Wei¡¯s primary concern was how many lives the conflict would take before ending. How the Lunar Peaks Sect¡¯s involvement would play into that was hard to gauge. On the one hand, they might be able to end the war much quicker if they joined, which might reduce death tolls. On the other, they¡¯d widen its scale even more, introducing additional chaos into an already chaotic situation. In his extensive experience, when it came to war, more chaos always equaled more deaths and more destruction.

    If pressed on the issue, Liu Wei would probably have decided to join the war. If he was involved in the alliance, he would perhaps be able to push it down the least destructive path. This was not a decision he could make alone, however and he wasn¡¯t about to throw all of his weight behind an issue that he was still rather neutral on when there were so many other issues for which he would still need to fight in the council.

    Upon discussing it in the council, it quickly became clear that most of them supported Patriarch Zhao¡¯s decision to remain neutral. Like Liu Wei, they all agreed in wanting to see Xing Zhao fail ¨C though mostly for different reasons than him ¨C but believed that the alliance would be able to accomplish that without them.

    At the back of their heads, they were probably glad to see their sect¡¯s biggest rivals beat each other down ¨C when all was said and done, this would almost certainly result in their own position being strengthened. They had already secured goodwill from the alliance when they had saved Matriarch Liqiu¡¯s life ¨C from that perspective, there was little reason to risk having to be the ones to face Xing Zhou¡¯s terrible might directly. None of them had a particular desire to be on the receiving end of the attack they had seen unleashed today.

    In the end, the council agreed to cut diplomatic and trade relations to the Roaring Thunder Sect while keeping them open with the members of the alliance. They would express their support and deliver goods relevant to the warfare with an increased priority ¨C though not to a decreased price ¨C but remain nominally neutral and uninvolved in the war.

    Once they were back at the sect, they would hold a proper council meeting with all the elders, to properly reaffirm this position. It was an outcome that Liu Wei was mostly fine with.

    With that out of the way, they returned to the other cultivators. They would remain with them for the rest of the night and most of the next day, to see how things would develop, wrap up remaining diplomatic maneuvers and coordinate their own subordinate sects. In the morning, they would issue a command to their sect members and disciples to get ready to depart, which they would do some time around the afternoon.

 Chapter 82: Studying History

    The old, dry parchment creaked and cracked as Geming Lei unfurled the ancient scroll on the table before him. Large, artful letters formed the headline: ¡®Eyewitness account of the second great siege of Moonlake City during the Bloody River War¡¯.

    He skimmed through the text below it, continuously unfurling the scroll further as he did. The black ink was faded but, besides a few words here and there, still very much readable. From what he could tell, the account itself came from some sort of messenger ¨C or a soldier sent as one? ¨C reporting to a sect official from the Outer Relations Hall. It was a strange thought, that this very same hall that had already existed back then was still around today¡­

    The way the text was written, the sect didn¡¯t consider this occasion to be particularly important. They were merely demanding the city to justify why it hadn¡¯t sent them its regular tribute yet. There was no clue as to how this account had made its way into the historical archives of the sect¡¯s library.

    To think a document like this still existed! The Bloody River War had happened several thousand years ago, the exact dating was a point of contention between scholars. That was because despite its legendary status as a major turning point in the city¡¯s history, all information about it came to them through dubious secondary, if not tertiary accounts and a couple of ancient folktales. This, however, was a true contemporary source, a wholly different thing.

    A source that, from the looks of it, nobody had so much as touched in decades, if not centuries! It had probably never been properly analyzed or even noticed as something important, considering how it had been collecting dust in some remote corner of the library¡¯s basement.

    Sadly, this wasn¡¯t what he was currently looking for, so he carefully, almost reverentially, rolled the scroll back up, putting it on a pile to the left of him. Then, he scribbled a short note on one of the sheets of parchment before him.

    <hr>

    Topic: Moonlake City, Bloody River War

    Age: over 3000 years

    Condition: aged, but undamaged

    Historical value: high

    Recommendation: restoration or copying, medium priority

    <hr>

    He was helping the scribes here sort through all of the works he came across, since the library section with the historical records was terribly chaotic and nobody had a damn clue where anything was. A shame, considering that this was by far not the first incredibly discovery he had made down here.

    Geming Lei was currently working on a piece about the sect culture he was observing all around him and hoped to find some clues about its origin and history here. Sadly, the official chronic of sect history was kept in a separate area currently unavailable to him, so all he had to go off of was this unordered mass of documents that may or may not be of help to him.

    He stretched his back and groaned. He had completely lost track of how long he¡¯d been in here but judging by the amount of work he¡¯d done, it must¡¯ve been a good while. Time to take a little break.

    He picked up his stack of notes, leaving behind the ones categorizing his findings, and got up. After maneuvering his way through the labyrinth of stacks, piles and shelves of scrolls and books, he informed the scribe at the reception that he was done for the day. Then, he stepped outside, greeted by the orange light of the late afternoon¡¯s sun.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    He had gotten here quite early in the morning, accompanied by the first rays of light. He must¡¯ve spent eight or ten hours holed up in there! Well, books didn¡¯t tend to write themselves¡­ which was fortunate, because that would put him out of his job. Or rather his former job. He was primarily an educator now after all, and though he still felt like a scholar at heart, he very much enjoyed his new environment.

    Thinking of enjoyment, Geming Lei decided to use the little sunlight he had left to take a stroll through the forest. He had lived in Moonlake City for all of his life and only recently learned to properly appreciate the beauty of raw nature. The sect was really more forest than settlement after all, taken as a whole. And somehow, he was still spending most of his time inside, surrounded by books and dim candlelight. Old habits¡­

    The wind blew through the forest, already carrying the cold of the coming winter and the little sunlight that made it through the canopy didn¡¯t contribute much warmth to the surroundings either. Luckily, he had already gotten himself a thick fur coat for the coming winter off the sect¡¯s market, so he was still nice and warm.

    As he walked the winding paths through the forest, his mind wandered just the same. He thought about his soon-to-be returning students, his not-so-soon-to-be finished book and what the future might hold for either of them.

    He was certainly not as well-informed on the ongoing events as the higher-ups in the sect, but he wasn¡¯t a fool either and he had a good enough understanding of this sect¡¯s history to know that what was currently happening was quite out of the ordinary. And when things started changing, they tended to change a lot.

    People were strange, in a way. They could stagnate, living under and retaining a mostly unchanged status quo for generations upon generations. They would avoid challenging it, even defend it, even if it was to their own detriment.

    But once things did start to change and the status quo was challenged, it often seemed as if all of that potential lost in the time stagnating had built up and was suddenly let loose on the world all at once. One change would lead to ten more and before anyone could properly understand what was happening, the world was no longer the same. Nobody, not even the ones responsible for the change, could really tell how it would look afterwards.

    Of course, all of that was just how things worked in mortal societies. The Lunar Peaks Sect was incredibly old and, as far as he knew, had never seen change that significant. Having leaders that could remain in power unchallenged by anyone but their peers probably had an incredibly stabilizing effect.

    After all, everyone achieving the power to change things would have already lived in the sect for several mortal lifespans¡­ And they would have acquired that power within this very system.

    Still, that didn¡¯t mean that patterns of human behavior would be any different once the circumstances had aligned themselves correctly. Geming Lei had spent much of his life arguing that cultivators were just as susceptible to human thinking, flaws and morals as anybody else. Why would he assume any difference in this instance?

    And if stagnation really did build up potential for change and Elder Wei¡¯s and his allies¡¯ stirring managed to set it off, they were in for quite the storm.

    ¡­

    The sun had almost retreated below the horizon as its last rays guided Geming Lei¡¯s way towards the entrance of the Training Hall. He had brought a lantern with him, in case he didn¡¯t make it, but it seemed like he was here just in time so that he wouldn¡¯t need it.

    As he approached the entrance, he could tell from a distance that something was out of the ordinary. The streets, which would usually be empty by this time, were full of disciples. When he came closer, he also noticed several hall members amongst them.

    Things were busy, people were carrying around luggage or standing around in groups holding agitated conversations. It took Geming Lei a moment to understand what was happening: the visitors of the tournament had come back! And he had just straight up missed it¡­

    Geming Lei stepped into the crowd and looked around for people he knew. He wanted to ask about the outcome of the tournament and the places they had seen. Many of the faces here were vaguely familiar from sight, but he hadn¡¯t been in the sect for long enough to really get to know many people.

    As he moved through the street, he started picking up snippets of conversations from all around him, but they were too disconnected, and he was too unfamiliar with the topics to put them together to something coherent.

    Even if he could have done so, he would have been too distracted anyways, because his mind had quickly focused in on a single word that kept coming up; A word that dwarfed all the others in its expressiveness and significance; a word that made him draw in sharp gasps of air.

    War!

 Chapter 83: Mutual Reassurance

    Qingge was one of the last returnees to trickle into the Training Hall. She was in no particular hurry and had accompanied Daiyu part of the way back to her home near the Reinforcement Hall. She¡¯d move back there herself in a couple of days, but for now she still had all of her stuff in her room at the Training Hall¡¯s headquarters.

    Despite her late arrival, the streets hadn¡¯t cleared of returning disciples, quite the contrary. There was an entire crowd of them right at the entrance, meeting up with those who hadn¡¯t visited the tournament. Qingge rolled her eyes: she¡¯d seen enough big crowds for a while. Right now, a big part of her wanted nothing more than return to the quiet, if tedious normalcy of day-to-day sect life.

    Another part of her found the very idea of doing that incredibly strange. This wasn¡¯t a normal situation. A war was brewing that would rage throughout a good two thirds of the peninsula, people would die in the thousands and untold amounts of suffering would follow ¨C and she was just supposed to go back to paperwork and petty disputes?

    There was a jarring disconnect between the reality of the situation elsewhere and her own, personal inability to do anything about it. Her sect, or rather its elders, had decided to take a neutral stance which she had absolutely no influence on. Even if they hadn¡¯t, she didn¡¯t possess the personal strength to make any sort of difference in a conflict such as this. And even if she did, she wasn¡¯t even sure that she would want to. She¡¯d made her first experience killing another human being back in Moonlake City which still occasionally spooked her dreams to this day, and she wasn¡¯t at all keen on repeating it.

    Qingge had spent much of the voyage back here grappling with these thoughts, and while it did at least help her properly understand why she was feeling so strange about all of this, it hadn¡¯t gotten her much closer to actually resolving them.

    She had toyed around with the idea of asking Master Wei for advice but hadn¡¯t been able to bring herself to it. He always seemed so resolute in his actions and here she was, an adult who had spent most of her life in this sect, struggling with one of the most basic realities of the world of cultivators. What the heck was she cultivating for when even the thought of using her strength was troubling her?

    As Qingge moved through the crowd with a determined effort to leave it behind as quickly as possible, she suddenly spotted a familiar face in the corner of her eye which was enough to bring her to a halt. Stumbling through the crowd was Professor Lei, wrapped in a coat of fur that was almost comically large and thick on the man¡¯s slim frame. An unusual mix of confusion and concern was painted over his usually thoughtful expression, and he altogether seemed rather out of place.

    Since she could hardly just ignore it, Qingge changed directions to intercept him and called out.

    ¡°Professor Lei!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Oh, Lady Qingge!¡±

    As he turned around to face her, some focus seemed to return to the Professor¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You must excuse my inattention, I was just¡­ just¡­ Never mind. I¡¯m happy to see that you all safely returned here.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem too well, Professor.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t? I¡­ Oh well, I suppose I¡¯m not exactly skilled at hiding it.¡±

    He let out an embarrassed chuckle.

    ¡°I must admit that I was rather taken aback by your group¡¯s return. I have spent the last weeks rather absorbed in my work and hadn¡¯t even heard that it would be today. Only discovered it upon returning from the library just now. And then, I just overheard that¡­ well, that¡­¡±

    He sighed, obviously at a loss for words.

    ¡°Lady Qingge, could I trouble you to give me a rundown of the events at the tournament? I¡¯ve only heard some snippets of the conversations here, but it seems that it didn¡¯t exactly go as planned?¡±

    Well, if that wasn¡¯t the understatement of the week!

    ¡°Of course, Professor. It is, however, a bit of a convoluted story to tell, so I propose that we move to a calmer location first. If it¡¯s all right with you, you can accompany me to the headquarters.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lady Qingge. Let¡¯s do that.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°¡­After that, Patriarch Tengfei Ye formally declared war against the Roaring Thunder Sect and their remaining members were apprehended. ¡°

    ¡°Just like that¡­ I suppose most important events seem sudden when observed from the outside. Especially when they are hinging off of an assassination attempt.¡±

    ¡°We were all just as shaken as you. Nobody had expected it; how could we have?¡±

    ¡°It seems so¡­ unreal to think about it. The alliance hasn¡¯t seen a war on this scale in¡­ in forever. I¡¯m not entirely sure if there is even a comparable instance to draw from. I believe the last internal war on this scale must have been the one that resulted in advent of the Serene Plains Sect as the fourth great sect. Which I for one, know next to nothing about¡­ Oh, I¡¯m sorry for interrupting you, Lady Qingge. Please do go on.¡±

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s actually about all there is to tell. Master Wei told me that the present elders held an impromptu meeting where they decided against directly joining the war. I think after that, the elders participated in some more diplomatic talks throughout the night and the next day, while everyone packed up their things. Then we just marched back to the ship and set sail. We didn¡¯t even pass by the sect, so I didn¡¯t see the damage that the attack has done with my own eyes. It¡¯s been over a week since then, but nothing has happened in that time. Or rather, no news have reached us yet.¡±

    ¡°And¡­ do we have any idea how this war is going to turn out?¡±

    ¡°Master Wei told me that it¡¯s never wise to feel too sure on such predictions, but in his opinion the new alliance has a pretty overwhelming advantage, though he also says that this war is probably only going to come to an end once Matriarch Liqiu has woken up again. Before that, they will have trouble dealing with Xing Zhou.¡±

    ¡°That is at least somewhat relieving to hear, though I can attest that he¡¯s right about that first part. I¡¯m not a historian, but from the limited time I have spent studying warfare, I feel like wars have a tendency to surprise everyone involved. One can try to understand and explain them in hindsight, but the contemporaries simply don¡¯t have that benefit. To think that this war may one day be studied in the same manner¡­¡±

    For a while, the two of them remained silent. Then, Qingge opened again.

    ¡°Professor, if you don¡¯t mind, could I ask you for some advice?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can help you, the mortal that I am, but please ask away.¡±

    Qingge took a deep breath. Sharing the troubles she¡¯d been having wasn¡¯t easy, but it was too good a chance to pass up on. If she was not going to ask Master Wei about them, Professor Lei was one of the few people besides him she could think of who might be able to offer her meaningful advice.

    ¡°I feel¡­ conflicted. On the one hand, it feels strange not being able to participate in the war, just pretending like it doesn¡¯t exist. On the other, I don¡¯t even know if I would want to participate, even if I could. I recoil at the idea of actually fighting and killing someone again. Even though I¡¯m a cultivator.¡±

    Professor Lei sat up straight, his face turning thoughtful. While he didn¡¯t seem to have an immediate answer, it was clear that he was back in his element.

    ¡°Mhmm¡­ I believe you are mixing two separate issues here. The first problem you are experiencing is an inherent property of war, or even of major crises in general. For every disaster, every terrible event that happens, there is always going to be those who are neither afflicted nor involved in it, for one reason or another, while simultaneously being aware that it is happening.

    ¡°Most of these people probably share that very emotion you are feeling right now. In fact, I do as well. Trying to go on as if everything was normal, even while you feel that it isn¡¯t is simply a strain on your mind. There isn¡¯t much I can do to help you with this, other than assuring you that it is a feeling many share with you.

    ¡°And perhaps to remind yourself that the circumstances you think of as ¡®normal¡¯ are only what you have already accepted as such because you have lived with them for a long time. We don¡¯t live in a perfect world, far from it in fact. If we constantly reminded ourselves of every injustice and every harm around us, we could not function at all. As such, we can only go on turning most of them out as we go about our lives, while also trying to remain aware of them. And perhaps, slowly and incrementally, improving things for those around us to the best of our ability. In that respect you will find that the normalcy of the situation around you didn¡¯t change at all.¡±

    He paused for a while to give Qingge time to take in his words. He was right. She was already surrounded by injustice within the sect, and even then, the sect was an incredibly privileged place compared to the outside world. She had seen it in Moonlake City, poverty and hardship on a level that was entirely foreign to world of cultivators. Nobody here had to think about where to get their next meal.

    And she had been able to go on despite it. She could only do her best. Why should that change now?

    ¡°The second thing you are facing is the moral dilemma of harming and killing people. You feel that it is wrong, you don¡¯t want to do it, yet you are walking a path of cultivating the very strength that would enable you to do so.¡±

    That was a very succinct way of outlining her issue, much more so than she herself had managed.

    ¡°I feel like your master would be happy to help you work through this. It is, as I understand it, an issue he is not unfamiliar with. But since you asked me for advice, I¡¯ll try to give you my own version. If I remember correctly, you killed someone during your escape from captivity back in Moonlake City, yes?¡±

    Qingge bit her lip and swallowed before she answered. Hearing it spoken out loud impacted her much more than just thinking about it, but she couldn¡¯t keep dodging it either.

    ¡°¡­yes.¡±

    ¡°They attacked you while you were already fleeing, is that right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what happened.¡±

    ¡°I see that you don¡¯t feel good about it, so please focus your mind on another question: If you were in that exact situation again, with your own life on the line, would you act in the same way?¡±

    Qingge took a moment to consider¡­ It wasn¡¯t pleasant to consider the possibility, but there was really only one answer. If she was attacked, she would defend herself.

    ¡°Yes, I would.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Then you already have a baseline of use for your strength, if only a narrow one. Now, consider this: If you were a bystander as someone else, someone innocent was being attacked in the same manner ¨C would you defend them?¡±

    Qingge paused. Not to think about the question ¨C the answer was yes, and it was much easier to reach than when simply thinking about herself ¨C but because she was realizing where Professor Lei was going with this. Self-defense was one thing; she could try to avoid situations where it would be needed in other ways besides cultivation. But the ability to defend others was a genuine argument for why she could pursue strength.

    ¡°Yes, I would defend them.¡±, she answered, already a lot more confident.

    ¡°I thought so, and I see you have already drawn the conclusions. Let me just pose you one last scenario which I believe might help you with understanding your goals as a cultivator even better. I understand that you have recently broken through the next realm, a significant jump in progress and strength if I am informed correctly?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but only due to Master Wei¡¯s guidance and generosity.¡±

    ¡°Very well, then think about the following: If you were in either of the previously described situations as you are now, with the same opponent you faced back then:

    ¡°Would you even need to kill them to prevent them from doing harm?¡±

 Chapter 84: Banners of War

    The thick scent of incense hanging in the air mixed with the sweet fragrance of the pill that was revealed as Patriarch Qiang Lin carefully opened the box he had placed on the floor before him. The smell reminded him of crystal-clear water pouring right out of a fresh spring¡­ Moments later, it seemed more like a thick fog hanging over a meadow in the early morning¡­ a true masterpiece. He hadn¡¯t doubted the seller for a second when they had informed him that it had been personally created by the Venerable Alchemist Ma Rong.

    The quality was, of course, matched by an equally impressive price-tag. It had perhaps been a little irresponsible to buy it, considering the state of the Silver Blood Sect¡¯s finances. Their debts to the surrounding sects were slowly stacking up to an uncomfortable degree and their latest business ventures had not taken off like they had expected.

    Ironic really, considering that his great-grandfather had founded the sect out of the single wealthiest independent merchant family the peninsula had seen in centuries. Oh well, cultivating was expensive and what had he been meant to do? Leave this incredible pill sit out in the open for someone else to buy it? No, he deserved to have it, considering everything he was contributing to his sect.

    Their financial issues would soon be resolved anyways. The moment that the Grand Elder returned with Xiaobo¡¯s winnings from the tournament, to be exact. Their investment in his training would pay of over a thousandfold. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the renown they would earn throughout the alliance ¨C perhaps they wouldn¡¯t even need to pay off their debts because their neighbors would just readily forgive them, to gain their favor!

    Patriarch Lin¡¯s ancestors would commend him for his keen sense for business if they were still here to witness it, he was sure of that.

    Speaking of it, he was expecting the tournament delegation¡¯s return every day now. The tournament would have ended over a week ago and he hadn¡¯t heard a thing about it. The Grand Elder was sure taking his sweet time getting back. Perhaps they were caught up letting themselves be celebrated for their victory¡­

    Well, if they were enjoying their time like that, it was all the more appropriate that he got something as well. Patriarch Lin picked up the pill from the box, lifting it to his face and examining it up close for a while.

    Its pale blue surface was smooth as glass and hair-thin strands of gold wove through it in artful patterns. It almost felt like he could see them move¡­ He ingested the pill.

    Before he could even finish swallowing, he could feel its effects spread through his body. His breath deepened and his muscles relaxed on their own as the potent Water Qi washed away any imperfections that had been built up from other, less refined pills. Not willing to let any of the effects go to waste, Patriarch Lin didn¡¯t waste any time to start cultivating. With the pill, his Dao embraced him like an old friend as he started contemplating its nature, willfully giving up answers to questions that he would have otherwise spent ours wracking his brain on. He could practically feel his progress¡­

    ¡­Only to be torn out of his meditative trance a mere five minutes after he had started by the sound of his door being flung wide open.

    Patriarch Lin threw a piercing gaze at the one responsible. It was one of his attendants, clearly distressed and severely out of breath. He didn¡¯t care for the reason; he burst out in anger at the man:

    ¡°What in the world are you doing here? I instructed you not to interrupt me for any reason!

    He could practically feel as valuable time he should¡¯ve spent cultivating under the effect of the pill ran away.

    ¡°B-b-but Patriarch¡­¡±

    ¡°Speak your piece before I decide on your punishment.¡±

    ¡°Patriarch, an army is approaching the sect!¡±

    ¡°And what kind of idiot thinks that would warrant¡­¡±

    Patriarch Lin stopped mid-sentence as his mind started processing what he had just been told. He closed his mouth, then opened it again to respond but closed it once more for a lack of words that came to his mind. Finally, after several seconds of silence, he managed to answer.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°A messenger has reported an army on horseback approaching the sect from the northeast. They are flying the banners of the Roaring Thunder Sect!¡±

    All anger he had felt had spontaneously evaporated. In its place, only a chill ran down his spine.

    ¡°How long until they are here?¡±

    ¡°About an hour, maybe two.¡±

    ¡°Alert everyone. Disciples and servants incapable of battle will move into the palace at once. Everyone else is to fully arm themselves. Somebody needs to get out the arrows from the storage and distribute them along the walls.¡±

    With that, Patriarch Lin jumped up and stormed out of the room without looking back. He needed to activate the defensive formations.

    ¡­

    Liu Wei opened his eyes as he slowly wrapped up his meditation. Another day, another solid piece of progress. Getting stronger had become all the more important now, that the future seemed more unpredictable than ever and though the road to the next stage was a long one, every step taken now rather than later was a good thing.

    For now, though, he had other things to attend to. Later today, he would have a meeting with his faction, the first one since the tournament, and he wanted to see the Training Hall¡¯s managers before that. Since news of the war had broken, requests for their member training program had already risen by half and he wanted to use the influx of capital to further improve the standard of training the disciples enjoyed.

    For that, he needed the cooperation of the Alchemy Hall. He¡¯d talk to Ma Rong at the meeting, but he¡¯d need to consult his managers about the specific numbers beforehand. He also needed to check if they needed new personnel again, though he wanted to be careful before hiring too many. They couldn¡¯t be sure that this new interest would remain stable after all.

    He sighed. Managing a hall was hard work, even when he already had dozens of people helping him with it. No wonder most other elders just gave their subordinates a free reign. But the Training Hall needed to be supervised, especially in its current phase of growth and expansion. He couldn¡¯t leave things up to chance, when the outcome concerned the lives of all of the sect¡¯s outer disciples!

    Liu Wei left his room and got going. Stepping out on the busy street, he took a deep breath of fresh air and let his gaze wander around. The buildings were clean and elegant, many having been completely renovated and all the remaining ones having been fully repaired. Freshly fallen leaves decorated the otherwise cleanly swept streets in their vibrant shades of red and orange. A group of disciples was so absorbed in a lively debate about the contents about Professor Lei¡¯s last speech that they didn¡¯t even notice his presence as they passed by him on their way from one class to the next.

    A smile crossed Liu Wei¡¯s lips. Who even was he to complain?

    After walking for a while, he stopped at one particular training court. Chonglin was in the back, practicing the martial art he had received for his performance in the tournament. He had been wise to pick one that he could start training even at his current stage of cultivation, though it still seemed to give him plenty of challenge to even perform the first steps. Nothing time couldn¡¯t fix though.

    In the center, Zixin and Qiao were preparing for a bout. Qiao had put on weights around her wrists and ankles to slow her down, ostensibly to make the fight more even. It was hard to wrap one¡¯s head around the amount of strength and martial talent that she hid in her small frame. Liu Wei was rather sure that she would¡¯ve won the tournament, had the fight not been interrupted.

    The three hadn¡¯t let up in their training after the tournament. If anything, they seemed even more eager to grow than ever. Cultivation-wise, they were still shackled by their age right now, so using their winnings would mostly need to wait a year or two. He was sure that they could hardly wait for it.

    Having finished their preparations and discussions, the two picked up their training swords and took on their starting positions.

    ¡­

    Patriarch Lin stood atop the wall surrounding his sect and stared into the distance, where an army of over five-hundred horses was approaching the sect. His worst fears were coming to fruition.

    ¡°These are war-banners. They aren¡¯t passing by, and they don¡¯t want to parlay. They are attacking us!¡±

    The elders who had surrounded him remained silent at the statement, fear written over their faces. Patriarch Lin shared their sentiment, but he couldn¡¯t allow it to impede his actions.

    ¡°Everyone, assume positions around the wall. We have a numerical advantage over them, so they are going to concentrate their attacks on one side. We will answer with arrows while they are struggling to break through our formations. From what our monitoring formation tells us, they only have a single Dao Contemplation cultivator on their side. Focus your fire on them and have all other Dao Attunement Realm members do the same. If they break through, I will personally take them on while you hold off the remaining attackers. Go!¡±

    The elders dispensed while Qiang Lin pulled his sword from his spatial ring. He starred at his own reflection that presented itself in the blade¡¯s pristine surface. An heirloom from his great-grandfather, passed on from even before the sect¡¯s foundation, the sword was masterfully smithed and in peak condition even after all this time. Something that couldn¡¯t be said about its bearer.

    It had been a long time since he or his sword had seen proper battle, and he had to admit that he had truly let the training slip since then. His rather embarrassingly large belly was proof enough of that. And while his outward physical state meant next to nothing for his combat ability as a Dao Contemplation Cultivator, his lack of recent experience very much did.

    He would have to hope that whoever was leading the attacking army could be overwhelmed by his fourth stage cultivation and the supporting defensive formations.

 Chapter 85: The Fate of the Silver Blood

    The hissing sound of arrows slicing through the air could be heard a thousandfold from all around them. Patriarch Qiang Lin quietly took the sounds in before loosening his own arrow. He wasn¡¯t a particularly skilled archer, but someone of his strength would never miss an easy mark such as this.

    Pierced through the neck, one of the riders slid off his horse, the animal running on without them. Unfortunately, his seemed to be the only arrow to land with such success. The attackers were clad in heavy steel armor and were ducking behind large wooden shields that they had strapped to their arms. Some of them were getting wounded, but very few seriously.

    No matter. They didn¡¯t need to all be killed, repelling them was probably enough. From the way they had immediately stormed them, they hadn¡¯t come here to hold a prolonged siege, they wanted to make this quick. If enough of them were wounded, they might be forced to give up and retreat.

    After closing in through two more waves of arrows, the attackers retaliated for the first time. They were carrying crossbows that they could fire off before the next wave of arrows could be shot.

    As the bolts flew through the air, a transparent golden barrier flickered into existence from which they harmlessly bounced off. The sect¡¯s main defensive formation.

    Qiang Lin allowed himself to grin at its sight. This was his own contribution to his sect¡¯s legacy. A gilded shield, protecting it from all harm. Well, his in the sense that he had paid for it. He wasn¡¯t particularly skilled in the art of formations himself.

    There were many forms of defensive formations that were employed by sects. Some were offensive, targeting intruders with qi-based attacks, others were supportive, strengthening the defenders and others yet were simply repulsive, like this one. A plain, old barrier was perhaps not the most innovative of defenses, but it was certainly effective.

    This one in particular was also most admirable in that it drew on ambient Qi and as such needed neither spirit stones nor anyone feeding it Qi to sustain itself. A very profitable solution.

    Another wave of arrows impacted the enemy. They were still approaching, even though they were closing in on the barrier. Qiang Lin was starting to wonder what they were trying to do here. They¡¯d need to stop soon, otherwise they would just crash into it.

    Suddenly, the rider at the front jumped up into the air. Since he then continued to rise up further, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out that this was the Dao Contemplation Cultivator that was leading the attack. Qiang Lin couldn¡¯t make out a whole lot of his features through the light of the barrier, but he could see that the man wasn¡¯t wearing armor and had a long, pointy beard which was just as black as his robes.

    He was still not certain what the man¡¯s plan was, when an enormous amount of lightning Qi started gathering around him. Qiang Lin could feel its strength even at this distance. He quickly fired another arrow, this one aimed at the man in question, many of his subordinates doing the same.

    None of the arrows reached their goal, burning up the instance they came close to him, like his sheer presence was too much for them to handle. As more and more lightning Qi gathered, dancing around the man with blinding brightness, Qiang Lin finally understood what he was going to do.

    And in that very moment, he launched a massive, sustained stream of lightning against the barrier.

    For a single second, it looked like it would hold. In the next, a million hair-thin cracks spread out from the point of impact. Finally, after a mere three seconds, the barrier shattered like glass, its broken pieces fading out of existence the instant they no longer supported each other.

    With an ear-shattering roar, the remaining lightning impacted the sect¡¯s wall, ripping a massive hole right through it before disbanding into the ground. Dust and debris were flung up into the air, obscuring sight of the undoubtedly terrible fate of those who had stood at the site of impact.

    Qiang Lin stared at the disaster incredulously. One attack? That was all it had taken to destroy the sect¡¯s most powerful defensive formation?

    As the attackers rushed through the space where there had previously been a barrier unimpeded, Qiang Lin looked up at the man responsible for doing so much damage in an instant. Now that he could catch a clearer sight of him, his fear turned into cold terror.

    That wasn¡¯t just any cultivator, it was one of the most dangerous ones he knew off. It was the famed and feared strategist of the Roaring Thunder Sect, the cunning mind behind their patriarch: Elder Song Fan.

    ¡­

    Qiao and Zixin were locked in a close battle. They whirled around with their swords, each trying to gain an advantage over the other.

    As Liu Wei quietly watched on, he couldn¡¯t help but feel reminded of the war that was raging on far in the distance. They wouldn¡¯t be fighting in it, even if the Lunar Peaks Sect had been involved, but it was still the grim reality that this was the very thing they were training for. Not this war in particular, but the inevitability of future conflicts.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    It was easy to see these training fights as a sport, a competition, a game, as long as the most blood that would ever flow were a few unfortunate scratches. But to forget that they were merely mimicking a much more real, much more serious reality, was the privilege of the young, the innocent.

    It could be seen in the way they engaged with the fights, that they had not yet experienced ¨Cand survived ¨C a real one. There was a lightness in every movement that the older members simply didn¡¯t show when they trained here.

    Everyone dealt with it in their own way. Some were more bothered than others by it. Some vowed to try to never do it again, others simply viewed it as a necessity. Most as old as Liu Wei became rather blunted towards it. Some sick souls even secretly enjoyed it. But no one stayed completely unchanged by it. Noone carried on with the innocence of the young. And here they were, training these young to one day take their place in the battles.

    If only the world was a kinder place¡­

    Liu Wei turned away from the two fighters and walked on. He had a full schedule to meet. Still, as he walked, his gaze remained lost in the distance. Somewhere out there, a war was raging on. In this very moment, as they were enjoying the peace, others were fighting for their lives¡­

    He was becoming more sentimental, wasn¡¯t he?

    ¡­

    Qiang Lin groaned as he slowly sat up, leaning on what was left of the building behind him, ignoring the increasingly strong pulsing in his head. Using one of his hands to support himself in that position, he carefully felt the edges of the wound on his sleeve with the other, flinching at the pain that erupted even at the slightest touch.

    How long had he been out for? The last thing he could remember was that chain, buzzing with electricity, rushing towards his face¡­ then darkness.

    White spots danced across his eyes as he looked around, trying to orient himself. He had been flung quite a distance away from where he remembered fighting, the destroyed building behind him apparently what he had crashed into. It was ¨C no, had been ¨C a small house, perhaps a servant¡¯s residence or something similar. Well, there were more important things to worry about right now.

    He couldn¡¯t see any people from the position he was at, neither friend nor enemy. He also couldn¡¯t hear any fighting; everything was eerily quiet.

    Next, his sight fell on his sword ¨C or rather what was left of it. His prized blade, the pride of his family, had been shattered into a hundred pieces, a few of which lay strewn about around him. The handle was laying directly next to him, he had probably only let go off it when impacting the building.

    It was this sight, the sword of his ancestors shattered in his own hands, that made the severity of the situation truly dawn on Qiang Lin. For a long while, he could only stare at the handle. Then, even though it was broken beyond any hope of repair, he reached for it.

    Before he could grasp it, a boot slammed down on it, making him flinch back in shock. Looking up, he looked directly into the face of the man he had failed to notice the approach off.

    ¡°Patriarch Lin, I see you have awakened.¡±

    Song Fan picked up the handle, turning it around and inspecting it with visible disinterest before tossing it away into the nearby shrubbery. Qiang Lin could only weakly raise an arm as if to protest, before letting it sink again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be needing that anymore.¡±

    His voice was calm and soft, so much so that it could almost be mistaken for friendliness. His ice-cold eyes glaring down on him in contempt made it abundantly clear that that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°The fight is already over. Your sect members have surrendered or been captured, and your elders have all agreed to capitulate. In our generosity, we have decided to accept their pleas. The Silver Blood Sect is now subservient to the Mighty Roaring Thunder Sect.¡±

    The tall, sleek man casually strolled around as he talked, his hands clasped behind his back.

    ¡°It is the right decision, I assure you. That way, the sect will have a spot in the realm¡¯s new order. Only that way¡­¡±

    Qiang Lin bit his lip. So this was bigger than just his sect. In truth, he had already guessed as much; the Roaring Thunder Sect wouldn¡¯t have attacked a sect under the Parting Clouds Sect¡¯s protection without assuming that they would face retaliation.

    ¡°All sect members will be joining the war effort right away. The only remaining question¡­¡±

    Song Fan¡¯s eyes fell back down on Qiang Lin. Their pale blue color seemed to pierce right through him, making him shiver to his very core.

    ¡°Is what to do with you.¡±

    Qiang Lin wanted to plead for his life, but he couldn¡¯t move a muscle.

    ¡°You see, it would be easy to just kill you, right here and now. You are not in a condition to run away, much less defend yourself. It would send a nice example for the other sects, not to cross our path. You should have immediately yielded the moment you spotted our mighty force on the horizon. It might teach the others not to repeat your mistake.¡±

    He paused. Qiang Lin could only stare at the blade that hung off Song Fan¡¯s belt. It was crusted with freshly dried blood. Was it his own? That of his sect members? He didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°On the other hand, that would be such a waste of your talent, don¡¯t you agree? Centuries of cultivation only to suffer a death that amounts to nothing. No heroic sacrifice to win a war, no last roar of defiance to protect your sect, not even a peaceful final breath as the tides of time finally reach you. A story cut short.¡±

    Despite his words, Song Fan¡¯s voice didn¡¯t carry the slightest bit of pity. If anything, it sounded mocking.

    ¡°As we have already established, I am a very generous person, so I¡¯ll let you choose your own fate. You can die here, unrelenting in your loyalty to the Parting Clouds Sect, a soon defunct organization. Be aware that all your descendants and all who share your blood from three generations back will share that fate. Or you can bend the knee, swearing to serve the me, Xing Zhou and the Roaring Thunder Sect as your new masters. I¡¯m fine with either.¡±

    Qiang Lin paused. Betray the Parting Clouds Sect? The sect that his ancestors had served for generations? That had always treated them justly? Could he truly do that, even if just for self-preservation?

    Yes.

    His blood was the most important thing in this world to him, and it had always been to his ancestors. The Sect¡¯s name hadn¡¯t been chosen by accident after all.

    ¡°I¡­ I denounce the Parting Clouds Sect as the Silver Blood Sect¡¯s masters and swear to serve the Roaring Thunder Sect with blade and soul.¡±

    A thin smile spread across Song Fan¡¯s face.

    ¡°Very well. You have a day to tend to your wounds as my men rest and restock here¡­ and as they claim the well-deserved spoils of their victory. After that, you will ride with us. We have a lot of sects to visit.¡±

    He started strolling off, only to stop again and turn around once more.

    ¡°Oh yeah, and bid farewell to the members of your family. Since you have just proven that your oaths of loyalty aren¡¯t worth particularly much, another contingent of my men will be taking them back to the Roaring Thunder Sect.

    ¡°Just. In. Case.¡±

 Chapter 86: A Council of War

    After a few days of commotion that the news about the war had caused, things mostly settled back down into their usual rhythm. Though the looming shadow remained, there was little anyone could do to address it right now and it wasn¡¯t like the sect could just cease operations.

    And so, distant war or not, the wheel of time continued to turn. The trees shed their last leaves and stood bare and silent. The wind picked up in strength and bite, making a good case for people to stay in the warm comfort of their homes. The first snow began to fall, clothing the landscape in a glittering white.

    The new alliance ¨C so was the word floating around ¨C had formed a massive army, a force of three dozen Dao Contemplation Cultivators and countless Dao Attunement ones, led by Patriarch Tengfei Ye himself, which would march all the way to the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s home territory, forcing the enemy into an engagement.

    But as time went on, another kind of news started trickling into the sect. They came as rumors traveling mouth to mouth, as tales from far-traveled merchants, as painful recollections from refugees who had lost their homes to the war.

    At first, they seemed to be just singular incidents ¨C lucky breaks for the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s doomed campaign.

    One elder had broken away from the main force to protect his sect from an incoming raid¡­

    Two elders had been caught in an ambush during a reconnaissance mission¡­

    The advance into the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s territory had once again been slowed down by hit-and-run attacks¡­

    But over time, a pattern was emerging.

    The Falling Petals Sect had betrayed the alliance and sworn allegiance to the Roaring Thunder Sect¡­

    The Charging Boar Sect had been razed and their disciples taken captive, forcing the elders to switch sides¡­

    An elder had shamefully fled from a raid, leaving the supply caravan he had been supposed to protect open for the taking¡­

    The alliance, with all of its strength, seemed incapable of finding any way to apply it. Tengfei Ye was capable of putting out fires, but he could only be in one place at once and wherever he was not, problems began to fester.

    An argument had broken out between two of the alliance¡¯s larger sects ¨C an elder and several dozen members had been hurt before Tengfei Ye could intervene¡­

    The main force had retreated home territory after facing too many losses and running into supply issues¡­

    Matriarch Liqiu still hadn¡¯t awoken from her coma. Perhaps she was¡­

    By the time that winter was reaching its low, the tide of the war had completely turned. Over a dozen cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm had been killed in the fighting, mostly on the side of the alliance. Many more had fled to their sects to hole up there, others yet had changed sides. Now outnumbered and demoralized, the alliance was fighting a desperate retreat towards the territory of the Serene Plains Sect, the only sect that was still mostly intact.

    Around this time, word got out that a meeting of the council of elders was close at hand. Normally, these mostly escaped the attention of the sect members. The decisions made behind the doors of the palace rarely had immediate effects for them and even if they did, they couldn¡¯t influence them either way.

    This time, however, it was different. With the war having captured everyone¡¯s attention, the question of how the elders would respond was all, anyone could talk about anymore. And so, on the day of winter solstice, when the elders gathered at the patriarch¡¯s palace at sunrise, the sect waited for the outcome with bated breath.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Liu Wei, accompanied by his assistant Chao, had arrived about half an hour early and had spent his time talking to Ma Rong, a little way off to the side. They were part of the same faction now, and while the war was not a factional issue and it was unlikely that it would come down to a split in that way, it was a matter of courtesy not to surprise one another with one¡¯s positions.

    As it turned out however, that wouldn¡¯t be an issue, as the two were much of the same mind: the sect¡¯s initial inaction had been a massive blunder, one that they ought to correct as fast as possible.

    They had completely misjudged the situation, so much so that a victory of the Roaring Thunder Sect had not even been a real talking point in their considerations back then. The new alliance¡¯s perceived strength had turned out to be little more than a paper dragon, one that none of them had properly identified.

    The two preferred different approaches for the Sect¡¯s response ¨C Ma Rong wanted to join up with Patriarch Tengfei Ye¡¯s force, while Liu Wei thought it best to mount a mostly independent assault ¨C, but these differences would be hashed out within the council today.

    When the first rays of sunlight made their way over the horizon, the two wrapped up their talk, called their assistants, and jointly made their way towards the patriarch¡¯s palace.

    They arrived at the same time as Meixiu Xia and Yue Zhong, the two having apparently come here together. They had probably held discussions of their own, two of the most influential elders as they were. Once at the Palace¡¯s front entrance, the four were led inside by the usual host of servants.

    They were early, the meeting room still being mostly empty. Only Sun Liang had gotten here before them, as was typical for the overly punctual man. All of them took their seats and waited in silence as the remaining Elders showed up one by one.

    After the customary wait for Jiang Peng to show up last, all elders of the sect were present, and Patriarch Zhao entered the room. The immediate thing to notice was that he hadn¡¯t donned the traditional ceremonial robes. Instead, he was wearing the slightly shorter, more practical and mostly undecorated ones known as the ¡°Patriarchal Robes of War¡±.

    When fighting their wars, cultivators wore armors, just as mortals did. Additional protection was not something to turn down and cultivators weren¡¯t known for recklessly risking their lives. As such, these robes would never actually see battle. Instead, they were designed to be worn by the Patriarch out of combat in times of war, to signal the serious position that the sect was in. A well-known poem about the sect described them as ¡°cloth for times, when one ought to wear steel¡±.

    Wearing these robes here was both a way to make abundantly clear what subject would be the focus of this meeting and a signal as to the Patriarch¡¯s position on it. One wouldn¡¯t carry these robes if they intended to sit back and let things play out. As the elders rose to their feet once again in a show of respect, the atmosphere in the room was accordingly serious.

    Liu Wei had to admit that he respected Long Zhao¡¯s boldness on this issue. It was the kind of resolute leadership that the sect needed in times like these. This assessment was helped, of course, by the fact that he shared the position the Patriarch was displaying.

    Once Long Zhao had taken his place on his throne and the elders had all sat down again, he began addressing them in a grave, but steady tone.

    ¡°It is good to see all of you here today. In my role as patriarch of the Lunar Peaks Sect, I declare that this council meeting has begun.

    ¡°Let me cut to the chase right away: We are here to discuss the issue of the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s ongoing war against the Parting Clouds Sect and the alliance that has formed around it. In the previous meeting, we have decided to remain nominally neutral but voice our support for the new alliance and halt all trade with the Roaring Thunder Sect and its supporters. In just the few months since, the face of the war has dramatically changed and where it once seemed that the new alliance had a clear advantage, they are now in a very precarious situation. As a result, I believe it necessary to revisit out approach.

    ¡°I personally believe this matter to be of great importance to the future of both the Peninsula and out own sect. As such, I propose that we start this meeting on this discussion and postpone all other sect business until we have reached a proper consensus. Is everyone alright with this?¡±

    This was out of the ordinary. Normally, the less important discussions would be held first, to make sure that they weren¡¯t overshadowed by the central issues of debate. To deem a topic important enough to break with this custom was an unconventional approach. It made sense, however: the position that the sect would take in the war was elemental in determining how the next months or years would play out. To try and make administrative decisions without clearing it up first would likely turn out to be an exercise in futility anyway. It took everyone a moment to consider, but after that, the elders unanimously agreed to the Patriarch¡¯s preposition.

    ¡°Very well. Then we will start discussing our sect¡¯s position on the war straight away.¡±

 Chapter 87: The Blame Game

    Since nobody else jumped to start the conversation, Liu Wei decided to speak first. Perhaps, he could set the tone from the start to ensure a constructive and productive debate.

    ¡°I think the first thing that is in order is to acknowledge that we have made a mistake. Our hesitation to take a more active stance from the start will cost us, or rather, has already cost those who we deem our allies. There is no turning back time though, so we should focus on rectifying this mistake to the best of our abilities.¡±

    Some of the elders nodded, others merely remained thoughtfully silent. At least, no one seemed to fully disagree. The one to speak next was Jiang Peng.

    ¡°Agreed. We should have shafted these arrogant assholes with properly sharpened blades the moment we had the chance to!¡±

    Liu Wei hadn¡¯t expected support from that direction, but he supposed it made sense. Jiang Pen wasn¡¯t exactly a deep political thinker; he tended to just blast out what he was thinking at the moment. And if there was one thing that he hated more than feeling disrespected by his fellow elders, it was feeling disrespected by outsiders. With a chuckle, Sun Liang chimed in as well.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t phrase it that way, but yes, we should have joined up with the new alliance from the start. I do believe that all of us paid too much heed to Elder Bai¡¯s assessment of the situation. We should have known that it wouldn¡¯t be so straightforward.¡±

    Liu Wei flinched. He had spent enough time with his fellow elders to know exactly where this was going, and he didn¡¯t like it one bit. Ning Bai, of course, took the bait.

    ¡°What was that about me, Elder Liang?¡±

    ¡°Well, you are our sect¡¯s grand strategist, are you not? And I remember you loudly declaring that the Roaring Thunder Sect didn¡¯t have an inkling of a chance winning this war and advising us to stay out of it. It may really have been your influence that made us take that decision.¡±

    Like in a well-rehearsed play, Meixiu Xia jumped in without missing a beat. Her voice was friendly and soothing, but Liu Wei didn¡¯t doubt for a second that she was going to stir the flames further. Perhaps, she had even orchestrated this in the first place.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be so harsh, Elder Liang. Even the best can make mistakes sometimes. I am absolutely certain that he didn¡¯t intentionally mislead us but merely misjudged the situation. And we can hardly fault him for having second thoughts about going up against a cultivator as powerful as Xing Zhou. We all saw what happened to Matriarch Liqiu and fear can cloud even the sharpest judgement!¡±

    Liu Wei resisted the urge to clench his fist in anger. So much for setting the tone. These morons were seriously bringing their petty disputes into a discussion of the most existential threat their sect had faced in generations without even flinching. It was the height of arrogance!

    ¡°I staunchly reject that accusation.¡±, Ning Bai called out with visible anger. ¡°I was never even the slightest bit afraid of a confrontation and my judgement was shared by everyone present that day.¡±

    He took a moment to breathe before he continued in a more measured but still energic tone.

    ¡°May I remind you, Lady Xia, that you yourself called more than most of us for staying out of this conflict, even after you had already effectively taken sides by healing Matriarch Liqiu? It were your actions that needlessly complicated things when even Elder Peng had enough tact to stay put. Yours and that of Elder Ma Rong!¡±

    Jiang Peng, clearly offended by the implication, wanted to jump to his feet but was held back by Sun Liang, who simply placed one hand on his shoulder and held him down with the strength that his four stages of cultivation advantage over the hot-headed blacksmith afforded him.

    Instead, Meixiu Xia responded, her voice not moving the tiniest bit from its friendly tone.

    ¡°Oh please, Elder Bai. I merely helped someone in their moment of need. Such is my obligation as a healer! Besides, you surely don¡¯t mean to suggest that allying with a backstabber such as Xing Zhou would ever have been an option? That man has openly shown anyone in the room that day that he doesn¡¯t possess a shred of honor!¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Ma Rong spoke next, his voice calm and without accusation. He clearly felt compelled to speak but didn¡¯t want to escalate this matter.

    ¡°I must agree with Lady Xia here. Matriarch Liqiu was attacked through no fault of her own. She had even attempted to take steps to mend her sect¡¯s relationship with the Roaring Thunder Sect throughout the tournament. Helping her survive Xing Zhou¡¯s shameless attempt on her life was a matter of both honor and basic decency and I do not regret it in the slightest.¡±

    In the time that Ma Rong had spoken, Ning Bai had visibly calmed down. When he answered, he had moderated tone and expression.

    ¡°I apologize; I chose my words poorly. I did not mean to chastise you for your actions, and I concede that they were honorable and necessary in the situation we were in. Even so, I maintain that Lady Xia was just as active as me, if not more, when it came to calling for neutrality. Beyond that, I believe that the issue lies somewhere else entirely here; after all, we were both only following the initial decision of Patriarch Zhao.¡±

    What???

    Shocked silence filled the room for a long moment, until Long Zhao spoke up, his voice quiet but overtly threatening, like a tiger ready to strike.

    ¡°Would you elaborate what you mean by that, Elder Bai?¡±

    ¡°My patriarch, please do not take this the wrong way, but it was you who didn¡¯t speak up when everyone else was declaring their support for the Parting Clouds Sect. The eyes of all the sects beneath us rested upon your lips as the representative of our sect and you didn¡¯t speak. You could have declared that you would first like to convene with your sect¡¯s elders, giving us leeway to make the decision as one before having to answer.¡±

    Ning Bai stood up from his seat, straightening his robes before continuing in a more accusatory tone than before.

    ¡°By not doing so, you preempted our collective decision, signaling neutrality. It is only natural that we all followed that line upon discussing if we should enter the war. Had we tried to walk back your silence, we would have openly diminished our sect¡¯s prestige.

    ¡°But that is not all. First, we all followed your initial decision not to join the War, isolating from a majority of the sects on the peninsula. Now, you have come here clothed in robes of war, effectively taking an outcome of this council meeting for granted before the debate on it has even started.

    ¡°My Patriarch, I do not wish to call your position of leadership over the sect into question, but through all the respect I carry for you, I simply can¡¯t help but feel like you have been making decisions over this council¡¯s heads recently. I would like to remind you that it is the equal duty and right of all elders in this sect to decide upon any important matters of such importance. That principle of cooperation is what our sect is and always has been built upon.¡±

    With that, Ning Bai sat back down, leaving the room to fall back into absolute silence that wasn¡¯t broken for a long time. Liu Wei felt just as flabbergasted as everyone else apparently did. What in the world was that maniac trying to accomplish right now?

    Playing politics for trivial gains was one thing, but he was openly challenging Patriarch Zhao¡¯s authority and reputation for no apparent reason. Putting aside the matter that he wasn¡¯t in a position to do this, overlooking the fact that this was the worst timing imaginable to cause internal division in the sect, he had literally nothing to gain from this!

    Liu Wei studied Ning Bai¡¯s expression as closely as he could. The concern on his face was naturally a farce, put on to empathize his words. But if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, there was a hint of¡­ gloating in his eyes.

    A theory began to form in Liu Wei¡¯s mind. Unlike Jiang Peng, Ning Bai wasn¡¯t actually incompetent, at least not to a remotely similar degree. But he did share one trait with him, the one that was usually the reason behind the mistakes he made: his completely overblown ego.

    In recent times, he had lost much of his former standing in the sect. He hadn¡¯t been allowed at the table in the initial discussions at the Parting Clouds Sect, he had been given errands that would previously have fallen onto other elders and now he was being blamed by several elders for a collective mistake they had made. It was easy to see how this would damage his pride.

    This had all started in his confrontation over the Training Hall with Liu Wei. Or rather, it had started when he lost that confrontation because Long Zhao had refused to take his side, which he had clearly counted on. He would probably have felt betrayed by that.

    If that was the case¡­, was he blaming the Patriarch for his downfall? Liu Wei had, until now, assumed that he himself would be the primary target of Ning Bai¡¯s resentment, but if he looked at it like this, he might have been wrong about that all along. After all, he knew from personal experience that the betrayal of a friend ¨C real or imaginary ¨C could sting a thousand times more than anything an enemy could do. And he had already been wondering why Ning Bai hadn¡¯t caused him any trouble in the time since the summer.

    Normally, he would have welcomed this information. Infighting between the pillar families was pretty much the best thing that could happen to him and his faction. However, right now was the absolute worst timing for that sort of thing. They were going to fight a war and if there was one thing they couldn¡¯t use right now, it was disunity within the council.

    Patriarch Zhao began to speak. His face was unreadable, his words quiet and deliberate.

    ¡°Elder Ning Bai, you are mounting some serious allegations.¡±

    Liu Wei held his breath. The success of this meeting might depend on how he would respond right now.

 Chapter 88: Constructive Debate

    ¡°First things first: my robes do not equal a declaration of war, and I believe to suggest so is, frankly speaking, ridiculous. I am wearing it in the private setting of this council, where none but our own sect¡¯s elders and their trusted assistants can see it, so you need not feel pressured by the estimation of our sect in the public eye in this regard. I chose to wear them to express my belief that the war concerns our sect and to show my sympathy for the attacked party, which this council has already agreed to support. If we decide today that our sect will not support the new alliance any further, I will accept that decision without question, as is my duty as the patriarch.

    ¡°Now that we are at it, I believe it would be easiest to bring this matter to a vote right now. Who here supports joining the war to support the new alliance, setting aside the matter of how exactly that support will take form?¡±

    Liu Wei was the first to raise his arm. This had always been his goal for this meeting after all. The other elders, suddenly confronted with this question, took a moment to process it. Then, one by one, others started to raise their arms.

    With the patriarch leaving the specifics up in the air, many of the most influential members having already expressed their support and no one wanting to be the odd one out, every single elder raised their arms until Ning Bai was the only one left. After a moment of pondering, he too reluctantly raised his arm.

    ¡°Very well, that settles it. With fifteen votes in favor and none against it, our sect will join the war on the side of the Parting Clouds Sect.¡±

    This had been a shrewd move by Long Zhao. It made the entire second half of Ning Bai¡¯s complaint irrelevant and made him seem like a hypocrite for complaining about feeling forced to take a position that he himself chose to support.

    ¡°Now for my silence during the declaration of support. You talk about our prestige as a sect, yet you pose that during that moment of rallying, I should loudly call attention to myself, only to declare that our sect does not yet have a position on the matter. Forgive me if I say so, but that would have been the greatest embarrassment I could have brought on our sect.

    ¡°Had this been your only concern in the discussion back then, you could have spoken out about it, just as you have now. Had we decided to join the war in our discussion back then, I would have gladly taken the shame of belatedly declaring our support on myself. I would have openly signaled that my silence before had not been hesitancy of the sect, but only of my own person, for that would have been my role as the patriarch.

    ¡°All that is to say, I wholly reject the notion that I make or preempt decisions that go beyond the scope of my duties as patriarch of this sect.¡±

    An elaborate and proper rebuttal, Liu Wei had to give that to Long Zhao. The truly important part came now though: how would he retaliate against Elder Bai?

    ¡°As we have just established through a unanimous vote, our sect will join the war against the Roaring Thunder Sect. In consideration of that, I will overlook the disrespect in your attitude towards me this once. A fair warning though: do not test my patience any further. If you have remaining doubts about the adequacy of my actions as patriarch, raise them after the war has ended. That will be all.¡±

    That was it?

    A light admonishment for openly challenging the patriarch? That was more than lenient, as far as similar situations in this council went. A pleasant surprise, as far as Liu Wei was concerned. It seemed that Long Zhao was genuinely interested in taking this war serious and willing to leave the petty political bantering behind for the occasion.

    Ning Bai seemed to be just as surprised as him and took a few seconds before he answered.

    ¡°I understand, Patriarch Zhao. Thank you for addressing my concerns.¡±

    Meixiu Xia sat up straight and got ready to speak next. Whatever her original plan for this conversation had been, Ning Bai disrupted it, and she was probably going to try and salvage it now. That was the que for Liu Wei to preempt her by injecting himself in the discussion once again.

    ¡°My Patriarch, in the spirit of your lenient decision, may I suggest that we agree to settle all other personal matters privately after this council has concluded and finally move to discussing the specifics of our strategy for the war now?¡±

    ¡°You are right, Elder Wei, we should focus on that. Since you are perhaps our sect¡¯s most experienced warrior, you may lead the conversation.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Patriarch.¡±

    That was more than he could have hoped for. Perhaps he would need to seriously reassess his opinion of Long Zhao after today. Up until now, he had always lumped him in with the likes of Meixiu Xia, as a shrewd and self-interested political thinker and done away his honorable and just demeanor as purely a fa?ade. But perhaps, there was a grain of authenticity in there that Lady Xia¡¯s actions most certainly didn¡¯t have.

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    Of course that didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t a shrewd political actor, and he remained an ideological opponent and leader of the opposing faction, but he did seem to be more reasonable than Liu Wei had believed him to be.

    ¡°Well then, our purpose is clear: work out through what actions we can best aid the new alliance in defeating the Roaring Thunder Sect. To help the process of decision making, let me first outline the obvious criteria in the order of priority in which I believe we should evaluate them.

    ¡°First and foremost stands reliability. We need to be as certain as we possibly can that our plan will work or, in other words, that it will lead us to victory. Any other concerns go out of the window if this one isn¡¯t fulfilled because the entire purpose of our participation in the war builds on it.

    ¡°Second is the matter of losses. Our strategy must naturally seek to minimize them as far as possible. Our own members have priority here, but we should also seek to reduce the losses of our allies as a secondary goal.¡±

    Liu Wei would also extend this thinking to civilian casualties and even enemy sect members, but he wouldn¡¯t say that out loud here.

    ¡°Lastly, there is the consideration of time. We should aim to end this war as soon as possible for several reasons. War interrupts the sect¡¯s normal processes, slowing our member¡¯s cultivation progress and our disciple¡¯s training. This aspect also ties into the other aspects. The longer a war drags on, the more casualties it will produce on both sides and the less predictable it becomes for us. Therefore, any strategy we come up with should provide not only plans on how to fight, but also on how to end the war.

    ¡°I hope that we all agree that se should primarily evaluate any strategic considerations based on these three criteria.¡±

    After assuring that there was a general sense of approval, Liu Wei continued.

    ¡°Next, let me outline our position with the advantages and disadvantages we face.

    ¡°With our participation in the war, our side once again outnumbers the enemy substantially. We should use that, while also making sure not to get overconfident because of it. After all, the war started out in a similar position and the Roaring Thunder Sect still managed to turn it around.

    ¡°The fighters on both our allies¡¯ and our enemy¡¯s side have already fought a short, but very intense campaign. Constand battles, frequent moving and the ongoing winter will all have done their part to exhaust them and many of them will have sustained wounds. Our members, on the other hand, are fresh and healthy, giving us a marked advantage.

    ¡°On the other side of the medallion, the previous battles will have given the participants ample experience. Our members haven¡¯t seen proper battle in a good while, some of them have never fought at all. The Training Hall has been doing its best to mitigate this disadvantage since its restructuring, but there is only so much that voluntary training can accomplish compared to real battle. A capable command will be crucial to ensure that our warriors can fully exert their potential.

    ¡°The last thing to consider and perhaps our most explicit advantage is that we possess the element of surprise. The Roaring Thunder Sect clearly doesn¡¯t think that we would involve ourselves in the war, or they never would have started it to begin with. Their current war is most definitely enough to occupy them, so until the moment they make contact with our troops, they will be unaware of our participation. With how they are spreading out their forces, the information will take a good while to be passed around as well. That gives us a lot of leeway in how we approach this engagement.

    ¡°With all of that established, let us see what we can come up with!¡±

    Ma Rong was the first to speak up.

    ¡°I¡¯m not the most strategic mind, but I personally believe that we should march to Patriarch Ye¡¯s aid. At this point, they are probably in a terrible state of morale, which our arrival there could help raise. They still have a lot of powerful cultivators which we could work together with.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea. Their command structure was chaotic from the start, and we¡¯d be worsening that problem further.¡±, Sun Liang commented.

    ¡°I also dislike that plan.¡±, Liu Wei added.

    ¡°It would put us in the same position that they were in from the start. How would we proceed from there? Try to march to the Roaring Thunder Sect again? That¡¯s not a good plan of attack, as the current state of affairs proves. Mounting a separate attack seems like a better move to me.¡±

    ¡°But what if their army collapses?¡±, Guang Lei objected, agreeing with his master.

    ¡°We will instantly be outnumbered and out positioned.¡±

    Sun Liang answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

    ¡°As Elder Rong pointed out, they are still in possession of serious forces, and Patriarch Ye is a committed leader. Their morale may be hurt, but they won¡¯t collapse overnight.¡±

    ¡°No, I think that is a real concern. Dismissing it outright would do us no good. Still, I don¡¯t see how simply joining up with the army would provide us a good path to victory.¡±, Ning Bai asserted.

    ¡°I agree that we should attack on our own, but I can¡¯t exactly see how. We can¡¯t be planning to just march to their sect, can we? That would also just be doing what the new alliance already tried.¡±, Lan Shi stated.

    ¡°But it would split their attention in two. That is a big difference.¡±

    ¡°How about intercepting their own attacks?¡±

    ¡°Our armies can¡¯t match the speed of their horses; they will always outmaneuver us.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not forget about our fleet. It¡¯s one of our greatest assets and the Roaring Thunder Sect can¡¯t match us on the sea.¡±

    ¡°But we need to defend our own territories as well. If we sail around the entire peninsula, we will leave ourselves open for attack and also completely abandon Patriarch Ye¡¯s army.¡±

    ¡°I believe that I could execute a maneuver to trap enemy divisions if I were to be put in charge of¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about Xing Zhou¡¯s strength. If he catches us during that, we would have to¡­¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that go against our honor? We should fight them in the open instead of trying to trick them into¡­¡±

    As the debate continued and wildly bounced between the many different ideas, preferences and values of the elders, Liu Wei mostly remained silent. That didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t carefully listening though.

    Instead of actively participating, he was picking up bits and pieces of ideas and ordering them in his mind. As time went on, he began stringing them together, slowly weaving them into each other alongside his own opinions to form a more and more cohesive plan.

 Chapter 89: The Plan of Attack

    Liu Wei patiently waited as the other elders continued to talk, until their debate had mostly lost steam. With arguments mostly exchanged and ideas proposed, it was on him as the debate leader to move on.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to thank everyone for contributing their insights to this debate. Since there are now a lot of interesting ideas on the table, I believe it is time to start thinking about a full plan making use of them. If you all don¡¯t mind, I do have one to propose.¡±

    He paused and waited for a moment. Then, since there was no objection, he continued.

    ¡°Very well, let me lay out my thoughts. The Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s entire strategy seems to be built on splitting up their forces. While that has been working splendidly for them, it does mean that they don¡¯t have one massive army that we have to be on guard against, so there is nothing preventing us from doing the same.

    ¡°I believe that the best way to combat the Roaring Thunder Sect is to strategically distribute our capabilities on three separate operations, all of which benefit from one another¡¯s success but none of which are dependent on the others. I envision these operations as follows:

    ¡°First, we will form an elite team of fast responders. They will focus on intercepting the attacks on the remaining friendly sects, preventing further losses on the part of the alliance and gradually weakening the enemy forces in the process. This group will need to be able to move faster than the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s horses, so it will be exclusively made up of Dao Contemplation Cultivators. This limits its strength in confrontations with larger armies and leaves it especially vulnerable should it meet Xing Zhou. To compensate, all of our strongest warriors will be here. Patriarch Zhao, Elder Liang, Elder Zhong, and myself are who I would personally allocate.¡±

    The greatest difficulty in formulating a plan like this was giving all elders satisfactory roles. The powerful specifically would always demand to be put in properly influential and honorable positions of command. By necessitating many of them to be in this group, Liu Wei was circumventing this problem and sparring himself the headache of trying to create enough influential positions just so they could fill them.

    ¡°Second, we will send a relieve force to meet up with Patriarch Ye¡¯s army. They still have plenty of powerful cultivators with them, we just need to aid them in stopping the bleeding. To this end, this group will transport supplies and be primarily made up of healers and alchemists, led respectively by Elder Xia and Elder Ma Rong. Tending to their wounded and resupplying them will increase their current fighting force, minimize damage incurred by further guerilla attacks and massively improve morale. If possible, you should also see if you can get Matriarch Liqiu back on her feet faster. Her presence would be a massive boon to our side.¡±

    This group¡¯s success would depend on them slipping through mostly unnoticed. To ensure this, his own team would need to make as much noise as possible from the very beginning. Truthfully, this was the riskiest part of his plan and Liu Wei was also not entirely comfortable in letting Meixiu Xia get out of his sight. The potential reward was great though and he trusted Ma Rong to keep Lady Xia in check. The man had been taking on the pillar families for centuries without losing his footing, if there was anyone with sufficient experience in handling her schemes, it was him.

    ¡°Third, we will spend some time gathering the forces of our subordinate sects who will group up with the majority of our remaining fighting forces and board our fleet, headed by the Tidebreaker. The Roaring Thunder Sect has no way to oppose us on the sea and their guerilla tactics will not help them here either. Their sect is only three or four days of march from the coast, so we will sail directly into the heart of their territory and land there with a massive force. Elder Bai would be perfectly equipped to coordinate this attack.¡±

    This last part was a gamble: Ning Bai was indeed a skilled strategist and experienced in leading large forces. He did, however, suffer from the massive handicap that was his own inflated ego, so having him lead this operation unsupervised was risky.

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    The reason Liu Wei was suggesting him was tied into this: he hoped that it would stroke the man¡¯s damaged pride enough that he wouldn¡¯t cause further problems with petty revenge actions and instead devote his attention to proving his skill by flawlessly executing his operation. In the worst case, there would still be a great number of powerful cultivators around to stop him from behaving too recklessly and Liu Wei would personally provide some of them with guidance on how to handle him.

    ¡°Their tactics failing and their core territory under threat, they will be left with no choice than to return to their sect to defend it. With their momentum reversed, the moral of those they forcefully brought under them will be completely destroyed. Whenever possible, we will make them offers to rejoin us in return for lenience with regard to their punishment for betraying their allies. If it is even still necessary by then, we will force a decisive battle in a direct assault on the sect with both Patriarch Ye¡¯s and our force present.¡±

    With that, Liu Wei ended his presentation, leaving the others to ponder in silence for a while. Ning Bai was the first to speak up.

    ¡°An interesting plan. If it were to work out as you have envisioned, it would be a safe and sound way to defeat the Roaring Thunder Sect. There are a lot of moving parts though, all of which could run into problems.¡±

    ¡°You are right, Elder Bai. No plan ever plays out as smoothly as it is envisioned beforehand. War is inherently risky, and the enemy will of course do their best to keep things from going our way.

    ¡°However, as I have pointed out in the beginning, no single operation in this plan is load bearing. Should the relieve force be intercepted on its way to Patriarch Ye¡¯s army, we will still be able to land an army in the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s backyard and keep them from making any further progress in their attacks. They will be forced to withdraw and Patriarch Ye¡¯s army, even in its weakened state, will be able to aid us in the final attack. Similar things apply for the other scenarios. I¡¯d rather work around possible troubles like this than bet on a plan with a single point of failure that can cost us the campaign on its own.¡±

    ¡°I understand your thinking. Thanks for addressing my concerns.¡±

    Next, Patriarch Zhao spoke up.

    ¡°Elder Wei, I too must commend your plan. One thing that caught my attention is that while your plan accounts for most of our most powerful elders, you have failed to mention Elder Yuan at all. As one of our sect¡¯s two elders at the seventh stage, I assume that you haven¡¯t simply forgotten him?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. One thing that we ought to keep in our minds is that with our participation in the war, our own territory becomes a possible target for attacks. To prevent making the same mistake as Patriarch Ye, I believe that it is vital that we keep a defensive army stationed here that will dissuade any such attempts. As one of our strongest elders and a trusted neutral party, I believe Elder Yuan to be the perfect choice to lead this army.¡±

    Protecting their territory was extremely important to keep morale high, especially amongst their subordinate sects. It was also an important selling point to the pillar families, since they certainly didn¡¯t want to see their assets endangered.

    ¡°I see. And are you certain that Elder Yuan alone will be enough to defend us? What if the Roaring Thunder Sect mounts a larger scale attack?¡±

    ¡°To do so would require them to give up their current positions, taking the pressure off of Patriarch Ye, which would be a major strategic mistake. And in the time they would require to get to our territory, our own response team could return to help fend them off.¡±

    ¡°I see. Elder Yuan, are you okay with taking that position?¡±

    ¡°I am honored to protect our sect from all threats. That goes for this war as much as it goes for any other time.¡±

    The Patriarch took a moment longer to contemplate.

    ¡°Does anybody else have any concerns they¡¯d like Elder Wei to address or does anybody here want to make a counterproposal?¡±

    Nobody spoke up.

    ¡°Well then, I suppose it is time to vote on Elder Wei¡¯s proposed plan. Everybody in favor, please raise your hands.¡±

    The vote was an easy one. With Liu Wei¡¯s successful defense of his plan and without any other plans, most elders were satisfied to vote in favor. The only ones to dissent were Zheng Rong and Sun Liang. The former was probably dissatisfied with how Ma Rong was given the leadership of the sect¡¯s alchemists but knew that trying to fight it in the debate would only lead to his embarrassment, while the latter had simply made it a point to never vote for any proposal made by Liu Wei, no matter what, especially when his vote didn¡¯t have the potential to tip the scales.

    With a majority of thirteen to two, the decision was finalized: The sect would move ahead in joining the war against the Roaring Thunder Sect. following following the strategy proposed by Elder Liu Wei.

 Chapter 90: Announcement in the Sunset

    So war it was. The news didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise to Qingge. Master Wei had already told her his personal position beforehand, and even if he hadn¡¯t, she would have guessed that this was where things were going on her own.

    As general director of the Enforcement Hall, she had better access to the sect¡¯s intelligence than most and she was well aware just how bad the war was going for the new alliance. If the Lunar Peaks Sect hadn¡¯t chosen to interfere, it was quite likely that both the Parting Clouds Sect and the Serene Plains Sect would be either destroyed or badly weakened and rolled into the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s sphere of influence.

    Once everyone had somewhat recovered from the war, the Lunar Peaks Sect would then be facing a singular, much larger power than their own, that was evidently hungry for conquest. They couldn¡¯t allow that outcome to occur, and the earlier they started working against it, the easier it would be.

    But despite all of that understanding, despite not being surprised on an intellectual level, despite having received more information beforehand than anyone around her, the announcement hit Qingge just as hard as the rest of the crowd. Hearing the Patriarch, clothed in simple robes and surrounded by all fourteen of the sect¡¯s elders speak the words out loud, tell them with a grave expression that the sect would be heading to war against one of the great sects, was something no knowledge could have fully prepared her for. Qingge could feel her heart running faster and her breathing intensify.

    Word had gone out around noon that an announcement would be held at the Patriarch¡¯s Palace at sunset and that anybody was free to drop their work and head there, if they wanted to attend. This wasn¡¯t actually an option for everyone of course, depending on how far away they worked, but since the Enforcement Hall was situated quite high on the same mountain as the Palace, Qingge didn¡¯t even have to skip her work to make it here in time.

    She had already known what this announcement would be about, and many of the others in the crowd had probably been able to guess as well. Nevertheless, they had still wanted to be here to hear it for themselves.

    War.

    And not only that, a war that she would have to participate in. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

    The last major war, though not nearly on this scale of course, had been the war against the Rising Eagle Sect, about sixteen years ago. Qingge had just been an inner disciple back then. Disciples didn¡¯t participate in sect warfare, at least not directly. At most, they would be enlisted to fill the roles of absent members back at the sect, to keep everything going smoothly. But now Qingge was a full-fledged member, even if moments like these made her feel incredibly small.

    Qingge continued listening to the patriarch¡¯s announcement. For the time being, nobody would be allowed to leave the sect without direct permission from an elder. This was done to prevent any information of the sect¡¯s intentions leaking out prematurely and would apply even to servants, messengers, traveling merchants and the like. The ban was expected to be in force for about two weeks. Detailed information about the sect¡¯s strategy would only be made public when it was immediately relevant for the same reason.

    All members were to report to their respective halls within two days, where their current level of cultivation, special skills and combat ability, and other relevant information, like recent wounds, would be recorded. The halls would then plan accordingly and get back to them with their assigned roles and inform the members of everything they needed to know.

    The sect would supply arms and armor to those who didn¡¯t own adequate ones, though most older cultivators were probably not affected by this. The Alchemy Hall would offer cultivation medicine at a discount to all members who were close to a breakthrough to another realm, and the Training Hall would oversee a short but extensive training regime, mandatory for all members who were assigned to active combat.

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    Meanwhile, economic production would slow down, with only key roles still being filled. With all trade suspended anyways, it only made sense to cut out production of what would¡¯ve otherwise been shipped away anyways. Any time gained like this would either be spent training or cultivating.

    That was all the Patriarch told them for now. After a few closing words, like wishing them luck and asking them to pass around the message to those who weren¡¯t here today, he retreated back into the palace. Some of the elders followed him, others took off into the air and flew away.

    Once they were gone, the crowd started disbanding as well. Notably, few people talked at all, and those that did, did so in muffled voices. Considering the gravity of the news just broken, it seemed a little strange, but most people seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

    Qingge was just the same, heading back down the mountain towards her home. Night had already fallen, but the path was well lit by the glimmering stars and the bright moon. She¡¯d talk to Daiyu about all of this tomorrow, but right now she just wanted to lay down.

    She didn¡¯t get very far before a familiar voice caught up with her.

    ¡°Qingge.¡±

    ¡°Master Wei.¡±

    She had already half expected him to show up. Turning around, she saw her master landing on the path right behind her and greeted him with a bow.

    ¡°I wanted to talk to you. I suppose that you have questions, and I have things that I want to tell you as well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Master.¡±

    Master Wei caught up with her and gestured forward.

    ¡°Walk with me.¡±

    As they did, he continued talking.

    ¡°I can imagine that you feel rather shaken right now. I know I did when I first had to participate in a war, and that was nothing remotely approaching this scale. I also know that you feel very conflicted about killing at all, even disregarding the danger to yourself.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ yes, I do feel that way.¡±

    Qingge hadn¡¯t told him about these thoughts, but she supposed that it was only natural that he could guess it either way. She had spent quite a lot of time thinking about this issue in the last months.

    Professor Lei¡¯s counsel had helped her a lot; specifically, it had given her good reasons to grow stronger. Strength meant the ability to protect others, to enforce justice. It also meant the ability not to kill her enemies. Mercy was the privilege of the strong.

    All of that was very reassuring in allowing her to continue walking her path, but it didn¡¯t quite resolve her feelings on an emotional level. It also only helped her in considerations of the far future. Right now, she wasn¡¯t strong, and that wouldn¡¯t change overnight. Because of that, Qingge was still struggling with these thoughts, even if it had become a little easier.

    ¡°Your concerns are normal to have and not easy to bear. I can¡¯t offer you a perfect solution because, as far as I know, there exists none. What I can tell you, is that you don¡¯t have to walk the way of a warrior. There are plenty of professions that a cultivator can choose from, just as there are plenty of Daos. Crafters, alchemists, healers¡­ Just as I won¡¯t tell you to follow me in studying the Dao of Fire, I won¡¯t tell you what profession to specialize in.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t something Qingge had thought off. She had naturally assumed, until now, that she would follow in the footsteps of her master. It was something she had accepted as part of the deal when she had agreed to become his disciple. Of course, combat remained a relevant part of the reality of all cultivators, no matter the profession, but it didn¡¯t have to hold the same level of significance to all of them. Perhaps, a more peaceful path was still an option for her¡­

    ¡°All of that is just a matter for the future though. It won¡¯t help you in the upcoming war. Regarding that¡­ Well, sadly this isn¡¯t an offer I can make to all members of the sect, even though I¡¯d like to. But if you, as my disciple, do not feel ready yet, I can keep you out of it. Some members will need to stay behind at the sect anyways, and I could make sure that you are one of them. You don¡¯t need to see any combat, if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Qingge bit her lip. Yes! Yes, she wanted that. That was what she wanted to blurt out. But something inside her stopped her from doing so. She¡¯d be running away from her problems. Hiding in the privilege of her position, a privilege that others didn¡¯t have. Could she do that, just like that?

    ¡°I understand that this isn¡¯t an easy offer. You don¡¯t need to answer me right away. Take some time to consider, to clear up your thoughts. There¡¯s plenty more I want to talk to you about, so I will visit you in the Enforcement Hall tomorrow, after I have sorted out things with the Training Hall. With the organizational nightmare about to transpire, I imagine that you won¡¯t be able to leave from there. For now, I think you have enough to ponder about, so I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do. I¡¯ll make my decision before tomorrow. Thank you, Master!¡±

    ¡°Try to catch some sleep anyways. Goodbye for now, Qingge.¡±

    With a friendly nod, Elder Wei bid her goodbye and took off into the air. Soon, he had disappeared between the bright stars of the night sky.

 Chapter 91: Farewell

    ¡°I¡­ I have decided that I¡¯ll join the war.¡±

    Liu Wei took a long, contemplative look at Qingge. Her trembling voice and the sweat on her forehead betrayed her fear, but her eyes were full of resolution.

    ¡°May I ask your reason?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ to be honest, I had decided to stay here last night. I really, really wanted to. But¡­Well, I¡¯ve been categorizing members all day. Age, cultivation level, combat experience, type of weapon¡­ I¡¯m tasked with ordering them and assigning them.

    ¡°This hall is primarily made up of warriors. They¡¯re mostly going to the attack force. I don¡¯t even get to meet them. They¡¯re just stacks of paper on my desk. And I¡¯m sending them to the frontlines.¡±

    Qingge took a deep breath.

    ¡°I know that most of them are probably fine with it. They are warriors after all. But sending them away like this and then staying behind myself, hiding behind my privileged position, feels¡­ dirty. I know the stats and I fit the bill. If I myself were a piece of paper on my desks, the chance that I¡¯d send myself to the attack force is rather large. So I¡¯ve decided to go.¡±

    An impressive answer. One that spoke of deep reflection. Liu Wei had been worried that Qingge might feel pressured into joining the war to meet some imaginary standards as his disciple, but this reassured him that that wasn¡¯t the case. This was her decision. All that he could do as a master was to support her in it.

    ¡°An honorable reason. Very well, you¡¯ll join the war then. Are you already aware of our strategy?¡±

    ¡°The three-pronged attack? Yes, I have been briefed.¡±

    ¡°Then you already know that I will not be part of the same force as you. Meaning I won¡¯t be present to protect you either. Make sure to keep yourself safe, I don¡¯t want to find you wounded upon our reunion. No risky solo maneuvers, your one near-death experience in Moonlake City is more than enough. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good. Be aware of your talents and try to make yourself useful with them. Organization, planning, logistics ¨C all often overlooked, but extremely essential parts of warfare. And if you do find yourself in direct combat¡­ well¡­¡±

    Liu Wei smirked, and his spatial ring flashed brightly. When the light receded, a full set of armor was layed out on the table between them, snuggly fit between the stacks of paper.

    He had made a detour to the Manufacturing Hall before coming here, just to pick this one up. Having a hunch that the sect would have to join the war, he had already put it in commission several weeks ago. Jiang Peng had made him pay a truly unreasonable price, but that was already to be expected.

    And despite the blacksmith¡¯s many, many shortcomings, Liu Wei had to admit that there was very much a reason that he was leader of the Manufacturing Hall. He had very much delivered.

    The armor was made with some truly powerful beast¡¯s leather, covered in chainmail and reinforced with solid steel in key areas. It struck the perfect balance between being lightweight enough for a cultivator of Qingge¡¯s level to comfortably carry and still being as protective as possible.

    It was both elegant and practical, barely restricting movement. The decorations were beautiful and elaborate, carved in fine lines of gold across the metal pieces, but mostly small and subtle. Enough to establish that the wearer was an important person on closer look, but not flashy enough to attract the attention of the enemy on the battlefield.

    To top it off, Liu Wei¡¯s Soul sense revealed that the armor was carrying multiple enchantment formations that seemed, judging from their quality, like Jiang Peng had employed Sun Liang himself to carve them. It was all perfectly matched to what Liu Wei had wanted from the armor.

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    ¡°Wow¡­¡±

    After an initial moment of shock, Qingge seemed awestruck by the armor.

    ¡°A gift from master to disciple. This should keep you safe from harm.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Thank you, Master.¡±

    She traced one of the golden lines with her finger.

    ¡°Can I¡­ try it on?¡±

    ¡°If you manage to put it on, sure.¡±

    ¡°Is that¡­ difficult?¡±

    Liu Wei chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see. I¡¯ll go greet Elder Shi while you¡¯re at it.¡±

    He stood up and headed out, leaving a slightly confused Qingge behind. As far as he knew, the girl had never had to put on proper armor, so she wouldn¡¯t know that it was quite difficult to get done by yourself. He could help her of course, but he wouldn¡¯t be present when she¡¯d actually need it in the war either, so it was better if she learned it from the start. Also, a master helping their disciple putting on their armor was a little too unorthodox, even for Liu Wei¡¯s standards.

    Heading straight for Elder Shi¡¯s office, the door swung open on its own before Liu Wei had the chance to knock.

    ¡°Elder Wei.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Elder Shi. I hope I haven¡¯t disturbed you.¡±

    Lan Shi had assumed a meditative pose, hovering a good three feet above the ground.

    ¡°No worries, I¡¯m just doing some casual cultivation to pass the time. What brings you to me?¡±

    ¡°Several things really, but first and foremost, a favor I¡¯d like to ask.¡±

    ¡°How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like you to look out for my disciple, Qingge. She is going to join the attack force alongside you, and I won¡¯t be there to protect her.¡±

    Lan Shi nodded seriously.

    ¡°I will try to keep the girl safe.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°No need to thank me. It is only natural. What else?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to talk to you about Elder Bai. Someone needs to keep him in check, should he get any overly reckless ideas.¡±

    ¡°I see. I was surprised when you suggested him as leader of the attack force. Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Well, you see¡­¡±

    Liu Wei spent some time explaining his reasoning and how he thought that Elder Bai needed to be handled. Then, the two elders chatted some more about the upcoming war, before Liu Wei bid his goodbye and returned to Qingge¡¯s room. He found her standing in the middle of it with a rather proud grin on her face and fully clad in her new armor.

    ¡°I see you have managed it.¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°So how is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ amazing! It fits so well; it¡¯s like a second skin!¡±

    ¡°Hardly a surprise, considering it was tailor-made for you by this sect¡¯s best smith.¡±

    ¡°It also feels like I am stronger than usual.¡±

    ¡°That should be the strengthening formation doing its work. It functions basically the same as your soul when you use Qi to strengthen your movements. It¡¯s not quite as well-tuned to your body though, so you¡¯ll have to get used to moving around like this. This enchantment won¡¯t be very useful once you have hit soul-body unification, but until then it¡¯ll keep you good company.¡±

    ¡°I can feel that there are other formations as well, what do they do?¡±

    ¡°Well, the strengthening formation is the one on your chest. The one on your back is simply an enhancement formation, it improves the armor¡¯s durability. The one on your head regulates your body temperature, helping you conserve stamina by keeping it low in battle. The ones on your boots improve adhesion, making sure you don¡¯t slip, and the ones on your shoulders, well¡­ try feeding them some of your Qi.¡±

    Qingge did as instructed, and a dimly glowing shield of energy flickered into existence around her, causing her to gasp in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s not particularly strong, because it depends on your own Qi, but this shield is very good at protecting you from the kinds of attack that the armor will be of little use against. Say, a burst of flames, a bolt of lightning or spraying acid.¡±

    ¡°This armor is¡­ amazing!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d hope so, considering the price¡­ In all seriousness, it¡¯s made specifically to aid someone of your level. Most of its functions would be completely useless to a high-level cultivator, because they specifically cover for weaknesses that they don¡¯t have. But for someone your level, you¡¯ll be hard pressed to find a better set of armor¡­ well, I¡¯m sure the Pillar Families have a couple in their treasuries, but these are notoriously hard to get into.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master. I¡¯m not sure how I could¡­¡±

    ¡°Repay me? I know a way. Simply make it count and keep yourself safe and sound, so I still have a disciple when the war is over.¡±

    Qingge¡¯s expression turned resolute. Clad in her silver armor like this, she almost looked like a true warrior.

    ¡°I promise that I will.¡±

    ¡°That is enough for me.¡±

    For a moment, the two stood in silence.

    ¡°Very well. I will head out now and depart the sect tonight alongside the other elders in my group. We¡¯ll stop at some of our subordinate sects to spread the word before heading into enemy territory. This is goodbye for now, Qingge. I wish you the best of luck.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master. I wish you luck as well.¡±

    Her gaze trailed off for a second. Then, she bowed deeply and called out with a loud, firm voice.

    ¡°This disciple greets her master!¡±

    With a smile, Liu Wei returned a slight bow.

    ¡°This master receives his disciples¡¯ greetings.¡±

 Chapter 92: Departure

    Liu Wei landed on the clearing in front of his pagoda, while mentally going over everything he¡¯d done today to make sure he wasn¡¯t forgetting anything critically important. Once he was gone, he wasn¡¯t planning on returning to the sect until after the war was done with, so he had to make sure everything would run on its own until then.

    The Training Hall¡¯s affairs were in order, the impromptu Training Program organized. He had recruited Elder Shi to lead the whole exercise and asked Elder Bai to chime in as well, though he wasn¡¯t expecting the man to contribute a whole lot in that regard. The disciples¡¯ training would continue throughout the war, though with reduced oversight, since only some of the instructors were allowed to stay behind.

    Some of the older disciples would help out the few alchemists and healers who would stay at the sect. Since they were needed in both the relieve and the attack force, these skills were in short supply, despite the sect¡¯s unusually strong divisions in both regards.

    Qingge had made her decision and received her armor. With Elder Shi keeping an eye on her and her bodyguard Yang having proven his loyalty back during the confrontation with Elder Bai, this would hopefully be enough to ensure her safety.

    Speaking of Elder Bai, Liu Wei had spoken with multiple other elders about him, ensuring that they would step in should he become too reckless. That possibility aside, this was by far the most secure of the three operations, the sect¡¯s mighty fleet leaving very little room for failure. They¡¯d just have to make sure to secure enough support so that their attack would be enough to crack the Roaring Thunder Sect¡¯s defenses in the end.

    That should be all for the sect. All that was left for Liu Wei to do now was preparing himself for his own mission. That was what he was at his residence for. Wasting no time, he headed into his treasury.

    Nowadays, the large room was a lot emptier than he had grown used to over the centuries, with most of the crates of high-grade spirit stones that had previously occupied the space having been transferred to the Training Hall to allow him more direct access. With the hall¡¯s economy stabilized, he hadn¡¯t needed to use his personal funds to support it in a while now, but it was still better to have them on hand in case anything unexpected happened.

    With the spirit stones gone, ignoring a few paintings on the walls, whose value was purely artistic, only the spatial gems remained, secured on their chest-high pedestals in an octagonal pattern around the room. From artifacts over techniques and pills to millennia old plants, these contained most of the valuables Liu Wei had collected over his long life.

    While still not easy to craft and most certainly not unlimited, stationary spatial artifacts could be built to contain a lot more storage space than moving ones ¨C the drawback being, of course, that they couldn¡¯t be moved more than a couple of feet once they were deployed without their spatial dimension shattering and flinging its entire contents into the surrounding area ¨C so these eight gems were enough to contain Liu Wei¡¯s immense number of possessions with plenty of room to spare. He had mostly chosen the number for aesthetic, but also for organizational purposes.

    The question now was what to bring for this war. The space in his ring was limited and there were lots of things that could potentially be of use, so he needed to be smart about this.

    To start off, Liu Wei emptied the current contents of his ring onto the floor. A pot of ink, a quill, some empty parchment, a couple of lists and documents, his ceremonial robes, a book written by Professor Lei, a teapot and several bundles of leaves¡­ he could do without all of these things.

    What he couldn¡¯t do without off, of course, was his sword. Like most cultivators, he always kept his weapon with him, but there were rarely times when he would need it as much as now. He picked up the weapon and examined it, to make sure that it was in perfect condition. The golden flames that were engraved along the blade glistened in the dim light as he turned it around.

    This sword had last belonged to a tenth stage fire cultivator from the mainland before being lost upon his death and making its way through the treasuries of various minor sects who had no idea what they were dealing with. He had spent months tracking it down and a great deal of wealth to acquire it, but it had been very much worth it. It was as good of a weapon as a cultivator of his realm could hope for.

    Liu Wie was rather agnostic when it came to his choice of weapon; when it came down to it, he actually preferred spears and polearms for their extended reach and greater leverage. Sadly, he had never been able to get his hands on one as well-made as his sword.

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    That didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d limit himself to it though. Returning the sword to his spatial ring, he headed over to the gem that contained his various weapons. Laying his hand on its cold, deep blue surface, he mentally searched through it, taking out the weapons he fancied.

    A spear with a long, sharpened tip, fit for both stabbing and slashing, a large round shield, embedded with a fiery ruby in the center, a bundle of nine javelins, their golden tips formed like flickering flames. That had to be enough. There were a lot more weapons here that had accompanied Liu Wei in many a battle and that he would have liked to bring, but he had to limit himself to what he might actually use.

    Next, he picked up two leather pouches off the pile on the floor. One of them contained high-grade spirit stones, the other held silver taels. He refilled both of them to the brim before returning them to his ring. He had nothing in mind for it yet, but time had taught him that it was always best to keep some money on hand, whether in mortal or cultivator currency.

    After putting away the rest of the pile, Liu Wei brought out his armor from another gem. The heavy suit of plates wasn¡¯t quite as state-of-the-art as his sword, but it was still a trustworthy source of protection that hadn¡¯t let him down in the many battles he had fought in it.

    A large traveling coat, some cleaning and maintenance supplies, a detailed map of the peninsula, a long knife and a couple of rations of food all wandered into the ring as well. Cultivators of his level didn¡¯t need to eat, but it did help them regain their strength faster after exhausting battles.

    After changing out of his robes into more practical ones made for traveling, he also stored to more sets of them in his ring. If there were sudden engagements that didn¡¯t allow him time to don put on his armor, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that his clothes would make it out undamaged and he liked neither the idea of having to run around in rags, nor having to teach himself sowing.

    Finally, he filled all the available space he had left with healing pills, various antidotes and other medical supplies. One could never have enough of these in an active warzone, be it to take care of their own wounds or of those they met along the way.

    With his ring now filled to the brim, Liu Wei rearmed the protective formations around his treasury and spent the rest of the evening in meditation, clearing his thoughts and mentally preparing himself for the days to come.

    Once the moon stood high in the clear night sky and midnight was approaching, he left his residence and made his way to the patriarch¡¯s palace. After a short flight, he arrived on the plaza before it, where many of his fellow elders had already gathered. Contrary to Liu Wei, most of them were wearing their full ceremonial robes. They wouldn¡¯t depart tonight and were only here to see him and his group off.

    Sun Liang, who was among those already present, didn¡¯t show any visual reaction to his arrival. He was wearing his usual flowing, white robes, apparently not too preoccupied with practicality. Liu Wei wondered whether the man even possessed proper traveling clothes. It didn¡¯t really seem like his thing.

    Shortly after Liu Wei, Yue Zhong arrived as well. A visual opposite to Sun Liang, her chosen clothes were tight, practical and entirely black ¨C an assassin¡¯s outfit. In her usual cold fashion, she regarded Liu Wei and the others with a short nod, staying otherwise silent.

    After the last elders had arrived ¨C just this once, even Jiang Peng was here on time ¨C the Patriarch came out of the palace and joined them. Still in his war robes, he had strapped a long broadsword to his back that complimented his gravely serious expression. Once all the elders had shifted their attention on him, he began speaking with a raised voice.

    ¡°Elders of this sect, fellow cultivators. Tonight is the night: Elder Wei, Elder Liang, Elder Zhao and I will be departing the sect to join the war against the Roaring Thunder Sect. All of you have your own duties, as we have agreed upon during yesterday¡¯s council meeting, and I have no doubt in me that you will strive to achieve them to perfection. Depending on the future, some of us might not cross paths quite some time.

    ¡°May the guiding light of the moon brighten your path, and the Dao guide your hand until the day we meet again. And when that day comes, let us share stories of our achievements that rival the glory of our ancestors and are deserving of the pride of all future generations. Farewell.¡±

    He bowed, the other departing elders repeating the gesture. A moment of silence passed, then Shirong Yuan began to speak.

    ¡°Thank you for these kind words, Patriarch Zhao. We shall keep them in our minds as we fight for the future of our sect and this peninsula. As the oldest of the elders, I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that I wish upon you the strength of the mountains and the speed of the wind as you chase down our foes. Farewell.¡±

    He too bowed, with all of the other elders following in unison.

    Then, slowly and ceremoniously, Long Zhao began rising into the air. Liu Wei followed him, then Sun Liang and finally Yue Zhong. Once they had gained some height, they stopped one last time. Then, the Patriarch in the front, they began flying south. At first, they were still slow, but they picked up more and more speed as they went.

    Soon, the other elders were nothing but a speck that slowly disappeared in the night. Then, they left behind the few lights of the buildings disappeared. Then the massive, gray silhouettes of the mountains. Soon, they were left alone in the dark with nothing but the full moon above and the canopy of stars around them.