Seeing the Captain like this caused Xu Qing to sigh.
“Why’d you have to go and eat so much?”
“I didn’t! You took most of it. You and your friends!” Inside, the Captain was grumbling, I wanted to eat it by myself, didn’t I? That’s a normal thing! Xu Qing, you treacherous thief! I can’t believe you caught on to me.
“Wait a second,” the Captain said, looking warily at Xu Qing. “You wanted to eat it by yourself, didn’t you?”
Xu Qing looked the Captain in the eyes and shook his head very seriously.
The Captain continued to eye Xu Qing suspiciously as Xu Qing helped him along.
“It’s all the fault of the old man and his ‘raising wolves’ philosophy. Where else in the world is there a Master who doesn’t give a bunch of resources to his apprentices, huh? Look at all the other mountain peaks! Whatever those apprentices want, their Masters get. But not us….” The Captain sighed.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything. He was already familiar with Master Seventh’s style. He would give his apprentices techniques, protective items, and even safe asylum. The only thing he didn’t give them were dao protectors and resources. On that front, his apprentices were on their own. That was the only way for an apprentice to become the ultimate lone wolf. The alternative was to be a housedog. The result was obvious when you looked at the Captain and Third Elder Brother, both of whom went to great lengths to acquire cultivation resources.
“And then there’s that Master Shengyun,” the Captain continued impatiently. “Next time you run into a gem like that, make sure to let me know. We can handle him together, and both get rich in the process.”
Xu Qing quickly nodded as he helped the Captain out of the canyon and back to the ship.
Before long, the ship rumbled to life. This time, it wasn’t a teleportation. Instead, they sailed out across the water toward the Revered Ancient mainland.
Shortly before dawn, it became obvious that the Captain really had stuffed himself too much and was having digestive problems, as he went into convulsions. Master Seventh, not wanting to be bothered, knocked the Captain unconscious. Then he took Xu Qing out to look at the sunrise.
Third Elder Brother was staying with some Second Peak girls, and wasn’t onboard. Other than some ordinary disciples, the only people on the Seventh Peak ship were Xu Qing and Master Seventh.
As Master Seventh stood at the prow, the sea breeze carried black froth up from the water, but an invisible force dispersed it before it touched either of them.
Xu Qing stood next to Master Seventh looking out at the dark sky.
“Fourth Sib, do you know much about Revered Ancient?” Master Seventh asked coolly.
“Not much,” Xu Qing replied with a shake of his head. He still didn’t feel completely comfortable in the presence of Master Seventh.
“The Revered Ancient mainland is a massive place. The Emperor-Receiving Prefecture is only a small corner of it. That said, even though it’s only a corner, it’s still about ten times as large as South Phoenix.
“The Emperor-Receiving Prefecture is basically a peninsula. It has the sea on three sides. Going from north to south are the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains. From east to west is the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River. They meet in the middle. The mountain range is made up of about 100,000 individual mountains, all of them steep and treacherous. They’re filled with countless sects, mutant species, grues, and the like.
“The river is amazing. It’s filled with immortal energy, and its waters can purge mutagen. As you can imagine, people constantly fight over control of it. It enters from another province to the east and is controlled by the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society, who holds about thirty percent of the territory in the Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. Upon leaving their territory, it goes through the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains and into a forbidden ground called Spiritsound. Then it runs its course to the west, where it empties into the sea.
“In the spot where the river intersects the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains, there’s a tributary of the river that long flowed into the Seven Sect Coalition. However, years ago, the Young Arbiter Sect created a dam to block it off. Recently, that dam was destroyed, and the river once again started to flow into coalition territory.
“The Seven Sect Coalition is located to the south of the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains, near the Forbidden Sea. On the other side of the mountains is the Three-Spirits Dao-Suppressing Mountain.
“As for the Church of Departure and the South Tor Ghost Mountain, they’re in the west, on either side of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River. When the river goes through the Spiritsound forbidden ground, it turns black, and the river transforms into something vile. Honestly, that makes it a good match for the vile godly power of the South Tor Ghost Mountain. And the Daoist Rite of Departure is a very bizarre organization, and they don’t really care.
“Finally, there’s the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar, which is located in the snowy tundra to the north, just on the border of the prefecture beyond.”
As Master Seventh explained these things, the sky turned bright, as if a sea of fire were spreading from the horizon. Xu Qing watched as the red sun rose into the sky like a fireball.
“Rest up,” Master Seventh said. “We’ll arrive in two days. After we make landfall, crush the coalition cultivators that need crushing. When necessary, be deceptive. When necessary, show off.” With that, Master Seventh vanished.
Xu Qing watched the sunrise, then sat down cross-legged to meditate.
The two days passed relatively quickly. Eventually, land rose up on the horizon. The Captain’s belly was back to normal, and he was bouncing up and down in excitement. Third Elder Brother had returned. The highnesses from the other mountain peaks were cracking their knuckles, their eyes shining as they contemplated the revenge that they were about to get.
As the huge ships got closer to the mainland, Xu Qing spotted a huge city. It was so big it seemed to stretch on and on forever. Compared to it, Seven Blood Eyes could well be called a village. The place excelled in the size, population, and luxury on display. The architectural style was very different, and reminded Xu Qing of the buildings he’d seen in the Violet Lands. They exuded a sense of grandeur and antiquity, but at the same time, were exquisite and refined.
Even from a distance, Xu Qing could see seven mountains rising up in the middle of the city, all with unique shapes. The mountains were located quite a distance from each other, and with the surrounding city linking them all. Each and every mountain exuded a shocking pressure, and had a statue at its summit. Some were human, some were sea beasts, and others were simply immense towers. One of them was a massive sword that rose into the heavens.
The moment the seven ships from Seven Blood Eyes sailed into the port, the sound of bells rang through the mighty capital city of the Seven Sect Coalition.
They tolled twelve times.
It was obviously ceremonial. Two people in the patriarch level were there to receive them, those being the representatives of the coalition’s second and sixth peaks. Also present were the sect leaders from those two sects.
In addition, numerous coalition disciples waited on the shore. Though they stood there solemnly and respectfully, there was also vigilance and even displeasure in their eyes. 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝘦𝘵
That was especially true of the disciples from the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect, whose eyes were cold as ice. And many of them, after looking over everyone from Seven Blood Eyes, stared at Xu Qing. They weren’t the only ones. Other sect disciples eventually fixed their gazes on Xu Qing. As for the male disciples, most of them had complicated expressions, while the female disciples seemed delightfully taken aback.
Meanwhile, the highnesses from the various mountain peaks all emerged onto the decks of their respective ships. Each of them released the power of their cultivation bases, opening their dharma apertures and even igniting their life flames and entering the profound radiance state. Although none of them had four flames, all of them were unique and stunning. Some had ways to improve their battle prowess, pushing it past the ordinary limits.
Seven Blood Eyes had been preparing for a long time to become a supervisory sect. And of course, part of that plan had been helping the current generation of disciples reach their potential. It was even possible to say that these disciples were the best these mountain peaks had ever been able to offer.
Although the Seven Sect Coalition was also capable of doing something like this, it wasn’t something that could be repeated over and over again. Thus, when it happened, it was profoundly impressive. Some disciples had howling grues around them. Some had all sorts of high-level magical devices. Some created ripples with each footstep. Some looked ordinary, but were covered with beastly totem tattoos.
Almost instantly, the disciples on the ships and the disciples on the shore were all itching to fight each other.
Of course, the coalition disciples were all from supervisory sects, and were amazing in their own right. All of them exuded impressive auras as they all took a threatening step forward.
As the auras from the two sides vied with each other, Xu Qing looked around, his expression the same as ever. After looking at all the disciples on shore, he didn’t see any he recognized. None of the chosen who had previously come to Seven Blood Eyes had come. Obviously, they realized that most of the highnesses from Seven Blood Eyes had intentionally lost their matches earlier, and were now out for revenge.
As for Xu Qing, he usually didn’t like to make a scene. However, his Master had asked him to do just that, and so, when the coalition disciples all stepped forward threateningly, he did the same. Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. A tempestuous aura erupted from Xu Qing, shaking everything around him and causing a stiff wind to scream in the area. Even the sunlight seemed to bend in his direction, much less the gazes of everyone present. Xu Qing wore his violet robe with gold embroidery, plus the Violet-Heaven Supreme-Limitless Crown. He had two umbrellas overhead. One was covered in flowing black flames that could shake one’s soul. The other was dazzling and seven-colored, and thrummed with a chanting like a song from the highest heavens. Behind him, a piercing cry rang out into the sky as a golden crow appeared, glaring at the disciples on the shore. All of this, combined with Xu Qing’s spectacular good looks, made him like an imperial prince walking through the mortal world.
The coalition disciples on shore reacted visibly. It was like they had been struck with heavenly thunder, and had no choice but to take a step back.
Xu Qing took another step forward, and his six-flame battle prowess erupted with terrifying pressure. It became a shockwave that could crush anything in its path, and it caused sweat to break out on the foreheads of the coalition disciples. Expressions flickering with terror, they took another step back.
Just one person was exerting crushing pressure onto everyone on the shore! It was just like reincarnation, as this was what had occurred when Master Shengyun arrived at Seven Blood Eyes! That said, at this moment, Xu Qing was even more fear-inspiring than Master Shengyun had been.
“Xu Qing!”
“It’s the number one chosen from Seven Blood Eyes, Xu Qing!”
“He arrested a bunch of highnesses from various sects, and also defeated Master Shengyun. He has terrifying six-flame battle prowess, and what’s even crazier is that six isn’t his limit!”
“He has an imperial-class technique, the blessing of two life lamps, and is peerlessly talented!”