The fourth day of the fourth lunar month.
To the ordinary citizens of the Great Zhou, it was just another perfectly normal day.
However, to the various factions scattered throughout the empire, it held an entirely different significance.
Because today, the seventeen-year-old Grandmaster, Su Yi, began his journey to the Jade Capital!
Dark undercurrents had long since started surging beneath the surface.
Ambushes lurked on every corner!
Water Caltrop Ridge.
A place deep in the mountains, about a hundred miles from the Imperatorial Provincial Capital. It was shaped much like a water caltrop, hence the name.
The cliffs were steep, and humans rarely visited.
A run-down temple of ambiguous age stood alone by one side of the road. The main gates were crumbling and decaying, and the interior was covered in dust and cobwebs. Its statue of the Lord of the Soil had long since crumbled into stone fragments.
Night drew near, along with wind and light rain. The air was shrouded in mist.
A blue-robed youth carrying an oil paper umbrella walked along the winding path. He seemed perfectly at ease, as if here on a leisurely stroll.
This was none other than Su Yi.
Since departing the provincial capital at dawn, he’d traveled on foot, traversing mountains and rivers almost without rest. Now, as night fell, he merely felt a bit hungry.
When he arrived before the dilapidated temple, he glanced up at the sky and decided to rest here for the night.
He thought for a moment, then patted the Soul-Nurturing Gourd at his waist. “Qing Wan.”
A wisp of white smoke emerged from the gourd, and a red-dressed figure appeared amidst the swirling mists.
“Mystic Master, what are your orders?” She was beautiful, but she looked a bit silly, and her big eyes were timid.
Unlike before, Qing Wan’s presence was already indistinguishable from an ordinary person’s. Her figure was delicate and graceful, and her skin was fair and shiny as jade, and her voice was soft and sweet.
“Go gather some wild game. Remember, don’t go too far,” ordered Su Yi.
“Mm!” Qing Wan hurriedly agreed. In a flash, her delicate figure blurred into a streak of red and disappeared into the rain.
Su Yi put away his umbrella, pushed open the door, and walked into the temple. Once inside, he took out his wicker chair, leaned back, and began examining his map in detail.
There were about two thousand miles between the Jade Capital and the Imperatorial Provincial Capital, and in addition to an extensive mountain range, the path included vast rivers, deserts, and lakes….
Of course, there were numerous cities along the way too.
If he continued on foot according to his planned route, he’d cross at least three tall mountains, nine rivers, and nineteen cities before reaching the Jade Capital.
But then, Su Yi was in no rush.
He’d long since agreed to meet Ning Sihua and Mu Xi at Golden Willow City, about one hundred miles from Treasure Temple Yao Mountain. When the time came, the three of them would venture into the mountain together before proceeding to the Jade Capital.
At this pace, I should arrive at Golden Willow City within five days,?thought Su Yi.
He’d factored Treasure Temple Yao Mountain into his pre-planned route. Once he traversed it, he’d arrive in the White Province.
And the White Province was adjacent to the Jade Capital. Once he arrived, he could reach the Jade Capital in under two days.
Su Yi put away the map, then took out a gourd of wine and drank in big gulps.
The skies gradually darkened, and the drizzle showed signs of intensifying. Raindrops clattered rhythmically against the tiles of the run-down temple roof.
Mountainous wilderness, a dilapidated temple, darkening skies and pouring rain. All of heaven and earth was shrouded in darkness.
Su Yi sat alone in the dark, but he was perfectly content and at ease.
Except that he was getting hungrier and hungrier…
He couldn’t help but furrow his brow.?Qing Wan, that girl, has strength comparable to a Grandmaster. Why is it taking her so long just to nab some wild game?
Almost as soon as he thought this, a streak of red floated into the temple. It was Qing Wan, and she held a massive golden python.
She stammered, “Mystic Master, I kept you waiting.”
“What took you so long?” asked Su Yi.
Qing Wan lowered her pretty head in embarrassment and whispered, “I saw no small number of bunnies and deer, but they all looked so kind-hearted that I couldn’t bear to hurt them. I kept searching for more suitable prey, and I finally found this python….”
Su Yi facepalmed, and the corners of his lips twitched. “So, you could bear to hurt the python?”
Qing Wan hurriedly explained, “Uh… I didn’t kill it! It was killed by a hawk. All I did was scare the hawk off and bring the snake back.”
“…..” Su Yi didn’t quite know what to say. He’d seen kindness before, but never anything like this. What cultivator couldn’t bear to take a life?
“I really made things hard on you.” Su Yi shook his head, then got to work.
Before long, he’d built a blazing bonfire, and he’d cut the python into pieces, which he skewered on a stick and was now roasting over the flames.
Qing Wan crouched carefully off to the side, watching Su Yi roast meat with practiced ease, a peaceful look on her face.
“Do you want some?” Before long, Su Yi raised a skewer of roasted snake dripping with grease and offered it to Qing Wan.
She hurriedly shook her head. When Su Yi saw this, he enjoyed it on his own, eating and drinking in perfect contentment.
He had to admit it: enjoying freshly-roasted?snake?in the wilderness while rain poured outside was an exceptional feeling.
Plip plop plip~!
The downpour was increasingly heavy, and the water flowing down the eaves looked like a curtain of rain.
The skies were increasingly dark and overcast.
Su Yi had eaten and drunk his fill, but when he saw the bad weather, he couldn’t help but frown.
Just as he was considering whether or not to continue his journey that night, he heard the faint sound of footsteps from beyond the temple door.
Before long, a man in a straw raincoat and conical hat walked inside. He was tall, with an oppressive air. His entire body dripped with rain, but it did nothing to wash away his austere, desolate air.
As soon as he entered, the man in the conical hat clasped his fist in greeting. “Young Lord Su, my lord has arranged a banquet for you twenty miles away, at the Dragonbridge Station. He sent me here to invite you to attend!”
His voice was low, like the rumbling of thunder, and it shook the tiles of the dilapidated temple.
“And who is your lord?” said Su Yi from his wicker chair, his expression flat.
The man in the conical hat maintained his clasped fist and the posture of a humble greeting as he said solemnly, “Young Lord, you’ll know when you arrive.”
“Oh?” said Su Yi. “We’re in the middle of the wilderness, and it’s pouring rain, yet your lord found me here, in this run-down temple? And he even arranged a banquet in advance. He’s actually got some skills.”
The man said in a low voice, “Young Lord, if you accept my lord’s invitation, please follow me.”
“And if I don’t accept?” said Su Yi calmly.
“My lord said that someone with the courage to venture to the Jade Capital on his own wouldn’t fear attending a banquet,” said the man in the conical hat. He paused, then added, “He also said that, should you refuse to attend, I can choose one of two ways to die.”
Su Yi’s eyebrows arched upward. “Which two ways?”
The man in the conical hat raised his head slightly, revealing his calm, practically emotionless eyes. “Either you kill me, or he kills me.”
Kcch!
Su Yi stretched out his fingers and flicked the air. A streak of sword qi flew through the air, striking like lightning. It was aimed directly at the man in the conical hat’s throat.
The man’s pupils constricted until they were the size of needlepoints, but he nevertheless stood there, not wavering in the slightest.
Bang!
When the streak of sword qi was just an inch from the man’s throat, it suddenly burst into nothingness.
The man took a deep breath, then clasped his fist. “Young Lord Su, many thanks for sparing my life!”
His temples, neck, and back were all drenched in cold sweat; it was clear that he wasn’t anywhere near as calm as he looked on the surface.
“Lead the way.” Su Yi rose from his wicker chair and called Qing Wan back to the Soul-Nurturing Gourd at his waist.
…..
Dragonbridge Station.
This was a relay station built on a remote mountain path. There was a massive courtyard built before the main hall, containing five scattered pavilions hewn of stone.
Rain poured down in buckets, and it was dark and overcast.
The central pavilion had a full three stories, and it was currently well-lit and emanating warmth.
The man in the conical hat led Su Yi straight into the relay station and directly to the centermost stone pavilion.
As soon as they pushed open the door and entered, a wave of heat smacked them right in the face. The lamps were lit, and the interior was lavishly decorated, complete with a red carpet and billowing incense.
One long table after another was laid out inside, each covered in sumptuous, still-steaming delicacies, fruits, and various refreshments. 𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗹．𝐨𝗿𝗴
Outside was bitter rain and fierce wind. The juxtaposition of the luxurious feast was extremely startling.
A man sat across from one of the long tables. He wore a feathered robe and headdress, and his eyebrows were like swords, while his eyes glittered. His bearing was elegant and dignified.
A black civet languished on his shoulder, its unearthly blue eyes flashing with intimidating light.
“Your Excellency, Young Lord Su has arrived,” said the man in the conical hat with a solemn bow.
“You have no further business here. Go on.” The man in the feather robe smiled and nodded, then rose in greeting. He turned to Su Yi and lightly lowered his head. “I’m Wang Zhuo of the Literati Province. Greetings, Young Lord Su.”
Were Su Yi any other martial artist of the Great Zhou, just hearing this name would bring to mind an entire series of dazzling titles.
Wang Zhuo was the palace master of Skywalk Academy, one of the Ten Great Academies, as well as one of the Great Zhou’s Ten Great Xiantian Martial Ancestors and one of the nine non-Zhou Kings, the Qingxuan King….
He began cultivating in his youth, becoming a Grandmaster at just fourteen, making him the unquestioned leader of the younger generation at Skywalk Academy
At seventeen, he became a Xiantian Martial Ancestor. Just ten years later, he joined the ranks of the Great Zhou’s Ten Great Xiantian Martial Ancestors. The Ten Directions Pavilion praised him as “a man with the disposition of a dragon or phoenix, a peerless genius of the Martial Dao.”
Wang Zhuo was now thirty-seven years old. Twenty years had passed since he first became a Xiantian Martial Ancestor.
No one knew just how lofty this legendary genius’ cultivation had become.
Of course, Su Yi knew none of this, and even if he did, there was no way he’d care.
In the face of Wang Zhuo’s greeting, Su Yi merely nodded, then sat across from him and said leisurely, “Let’s hear it, then. Why did you arrange this banquet and send someone to invite me?”
Wang Zhuo smiled faintly. He sat back down and said, “Young Lord Su, you’ve gotten straight to the point, so I won’t beat around the bush either. I invited you here because I have wonderful news to discuss with you.”
“Wonderful news?” Su Yi’s eyebrows arched upward. “Go on.”
Wang Zhuo’s gaze was deep as he smiled at Su Yi. “Other people might covet your fortune and your secrets, but I’m more impressed with you yourself.”
He paused, then leaned forward slightly and said sincerely, “I am part of an organization. I invited you to this banquet to invite you to join us.”