September, the start of fall. An invigorating breeze could be felt.
It was very lively outside the Immeasurable Tower. Many people were already pulling up their sleeves while gazing at the exit of the tower. The moment Feng Feiyun comes out, they would immediately reach out to him.
There were too many old farts from the pagoda’s council here, causing the tower’s protector to feel pressured. He kept wiping his forehead with his sleeve while slowly backing away. The only thing he was afraid of was the ensuing competition that would hurt the innocent.
Divine King Long Chuangfeng rushed forward first. He stood below the huge stone monument with a golden crown atop his gray hair. He had a great stature and extravagant clothing. His belt was also cast from pure gold. His golden robes were very stylish, and he emitted a blinding radiance with a transcendent aura.
If one wanted a disciple, then one must show off their respectable side. Otherwise, no disciple would be willing to follow you.
With the Divine King standing right there, all the other people with goals naturally retreated and didn’t dare to compete with him. This was a famous old swindler, and no one wanted to offend him.
Of course, there were also some geezers who were not afraid of him. These geezers were all Tower Lords from the previous generation, the ones at the top of this world.
“Hmph! Long Chuanfeng, are you not cultivating the ‘Supreme Samsara’? Why are you here? And you unafraid of ruining one hundred years of harsh training in a single moment?” An old man wearing a Taichi robe could be found standing on top of the monument. He was also extremely old and full of wrinkles. It was clear that he was not any younger than the Divine King.
He could call out the Divine King’s real name, so it was clear that he was a character of the same level. His status was definitely not low.
He had a white whisk with flashing lights. A jade-like brilliance moved above his white daoist robes as auspicious clouds hovered above his head. A beautiful light shone from his back, giving him a very sacred demeanor.
This was the previous lord of the Dao Tower! His title was “Transcendent Daoist”. His cultivation was among the top five in the Wanxiang Pagoda. Moreover, he had another great identity as one of the three Untethered of the Dao Gate. Many sect masters from the big sects had listened to him preach. The daoist doctrine always had an extraordinary appeal in the Jin Dynasty.
In the cultivation world, the Transcendent Daoist was even more influential than the Divine King.
With a single word, many top cultivation sects at the Grand Southern Prefecture such as the First Heaven Gate, the Violet Cloud Sect, and the Grand Development Gate would stop chasing Feng Feiyun.
Of course, in the imperial court, the Divine King was more influential than him.
Both of them were councilors with varying degrees of influence. However, everything was relative. Transcendent Daoist’s influence within the court was quite great, and the Divine King’s influence in the cultivation world was also at the top level.
The Divine King lifted his brow and laughed: “Transcendent Daoist, are you not in the middle of your life and death isolated cultivation that lasts for three hundred years? Why have you come out when it has yet to be two hundred years?”
The Transcendent Daoist naturally ran here after being informed by the tower protector. People of their level had always wanted to find someone suitable to inherit their legacy. They wished to train a genius so that they could be immortalized for generations. Teaching a fool would only leave behind a bad name.
“Both of you already have disciples and are both Tower Lords, so there is no need to be so greedy. Let me have this opportunity.” A short old man with broken straw-sandals suddenly appeared before the Divine King and Transcendent Daoist while seated on a boulder.
He held a hat woven from bamboo leaves and a shoulder pole made out of mahogany. There were some leaves in his hair, so he had to use his hat to pat them away. He really looked like a lumberjack enjoying the shade of a tree.
He happily laughed towards the Divine King and Transcendent Daoist, revealing his yellow teeth. Two were clearly missing, leaving behind quite a gap…
This old man appeared out of nowhere and wasn’t detected by anyone until he started speaking.
“Fuck, Lan Muqiao, you still haven’t died yet?” The Divine King directly pulled his bell down and was getting ready to whip the old man.
He had lost a bet to this old lumberjack before, almost losing even his pants. But later on, he realized that he was tricked by him and wanted to get even, but the old man disappeared from this world without a trace for two hundred years!
How could the Divine King let him go after finally seeing this old lumberjack once more?
“Infinite Blessing to the Supreme. Lan Muqiao, hand over my Dao Gate’s Divine Needle spirit treasure right now or I’ll show you!” The Transcendent Daoist was livid and pulled up his sleeves, preparing himself for a fight.
The old man had also cheated him quite badly, tricking away a top spirit treasure from the Dao Gate. The old man said that he would return it within three days, but he borrowed it for two hundred years straight! It really made the Transcendent Daoist’s hair turn gray from all the waiting.
The old man was also not an ordinary person. He was the Tower Lord of the Technique Tower. Very few people knew his true age. They only knew that he was already the Technique Tower Lord since eight hundred years ago.
Rumor has it that he had another identity, the previous palace lord of the Sacred Spirit Palace.
Just this identity alone was enough to scare a horde of people. No one knew whether it was true or not as no one had confirmed it. The old man had never admitted to it either.
“Both of you, both of you need to calm down right now! There are a lot of juniors here, so watch your image!” The old man put the hat back on his head while shouldering the wooden pole once more. He hunched over just like a rat and, with a whoosh, he disappeared without a trace.
Both the Divine King and the Transcendent Daoist pounced at empty air.
“We are all people of great positions. You two are too stringy. Isn’t it just borrowing a few treasures for a few days? Look at how anxious the both of you are.” When the old man appeared again, he was lying on top of the huge monument and sincerely spoke: “We are all reasonable people. I’ll definitely return it with both hands in three days.”
“Fuck, another three days!”
“Infinite Blessing to the Supreme, three days your sister!”
Both the Divine King and the Transcendent Daoist couldn’t remain calm any longer; they were completely enraged by the old lumberjack. A fierce battle intent rose as they quickly soared to the top of the monument. However, once their figures appeared again, the old man was nowhere to be found.
The young disciples’ jaws almost fell to the ground. All three of them were characters of the highest level in the Wanxiang Pagoda. Normally, they were revered to the extreme, but this scene playing out before them had ruined their image completely.
This was especially true for the Technique Tower Lord. This old man was just a scoundrel and held no semblance of a legendary character.
“Little miss, I see that your structure is amazing and you also have great innate talents, a one in ten thousand genius for cultivation. Are you willing to join my Technique Tower to become the inheritor to all of my skills? To succeed my position as the Technique Tower Lord in the future?” The old man suddenly appeared behind Little Demoness with a holy demeanor as if he was an enlightened man.
He had offended the Divine King and the Transcendent Daoist, so he didn’t want to vie for Feng Feiyun any longer. To avoid being ganged up by them, he aimed for Little Demoness instead.
He blinked his innocent eyes like a bad uncle tricking a little girl. No, more like a bad grandpa. [1. Adults are uncles by default, not referring to actual blood uncle/grandpa.]
Little Demoness, while hugging her white kitten, was a bit surprised as she looked at this old scoundrel who appeared out of nowhere. Her pink lips twitched as she twirled her hair with her finger, resulting in a very cute appearance. She was clearly not ready to respond.
The old lumberjack stroked his chin and proudly proclaimed: “Okay, since you have agreed, then you are now my disciple. Tomorrow, I will pass down the Technique Tower Lord position to you.”
Little Demoness’ mouth gaped, and she couldn’t close it. What was this old scoundrel talking about?
“Come with me!” With a slightly darkened expression, the old man saw two rays of light approaching from afar. He immediately put the Little Demoness on his shoulder and flew away, quickly disappearing without a trace.
This was a real kidnapping!
“The bastard!” When the Divine King and the Transcendent Daoist arrived, the old lumberjack was nowhere to be found.
Not long after, Feng Feiyun finally came out from the Immeasurable Tower. The moment he stepped out, he was assaulted by great fatigue and couldn’t tell which direction the sun was in. A series of gusts whistled by his ear. He wanted to block them, but it was too late. With a bang, everything suddenly became dark; he was knocked unconscious by someone with a stick!
Zhang Badao immediately put away his steel rod that was as thick as an arm and grinned. He put Feng Feiyun on his shoulder and secretly ran away from the crowd.
Although there were witnesses, no one dared to say anything. Zhang Badao was the Martial Tower Lord. He was a person just like his name — notorious for bullying. Plus, he had the Divine King as his backing, so no one dared to be a tattletale at this time. [1. Badao = Domineering, an adjective most often used to describe Li Qiye from Emperor’s Domination.]
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Two rays of light came back from the horizon. The Divine King and the Transcendent Daoist tried to catch the old lumberjack together, but they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him. That old scoundrel was just like a mouse — fast as lightning and quick to disappear.
The Divine King glanced over the crowd and didn’t see Zhang Badao, so he knew the plan had been successful. He revealed a faint smirk: “Brother Transcendent, goodbye for now.”
“Brother Long, are you really quitting on your own accord?” The Transcendent Daoist felt slightly surprised.
“It’s just a disciple, there is no need to compete with others or else the juniors will make fun of us! We need to be more magnanimous!” The Divine King patted the daoist’s shoulder and suddenly felt that he was much nobler and grand like a wise sage or a saint that didn’t care for fame.
The daoist slightly frowned, not feeling moved at all. He actually felt that something was wrong. People of their age would all have become sly foxes. He knew better than anyone just what kind of person Long Chuangfeng was. There was no way he would be able to say such dignified words.
“Congratulation to Brother Transcendent for taking in a virtuous student. In the future, you will be celebrated as the greatest master in the cultivation world and forever be remembered in history. Goodbye then!” With a mournful expression as if he had lost something, the Divine King turned into a golden ray of light and disappeared into the fog.
He escaped very quickly lest the Transcendent Daoist caught up to him.