Inside the side hall of City Lord Azure Leaf’s mansion, Tianyi frowned as he retracted his spiritual sense. For the past few days, he had been periodically sending out spiritual sense to investigate any abnormal movements, but to his disappointment, there was a suspicious lack of movement. Even City Lord Azure Leaf hadn’t entered the secret aside from the first night Tianyi had arrived.
Did I misread the situation and that there isn’t anything going on? Or is City Lord Azure Leaf stalling since we are here, afraid of us discovering anything? I could just break into the secret room, but that’s pretty much breaking and entering, although no one would blame me. Strength is justice in this world, after all.
Nah, my morals haven’t reached that point yet. At least when I notice.
I should watch for a few more days. If I can’t detect anything, then I will leave and secretly come back. I don’t believe an acupoint opening master will be able to detect me. Although my stealth techniques are lacking, I have enough treasures to compensate.
“Tianyi, you’re scaring them.”
Tianyi was broken out of his thoughts by Daoyi’s words and turned his attention towards the three geniuses of Azure Leaf City. Well, genius was a relative term. If these three were placed in the Huang Realm, not even third-rate sects would accept them, but Tianyi didn’t have City Lord Azure Leaf bring them because of their talent. No, Tianyi just wanted to study the unique martial cultivation method of the Demon Cage Realm.
Due to the scarcity of spiritual qi within the Demon Cage Realm, spiritual cultivation was practically nonexistent. The humans had no inheritance from outside the realm. As such, they had to formulate their own methods, and humans had a knack for stealing knowledge from others and using it for themselves. In other words, the contemporary cultivation methods of the human race of the Demon Cage Realm were copied from the demons.
Once they formed their martial bodies, it was akin to turning into a partial demon. According to Tianyi’s predictions, if the method was refined and completed, the humans would transform infinitely close to a true demon, no longer able to be called a human.
There were numerous methods that emulated the power of demons in the Huang Realm, but their base was still that of a human. Unlike the method of the Demon Cage Realm, which sought to turn humans into demons. Tianyi couldn’t help but ponder how to classify such humans. Would they be humans or demons?
Shaking his head, Tianyi returned his attention to the three body transformation acolytes. All three were men, but Tianyi wasn’t surprised. In general, martial cultivation was generally more suited to males as they had a stronger body than females due to genetics. Their ages ranged from thirty to forty despite the fact that they were only around the Bone Enhancement Stage.
Tianyi used around because the martial method of the Demon Cage Realm was not as systemic and refined as the Huang Realm’s, so the stages were more blurred together. In fact, Tianyi could detect that some parts of their body had already started to undergo marrow enhancement despite not completing the Bone Enhancement Stage.
As for their age, only those who managed to reach the peak of the Body Transformation Realm under the age of fifty had a chance to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm in the Demon Cage Realm because martial cultivation heavily depended on the body’s vitality. Only when entering the Acupoint Opening Realm, would a martial cultivator be able to enhance their vitality, and thus, his lifespan. Even then, at age fifty, the chances were almost nil.
As a result of the shoddy method, the martial body they formed at the Acupoint Opening Realm would be subpar at best. Tianyi doubted that City Lord Azure Lead could even defeat some talented peak foundation establishment disciples or body transformation acolytes from the Huang Realm. Tianyi could discern that although City Lord Azure Leaf’s martial body had high qi absorption abilities, his body’s defense was fragile.
Tianyi finished scanning the three cultivators in front of him. All of them were older than him, and looked the part. If Tianyi hadn’t already become accustomed to people who were older than him being deferential to him, he would have long felt awkward.
For the three geniuses of Azure Leaf City, they felt their heart finally returning to their chest from their throat after Tianyi’s gaze left them. Just being in Tianyi’s presence made them feel palpitations, especially when his gaze landed on them. It was as if a mountain was pressing down on their body. Due to this, they didn’t even have time to marvel at Tianyi’s remarkably young appearance, and they didn’t dare to let out a sound because of the rumors they heard.
According to the rumor, City Lord Azure Leaf brought them to Tianyi because Tianyi wanted to select and raise some talented geniuses to fight against demons. Although the three were the peak geniuses of the city, they understood that less than one in a hundred peak body transformation acolytes were able to ascend to the fabled Acupoint Opening Realm, or Demon Body Realm as they called it.
Tianyi waved his hand, and three balls of black qi entered the trio’s body. All three of them were stunned before they felt excruciating pain throughout their bodies. It was as if their blood had been replaced by an infinite amount of molecular-sized glass shards. It constantly scraped and shredded the walls of their veins, muscles, and organs, causing them endless pain.
Of the three, only the youngest one in appearance managed to bite back his scream of pain as his scleras became increasingly red. He was the only one of the three capable of thought. As such, he was able to discover that he truly didn’t know his body at all.
Martial cultivators must have a deep understanding of their bodies in order to lay a deep foundation. While Tianyi was using brute force to fix their weak foundations, the only clear-headed one among the three was able to reap the greatest benefits from Tianyi’s action.
Moments later, all three of them spat out pitch-black blood. Although it appeared scary, it was the impurities within their body that Tianyi had forced out. After that, the pain immediately ended, although the lingering phantom pain caused all three to be wince whenever they recalled it.
The clear-headed one immediately kneeled and kowtowed towards Tianyi despite the pain it brought him while the other two were still reeling from the pain, finally able to think again. “Many thanks to Grandmaster Xi for this grace! Whatever Grandmaster Xi requires of me, I am willing to do your bidding even if I need to cross a sea of blades or fire!”
The other two body transformation acolytes were stunned by the first’s words and quickly processed what happened. Checking their body, they were shocked to discover that the previous bottleneck that had plagued them had all but disappeared. Not only that, they felt an increase in the robustness of their body!
Following the first one’s example, both knelt down and expressed their sincerest thanks to Tianyi. They naturally had their purpose in doing so. Even if they only became servants of Tianyi and not followers, with the improvement brought by that short moment, their futures would be limitless. And if they could receive a few more pointers or aid from Tianyi, they would truly soar into the skies. They might even be able to surpass City Lord Azure Leaf, a local hero that was able to protect and repel the demons by himself for over a hundred years!
“Stand up. You three are too weak to even contemplate doing my bidding.” Tianyi said, his voice full of majesty.
The three of them stood up, inwardly disappointed, but their words of praise did not stop despite Tianyi’s cold face on hearing their flattery. Tianyi waved his hands once more, and the thoughts of all three of them blanked when a martial cultivation method entered their brains. It was far more comprehensive and complete than even the Azure Leaf Longevity Manual that City Lord Azure Leaf had created!
When they came to, their eyes were shining with delight and their gazes hot when they looked at Tianyi, but Tianyi only lightly glanced at them as if he did not know how much his actions impacted their future.
“Leave. Don’t come back until you’ve advanced by a stage.” Tianyi ordered.
Conflicted expressions appeared on all three of their faces before they bowed and retreated to their abodes. Their hearts firmed as they decided to latch onto the golden thigh that was Grandmaster Xi.
“It looks like you really enjoyed that,” Daoyi said in a teasing tone.
Tianyi turned to look at her, the grin that he could no longer suppress appearing on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Daoyi rolled her eyes. Even a blind person could see how much Tianyi enjoyed playing superior in front of the three Demon Cage Realm yokels. “What did you do to them?”
Tianyi shrugged. “Nothing much. I reformed their shaky martial foundations. Although I reformed it, it still can’t compare to one carefully constructed by themselves with the proper instruction, but for the Demon Cage Realm, it should be enough to let them be a peak master at the Body Transformation Realm even if they don’t enter the Acupoint Opening Realm. I also gave them my revised martial method for them to cultivate.”
“When did you create a martial method?” Daoyi asked. She was clear that Tianyi didn’t have much time to create such a method at all.
“It’s nothing much. It’s only enough for them to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm, so it didn’t take much time. I wanted to gain some inspiration for my own cultivation method, so I thought of revising their methods to test some hypotheses. I’m actually kinda embarrassed that it took so long since I first observed the cultivation method when I entered the city. I still haven’t created the Soul Nourishing Realm portion yet. But for them, the Acupoint Opening Realm is probably the peak of their understanding anyways.” Tianyi said.
Daoyi blinked. Tianyi was joking, right?
There was no way that Tianyi actually created such a method in a short amount of time. Many cultivators spent decades, if not centuries, to perfect their methods, and Tianyi made one in a few days? The thought of Tianyi bragging through a roundabout way occurred to her, and she looked at Tianyi suspiciously.
“What’s wrong, is there something on my face?” Tianyi asked as he rubbed his face.
Xi Ri sighed as he returned to City Lord Azure Leaf’s mansion. His understanding of human life was once again changed. For the past few days, he had been walking around the city to gain an understanding of the people’s lives in Azure Leaf City.
Humans were truly resilient creatures.
Every day, the residents of the city worried about the extermination of their life from the demons. They had to venture outside of the city to hunt and gather resources for survival, but their chances of death dramatically increased once they did. There were numerous deaths every day, which would dramatically worsen whenever the demons assaulted the city. Practically everyone had lost a family member in this city.
Despite this, every resident continued with their lives and had a strong will to live. Even with their lives under constant threat, many days of going hungry, and other sufferings, he still saw smiles on the resident’s faces. And this was considered one of the better conditions of living in the Demon Cage Realm.
Xi Ri sighed. Even though he thought his life on Earth was unfair and harsh, he realized that he was truly blessed compared to the humans of the Demon Cage Realm.
“What’s wrong, Master Xi? Are you disappointed at how weak we mortals are?” Ziye asked from the side, her tone cold.
“Disappointed?” Xi Ri shook his head. “I’m amazed. Despite all the difficulties the people of this realm face, you still live with so many aspirations. It’s inspiring.”
Ziye paused, having not expected such words from Xi Ri. She was unsure of what to make of Xi Ri’s words. As the city lord’s daughter, she was approached by many people with secret motivations and plans since young, so she had confidence in her ability to read people. Everything she learned pointed to Xi Ri’s words being truthful, which made her even more confused.
“…that’s good.”
Ziye finally said, not sure of what else she could say, but Xi Ri didn’t seem to mind or notice as he was still walking, his head in his thoughts. Seeing that Xi Ri didn’t even notice, Ziye finally released a sigh of relief and followed him.
She had been instructed by her father to use any means necessary to keep these “immortals” in Azure Leaf City. She hadn’t understood at the time, but upon seeing Tianyi and Xi Ri, she finally understood her father’s thoughts. The sense of betrayal had struck her heart like a hammer.
But Ziye still followed her father’s orders. To her relief, she discovered that the immortals planned to stay in the city for at least a few days without her needing to do anything, and they clearly held no interest in her. Even Xi Ri, who interacted with her the most, was only interested in her ability as a guide.
When grievances she expected to suffer didn’t happen, Ziye felt a slight sense of disappointment. It wasn’t that she wished to hug Tianyi or Xi Ri’s golden thighs, but her pride as a woman had been hurt. She was confident in her beauty. After all, she was Azure Leaf City’s most eligible bachelorette and had been courted by many geniuses, but the immortals didn’t even bat an eye towards her.
Thinking about the female immortal, Ziye felt both helpless and jealous. Helpless in front of her strength as a cultivator and jealous of her beauty as a woman. According to her father, the female immortal was even younger than her yet held greater strength than her! All the pride she held in the past turned into nothing but a joke.
Ziye shook her head. It did not matter.
All she could hope for was the immortals would not arouse interest in her no matter what and that her father could accomplish his goals. Although she was disappointed in her father, she knew that everything her father did was for the rise and continuation of the human race.
A month later, City Lord Azure Leaf hosted a banquet for Tianyi, Daoyi, and Xi Ri.
City Lord Azure Leaf sat on the seat of honor after Tianyi refused the seat. He felt it was fine for him to accept the highest seat in private, but it was better for City Lord Azure Leaf to sit at the center for his prestige in public. Tianyi didn’t intend to undermine him, after all.
On the city lord’s left were his daughter and subordinates, while Tianyi, Daoyi, and Xi Ri sat on his right.
“Grandmaster Xi, please try this Extreme Snakeworm Wine that I brewed. Although it appears light, I guarantee its heaviness!” City Lord Azure Leaf said as he personally poured a cup for Tianyi’s group of three.
Tianyi took a sip and hummed. He only felt it was so-so. After tasting Daoist Lu’s immortal wine, Tianyi felt that everything else he drank was only subpar.
Daoyi sipped it elegantly and gave her expert opinion, even mentioning some winemaking techniques that only immortal chefs would know, surprising both Tianyi and City Lord Azure Leaf.
Xi Ri, however, had his attention elsewhere. After he sipped and nearly choked on the wine due to its heavy alcohol content, he felt a gaze of disdain aimed at him. Focusing towards the origin of the gaze, Xi Ri discovered a peak Body Transformation Realm cultivator who appeared to be in his mid-twenties with a handsome appearance.
The gaze of the cultivator was too piercing, making it hard for Xi Ri to ignore. Furthermore, Xi Ri could detect an unfathomable amount of animosity in the cultivator’s gaze as if Xi Ri had been having an affair with his wife. Just as Xi Ri was wondering the origin of the reason, the banquet moved onto its next phase, the exhibition match.
The cultivators could go to the stage at the center of the banquet and challenge each other to a spar. Perhaps if they impressed the immortals enough, they would receive some pointers or even treasures, but before anyone else could go up, the cultivator that had been glaring at Xi Ri jumped onto the stage.
The other hopeful cultivators stilled, recognizing the man onstage. He was one of the greatest geniuses of the city, having reached the peak of the Body Transformation Realm despite only being forty.
The peak body transformation acolyte scanned the other hopefuls and threw a provocative gaze towards them as if telling them to get lost. Under this provocation, many other peak body transformation acolytes entered the stage and challenged him, but without exception, they all lost within ten moves from him.
“Is there no one else that dares to challenge me, Lushu?” Lushu asked, and seeing that none of them dared, turned his gaze towards City Lord Azure Leaf. “City Lord Azure Leaf, please listen to my request.”
City Lord Azure Leaf furrowed his brows, unsure of what Lushu was planning. Of course, he knew of Lushu, one of the most promising youths to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm. Lushu had rejected Tianyi’s call for cultivators, so Azure City Lord was surprised that Lushu had shown his strength during the banquet. “What is your request?”
“Please grant me your daughter’s hand in marriage!” Lushu said, causing the banquet to become so silent a pin could drop.
Ziye felt her face burn at Lushu’s open confession, but that redness quickly receded into pale white as Lushu continued to talk.
Because City Lord Azure Leaf was stunned silent by Lushu’s confession, Lushu took it as a rejection and spoke once more. “I know City Lord plans on having your daughter follow the great immortals, but you aren’t considering for her happiness! How could she be happy following strangers that she just met? Please grant us our happiness!”
Instantly, the venue was abuzz with whispers of gossip, but Lushu treated it as if it was just air and continued speaking. “I know City Lord Azure Leaf won’t just take my word for it. That’s why I’ll prove to you that I am not any worse by challenging Grandmaster Xi to a battle!”
Lushu pointed his finger towards City Lord Azure Leaf’s right, directly at Xi Ri.
Xi Ri pointed a finger at himself and then looked at Tianyi full of confusion.