The prefecture capital.
The Zhenhai Marquis Mansion.
Inside the four-entry main hall, agarwood smoke curled like silken threads, rising and swirling in the air.
Accompanied by steady and powerful footsteps, a figure with a majestic, commanding stride emerged from behind a folding screen.
The newcomer was in his early forties. Although his build was short and stout, as he walked to the main seat, lifted his robe, and sat down, he naturally exuded a towering and awe-inspiring presence.
This man was none other than the newly appointed Marquis of Zhenhai, Dong Fu!
Below, a young man with a sharp, capable face, dressed in a set of jet-black practice robes, had already been waiting for a long time.
His eyebrows were sharp as swords and his eyes bright as cold stars. Seeing Dong Fu sit down, he immediately stood up and cupped his fists.
“Your subordinate, Qu Wu, greets the Marquis!”
Dong Fu's gaze was piercing as he swept it over the most outstanding genius of the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion in recent years. Nodding with a smile, he raised his hand slightly to gesture for him to sit.
“Sit... How did your trip to the Southern Sea go? What were the results?”
Qu Wu remained standing with his fists cupped, not daring to sit. In a deep voice, he reported:
“Replying to the Marquis! Under the guise of offering birthday congratulations, I personally visited the Raging Sea Sect to attend the birthday banquet of Daoist Master Xuanyuan. Although the old Daoist Master appeared hale and hearty, chatting and laughing with ease, my Formless Eyes saw right through him...”
He paused, lowered his voice, and continued:
“The old Daoist Master looks ruddy on the surface, but his core already exudes the aura of deathly ash. His Yintang is a deep purplish-red, which is a sign of unstable rising Yang and a dying life fire. He has at most two to three years of lifespan remaining!”
“Good! Excellent!”
A brilliant light flashed in Dong Fu's eyes. Clapping his hands, he laughed heartily:
“That old dog Pei Jian has been lingering on for so many years, but he's finally about to draw his last breath!”
“Once he passes away, the Raging Sea Sect will be leaderless. A mere rabble of worthless fools—I can crush them with the flip of a hand!”
Qu Wu did not dare to let his guard down. Frowning slightly, he said cautiously:
“My Lord, after all, this Daoist Master Xuanyuan is a Xiantian Divine Ability expert from ancient times. Could he have some means to extend his life?”
“Absolutely impossible!”
Dong Fu waved his wide sleeve, dismissing the notion outright.
He stood up abruptly, pacing the hall with his hands behind his back, and sneered:
“Do you think I don't know Pei Jian's background? He was the second disciple of Diaohai Pavilion's Mystic Dark Peak!”
“Back then, when Diaohai Pavilion was wiped out and all its experts died in battle, only Pei Jian fled without fighting. He took his descendants and fled to the far south, dragging out a miserable existence for hundreds of years.”
“It wasn't until his lifespan was nearly exhausted that he luckily broke through the Divine Ability Barrier and managed to survive to this day. He is now nearly five hundred years old.”
Dong Fu turned around, his sneer growing even more sinister:
“At such an age, even if he has heavenly materials and earthly treasures to extend his life, it is beyond cure!”
“Unless... he can capture someone bound by destiny and refine them into an elixir to consume!”
“By swallowing their destiny, seizing their luck, consuming their tribulations, and extending his lifespan—performing such a heaven-defying act—he might barely squeeze out a few more years of life...”
Dong Fu snorted, his tone dripping with contempt:
“But how could someone bound by destiny be so easy to find? Therefore, I say that old dog is dead without a doubt!”
With that, Dong Fu waved his hand and sat back down.
“Forget it, that matter is still a few years away, so we will ignore it for now. What about you? What is your current cultivation level?”
“Replying to the Marquis, I have already broken through to the Essence Tempering stage!”
“Mid-stage Huajin Rank, is it...”
Dong Fu frowned slightly and shook his head.
“A bit slow... Then again, you've been running around dealing with mundane affairs for the past year, leaving you no time for dedicated cultivation. From now on, just leave those trivial matters to the subordinates!”
He stared at Qu Wu and said earnestly:
“You are one of the prestigious Four Prodigies. You represent the face of our Marquis Mansion, so do not let others surpass you... I heard that Zuo Muxian of the Star-Plucking Sect has already stepped into the Spirit Tempering rank!”
“Spirit Tempering? Late-stage Huajin Rank!?”
Qu Wu's pupils contracted, his muscles tensing in shock. He thought to himself:
'That bastard who loves giving people nicknames... actually stepped into the late-stage Huajin Rank before me?'
He remained silent for a long time before responding in a deep voice:
“I understand. I will return to my quarters today to enter secluded cultivation!”
“Hmm, as long as you understand.”
Dong Fu nodded in approval, his tone softening slightly:
“Just leave the affairs of the mansion to He Suyi. She is one of the Seven Elegances, after all, and can handle routine matters.”
“Suyi...”
Hearing this name, a trace of tenderness surfaced in Qu Wu's eyes. Cupping his fists, he said, “Understood. Then I shall take my leave!”
...
Stepping out of the main hall and into the outer courtyard,
Qu Wu saw two Second-Tier Sea Patrol Guards huddled together in a corner by a pillar, whispering over a gazette.
Qu Wu frowned slightly.
With his exceptional eyesight, he recognized at a single glance that it was the gazette specifically dedicated to recording the major events of Nanxiang Prefecture and the surrounding martial world—
Chronicles of the Nanxiang Wind and Clouds
“M-Master Qu!”
Seeing Qu Wu approach, the two were terrified and hurriedly saluted.
“Hand it over!”
Qu Wu held out his hand, his gaze cold and sharp:
“If I catch you slacking off again, you can head to Guangwu Prefecture yourselves and bring back the heads of two demonic path rebels.”
“Yes, yes...”
Drenched in cold sweat, the two scrambled to hand over the gazette and hurriedly retreated.
Qu Wu flipped open the gazette and scanned it. Suddenly, his expression froze. His fingers clenched unconsciously, wrinkling the paper.
“The newly accepted core disciple of the Star-Plucking Sect's Wen Qingye... comprehended sword-glow, slew the Five Cangwu Demons with his sword, and was even given a nickname by the martial world...”
“The Moonlight Sword!”
Qu Wu sneered:
“A mere country bumpkin from a lower county who just popped up, yet he has managed to gain such a massive reputation!”
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Qu Wu's gaze locked onto a specific spot, his face gradually darkening:
“Hmph... These idiots writing this gazette actually dare to claim that once this kid breaks through to the Huajin Rank, he can push Suyi out and take her place among the Seven Elegances?!”
“How utterly laughable!”
He looked down at the entry about Shen Xiuhan in the gazette, contempt rising in his eyes:
“A mere Five-Form Constitution. How does such mediocre talent deserve to be compared to Suyi, who possesses a Seven-Form Constitution?”
“Looking across the entire Nanxiang Prefecture, which of those who sit securely among the Seven Elegances isn't a Huajin Rank genius?”
“To compare an ant at the mid-stage Anjin Rank to Suyi? Truly absurd!”
Bang!
Qu Wu let out a disdainful snort, and the terrifying Huajin true qi in his palm vibrated!
The gazette instantly dissolved into a cloud of grayish-white dust, which scattered and vanished into the wind.
...
Bixia Villa.
Xiaguang Peak.
Inside a quiet stone room, Yue Lingyong sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, silently circulating his heart method to cultivate.
Suddenly, the voice of a disciple reporting from outside broke the silence:
“Master, the latest issue of the Chronicles of the Nanxiang Wind and Clouds has arrived.”
Yue Lingyong exhaled a long breath of white mist and said calmly,
“Bring it in.”
Once the disciple set down the gazette, bowed, and withdrew,
Yue Lingyong stretched and stood up unhurriedly.
He was in no hurry to read. Instead, he brewed a cup of spiritual tea, dragged out an old bamboo chair, and found a spot with warm sunlight. Sitting back comfortably, he sipped his tea while unfolding the gazette.
“Oh ho!”
“Comprehended sword-glow at barely twenty? And single-handedly slew the Five Cangwu Demons?”
Yue Lingyong smacked his lips, shaking his head with a sigh:
“Incredible! The Star-Plucking Sect has really been producing an endless stream of geniuses in recent years!”
“It is a pity that such an unpolished gem did not enter our Bixia Villa...”
As he mumbled to this point, his voice came to an abrupt halt!
Yue Lingyong's eyes widened. He stared at the name on the gazette, his face filled with utter disbelief:
“Shen... Shen Xiuhan?!”
As if struck by lightning, Yue Lingyong sat frozen on the bamboo chair for a long time.
The next moment, he tossed his teacup aside, scrambled out of his chair, rushed into the stone room, and began rummaging through chests and cupboards.
Before long, he pulled out a paper register and flipped it open:
“Shen Xiuhan! Age eighteen, three Tinggong acupoints opened, Five-Form Constitution, native of Changyun County...”
Staring at the information recorded in his own handwriting, Yue Lingyong murmured, lost in thought:
“It matches... It all matches! It really is him!”
“I haven't seen him in barely a month, yet this boy has not only comprehended sword-glow but has also been accepted as a core disciple by Wen Qingye! The change is simply astronomical!”
Yue Lingyong slammed the register onto the bed with a loud slap, deep regret surging in his eyes:
“Second Brother! Such a genius, yet because you were wary of Luo Tangyin, you handed him over to the Star-Plucking Sect with your own hands! You... you are so foolish!”
Yue Lingyong was so furious that he gnashed his teeth, stamped his feet, and beat his chest in frustration.
Suddenly,
He seemed to recall something and stopped abruptly, a strange expression flickering in his eyes:
“That's right! There's still those fools from the Sword Lineage!”
“At that time, I gave all of this kid's records to the Sword Lineage. But not only were they ungrateful, they even felt that if our Qi Lineage didn't want him, their Sword Lineage wouldn't accept him either!”
“Fine, fine, fine. Now look at what happened!”
“Didn't you, the Sword Lineage, want a genius who could comprehend sword-glow so badly that you were going mad?!”
“Well, you just personally drove one away. I'd really love to see the look on your face now, Feng Buting.”
At this thought, most of the frustration in his chest instantly vanished. He shouted toward the door:
“Someone, come here!”
“Master, what are your orders?”
Yue Lingyong grabbed the gazette from the table, slapped it into his disciple's arms, and sneered as he ordered:
“Take this issue of the Chronicles of the Nanxiang Wind and Clouds to Biqiong Peak and deliver it to Feng Buting, the Elder of the Sword Lineage! Let him take a very good, very careful look at it!”
“Understood!”
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