The young man was none other than Wang Xuanyang, the son of the Zhendong General!
And the middle-aged man in the white robe, seated high upon the grand armchair, was Wang Zhidao, the patriarch of the Wang family of Changyun County, whose cultivation had already reached the Huajin Rank!
After listening to Wang Xuanyang's report, Wang Zhidao slowly opened his eyes. His gaze, deep as a dark pool, remained entirely undisturbed.
He was in no hurry to answer, instead asking a completely unrelated question.
“Xuanyang... have you ever resented your father for leaving you to waste away here in Changyun County?”
Wang Xuanyang froze, then lowered his head slightly and said, “Xuanyang would not dare... It is just that my status is low, and I cannot compare to my two older brothers. To have been able to cultivate peacefully until now is already more than I could hope for.”
The Zhendong General, Wang Zhifan, had three sons.
The Eldest Young Master, Wang Xuanliang, was the legitimate eldest son. He had joined the army to fight in battles early on, and was now a powerful Camp Commander of the Tengxiao Camp in the Longxiang Army, holding immense power and high status.
The Third Young Master, Wang Xuanmin, possessed exceptional talent and had entered the Qingyuan Sword Pavilion in the prefectural city. He was now a core disciple, basking in endless glory.
Only the Seventh Young Master, Wang Xuanyang, who was born of a concubine, had been sent away to this ancestral land of the Wang family by a single letter from home just after he turned twenty.
Unable to inherit the resources and connections of the Zhendong General's Mansion, Wang Xuanyang felt, in his heart, like a complete and utter discarded pawn.
“Heh...”
Sensing the young man's resentment, Wang Zhidao pointed at him from afar and sighed, “You simply do not understand your father's well-meaning intentions. Ah, forget it, forget it...”
Wang Zhidao shook his head and lowered his hand, his tone suddenly becoming ethereal: “Xuanyang, let me ask you. You practice martial arts and study the scriptures daily, but do you know what the legendary ‘Blessed Lands’ actually are?”
“Of course I know.”
Having grown up in the provincial capital as a child, Wang Xuanyang was naturally knowledgeable. He suppressed his emotions and answered solemnly, “The ancient texts state: Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands connect to the Great Void. They are all legacy realms opened up through heaven-defying means by True Monarch powerhouses of the primordial era.”
“In such territories, opportunities are countless and treasures are as numerous as ox hairs. However, every time one opens and emerges, the providence of heaven and earth converges, inevitably giving rise to a ‘Child of Destiny’ who carries the will of heaven and earth!”
At the mention of these words, a hint of awe appeared in Wang Xuanyang's eyes: “According to ancient records, a Child of Destiny is favored by the heavens, untouched by karma, and immune to divination. Their opportunities, talent, and luck are unparalleled in the world. If they do not die young, they will surely become a figure who shakes the world and influences the grand trend of the realm.”
At this point, Wang Xuanyang paused, his voice carrying a hint of yearning: “Legend has it that not only does a Child of Destiny possess immense personal fortune, but even their subordinates and followers—anyone who can share in their destiny, even if they have only met once or spoken a single word—will rise rapidly in the world and live a long life, even if they are mere mortals...”
At this point, Wang Xuanyang's voice suddenly grew quieter: “And for martial artists, if they can follow a Child of Destiny, the benefits are even more staggering!”
“My father... met a Child of Destiny back then and entered the ‘Nanxiang Blessed Land’ with him. Only then did he obtain the opportunity to break through to the Gangjin Rank, achieving the illustrious reputation of the Zhendong General today.”
“Indeed.”
Wang Zhidao nodded slowly, his gaze staring deeply at him, before uttering shocking words: “What if I told you... that near the borders of Changyun and Changshui counties, there lies a ‘Blessed Land’ that has not yet fully emerged into the world?”
“...What?!”
Hearing this, Wang Xuanyang felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
His eyes snapped wide open as he stared at Wang Zhidao in disbelief, his very breath catching in his throat.
Meeting his shocked gaze, Wang Zhidao stood up in an unhurried manner.
He paced over to the green pine bonsai, picked up a pair of shears, and began trimming the dead branches.
“That Blessed Land... only showed its first traces twenty years ago.”
“At that time, no one knew that a Blessed Land would appear in such a backwater place, let alone that a Child of Destiny had already been quietly nurtured there.”
The shears paused. Wang Zhidao leaned down to look at the neatly trimmed pine and said calmly, “Back then, there was only one person who, by a twist of fate, came into contact with him.”
Wang Xuanyang's breathing suddenly quickened: “Who?!”
“The ancestor of the Bai family, Bai Qingcang!”
Wang Zhidao sneered: “Twenty years ago, the Bai family was still just a minor family. Bai Qingcang had also just taken over as the family head, and his cultivation was merely at the entry stage of the Anjin Rank.”
“One day, when he happened to visit Cloudwater Lake, he accidentally ran into that Child of Destiny.”
“The other party was cultivating in seclusion in the middle of the lake. Seeing Bai Qingcang wander in by mistake, the Child of Destiny said they shared a fated connection, and even gifted him a cultivation technique, as well as a Precious Fish...”
“A Precious Fish... Was it the 『Azure Dragon Carp』?!”
Wang Xuanyang a flash of realization struck his mind, and he blurted out, “Rumors in the streets say that Bai Qingcang captured a Tier Three 『Azure Dragon Carp』 in Cloudwater Lake back then. Later, he spent a fortune to commission Grand Alchemist Mei Shuangning of the Biwu Sect in Guangwu Prefecture to refine a 『Dragon Creek Qi-Refining Pill』, using the Azure Dragon Carp as the primary ingredient.”
“After consuming this pill, Bai Qingcang broke through to the Huajin Rank in one fell swoop!”
Hearing this, a mocking curl appeared at the corner of Wang Zhidao's mouth, and he turned his head to say, “As you said, those are just rumors.”
Wang Xuanyang was stunned. “This... Patriarch, you mean...”
Wang Zhidao tossed the shears aside, brushed off the pine needles that had fallen onto his sleeves, and said coldly, “In his early years, Bai Qingcang trained in martial arts at the South Sea's Raging Sea Sect alongside a water bandit named Duan Wei. The two of them even studied under the same master and were fellow disciples who had been close friends for many years!”
“Back then, he came from a humble background and lacked worldly knowledge, so he had absolutely no idea what a ‘Child of Destiny’ was.”
“After receiving the opportunities gifted by the other party, not only was he ungrateful, but he was also blinded by greed... believing that the Child of Destiny must possess even greater treasures!”
“Thus, he secretly sent a letter to summon Duan Wei, and also brought in his lifelong friend, Luo Ao, the previous head of the Luo family.”
“Not only that, they also hired over a dozen experts of the Mingjin and Anjin Ranks from Changyun, Changshui, and even Nanxiang Prefecture, setting an inescapable dragnet, swearing to surround and kill the Child of Destiny on Cloudwater Lake.”
Speaking up to this point, a cold smile played on Wang Zhidao's lips, as if mocking those people for overestimating their own abilities.
“But how could these mere mortals know that a Child of Destiny is favored by the heavens and shrouded in great providence?”
“Without a Divine Ability Rank powerhouse taking action to obscure the heavenly secrets with a Destiny Divine Ability, a mere group of martial artists rashly attempting to assassinate a Child of Destiny would surely suffer a backlash of destiny!”
“Furthermore, although that Child of Destiny had only been cultivating for less than three months, his cultivation had already risen from a mere mortal to the Great Accomplishment of the Anjin Rank!”
“On top of that, he possessed a whole array of martial skills, stance works, secret techniques, and valuable treasures...”
“Just him alone, with a single sword.”
“He fought nineteen experts single-handedly, yet he slaughtered them until heads rolled, severed limbs and broken arms covered the water's surface, and a vast stretch of the center of Cloudwater Lake was dyed crimson.”
“The attackers were almost entirely wiped out, with only Bai Qingcang and Duan Wei managing to escape with severe injuries...”
Wang Xuanyang's lips felt dry as he listened, and he asked in a trembling voice, “What... what about that Child of Destiny?”
“He died.”
Wang Zhidao gave the conclusion without hesitation: “After slaying over a dozen experts, he ultimately exhausted his blood qi and collapsed from his severe wounds.”
“The surviving four or five men, including Bai Qingcang, Duan Wei, and Luo Ao, feared his power and did not dare to engage in close combat. Instead, they attacked him from a distance using all kinds of poisoned hidden weapons and underhanded methods...”
“But even with his limbs severed and half of his face a bloody mess, during his dying struggle, Luo Ao was still decapitated by his sword, and half of Duan Wei's body was shredded by sword qi...”
Wang Zhidao exhaled a breath of turbid air, looking out at the sky which was gradually turning dark outside the window:
“Finally, as his breath ceased, the Child of Destiny leapt into the water along with his sword.”
“But strangely, although Bai Qingcang searched the lake bed for three days and three nights afterward, he could never find the corpse.”
“By then, Duan Wei was at the end of his rope. To keep the secret and to continue searching the lake bed for the corpse that might harbor a grand fortune, Duan Wei, before his death, had his eldest son occupy Dongyi Island...”
Wang Zhidao turned around, his eyes burning like torches as he stared at Wang Xuanyang:
“Since then, a ‘Chenjian Dock’ appeared on Cloudwater Lake, and its First Chief, Duan Xiao, is the son of the Duan Wei from back then!”
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