Wen Chaoxi had originally thought he’d had a beautiful dream, until the sound of birdsong came from outside the room, and only then did he realize this wasn’t a dream, this was reality.
The person in his embrace had long since woken up, sneaking about doing who knew what.
He lowered his head, and just happened to meet a pair of phoenix eyes. The phoenix eyes trembled upon seeing him, and hastily closed shut, leaving only the thick, curled lashes trembling.
Xiao Yao lowered his head, hair black as ink. Wen Chaoxi’s throat bobbed, and he turned onto his side, his breathing slightly hastened as he propped himself up on the bed with his arm.
Gazing at the still-early sky outside, Wen Chaoxi tucked the blanket around Xiao Yao, and said in a low, restrained voice, “Sleep a while longer.”
The weather today was indeed much colder. Wen Chaoxi stewed a stomach-warming porridge, and after Xu Chaoqi came out, he adjusted Xu Chaoqi’s collar for him.
The red tassel at Wen Chaoxi’s waist swayed, hung by him in a conspicuous place.
Xu Chaoqi drank two large bowls of hot porridge in the morning, and also ate some pastries. Before leaving, Senior Brother took out a food box and packed enough food for a whole day inside, which included no shortage of two pieces of fried crispy fish.
Xu Chaoqi packed the food box away, and only then did the two head to the Southern Competition Immortal Platform.
Southern Competition Immortal Platform.
Today Xu Chaoqi had also brought the food box with him, and Song Shuiqing came over. To be honest, he was quite curious what Brother Qi ate in private.
Song Shuiqing had invited Xu Chaoqi countless times, and today was a rare day Xu Chaoqi brought food. Without hesitation, he placed the food box between the two of them, letting the other party eat freely.
The moment the lid was opened, rich spiritual energy dispersed outward, and everyone around was stunned. The disciples of Fumo Mountain had shock in their eyes; they looked at each other, and could see disbelief on each other’s faces. In their hearts, Xu Chaoqi suddenly became mysterious.
Song Shuiqing stared at the food box in a daze for a long while, blinking at it for ages, as if trying to identify what materials these were.
“Brother Qi, is this what you eat on a normal basis?” he asked hesitantly, reaching out to take a small piece of pastry, examining it carefully before cautiously taking a bite.
In an instant, spiritual energy overflowed everywhere, and Song Shuiqing clutched his stomach, brows furrowed. Xu Chaoqi stood up, hurrying over to check on Song Shuiqing.
Song Shuiqing shook his head, sweat sliding down his forehead, his smile carrying both joy, difficulty, and helplessness. “Brother Qi, is this what you eat normally?”
Xu Chaoqi nodded. Song Shuiqing endured for a long moment before suppressing the urge to breakthrough his cultivation stage; thick spiritual energy dispersed within his body—had he not still needed to participate in the Grand Competition, he had nearly become a Golden Core cultivator right then.
After he’d recovered, he looked at Xu Chaoqi’s food box with longing eyes. “Brother Qi, these are all good things. Just one random bite is something our Western Region inner sect disciples could only eat after achieving great merit.”
Surprise flickered in Xu Chaoqi’s eyes; he knew his food contained spiritual energy, but he hadn’t expected the food to have such an extraordinary origin.
Hearing this, he pushed the food box toward Song Shuiqing. “Then eat some quickly, it’ll benefit your cultivation no matter how little.”
Song Shuiqing revealed a bitter expression. “I’m already about to undergo tribulation from eating just this one small bite. If I eat a few more bites, I’m afraid my body might explode and I’d die.”
As he spoke, he looked at Xu Chaoqi in confusion. “Is Brother Qi really fine eating so much of this?”
Xu Chaoqi shook his head, lowering his eyes. “It has no effect on me.”
A new round of the Grand Competition was about to begin, and the Southern Competition Immortal Platform was bustling with excitement.
The disciples of Fumo Mountain watched the stage while chatting idly below.
The disciples who had discussed the disciple robes yesterday sharply noticed that Xu Chaoqi’s disciple robe had been repaired. Everyone gathered around, looking at the robe that was as clean and new as ever. One disciple asked, “Fellow Daoist Xu, did you go get a new disciple robe yesterday?”
Song Shuiqing also looked at Xu Chaoqi, and seeing that Xu Chaoqi’s disciple robe showed not a single trace of damage, he couldn’t help but be surprised, even crawling over to look at the hem of Xu Chaoqi’s robe. After looking for a long while, Song Shuiqing finally discovered traces of stitching on the disciple robe.
It was just that the skill in this stitching was too exceptional—not only was it sewn more securely than the original, it was even more exquisite, even more magnificent than the original! Based on Song Shuiqing’s many years of experience as a young lord this wasn’t something that could be sewn without several hundred years of skill behind it.
Song Shuiqing: “How was this sewn?”
Xu Chaoqi lay back, looking toward the dueling platform. “My Senior Brother helped sew it.”
Senior Brother…
Song Shuiqing knew Brother Qi had a senior brother, one older than Brother Qi, and quite influential as well.
He had never met Brother Qi’s senior brother, but from Brother Qi’s casual chatting, he could guess that Brother Qi’s senior brother was probably a very gentle person.
Suddenly, cheers erupted across the dueling platform. Everyone looked up, and it turned out that Yingtian Sect’s Young Sect Master, Yu Chengzhou, was about to compete against someone.
The moment Xu Chaoqi saw the sword hanging at Yu Chengzhou’s waist, he immediately sat up straight, a light appearing in his eyes as well. He rested his chin on his hand, watching Yu Chengzhou with great interest.
Song Shuiqing had also heard of Yu Chengzhou’s great reputation, and he too focused his attention alongside Xu Chaoqi to watch the duel.
Yu Chengzhou was the foremost disciple of Yingtian Sect’s “Cheng” generation, and also a renowned sword cultivator among the younger generation.
He had always spoken little, walking onto the platform in silence, his Daoist robes billowing in the wind.
On the auspicious cloud light screen, Wen Chaoxi saw Xiao Yao’s excitement, as if all his attention was on the Young Sect Master.
Wen Chaoxi lowered his brows and sipped his tea, fingertips tapping on the table, and he smiled.
Yu Chengzhou truly was extraordinary. As the duel began, the cultivator across from him attacked with a magical weapon. Yu Chengzhou did not dodge; instead, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, transforming qi into a sword, and dozens of qi-swords stabbed toward the opposing cultivator.
The cultivator panicked greatly, hastily using his magical weapon to block one by one. He was no ordinary person either—after dodging this move, he threw his own magical weapon into the air, and it too transformed into several blades flying toward Yu Chengzhou.
Yu Chengzhou turned to the side, dodging the magical weapon. Seeing this, the cultivator pressed his advantage, for he too had cultivated several techniques.
The cultivator commanded qi, and thousands of blades of qi flew out from his body, all rushing toward Yu Chengzhou. At the same moment, he took out another magical weapon of his own and leapt up, pouring all his spiritual power into it, preparing for one final strike against Yu Chengzhou.
The sky darkened, fierce winds arose, and the loose strands of Xu Chaoqi’s hair were blown up. He narrowed his eyes at the dueling platform, a figure reflected in his eyes.
He saw Yu Chengzhou move, and Xu Chaoqi’s lips curved upward as well, his eyes widening, pupils illuminated by the sky.
Yu Chengzhou suddenly drew his sword, the sword’s shadow flashing past, piercing through the dim, dark sky.
He raised his sword upward into the air, his robes rolling in the wind, the sword’s shadow slicing through the air in several strokes. Faintly, wind and spiritual energy swirled together, and the mist stirred up seemed to gain a spirit of its own—the gray mist appeared to struggle against some kind of shackles, letting out a roar in the air like that of a ferocious beast.
The entire arena was stunned. Xu Chaoqi stared at the mist in the sky, dazed, while Song Shuiqing couldn’t help but cry out. “It’s the Cloud-Summoning Sword Technique! The sword technique passed down by Sect Master Wen back in the day!”
“Sect Master Wen…” Xu Chaoqi murmured softly.
Song Shuiqing nodded excitedly. “That’s the one! The foremost swordsman across the Twenty-Seven Regions!”
Xu Chaoqi looked at him with astonishment in his eyes. “The foremost swordsman across the Twenty-Seven Regions? Is he really that formidable?!”
Song Shuiqing was somewhat surprised—Brother Qi clearly knew of Sect Master Wen, and yet seemed unfamiliar with him at the same time.
He bent down, hesitating, “Could it be that Brother Qi truly doesn’t know just how formidable Sect Master Wen’s reputation is?”
Xu Chaoqi paused, his low voice carrying a hint of bewilderment. “How formidable is his reputation? I only know that he’s considered a mighty expert of some renown these days.”
A—a mighty expert of some renown? Song Shuiqing was stumped by this description.
He leaned in close to Brother Qi, looking directly into his eyes, saying sincerely, “A mighty expert of some renown… isn’t even enough to be his little disciple.”
Xu Chaoqi: …
He stammered: “Really?”
Song Shuiqing: “Of course it’s true!”
He continued mysteriously: “Do you know why this world has Eastern, Western, and Northern Region Lords, but no Southern Region Lord?”
Xu Chaoqi: “W-why?”
Song Shuiqing: “Naturally because the entire Southern Region is within Yingtian Sect? Brother Qi wouldn’t really think Yingtian Sect is just these few mountains, would you?”
Xu Chaoqi: …
Song Shuiqing had no idea why Brother Qi’s general knowledge was so lacking; he chuckled, finally having found his moment to be useful.
So he continued. “Sect Master Wen is called sect master, but in reality, all Twenty-Seven Regions must obey his commands. The wealth in Sect Master Wen’s hands is beyond measure—Heaven-tier magical weapons are like cabbage in his hands.
It’s said that Sect Master Wen has a cold temperament, always stern and never smiling easily. He’s also always been decisive, his word is final, and no one else has the standing to bargain with him. He’s also lived in seclusion for years, rarely appearing—even my father finds it hard to get one meeting with him…”
As Xu Chaoqi listened, the corner of his mouth twitched. He lowered his head, his eyes somewhat dazed, and after a long moment, he ground out. “That’s not quite what I imagined, but he doesn’t seem that hard to get along with either…”
Song Shuiqing clicked his tongue twice. “You have no idea how many people he’s stabbed to death.”
Xu Chaoqi: …
Just then, an attendant called out. “Xu Chengyao!”
Xu Chaoqi stood up, about to go up onstage to compete. He exchanged a glance with Song Shuiqing, seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes.
He suddenly remembered—he had meant to tell Shuiqing his real name yesterday.
The time was already growing late; he glanced at the stage, and after a moment’s hesitation, said quietly to Song Shuiqing, “My name isn’t actually Xu Qi. My surname is ‘Xu'(胥)—the Xu of ‘Juxu’. I truly am a disciple of Yingtian Sect, and the middle character of my name is ‘Chao.'”
With that said, Xu Chaoqi went up onto the stage.
“Xu. Chao. Qi.” Song Shuiqing murmured the name syllable by syllable, lowering his eyes, but his eyes only grew more bewildered.
Song Shuiqing wasn’t present for the rest of the Grand Competition today; once the competition ended, he went home and began searching through Yingtian Sect’s disciple registry.
In the study, the candlelight flickered dimly, the sky had already darkened, and he searched for a long while without finding anything.
Just then, the Western Region Lord walked in. Seeing his son had been flipping through the disciple registry for two hours, he couldn’t help but come closer.
“What are you looking through?” He knocked his son’s head.
Song Shuiqing covered his head, angry but not daring to say so. He continued flipping through the disciple registry, mumbling, “Brother Qi said he’s a disciple of Yingtian Sect, and there’s a character sandwiched in the middle of ‘Xu Qi.’ But when I searched for the second character, whether before the ‘Cheng’ generation or after it, I flipped through five whole generations and still couldn’t find that character.”
“Hm? What character?” The Western Region Lord raised an eyebrow, his son’s words piquing his curiosity as well.
“The character ‘Chao.'”
Upon hearing this, the Western Region Lord fell silent, the smile at the corners of his mouth gradually fading. He blinked, and for a moment, there was a hollow look in his eyes.
“The character ‘Chao,’ huh.” His lips felt somewhat dry. “What did he call himself again? Xu… Qi? Xu Chaoqi… Xu…”
He got stuck, his throat bobbing. He lowered his head and flipped forward through the disciple registry in his son’s hands, turning to the very first page.
The first few pages had originally been sealed by a spell; the moment the Western Region Lord flipped through, the spell broke.
He pointed at the single character “Chao” that appeared on the first page. “Isn’t this it?”
“Huh?” Song Shuiqing froze, staring at the thick disciple registry.
The first page was none other than… the first generation of Yingtian Sect. Sect Master Wen’s own generation.
Then—then who was Brother Qi?
His mind went completely blank in an instant. Who was Brother Qi? And the senior brother Brother Qi often mentioned… who was he?
Cold gripped his entire body, his eyelids blinking again and again, as if he’d lost the ability to think.
In the Western Region Lord’s mind, the figure of the young man on the heavenly ladder gradually surfaced, and this figure gradually overlapped with that of the young man beneath the stage back then.
He too felt somewhat numb, unable to react for a moment.
Sect Master Wen’s junior brother…
He looked at his own son in a daze, and after a long while, uttered, “You really have run into someone of great fortune. The Daoist of Heavenly Secrets calculated it quite accurately indeed.”
Song Shuiqing was stunned, his mind failing to turn, and could only say instinctively out of reflex. “So it was also true, what Dad said back then—that Daoist of Heavenly Secrets calculated that Sect Master Wen wouldn’t keep his integrity intact in his later years?”
The Western Region Lord: …
He blinked. “Did your old man ever say such a thing? Don’t you dare slander your old man!”
Song Shuiqing: …