Volume One: Autumn Festival Chapter Forty-One: Descendants of the Qi Imperial Lineage

Luo Xianshan returned to his room to rest, while Rong Yulu, feeling stifled and irritable, left the inn alone to wander through the Chenghuang Temple fair.

Suddenly, a person blocked his path.

Rong Yulu’s face darkened, and he snapped, "Get lost."

The newcomer smiled and said, "Young Master Rong has quite a temper. Is it because you were humiliated but found yourself unable to seek revenge, leaving you feeling frustrated?"

Rong Yulu frowned deeply. "Who are you?"

The newcomer stood with his hands behind his back and replied, "Cai Tanggu."

Rong Yulu performed a formal cultivation salute—cupping his hands, hooking his thumbs, and bowing slightly—and forced a smile. "So it is Instructor Cai of the Yuyuan Academy. I have long admired your name."

Cai Tanggu got straight to the point. "Did you trip over a hurdle because of Jiang Wang?"

Rong Yulu asked, "Does Master Cai know this person as well?"

Cai Tanggu’s expression grew grave. "To tell you the truth, I, too, was humiliated in every way by that petty thief Jiang Wang. I only arrived in Hun City at the hour of the Rooster, and I was just planning to go and reclaim my honor."

Rong Yulu asked in surprise, "That Jiang Wang actually dared to act presumptuously in front of Master Cai?"

Cai Tanggu remained silent for a moment.

Upon returning to Yuyuan Academy, he had naturally investigated the situation of the Marquis of Xunyang. Just as Luo Xianshan had said at the Half-Day Leisure Inn, it was no wonder Jiang Wang was so arrogant.

However, background was, after all, a matter of the past. If not for the Black Flame Army, the current Marquis’s estate would be no different from any ordinary wealthy merchant. Even if he were to take revenge on a noble of this sort, no major trouble would come of it.

"Relying on his status as a descendant of the Qi royal family, he has become somewhat arrogant and domineering. I have returned this time to teach him how to behave. He should not think that by relying on the shade of his ancestors, he is still some Crown Prince. There is only the Sui Kingdom now; there is no Qi Kingdom."

Rong Yulu finally beamed, saying, "Master Cai is absolutely right. I am willing to lend Master Cai a hand to properly teach Jiang Wang how to conduct himself."

Cai Tanggu narrowed his eyes. "The Rong family of Lüpu is loyal to His Majesty and is also a right-hand man to the Martial God Shrine. How can we suffer such a loss of face here and let it rest? If Young Master Rong helps me, it is also me helping you. We can head to the Marquis’s estate together right now."

Thinking of what Venerable Luo had said, Rong Yulu looked around and asked, "Just the two of us?"

Cai Tanggu pointed toward a certain spot and smiled. "Of course, there is another master assisting us."

Under the lantern in front of a tavern, a middle-aged man stood with his arms folded around a blade, eyes closed in contemplation.

...

About a hundred miles south of Hun City.

A campfire burned in a sparse bamboo forest. A young man sat on a stone before the fire.

He carried a sword on his back, a feminine-looking blade with a blue tassel swaying in the breeze. His skin was slightly dark, but his features were extraordinary. He was silently eating a piece of flatbread when he suddenly heard a rustle. The sword on his back flew straight out of its scabbard, and when it returned, it was stained with dark green blood.

His sword-like eyebrows lifted slightly. In the instant the campfire flared, the man had already vanished.

Fifty paces away lay the massive corpse of a Yaoguai known as a Ying-Yao.

The man paused, listening to the surroundings. The next moment, the sword in his hand flew into the void again.

A beast-like roar shook the heavens, breaking bamboo stalks one after another. A massive black shadow fell from the sky. The man stood where he was, reacting not at all. A sword hum rose, directly piercing the black shadow’s body, and the Ying-Yao crashed down before him.

They were only an inch apart.

The man casually kicked the massive corpse of the Ying-Yao aside and listened intently once more to the surroundings.

The flying sword streaked through the sky.

In the bamboo forest, the roars of the Ying-Yao continued incessantly, but within moments, they fell into silence.

The man sheathed his returning sword and was about to turn away when he paused again. The fallen leaves piled on the ground nearby vibrated slightly, and a hand suddenly reached out.

Beside the campfire, the man stared at the person lying before him.

It was an old man.

He was severely wounded.

Fortunately, the young man had studied medicine. Had he not happened to pass by, and had the Ying-Yao not been drawn by the scent of the old man’s essence, he would have surely died in a short while.

Before long, the old man opened his eyes.

The image of the monster still lingered in his mind, leaving him covered in a cold sweat. Seeing the man sitting beside him, the old man was slightly stunned and said in a hoarse voice, "You saved me?"

The man nodded.

The old man struggled to sit up, hunched over, and stared at the campfire. "Where is this?"

The man said nothing; he simply raised the bamboo branch in his hand, pointing toward a road marker.

The old man was shocked. "I actually flew a hundred miles!"

He looked at the man, as if only just realizing the situation, and took a defensive posture, saying cautiously, "Are you heading to Hun City?"

The man nodded.

The old man frowned and said, "It seems you are also a seeker of immortality, but there is a great monster haunting Hun City. That monster was of a size I have never seen in my life. With just one breath, it sent me flying a hundred miles away. I imagine Hun City has already met with disaster."

The old man was none other than Feng Linghuai.

He had not fully regained his senses at first, and maintaining vigilance against others was the instinct of a "Jianli" wanderer.

The man, who had not spoken or changed his expression from the beginning, saw his eyes brighten at the mention of a "great monster." He looked at Feng Linghuai, still silent, but the meaning was clear: he wanted the other to elaborate.

Feng Linghuai suspected the man was a mute.

Still, he was a lifesaver, and requiting kindness was the rule of the Jianli. Despite his wariness, Feng Linghuai explained the situation clearly.

The man rose abruptly and prepared to head straight for Hun City.

But then, remembering something, he turned back to look at Feng Linghuai and said calmly, "Your injuries are severe, but having received my treatment, as long as you do not exert your Qi for a short time, you will be no different from an ordinary person."

Feng Linghuai was astonished.

So he wasn't a mute?

Then he was shocked.

Without a Golden Core or a Divine Talisman from a Celestial Master, what physician possessed such ability?

He was a martial artist and could sense Qi; he had even condensed a strand of True Qi. If he had been saved by a Golden Core or a talisman, his body would have felt it. The facts proved that the man had cured him purely through medical skill.

...

Hun City, Qixia Street, the Marquis of Xunyang’s estate.

Cai Tanggu looked at the middle-aged man holding the blade and said, "That Jiang Wang truly has some ability, and he still needs to rescue Su Lingyi. We must resolve this quickly; we must not give him any opportunity to turn the tables."

The man with the blade did not speak. Rong Yulu was puzzled. "That Jiang Wang is clearly a good-for-nothing. What does Master Cai mean by this?"

Cai Tanggu did not want to mention his embarrassment, but he spoke truthfully. "I had a fight with Jiang Wang. His realm is at least at the peak of the Dongming realm. Perhaps he used some method to hide his aura. Do not be deceived by his outward appearance."

Rong Yulu did not understand, but he was deeply shocked.

This Marquis’s estate was truly not simple.

The man holding the blade finally spoke. "If he is a descendant of the Qi royal family, it is only natural that he would be left with some secret techniques. If Jiang Wang has truly not joined some great sect, then the treasures of the Qi Kingdom must be extraordinary."

Cai Tanggu raised an eyebrow. "Is Brother Chongyang suggesting that Jiang Wang attained such a high realm at his young age because of the treasures left by the Qi Kingdom?"

The man with the blade said, "Even if his aptitude is good, without the assistance of true treasures, if one were to explore the path of cultivation alone, it would be a blessing to even reach Foundation Establishment, let alone break into the Dongming realm."

Cai Tanggu became intrigued.

If such treasures truly existed, having been stuck at the peak of the Dongming realm for so many years, he might finally have hope of breaking his bottleneck.

The man with the blade was even older than him, yet he maintained the appearance of a man in his prime, which made Cai Tanggu terribly envious.

As long as he could advance to the Zhaoxue realm, he could improve his appearance. Once he returned to his original, youthful state, he would no longer look as ugly as he did now.

A cultivator who has just broken through the peak of the Dongming realm can guard their essence and return to their true, youthful appearance, but there is only one chance. Some choose to become young, some choose to look slightly younger, and some choose to remain unchanged.

Advancing to the Zhaoxue realm would allow him to look better—that was Cai Tanggu’s lifelong ambition.

The gates of the Marquis’s estate opened at that moment.

The old steward walked out, followed by the cultivators in green and white robes.

Seeing Cai Tanggu, the old steward frowned deeply. "So you really did come back."

Cai Tanggu smiled. "You were deliberately hiding yourself before, weren't you? After I learned of the Marquis’s background, I was curious why I hadn't seen Tong Ji, who was as close as a brother to the Marquis of Xunyang. Were you afraid I would recognize you back then?"

He had no interest in the nobles of the Sui Kingdom, but he was not entirely ignorant; he simply had not paid special attention to their situations, which was why he hadn't guessed which family the Marquis of Xunyang’s estate belonged to.

Tong Ji had once had some fame and had also spent time in the Divine Capital.

In the chronicles concerning the Marquis of Xunyang’s estate, tracing back to the emperors of the Qi Kingdom and including various deeds, Tong Ji's name was prominent in the latest chapters.

"If the old Marquis were still alive, the estate could indeed be called powerful. But the current Emperor is particularly displeased with the former royal families of the various states. The power of these nobles has become increasingly meager, surviving only by relying on the edicts of the late emperor. Even if I were to truly tear down your estate, it would not be a major matter."

Cai Tanggu stepped forward and threatened, "Jiang Wang insulted the Yuyuan Academy and is holding a disciple of our academy captive. It is only right that I come to demand an explanation. I advise you to hand over Su Lingyi as soon as possible; otherwise, I do not mind uprooting your entire estate."

The old steward looked displeased. "Instructor Cai has quite a big mouth."

The man holding the blade patted Cai Tanggu on the shoulder, signaling him to move aside, and then struck out fiercely, shattering the gates of the estate.

The two cultivators in green and white robes drew their swords and attacked.

But as always, they were easily handled.

They were sent flying back, coughing up blood.

The green-robed cultivator sighed as he lay on the ground, saying to the white-robed one, "Since arriving in Hun City, I seem to have grown accustomed to it. I can't beat anyone. Look at how I'm lying here; if someone didn't know better, they’d think I was just sleeping normally."

There was truly no other way; he had resorted to self-deprecation.

The white-robed cultivator was speechless. It was too embarrassing.

"A martial artist? No, a cultivator!" The old steward looked at the man with the blade with a grave expression. The path of cultivation was inherently arduous; no one could master both and ensure achievement in both. In the end, one would achieve nothing in either, wasting a lifetime.

But the man before him seemed to be an exception.