As Lei strive hard for her life as a ghost writer,
A Man who is in the most wanted list of the north became her target. In order to make a name for herself,tired of being on the back,she had to document how a criminal do its crime!

The moment Han Xiao saw Stephanie, he felt that she looked familiar. As he looked at her carefully, his heart skipped a beat.
He did not recognize the other hunters, but he was familiar with this woman!
Many players in his previous life had known Stephanie. She was very active during the Calamity of the Supers version. She was a subordinate of the Beyond Grade A from the Abyss of Stars, [Thousand Shadows]. She fought for Thousand Shadows with countless Supers as pawns, including many players that teamed up to kill her. In the end, she died in a battle while being surrounded by many forces… or she was finally freed.
After that, a related Dungeon Crystal appeared. Stephanie was inside the dungeon as a hidden boss. There was a chance of obtaining an extremely rare reward by defeating her.
In the later stages of Han Xiao's previous life, with an extremely high 87.6% player repeat rate, she entered the list of top hundred hard workers and received the honorable title 'Lady Stephanie'!
At that stage, the player count of Galaxy was dozens of times greater than the player count of Version 2.0. The number of players online at the same time was more than ten million. The fact that more than eighty percent of players had repeated Stephanie's dungeon before represented its popularity!
It was a little embarrassing to mention, but Han Xiao had fought Stephanie with at least three hundred different accounts. He could not have been more familiar with her.
Han Xiao did not expect to recognize one of the enemies, so he was surprised.
Initially, he did not know who the mastermind was. Now that he had seen Stephanie, everything became clear, and he found the truth.
It was Thousand Shadows!
No wonder, no wonder, everything connects now… Han Xiao was excited. If the mastermind was indeed Thousand Shadows, he knew why the hunters were capturing Supers.
It was to provide 'shadows' for Thousand Shadows!
Thousand Shadows' ability was very strange. He could absorb other individuals and turn them into his underlings, who were called 'shadows'. The shadows still retained most of their personality, but they had a sense of belonging and loyalty toward Thousand Shadows that could not be erased. In this condition, their memories were slightly altered.
The shadows slept inside Thousand Shadows, but at the same time, they could act for him.
The abilities of the shadows were preserved, or even enhanced, after fusing with Thousand Shadows. Thousand Shadows had lived for too long. No one knew how many shadows were in his body. He was an extremely mysterious member of The Ancient Ones.
Han Xiao recalled a secret that a player had found in his previous life. In order to live longer, Thousand Shadows sought help from specialized people and gave his Esper ability vitality. He then gave up his body and turned into a strange 'Esper Being'. Usual methods could not kill him. He had lived for close to a thousand years and was a member of The Ancient Ones.
Discovering the truth, Han Xiao was feeling gloomy. Thousand Shadows liked high-quality shadows, so he probably would not give up easily on Han Xiao. Han Xiao absolutely did not want to become a part of Thousand Shadows; he would lose himself and become a puppet!
Stephanie was Thousand Shadows' shadow. Her life story was rather tragic, too. Before she died, her true self returned for a moment and explained her origins.
Back at the start of the exploration era, before the Primordial Ones had been born, when the war between the three Universal Civilizations extended throughout the entire universe…
She was born in an era of war, an Antarrian. Her civilization's mother planet was dragged into the war. She displayed extraordinary talent from a young age, so she was chosen as a warrior, fighting for her home and quickly growing.
In a short period of a little more than ten years, she had already become the protector of her home, at the age normal Galaxy Human Race women were at their peak. At such a young age, she became the top protector of Antarr. She was so strong that even the three civilizations had heard of her.
However, a gigantic war broke out between the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light that used an entire Star Cluster as the battlefield. The Antarrians were affected. Their mother planet fell, and their colonial planets turned into ruins under the Crimson Dynasty's iron hoofs. Only a handful of people escaped with spaceships used for migration—Stephanie was one of the survivors.
People in wars were realistic. The survivors had no time to miss their mother planet and left the battlefield quickly, looking for a new home to rise again. However, an unwelcome guest had his eyes on Stephanie… Thousand Shadows.
Thousand Shadows was originally from a long-lived race and had already lived for many years. At that time, he had yet to give up his body and was not Beyond Grade A. He wanted Stephanie's power, so he intercepted the spaceship that the Antarr survivors were in.
In the ending, the Antarr Civilization was another extinguished civilization, and Stephanie became one of Thousand Shadows' shadows.
The history only recorded what happened—the cold words could not record emotions. The motives, feelings, and the reactions of everyone back then became mysteries. In Han Xiao's previous life, after Stephanie became a part of the dungeon, some players looked for her history out of curiosity. From a few descriptions in some history books, they came to know that some historians believed that if Stephanie did not 'mysteriously disappear', she might have become one of the [Primordial Ones].
However, during the exploration era, there had been way too many Calamity Grades that had a lot of potential, and most of them had died in battle. The Primordial Ones were the first group of Beyond Grade As that walked out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood alive. Thousand Shadows was not one of the Primordial Ones. He was always very mysterious, only appearing as a Beyond Grade A near the end of the exploration era.
In just one look, these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind. He took a deep breath. The true identity of the enemy had been discovered—it was definitely very stressful to be Thousand Shadows' enemy, but that was something for later.
The most imminent problem was dealing with nine Calamity Grades.
Especially Stephanie.
With a push, a beam of [Psionic Impact—Whale] headed right toward Stephanie. The enormous mechanical army around Han Xiao started to move toward all the enemies.
Bang bang bang!
Countless Psionic Cannons crisscrossed, and mechanical soldiers approached the enemies with weapons and shields in their hands. Stephanie and the rest moved, too.
The battle erupted; the scene instantly became chaotic!
Han Xiao never overestimated himself. Although his mechanical army was much stronger than before, facing nine experienced Calamity Grades was still beyond his capabilities. Among the nine enemies, there were two Mechanics. One of them was a Cannon Master, shooting out large beams from extremely high caliber cannons, shattering mechanical soldiers one after another.
The other one used the Galactic Stronghold Style. A several-hundred-meter-tall fortress expanded from his hands. It had extremely strong firepower and its own guards.
Clank!
Metal clashed against metal nonstop, electrical sparkles replaced blood, and scrap metal and wires fell like rain.
Among the rest of the enemies, there were two Pugilists, one Mage, and four Espers. Stephanie was one of the Espers!
Stephanie's ability was the most mysterious. Like a diving eagle, she headed right for Han Xiao in the middle of the army. Everywhere she passed, the nearly mechanical soldiers all shattered. The air around her looked like it was bent by high temperature. From very far away, she raised her hand and aimed at Han Xiao.
With just this one move, several notifications popped up on Han Xiao's interface.
_____________________
You have entered the [Slightly Slowed] state. -12% DEX. Duration: 8 seconds!
You have entered the [Slightly Weakened] state. -6% all attributes. Duration: 8 seconds!
You have entered the [Slightly Confused] state. +10% chance of being interrupted while using abilities. Duration: 8 seconds!
You have entered the [Abnormally Excited] state. Your attack is fluctuating at 80%–110%. Duration: 8 seconds!
You have entered the [Light Illusion] state. -10% accuracy, -10% perception. Duration: 8 seconds!
You have entered the [Slightly Tired] state. +8% expense in energy and stamina. Duration: 10 seconds!
Your Ability [Steel Body] is activated. All True Damage is nullified!
_____________________


What do you do when you wake up and find yourself inside the very game that you love? 
What do you do when you realize you that you have not only become an NPC - you have even been thrown back in time to before the game even launched! 
What will happen when our protagonist's two realities coincide? 
Han Xiao was a professional power leveler before his transmigration. Using his past life's knowledge, Han Xiao sweeps through the universe as he prepares for the arrival of the players. This is definitely not your typical transmigration novel.

....
Real World, Soaring Continent.
Main Region, Central District, Capital City.
Springfield Household.
Shin in his room and is currently sitting on the floor beside his bed while having a deep thought. Around him are a bunch of piles of books regarding the combination of Martial-Arts and Mentalism.
Sigh~
Shin releases a helpless sigh after his deep contemplation. "This study is really quite hard. Combining the systems of Martial-Art and Mentalism are not as simple as one plus one, yet these guys managed to come up with their own theories and able to realize some of them."
"If I look at all of these the people that stood out the most are 'Alberto Gonzalez' the first to discover the 'Unified Strengthening' Technique and 'Henry Cortez' the author of 'The Book of Secret Arts'."
"Without a doubt, Alberto's Unified Strengthening Technique is more successful than the other researches, but Henry's theories regarding Secret Arts are quite solid too. And the theory that is closest to reality is the 'Martial-Mentalism Relativity Theory'."
"This theory discusses how to create a personalized Secret Art by combining the current Martial-Art Skills and Mentalism Techniques of the user. But this is only applicable to Dual-Practioners."
"He said that if a Practioner managed to create his/her personal Secret Art through combining his/her Martial-Art Skill and Mentalism Technique, then it is also possible for him/her to create a 'Worldly Origin' that be used with those Secret Arts."
"This theory is quite simple if you look at it, but it is easier to said than done. It is safe to say that the Martial-Art and Mentalism of a Dual-Practioner are comparable with each other. But it doesn't mean that those two can be easily combined."
"Because almost all of the Dual-Practioners are practicing their Mentalism in a 'Psychic Mentalist' discipline while their bodies are properly nurtured by their 'Internal Qi' and not by their Mental Energies."
"And because of that, their bodies can't use any Mentalism Technique that falls on 'physical' discipline. And therefore, their Martial-Arts and Mentalism combination are quite impossible to achieve."
"They are not like me after all, who can use both Physical and Mental techniques of my Mentalism despite having a body nurtured by my Internal Qi. And that is mostly thanks to my 'Spiritual Embryo' Special Body. And–...."
Shin suddenly paused when he reached this point. It is because he suddenly realized something.
Then he blurted out as he suddenly shot up from his sitting position for finding the missing key! "That's Right!!! That is the answer why no one managed to achieve the desired result of this theory! It is because they don't have a suitable vessel to use a Secret Art that Henry was saying."
"Wait! I think I read something similar this earlier." muttered Shin before sitting down once again and rescanning the books around him as he tries to find something.
Few moments later, he finally found the book that he is looking for. The title of the book is 'The secrets of Alberto Gonzalez'. Shin flipped the pages of the book while scanning it one by one.
Then his sight landed on a certain phrase on the book before reading it out loud."I'm not a genius actually. I'm just a Dual-Practioner with a special type of body that lets me experiment more on the field of Martial-Arts and Mentalism. And with that, I managed to discover this new technique of ours."
Shin stared at that for few more seconds before muttering to himself. "So that was it. Alberto Gonzalez might also have a 'Spiritual Embryo' special body just like me. That is also one of the main reasons how he discovered the Unified Strengthening."
Then he looked at the book written by 'Henry Cortez' before muttering to himself. "If only he was still alive when Henry Cortez emerges, or the other way around, then they might really succeed at combining Martial-Arts and Mentalism together."
"Tsk! Too bad that Alberto died during an exploration mission, or else he might still alive until now. And with that, he and Henry might meet and create another history."
After that, Shin read Henry's profile from one of the books around him. "Henry Cortez, a genius researcher in the field of Martial-Arts and Mentalism."
"He might not be gifted at the two respective practices but a lot of members of the 'Elder Council' respected him because of his amazing researches."
"He is currently working at the 'Magical Ace Academy' as a guest teacher and acting as the head researcher of the 'World Research Center' of the Soaring Continent."
Then Shin fell on a deep contemplation. "Magical Ace Academy? That is one of the best schools around the world. And together with the 'Top Military School', they are called the twin genius producer of the Soaring Continent."
.....
The 'Top Military School' a school that is famous for its orthodox way of strict teaching together with its harsh environment. The death toll of the students here is quite high because of the missions issued by the school for their exams are pretty much dangerous.
But all of the graduates of this School are dragons among men. And all of the major organizations around the world are going crazy just to recruit one of them.
On the other hand, the 'Magical Ace Academy' is its counterpart. This school's way of teaching is quite unorthodox because they are discussing different kinds of fields. And it covers all the topics around the world.
What's more, most of the teachers and instructors of this school are internationally renowned individuals that are famous in their respective fields.
That is also the reason why some of the most talented individuals from the other countries are coming to the Eastern Sea Region just to enroll in the school.
Some of the international organizations are even enrolling their most talented younger generation because of that reason.
...
After comparing the two schools, Shin finally made a decision. "The start of the school will be on next month. Maybe I should start some preparation for it. And since I'm High School now, maybe I should send my application for the entrance exam of Magical Ace Academy."
"I might find some answers if I go there. And I'm sure that they have some topics regarding the combination of Martial-Art and Mentalism since Prof. Henry Cortez is in there."
"That Old Geezer and Old Fatty might able to teach me how to become a powerful Martial-Artist and Mentalist, but they can't help at the field of combining the two as much as this Prof. Henry."
After that, Shin opens his Advance Watch and dialed the number of Old Plum to discuss his plans. His master supported his decision as it is a good idea, and it is going to be more helpful in his progress exploring the 'path' that he chose.
After ending the call, Shin dialed the number of 'Madam Foxy', this is how he named Madam Springfield or 'Cristina Jane', the wife of Captain Bernard, in his Advance Watch.
When the call connected, Shin shared his thoughts about going to the 'Magical Ace Academy' for his High School. Madam Foxy didn't say much and just also supported his decision since it is really a good school.
After talking to her few more moments, Shin immediately ended the call before sending his application for the entrance exam of the 'Magical Ace Academy'. Then what left for him now is to wait for it to be approved so that he can take the exam.
And after doing all of that, Shin suddenly felt tired. He felt that a lot have happened today so he immediately collect all of the books around him while organizing them.
Then he take a quick trip to the kitchen to look for something to eat. And after eating, Shin immediately went back to his room before laying inside his VR Gaming Cabin.
"Alright, enough for Martial-Arts and Mentalism for now. Let's get back in the game and do some adventures."
Shin closed his eyes as the Cabin closes itself. Then he said. "Initiate Login!"
******
Swoosh!Shin is back in the room of the Church. Then he took a quick look at his in-game clock and saw that more than a day and a half have passed here since he spends almost half a day outside.
After that, he immediately opened his friend list and contacted Lawless. Fortunately, the call immediately connected and showed the smiling face of Lawless on the virtual screen. "Heh, so what's your problem now, Brother Sickarius?"
Shin clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! Do you honestly believe that I'm that kind of person?"
Lawless laughed out loud and said. "Hahaha.... Didn't you are only contacting when you need something?"
This time, Shin suddenly become guilty after hearing that. Well, he can't say anything about that, it is true after all.
Seeing Shin's guilty look, Lawless suddenly change the subject to lighten up the mood a little. "If your are feeling too guilty, then how about joining my team instead? With that, you don't have to feel this way."
Shin shook his head and smiled bitterly before apologizing. "Sorry brother Lawless, but we already discussed about that."
Lawless curve his mouth into a grin while saying. "If you are still worried about being weak, then that is not necessary anymore. Those 'Top Dogs' of the Powerhouse Guilds are already wracking their heads as they try to figure out how to recruit you after you defeated those three famous guys."
"Alright, Alright. Move on~. Let's discuss the main topic already. Are you and the others available now?" said Shin.
Lawless thought for a moment and said. "If it is about hunting some high-leveled monsters, then we might pass this time. Hunting monster bosses might be bountiful, but we can always hunt them down anytime."
"On the other hand, these kind of quests are hard to come by. There is a saying in this game that said 'Monster bosses give you the equipments and materials while Quests grant you levels and points'."
Shin knitted his brows and said. "Why do I feel that what you said is wrong? Didn't the right one is 'Monsters hone your skills and techniques while Quest gives you strength and influence'?"
"Anyway, I didn't call you for that. I stumble upon a High-Ranking quest. It is also related to the Church. I can't tackle it alone so I'm asking for some help."
Lawless suddenly became interested and said. "Oh~♪ A High-Ranking Quest? Is it also the same as the one being given by your Church or a different one?"
"Of course! It is different. Mine is kind of a personal quest." said Shin almost instantly.
Lawless fall on a deep thought before asking. "What type of quest and how is the difficulty?"
"A Hidden Investigative Quest with Master(SSS) difficulty." said Shin without second thought. Then he immediately added after. "And I think it is a chain quest, and somewhat related to my other quest."
"A chain quest that starts with 'Master-grade' difficulty?" muttered Lawless as he fell on a deep thought. Then he look at Shin before asking once again. "What about your other quest?"
Shin replied without thinking twice. "A Hidden Main Quest with Hell(SSS+) difficulty."
Cough! Cough!
Lawless suddenly chokes with the words that he is about say after hearing Shin's reply. Then he said after recovering himself. "What the F*ck! Why the hell are all the good things keep coming on your side. Can you at least lend your lucky star to me so that I can experience it too?"
Shin ignored that and immediately asked. "Enough with the that. Are you guys free or not?"
Lawless clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! What a coldhearted b*st*rd! Me and Faker are already free since just finished the SS-grade quest that we got from the church, and about to submit it."
"But we are also planning to accept the Master-grade quest that had been posted on the church quest bulletin board since we already met the requirements for it. And it is better if we snatch it from the hands of the powerful Guilds."
Then Shin immediately replied without further ado. "Then take it too! We can clear the quests altogether since they are all interconnected! In fact, I'm the real reason why the church is issuing those quest."
"You–!....." Lawless was frozen in place after hearing that. It took him some time to recover himself before started cursing Shin. "D*mn it! God, F*cking d*mn it! What kind of b*st*rd creature are you? You are not only a sh*thead lucky guy, you are also a motherf*cking source of trouble!"
Shin stared at Lawless placidly and asked. "So what now? Are you guys coming or not?"
Lawless took some effort to clam himself down. Then he look at Shin and replied. "Alright, we are joining. But! We have some problems. Master-grade Quest are not like the other quest that can cleared alone or with some random team."
"We need to balance our team's class composition so that we can avoid some accidents. We didn't lack in physical DSP area. Me, you, and Faker are more than enough for that."
"We also don't have to worry on the supporting area, as we have Stephanie, and she is more than enough for that role."
"But we are lacking on two respective areas. We don't have a main tank, and we don't have enough firepower in magical DPS(Damage per Second) department. And even if Morgan have a rapid magical damage, he is lacking in terms explosiveness."
"If we have Ember and Ravier, then that is not a problem. But those two run off to somewhere, saying that they have to do something in Real World. For all I know, those two might only be dating."
"I might be able to find a suitable tank for our team by asking some of my friends. But I don't know anyone that can fill the magical DPS spot."
Now, Shin fell on a deep thought. He doesn't have may connections in the game. So aside from the couple in Lawless group, he only have a single person that magical class in his friend list. But he doesn't want ask some help from her because he is going get trapped on another debt if he does.
Shin is racking his brain while looking at his friend list. Then a certain name caught his eyes. Immediately after that, an idea enter his mind.
He look at Lawless on the screen before saying. "Hey, brother Lawless. You take care of finding the tank while I'll try looking for a magical class. And immediately take the Master-grade quest issued by Church before others steal it."
Lawless looked at Shin skeptically and said. "Are you sure about that? If you take a random Mage on the street, then I'm going to beat you up for ruining our quest."
Shin clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! You don't have to worry about that. I'm not that idi*t to ruin my own quest. Just finish up all the things on your side before we meet up at the coordinates that I'm going to send to you."
"What's with the rush? Can't we rest for a little?" said Lawless.
"Of course! You can. But we need to immediately move out after that. We need to finish one of my quest as soon as possible, or else some accidents might happened." said Shin with a little impatience.
Lawless clicked his tongue and said. "Alright, I get it. Just make sure that you are going to find a good Mage, OK?"
Shin nodded his head before ending the call. After that, he switched his 'caller ID' before dialing a number from his friends list.
....


Shin Kinghad is a kid that had been abducted and trained by a powerful underworld organization since he was three years old. After six years, he had been rescued by the Special Forces during their operation against that organization and was adopted by the captain of the special force group.

Since then, he treated the son and daughter of the captain as his own brother and sister. 

Years later, he joins the greatest VRMMORPG of all time, [Destiny's Fate] online, due to repeated invitations of his brother. He creates havoc inside the game as he climbs his way from being a beginner player to a peak class expert. 

But as he started to grow up, he became curious about his real identity and who his biological parents were. He tried to investigate it with the help of his brother and best friend. And after discovering his real background, he decided to follow his father’s footsteps and stood at the peak of the world using his Martial-Art Skills and Mentalism Techniques. 

Disclaimer: The cover is not mine. I got it from the internet and my friend did some editing. I'm currently looking for an artist to do the cover for me.

Author's Note:
Blair's character is inspired by Blair Waldorf (my new profile picture) from Gossip Girl. If you've watched the show or read the books, you'd notice that I had incorporated a few elements from the story into Sweetener.

In Wattpad, most books have character interpretations 'portrayed' mostly by celebrities. If you're an avid user, you know what I'm talking about. Since I'm so accustomed to Wattpad culture, I thought of doing the same here lol. I envision Blair to be played by Leighton Meester aka Blair Waldorf in season 1 and Whitney's character played by the TV show, Glee's Quinn Fabray also in season 1, but with a bob hairstyle like in the later seasons. 

-

Whitney

Horror flooded my brain as I felt my back touch the wall. Blair's eyes were dark and narrowed, our faces inches apart from each other. I was sure she could hear my ragged breaths as she inched closer, and I had to blink rapidly a couple times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Montgomery," at first her tone was unnervingly sweet, the smile she wore making goosebumps arise, "While I adore the idea of having my mother off my back every once in awhile, the men in her life often concern me as they do affect mine as well."

She was so close to me, the sweet scent of her perfume entered my nostrils. I was beginning to get lightheaded by our close proximity, and for a second my eyes drooped down to her gloss coated lips.

"Why didn't you come forward and tell me about this sooner?" 

I tried to formulate an explanation in my mind, but when my mouth opened, only air had come out. There was no explanation, my choice to stay silent was purely based on my fear of her.

But how could I say that? I didn't know what to answer without offending her. One wrong term and it was a kiss goodbye to my life in Belleview. 

"I-I.." 

It felt like I had lost all circulation. My shallow breathing was the only sound I could hear to assure me that I was still conscious.

"You what? We're not leaving here until you give me a reasonable excuse." her icy, forest orbs bore deep into my warmer ones analyzing my features as if looking for any sign of dishonesty.

"I...I'm sorry..."

"That's not the answer that I'm looking for." she crossed her arms, keeping her gaze steady on me. 

I had never been on the receiving end of this side of her. This was the Blair that everyone feared. The cold, relentless queen that did anything and everything not to allow anyone disrupt her rule of order. If word got out that our parents were dating, I would be dragged into drama and business I never even knew existed. 

"I-I didn't know how you would react if I told you," I uttered, my attention casted on the floor, "I'm... so sorry that you had to find out like this. I won't do it again, I swear."

The room fell into silence. It was the second time I was trapped in a bathroom with Belleview's HBIC and I kept wondering how the hell did my life turn out this way. What did I do to deserve it?

Blair staying quiet made my anxiety grow by the second. It made me uncomfortable to know that she was thinking, probably thinking of the many ways she could ruin me.

A sigh filled the air, and what she said next made me relieved. "Very well then, you're dismissed." 

My eyes shot up at her to see a blank expression. There was no trace of anger, and that was the only importance I took note of that made my heart leap with gratitude to what god above.

"Thank you." I scurried out of there as fast as I could, not looking back. When I returned to our table, the food had arrived. However, there was something odd about the sudden change in the lightness of air around us.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I didn't want to get caught in the middle of the two adults. My father had a displeased look on his face while Stephanie ate her salad in silence.

"You're back," my dad acknowledged while I took my seat, "Long line?"

I sent him a tired smile, nodding, "Mhm."

He passed me the rest of his dish, which made my brows contour at the sight of some unknown meat. I looked up at him with confusion. 

"Pulpo a la gallega," he attempted to pronounce its name, which I found a bit hilarious in my opinion, "Octopus. It was Stephanie's suggestion."

"Oh."

Not wanting to be rude, I picked up my fork and took a bite of the foreign dish. The idea of eating octopus was odd, but I wasn't surprised since we were eating in a fancy restaurant.

"How is it?" Stephanie asked, dabbing her lips with a napkin. Behind her, I saw Blair approaching and I felt my cheeks flame in memory of what happened not long ago.

"It's good." I answered her, truthfully. Her lips curled and nodded, taking a sip of champagne from her glass.

"Seeing as the night is still young, how would you two like to visit the mansion and have some tea?" Stephanie's invitation made me nearly choke on the food I was chewing. 

Blair looked at her with knitted brows, "Isn't daddy coming home from his business trip in London?"

A small laugh came from Stephanie, and I quickly glanced at my dad who seemed to be alert at the mention of Blair's father. "Oh dear, he didn't tell you? He's rented a penthouse in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He no longer lives with us."

Blair's lips parted, a look of disbelief washing over her. For a moment, I pitied her. She seemed pretty upset at the news of her father but as if remembering our presence, she schooled her features and put on the Queen B demeanor I was familiar with.

"It's pretty late, Steph, and it is a school night. I don't think it's a good idea." my dad spoke for the both of us. 

"Nonsense, I'll have Byron take you home. It's just tea, William." she told him, her tone getting more demanding. He sighed in defeat.

Once the bill was paid by Stephanie, we took separate rides on the way there. Their mansion was further from ours, in the east side of Belleview, where the richer families lived. 

The gates were opened for us by two beefy men at the entrance. My dad looked tired and distressed, and I clasped a hand over his to ask if he was alright. He only gave me an assuring smile. 

The Westwood household was larger than I expected. It looked like a modernized mansion in the Hamptons, making my jaw drop for the second time that night. The exterior alone was already grand, and I had no doubt the inside of it would be even grander. 

The chauffeur, Byron, opened the door for us and led us inside. I was right. A large, what seemed like a Swarovski chandelier hung on the ceiling, lighting up the grand entryway. 

We were greeted by a large man named Terrance. "Ms. Harrington awaits your presence in the tea room. There, I shall escort you."

The sound of heels on mahogany echoed through the walls. Descending down the staircase was Blair, still in her evening dress. "You may escort only Mr. Montgomery, Terrance. Whitney here will accompany me to my room."

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach and I stared at her wide-eyed.

Another smile etched on Blair's face as the man nodded. "Thank you, Terrance and enjoy your tea, Mr. Montgomery." My heart skipped a beat when she held out a hand for me to take. 

I looked back at my father who smiled at me. Pure hesitation was written all over when I took her hand. Nervously, my feet begun making their way up the stairs. 

I couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"

"Weren't you paying attention? I told you, my chambers."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

My heart stopped and my entire being froze upon hearing that. I recognized that voice. That was Blair Westwood's voice. 

"O-Oh my G- I am so s-sorry, Blair. I didn't mean to do that. I should've watched where I was going." I gulped the large lump that formed in the back of my throat and my eyes casted down on the floor. 

Silence filled the air between us, and as the minutes passed, the antsier I got to leave. I wanted to walk out, but I knew the second-in-command was hot on my trail. Wait. 

I was stuck in the bathroom with the HBIC of all people, while Delilah Santiago was also after me. Realization hitting, I looked up to meet the piercing green eyes of the she-devil herself. 

-

From a young age, Blair Westwood had been wired to thrive on pain and destruction. She was the queen bee, the head cheerleader that striked fear into the hearts of many. However, when her eyes capture the gaze of a certain volleyball captain, all that she's ever known suddenly becomes a lie. Her empire is threatened as she battles against the norms forced on her by society along with finding out the truth about her sexuality. 


©givenchytearss 2018

The monkeys on Shiyue Peak were too noisy; in fact, they were much more annoying
than Liu Shisui and the young monk of the Fruit Formation Temple. As such, Jing Jiu
didn't land in front of the Daoist Hall encircled by the forest. He went to a place at the
directly at the back of the peak. A dozen ordinary looking courtyards were located there,
storing many extremely valuable books on Cultivation and precious magic pills. They
were guarded closely.
To prevent natural fires, no other vegetation was planted in this patch of the cliff except
for the iron trees that could actually resist the fires.
The iron trees would neither produce flowers nor fruits, and their leaves tasted bitter and
were hard to swallow; no monkeys could be found here.
The sword light of the Sword of the Universe alerted Shiyue Peak. Jing Jiu was
surrounded by a dozen flying swords as soon as he landed as a few formidable
formations were ready to strike at any moment.
A disciple yelled, "Who are you?!"
Jing Jiu turned around.
"Young Senior Master…No, Sect Master!"
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
"Meet the Sect Master!"
After seeing his face, the disciples of Shiyue Peak were startled; they withdrew their
flying swords hastily and bowed to him in tandem.
"I'll take a look around myself. Don't follow me," said Jing Jiu.
He said "Don't follow me", not "No need to follow me". It would be more diplomatic and
friendly to say the latter, but he didn't intend to show his social skill as the new sect
master. The disciples of Shiyue Peak eyed each other wordlessly, thinking that this was
the forbidden area of Green Mountain, where many important books on Cultivation and
precious magic pills were stored…though, well…since the whole of Green Mountain
was his, it would be best to just let him go anywhere he wanted to.
Jing Jiu entered a nearby small courtyard and came to the front of a three-story small
building.
The elder in the building stood up and waited for his approach. Jing Jiu didn't exchange
any words with the elder, instead heading toward the inside of the building.
The elder was astonished. Yet, he crossed his hands as Jing Jiu came before the
building, the sword source coming out swiftly to dismantle the formations on the stairs.
Jing Jiu didn't halt his steps as he moved forward.
The elder, following behind Jing Jiu, kept waving his hands back and forth to dismantle
the formations. Tiny beads of sweat seeped out from his forehead immediately.
This small, ordinary-looking building unexpectedly had six formidable formations. Even
a practitioner in the upper state of the Broken Sea would have a hard time breaking
through the building.
Jing Jiu halted his steps after he came to the third floor and thanked the elder.
The elder retreated from the building after bowing to Jing Jiu. Then, he stood on the
landing of the stone steps, preventing others from entering the building by mistake and
disturbing the Sect Master reading the books.
Jing Jiu suddenly realized that Yuan Qijing hadn't given him the Great Formation of
Green Mountain yet.
Yet, he didn't dwell on this matter for too long as he headed to the deep part of the
building. Soon, he found the shelf he was looking for and took a thin booklet from it.
Back when he had just come to Green Mountain in his last life, he stayed on Shiyue
Peak for ten years. He didn't learn how to plant the flowers and remove the weeds, nor
did he learn how to make the magic pills here. All he did was read all the books on
Cultivation on the peak. Later, he came and read those books a few more times, and
gave up the effort only after he was certain that no more new books could be obtained
by the Green Mountain Sect.
He could still remember the contents of those books worthy of being remembered. The
purpose of his visit today was not to review the books, but to take a look at that book.
The old book contained very limited content; it mostly talked about a method of self-
observation.
For instance, when one looked at the refection of a flower in a mirror, they would see
many flowers as the mirror was broken into pieces; if the mirror turned into the tiniest of
powders, the flowers would vanish as well.
The method of self-observation was not sophisticated in and of itself, nor was it
mysterious. However, the author of the book figured out a method of splitting mirrors
based on this method, which was very important.
The Immortal Taiping created the Formation of the Dispersed Smoke and Clouds back
then after gaining an insight from this method of splitting mirrors.
Jing Jiu didn't read the words in the booklet, but felt the paper with his fingers to
ascertain the age of the booklet. In the meantime, he wanted to make sure nothing in
the booklet piqued his suspicion.
He walked out of the small building and handed the booklet to the elder, saying, "Find
out where this booklet came from."
"To which time period, Sect Master?" asked the elder.
Jing Jiu replied, "To the very beginning."
…
…
The request was reported to the Immortal Guangyuan immediately.
The Immortal Guangyuan took the booklet and had a look at it, and remained silent for a
long time. The current Green Mountain hailed mostly from Shangde Peak; an
experienced peak master like him knew something about the Formation of the
Dispersed Smoke and Clouds, so he was aware of the association of this booklet with
that formation. Why would Jing Jiu want to know the origin of this booklet?
He said after some thought, "Since it's the order of the Sect Master, just do it."
Because of Jing Jiu's request, the whole of Shiyue Peak was kept busy.
Seven elders and dozens of disciples, plus hundreds of caretakers, did nothing but
research the origin of that booklet. The masters came up with their theories and then
gave orders; dozens of disciples were responsible for analyzing, recording and
compiling notes as hundreds of caretakers shuttled back and forth among the
courtyards with the heavy books in their arms.
A nervous but exciting atmosphere filled the cliff. Even those iron trees seemed affected
by the commotion, swaying slightly in the wind, as if attempting to bloom.
It was inevitable that some would complain about the efforts. A disciple responsible for
the medicine garden of flowing stones in the western mountain suddenly recalled that
he had forgotten to summon the rainfall that day; he couldn't help complaining about the
unnecessary troubles the new sect master caused in his mind. But later he went to a
master and confided his offense.
Unexpectedly, that master didn't blame him, saying, "It's unimportant. You should do
your best to complete the task requested by the Sect Master. The orchid leaves will fold
easily without enough water; you can daub them with the jade marrow at night."
The expression on this disciple's face changed, as he thought there were three hundred
and seventeen orchids in total; so there was no way he could sleep if he was to daub
every and each leaf of them. And it seemed that he had to come here the next day to
check all these old books.
Yet, the masters thought it was more interesting to spend time this way. More
importantly, they hadn't even read those older books hidden in the small building. After
the books were moved out of the building, they selected the ones they were interested
in reading as they commanded the caretakers to open them and lay them on the stone
slabs. The libraries on Shiyue Peak enjoyed a constant dryness and temperature
ensured by the formations; but it would be detrimental to the books if they were kept in a
sunless place for too long.
The sunshine was quite warm this spring, suitable for baking the books.
…
…
To find out the origin of a book that had none was very difficult, even for someone like
Jing Jiu who was good at calculating and speculating. Yet, with the efforts of the entire
Shiyue Peak, they had found the clue in three days: the original author of the book was
a grand master in Cultivation by the name of Yan Zhenlu, who would have lived a
thousand years ago.
However, Jing Jiu wanted to find out the absolute origins of it; where did Yan Zhenlu get
his idea from in the first place?
This grandmaster in Cultivation was a free-traveling practitioner, though he was very
famous at the time. He didn't join any sect until he left this world.
The elders of Shiyue Peak came to a conclusion after checking a few unofficial
historical books and some logs of the local sects: Yan Zhenlu would have been an
expelled disciple of the Mirror Sect.
Jing Jiu was satisfied with the report from Shiyue Peak, thinking that being a sect
master had its own merits. He didn't have such a feeling back when he was the master
of the sect master on Shenmo Peak. Yet, Shiyue Peak wouldn't allow him to check this
out if he were merely a regular disciple, to say nothing of helping him find out the origin
of the book with so many resources.
After the hotpot dinner, Yuan Qü and Ping Yongjia remained quiet, and so did Ada.
But one day, Gu Qing couldn't hold his tongue any longer; he mentioned the upcoming
Plum Meeting again.
It was the middle of spring, and the flowers in Zhaoge City would be in bloom now. The
Plum Meeting would take place in a little more than ten days, but the Green Mountain
Sect hadn't selected the participants yet, let alone send a delegation.
Jing Jiu said, "The Sword Trial will take place as usual, and the leader of the delegation
will be Nan Wang as well."
Gu Qing felt relieved to hear this. He sent the message to Xilai Peak immediately and
asked them to make the arrangement.
The Sword Trial took place the second day successfully…something unexpected
occurred. Nan Wang didn't want to go to Zhaoge City; she desired to stay behind closed
doors.
Gu Qing was worried, as he thought that it was the first time when a peak master
declined the order of his Master as the new sect master. Did it signify something?
Jing Jiu didn't expect Nan Wang to be so diligent at cultivating now, yet at the same
time wasn't concerned about her refusal, saying, "Let Guangyuan do it then."
Then, he remembered the Sword Trial on Green Mountain that had taken place that
day, so he asked, "Who won?"
Gu Qing didn't answer him, and spun his head toward a spot behind him with a faint
smile.
Jing Jiu turned around and saw Yuan Qü standing by the window on the second floor of
the Daoist hall, raising his right hand embarrassingly.
Yuan Qü appeared ordinary on Shenmo Peak, being even unnoticeable most of time. It
was because Shenmo Peak had so many geniuses.
Jing Jiu felt a bit surprised, but he also felt satisfied. He had defeated Ma Hua and Gu
Han and even broken Guo Nanshan's famous sword, the Blue Sea, back in the Sword
Trial on Green Mountain that he participated in. Yuan Qü, with his ordinary Cultivation
state and ordinary flying sword, had won first place. Though the opponents Yuan Qü
faced were not as powerful as the ones he fought against, Yuan Qü had indeed
demonstrated some of his own prowess.
While thinking of all this, Jing Jiu said to Yuan Qü, "You're not allowed to lose in Zhaoge
City either."
The smile on Yuan Qü's face disappeared instantly, as he wondered if his senior
master, the Sect Master, wanted him to win first place in the Cultivation tournament.
…
…
The participants of various sects in the Plum Meeting had arrived in Zhaoge City one
after the other, and so did the Mirror Sect situated in Emerald City. The Chief of the
Mirror Sect led a dozen disciples departing their sect more than ten days ago, and their
sect master stayed behind closed doors again. Que Niang became the person in charge
of the affairs of the sect for now. She wasn't of high status, nor was she the big sister
among her peers, yet she was very talented, had a strong comprehensive ability, and
cultivated diligently. As such, her Cultivation state improved rather fast, and she was
favored by the sect master and the Chief of the Mirror Sect. But, Que Niang had such a
special status in the Mirror Sect for another reason.
She had won the chess tournaments many times in a row, making history at the Plum
Meeting. She felt a bit lonely after being regarded as the best chess player in the world,
so she opted not to participate in the Plum Meeting this year. She sighed as she set
down the book in her hands and looked at the reflection of the plum branch in the
mirror, wondering when she would be able to witness the game played by Teacher Jing
Jiu and Young Master Tong Yan again.
As the sound of footsteps broke out in the courtyard, a disciple came and told her that
some Culitvationists from Green Mountain came and wanted to pay her a visit.
Que Niang felt bewildered, as she thought that she didn't have any acquaintance on
Green Mountain even though the Mirror Sect and the Green Mountain Sect were on
good terms. On the other hand, she had some acquaintances on Cloud-Dream
Mountain. Who could these visitors be?
As she came to the outside of the courtyard, she saw two people brought in by the
disciples of the Mirror Sect, and felt even more baffled.
In such a mild day in spring, why were these two people still wearing conical hats?
Que Niang asked with a small smile, "Why are these two Cultivationists…"
The young disciple of Green Mountain in front lifted his conical hat slightly, exposing
half of his face.
Que Niang motioned for the disciple to leave them alone, her eyes full of surprise and
happiness. She led the two into the small courtyard and bowed to the person, asking,
"Teacher Jing Jiu, why did you come here?"
The two took off their conical hats. They were nobody else but Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue.
Que Niang bowed to Zhao Layue hastily. When she remembered the current identity of
Jing Jiu, she bowed again in reverence with a changed expression, "Greetings,
Immortal Sect Master."
She had done so many things in such a short time; it was inevitable that she would
appear a bit frenzied. The small freckles on her slightly red face seemed to glow a little,
making her look more adorable.
Que Niang felt puzzled after first feeling such happiness, as she wondered why he
chose to come to the Mirror Sect when the Plum Meeting was taking place in Zhaoge
City and the Center Sect was putting a great deal of pressure on them because of that
matter. As the sect master of the Green Mountain Sect, how could he travel around so
recklessly?
Jing Jiu told her the purpose of their visit directly.
Que Niang thought that the name of Yan Zhenlu sounded familiar, but she couldn't
remember exactly which senior master he was, saying, "I have to ask the senior
masters about this."
Zhao Layue took over the white cat crawling out of Jing Jiu's sleeve and held him in her
bosom, saying, "Sorry for the trouble."
As Que Niang was about to take off, she suddenly stopped short. "I must report this to
my Master," she said regretfully.
She didn't mean that checking Yan Zhenlu would encounter any resistance, this being
because Jing Jiu's status was different now.
She had to report this to her Master no matter what; otherwise, she would be in big
trouble if Jing Jiu had a mishap here!
…
…
The Sect Master of the Mirror Sect was still behind closed doors, but Que Niang had no
choice but to inform him.
It hadn't happened for a great many years that the sect master of Green Mountain
visited the Mirror Sect. Even though it was a secret visit, it was still much more
important to receive him than to stay behind closed doors.
Hearing the report from Que Niang, the Sect Master of the Mirror Sect said after some
thought, "I have some impression of Yan Zhenlu. He would be someone who was
originally from our sect. Though I'm not sure what Sect Master Jing wants to find out,
we will just do our best to cooperate with him. But…since he came here in secret, he
obviously doesn't want others knowing about it. As such, I'd better not meet him in
person. You should be careful too; don't leak the news out."
From that day on, Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had stayed in that small courtyard, never
stepping over the threshold.
The elders and disciples of the Mirror Sect were busy trying to find the stories in the old
books and documents like what the elders and disciples of Shiyue Peak had done.
Fortunately, the spring sun was also rather bright and warm in Emerald City; it was a
good occasion to bake the books.
Que Niang had been accompanying Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue in the courtyard the entire
time. She would glance curiously at the white cat in Zhao Layue's bosom, but more
often than not she would steal a glance at Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu was fully aware that beauty was far less important than the black and white
pieces of Go in the eyes of Tong Yan and Que Niang, so he knew what she desired to
do with him, and said, "Let's do it then."
Que Niang came to her senses after the initial bewilderment, and exclaimed excitedly,
"Teacher, you're so great!"
She was the only one who had watched the amazing game of Go played by Jing Jiu
and Tong Yan on the Chessboard Mountain until the last moment. The game had
influenced her a great deal in her future chess play.
From that day on, she regarded Jing Jiu as her teacher. And she called Jing Jiu
"teacher" reflexively because she was so excited.
Sitting on the chair while holding the white cat, Zhao Layue thought her calling Jing Jiu
"teacher" was merited.
"When we talked about you at our sect in the last few years, I called you 'teacher'
reflexively, which misled many people at out sect," Que Niang said to Jing Jiu
embarrassingly after she calmed down. "So the masters at our sect thought I had a
special relationship with you, and therefore had a higher expectation of me after you
became the Sect Master of Green Mountain…I beg your forgiveness."
There was a Go board in her room that became countless Go boards when being
reflected in the mirrors that filled up her room.
Jing Jiu picked up a white Go piece, and said to her, "What kind of reflection you have
in the mirrors depends on what kind of mirrors they are; it has nothing to do with
yourself."
Hearing this, Que Niang fell silent for a long time. She then picked up a black Go piece
and placed it on the board gingerly, saying, "Teacher, please offer me some guidance."


I am the sword.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, no one dares take ten steps.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, no one can take ten steps.
Killing a man amidst a thousand miles, ten steps? Not possible!
I am the sword, the sword is me,
On the path towards heaven, each shall wield their own.

Beyond the noble doors were places as deep as the sea. With a thousand years of inherited history, the aristocratic families were full of mystery in the eyes of people.
In Silver Mist Sea, no clans could surpass the reputations of the Ling and Gong residences. They were the strongest giants, standing right at the top of the food chain. Then there were the Zeng, Fu, Jin and Zhong families. While they had shorter and less illustrious histories as compared to the Ling and Gong families, these four had a considerable amount of influence in Silver Mist Sea.
The Zhong residence had been declining over the past ten years and was left with only an vice division leader from the Infantry Division to keep up appearances. Many felt that if ten years was all it took for the Zhong residence to reach this state, another ten would eliminate them from the big four list.
But life was unpredictable. The sudden movement of Blood of God inflicted heavy damages on the Sky Edge and Infantry Divisions. The Infantry Division, specifically, first lost its division leader in battle, and later on lost its vice division leader due to severe injuries. Zhong Houjun then became the only remaining higher-up in the Infantry Division. He’d suffered pretty heavy injuries himself, but had been lucky to survive and recover fully.
During the reconstruction of the Infantry Division, Zhong Houjun instantly became a hot candidate for the new vice leader position. Be it in qualifications or abilities, no one else was on par with him.
The Zhong residence’s prospects immediately turned up and people were sighing over the family’s good fortune.
But this was just anticipation. No matter how popular a candidate was, it was a separate matter from being a legitimate division leader. Plus, due to the Elders Guild’s city expansion order, it seemed to the people that the Elders Guild’s priority would be to open up the Wilderness and not to rebuild the thirteen divisions.
Did the Avalon of Five Elements have the ability to rebuild the Thirteen Divisions? No one really knew.
The Zhong residence had tight security. In a deep corner of the courtyard was a darkroom.
"What’s the current situation?" an ordinary looking lady asked in a low voice.
Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun would be thoroughly shocked if they were here, because this voice was extremely familiar to them. It was the voice of She Yu.
She Yu had just arrived in Silver City.
No one knew that long before the blood catastrophe happened, the Zhong residence had already been infiltrated and seized by Blood of God. The reason why Infantry Division suffered such huge losses was precisely because Zhong Houjun coordinated with both internal and external forces. And with his injuries at that time, he had managed to fool people and remove suspicions.
And when one party became independent, the Zhong residence received an order from Blood of God to draw close to Jadeite Forest.
The news of Dai Gang and the ancient treasure immediately caught the attention of higher-ups in Blood of God. Because of She Yu’s outstanding performance in Jadeite Forest, she was once again given a mission. She wore a special mask that concealed her identity. Without elemental energy waves, no one would notice her.
Zhong Houjun was about forty years old. He had a squarish face, stately bearing and a natural mighty appearance. He said in a low voice, "We’re not too sure what the ancient treasure exactly is. We’re not the only clan getting involved. Quite a few fellows appeared at Karakorum previously. If not for Chu Zhaoyang’s moment of enlightenment, they might have gotten hold of it already."
"Chu Zhaoyang?" She Yu had been reading relevant reports and found this name rather familiar. "The Chu Zhaoyang who appeared at Great Wei’s Caravan?"
"Yes." Zhong Houjun nodded. "He has a mysterious background and is a sword expert. I wonder if his sudden appearance in Karakorum is coincidental or planned."
"We will find that out very soon." She Yu was interested in another matter. "Who is Chu Zhaoyang battling against?"
Zhong Houjun shook his head. "There’s no battle. Chu Zhaoyang has destroyed five of Karakorum’s sword formations consecutively. The abilities he’s displayed frightened every passerby away. Our people were there at that time and they witnessed the whole thing."
This piqued She Yu’s interest even more. "Oh, he mustn't be ordinary, to be able to scare people off with his skills. Any images?"
"No, they were all stunned and no one thought about recording anything."
She Yu nodded her head. "Must have been a spectacular sight. What’s the situation now?"
"According to inside news, quite a few people will take action in the next two days." Zhong Houjun asked, "Do we need to make a move?"
She Yu smiled slightly. "Do not be impatient. Let’s go watch how things play out first."
The lady before him was clearly average looking, but somehow her laugh charmed him greatly.
He did not know who she was but he knew that people from Blood of God were always mysterious and cold.
…..
Karakorum Sword League. In a courtyard that stood on its own.
Regaining his senses after the pleasant Silverfold Plum surprise, Ai Hui thought back to what Hua Kui said about the reading of ancient books through the patriarch grass. He felt a sudden premonition.
This was completely different from what that old man had said.
"This set of notes should be kept in the seventh floor of the Hall of Ancient Records. The author’s surname is Xiao."
Where was the Hall of Ancient Records? Where was the seventh floor?
Both parties said completely different things, but thinking about how the old man had been imprisoned for so many years, it wouldn’t be surprising if the general headquarters had changed location in the past several decades.
Ai Hui only hoped that he would be blessed enough to find Senior Xiao’s notes.
But before that, he needed to analyze [Fusion Elemental Energy] first, since it was required to active the patriarch grass.
Because of the old man, probably, Ai Hui’d always felt that the Assembly of Patriarchs wasn’t very strong. It had a loose structure and nothing to offer, except that they were more familiar with Blood of God.
But now, Silverfold Plum made him realize that the assembly was wealthier and more imposing that he’d imagined. And the fusion elemental energy that he’d never heard of shocked him even more.
Fusion elemental energy wasn’t any type of elemental energy but a blend of the five elemental energy types.
This subverted everything Ai Hui knew.
How was this possible?
Who could simultaneously train five kinds of elemental energies? Even training two was unheard of. The current five residences and eight palaces system was extremely mature and there would be different Circulatory Cycle Revolutions, but there wasn’t any inheritances that required practicing two or more types of elemental energies.
Ai Hui was scared witless. It was as if he was reading dark books from dissenting sects.
Fusion elemental energy believed that everyone had five elements in them and no one was purely of one elemental energy type, so it was only natural that they practiced all five elements.
The way to practice it was even stranger. It had something in common with the system of five residences and eight palaces. No. To be precise, their only similarity was that they both had five residences.
Other than that, they had nothing else in common.
Fusion elemental energy required the practitioner to train five residences of the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney simultaneously. What was more odd, was the fact that fusion elemental energy trained only the residences but not the palaces, as if the eight palaces did not exist.
Such peculiar way of training elemental energy actually existed. It was simply unheard of and Ai Hui felt that it really widened his horizons.
The five residences formed the ring of five elements, where elemental energies engendered one another in a marvelous cycle.
A continuous deepening of fusion elemental energy would form ring patterns, like that of a big tree’s age rings. The five elemental ring patterns could rinse incessantly and temper the practitioner’s body, gradually channeling every organ and flesh into the five elemental ring patterns, allowing it to grow and multiply infinitely.
When the whole body was fully consisted of the five elemental ring patterns, the process was complete and known as [Fusion Body].
Inside a [Fusion Body] was an endless circulation of the five elemental ring patterns, and any elemental energy that entered the body would blend into the ring patterns, restraining all elementalists.
Ai Hui was lost for words, his face clearly in shock.
This was a completely different train of thought, but Ai Hui did not find any loopholes within it.
The Assembly of Patriarchs’s five elemental ring patterns had thoroughly subverted the system of five residences and eight palaces.
The more amazing thing was that practicing fusion elemental energy did not clash with the practicing of five residences and eight palaces at all. Seeing this made Ai Hui realize why such a powerful training method was unheard of. No one would notice as long as the practitioner did not use it.
The old man wasn’t loyal. He knew of such an amazing training method but chose to keep it quiet.
Ai Hui decided to blackmail the old man when he got back. He must extort something from him at least.
The book Hua Kui gave him covered only the basics and nothing too radical. He figured that he would have to continue contributing to the Assembly before he could get better information.
The Assembly of Patriarch’s abilities far exceeded Ai Hui’s expectations.
Aristocratic families were powerful because they had control over absolute arts. They constantly modified and deepened the absolute arts, making them more formidable but easier for practitioners to grasp.
In this world, those with bigger fists would live better. Aristocratic families possessing absolute arts could nurture elementalists with big fists more easily.
Creating a training system would increase the Assembly’s might. The exceptional disguise of fusion elemental energy smelled like a conspiracy to Ai Hui.
The book Hua Kui gave him had only a few thin pages, covering the most basic of the basics.
The training of fusion elemental energy was simpler and smoother than Ai Hui’d predicted.
Four hours later, Ai Hui opened his eyes and could feel his long suppressed heart, liver, spleen and kidneys becoming stronger, as a faint wisp of elemental energy flowed between the five residences.
Fusion elemental energy had a very unique aura that brimmed with an intense life force!
That was the aura of life, which was completely different from the elemental energy he had been training in the past. He had never felt such a solid breath of life. Even his body became livelier and more agile.
The fusion elemental energy that he had just trained was extremely weak, but sufficient to activate the patriarch grass.
The only wisp of fusion elemental energy was channeled into the patriarch grass.
The patriarch grass glowed faintly. Each leaf had another layer like a velvety halo of light and Ai Hui was captivated. A fog that came from nowhere engulfed the surrounding walls and furniture and a spacious and solemn lobby took shape rapidly amid the fog.
It was hazy in the lobby due to the surrounding fog. It moved very slowly and fuzzily.
There was someone standing in the middle of the lobby. Upon seeing Ai Hui, he said with a slight smile, "Hi, Swordsman."
Ai Hui could tell from one look that it wasn’t a human but a sand puppet standing before him.
Swordsman was Ai Hui’s name within the Assembly of Patriarchs. Other than Hua Kui, who knew his real identity, the other members only knew him as "Swordsman".
The sight before him was so illusory yet real.
Ai Hui was dumbfounded.


The tens of thousands of universes have merged. The disintegration of Spiritual Force led to the momentous collapse of the great Cultivation World, a mighty era that had endured through millions of years of history. In the wake of the large-scale invasion of the Wilderness, the Avalon of Five Elements has become the practitioners’ last stand.
 
After a thousand years, a lowly youth, who hailed from the Old Territory, toiled as a laborer for three years in the depths of the Wilderness. He then became an exception and obtained the opportunity to enter the Avalon Of Five Elements for further studies.
Bearing beast-like fighting capabilities and driven by the desire to take control of his life, the youth strived for greater strength and power. Little did he know that he would set off a majestic upheaval.

Within the Seven Demons Realm, there was an island which had soil that radiated a purple light in an area enshrouded in white mist.
A giant white clam pierced through the white mist and slowly descended on the island.
"Myriad Wave Demon Emperor, why are you the only one that has returned? Where is everyone else?" a white bear with a frosty aura radiating from its body asked.
An opening appeared in the giant clamshell, and a huge white butterfly fluttered out from within.
It looked at the white bear and the flaming dragon in front of it and said in a cold voice, "They're all dead."
"All four of them?" The flaming dragon was extremely shocked. "Did you encounter someone from the Dragon Court?"
The giant butterfly shook its head. "No, we did encounter a powerful horned dragon, but she was only one person. The person that really flipped the battle on its head was a human cultivator…"
The butterfly spoke with fear lingering in its heart as it elaborated on An Lin's feats. It spoke of his Soul Formation Stage mechanical puppets, his powerful sword techniques, and the fearsome power he displayed to slay both the Crimson Demonic Emperor as well as the Overlord Whale as a mere Spirit Nurturing Intermediate Stage cultivator…
The white bear and the flaming dragon both fell silent at the butterfly's description. How could there be such a human cultivator?!
After a long period of silence, the white bear said with a solemn expression, "That means the Ten Spirit Sacrificial Formation is missing a vital piece: the sacrificial pearls…"
A huge formation constructed from blood was drawn into the ground and it emitted a peculiar light.
The formation spanned the entirety of the island, and the blood flowed in an extremely complex series of patterns. The blood continued to run across the purple soil of the island as if it would never dry out.
The butterfly heaved a remorseful sigh. "The Crimson Demonic Emperor initially thought we could all join forces and fulfill the final step to completing the Ten Spirit Sacrificial Formation. Who would have thought that we would encounter such a bizarre human cultivator… Is this all meant to be?"
"This was just a small mishap. There are still fifteen days left until the stars align and His Holy Majesty is revived, so we still have a chance," the flaming dragon said in a low voice. "I'll personally make a trip this time, and I'll take the Storage Bead with me. We'll pick out a random city in the Pearl Kingdom and abduct ten thousand pearl people with the Storage Bead. I'm sure lightning won't strike twice!"
The butterfly and the white bear were both quite relieved to hear this plan. The flaming dragon was the fastest among all the Demon Kings in the Seven Demons Realms. Its speed coupled with the Storage Bead would make the task an extremely simple one.
Within Bo Lan City, a battle that was worthy of being recorded in the Pearl Kingdom history books had just concluded.
Bei Lian returned to the Pearl King's abode to meet the Divine Guardian Squad members that had been summoned to Bo Lan City by her jade talisman. As the battle here had already concluded, Bei Lian directed them to the Seven Demons Realm to continue searching for the Myriad Wave Demon Emperor.
The next day, the entire Pearl Kingdom had learned of An Lin and Bei Lian's heroic feats, and the whole kingdom was in a state of overjoyed shock.
Thus, An Lin once again became the hero of the Pearl Kingdom.
As a duo, he and the Dragon Princess were awarded the title of the "Pearl Savior Duo".
An Lin felt like this title wasn't too bad. At least it was a lot better than titles like Poison Lord and was second only to the title of Sword Immortal An Lin.
An Lin encountered Bei Lian once again in the Pearl King's backyard as she played with the fish in the artificial pond.
"Hi there, Pearl Savior!"
An Lin greeted her with a smile.
Bei Lian looked up at An Lin with a smile on her face as she toyed with the goldfish in the pond using a tree branch. She opened her cherry lips and blew a breath of air into the pond, causing the water above the goldfish to ripple lightly.
However, not only were the goldfish not scared away by her gesture, more of them were drawn to the scene.
"It looks like you're a very popular figure, even the fish adore you," An Lin walked to her side and remarked in amazement.
Bei Lian did not respond and continued to poke her tree branch into the water.
An Lin also blew a breath of air into the water and a few of the fish immediately swam away. "Huh… they don't seem to like me much, could it be because I have bad breath? But I just brushed my teeth!"
The corners of Bei Lian's lips lifted slightly and she finally responded, "All fish are naturally fond of members of the dragon tribe. Also… why did you call me Pearl Savior just then?"
"It's a popular term within the Pearl Kingdom. Everyone is calling us the Pearl Savior Duo, so of course I have to refer to you as Pearl Savior."
Bei Lian nodded her head. "The pearl people is a very kind-hearted race. I'm glad to have been able to fight for their safety… "
"I heard the king of the Pearl Kingdom awarded us a bunch of good stuff too. It'll probably all arrive here within a day or two." An Lin turned his head to look at Bei Lian.
Her beautiful face remained expressionless.
An Lin continued, "You saved my life last night as well, so I'll be sure to give you a big present next time."
Bei Lian shook her head in refusal. "There's no need for that. We were comrades during that battle, and it's quite normal for comrades to help each other out on the battlefield."
An Lin seemed to have already anticipated her response and didn't force the issue any further. Instead, he brought out a talisman. "Then, leave me a voice transmission talisman!"
Bei Lian's eyes rippled as she looked at An Lin with a surprised expression. "Why?"
"Um, so we can meet each other again sometime in the future."
"Alright then…"
Bei Lian had never given a voice transmission talisman to another man before. After a brief moment of hesitation, she still decided to leave him a voice transmission talisman as requested.
An Lin heaved a sigh of relief after successfully exchanging talisman details and prepared to move on to the next step of his plan.
After returning to his room, he made a list of all the items he needed to gather.
"Thousand Year Moon Sinking Wood, Ancient Purple Vine, True Blood of the Winged Dragon, Dark Ice Crystal, Desolate Flaming Bones, Divine White Herb…"
An Lin, Da Bai, and Xiao Chou all stared at the items on the list, trying to recall the respective locations where these items could be found.
Da Bai was a little frustrated. "We've all seen Shen Yin's memories, but those were all fragments. The process of bloodline purification was an important one for Shen Yin, so her memories of the process were relatively detailed, but so many years have already passed, those items may no longer be where she remembered them to be."
An Lin took a deep breath and nodded. "Regardless, we have the coordinates so we have to give it a try. If we can't find all the things on the list, we'll try to buy them, and if that doesn't work, then we'll just have to give Bei Lian a copy of this list so she can help us look for the items…"
Bei Lian had made a huge sacrifice in order to save his life, so An Lin really wanted to reverse the aftermath through his own power, rather than relying solely on Bei Lian's help.
There were many extremely valuable items on that list. Even if they could be found in auction houses or treasure pagodas, An Lin would probably be unable to afford them with his current trifling net worth.
The next day, the rewards from the Pearl Kingdom arrived.
A million spirit stones, a bunch of exotic plants, minerals, and many precious gemstones.
An Lin sold all of it to the Pearl King.
He ended up with 1.1 million spirit stones for his troubles and somewhat replenished his barren wallet.
After a rough tally, he found that he had a total of 4.7 million spirit stones. This was quite a large sum already.
After a short period of recovery, Bei Lian came to bid farewell to An Lin.
"I'm not going to travel any further, I have to make a trip back to the Dragon Court."
"Alright, then I'll come to find you at the Dragon Court soon."
An Lin knew the reason behind her decision to cease her travels and forced a smile onto his face as he bade her farewell.
Bei Lian shook her head as a teasing smile appeared on her exquisite features like a plum flower blossoming in winter. "Don't come to the Dragon Court, I don't want to be associated with you."
An Lin: "…"
Thus, the two of them went their separate ways.
An Lin began his journey to gather the items on the list.


On modern-day Earth, An Lin seems to have been abandoned by God. 
When his father suddenly disappears, An Lin is left with his father's immense debt, putting his life at risk. 
After being forced to a rooftop by his pursuing creditors, An Lin is unexpectedly swept off his feet and brought to the ground safely.
    
After learning that he was saved by an Immortal, An Lin is gifted, seemingly out of pure generosity, the 'God Of War System,' and a pass to a new realm.
Follow An Lin as he experiences a whole new world of legends, meets many new friends, acquires legendary weapons and tools, and starts on his path of becoming a powerful cultivator. There is never a dull time in An Lin's new life with his ‘great’ new system!

Eleanor was carried to the seventh floor of the magic tower. Her wounds were grave. She was damaged down to the bone marrow. The attack from the heavenly angel was too powerful and there was little that she could have done to defend it. She survived only because she had Seven Nights with her.
Saleen used branches from four divine trees to craft the longbow named Seven Nights for her, enabling her to use her abilities to the fullest. Material-wise, the longbow could already be considered a godly item. It was only due to the immaturity of Saleen's craftsmanship that the power of the weapon failed to reach that of a godly item's. Eleanor had only managed to make use of a very small portion of all the four special features present in godly trees.
Seven Nights was also Eleanor's close combat weapon. The Power of Life and Power of Taboo infused within the longbow had been protecting a vital spot of hers; it was a power that blocked the Lord of Glory's divine attack.
The Sword of Light was too powerful and the Seven Nights was a long range weapon in nature, thus it was only able to keep Eleanor alive.
Eleanor was put onto the alchemy table and Saleen dismissed everyone else in the room, except Lex and Stephanie.
"Master, she suffered the worst injury here. Let's see to her first."
In reality, Su did not fare much better, but Su was way more powerful than Eleanor and he had the protection of armor, which enhanced the powers of the Golden Grand Swordmaster temporarily. He was in the residual wave from the Sword of Burst, but his head and heart remained completely intact. The injuries he suffered were little more than burns on his internal organs, dealt by the beam that went through him from his back.
The defense of Golden Sword Aura was greater than grade-9 magic. He was only swept by a residual wave, meaning that his life would not have been in danger.
The injuries suffered by Eleanor, however, were bone-shattering ones. They spread out all over her entire body. No bones in her remained in one piece. Having to stay conscious in such a state was torturous. Even if she had mages cast spells to enable her to be immune from pain, the resulting fear of being in such a state was not one that could be eased.
Eleanor lost all control of her fear, as she knew how bad her injuries were. What she suffered was not something that could be completely mended and recovered from.
Saleen had left her to protect the northside magic tower, yet he himself was willing to hand over the protection of said tower to a grade-6 mage, due to worrying about the safety of the palace itself. Was this something worth worrying over?
Now that she was rendered a useless cripple, would her master, a man who had just married, just cast her aside?
She had imparted most of the elf's skills to Saleen and Nailisi. How much worth did she have left?
"Eleanor, I will heal you," Saleen stood by her side and looked at her. He was able to read all the thoughts in her mind through her eyes.
Stephanie turned, "Lex, go to the eighth floor. Watch over the palace for me. Don't let anyone in right now."
Lex nodded and headed straight for the eighth floor of the tower, leaving Saleen with the injured elf. Saleen said, "Master, what would you need to heal her?"
"You seem to care a lot for her...", Stephanie stated as she cast a grade-7 restorative spell. It did not heal her completely, but the spell had at least mended all her broken and shattered bones.
"Eleanor...she had no one."
"I had no one myself. That isn't good enough a reason," Stephanie replied impatiently. Eleanor was a pretty being, Stephanie was worried that Saleen fell in love with the elf.
Saleen turned to look at Eleanor. She shied away, not wanting to look into his eyes. She did not know what awaited. The battle with the angel could be said to be an act of impulse. Coming to think of it now in fear, she had began to regret her decision somewhat.
Such was the temperament of elves who, unlike humans, were meticulous with their calculations of things. The betrayal of the entire elf plane back long ago was just as ridiculous.
"She is my follower. As such, I must have her returned in full health, whatever the price," Saleen sounded rather awkward when those words were spoken. He did not think much of Eleanor himself, but looking at her eyes, he knew well that he needed to protect her.
"Whatever the price, you said?"
"Indeed. She did a lot for me. Eleanor... she is an elf," Saleen blurted out the truth without second thoughts. He could not have been the only one who knew things like that. it was impossible to keep such secrets under wraps forever.
"An elf?", Stephanie's eyes sparkled with interest, so much so that she had forgotten to follow up the price question.
She bent, looked at her injuries up close and nodded, "So it is so indeed. Some work has been done with her musculature. I'm very interested to find out what she looked like before."
Healing was a process that had little difference with dissection most of the time. It enabled one to clearly analyze a living thing's physical structure. Stephanie, as a grade-8 sorcerer, could not have been able to resist looking into Eleanor. She was the only elf to exist on the entire mainland.
Eleanor's fear deepened. Her cover was blown and the one who had just found out was a powerful mage. Would she be dissected? Saleen was no match for Stephanie in this case. Even if he had the badge with him, there was still a need for him to be able to brandish it.
"Elves, the race who had once betrayed humans. I wonder, if their hearts would actually be black?", Stephanie said as she traced her finger over Eleanor's chest, looking for a wound, as if she wanted to tear out the elf's heart and see it for herself.
"Stephanie!", Saleen sounded severe.
Stephanie laughed and said, "Relax. I will treat this elf for you, but I have no control over the expenses required to do so. I will not become Lex's personal mage before Lex becomes a mage as powerful as I am. If you want to see her treated, there will still be a price."
Saleen nodded furiously. The other two grade-8 mages were clearly not of Stephanie's caliber in a lot of ways. Both of them were dirt poor, and their skills lacked versatility and diversity, even their combat prowess paled in comparison to Stephanie's.
Nicholas was not as powerful either. His fallen divine arts were useless to treat injuries caused by angels. The reason why Nicholas had yet to return from the southern side was probably due to that fact.
Eleanor laid there and listened to every single word exchanged between Saleen and Stephanie; her heart ached. Saleen was not a man devoid of compassion, and he looked determined to save her. Would she ever be able to truly recover?
"Saleen...," Eleanor moaned weakly.
"Don't talk," Saleen said to comfort her gently.
"Will I be able to...shoot arrows after this?", Eleanor had no control over her body, except her head. All she was able to feel was a sense of numbness. If the spell was to wear off, she would have been assailed by indescribable pain.
"Of course. I still need your skills, to lock onto my enemies," Saleen answered solemnly as he looked into her with his deep blue eyes.
The more such words were uttered, the sadder she felt though.
"What worth is there to consider? I'm his follower and it is only right and proper that I put my life on the line for him. I should be feeling grateful that Saleen even considered saving me. To cast away a care like that of a loved one's would just be awful! Saleen is a human after all!" She thought to herself. 
"Alright, say no more. Help me get the ingredients ready. There is one thing I need to craft before I can save her. Bar all entry onto the seventh floor of the tower and let no one in, including Lex and those other mages. Kill anyone disobeying the order," Stephanie said as she took out her magic pen and paper, listing all the items she required.
Stephanie's writing was pretty. Most mages were capable of very good writing, but they were of course more skilled in drawing magic scrolls. No mistakes were permitted in the making of scrolls.
Stephanie handed the piece of magic paper to Saleen as soon as she was done writing and said, "This is the first batch, of ingredients needed to completely heal her bones and muscles. The expenses after this will be hefty, more than enough for you to hire a grade-8 sorcerer, I would say."
Saleen took the list and said to Eleanor, "Just relax,", before heading for the seventh floor.
Su and Cuisi were being treated on the sixth floor. Su was gravely injured, but he did not require any special medicines. He was able to treat himself using the Silver Sword Aura. He was sleeping in a container and submerged in magical medicines. Su was not able to recover immediately due to having lost too much blood. He barely had enough strength to even stand.
Cuisi was of a height taller than eight yards, while the height of each floor of the magic tower was six yards. The demon had to be laid on the ground while several mages attended to his wounds.
These mages did so voluntarily, as the chance to closely observe a demon was hard to come by for a mage, and therefore very tempting.
Eleanor began to feel fear rushing over her as Saleen left for seventh floor. Stephanie looked at her green eyes and smiled, "Are you are afraid of me?"
Stephanie looked young, somewhere in her twenties, but Eleanor was able to sense that this was only due to the fact that Stephanie became a sorcerer in her twenties. Her looks were then preserved. The woman standing in front of her, was no naive girl fresh out of the countryside.
"Eleanor, why do you fight so hard for Saleen, I wonder?", Stephanie's eyes were like Saleen's, blue, but they instilled a deep fear into her instead. That blue, it was a cold one, like the Dark Blue Chant. It was pretty, yet very deadly.
Eleanor spoke with a tinge of bitterness, "Impulse, I guess. Or simply because I had nowhere to run to."
Eleanor's answer startled Stephanie somewhat. Nowhere to run to...what a pitiful answer indeed. As an elf stranded on the Myers Mainland, what choice did she have but to follow Saleen?
"Eleanor, there is no guarantee that I will be able to heal you completely. Grade-9 sorcerers would say the same. The techniques we would use to heal you would be the same, but I will be able to oversee to your treatment with better equipment. Even so...if-- just supposedly-- if your wounds were to never heal, would you have any regrets?"
Eleanor shook her head. She was not able to feel anything below her neck.
"No regrets? And I thought elves were all weak beings, but I don't know if being reckless is better," Stephanie's words felt like a knife, thrust right into her chest and twisted to make matters worse.
"What ...is there to regret?", Eleanor mustered her strength to reply between breaths. She recalled the words Saleen said to her before he left, 'just relax'.
She was now in such a pitiful state and therefore there was no need to lie to her. If Saleen told her to relax, then she would. The worst thing that could have happened at that point was being made into a specimen and kept as part of a collection in Stephanie's tower.
She looked just like a specimen right now, what could have been worse than this?


It is said that the true meaning of a mage is to fully understand the truth of the world. A mage named Saleen Metatrin goes on many missions as a normal mage to try and change his fate. This in turn led to many problems and adventures.  

A bamboo carriage was slowly driven from behind the Great Zhou Imperial Palace's Hall of Cold Light. The heavy curtain hanging in front of the hall was gently raised as Mo Yu appeared on the stone steps. The starlight fell upon her beautiful face, shining upon her slim brows, her bright eyes, and the alluring plum blossom makeup upon her face.

She gazed at the two pure white reindeer pulling the carriage and slightly arched her brows, seeming somewhat surprised. She asked, "Where's Black Jade?"

The Black Goat had previously vanished into the pitch-black darkness, and no one knew where it was.

Nanny Ning held her hand and walked her down the stone steps, whispering, "The little devil has wandered off somewhere."

Mo Yu knew that the Black Goat had a rather solitary and eccentric personality and had never listened to the orders of anyone else in the Imperial Palace. Shaking her head, she said, "It's just a young child."

Nanny Ning glanced at the darkness behind the Hall of Cold Light and inwardly thought, he who is currently standing by that pond with nowhere else to go is truthfully also just a young child.

Mo Yu knew what she was thinking and said in a slightly mocking tone, "A child that only knows how to play house can spout off angry phrase after angry phrase, looking exactly the part, yet they don't know that in the eyes of bystanders, it's all just false bravado, only making it more laughable."

Nanny Ning replied, "This old servant feels that laughable people are also quite adorable."

The matter of Chen Changsheng joining the Orthodox Academy several months ago had been arranged by Nanny Ning. In their conversation afterwards, Mo Yu came to know that she had a high opinion of Chen Changsheng. Mo Yu did not find Nanny Ning disobedient for insisting on saying good things about Chen Changsheng, because she believed the matter to already be over.

Chen Changsheng could not walk out of that abandoned garden, could not appear in Weiyang Palace before the crowd's eyes, and so he could not sabotage the engagement between Xu Yourong and Qiushan Jun. By that point, he could have said as many foul words as he wished, but they would only be jokes in the end. All his anger could only smolder within his body, only bring him more pain.

The bamboo carriage headed in the direction of Weiyang Palace.

The education overseer of the Heavenly Dao Academy was compelled by Zhou Tong's vile reputation to commit suicide, but the Ivy Festival still required a host, especially given the fact that the Ivy Festival was receiving so many dignitaries from the southern diplomatic mission tonight. The Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and Xu Shiji were responsibility for presiding over the feast, Prince Chen Liu was representing the Divine Empress, and Mo Yu also had to personally appear as a show of respect.

Nanny Ning held the window bars of the bamboo carriage, her left hand resting on the window. She would still occasionally look in the direction of the abandoned garden, a look of pity upon her face.

"Nanny, relax. Nothing will happen to that guy."

Mo Yu's voice came from the bamboo carriage, "The restriction of the Black Dragon cannot be breached, and no one has ever been able to leave without someone opening the gate to the garden from the outside. He's only stuck in the garden to receive a few gusts of cold wind. Compared to the matters he's stirred up, what does that count for?"

Nanny Ning thought of that rumor and said with concern, "What if he runs into the taboo?"

Mo Yu replied, "Since it's taboo, how can it be so easy to run into?"

She spoke very casually, callously, but Nanny Ning could hear the exhaustion in her voice. She then recalled that back on the stone steps in front of the hall, she saw a haggard look on the lady's face that not even her plum blossom makeup could hide, and she grew somewhat perplexed at her lady's willingness to use up true essence in order to imprison Chen Changsheng with a secret technique.

"My lady, you already promised Lady Yourong that you would not raise a hand against that youth."

"Did I raise my hand tonight? I only moved my mouth."

Mo Yu thought of the letter from the south she had received several months ago and angrily said, "That stubborn girl doesn't want to marry him, but she won't let anyone touch him either. Can't injure him, can't harm him, given all these rules, or else it would never be so troublesome and require me to rack my brain for ideas."

With her terrifying level of cultivation coupled with her terrifying power and status in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she had tens of thousands of ways of dealing with a youth like Chen Changsheng. She could make it so painful that he didn't want to live, make him loathe the thought of living, but because of that letter, she was forced to go to all this trouble.

The more she thought about it, the less happy she became. "Her own family arranged this rotten marriage, and she wants me to waste my time and energy. She hides away in the south and plays the good person yet wants me to play the villain. You didn't hear how that youth scolded me. If not for her, I would have just killed him!"

Nanny Ning smiled, saying, "My lady and Lady Yourong are like sisters. To expend a bit more energy is only right."

Mo Yu sneered, "Everyone says that Black Jade is a little devil, but in reality, that Phoenix chick is the true little devil. The entire continent thinks her to be as clear as ice and pure as jade, intelligent as ice and snow, her appearance carved from ice or jade, but nobody knows that she's really a cheapskate. Nobody can offend her or else risk making her truly unhappy. Anything she wants me to do is certainly not done out of any sisterly friendship. I'm just worried that if things aren't in accord with her heart and she really doesn't want to marry Qiushan Jun, what can I do then?"

Nanny Ning soothed, "Thankfully, as long as tonight can pass, there's no need to worry about this anymore."

The curtain was slightly raised as Mo Yu gazed at the abandoned garden behind the Hall of Cold Light, as well as the cold pond obscured by autumn trees and old walls. She thought of Chen Changsheng's words and thought to herself, could tonight truly pass by smoothly? Why did I have to shut him up there? Just what is the Saint thinking?

...

...

After those words filled with ridicule, Mo Yu's voice was no longer heard. Chen Changsheng quietly stood in the abandoned garden, the cold pond in front of him, the plum trees to his side. His figure no longer seemed so lonely, as if it was once more brimming with energy.

After confirming that Mo Yu had left, he walked forward. Walking past those bare and lonely plum trees, he arrived at the pond and was assailed by a chill.

This abandoned garden was clearly colder than any other place in the Imperial Palace, and the cause was most likely this cold pond in front of him. He carefully examined the surface of this pond, allowing the chill to accumulate on his face until a sheet of frost gradually formed over it.

This wasn't self-abuse. He merely wished to use the environment to assist him in cooling his head. He did not wish to waste time on anger and other negative emotions—the words he had said to Mo Yu were truly very childish words, foul phrases of no use, the complete opposite of being cool-headed, but he still had said them.

Of the Three Thousand Great Daos, he cultivated the Dao of following his heart. He acted according to his heart, lived according to his heart. If the world would not allow him to follow his heart, he had to think of a way around it. Only by following his heart could he obtain true calm, and calmness was the highest level of being cool-headed.

Of course, he also did not want those words of his to become a joke. He had to escape this abandoned garden and hurry back to Weiyang Palace—before leaving the Orthodox Academy, he had already made corresponding plans, but since those important personages were able to fool Luoluo into leaving Weiyang Palace, he could not place all his hopes upon her.

How could he leave this abandoned garden? In reality, he didn't even have an idea of how to start. However, he still had the same attitude as when he spoke to Luoluo, when he told Tang Thirty-Six and Luoluo that he wanted to participate in the Grand Examination and take first rank of the first banner.

There was clearly no reason, no possibility of success, but he could speak of it calmly and naturally, as if it was only right and inevitable. This sort of unreasonable confidence produced shock and admiration in those close to him, while outsiders would naturally think of it as wishful thinking, laughable to the extreme.

Only he himself understood that this self-confidence arose from necessity. At the start of next year, he absolutely had to participate in the Grand Examination and obtain first rank of the first banner, or else he would die. Tonight, he absolutely had to leave the abandoned garden and appear in Weiyang Palace, so he absolutely could do so.

It had to be done, so he absolutely could do it. Before this happened, he had to believe that he could do it, as only this way could his heart be clearly followed.

It was still that phrase: of the Three Thousand Great Daos, he only cultivated the Dao of following his heart.

After leaving Xining and coming to the capital, all that he had done was closely related to the three words of 'following his heart'.

Because only by following his heart could he defy the heavens and change fate.

...

...

Looking around the abandoned garden, he saw old walls and autumn trees. The remaining lotuses on the surface of the cold pond had long since withered away. The petals under the plum trees from last year had gathered in a pile, but had still not been swept away by the wind.

He did not know this scenery well, yet it seemed like he had seen it before.

He had never walked a ten-thousand-li journey, so he had not seen many sights.

But he had read all sort of books, and in these books, he had walked ten-thousand-li journeys and seen many sights.

Noting the scenery of the abandoned garden deep within his mind, he sat cross-legged on the shore of the pond and calmed his mind, beginning to recall the books he had seen before.

There were Daoist scriptures, travel notes, the essays of previous generations of great scholars, and also fictional stories about strange happenings and supernatural beings.

They were all books that he had read in Xining Village's old temple, and also books that he had read in the library of the Orthodox Academy.

He sat by the pond with his two eyes tightly shut, yet countless books were flitting past his eyes.

It was like the cold was learning to read, constantly flipping pages and then stopping at the page that he wanted to read.

Those pages had pictures and also annotations.

'The Record of the Southern Bough'.
(TN: An actual play written by Tang Xianzu during the Ming Dynasty about a man who dreams about entering an ant hole and living out a life in the kingdom of ants.)

'A Treatise on the Origin of All Palace Halls'.

'A Catalog of Arrays'.

....

...

....

...

Chen Changsheng opened his eyes, stood up, and gazed once more at the abandoned garden.

The abandoned garden was still the abandoned garden, the cold pond was still the cold pond, but in his eyes, they were now completely different.

Those ten-odd plum trees scattered about the shore of the pond seemed to have nothing to do with each other, no deeper meaning. However, as the scenery was the same throughout the four seasons, ever unchanging, the only thing left that could change were the trees (木).

The craggy shore of the cold pond was unbroken, but the old walls of the abandoned garden further out were broken on the south side. That place seemed to be an exit into the darkness, but he knew that this was no exit, only a stroke that had not been completely written.

Those ten-odd plum trees seemed to vaguely be standing in some sort of arrangement.

This was the word '同' (Tong).

There was a story written in the Record of the Southern Bough, a picture drawn in the Catalog of Arrays, and in the Treatise on the Origin of All Palace Halls, there was a description of a palace hall from the previous dynasty that had been burned to the ground.

This palace hall was called the Tong (桐) Palace.
(TN: 桐 is a combination of 木, tree, and the word '同'. Similarly, the trees of the garden form the word '同'. 桐 is also a general term for the paulownia, tung tree, and phoenix tree.)

The Tong Palace in which a monarch had been imprisoned until his death.

And also an array that had been created by a previous Pope using the sum of his cultivation over his entire life.

Chen Changsheng had recognized this abandoned garden, this cold pond, so what could he do?

Only when one reached the legendary Saint Realm could one forcibly break out of this Tong Palace.

Of course, every palace hall had a door, and every array had to leave a hope for survival.

But since antiquity, no one had ever dared to leave through the Tong Palace's gate of life.
(TN: 'Gate of life', 生门, seems to be a term related to the 'Eight Gates', which are mentioned in a divination manual called 奇门遁甲. The eight gates are the gate of opening, the gate of rest, the gate of life, the gate of wounding, the gate of restriction, the gate of scenery, the gate of death, and the gate of shock.)

Because standing guard outside the gate of this Tong Palace that had been burned to ash many years ago was the god of death. By remaining in the palace, one could still struggle on death's door, but to leave was to guarantee one's death.

Because of this codependency of fortune and disaster, the so-called thread of life was often a land of death.

Chen Changsheng knew where the Tong Palace's gate of life was.

The wind stirred, the water rose.

When the wind stirred but did not fade, where the water retreated and did not rise.

He gazed at the cold pond before him in silence.

The graceful and solemn music of rituals could be heard, coming from far beyond the abandoned garden, from Weiyang Palace.

The southern diplomatic mission was already seated, the guest of both sides already present.

He thought no more, walking straight into the cold pond.


To pick is to choose. This is a story about choices. Three thousand worlds full of gods and demons, with a daoist scroll in your hand, you are able to control the entire universe…

At the beginning of time, a mystical meteor came crashing down from outer space and scattered all over the world. A piece of it landed in the Eastern Continent, with mysterious totems carved upon it. Through the observation of these totems, humankind comprehended the Dao and established the Orthodoxy.

Several thousand years later, the fourteen years old orphan Chen Changsheng left his master to cure his illness and change his fate. He brought a piece of marriage vow with him to the capital, thus began the journey of a rising hero.

list of stephanie plum books in order

My books list

The Vile Man of the North

The Legendary Mechanic

Child of Destiny

Sweetener (GirlxGirl)

The Path Toward Heaven

The Avalon Of Five Elements

I Might Be A Fake Cultivator

Badge in Azure

Way of Choices

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