The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 46: Farewell to Hu San

Gu Dali’s words struck a chord with Zhou Tianci. Thinking back on his experiences during this period, Zhou Tianci felt a bit frustrated. More than two months ago, Zhou Tianci and his group returned from the Wild Forest. Given Zhou Tianci’s strength and his contributions, he should have been fully qualified to serve as a legion commander. Moreover, during the expedition to the Wild Forest, three commanders from Liu Yuntao’s faction had perished, and seven commanders from the Four Great Families’ faction had also fallen, leaving a total of ten commander positions vacant across the entire Northwest Legion. Yet, for some unknown reason, Zhou Tianci had still not received an appointment. Aside from the command position, the Northwest Legion had not skimped on other rewards. Having attained the Innate Realm, Zhou Tianci’s treatment was identical to that of a commander: a monthly military allowance of 2,000 Black Gold Coins, plus one Guiyuan Pill. The Guiyuan Pill is a elixir that only Innate-level cultivators can absorb; it increases their True Qi. Furthermore, Zhou Tianci was granted access to the third and fourth floors of the Tower of the God of War, where he studied numerous Innate-level secret techniques. During this time, Zhou Tianci hadn’t seen Liu Yuntao; even if he had, he wouldn’t have dared to confront him. Later, he asked Cao Ming to inquire on his behalf. Cao Ming reported that there might be changes within the Northwest Legion, and the appointment of a commander had been temporarily put on hold. “Sir, could it be that Liu Yuntao is doing this on purpose to retaliate for the last time you didn’t save face for him?” Li Tie speculated. “I think that’s very likely. The higher a martial artist’s cultivation, the more they value their pride—especially someone in Liu Yuntao’s position,” Li Feng agreed. “I’m sorry, Sir. It’s all my fault that you’ve been dragged into this,” Lei Dong said, lowering his head. Zhou Tianci waved his hand. “Don’t say that—what does this have to do with you? Li Tie, Li Feng, you two shouldn’t be speculating either. If Liu Yuntao didn’t have even this much magnanimity, he wouldn’t have made it this far.” Zhou Tianci paused for a moment, then said slowly, “For me, becoming a Legion Commander has its pros and cons. I haven’t yet decided exactly which path to take in the future.” “Brother Zhou, are you thinking of leaving the Northwest Legion?” Gu Dali asked. Zhou Tianci shook his head: “Not yet. Right now, I can’t leave the Northwest Legion—or even the City of Tears and Blood. On this trip to the Wilderness, I’ve made mortal enemies of the Huang family. Without the Northwest Legion’s protection, the Huang family—or rather, the Four Great Families—will certainly come after me. If it were just me, that would be one thing, but I’m afraid the Huang family won’t spare even you guys. The Huang Clan—hmm—if they won’t let me off the hook, I certainly won’t let them off the hook either!” Thinking of Huang Jue and Huang Shuyi filled Zhou Tianci with rage. Not only had they tried to kill him, but they’d also nearly caused him to expose his Blood Essence, which would have cost him a rare treasure of the Laws. “The Huang Clan isn’t easy to deal with…” Gu Dali’s expression was grim as well. Lately, he’d been focusing on researching the strength of the Huang Clan and the Four Great Clans. The more he learned, the more hopeless he felt about exacting revenge—the Four Great Clans were simply too powerful! “Don’t lose heart, Old Gu. The Huang Clan is powerful, but not so much that we should despair,” Zhou Tianci said. “After this period of secluded cultivation, I’m just one step away from a breakthrough. Once I reach the True Essence Realm, even Huang Shuyi won’t be a match for me.” “Sir, you’re about to break through again?” Li Ping bellowed. Zhou Tianci was at a loss for words with Li Ping, that clueless oaf. Call him stupid, and sometimes he’s actually quite shrewd; call him smart, and he’s always doing things at the worst possible moment. Why on earth was he shouting right now? “Third Brother, what are you yelling about?” Li Feng held Li Ping back. “Your Excellency has peerless natural talent—what’s so surprising about him breaking through to the True Qi Realm?” “But Your Excellency only recently attained the Innate Realm…” Li Ping muttered. “At this rate, what’s the point of us even being here? In another two years, Your Excellency will break through the Innate Realm—the Huang Clan, the Four Great Clans, and the rest—they’ll be wiped out with a single snap of the fingers.” Hearing Li Ping’s words, Gu Dali’s eyes lit up. He slapped Li Ping hard on the back, making him wince in pain. “Li Ping, you’re absolutely right. What are the Huang Clan and the Four Great Clans? With Brother Zhou’s talent, he’s bound to surpass the Innate Realm in the future and become a legendary Divine Power Realm expert. A Divine Power Realm expert can soar to the heavens, plunge into the earth, and stir up the seas—wouldn’t avenging ourselves be a piece of cake?” Gu Dali laughed loudly. Li Ping’s words lifted the heavy weight from everyone’s hearts. The Huang family and the Four Great Clans were like a massive mountain pressing down on them; aside from Zhou Tianci, even though Gu Dali and the others didn’t say it out loud, they all harbored a deep-seated fear in their hearts. It wasn’t until Li Ping pointed this out that they realized revenge really wasn’t that difficult—it was just a matter of waiting a couple more years. Seeing how cheerful his men looked, Zhou Tianci shook his head and said, “You lot—your perspective is still too narrow. To be so intimidated by a mere Huang family—how will you ever manage in the future?” Li Tie replied, “Sir, it’s not that we’re afraid—it’s just that the gap in strength is simply too great. The Huang family has over a dozen Innate-level cultivators and hundreds at the peak of the Post-Heaven realm, while on our side, aside from you and Lord Gu, only Lei Dong has any real strength. As for the three of us brothers, we probably couldn’t even get past the Huang family’s front gate.” Zhou Tianci nodded. “That is indeed a problem. It’s time we found a way to boost your strength.” “Sir, do you have a way to boost our strength?” Li Feng asked eagerly. Zhou Tianci replied, “Of course. As long as we have sufficient resources, I can help all of you reach the Innate Realm.” “Resources? Brother Zhou, what kind of resources do you need?” asked Gu Dali. “Treasures, spiritual materials—anything that contains spiritual energy will do. But we’ll need a lot of it; the more spiritual energy it contains, the better.” Gu Dali thought for a moment: “The City of Tears and Blood is backed by the Barbarian Wilderness, so there’s no shortage of treasures. However, most of them are controlled by the Northwest Legion, the Four Great Families, Wanhai Pavilion, and Tianrong Prefecture—these four major powers control 80% of the City of Tears and Blood’s wealth…” “Wait a minute, what is this Tianrong Prefecture you’re talking about?” Zhou Tianci asked. Gu Dali replied, “The Tianrong Prefecture is a very mysterious faction—one that generally only Innate-level experts are aware of. It maintains a presence in every city of the Great State of Yu, with at least one steward stationed in each city. What’s most terrifying is that all the stewards of the Tianrong Prefecture are Innate-level!” “If all the stewards are Innate, then just how many Innate-level experts do they actually have?” Zhou Tianci’s expression changed. The Great State of Yu spans twelve provinces, with a population of over 40 million and hundreds of cities. If Tianrong Prefecture has a branch in every city, and each branch is guarded by an Innate-level expert, how many Innate-level experts would that require? Gu Dali said emphatically, “I’m afraid no one knows exactly how many Innate-level experts Tianrong Prefecture has. Legend has it that Tianrong Prefecture is the direct lineage of the Yan family. As members of the royal family of the Great State of Yu, the Yan family’s depth of resources is beyond our imagination.” Zhou Tianci nodded silently. Throughout history, the royal family has always been the most powerful force within a dynasty. In a world where strength reigns supreme, it would be no difficulty for the Yan family—as the rulers of the Great State of Yu—to cultivate their own power base. Given their accumulated resources over the years, recruiting several hundred Innate-level cultivators was certainly not implausible. “Apart from these four major factions, the City of Tears and Blood is home to countless adventuring groups, merchant guilds, and merchants, all of whom control considerable wealth. If we want to gather resources, we could form our own adventuring groups and merchant guilds and build up our wealth gradually,” Gu Dali suggested. “That’s too slow…” Zhou Tianci shook his head. How long would it take to gather resources on his own? And what kind of treasures could those minor factions possibly have? The true treasures were undoubtedly in the hands of the four major factions—those were exactly what Zhou Tianci wanted. “Never mind, let’s set that issue aside for now. This snowy scenery is a rare sight—why don’t we go out for a stroll?” Zhou Tianci said as he stood up. “That sounds great,” Li Ping was the first to stand up, clearly excited. “Lei Dong, bring your sister Lei Ling along too. She’s been working so hard cooking for us every day. Once we buy a big mansion in a while and hire a couple of maids, Lei Ling won’t have to work so hard anymore,” Zhou Tianci said. Lei Dong smiled and replied, “Sir, Xiao Ling has been cooking since she was six. She can handle this little task just fine—it’s no trouble at all. I’ll go ask her right now to see if she’d like to go out.” Before long, Lei Dong returned: “Sir, Xiao Ling wants to stay home; she doesn’t want to go out.” “Then never mind. Later, we’ll buy her some clothes, jewelry, toys, and the like.” Zhou Tianci didn’t press the matter, and the five of them tidied up a bit before leaving the courtyard. “Come to think of it, the City of Tears and Blood really is a wonderful place,” Gu Dali couldn’t help but remark as they walked down the main street. “Here, as long as you have money, you can buy anything—cultivation techniques, divine weapons, spiritual medicines, secret treasures… even Innate-level demon beasts can be bought in the City of Tears and Blood!” Zhou Tianci gave a wry smile. “That’s true. It’s just a shame we’re poor—our pockets are empty. Old Gu, don’t you think it’s pretty embarrassing for Innate-level experts to have ended up in a situation like this?” Zhou Tianci had only recently attained the Innate realm and was confined to the Northwest Legion, so he simply didn’t have much money. Gu Dali, on the other hand, did have quite a bit saved up, but it was all in Yongan City, and he couldn’t go back there right now. The five of them spent half a day browsing but only bought a few trinkets. On their way back, as they passed a shop called Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits, a man was flung out of the store. Lei Dong saw this and hurried to catch him. “Get the hell out of here! If you dare come back, I’ll break your legs!” A lavishly dressed, portly man emerged from the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits, pointing at the person Lei Dong was supporting with an air of utter arrogance. Zhou Tianci took one look and realized that the person Lei Dong was supporting was actually someone he knew. “Brother Hu, it’s you! What happened to you?” Zhou Tianci said, hurriedly feeding him a healing pill. The man who had been thrown out of the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits was none other than Hu San. He was the one who had originally brought Zhou Tianci into the Wanhai Pavilion and helped arrange the job of slaying ferocious beasts for him. The two hadn’t seen each other since then, so he never expected to run into him here today. Hu San swallowed the pill and took a while to recover. When he saw Zhou Tianci, it took him a moment to recognize him. “So it’s you, Brother Zhou. It’s been a long time,” Hu San said, his voice a bit weak. “It’s been a few months, indeed. Brother Hu, weren’t you running a business at the South City Market? How did you end up here—and get thrown out like that?” Zhou Tianci asked. At the mention of this, Hu San’s face twisted with grief and indignation. “I’ve been set up!” Zhou Tianci said, “Don’t get worked up. Take your time and tell me—who exactly set you up?” Hu San pointed to the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits next to him: “It’s the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits. They swindled me out of a divine herb and even beat me up. The Huang family are such bastards!”