"It's beautiful. But it's boring. All intrigue and pride, no fun at all. Almost like a thorny rose only to be admired with fools grasping as fools do." Feng Wuqing laid back atop the crows nest, Shou Xin standing behind her with his hands on her waist.
"Don't belittle them too much. Those who chase the heavens are simply misguided since if you are chasing after something like that… you've already lost." He shook his head calmly, "Tragic."
"Meh." She rolled her eyes, "Fools, the lot of them. Chase and chase and chase all the way into their graves, and for what? Power to control everything? Immortality? What is all of that if there is no one to share it with, all of your companions dying on your hasty way to the top?"
She huffed.
"Only fools seek to face heaven alone."
He smiled bitterly.
He was once such a fool, seeking only strength and even now after accepting his ugliness and bearing the shame of it in his blackened soul, he still sought out strength though no longer for greed.
It was for something greater than himself.
It propelled him forward.
"Little Xiao must be doing well. The city isn't burning yet." He commented as his hands slide upwards, resting on her stomach the skin smooth and warm transferring to his hand.
"Little Xiao? He will surely be fine. That dragon woman is by far the most powerful person I've seen, even rivalling my grandfather who once served in the Hallmaster's domain." She replied cooly laying her hands atop his, "My grandpa is a good old man, doesn't care much for anything at all but he was outraged when I was sent away, I can't imagine the fit he threw when he heard of the wedding to be."
"Will he like me?" He worried.
"Probably not, but he doesn't like anyone." She shook her head as the city began to appear in the distance, "He was a general for the Hallmaster once after all, he hardly even enjoys the act of breathing anymore."
This did not fill him with great anticipation to meet her grandfather, rather, it filled him with great amounts of caution.
With the proliferation of the two great emotions swirling within him and keeping his bloodline at bay, he could feel some other emotions as well, though they were bubbly and vague.
One thing though that he had found was, the destruction of his emotions and corroding of his mind at the hands of his bloodline was not entirely unbeatable.
The longer he went without cultivating, the more his bloodline would cool down though it never passed back down a certain threshold, but it was most certainly settling with time.
He found he hit that limit after a few weeks.
Many old emotions had risen, peeking just above this limit as though drowning people struggling to breath at the surface, afraid of being suffocated again.
They were dull and bubbly and vague, but they were also his and he cherished them now that he knew how dull the world looked without them.
An emotion he had even forgotten had returned as well.
Compassion.
So when he saw Xiao Wun atop the city wall beaten up beside Lady Mu and Maqi, he did not restrain himself.
"Sword Devil you are-!"
"Shut up."
Powerful Qi blasted the walls.
Xiao Wun caught his eye and immediately walked forward off the wall and jumped onto the warship.
"Just because you got a little fame you think-"
Shliiiiick!
"Hubby said for you to be silent." Feng Wuqing directly tore out the tongue of the offending bull cultivator whose cultivation despite being at the law realm was utterly unable to catch her moves.
Between the synergy of her body, soul and spirit, as well as the strong ties of her Law and Physique, there was no equal within her realm, unless another like her appeared.
They simply could not compare to this savage vixen with eyes of predatory glee at the thought of tearing the face off of those who leered or taking tongues from the heads of those who spoke to much.
After all, she loathed politics.
Sensing the essence overpowering him, his entire body spasmed and he fell down without even the chance to scream.
Feng Wuqing threw the tongue up in the air and a small needle stabbed into it, sending it hurling to the warship where it was impaled as a warning.
Xiao Wun was terrified at the act of his Senior Sister, after not seeing them for a while, they'd seemed to have gotten even more savage than before and even more adept at making enemies at every turn.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister." He cupped his fists, "Junior Xiao pays his respects."
"How did this happen to you?" Shou Xin appeared before him, his hand on the back of his head to keep his sight on the ground.
Xiao Wun felt an overwhelming sense of shame and dared not to respond as he remembered the beating he had to suffer at the hands of Maqi everyday for her to vent her frustrations.
His cultivation had indeed advanced however, reaching the Fifth in only a short period, however he had still lost terribly which whislt it fueled him, it also bruised his ego horribly.
This shame, he could not speak it out not even if someone killed him.
Especially not when he was the first to challenge her after breaking through a short while ago.
"Senior Brother, It was simply a sparring accident." He smiled, "You know of my nature, Senior Brother, it was nothing."
Shou Xin slowly looked up at the wall where many young scions at the Law Realm of the surface clans were, he could not tell who it was but judging by their prideful and arrogant demeanors, it could have been any of them.
So, he decided to make an example out of all of them.
Flowering rivers beds, freely flying waves and water dragons spouting turn the river, Dragon River Stroke.
A beautiful, almost mesmerizing artistic conception bloomed above them as though almost real, a river stretching across the sky, little spirits danced at the river side and animals drank and fed on the grasses.
Carps swam within the river unabated, yet one suddenly vanished. Then another, and another.
It not until not even a single one was left that they realized the shadow hidden within the river which was clearly far deeper than they had anticipated.
Six whiskers, four legs and a long scaly body, an eastern dragon from myth and legend, a Yong.
Reflecting extremely powerful Sword Intent, many of those scions on the walls directly paled at the sharp feeling that only the elders of their clans could make them feel.
It was such a terrifying thing to have this golden lightning yong looking down at them from the waters edge, it's massive head peeking from the riverside.
Their spirits were crushed.
Only a few had managed to hold fast against the wave of sharp pressure, yet, they clearly understood one thing.
They were not a match.
"Train diligently in all aspects. To focus on a single drop amid an ocean is folly."
Shou Xin shook his head calmly not caring that he had just scolded another clans juniors which was highly frowned upon, his serenity returning as he took a few ethereal steps, appearing like an immortal to their eyes as the golden lighting dragon descended from the sky and directly lowered it's head.
In return, Shou Xin gave it great respect by doing the same.
In a moment, it swam through the sky making a single round around the warship, looking down on those on the wall with an expressionless regality to him before diving into the sword at Shou Xin's hip.
"The spirit artifact of the Shou Clan is just as powerful as has been heard." Lady Mu smiled demurely, "Rather, it is greater than those rumors."
"I am no one special." Shou Xin shook slightly as a dense fog slowly began to cover the warship and the tens of interceptors taken from the mines he'd attacked, "Nor is my sword."
At that moment, they all felt their hearts pinch.
Maqi scrunched her nose and Lady Mu covered his mouth, her eyes turning to crescents.
He was no one special? His sword just like any other? Such humbleness from someone so powerful… they could not believe it.
Instead, they felt they were being scolded and shamed.
Those scions felt their hearts rage as they watched with great fervor the youth which likely stood at the top of this younger generation of the Cracked Continent.
Seeing Xiao Wun go to their side from the side of the Dragon Woman of the Mythic Mountain, they felt a connection form in their minds and their hearts blazed with even greater desire.
To challenge the heavens and destroy the limits of lifespan.
To be come truly eternal and to try and even attempt to claim the title of strongest amid the cracked land.
To achieve honor for their clans, they had to train hard and reach him.
If they wanted to be respected and admired, they must first defeat him.
That day, he got a new little nickname, though only among those noble circles and sects was it known.
Born from the feeling of sharpness which could not be found among any of them, and his signature weapon whose regal aura yet fearsome appearance had stunned them.
They came to call him…
Sword Dragon.
—
"Guo Long." Wo Yiyu, a beauty above beauties which could tumble entire nations with a glance, suitors at her door with a single word, looked over the sea of clouds, the burning wastes beyond the Wild States.
The Wild Lands.
"What is it?" He glanced upwards from his position behind a desk, tallying up the finances, his charts and graphs and obscene number of papers and books filled with transactions blurring his figure, one could hardly already see.
"It seems that my father has seen to it to get involved in the matter's of the Southern Wild States. He's sent my big brother at the head of a large fleet of cultivators," Wo Yiyu smiled coldly, "We should go to meet them."
A vein popped on his throat as he felt nothing but regret.
From the very first day that he had met Shou Xin, till encountering Wo Yiyu and everything that has come from these encounters!
"I will not return to Sea Spring. It was my charge and it was destroyed under it by the wrath of your ilk." Guo Long was beyond enraged, the calm and gentle demeanor of the once grand merchant gone now for a rather fierce look.
"My ilk?" Her face burned from the slap he had planted squarely, eyes boiling beneath the surface as qi rose filling the room.
"Cultivators seeking power, trying to face heaven and leave nothing in their wake." Guo Long gazed back at her, his own qi rising though a pittance in comparison.
"You owe me for saving those people of Sea Spring from the massacre." Wo Yiyu was bereft to remind him and Gou Long's eyebrows twitched.
"...Fine then. But, they will be left out of it. Only those fit to fight, will go."
"Acceptable."
—
"Grandmaster. This Tai Yu seeks guidance." A benign elder stood quietly atop a sharp mountain, it's tree's mostly destroyed, signs of battle everywhere.
The winds howled their low whispers as something seemed to rise out from the ground, coalescing into a human form, however, it was most certainly not human.
"Your heart is disturbed by the sudden battles erupting. It is not right that so much blood should erupt, I understand. However, there is something else that bewitches your heart, what is it?" Grandmaster of the Tai School of Weapons, Nu Fu, asked whilst sitting upon a cloud.
Tai Yu slowly nodded and swallowed, a great amount of courage was needed to speak these words as they could easily be taken as an insult, and if the Grandmaster struck him down, he could not complain.
He fell to his knees.
"Grandmaster. I have always followed the will of the Tai School to the letter, however, in these months I am unable to understand. Why did we send those people to destroy Sea Spring? Why did we aid them to kill innocents?"
Grandmaster Nu Fu stroked his beard of smoke and ashe, yet even that action alone caused immense pressure to almost flatten him.
"The calculations of my mind are beyond explaining. You have been of great use and shown your tremendous loyalty, which is why I believe this is a question not asked to demean, but for the good of the school and so will allow it to go. Trust in me, no one has our interests in mind more than I, take this knowledge and be soothed."
The time for discussion was over, and Tai Yu slowly got up, his body aching as he bowed with cupped fists, saying something of thanks for guidance and showing respect before he left the mountain on his own two feet, not flying away.
Following his back, Nu Fu shook his head.
"Children these days are so muddle-headed, allowing emotions to cloud judgement."
—
"Hallmaster. The message has been sent to the young miss' flagship. She has not responded but records show that she had indeed received it, and is well. The External Affairs Ministry also appears to have let her go with just a stern warning at your behest, as well."
The shadows spoke.
In regal clothing and with an air of peace, the Hallmaster of the South, Wo Ji, slowly nodded giving off an air of demure nobility, his sharp eyebrows as though sheathed blades.
"She will try and intercept her Jirai." He said softly.
"Should we send a message to the young lord?" The shadows shifted.
"No. It will serve better if he is put through some adversity." Leisurely looking over the flowering fields below his floating palace he spoke once more, "What of the so-called Sword Devil? How is the investigation?"
"Yes, lord. We have found out that several of the mid ranking officials of the External Affairs Ministry are in contact with the Southern Yan Clan. They appear to be using mortals for forced labour in digging up artifact materials, going against the Emperor's edict that mortals should be left out of immortal affairs." There was a pause.
"...Go on." Wo Ji urged calmly, a soft spoken man if ever there were one many said it was because of this his children ran so wild.
"We have also dug up some connections to the Zhu Clan which had one of their young master's go 'missing' after coming back from the Cloud Spire Academies punishments. It is said he went to train seeking strength to fight at the frontlines against the Great Demon World."
Naturally, he understood what the inflection in the shadows voice meant when he spoke of the Zhu boy going missing and he frowned.
"That girl never ceases to cause trouble." His frown slowly melted into a long sigh as he shook his head, "This can be used. I will contact the betters of those External Affairs officials, prepare some forces and give new orders to Jirai. He is not to engage, but rather speak to him."
"Yes, Hallmaster."
The room suddenly seemed to twist and melt, the shadows infecting the walls and corners turning into some sort of fog and flying out from the open window in the large chamber.
Wo Ji looked ragged as he qi swirled around him, settling his features into a far more authoritative look, his regal aura strong as he activated the formation in the center of the room, a large purple communication crystal rising up as the chains holding it shook and clanked.
The image of a person appeared above the purple crystal, an woman with a severe look, her eyes sharp as swords edges.
"Southern Hall Master. What brings you to call us?" She spoke in a tone that was neither here nor there, belying nothing as though a blank page.
Wo Ji grimaced internally as he never liked dealing with the higher ups of the Exiled Court as they were all people like this with severe faces and uncaring attitudes whilst also carrying power that made one bend.
It was always a massive pain.
"Wo Ji greets the Great Hallmaster. I have come with word of corruption and the breaking of the Emperor's decree that mortals should be separated from immortal affairs. The External Affairs Ministries middle management appear to have been corrupted and have, with the help of the Yan Clan of my Southern direction, enslaved hundreds of thousands to mine artifact materials."
With cupped fists and lowered head, Wo Ji was the epitome of respect.
The Great Hallmaster looked at him. She governed the four directions Hallmasters and was the one who stood as the door between the Wild States and the truly highest position in the Exiled Court, her words would even reach the Emperor if she so wished it.
One could say she was above billions, and below but a small few, her appearance a fearful misrepresentation of her true age.
A very brief silence followed.
"...If memory serves, the southern direction has not submitted any information of artifact mines being founded or even mined which would mean the Yan Clan is now considered to be treasonous. Believing they can get away with hiding out strategic rescourses becuase of some middle management?" The Great Hallmaster scoffed and shook her head, "I assume it would be the Zhu Clan, which in recent years has seen exponential growth alongside the Yan Clan that is aiding them? Perhaps even the Feng… No. They did not aid to stop the raids on the mines, correct?"
Wo Ji shuddered slightly but kept a perfect expression.
"Your insights are terrifying, Great Hallmaster," He continued shortly, "The Feng of the southern direction had a wedding pact with the Yan as they were rising for their young miss to marry the Yan heir and successor. However she ran away with the patriarch of a small Shou Clan whose gained some fame as a Sword Devil, liberating many of these mines and saving thousands whilst mercilessly killing and pillaging all who got in his way."
"Hm? If the Feng hadn't moved after hearing of this then… Fufufufu," The Great Hallmaster's laugh could make children laugh with it's infectious nature and crisp ring, "It seems that the old fox of the Feng is still alive and well."
Wo Ji didn't understand what she meant, all the higher ups always spoke in obscure and roundabout ways, however, it was also his job to know and so he thought about it for a moment, coming to a somewhat reasonable decision.
"They never intended to truly wed off their young lady, but rather lure out the higher echelons of the Yan to a wedding, ambush and then kill them whilst taking the achievement of liberating the artifact material mines as well as taking the rights to the mines as well?" He wondered aloud.
"Hm?" The Great Hallmaster looked at him for a second longer, making him slightly uncomfortable before opening her mouth, "Hallmaster, I have new respect for you. The fact that the Sword Devil was not directly assassinated should speak to this as well. The Yan however appear to have had their faces inflated due to success."
Wo Ji nodded calmly.
"What of the little Sword Devil and that vixen granddaughter of the fox?" She seemed to lean back onto some unseen seat, her eyes thirsting for more like a person whose found a good pass time.
Even the higher ups can get bored he mused internally.
"It would appear that they have been hiding away in the Demon Realm whilst making leaps and bounds in their cultivation. In a single year, they've cracked past Chain and entered the Law Realm. It also appears that little clan they've been raising together are all battle cultivators," Wo Ji smiled as he was reminded of his own boisterous youth, "It would seem the Demon Realm is quite the great place to train for these youths. The demon's appear to be avoiding them as well if they've noticed them at all, that is."
"Leaps and bounds?" She rolled her eyes, "Leaps and bounds for the countryside is truly small. If they should break past the beginner realms within a year, it will be a little bit over average."
Wo Ji internally frowned, countryside?
He was not completely certain of his information, however, he felt the need to defend his little 'countryside'.
"The young miss of the Feng, the one who earned the moniker, Violet Sky, is said to have a divine physique according to the Cloud Faring Sect's report, the very same as the Great General. The Spear Dragon and Sword Devil also appear to have some special oddities about them, specifically, it would appear they are also battle cultivators who've achieved Law Physique, Law Realm and Intent in their weapons." Wo Ji felt the gaze on him shift, a laughing gaze.
"I apologize of I offended. It's just that here in the Exiled Court, divine physique's and such are rare, but not terribly so. However, certainly the fact that those other two youths are at the second so soon… it is remarkable, certainly. It would take a genius a year to reach the Unchained or Unbound for a single one, but to achieve all three of the Law level in a year, it is certainly something of note." The Great Hallmaster's eyes narrowed, "I hear however, the little spear and sword are in a deeply rooted conflict?"
Wo Ji regretted his boasting for a moment, as he had just opened a can of worms on the events those two little headaches in the Wild States had been causing.
"...Yes. It would appear that their clans have been in a deeply entrenched blood war for centuries until recently it came to a head when the Zhu young master executed the Shou Patriarch for his crimes against mortals, however this was not before the Hu clan master was killed by the Shou patriarch in the fight that took place to bring him down." Wo Ji sighed.
The Great Hallmaster shared the sentiment.
Two geniuses who were gifted by the heaven's were destined to destroy each other due to a conflict they had no hand in, a cruel fate.
"It is a shame, but such paths are found commonly in this world," She shook her head, "They are great talents and should not be disparaged, in the Wild States they have been able to grow at a terrifying rate like weeds spreading their roots even without support of large clans or influential masters. They cannot be allowed to simply slaughter one another blindly repeating that all too common sight."
Wo Ji tacitly agreed, as he felt something was coming.
"I should think they will serve the Exiled Court well. I will send a general down to pick them up and sort them out. They seem like they will need a strong hand if they are to walk down the righteous path." The Great Hallmaster had a mischievous look in her eye he had never seen before.
However, he knew one thing well.
It was no good to get in the eyes of those powerhouses, especially not for amusement.