Winter gave way to spring. In the twinkling of an eye, it had been a year since Meng Chuan stepped into the Transfiguration Realm.
On a summer evening, the evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, yet the Jinghu Taoist Academy was quite lively.
"I am Zhou Qian, please guide me, Senior Brother Meng," a young boy said respectfully, bowing.
"Make your move," Meng Chuan nodded.
Today, he had come to spar with Principal Ge Yu. Principal Ge Yu had long since comprehended the blade's momentum and also practiced fast sword techniques. Every time Meng Chuan sparred with Principal Ge Yu, he gained some enlightenment. Thus, he came every half month to seek guidance. Although Principal Ge Yu was greedy and stingy, he was very attentive to his most accomplished disciple.
After sparring with the principal, Meng Chuan would spend half an hour guiding his junior disciples. For him, sparring with them was too easy, almost a form of relaxation.
"Be careful," Zhou Qian suddenly lunged forward, launching a series of attacks. Meng Chuan stood there, his body strangely indistinct. No matter how Zhou Qian attacked, he couldn't even touch Meng Chuan's sleeve.
After executing an entire set of sword techniques,
the final killing move—a furious thrust thirteen times in succession—still missed entirely.
Zhou Qian was considered quite talented in the Jinghu Taoist Academy. According to the instructors' assessment, he should be able to enter the Shanshui Tower next year. Yet, the gap between him and Meng Chuan remained vast.
"Senior Brother Meng is too formidable."
"Now, no disciple in the academy can even touch Senior Brother Meng's sleeve. None can withstand a single strike from him."
"Senior Brother Meng is destined to become a Divine Lord," the surrounding disciples murmured.
In every generation, some senior brothers had high prestige, while others had low prestige.
Meng Chuan was undoubtedly the most respected senior brother in Jinghu Taoist Academy in decades! His strength was beyond imagination, far surpassing the second-ranked disciple in the academy. He was also willing to occasionally spare his precious cultivation time to guide his juniors. His family's influence was among the top in the entire prefecture, yet Meng Chuan never used it to bully others.
These factors combined made many junior disciples idolize this senior brother.
"Your final move is the killing technique of this sword set, called Thirteen Peaks," Meng Chuan said. "The manual clearly states that when this move is executed, it should resemble the undulating peaks of a mountain range, both fluctuating and unified. You've achieved the 'fluctuation,' but not the 'unification.' Your sword techniques are scattered and disjointed, naturally reducing their power."
"Unified?" Zhou Qian murmured softly, vaguely grasping something but still missing a piece.
He deeply trusted Senior Brother Meng's guidance.
In terms of technique and skill, even the instructors had said that only Principal Ge Yu could surpass Senior Brother Meng in the entire Jinghu Taoist Academy. Senior Brother Meng's guidance was more precise and to the point than that of the instructors. As a disciple who hadn't yet entered the Shanshui Tower, Zhou Qian wasn't qualified for one-on-one instruction from the principal.
Your other sword techniques are quite good, but the killing move has a noticeable flaw. Go back and practice this move more. Once you master it, this sword technique will reach its full potential." Meng Chuan glanced at the eager juniors around him, smiled, and said, "It's getting late. Everyone, go have dinner." With that, he left.
The juniors understood that Senior Brother Meng's guidance had ended.
Many fellow disciples made their way to the Taoist Academy gate.
"Hmm?"
As he reached the entrance, Meng Chuan saw a figure in red—Liu Qiyue. She had grown taller, almost matching his height.
"Chuan, Chuan," Liu Qiyue called out repeatedly.
"Qiyue, you're a year younger than me, yet you've caught up to me in height," Meng Chuan remarked.
Liu Qiyue laughed. "My father says girls grow early. Plus, I've entered the Transfiguration Realm, so my body is growing faster."
This year, at fifteen, Liu Qiyue had also broken through to the Transfiguration Realm this month. However, her archery skills were still stuck at a bottleneck... reaching the Unity Realm was ultimately too difficult.
"Let's hurry to Yunjiang Restaurant for dinner," Liu Qiyue urged. "This is what you owe me."
"Alright, alright, let's go," Meng Chuan reluctantly nodded.
This was the consequence of a wager.
After Liu Qiyue broke through to the Transfiguration Realm, Meng Chuan had boasted that even if he stood within a circle ten feet wide, dear sister Qiyue wouldn't be able to hit him with a hundred arrows. Liu Qiyue didn't believe him... Meng Chuan was confident. His agility had been honed by arrow rain, and with his robust Thunder God physique, he was certain. But a Transfiguration Realm archer unleashing their full power, with arrows imbued with Divine Lord Strength and skill, was a nightmare. Far superior to those guards who clumsily used bows.
Meng Chuan relied solely on his agility to dodge seventy-nine arrows, but the eightieth grazed his clothes.
He lost!
After losing, Meng Chuan remained quite pleased and decided to try again in a few days.
Yunjiang Restaurant was the top restaurant in Dongning City. Treating someone to a meal there was somewhat extravagant, but it was his father's restaurant. Eating there meant he didn't have to pay.
"Senior Brother Meng entered Shanshui Tower at thirteen. I must enter Shanshui Tower by fifteen at least," young Zhou Qian thought to himself as he watched Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue leave. He then headed in another direction, returning home.
Zhou Manor.
"Young Master." "Young Master."
When Zhou Qian returned home, the servants and maids were quite respectful.
The Zhou family was originally a very ordinary family of commoners in Dongning City. Later, Zhou Qian's father, Zhou He, rose to prominence. He was quite resourceful, leveraging the network of close friends he had made on the battlefield. Over twenty years, he had built a considerable fortune. He was now a somewhat well-known wealthy merchant in Dongning City.
"Young Master Zhou, Young Master Zhou." Suddenly, a child emerged from a corner.
"Is that Tiesheng?" Zhou Qian recognized him and smiled. "What brings you here?"
Tiesheng was the younger brother of his personal maid and often visited the manor. The servants and maids quite liked this well-behaved child.
"Young Master Zhou."
The child, Tiesheng, knelt directly. "Please save my sister!"
"Your sister? What happened to Hongyu?" Zhou Qian asked urgently.
"Just now, Boss Wei came to our house with his men, saying my father owes him three hundred taels of silver. My father said he only borrowed ten taels, but he was half-drunk at the time. Boss Wei and his men tricked him into pressing his fingerprint on a blank paper for a hundred taels," Tiesheng explained. "Now, with interest piling up, it's become three hundred taels. How can our family repay that? Boss Wei forcibly took my sister to settle the debt. My father objected, and they beat him up."
"Did your father sign Hongyu's deed of sale?" Zhou Qian pressed.
"No! My father said he would rather die than harm my sister," the child Tiesheng replied.
"Good. If there's no deed of sale, then they're forcibly abducting a commoner," Zhou Qian suppressed his anger. At Jinghu Taoist Academy, they still had to study the laws of the imperial court. "Who is this Boss Wei?"
"My father said he's just a small-time thug from the Black Wolf Gang, but he waves the gang's banner, and everyone fears him," Tiesheng quickly explained.
"I want to see just how much guts a scoundrel like him has," Zhou Qian couldn't hold back any longer. "Lead the way! Let's find this Boss Wei."
"Stop!"
A cold, furious shout rang out.
Zhou Qian froze, turning to see his father, Zhou He, standing there.
"Father," Zhou Qian's resolve weakened at the sight of his father.
"Take Tiesheng out," Zhou He ordered the servants, who immediately began leading the child away. Tiesheng cried out, tears streaming down his face, "Young Master Zhou, you must save my sister. If you don't, she's done for!"
But the servants easily held the child and quickly escorted him out.
"Father! Are we just going to let that thug abduct a commoner?" Zhou Qian exclaimed in frustration.
"Foolish," Zhou He said coldly. "Do you think a small-time thug would dare abduct a woman on his own? He's acting on orders, capturing women for the Black Wolf Gang to train and send to various brothels. This is the Black Wolf Gang's business. The Black Wolf Gang is one of the three major gangs in Dongning City, and behind them is the Divine Lord clan, the Bai family! The Black Wolf Gang does the dirty work for the Bai family."
"Your father is just a small merchant. Can I afford to provoke the Black Wolf Gang?" Zhou He looked at his son. "The Black Wolf Gang could crush our Zhou family like an ant. Do you understand?"
"I... I..." Zhou Qian was heartbroken. "But Hongyu, Hongyu..."
Hongyu had been serving him since he was eight years old.
Of course, he had deep feelings for her.
"Do you want to save Hongyu, or do you want to safeguard the Zhou family?" Zhou He said. "Your father, your mother, your brother, and over a hundred Zhou clan members who depend on me for their livelihoods—we all need to eat! We can't afford to fight."
"Can't we negotiate with the Black Wolf Gang and buy her back?" Zhou Qian asked.
"Buy her back?"
Zhou He sneered. "Didn't you hear? There's a debt of three hundred taels of silver. And we'd have to make the Black Wolf Gang break their rules. At the very least, it would take a thousand taels of silver to have any hope. Is a maid worth a thousand taels?"
"She is worth it, she is worth it," Zhou Qian insisted.
"A thousand taels? Do you know how your father earned his first thousand taels? I nearly died twice!" Zhou He gave his son a cold glance, then turned and walked away. "The decision is yours. Don't let me down."
After Zhou He walked away, he ordered the guard captain, "Go, keep an eye on the young master. If he dares to leave, break his legs!"
"Yes," the guard captain obediently replied.
...
A moment later.
The child Tiesheng stood outside the Zhou residence, feeling utterly hopeless. The world was vast, and he, a child, had no idea where to go or how to save his sister.
"Sister," Tiesheng wept.
Whoosh.
A figure leaped over the courtyard wall and quickly approached Tiesheng.
"Young Master Zhou," Tiesheng's face lit up with hope upon seeing Zhou Qian.
"Hurry to Yunjiang Tavern and find Young Master Meng Chuan. He's from the Meng family. The Black Wolf Gang is nothing but a dog in his presence. He can definitely save Hongyu," Zhou Qian urged.
"Yunjiang Tavern, Young Master Meng Chuan?" Tiesheng's eyes brightened.
"Go quickly," Zhou Qian urged.
Tiesheng immediately sprinted off into the distance.
At that moment, the guard captain also leaped over the wall and caught up, seeing Zhou Qian. He shook his head lightly. "Young Master, you've truly let the master down."
"Didn't he say it was my decision? What, are you here to arrest me?" Zhou Qian gritted his teeth.
"The master ordered me to break your legs, but... you should go see him yourself. Perhaps he'll be lenient and spare you," the guard captain said. "Do I need to take action?"
"No, I can't escape from you," Zhou Qian said nothing more and returned to the residence, though his heart was already at Yunjiang Tavern. "Senior Brother Meng, you must save Hongyu. You must."
In Zhou Qian's eyes.
Saving Hongyu was difficult, but for Senior Brother Meng, it was as easy as lifting a finger.