Chapter 36: Fame Spreads Through Anchan Commandery

Having reached the 'Primordial Soul' stage on the path of immortality, Snowfeather Daoist was naturally not foolish. He understood very well... with Ji Ning's monstrous rate of progress—only thirty years since birth, yet matching his own thousand years of cultivation—such an extraordinary being must never be made an enemy.

'Listen carefully,' Snowfeather Daoist said, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below. 'This Ji Ning must never be provoked! If you provoke him, even our Snowdragon Mountain may not be able to protect you!'

Everyone acknowledged the command.

None who had witnessed that battle dared to provoke Ji Ning.

...

News of this battle began to spread at an astonishing speed. Snowfeather Daoist did not impose a gag order on his subordinates, for he knew that even if the people of Snowdragon Mountain did not spread it... the Ji clan would likely spread it as well. So he simply pretended not to know and let it spread as it would.

'Given Ji Ning's rate of progress, his fame will likely become even more dazzling before long. Becoming his stepping stone is no disgrace,' Snowfeather Daoist consoled himself.

...

The news soon reached the core of Anchan Commandery, Anchan City.

Among Ji Ning's friends, the first to receive the news was still Beishan Baiwei.

'Hahaha, good, good, excellent!' Beishan Baiwei excitedly slapped the low table before him, sending fruit plates and wine jugs flying and clattering to the floor, startling the nearby musicians.

'Pu'an,' Beishan Baiwei said, looking at the kneeling servant who had delivered the message, and laughed, 'You have rendered great service by bringing this intelligence. Here, I grant you ten taels of liquid essence.'

He tossed a jade bottle over.

The servant, who had just entered the Zifu stage, hurriedly accepted it with excitement. This was intelligence from the Beishan Black Tiger Estate's intelligence department; he was merely a messenger... yet he received ten taels of liquid essence. Clearly, young master Beishan Baiwei was very pleased.

'This brother of mine, Ji Ning, is truly formidable, truly formidable,' Beishan Baiwei paced excitedly around the hall. 'It hasn't been long; he entered the Black-White College only a little over ten years ago, and now he's merely at the Wanxiang Completion stage, yet he can make Snowfeather Daoist retreat and relocate a branch of Snowdragon Mountain. Clearly, he has bowed his head!'

'My brother Ji Ning, among the third-generation disciples of the Black-White College, can probably rival Slovenly Truly and Fire Saint and the others.'

'But Slovenly Truly and Fire Saint have each cultivated for over two hundred years, while Ji Ning has only cultivated for thirty years.' Beishan Baiwei was first happy for his brother, then realized that his earlier friendship with Ji Ning had truly paid off.

In his excitement, Beishan Baiwei suddenly noticed the group of dumbfounded musicians and realized he had been listening to a performance earlier.

'Leave, all of you,' Beishan Baiwei waved.

The musicians and maidservants all withdrew.

Beishan Baiwei's eyes held anticipation: 'I hope my brother Ji Ning does not stumble and fall on the path of immortality. With his rate of progress far surpassing Slovenly Truly and Fire Saint, and even far surpassing ordinary reincarnated immortals... as long as he doesn't die, he will become an immortal, and among immortals, he will be top-tier. By then, I will truly have a powerful ally.'

...

The news also reached the Black-White College.

Streamcloud Immortal Chen Jin of the Black-White College had just returned from enjoying himself in the Carefree Cave and was feeling quite at ease. He flew down and landed in his own mountain estate.

'Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother.'

'Senior apprentice-brother Streamcloud.'

Two female disciples among his ten servants immediately greeted him.

'What is it?' Chen Jin glanced at the two female disciples.

'Senior apprentice-brother Streamcloud, didn't you ask us to pay attention to news about senior apprentice-brother Beiming?' one of the slightly thinner female servant disciples quickly said. 'We just heard... senior apprentice-brother Beiming Ji Ning fought with Snowfeather Daoist, one of the three Primordial Soul Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain, at Yiyi Lake. Ji Ning's strength was overwhelming, causing Snowfeather Daoist to ultimately choose to retreat and even voluntarily relocate their Snowdragon Mountain branch in Yan Mountain.'

'What!' Chen Jin's good mood instantly vanished, his face turning livid. 'Are you sure you heard correctly? This Ji Ning could make Snowfeather Daoist retreat? Does he have such strength?'

'We didn't mishear. The news just reached the Black-White College today, and the entire college is buzzing with it.'

'Yes, it's being discussed everywhere now.'

Both female disciples said.

Chen Jin's face was livid. Ji Ning had long become his inner demon; Ji Ning's brilliance naturally infuriated him. He growled, 'Tell me in detail everything you've heard.'

'Senior apprentice-brother Streamcloud, the source of this matter is the Ji clan of Yan Mountain and the Yan Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain...' the thin female disciple began.

...

'Little Slob, it seems Ji Ning's strength has improved greatly. At least he has reached the level of Fire Saint and the others, and might even be on par with you.' In a spacious and luxurious hall, a short old man dressed in beggar's clothes sat cross-legged on the floor. Before him were various bowls and plates containing roasted meat and other delicacies. He directly reached out with his greasy hands to grab the meat and eat, while holding a gourd of wine in the other hand.

Across from him sat a similarly slovenly fat youth, who also ate the delicious food without any decorum, grabbing it with his hands, while holding a wine gourd in the other.

'So what if he's on par with me?' The fat youth was completely unconcerned and continued eating and drinking.

'Little Slob, then your title as the number one third-generation disciple of the Black-White College might be taken from you,' the short old man quickly said.

The fat youth shook his head: 'When I first entered the Black-White College, I was not at all conspicuous. At that time, there were many senior apprentice-brothers and sisters stronger than me. But later, I surpassed them one by one... and became the number one third-generation disciple. But does this so-called title of number one third-generation disciple bring me any benefit in terms of strength?'

'Not a bit!' The fat youth said carelessly. 'I can rank at the top in the Black-White College, but if I look at the entire great world ruled by the Grand Xia Dynasty... among Wanxiang-level cultivators, there are thousands of reincarnated immortals alone, and many who are stronger than me!'

'So ranking within the Black-White College is meaningless. My only opponent is myself; I just need to constantly surpass myself—that's enough.' The fat youth shook his head. 'That's why I didn't go to the Grand Xia Dynasty's capital.'

'Oh, right, the Grand Xia capital has attracted the strongest geniuses from almost every commandery across this endless land, and even some extraordinary geniuses from overseas have all gone to the capital! This is an opportunity that comes once every three hundred years, and only those below the Primordial Soul stage can participate... a once-in-three-hundred-years opportunity! If you win against the many reincarnated immortals and geniuses from other regions, you will truly soar!' the short old man quickly said.

'I'm afraid of death,' the fat youth shook his head.

'You slob!' the short old man scolded angrily. 'How can you slack off on the path of immortality?'

'No rush. I'll just cultivate slowly, drink good wine, eat good meat, live a comfortable life, and become whatever I become. I won't go fight and kill,' the fat youth shook his head.

The short old man was helpless.

But he also admired the fat youth greatly, and he even thought to himself... just in terms of Dao-heart, perhaps among all the Primordial Soul Daoists and immortals of the Black-White College, this fat youth might have the strongest Dao-heart! But whether a Dao-heart is strong or not is not apparent on the surface; he alone believed the fat youth's Dao-heart was the strongest in the Black-White College.

...

'Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is truly amazing. In ten years without seeing him, he has become this strong.' Woodchild Zi, who had been immersed in studying puppetry, was extremely excited upon hearing the news. 'It's been so long since I've seen him; I should go visit him.'

With Ji Ning's battle being so impressive, quite a few people were eager to visit him.

Woodchild Zi quickly gathered a group.

'Let's go.'

'Let's go to Yiyi Lake.'

'We haven't seen junior apprentice-brother Beiming in years, and he has become so powerful.' More than ten people set out to visit Ji Ning, most of whom had good relations with him, including two reincarnated immortals.

When one's strength reaches a certain level, recognition naturally follows.

Soon, this group of over ten people left the Black-White College and headed for Yiyi Lake.

...

The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai, sitting cross-legged on a jade bed, opened his eyes and revealed a smile.

'So many little fellows are going to Ji Ning's place. It seems my disciple's strength has been acknowledged by his fellow disciples. Speaking of which... being able to make Snowfeather Daoist retreat, my disciple's Three-Foot Sword must have reached a very profound level. The fourth stance or the fifth? Hmm, that kid hasn't come to see me in ten years.' Immortal Diancai thought to himself. The Three-Foot Sword had only six stances publicly available in the Black-White College, so Immortal Diancai only knew the first six stances.

Of course, Immortal Diancai's strongest sword art was not the Three-Foot Sword; he had forged his own path.

...

Ji Ning's battle truly made his name known throughout Anchan Commandery. His friends, elders, and even other major sects and clans began to take notice of Ji Ning. From then on, Ji Ning became one of the influential figures in the land of Anchan Commandery.

In distant Shangshui Commandery, the Dongyan Mountains.

In a quiet, deep cave.

Nine Lotus, dressed in a white Daoist robe, sat cross-legged on a rock. She had been trapped in this Ten Thousand Lotus Cave for nearly nine years. Almost every day, she tried to break the formation, but the formation set by 'Dongyan Patriarch' reflected the Dao-heart. To break it, one had to comprehend their own Dao-heart, see through themselves—a process of truly understanding the mind.

Nine Lotus had not yet succeeded.

'Master, master.' A voice came from outside.

Nine Lotus opened her eyes and said, 'What is it?'

Although she could not get out, her servants would still relay important events from outside through the simple method of shouting outside the cave.

'Master, news has just arrived. The Ji clan of Yan Mountain forced the Snowdragon Mountain branch in Yan Mountain to relocate, angering Snowfeather Daoist, one of the three ancestors of Snowdragon Mountain, who personally went to Yiyi Lake. Then Ji Ning refused to back down, so Snowfeather Daoist made his move,' the servant said from outside.

Nine Lotus was both angry, anxious, and worried: 'This fool, how could he be so stubborn? That's a Primordial Soul Completion Daoist.'

'Snowfeather Daoist used his ultimate technique, the Mandarin Duck Dual-Light Sword, to fight Ji Ning. But Ji Ning used a divine ability to transform into a thirty-meter giant and executed an astonishingly powerful sword art... he actually forced Snowfeather Daoist to retreat and even bow his head, making the Yan Mountain branch relocate,' the servant said from outside.

'What!' Nine Lotus was stunned.