Immortal of the Nine Realms

The birthday feast lasted until sunset before gradually winding down. Many guests, still savoring the event, planned to stay a few extra days to bask in the lingering prestige of the celebration.

Numerous martial artists had arrived throughout the day, many of them at the Heaven Profound Stage. They were cold and aloof toward ordinary martial artists, but when they spoke with Xing Jintuo, even they couldn’t help but put on small smiles. Yet, Shi Yu received only polite nods and courteous distance from those elite figures.

***

As the dim glow of oil lamps cast long shadows across the room, Xing Jintuo added more oil to a lantern.

Then he turned to Fang Chen with a smile and said, ”Sword Chief Fang, what brings you to such a remote corner of the world?”

Fang Chen replied with a smile, ”I heard you’ve been cultivating here. I just happened to be passing through, so I thought I’d drop by. It’s been quite a few years since we last met, and I didn’t expect your transformation to be so drastic.”

”Now I’m just a martial artist.” Xing Jintuo chuckled softly, shaking his head. ”Please, don’t call me a cultivator. If others heard that, they might laugh at you.”

Fang Chen asked, ”Brother Xing, I’m curious... what became of your immortal cultivation?”

Xing Jintuo paused for several breaths, then gave a bitter smile. ”I lost it all... I pushed too far in martial training and fell into qi deviation. My entire foundation in immortal cultivation burned away.”

”But your martial path seems anything but ordinary,” interjected Fairy Yu.

”You have sharp eyes, miss.” Xing Jintuo nodded, showing no intention to hide anything. ”After my immortal cultivation was destroyed, I gained insight into certain principles and got a breakthrough in my martial cultivation.”

He let out a soft sigh. ”But the path of immortality and the pursuit of eternal life... are no longer suitable for me.”

After a pause, Xing Jintuo looked at Fang Chen, a trace of hesitation surfacing in his expression.

Fang Chen said, ”If there’s something you want to say, speak freely.”

Xing Jintuo replied seriously, ”Sword Chief Fang, you were once a martial arts cultivator too. If I reach the end of my road, the insights I’ve gained ought to be passed on to you. But doing so might also bring you harm.”

Fang Chen’s eyes gleamed slightly with interest. ”Brother Xing, may I witness it for myself?”

Xing Jintuo glanced at the couple, then he waved his hand gently. A strand of qi shot toward Fang Chen like a lightning bolt.

The qi strand was as fine as a hair, yet wherever it passed, it seemed to tear through space itself. Anything in its path was utterly obliterated.

It felt like that power existed solely for destruction. It resembled the sword cultivators’ path of shattering all techniques with a sword, but it was... even more domineering.

Light flickered in Fairy Yu’s eyes. She raised her hand and conjured a strand of spiritual energy to intercept the incoming qi.

However, the moment the two forces met, her energy was instantly destroyed. The qi didn’t even slow down and continued hurtling toward Fang Chen.

Suddenly, it dissipated into nothing.

Xing Jintuo’s face showed signs of fatigue, and he offered an apologetic smile. ”That’s the extent of my insight. I’ve yet to take the final step. If I could, perhaps there would be even more to gain. If only I had understood this in my youth... Now, with my life nearing its end, it may all come to nothing.”

Fang Chen replied with a soft smile, ”Not necessarily.”

Xing Jintuo shook his head lightly. ”I’ve tried various longevity-extending items. But... they’re completely useless for me now. You don’t need to console me, Sword Chief Fang. I’ve already accepted my fate.”

He stood and cupped his hands. ”I have a feeling... that I may grasp something new within ten days at the earliest, or maybe as long as half a year. If Sword Chief Fang has the time, would you be willing to stay a while? I hope you’ll witness it in person. After all, you may be the only one who can truly understand what I’m trying to achieve.”

Fang Chen and Fairy Yu exchanged a glance. Then they smiled and nodded. ”We have no pressing matters. We’ll stay here for a while.”

”Excellent,” Xing Jintuo said, smiling in relief.

Seven or eight days had passed since Xing Jintuo’s birthday banquet, yet the number of martial artists in the small town’s teahouse had not decreased. In fact, it kept growing.

Common folks were wary of martial artists and their power, but they couldn’t help but beam with delight at their ever-increasing income. These martial artists were generous spenders; they would sometimes pay several silver coins just to run a simple errand or deliver a message. It was truly delightful.

Shi Yu sat in the teahouse, sipping tea. He was accompanied by a group of Seven Kill Hall martial artists. Ordinary people avoided him, not daring to approach.

Through the window, he watched two familiar figures leisurely strolling through the market streets.

Shi Yu let out a light chuckle. ”Heh... Looks like that one’s not entirely brainless. He’s hiding here, afraid I’ll make a move. He thinks that I won’t dare touch him with Xing Jintuo around.”

One of the Seven Kill Hall warriors leaned closer and reported quietly, ”My lord, I’ve observed them up close. Their bodies show no signs of martial cultivation, and they are just ordinary people. Why not let me simply kill them? Even if Xing Jintuo suspects the reason, he wouldn’t make enemies with us over two nobodies.”

”What fun is there in that?” Shi Yu waved him off. ”I want to see him fall to his knees and beg me for mercy. That’s the only way it’s satisfying.”

He then glanced around at the other martial artists gathered in the teahouse and said flatly, ”Seems we’re not the only ones who got the news. That banquet was just the beginning. These people aren’t here to drink tea. They’re here for the rumored martial force breaking the void.”

A martial artist from Seven Kill Hall responded cautiously, ”If you ask me, this whole idea of the Void Shattering Martial Art is a joke. Few in the world have even touched the fourth realm of the Heaven Profound Stage, Imperial Qi. Even the Hall Master himself has only barely reached that level.

”Xing Jintuo may be called a Grandmaster, but that doesn’t mean he’s grasped Imperial Qi. He might just be a Martial King at best. How dare someone like that talk about breaking the void through martial force and becoming a Martial God? If such a god truly existed, how could none of us ever have heard of it?

Another sneered, ”Martial Emperor... and then Martial God. That theory sounds exactly like some street-side nonsense; it’s just trying to impress the gullible. But...”

He paused for a moment, lowering his voice slightly. ”Xing Jintuo’s rise was strange, and his origins are murky. With his reputation and standing, there’s no need for him to show off or trick anyone. If he really is bluffing, he’ll be ruined and mocked by the entire martial world.”

Shi Yu said, ”In any case, let’s wait and see what he’s truly planning.”

He rose and left the teahouse, with his entourage following closely behind.

Once he was gone, the teahouse became more lively.

Whispers spread quickly.

”Even the Seven Kill Hall is curious about this void shattering through martial force... Maybe there’s something to it after all. If it were just a rumor, would they really care?”

***

Fairy Yu crouched by a roadside stall, holding a skewer of candied hawthorn. She picked through trinkets one by one. Sometimes, she would hold a piece up to her neck or wrist and ask Fang Chen if it looked good, and Fang Chen would always smile and say it did.

Song Chang approached them quietly and whispered, ”Brother Fang, you’ve thoroughly offended the young lord of the Seven Kill Hall. I suggest you find a way to flee this place by nightfall, or it might cost you your life.”

He didn’t wait for a response. He hurried off and disappeared into the crowd, clearly afraid of being seen by Shi Yu’s men.

Just then, a thunderous voice erupted like a bolt from the heavens. ”Three days from now. At the summit of Green Bamboo Peak, I shall shatter the void through martial force!”

It was Xing Jintuo’s voice.

Countless martial artists around the town stopped in their tracks and looked up in shock. Their expressions were filled with doubt, excitement, skepticism, and intense curiosity.