Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

”You are a First-Grade Grandmaster, yet you help a tyrant commit evil. Have you forgotten Elder Bai’s teachings from all those years ago?”

”Hmph!” Qin Jin’s face was filled with contempt.

”My master’s Martial Arts Talent was astonishing, yet he never reached First Grade in his entire life. How could I follow in his footsteps?”

”It is precisely because I didn’t listen to him that I was able to become a First-Grade Grandmaster, and even have a chance at Opening the Divine Treasure!”

”Lord Qii has shown me great favor. You lot trying to harm him is the same as ruining my future. Now, all of you can die!”

BOOM!

His figure flickered, his fists moving like dragons.

Each punch carried the force to shatter mountains and split seas. Though the assassins were talented, they were ultimately too young, at most having just entered the Second-Grade Realm. How could they possibly be his match?

However, with a group charging at him, ready to die, even a First-Grade Grandmaster would be somewhat constrained.

SWISH!

Just as the group was locked in a deadly battle, a Sword Light suddenly shot up from below, tearing through the floorboards and into the carriage.

BOOM!

A violent surge of Strength erupted.

The carriage instantly shattered into pieces.

”We did it!”

The assassins’ faces were alight with ecstatic joy.

”Hmph!”

However, the Sea-Raging Golden Dragon, Qin Jin, only sneered at the sight. He seized the opportunity to strike repeatedly, sending several figures flying.

”Earth Poison Sword!”

Inside the shattered carriage, a tall, slender man pinched the blade of a sword between two fingers and looked at the young assassin.

”A disciple of the Earth Sword Sect. To be Second-Grade at such a young age... you must be the Young Sect Master, Shen Xi, correct?”

”Who are you?” Shen Xi’s cheek twitched.

”Where is that dog official, Qii Chengye?”

”Unscrupulous Marshal of the Divine Capital, Wei Goat Wen Yangqiu.” The man flicked his finger, and the Longsword instantly shattered into countless fragments. The shards pierced Shen Xi’s body, blasting him away. By the time he landed, he was on the verge of death.

”Prime Minister Zhang knew long ago that you people from the Martial World are unruly and that someone would surely try to assassinate Lord Qii.”

”And he was right!”

Wen Yangqiu clasped his hands behind his back. The aura of a peak First-Grade Grandmaster spread out as he swept his cold gaze over everyone present.

”Kill them!”

”Leave no one alive!”

”Yes, sir!”

At some unknown point, numerous Soldiers had appeared nearby. Their auras linked together as they charged toward the assassins.

Screams and indignant roars rang out, but it wasn’t long before silence fell.

Youthful vigor and chivalrous spirit could not bridge the gap in strength. Not a single one of the young people was spared.

All of them were slaughtered!

”Divine Fist Sect, Earth Sword Sect, Sanher Manor...”

Wei Goat Wen Yangqiu glanced at the corpses on the ground, his expression icy.

”Did they really think the Court is made of mud? Pass down the order: these Martial World Sects have defied the Court. They are all to be exterminated!”

”Yes, sir!”

The Unscrupulous People assented.

Not far away.

Zhu Ju shook his head and averted his gaze.

’It seems the current situation in Daqi is not the golden age of peace and prosperity I had imagined.’

’Rebellions, droughts, civil unrest...’

’The Divine Capital’s prosperity doesn’t mean it’s the same everywhere else. Qingfeng mentioned that even grain prices in the Divine Capital have risen.’

”Shopkeeper.”

Zhu Ju took out a few large coins and rose gracefully to his feet.

”The bill, please.”

*

*

*

Hundred Knowing Pavilion.

A place in the Black Market that specialized in selling information.

Many people were in a similar line of business, but most didn’t last long. The Hundred Knowing Pavilion, however, had endured for ages.

It was said to have a powerful backer.

Even the Unscrupulous People, the inspectors of the Divine Capital, would sometimes send someone here to purchase information.

Sang Rongrong, dressed all in black with her face veiled by a thin gauze, approached gracefully.

”Greetings, Honored Customer.”

Zhu Ju, who was in Disguise, had a strange expression on his face. He knew his ’neighbor’ had a rather special identity, but he hadn’t expected to run into her here. ’Could it be that being an information broker is her main job, and stealing things is just a side hustle?’

”Honored Customer?”

Sang Rongrong waved a hand in front of Zhu Ju’s face.

”Honored Customer?”

”Oh!” Zhu Ju snapped back to reality, a half-smile playing on his lips.

”Your voice reminds me of an old acquaintance. I was lost in thought for a moment; my apologies.”

”Is that so?” Sang Rongrong sat down.

”It seems we are fated to meet. I wonder what information the honored customer wishes to buy?”

”I want to know which experts are in the Qunxing Workshop, how many Divine Treasure Martial Saints there are, and what legacies they each cultivate.”

Under her veil, Sang Rongrong’s expression stiffened. Her voice was strained as she said,

”Honored Customer.”

”You truly think highly of us, but information related to Divine Treasure Martial Saints is not something even the Hundred Knowing Pavilion would casually leak. This has nothing to do with the price.”

Every Divine Treasure Martial Saint is world-famous; one could learn about them with just a few inquiries.

Therefore, we don’t do business involving them, not because the relevant information is difficult to obtain, but as a safety precaution.

”Oh!” Zhu Ju rested his chin on his hand.

”So the Hundred Knowing Pavilion is also afraid of retaliation from a Divine Treasure Martial Saint?”

”It’s not fear, but a matter of necessity,” Sang Rongrong sighed.

”Divine Treasure Martial Saints have long lifespans and are already beyond human. The Hundred Knowing Pavilion is well aware of the consequences of offending them.”

”Honored Customer, you should ask for different information.”

”Very well, then,” Zhu Ju sighed lightly.

”I want to know who in the Qunxing Workshop possesses a Divine Treasure legacy.”

Sang Rongrong was speechless.

”Is there a difference?”

”Of course there is,” Zhu Ju shrugged.

”Possessing a Divine Treasure legacy doesn’t mean they have a Divine Treasure Martial Saint presiding over them. This doesn’t count as breaking the rules, does it?”

”Well...” Sang Rongrong looked thoughtful.

She had never encountered such a situation before. After all, any information involving a Divine Treasure Martial Saint was taboo, no matter where you went.

”How about this,”

Zhu Ju spoke again.

”Which relatively young First-Grade Experts are in the Qunxing Workshop? You can tell me that, can’t you?”

”That, I can do,” Sang Rongrong said, breathing a sigh of relief.

”The price is one hundred taels of gold!”

”Hmm...” Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes.

”So expensive?”

”For any other workshop, ten taels of gold would be more than enough.” Hearing this, Sang Rongrong shrugged.

”But the honored customer is asking for information on the Qunxing Workshop. That place is a gathering of heroes, filled with numerous Princes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all of Daqi’s top talents are gathered there. One hundred taels of gold for information on them is by no means a loss.”

”Of course...”

”The Qunying Workshop is too special. The Hundred Knowing Pavilion’s information isn’t necessarily completely accurate. After all, no one knows for sure what experts are hidden there. The honored customer shouldn’t come back and blame us if you later find the information to be mistaken.”

As if she’d thought of something, her voice changed subtly.

”Alright.”

Zhu Ju sighed and asked casually,

”Are Divine Treasure legacies very rare?”

”Of course,” Sang Rongrong replied as if it were obvious.

”The Martial World has no shortage of Second-Grade or even First-Grade Grandmasters, but very few possess a Divine Treasure legacy.”

”Even fewer have produced a Divine Treasure Martial Saint.”

...

Baiyun Temple.

Two children, about seven or eight years old, used every ounce of their strength to drag an old man covered in blood into a guest room.

”What do we do now?”

Qingfeng’s eyes widened as he spoke.

”Are we going to get Master in trouble?”

”He already jumped into our courtyard. Are we supposed to just watch him die in the Daoist Temple?” Ming Yue said in a clear, crisp voice.

”When I used to get hurt, Grandpa Sunx would pack the wound with mud, and it would be fine once it scabbed over.”

She looked at the old man’s wounds, lost in thought.

”Should I go get some mud?”

”Does that method even work?” Qingfeng asked, looking completely baffled.

”It feels a little unreliable to me.”

”What do you mean it doesn’t work?” Ming Yue pouted.

”That’s how my injuries were always treated! The only reason I’ve grown this big is thanks to Grandpa Sunx’s ’Medical Skill’.”

”You two... you two little friends.” The old man, having regained consciousness at some point, gave a bitter smile upon hearing them.

”Don’t mind me. This old man is gravely injured and won’t live much longer. Once I’m dead, you can just report it to the officials.”

”That way...”

”You won’t be implicated.”

He was well aware of his own injuries. His Vital Organs were damaged, and his Tendon and Bone were shattered. Even if he survived, he would be a cripple.

The dignified Dharma Transmission Elder of the Divine Fist Sect, a peak Second-Grade Grandmaster, reduced to such a state in a single day.

’The Divine Fist Sect...’

’We never should have come to the Divine Capital!’

’That boy, Luh Kong, was full of hot-blooded passion, but he implicated the entire Sect. If I had known, I never should have let him act so willfully.’

CREAK...

”Master!”

”Master!”

Qingfeng and Ming Yue ran up to the Daoist, chattering away.

”This person jumped into the Daoist Temple from outside!”

”He’s covered in blood...”

”He said he’s going to die!”

”He told us to report it to the officials...”

”My junior sister and I couldn’t bear to see him lying in the courtyard, so we dragged him into the guest room. Please forgive us, Master.”

”Mm,” Zhu Ju said, ruffling their heads. He walked slowly over to the heavily injured old man and glanced at him.

”At this age, he’s about right for a gatekeeper.”

”What’s your name?”

The old man’s expression shifted, and he said slowly,

”Huang Er.”