City Seizing Battle

"Five Vine Gold Point Orchid—unprecedented."

"Ever since Three Pure Mountains cultivated the Dianjin Orchid, nothing like this has ever appeared."

Only after a long while did Wang Rulin calm himself and speak thoughtfully.

"There are only two possibilities now. One is... the Dianjin Orchid is broken."

"The other is that this boy may be a peerless genius rarely seen in three thousand years."

He said three thousand years because that was when Saint Zhuang established the Mystic Sect. Before then, there had been no such exotic plant as the Dianjin Orchid. Wang Rulin even suspected that if several human sages who had already ascended were brought down to test him, they might not possess such astonishing talent.

Five Vine Orchid!

Who in the history of the Mystic Sect had ever seen such a thing?

Among the countless people of any generation, there were only a scant few Heaven's Chosen at the Four Vine Orchid level. Every one of them, once fully grown, could stand at the summit.

If these five immortal vines matured, how terrifying would they become?

"I think the latter is more likely." Wen Yifan recovered even faster and analyzed the matter calmly. "Given the talent he displayed in comprehending cultivation techniques before, bringing forth five immortal vines does make sense. Congratulations, Martial Uncle."

"Heh." Liang Yue had only just come back to his senses himself. Rubbing his forehead, he laughed. "I certainly hadn't expected this either."

"Boy, come here."

Wang Rulin suddenly seized Liang Yue by the shoulder. With a single leap, he had returned to the main hall and dropped to his knees upon a prayer mat.

Liang Yue immediately realized that this was the ceremony for entering the sect and acknowledging a master.

It was truly rather sudden.

As though Wang Rulin feared he might run away.

Still, having just seen the Five Vine Orchid, it was understandable that Wang Rulin was in a hurry.

"Saint Zhuang Ancestor once said that those of later generations who enter my sect need not kowtow. They need only answer one question."

"From this day forward, if you are a Mystic Sect disciple, you must hold fast to your true heart, treat others with generosity and kindness. When the realm is at peace, cultivate great freedom; when the Nine Provinces are in peril, raise a three-foot sword. Do not rob, do not steal, do not indulge in lust, do not humiliate others, do not use strength to bully the weak, do not fear the powerful. Take vanquishing evil and defending the righteous path as your duty, and face death as though returning home!"

"Can you do this?"

Liang Yue's expression turned solemn as he answered, "I can!"

But looking at Wang Rulin's face, he actually felt an urge to ask in return.

Don't just ask me.

Can you do it?

Yet in the end, he did not dare say it aloud.

The brief exchange ended. Wang Rulin brought over a prayer mat and sat opposite Liang Yue. "Good. From this day onward, you are a Mystic Sect disciple."

"That's... it?" Liang Yue was somewhat stunned.

Wasn't that a little too simple?

"Hoho, you probably do not understand the cultivation of Qi Refiners." Wang Rulin smiled. "Confucians cultivate Righteous Qi, Buddhists cultivate compassionate hearts, while we Daoists of the Mystic Sect cultivate the intent of freedom."

"In all things, we value freedom and do not fuss over such cumbersome rites. Should one lose that freedom, one's realm may even fall instead."

"Like me back then..."

At that point, he paused, then shook his head with a soft laugh.

"I'll tell you about those matters later. In any case, what you are cultivating with me now is martial arts, so there is no need to concern yourself with such matters of where the Dao heart leads. A martial artist's temperament is the simplest: sword in hand, charge forward without turning back, and let your thoughts flow unimpeded. Call me Master once, and from now on, you are my disciple."

Liang Yue nodded lightly and solemnly called out, "Master!"

Wang Rulin continued, "Since you have entered my sect, from now on you are my sole inheritor. Master and disciple, like father and son, must never betray one another... That was what my master told me back then. You need not mind it."

"Hm?" Liang Yue blinked.

This master of his truly was unconventional.

"I have only one demand of you. So long as you fulfill it, whether you remain my disciple afterward or join another sect, even if you wish to become a traitor, I do not care." Wang Rulin spoke slowly. "But you must accomplish this. Otherwise, I will no longer acknowledge you as my disciple."

"What is it?" Liang Yue straightened his back slightly and asked earnestly.

Wang Rulin enunciated each word. "I want you to participate in the City Seizing Battle."

A question mark slowly rose over Liang Yue's head. "Me?"

"The City Seizing Battle?" Miss Wen, who had been watching the ceremony from the side, also revealed a faintly puzzled expression upon hearing the name.

Liang Yue was utterly bewildered. He could not understand what this had to do with taking a master. Was this truly the demand Wang Rulin had announced with such gravity?

The so-called City Seizing Battle originated from the conclusion of the Battle of Heavenly Gorge twenty-six years ago.

Before Emperor Mubei's reign, the boundary between the Nine Provinces and Nine Yang had always been Sky Gorge Pass. Beyond Sky Gorge Pass lay the Wood Wolf Tribe of Nine Yang.

Beginning from Sky Gorge Pass, the tribes of Nine Yang would always head south to plunder at intervals, retreating whenever they met resistance. When the dynasties of the Nine Provinces were strong, they could hold Sky Gorge Pass and retain some measure of deterrence. But once the Nine Provinces weakened and Sky Gorge Pass fell into Nine Yang's hands, they became even more unrestrained.

Until thirty years ago, when the new Emperor Mubei ascended the throne, Nine Yang once again seized the chance to plunder. Who could have expected Emperor Mubei to be so bold? He directly mobilized the strength of the entire nation and marched north to resist them.

That war lasted four years. The first three years were spent driving the Nine Yang Army from Yin Dynasty territory, while the final year saw the Yin Dynasty army counterattack Sky Gorge Pass.

This move shocked the world.

At the height of domestic troubles and foreign threats, Emperor Mubei still refused to stop after repelling the enemy. He actually ordered his army to march north and counterattack!

Later, when the campaign suffered setbacks and some pressure arose within the court, Emperor Mubei personally led the expedition, fighting the three-month Battle of Heavenly Gorge.

The Battle of Heavenly Gorge was at times fraught with peril, and Emperor Mubei himself was repeatedly trapped in dangerous situations. Yet in the end, he won. The Yin Dynasty army drove straight in, swallowing all the Wood Wolf Tribe territory beyond the pass and advancing all the way to Frost North City—the Wood Wolf Tribe's final city.

The lands of Nine Yang resembled a misshapen gourd. Sky Gorge Pass was its broader mouth, while Frost North City was its narrower waist.

Only then did the Nine Yang tribes discover Emperor Mubei's intent.

The dynasties of the Nine Provinces had always guarded Sky Gorge Pass in the past, but the surrounding terrain was easy to cross, so it could not truly stop the enemy. Frost North City, on the other hand, was the pass that could genuinely seal all the other tribes within.

He wanted to cut off the Nine Yang tribes' possibility of marching south forever!

The Nine Yang tribes began a frenzied counterattack, swearing to defend the exit at Frost North City, while the Yin Dynasty army likewise feared no sacrifice and was determined to seal it shut.

Both sides had already fought for four years and had just endured the battle at Sky Gorge Pass. They were all in a state of exhausted supplies and depleted strength, relying solely on a single breath and gritting their teeth to endure.

Frost North City was like a millstone, grinding countless living people into flesh and blood.

Too many cultivators and ordinary soldiers to count died there, yet neither side would yield. By the end, mutinies of varying degrees had even erupted within both armies.

No one knew who proposed it first, but the two sides would hold a small-scale City Seizing Battle to decide who would possess Frost North City.

The Grandmaster Realm experts on both sides had already suffered enormous casualties, and losing even one more could be a devastating blow. The final rules decreed that each side would send seven Heaven's Chosen under the age of twenty to fight a City Seizing Battle.

The seven young people sent by the Yin Dynasty later became known as the Four Heroes and Three Wonders.

After a blood-soaked slaughter, they ultimately won Frost North City for the Yin Dynasty—and won peace for the world.

Even Nine Yang was dazzled by their brilliance.

"The South's great figures were stars in heaven; the Four Heroes and Three Wonders illuminated both capitals!"

Once Frost North City was sealed, the eight tribes of Nine Yang could no longer set foot in Wood Wolf Tribe territory, much less threaten Sky Gorge Pass behind it and the lands of the Nine Provinces south of the pass.

For a time, Emperor Mubei became a ruler of grand ambition and great strategy, no less formidable than Daxing Emperor.

However, during the great northwestern war, the other nations in the southeast had also taken the chance to harass the borders. After his victory, Emperor Mubei ordered Military God Tang Wei to sweep through them in revenge, breaking countless cities and destroying more than ten nations.

Though this displayed their might, it also greatly drained national strength. After resting for several years, Nine Yang grew angrier the more they thought about it. Unable to accept the permanent loss of Frost North City, they returned in full force.

In the end, the two sides formed an alliance under the joint witness of three Immortal Realm experts.

The City Seizing Battle would occur once every twenty years. Whichever side won could occupy Frost North City for twenty years, and the other side could never go back on its word.

Thus, the rule of a City Seizing Battle once every twenty years was established, and the second City Seizing Battle would take place next year.

The City Seizing Battle was pivotal to the situation between Nine Yang and the Nine Provinces. Without question, the seven young people selected by each side would surely all be contemporary Heaven's Chosen ranked on the Young Phoenix Ranking.

For instance, Wen Yifan would certainly be among them when the time came.

Yet Liang Yue was still a Second Realm martial artist.

I was just considering whether I could pass the Imperial Capital Guard's regular recruitment assessment, and you're sending me straight to the City Seizing Battle.

There was only one year.

It truly sounded like a fantasy.

As a member of the Mystic Sect, Wang Rulin should have no ties with the Imperial Court beyond being arrested for breaking the law. Nor had he been among the Four Heroes and Three Wonders back then. Why was he so obsessed with this?

It was rather puzzling.

Yet Wang Rulin's attitude was exceptionally resolute. He repeated himself, "I am taking you as my disciple, and you must represent the Yin Dynasty in the City Seizing Battle and win. Otherwise, one year from now, we shall each go our separate ways."

After a brief moment of thought, Liang Yue immediately nodded. "Good!"