The wind was clear, the clouds pure.
Bright and radiant.
Xian Tower.
Several handsome men, utterly unrestrained, laughed and joked.
Until they saw a cultivator in a loose Daoist robe approach.
A handsome young man holding a wine goblet laughed. "Brother, have you gone to see those great powers who were granted marquisates?"
"You must have. Brother Yu has never missed a chance in all these centuries, yet none of those granted marquisates and high offices have ever caught his eye."
Another young master in a long robe waved the folding fan in his hand and said with a chuckle, "I fear this time, too, you returned empty-handed, your heart heavy and sullen."
"This time may be different. I heard that a Saint Realm cultivator has appeared and been granted a marquisate."
"Oh?"
"Wouldn't that make him like that Celestial Human clansman from thirteen hundred years ago...?"
"If you ask me, Brother Yu, you should still enter court." One of the solemnly dressed cultivators sighed.
The young man surnamed Yu, dressed in a broad Daoist robe, said flatly, "Having returned this time, I shall take my bundle and bid you all farewell!"
"Brother Yu is leaving?"
"Why leave?"
"We enjoy the court's stipends. With the royal city so vast, where could we not go? With Third Step cultivation, you may not stride alone beneath heaven, but you are still a pillar of strength. Must you truly become someone's retainer? Even if the other party is a great power, their marquis manor has only just opened and is poor as a church mouse. If you go, won't you simply suffer alongside them?"
"No need for your concern."
The cultivator surnamed Yu gathered his bedding and a few small belongings, tied them into a bundle, and slung it over his shoulder. Cupping