No One at the Heights

Pei Qian opened the courtyard gate. Zhou Mili held a Hiking Staff and carried a small shoulder pole, with a sack of sunflower seeds hanging from each end. The black-clothed little girl was chatting with the stone lion by the gate—one chattered away while the other remained silent. They got along remarkably well.

Hearing the gate creak open, Zhou Mili quickly turned to look at Pei Qian and was just about to ask something when Pei Qian motioned for her not to speak. Then she turned to look toward a distant roof ridge.

That Martial Arts Grandmaster in the prime of life stood atop the main ridge of an ornate hip-and-gable-roofed building. Since his tracks had already been discovered, he intended to leave and return to the palace to report the situation to the young Emperor. In truth, he knew little himself. Emperor His Majesty had merely feared that girl who had punched her way to the heavens and scattered the sea of clouds, and had hurriedly ordered him here to investigate. He had arrived too late, seeing only the young woman plunge back to earth like an arrow driven into the ground. Yet unlike the earlier tremors that had shaken the Capital City and stirred the Dragon Veins, when she landed, there was not a sound. She was like a feather settling to the ground. That sent a chill through the Martial Grandmaster's heart. Her skill had reached the summit, transformed into perfection.

After the Great Demon Ding Ying died, Yu Zhenyi, who had first turned to cultivating immortal arts, vanished without trace. Rumor had it that he had secretly ascended beyond the heavens. Zhou Fei of Chun Chao Palace and National Teacher Zhong Qiu had both traveled afar in succession. Lu Fang of Bird's Eye Peak and many