Martial Arts Cultivation, Spark Ignited

The red sun rose, gilding the earth.

A vast, boundless land stretched beyond sight. This was Azeroth's jewel, the land of Pandaria.

The sea turned to mulberry fields, carrying boundless grandeur.

Usually as tranquil as a quiet maiden, Whispering Cloud Mountain was somewhat different today. Looking down from the sky, Whispering Cloud Mountain now resembled an invincible martial artist.

Plum Blossom Poles covered the mountain, and countless Pandaren darted through the woods. From time to time, great swathes of bamboo could be seen falling in the forest. The bamboo had been cut into staffs and made into armor. Whispering Cloud Mountain was truly no longer what it had once been.

Driven by their yearning for strength and the future, the Pandaren martial artists had established this foundation on Whispering Cloud Mountain. No one would have imagined that in merely a few days, they had built a training ground there.

Whispering Cloud Mountain was bustling with activity, while at its foot, Ji Feng and the four sages were discussing "martial arts cultivation."

"Ji Feng... the training ground has been set up, and nearly a thousand Plum Blossom Poles have been installed as you said. What do you think of using Whispering Cloud Mountain as the training site?"

At that moment, the sage from Jingji Village gazed toward Whispering Cloud Mountain and smiled.

"Using Whispering Cloud Mountain as a training ground is a very good thing, but it still isn't enough. If martial artists can fight atop the Plum Blossom Poles, then we can bury the poles in water. If someone can fight on the Plum Blossom Poles in the water as well, then they will have passed."

In World of Warcraft, water training was the most common assessment task for monks. Only those who could fight atop the "Plum Blossom Pole Formation" in the water without falling in could be considered qualified Windwalker monks.

"Also, regarding basic strength training, just as I said before: bamboo, wood, stone slabs. As long as they can shatter stone slabs with their hands and feet, they can be considered trained. As for more profound martial arts, I'll teach them to everyone after I pacify Shadowwind Village..." Ji Feng took a deep breath as he spoke.

In his eyes, Whispering Cloud Village was now filled with an aura called "hope." Everything was proceeding step by step, and the seed called "hope" had begun to sprout.

As Ji Feng spoke with the four sages, the sun gradually climbed to its zenith, and the Pandaren martial artists began returning.

Noon was approaching.

System notification: 23 days have passed since the host arrived in Azeroth. System reminder: The countdown for the "Path Home" mission has begun. There are 7 days remaining before the mission's final deadline. Please complete the mission as soon as possible...

Earlier, Ji Feng had defeated the Mogu warrior Shanbu at Shadow-Panther Temple. After that, he had received the village-returning mission, Path Home.

For more than half a month, he had not paid attention to the "returning to the village" mission. He had always felt there was no need to rush it, but time slipped away before he knew it. He had never expected that the mission deadline was now close at hand.

"I've already been in Azeroth for 23 days? Damn... time passed so fast. In that case, I have to take everyone back to the village as soon as possible." Hearing the system's reminder, Ji Feng pondered.

As the saying went, the longer the night, the more dreams there were. He was now preparing to set out.

After all, traveling from Whispering Cloud Village to Shadowwind Village required crossing the Zuldazar Mountains, and the distance between the two villages was far from short.

"Master Ji."

"Brother..."

Gradually, Ji Feng's disciples returned from the forest.

"Everyone, gather. I have something to announce. Just now, I received guidance from our ancestors. They instructed us to depart today and head for the land of Shadowwind..." Ji Feng said loudly once everyone had gathered.

"Ji Feng, you're leaving today? Why so suddenly?"

Not far away, the sages heard Ji Feng's words and were all astonished.

"Four sages, I must depart. I have no choice but to leave. I'll set off later, after having lunch in Whispering Cloud Village." Ji Feng spoke solemnly.

"This... although we don't know why you're in such a hurry, we won't force you to stay. Be careful."

"Ji Feng, take care on the road."

The sages bade Ji Feng farewell.

"Four sages, we shall meet again someday." Ji Feng nodded and led his disciples down Whispering Cloud Mountain.

After resupplying, the group finally set out for Shadowwind Village.

While Ji Feng was leaving Whispering Cloud Village with his disciples, a minor disturbance was taking place in Sindragosa Village, an elven village south of the Land of Zuldazar.

Sindragosa Village, Stormwind Guard garrison.

Lord Falondar Sindragosa was reviewing the village's recent intelligence reports when he came across the guard log concerning the delegation to the Azshuna Royal Palace.

"July: Illidan Stormrage led a seven-member Stormwind squad to the Azshuna Royal Palace to seek an audience with His Highness Faraodis. The squad members were Kasangli Sindragosa, Ross Rainsong, Kaldor Starmorning..."

"This journey had two purposes: first, to report on the war between the Pandaren and the Mogu; second, to request reinforcements from the Azshuna court to protect the Sindragosa clan of Pandaria."

"Written personally by Illidan Stormrage."

This guard log not only recorded the movements of Illidan and the Stormwind squad, but also the other guards accompanying them.

Falondar was extremely familiar with all the names listed above. Yet after reading them, he frowned, suspicion filling his eyes.

"What's going on? Didn't Meridale say she went to the Azshuna Royal Palace with Illidan? Why isn't her name on the roster?" Lord Falondar felt a trace of unease.

After thinking it over, he took out the letter from his Arcane Space.

"Falondar, my respected father, I, Meridale Sindragosa, have decided to travel with Archmage Illidan to the Azshuna Royal Palace and seek an audience with His Highness Faraodis. Do not worry..." There was little written in the letter, only a few lines. Falondar had not noticed anything wrong before, but upon seeing it again, he understood everything.

The roster for the delegation to the Azshuna Royal Palace had been written personally by Illidan. Illidan could never have forgotten to include Meridale's name. In other words, Meridale had not gone to Azshuna at all. She had slipped out of Sindragosa Village alone.

"Where could Meridale have gone? There are sentries in the watchtowers on all sides of the village. Every movement she made should have been under their watch. It should have been impossible for her to sneak out of the village! Wait, could it be..." Lord Falondar suddenly thought of something.

This month, aside from Illidan, only one group had left the village: the elven warriors who had departed with Ji Feng. Could Meridale have followed Ji Feng?

(If the map before The Sundering was considered 100%, then Pandaria accounted for only 20%, while Kun-Lai Summit accounted for merely 3%. At last, after writing this far, the 1% portion has finally been completed. Having left Whispering Cloud Village, Ji Feng was about to return to his own clan. A powerful counterattack was about to begin.)