Fu Shan's Request

Apricot Yellow Abode.

When Su Yi returned from outside the city, he saw an unexpected person already waiting there.

City Lord Fu Shan!

"Mister Su."

Fu Shan came forward with a smile and saluted. "This Fu came uninvited. I hope you won't take offense."

This time, he was like Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin, addressing Su Yi as "Mister."

It was an honorific.

It also meant that in Fu Shan's heart, he no longer treated Su Yi as a young man.

Su Yi seemed thoughtful. "Lord Fu, have you run into something you can't resolve?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Fu Shan let out a long sigh, and a trace of worry appeared between his brows. "This Fu has come with an presumptuous request. I hope Mister Su can help."

"Let's hear it."

Su Yi nodded.

Fu Shan sorted through his thoughts before saying, "In three days, it will be the day the Dragon Gate Banquet begins. Originally, everything was under my control, but last night, I received a letter from Fallen Cloud City Lord Li Jianyu."

"In the letter, Li Jianyu proposed that at this Dragon Gate Banquet, we decide the ownership of Spirit Bamboo Island for the next ten years."

"If the young people of my Guangling City take first place in the martial contest, Spirit Bamboo Island will be incorporated into Guangling City's territory and controlled by the City Lord's Mansion for a period of ten years."

"Conversely, Spirit Bamboo Island will be controlled by Fallen Cloud City."

Su Yi vaguely understood. "This Spirit Bamboo Island is very special?"

"Precisely."

Fu Shan explained, "This island is located in the heart of the Great Cang River, thirty li from Guangling City. It's a small island in the river."

"It's only thirty zhang in size, but it's a blessed land where Spiritual Qi gathers. On the island grows a bamboo grove ten zhang across, known as the 'Azure Jade Spirit Bamboo.'"

"This bamboo's color is like jade, verdant and lustrous, and its entire body is treasure. Its roots, bamboo shoots, and leaves are all like spiritual medicines, containing abundant greenwood Spiritual Qi."

"As for the mature bamboo, it is an extremely precious spiritual material. Used to refine artifacts, it's comparable to divine weapons and sharp blades."

"In the past, Spirit Bamboo Island was managed in rotation by Guangling City and Fallen Cloud City, changing hands once every three years."

"But ever since Li Jianyu became Fallen Cloud City's city lord two years ago, he tore up the old rules and no longer acknowledged any of it, intending to seize Spirit Bamboo Island completely for himself."

"These past two years, he and I have clashed many times over Spirit Bamboo Island, and the conflict has only grown fiercer. If it isn't resolved soon, I'm afraid a brutal bloodbath will be unavoidable."

At this point, Fu Shan gave a bitter laugh.

Su Yi said, "In that case, his proposal to resolve this matter at the Dragon Gate Banquet should be exactly what you want, no?"

Fu Shan sighed. "If it had been a few days ago, and I had learned of such a proposal, I would have agreed readily. But he just had to wait until last night to tell me this, and that makes things difficult."

"Why is that?" Su Yi raised his brows.

"At the Dragon Gate Banquet, any young martial artist under eighteen is qualified to participate. If I had known the news in advance, I would certainly have made preparations and found some formidable figures to take part."

Fu Shan patiently explained, "But now, time is tight, and I no longer have time to prepare. By contrast, since Li Jianyu dared put forward such a proposal, he must have planned this long ago and be full of confidence."

At this, Su Yi nodded. "This Li Jianyu is quite the schemer."

Fu Shan said coldly, "That old fox is insidious, ruthless, and never fights a battle he isn't sure of winning. This time is no exception. I've already gathered information: he arranged long ago for a young prodigy named 'Mo Tianling' to fight."

"This Mo Tianling comes from Fallen Cloud City's foremost clan, the Mo Family. He is eighteen years old, with cultivation at Blood Moving Realm Great Perfection, and once cultivated for two years as an Inner Sect Disciple of Green River Sword Mansion."

"Later, he left Cloud River County and joined the Crimson Scale Army under Cloud Radiance Marquis. He spent more than a year tempering himself and fighting on the battlefield, became accustomed to bloodshed and death, and achieved numerous military merits."

"A ruthless character like that is not someone those academy disciples who've never seen blood can compare to."

By the time he said this, he was already deeply worried, his brows tightly locked.

"So it was him."

Su Yi vaguely felt the name was familiar, and soon remembered.

During his third year cultivating at Green River Sword Mansion, Mo Tianling had already been an Inner Sect Disciple.

This person was cold and fierce by nature, his moods unpredictable. Because he had cruelly chopped off a fellow disciple's right arm during a martial bout, he triggered the fury of the sect's great figures, and they expelled him directly from Green River Sword Mansion.

Su Yi hadn't expected that, after so long, he would still hear news of this person.

"Mister Su, I also know that asking someone of your stature to participate in a martial contest is beneath you, but there truly is no other way. If you don't agree, that's fine too. I'll think of other options."

Seeing that Su Yi did not speak, Fu Shan could not help feeling uneasy, his heart lacking confidence.

At first, he had not thought to ask Su Yi for help either.

Later, after Nie Beihu reminded him, he suddenly remembered that Mister Su, whom Lingyao Princess revered like a deity, was now only seventeen years old!

At this age, he naturally could participate in the Dragon Gate Banquet.

Thus, after hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth, hardened his scalp, and came to ask for help.

Of course, he did not dare expect that a person of Su Yi's status would agree so easily. The reason he did this was also because he was holding onto the attitude of giving it a try.

Su Yi suddenly said, "I heard Green River Sword Mansion's Elder Zhou Huaiqiu and Ni Hao are here too. Why doesn't Lord Fu ask Ni Hao to act?"

Fu Shan smiled bitterly and shook his head. "For one, Zhou Huaiqiu and I have no friendship. For another, Zhou Huaiqiu and Ni Hao have both been staying with the Li Family these past few days."

"And as Mister Su knows, last time at the Wen Family Old Madam's Longevity Banquet, because of my attitude, I made Li Tianhan rather displeased, so..."

Su Yi nodded. "I understand. In that case, when the Dragon Gate Banquet begins, I'll go take a look too."

No matter what, Fu Shan had done him a great favor back at Gathering Immortals Pavilion. Even if Fu Shan had been acting on orders at the time, Su Yi couldn't very well fail to acknowledge the favor.

Now that the other party had come to his door, he naturally couldn't stand by with folded arms.

The opponent might not be worth a laugh, but going to have a look at the river scenery, at Lights Like Dragons, would be fine too.

Fu Shan was overjoyed. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "With Mister Su here, the overall situation can be settled! This Fu has not the slightest worry left!"

Fu Shan soon took his leave and departed.

Su Yi turned back to his room, removed his clothes, and soaked in the wooden tub that had long since been prepared for a medicinal bath.

Compared to agreeing to attend the Dragon Gate Banquet, he cared more about his own cultivation.

Over these past few days, Huang Qianjun had delivered a jar of bone soup brewed from spirit medicines every Early Morning.

Combined with the fifty spirit stones available for cultivation, Su Yi's cultivation progress had also been astonishing.

Just last night, he had thoroughly tempered the "Flesh Tendons" level to Great Perfection. The tendons throughout his body were like coiling dragons, harboring terrifying explosive power within their suppleness.

If the current him went to deal with Wu Ruoqiu at the "Qi Gathering Realm Aperture Opening" level, he would be able to kill him with ease.

"As expected, after beginning 'Flesh Bones,' ordinary medicinal herbs have already become all but ineffective..."

Very soon, Su Yi frowned slightly and rose from the wooden tub. On his seemingly lean and towering body, each muscle was sharply defined, fair and clear like jade.

The muscles and bones throughout his body could not be called burly, yet every inch of skin, flesh, and tendons contained power enough to make other martial artists unable to even glimpse his dust.

After wiping down his body and putting on his robes, Su Yi sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a spirit stone in each hand.

Flesh Bones was the final level of the Blood Moving Realm.

Reaching this realm was far harder to cultivate than Flesh Tendons. The core reason was that refining the bones to the point of "Marrow Like Frost" was simply too difficult!

Most martial artists in the Great Zhou Dynasty's world would be trapped in this realm their entire lives, unable to achieve a higher breakthrough.

Take Guangling City, for instance.

Blood Moving Realm martial artists were as numerous as ox hairs, but those at the Qi Gathering Realm were only a small handful.

The reason lay in the fact that "Flesh Bones" was too difficult, blocking the way like a heavenly chasm, so much so that they were unable to break through to a higher realm.

For Su Yi, the difficult part was not Flesh Bones, but cultivation resources.

Previously, he could still use ordinary medicinal herbs to support his cultivation.

Now, ordinary medicinal herbs were already of no use whatsoever.

He could only use spirit medicines, spirit stones, or cultivate in places where Spiritual Qi gathered!

But in the Great Zhou Dynasty, these were undoubtedly all extremely rare.

"I still have over thirty First Order Spirit Stones in hand. Without the aid of spirit medicines, I'll consume five each day of cultivation..."

"This can't go on. Perhaps I can consider leaving Guangling City."

As he cultivated, Su Yi pondered.

The Great Zhou Dynasty's territory was vast and expansive. Within the lands under its jurisdiction were the "Six Provinces Thirty-Six Counties."

One province covered six counties, and within each county were a number of cities.

Cloud River County, for instance, was one of Gun Province's six counties and possessed nineteen cities.

Guangling City was merely one of them.

On the Great Zhou Dynasty's territorial map, Guangling City could only be considered a remote little city in one of Great Zhou's distant regions.

Several years ago, Su Yi had chosen to come to Green River Sword Mansion in Cloud River County to cultivate precisely because Cloud River County's location was remote and extremely far from Jade Capital City.

This way, he could escape the influence of the Jade Capital Su Clan.

But he had not expected that when the day came that he lost all his cultivation, the Jade Capital City Su Clan's power would actually find him at the fastest possible speed!

Thus, after awakening the memories of his past life, Su Yi had long since made a decision—

He would leave Guangling City once his cultivation reached the Blood Moving Realm Great Perfection.

That way, even if he encountered some thorny matters after leaving, he would have the power to deal with them.

But the situation was different now.

Guangling City was ultimately only a remote city, and the cultivation resources it possessed were incomparably scarce.

If he wanted to continue cultivating, he had to consider going to a richer place.

For example, Cloud River County City.

Otherwise, it would be a case of even the cleverest housewife being unable to cook without rice.

"There's no hurry to leave. No matter what, before I leave, I should first make a trip to Cloud Cang Mountain."

Su Yi had not forgotten that there was a Six Yin Corpse Fiend on Ghost Mother Ridge, as well as Six Yin Grass and an Extreme Yang Flower.

Very likely, a section of Yin Sha Spiritual Vein was buried there too!

"Mm, in the legends, Ghost Mother Ridge has been a place haunted by ghosts since ancient times. When the time comes, I can take Qing Wan there for a look."

Su Yi thought of Qing Wan inside the Soul-Nourishing Gourd, and his brows could not help rising slightly.

That girl's spiritual fortune was not shallow at all!

Whether it was the Yin Sha Spiritual Vein or the Six Yin Grass, with his current cultivation, he still had no use for them right now.

But to a lowest-tier Yin Soul like her, they were all great tonics!

Three days later.

The much-anticipated "Dragon Gate Banquet" would begin tonight.

Su Yi stepped through the morning light, arriving as he had before at the bank of the Great Cang River outside the city, then headed toward that stretch of Mulberry Forest.

To him, today was not much different from before.

P.S. Just asking timidly—I'd like to add an extra update today. Do you all have any monthly tickets?