One Step, Ten Zhang

Qiu Zhong knelt in the county yamen for an entire day. In the end, he fainted and collapsed, and kindhearted people sent him home.

Archway Street was still buzzing with discussion. They said that Young Master Ji had not even dared to visit the Qiu family again today.

Yet no one saw that, when the stars and moon wheeled across the sky that night, waves of air circled through the empty streets. The clouds in the Night Sky were shredded away, and the disturbance continued without pause throughout the night, making the bloody scar that cleaved across the heavens appear all the more terrifying.

The steward of the neighboring Kuang Family rose during the hour of the pig to relieve himself. When he stepped into the courtyard, he suddenly realized that tonight's sky was brighter than it had ever been.

Beneath that same sky, Celestial Academy instructor Cao Jinsong gazed gravely into the distant heavens, recalling the Aura within the Ji residence.

A rogue cultivator...

A rogue cultivator from the countryside, not yet twenty, already in the Nirvana Realm and just one step away from Perfection of the Lower Three Realms.

Such a thing was simply unheard of.

But what was even more absurd was... that person had clearly only entered the Nirvana Realm at dusk, yet had immediately begun charging toward Perfection of the Lower Three Realms. By now, two full hours had passed!

Did he truly believe someone could break through two realms in a single day?

One had to know that throughout the ages, the shortest time it had taken to go from Nirvana to Perfection of Cultivation was half a year. Even the peerless geniuses of the present age who had ascended before were no exception!

This was no longer a question of whether he could succeed. Did he truly have no fear of death?

Yuyang County belonged to Abundant Prefecture, and Cao Jinsong's mortal ancestral home was also in Abundant Prefecture. Yet for over a century, Abundant Prefecture had not produced a single person under twenty who had reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms.

He cherished talent. That was why he had given no sign of it back on Archway Street. He had originally intended to wait a year, pretend he knew nothing, and admit him into the Celestial Academy the following year.

But he had not expected that the boy did not cherish his own life.

Still, Cao Jinsong could understand. The other party was risking his life like this most likely for that mortal girl who was about to be seized and refined into medicine.

A rogue cultivator in the Nirvana Realm was still a rogue cultivator, one who could not stand in the light. Only by reaching Perfection of Cultivation before the girl was taken up the mountain could he shed his Mortal Registry, enter the Immortal Registry, join the Celestial Academy, and seek his master's protection.

But unfortunately, he would soon learn that reaching perfection in a single night was nothing but a fool's dream.

And once his breakthrough failed, if he saw that girl being taken up the mountain again, his Dao heart might shatter completely. Even if it did not, he would surely be plagued by a grave Inner Demon...

Because he cherished talent, Cao Jinsong was deeply worried.

Just then, Pei Ruyi had finished cultivating. She suddenly noticed Instructor Cao sighing in the courtyard. After watching him for some time, confusion appeared on her face, and she pushed open the door and walked out.

Ever since that rogue cultivator had appeared in Yuyang County, she had always felt that the instructor seemed weighed down by worries.

"Instructor? Why are you still in the courtyard at such a late hour?"

"Fengxian Mountain Villa will come to call tomorrow. Tell Magistrate Fang to invite the Qiu father and daughter here. The two of us will find a way to protect that Qiu family girl."

"?"

The next morning, the day for collecting taxes and tribute had arrived. Carriages streamed endlessly through Yuyang County, and voices clamored everywhere. Besides the Constabulary Officers, the Swift Squad and Vigorous Squad had all taken to the streets, inspecting and escorting the tribute carts.

But the matter drawing the most attention was still that of the Qiu family girl.

For that very morning, immortals from Fengxian Mountain Villa had arrived in Yuyang County and paid a visit to the Celestial Academy immortals residing in the county yamen.

Afterward, yamen runners went outside the city and brought Qiu Ru to the county yamen. Old Qiu refused to let go, so he too was escorted there under guard. Of the family of three, only Li Shuping remained behind, collapsing unconscious in the courtyard on the spot.

Everyone who heard of it sighed in regret. The Qiu family, it seemed, was doomed to see their home destroyed and their family scattered.

Fang Ruoyao stood beneath the covered corridor at that moment. Jia Sicong, Dong Wei, and the others who had come to see her off were nearby. Even Kuang Cheng had been urged by his elders to come.

A young man named Guo Ziying arrived late, his face full of apology.

"While passing Archway Street just now, I heard a strange humming that made my heart tremble with fear. I stopped to look for a while, so I was delayed. What are the immortals discussing now?"

"They... they are discussing the Qiu family matter. Those immortals from Fengxian Mountain Villa do not seem very friendly."

Fang Ruoyao spoke as she watched, a trace of confusion flashing through her eyes.

Back then, the Seven Great Immortal Sects had made an agreement not to interfere in one another's affairs.

She did not understand why the instructor, who had never asked about the Qiu family girl since arriving in Yuyang, had suddenly changed his usual manner today...

In the blink of an eye, it was the third quarter of noon. The grain carts dispatched by the county yamen had brought back Great Xia's taxes and tribute, which were being registered and stored at the entrance. Yet the atmosphere inside the hall had grown increasingly grave.

This should have been the time for them to depart for Shengjing. Fang Ruoyao was somewhat anxious, uncertain whether they would still be able to set off today.

Unlike her, however, the others were more concerned with whether the Celestial Academy could save the Qiu family girl. After all, going to the capital was a matter concerning Miss Fang alone, while whether the Qiu family girl could be saved was far more intriguing.

But judging by the situation in the hall, Fengxian Mountain Villa did not seem willing to yield. The atmosphere was becoming ever more tense.

It seemed that even the Celestial Academy, revered as the foremost sect under heaven, could not truly command all immortals. In the end, the Qiu family girl likely still could not escape death.

Just then, a yamen runner stationed at the county yamen came rushing over in a panic. After gasping for breath, he nearly crashed into a corridor pillar in his confusion.

"Reporting to Miss, th-that young master of the Ji Family has come."

"?"

Fang Ruoyao and those seeing her off snapped back to attention. After exchanging glances, they found it strange. "What has he come here for?"

The yamen runner shook his head. "This lowly one does not know."

"Could he have come to plead for that Qiu family girl?"

Jia Sicong, standing nearby, laughed when he heard that. "No, no. If he truly wanted to plead for her, why did he not come the day before yesterday? Why not yesterday? Why choose today instead? I think... he has come to see Miss Fang off to the capital. That man was so afraid of being implicated by the Qiu family that he hid at home for two days, yet he has made a special trip to bolster Miss Fang's courage. His feelings truly run deep."

At those words, everyone beneath the covered corridor could not help laughing.

Not long ago, when Fang Ruoyao had entertained her friends and guests, she had not invited him. Who would have thought he would come rushing over like a clown with a painted face, pressing his warm face against someone else's cold backside?

Fang Ruoyao frowned as well after hearing this and looked at the constable. "Brother Zhong, please help me stop him. Tell him I appreciate the thought and ask him to go back."

"I-I tried to stop him, but I couldn't."

"Why couldn't you stop him?"

The constable surnamed Zhong swallowed and spoke tremblingly. "Reporting to Miss Fang, for some reason, that young master of the Ji Family... his entire body is glowing..."

"???"

After hearing the constable's report, everyone froze. What did he mean, his entire body was glowing? Yet before anyone could ask, a violent blast of air suddenly surged up at the entrance.

Between the gate and the main hall lay a courtyard enclosed by covered corridors, its center planted with many autumn chrysanthemums that Magistrate Fang loved.

The instant that wild wave swept through the gate, every chrysanthemum shed all its blossoms and leaves. Then a figure came striding in like the wind, crossing ten zhang in a single step, Immortal Light bursting around him so brightly that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

Then Ji You appeared out of thin air in the courtyard, waves of air roiling around him, his presence rumbling like war drums.

Ordinarily, Young Master Ji was, in everyone's eyes, a monkey with no proper bearing, a timid and cowardly mouse.

But at this moment, he resembled a white-browed tiger with hanging eyes, his momentum surging as though he were descending the mountain. A mere sidelong glance from him felt sharp enough to cut.

And beyond the Immortal Light and his imposing aura, the Young Master Ji before them seemed to have changed into a new set of clothes.

He usually wore an old indigo robe, but now he had changed into brocade robes patterned with clouds and embroidered in gold thread. It was as though the dissolute young dandy who had once swaggered through the streets had come back to life—yet he now possessed an ethereal air of immortality that he had lacked before.

Among Yuyang County's younger generation, Kuang Cheng was widely acknowledged to be the most proper and refined in appearance. Yet the decline of the Ji Family seemed to have made many people forget that Ji You had once been no less handsome.

In that instant, the entire covered corridor fell silent as a grave. Countless gazes converged upon the figure amid the Immortal Light.

Jia Sicong, Dong Wei, Fang Ruoyao... shock filled everyone's eyes. Even Kuang Cheng, a man who rarely smiled or spoke lightly, had widened his eyes.

Ever since disaster had struck the Ji Family, no one in the county had ever thought highly of that young master of the Ji Family.

Especially this time, when he had hidden in his home for two days without even stepping out of the front gate, giving everyone cause to sneer at him for who knew how long.

In their view, Young Master Ji could not possibly hide for the rest of his life. Once the little girl had been sent up the mountain, no matter how frightened he was, it would be about time for him to show his face.

When that time came and they saw him again, there would be even more mockery on their tongues.

Just as when disaster had befallen the Ji Family and the Fang Residence had broken off the engagement, they would laugh at his meekness, laugh at him for being timid as a mouse, laugh that having lived such a life, he might as well go die.

Or they might use the fact that Miss Fang had already gone to Shengjing to embark upon the path to needle him, teasingly asking whether Young Master Ji planned to rise through his wife's status.

But they had never expected that Ji You would arrive today in a roaring rush, striding as though riding the wind and crossing ten zhang in a single step...

An immortal...

His aura soared to the heavens, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

Ji You, who had hidden at home for two days without coming out, was an immortal...

And the one least able to recover from the shock was Miss Fang, who had once shared a written marriage contract with him.

As early as five days ago, she had received news that she had been selected by the Celestial Academy. From then on, she had always regarded herself as a cultivator; in her daily speech, it was always how the Celestial Academy did this and how cultivators such as themselves did that.

But only today, when she saw Immortal Light roiling around Ji You and waves of air billowing like the sea, did she understand.

Before the fiancé whose engagement she had forcibly broken off, she—who had always called herself a cultivator—was nothing more than an utterly ordinary mortal.

"How is that possible..."

"He clearly... kept hiding at home..."

Fang Ruoyao stared wide-eyed, as though she were witnessing Arabian Nights.