After the battle in Fengzhou.
Min Zimo rejected the mansion Gu Jinzhi had arranged for him and chose instead to live in an inconspicuous single-courtyard residence in Yujing City's outer district.
Apart from a stone table and a weapons rack, the courtyard contained nothing else.
By day, he went to the military camp outside the capital to help train the new army.
At night, he returned to the little courtyard and practiced his spear beneath the moon.
For three years, he had lived like an ascetic.
Half a year ago, his spear technique had finally reached Great Accomplishment, and he had comprehended spear intent.
When he occasionally sparred with Gu Jinzhi, a newly entered Third Order fighter against a Third Order peak, he could hold his own and match him blow for blow.
There had only been one time when they had gotten carried away fighting. He had failed to pull his hand and landed a vicious blow on Gu Jinzhi's forehead.
Afterward, a woman with little regard for martial virtue had chased him down and challenged him for three days. The scene had been exceptionally brutal.
Today, he was about to leave the Sky-Gazing Mirror. He had not gone to the Grand Assembly in the palace.
The little courtyard was deathly quiet. He sat cross-legged, his long spear lying across his knees, silently waiting.
In his mind, the events of the past three years flashed by like a revolving lantern.
The Great Dream Bodhisattva. The defense of Fengzhou. Gu Jinzhi. Jiang Xue.
Min Zimo tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a bitter, self-mocking smile.
Just then, the clamor of the market outside the courtyard abruptly ceased.
The wind stopped.
The falling leaves froze in midair.
The entire world seemed to have been pressed on pause.
His