Living Side by Side

"Haha, you flatter me, Great Mage. Please, come in. Let's sit down and talk." Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.

"Gladly."

Bai Yuanzhi didn't dare treat Dongbo Xueying like a mere youth. At such a young age, he had already managed to kill the Silver Moon Wolf King, which had been protected by a pack of wolves, and was widely recognized as the top expert in Yi Water City! In a few more years... he might very well reach Title-level and become a figure of great importance throughout Qinghe Prefecture. One stomp of his foot, and all of Qinghe Prefecture would tremble.

Besides, people said that 'Dongbo Xueying' was utterly obsessed with spear practice...

In the biographies of many extraordinary beings, there were stories of some who had gone mad with their obsession for painting or crafting weapons, or who spent every day staring blankly at the sky... Then, one day, they suddenly awakened and stepped into the extraordinary realm!

He's been this obsessed since childhood, and he's already this strong. He could very well reach Title-level someday. Maybe he'll even become extraordinary! Bai Yuanzhi muttered to himself. Of course, it was just a passing thought. Of all the people driven to madness by their insights into Heaven and Earth, very, very few ever truly became extraordinary.

The two walked side by side.

After entering the sitting room, they took their seats. Zong Ling and Tong San joined them as well.

"I'm still shocked by the news going around. He killed the notorious Gai Bin in just two or three moves! The entire Curved Blade Alliance collapsed because of it. In all my years, I've only heard of young and powerful lords like you among the favored children of great clans... This is the first time I've ever seen one with my own eyes." Bai Yuanzhi smiled warmly.

"You didn't come here today just to praise me, did you, Great Mage?" Dongbo Xueying asked.

He didn't pay much attention to the favored children cultivated by great clans with abundant resources, nor was he particularly proud of himself. His goal had always been to become extraordinary! Compared with the remarkable extraordinary beings described in the biographies, he was still quite ordinary.

"Hahaha, I did come here today to ask a favor of you, Lord." Bai Yuanzhi said.

"Please, Great Mage. If it's something I can help with, I'll do my best." Dongbo Xueying said.

"It's like this. My residence in Yi Water City is often disturbed by nobles, and I can't take it anymore!" Bai Yuanzhi sighed. "Some other mages are also interested in my research, so there are often petty thieves trying to steal my work. Now that I've got the Silver Moon Wolf King's heart from you, my research has finally made a major breakthrough! I'm worried there'll be even more trouble, so I've decided to move away from Yi Water City."

"Move away from Yi Water City?" Dongbo Xueying was surprised. "Have you chosen somewhere to live, Great Mage?"

His younger brother was going to study under him, after all.

"Haha, isn't that why I came to ask you? I'd like to choose a spot on Snow Stone Mountain and build a small house there." Bai Yuanzhi said with a smile. "Your Snow Stone Mountain is quiet, and it's up on a mountaintop. The mountain path is easy to defend, and there are several checkpoints, so petty thieves would have a hard time getting in. As for the nobles? Far fewer of them would be willing to travel hundreds of miles just to visit me."

"I'm a little embarrassed to impose on you, Lord." Bai Yuanzhi said.

Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling exchanged a glance.

They both understood what the other was thinking.

"Haha, I couldn't be happier! Having a Great Mage stationed in Snow Eagle Territory is a blessing for us." Dongbo Xueying said with a smile. "Snow Stone Mountain has many peaks, and plenty of empty space. Please feel free to choose any spot you like, Great Mage."

Bai Yuanzhi looked delighted. He'd known there was a good chance Dongbo Xueying would agree, but he was still very pleased. "Then I'll presume to pick one of the neighboring peaks."

"It's no trouble. You can start building whenever you like, Great Mage. If you need my help, just ask." Dongbo Xueying said.

"Building a small house is easy. I have a few disciples who are skilled in earth magic." Bai Yuanzhi said with a smile.

Building a castle or a grand city...

How difficult would it be for ordinary people to quarry and haul huge stones? But for those skilled in earth magic... with a powerful spell, the earth would split open and countless massive stones would gather. Construction would be much faster. Snow Stone Castle, for example, had been built by other mages. Although his mother was a Heaven-Rank Mage, she wasn't skilled in earth magic.

Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling stood by the railing, gazing into the distance.

Beyond the castle walls, they could see a stone house taking shape on a peak several miles away. With magic, the soil and rocks around it quickly formed into neat blocks. Huge stones floated into the air and began to assemble... Water shimmered and flames glowed across the walls, smoothing them into a seamless surface.

Great Mage Bai Yuanzhi had also begun carving magic arrays into the ground and walls around the house.

"Xue Ying, will Bai Yuanzhi bring trouble to us by coming here?" Zong Ling asked, a little worried.

"Don't worry. Bai Yuanzhi lived in Yi Water City for years without causing any major trouble. He won't cause trouble here, either." Dongbo Xueying said with a smile. "Even if trouble does come, it won't be too serious. If a Title-level expert comes looking for him, there'd be no point in him staying here. As long as they aren't Title-level experts, they're nothing to worry about!"

Zong Ling nodded.

Dongbo Xueying was in an excellent mood. With the Great Mage living here, Qing Shi could study magic without having to leave his side.

Snow Stone Mountain had several peaks.

Snow Stone Castle stood on the main peak, and the Mage Tower stood on another peak several miles away! On a quiet peak elsewhere on Snow Stone Mountain, five miles from the Mage Tower and more than three miles from the castle, a new bamboo house had also been built!

Dongbo Xueying had built the bamboo house himself. As a master with complete control over his strength, he'd made it quite beautiful.

"From today on, I'll spend most of my time living in the bamboo house on the back mountain." Dongbo Xueying said to Zong Ling, Tong San, and Qing Shi. "I'll leave the affairs of the territory to you, Uncle Zong. If something really important comes up and you absolutely need me, come find me."

"Understood." Zong Ling nodded.

"Brother, won't you get bored living in the bamboo house by yourself?" Qing Shi couldn't help asking.

"Haha... I won't get bored." Dongbo Xueying said with a laugh. He'd had the idea ever since reaching the Spear Technique Master realm.

As his spear skills had improved, he'd gained a deeper and more instinctive sense of the world around him.

The way grass grew, the solidity of the earth and mountains, the liveliness of the wind, the drifting of leaves... Everything amazed him. For so many years, he'd never realized that the natural world was so beautiful! To him, living in a secluded bamboo house was a pleasure.

There were different paths to mastering spear techniques...

Some soldiers started with mediocre foundations. They honed their skills in life-or-death battles, discovered the many flaws in their techniques, and gradually corrected them until they were perfect. They reached unity of man and spear, and eventually became Spear Technique Masters. Ultimately, they still had to follow the path of 'learning from nature.'

Dongbo Xueying was different.

He didn't particularly like pushing himself to the brink of death. Instead, during ordinary training, he studied his skills again and again, finding his weaknesses and improving on them. This incredibly solid foundation... had only been possible through an extraordinarily obsessive training regimen. It had made his foundation in spear techniques incredibly solid, so he naturally reached unity of man and spear. When he fought the Shadow Leopard, just a slight push from the threat of death had been enough to bring him to the Spear Technique Master realm.

Even without that brush with death, he would naturally have broken through in another year or two.

Dongbo Xueying preferred this kind of slow accumulation followed by a sudden breakthrough, rather than risking his life again and again.

"Brother, then it's okay if I come visit you often, right?" Qing Shi asked quickly.

"Haha, you can come whenever you want. If I have time, I'll come find you, too." Dongbo Xueying teased him with a smile.

Zong Ling looked at Dongbo Xueying, standing there in black, and sighed inwardly.

Learning from nature?

Easy to say, but without reaching the right level, you couldn't even get close.

From then on, Dongbo Xueying began spending most of his time in the secluded bamboo house on the back mountain of Snow Stone Mountain. He started a life of carrying water, chopping wood, and cooking. He drank spring water, sat by the stream in quiet contemplation, and practiced spear techniques in the bamboo grove.