Wake Up, You Don't Have a Falcon

By the time everyone came to their senses, wisps of green smoke were already curling above the Sword Terrace. The air was thick with the acrid smell of singed feathers, mingled with a mouthwatering, utterly divine aroma of meat.

Zhang Pingzhi turned his head and immediately froze.

The two giant falcons that had just been perched on the crooked pine by the cliff...

One had vanished without a trace.

The other had been reduced to a pile of feathers!

Where were my falcons?

Who killed my falcons?

His gaze shifted.

Not far from the crooked pine.

A long, sharpened bamboo pole had been threaded through the plucked, gutted falcon and propped over a makeshift roasting rack of bamboo stalks and iron swords.

Salt-Beard Grass, Wild Mountain Pepper, and Cumin Fruit covered the naked falcon.

Beneath the Bamboo Platform, the fire crackled, flames devouring green bamboo branches and leaves.

Bathed in the Green Leaf Spirit Fire and the essence of hundreds of Seasoning Fruits, an aroma that went straight to the soul burst from the falcon like a volcano erupting.

The mountain breeze wafted by, carrying that outrageously delicious aroma across the entire Floating Mountain.

The fragrance seeped into everyone's soul, spreading in an instant to every cell in their bodies.

Their skin and hair, their organs, their sinews and bones—even every cell in their bodies—trembled as one, as though letting out cries of delight.

Zhang Pingzhi nearly lost himself, immersed in the savory aroma of the roasted falcon.

It smells so good...

No!

"My falcon—"

He suddenly shrieked.

Zhang Pingzhi's howl jolted everyone awake. They all turned to look at Lu Ya and the others.

Beside the enormous roasting rack, Muyu Feifei was grinning as she added kindling and blew on the flames. Suddenly, a burst of fire shot up and singed the tiger fur above both their foreheads into curls.

Lu Ya stood to the side, steadily turning the falcon. His movements were simple, his gaze warm.

What was with this cozy atmosphere?

Less than fifteen minutes had passed since Zhang Pingzhi and the other man had stepped onto the Sword Terrace.

Lu Ya was roasting the falcon only twenty-odd yards from Tahongzi, who was the closest to him.

Such a short time.

Such a short distance.

How had the three of them managed to kill the falcon, pluck it, gut it, build a roasting rack, start a fire, and roast it right under everyone's noses?

It was said that Liu Xuanye of the Bamboo Spring Sect excelled at the Three Thousand Sword Forms, able to kill without a trace, while Ning Zhongzi was skilled at refining black poison that could kill high-level spirit beasts... Could the three of them have been aided by Liu Xuanye's sword shadows and Ning Zhongzi's black poison?

Tahongzi fell into thought and looked up at a certain area of the sky.

Zhang Pingzhi's mind went blank. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A mere Immortal Commoner had roasted an Immortal Court spirit beast in full view of everyone?

Forget how you managed it. What gave you the nerve to do it?

Were you openly declaring war on the Immortal Court?

Shocked and trembling with rage, Zhang Pingzhi clenched his teeth and spat out each word.

"You actually roasted my falcon?"

Lu Ya focused on roasting the falcon. He didn't even look at Zhang Pingzhi, merely tossing out a casual reply.

"Wake up. You don't have a falcon."

I don't have a falcon?

As a eunuch, Zhang Pingzhi was especially sensitive and vulnerable when it came to anything below the waist.

Lu Ya had unwittingly touched a raw nerve. Anger darkened his brow, and his face turned icy.

His already crooked nose seemed to twist even further, and his long, pointed fingers trembled slightly.

"How dare you!"

"For slaughtering an Immortal Court spirit beast, there will be no place for the Bamboo Spring Sect in the Immortal Realm!"

"Liu Xuanye, Ning Zhongzi, and you three traitors—all of you will die!"

His voice sounded calm and restrained, yet he was already on the verge of madness.

But as soon as the words left his mouth—

A breeze rose, and the bamboo grove behind them rustled like waves, repeating his voice.

Not those last few sentences, but echoes of things he had said earlier...

[You know it's been since the founding of the sect, don't you? How many years has it been? Times have changed. No matter which of you killed Yunzhongzi, if you want to claim the Immortal Court's bounty, you have to hand over the spoils.]

[Rules are made by people. This is a special case. The bounty for Yunzhongzi may not be much, but the Immortal Court will issue you a certificate, which will greatly benefit your sect's reputation.]

[You don't want Sect Master Liu investigated, do you?]

Lu Ya had long since copied his words into the bamboo grove using a sound-replay restriction...

Zhang Pingzhi's voice caught in his throat.

"You—"

Lu Ya leisurely turned the roasting falcon, his words laden with meaning.

"If I send this recording to your superiors and tell them you tried to keep the spoils from the Bamboo Spring Sect, you'll lose more than your falcon. You'll lose your job, too."

Zhang Pingzhi instantly regained his composure. A faint hint of murderous intent flashed in his cold eyes.

Immortal Court deacons couldn't kill people at will, but if the evidence was conclusive, they could execute first and report afterward.

"Are you daring to slander an Immortal Court deacon?"

Before Lu Ya could react, Zhang Pingzhi's narrow eyes tightened.

An invisible, soundless blade of energy shot straight at Lu Ya, capable of killing without a trace.

This man had to die!

Lu Ya continued roasting the falcon.

Muyu Feifei gathered kindling and fed the fire. Even with the tiger fur above her forehead singed into curls, she was still enjoying herself. You bring a branch, I bring a leaf—the more kindling, the higher the flames. She paid no attention to anything else.

Ning Zhongzi noticed the blade of energy. She looked at Zhang Pingzhi and shook her head without a word, as though gazing at a dead man.

Zhang Pingzhi's face remained impassive.

The silent blade of energy slashed straight at Lu Ya, intent on killing him instantly.

Just then, a vast pressure from an Immortal Sect Master descended from the sky!

Like Mount Tai crashing down and ten thousand swords hanging point-down, it instantly shattered the invisible blade of energy Zhang Pingzhi had unleashed.

The fierce pressure continued to sink, crashing down on Zhang Pingzhi and forcing him onto one knee. No matter how desperately the spiritual power within him resisted, he couldn't fight it off.

Who was it?

Seeing this, Tahongzi instinctively reached for her sword, but before she could draw it, the pressure forced her to her knees as well.

The two men knelt in abject submission, their eyes nearly bursting from their sockets. Their qi seas churned violently as they summoned all their strength just to raise their heads and look up at the sky.

An Immortal Sect Master?

How could the Bamboo Spring Sect have an Immortal Sect Master?

It wasn't the man in front of them!

Then who was it?

Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi were both young talents from high-level immortal domains. Though they were not yet two thousand years old, they had already reached the cultivation of nine-star Immortal Masters.

At their age and cultivation level, they counted as peerless geniuses in a remote place like the East Floating Immortal District, but in a high-level immortal domain, they were nothing special.

As Immortal Court deacons, they had volunteered to train in the remote Colored Cloud Immortal Domain. Thinking themselves young, powerful, and far from the emperor's reach, they had planned to rake in a fortune, cross their tribulation and enter the Immortal Sect realm as soon as possible, then return to the Immortal Academy and qualify for special cultivation.

Before today, they had sailed through every obstacle and never met defeat. Even the Immortal Sect Masters of some sects had shown them deference.

Then they had come to a tiny Bamboo Spring Sect...

The falcon had been roasted.

They were on their knees.

And someone had even recorded their rule-breaking threat as evidence.

Who was it?!

Zhang Pingzhi's eyes bulged. He craned his neck and forced his head up.

"Senior, if you openly oppose the Immortal Court, why not show yourself and speak?"

"Oppose the Immortal Court?"

A solemn voice drifted slowly from deep within the bamboo grove.

It was Liu Xuanye!

Lu Ya continued roasting the bird as though no one else were there, thinking that his wife really was merciful.

Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi knelt in abject submission, their faces full of confusion.

Wasn't Liu Xuanye a nine-star Immortal Master?

Hadn't she been unable to advance to the Immortal Sect realm for a thousand years because of her demonic constitution?

They said she had nearly destroyed the Bamboo Spring Sect when she first reached the Immortal Master realm!

How had she advanced to the Immortal Sect realm without anyone noticing?

Only then did they realize why even someone as cautious as Yunzhongzi had met his downfall at the Bamboo Spring Sect.

This woman had been hiding her strength and waiting for them to lower their guard!

But why would Liu Xuanye attack Immortal Court deacons over a man who was only her nominal Dao companion?

Zhang Pingzhi gritted his teeth and smiled.

"For the sake of a man, you'd attack an Immortal Court deacon. Sect Master Liu, you really are a woman of passion."

"Does the future of the Bamboo Spring Sect mean less to you than an ordinary man?"

"Or are you planning to abandon your sect?"

From deep within the bamboo grove, her voice rang out like the moon hanging in the sky.

"I'm protecting you."

Zhang Pingzhi:

"???"

"If I let the two of you run wild, someone will die. Since you're already here, come out and speak, Deacon Black Stone."

Liu Xuanye had long since discovered Black Stone hiding his presence in the sky. Her voice, solemn as the moon, struck straight upward.

Ning Zhongzi gave a slight start and looked up at the sky.

That old fox...

The shadowy outline of a huge eagle slowly emerged above the Bamboo Spring Sect.

The sky gradually darkened.

An even more forceful pressure from an Immortal Sect Master descended upon the Sword Terrace. It swiftly freed Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi from their kneeling positions, then withdrew in an instant.

It began with the majesty of the Immortal Court.

It stopped at the courtesy owed to a guest.

He didn't use his superior cultivation to forcefully defend Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi against Liu Xuanye.

Lu Ya had noticed this Black Deacon long ago. Seeing that he was far more sensible than Zhang Pingzhi, he looked up.

A figure stood atop the enormous eagle's head.

A six-star Immortal Sect Master!

To avoid being hurt by Liu Xuanye, the man wore a thick black mask, wrapped up like a mummy.

And he had no intention of landing on the Sword Terrace.

His dry, heavy voice drifted down from the sky.

"You two have disappointed me. Hurry up and thank her for showing mercy."

Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi didn't quite understand Black Stone's reasoning and felt deeply humiliated, but since Senior Black Stone had said so, they didn't dare make trouble. They could only grit their teeth and offer their thanks.

"Thank you, Sect Master Liu."

"Thank you."

Black Stone stood with his hands behind his back atop the eagle's head, then bowed toward the west of the Bamboo Spring Sect.

"Congratulations on entering the Immortal Sect realm, Sect Master Liu."

His tone sounded calm.

But it still betrayed his shock.

"Since you don't even dare come down, I imagine you won't be staying long?"

The woman's voice from deep within the bamboo grove was solemn and languid, no different from before.

Deacon Black Stone was an old acquaintance of the Bamboo Spring Sect. He wasn't exactly friend or foe; he simply liked to skim a little off the top while carrying out his orders.

Seeing Liu Xuanye advance to the Immortal Sect realm, he was clearly much more respectful.

"I'll take the ashes of the Black Lotus members back to East Floating City for verification. If everything checks out, I'll notify you to collect the bounty."

"Thank you."

As for Lu Ya's registration among the ranks of the immortals...

Black Stone still seemed to have reservations of his own.

Even though Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi had started it, Lu Ya had killed and roasted an Immortal Court Hunting Falcon without authorization. It was a grave offense that damaged the Immortal Court's prestige, yet Black Stone seemed not to care at all.

Black Stone sensed something unusual and asked tentatively,

"Young man, do you know that what you roasted was an Immortal Court spirit beast?"

His voice carried no spiritual pressure, yet it inspired awe without anger and sent a chill through the listeners.

Liu Xuanye remained impassive.

Ning Zhongzi's expression was grave.

Muyu Feifei was so frightened that she didn't dare add any more kindling.

Zhang Pingzhi and Tahongzi stood straight, their awe-inspiring immortal might spilling from their bodies.

As he roasted the bird, Lu Ya asked with curiosity:

"What's the difference?"

His tone held only curiosity and discernment about good food, with no other emotion to be heard.

The Sword Terrace fell utterly silent.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Black Stone said nothing, the qi sea within him churning.

After a long while, he suppressed the roiling qi sea and said coldly:

"The Immortal Realm is vast. Go out and see more of it."

"You're sure you want me to... see more?"

Lu Ya slowly raised his head and looked toward Eagle Eye.

A terrified shriek split the sky!