Breaking Through Heaven's Gate

The rest of February passed peacefully in Shangyu County.

Li Shun found life as acting county magistrate exceptionally leisurely.

Each morning, he handled official business. His afternoons were his own.

Sometimes he secluded himself to cultivate; sometimes he lost himself in the mountains and rivers.

Shangyu lay on a plain ringed by mountains. After years of dredging by Qian Yuan and generations of waterworks officials, waterways crisscrossed the county like woven silk. It had the charm of a southern waterside town without losing the rugged beauty of its layered peaks.

"If life could stay this peaceful, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all."

Outside Shangyu City, on Three Elders Peak.

Li Shun gazed into the distance from the heights. Watching the clouds unfurl and curl, he could not help but sigh.

"Yes. Shangyu County really is a pleasant place to stay. If this goes on, I'm afraid I'll forget Elder Wei's charge altogether," Li Qing said wistfully.

There were quite a few other visitors on the summit, so Li Qing did not openly mention his cultivation goal of Emperor-Slaying.

"I wonder where Elder Wei is now." A trace of longing entered Li Qing's voice.

"Look! What's that?!" While the brothers chatted, cries of astonishment suddenly rose from the visitors nearby.

They looked toward the commotion.

Amid the swirling clouds and mist, three elderly figures appeared faintly in the sky.

They sat cross-legged, seemingly talking among themselves.

Seven-colored auspicious clouds surrounded their illusory forms, making them seem like a dream.

"The Three Elders have manifested!"

After a stunned moment, a roar like mountains shouting and seas surging erupted from the summit. The visitors dropped to their knees and bowed devoutly toward the figures in the clouds.

"The Three Elders..."

Li Shun narrowed his eyes at the uncanny sight ahead.

He