White Jade Capital's Yan Tower Commander, Yu Jin!

Quite a lively affair.

Then it returned to calm.

After cultivating Hidden Force, Chen Jichuan continued his bitter training as before. His body was declining year by year; even reaching the Hidden Force level could not reverse it. He trained diligently, but his efficiency steadily fell.

This was unavoidable for many martial artists.

Chen Jichuan was no exception.

Fortunately—

With Hidden Force tempering his body, the decline had been greatly slowed. At this rate, Chen Jichuan still had hope of permeating his entire body with Hidden Force before old age, thereby climbing another step higher.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, several more months went by.

In reality—

Ten days had passed since the day "Hero Yu uprooted the Immortal Jujube Tree alive."

South Creek Mountain.

Rubble Stone Forest.

Sheng Dayang looked haggard as he paced back and forth, seemingly lost in thought.

Beside him—

Sheng Xiaotian wore a short shirt and fidgeted like Aunt Ma on a hot griddle, occasionally poking his head out from behind the rubble to look outside.

Sometimes he looked left, sometimes right.

He ran about nonstop, his face full of both anticipation and anxiety.

"Dad."

"Could Hero Yu not be coming after all?"

Sheng Xiaotian had waited until he was frantic and ran over to ask his father.

"He'll come."

Sheng Dayang shook his head.

Yet even he was uncertain.

His thoughts were different from ten days ago. Over these ten days, he had considered much—

Should he take his son and hide away in the deep mountains and ancient forests?

Or leave Shian Commandery and begin anew in neighboring Linghe Commandery?

After thinking it over and over—

Neither seemed right.

Stay in the mountains?

Live out their lives in miserable obscurity?

He did not care, but Xiaotian was only nine years old. Was his son supposed to remain a mountain villager for life as well?

Go to Linghe Commandery?

Live in stifling secrecy under assumed names?

But could they truly live in peace? Back in Yongfu County, he had obediently kept out of trouble, yet the moment his "immortal arts" were exposed, the Li River Gang had come knocking and destroyed his family.

No one could guarantee they would not encounter the same thing in Linghe Commandery.

After repeated consideration—

Running away, hiding, and concealing their identities were not solutions.

These days—

Sheng Dayang had hidden with his son in the home of a mountain villager named Li Laosan. Li Laosan's old mother had once suffered from rheumatism and chronic cold-leg pain. Sheng Dayang cured her, and seeing how poor Li Laosan's family was, he had not charged them.

When they fled into the mountains this time—

It was thanks to Li Laosan's help that they had not been left sleeping in the wilds.

But it was precisely because they had stayed with Li Laosan for ten days that Sheng Dayang saw the hardship of mountain villagers' lives—

Hunting and farming every day.

It sounded carefree and pleasant, but in truth they toiled day after day and still could not save more than a few coins in a year.

"Xiaotian and I both possess 'immortal arts.'"

"We are children chosen by heaven!"

"Why should we live so wretchedly?!"

Sheng Dayang suddenly awakened.

The moment ten days were up—

Early in the morning, he brought the jubilant Sheng Xiaotian to Rubble Stone Forest. Yet at this point, Sheng Dayang had lost his usual calm. He worried that Hero Yu might have disliked his attitude that day and would not come after all.

Father and son waited anxiously.

Their hearts uneasy.

When the sun rose, Sheng Xiaotian, who had been running all around, suddenly jumped up and shouted excitedly, "Hero Yu! Hero Yu! We're here!"

"Hero Yu!"

Sheng Dayang jolted and ran to his son's side, looking in the indicated direction. He saw a man of average build striding toward them in a fitted black outfit.

The man wore a wrapped cloth around his head and a metal mask over his face, covering the lower half and revealing only his eyes and forehead.

His face was hidden.

His clothes were different.

But from his bearing and manner, Sheng Dayang recognized him at a glance—

Yu Jin!

"Have you made up your mind?"

Wearing a metal mask, Chen Jichuan looked at Sheng Dayang.

A black cloth over the face was too low-rent.

When he had stepped in to save them that day, he had not had time to prepare beforehand. With some time to spare afterward, Chen Jichuan had Chen Shaohe use the Flame Control Technique to melt down iron swords and forge several masks.

Once he put one on—

His air of grandeur truly shot up at once.

"I have."

"I am willing to follow you, Hero, and wipe out the Li River Gang!"

Looking at the mask on "Yu Jin's" face, Sheng Dayang found him ever more mysterious and powerful. Hearing the question, he hurriedly answered in a deep voice.

Sheng Xiaotian was equally excited and jumped as he shouted, "Hero Yu, I'm willing too!"

"White Jade Capital exists to cultivate immortality, seek the Dao, attain longevity, and gain deathlessness."

"Eradicating the Li River Gang is merely something done along the way."

Chen Jichuan spoke blandly.

One person's strength was limited.

When everyone gathered firewood, the flames rose high.

He intended to draw in people like Sheng Dayang, who bore grudges against the Li River Gang and Wusheng Sect, and eradicate their enemies. But afterward, he also wanted to occupy the Black Prison and the Water Mansion, obtaining Spirit Stones and Clam Pearls.

If their initial slogan and goal were merely to eradicate the Li River Gang and Wusheng Sect, then once that goal was achieved, this "organization" would have no guiding principle for action and would inevitably fall apart into chaos.

Therefore—

From the very beginning, Chen Jichuan had to paint Sheng Dayang and the others a grand vision—

Cultivating immortality.

Eternal life and deathlessness!

Even after their great vengeance was fulfilled, they would still share the same ideals and pursuits. On the road of seeking immortality and pursuing longevity, they could help and support one another.

"Cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao?"

"Eternal life and deathlessness?"

Sheng Dayang was stunned, and a strange feeling welled up inside him.

After all, he was not a modern person steeped in online literature. He had no idea what Great Chu's transformation of heaven and earth represented. Though six years had passed and he had obtained "immortal arts," his thinking remained constrained.

At heart, he had only intended to follow "Yu Jin" and overthrow the Li River Gang.

But who would have thought that Chen Jichuan would set such an enormous goal before him? Sheng Dayang was completely bewildered for a moment.

Sheng Xiaotian, however—

At his young age, he was most easily captivated. Upon hearing "immortal" and "longevity," his heart burned hot. "Hero Yu, I want to cultivate immortality and seek the Dao too! I want eternal life and deathlessness too!"

"Seeking immortality is difficult."

"Harder than climbing to the blue sky."

"Since you have the will, you must cultivate diligently from now on."

Chen Jichuan felt not the slightest shame at deceiving a child.

He took two iron plaques from his robe, each about the size of a circle formed by thumb and forefinger, and handed one each to Sheng Dayang and Sheng Xiaotian.

"This is—"

Sheng Dayang accepted it. The iron plaque felt cold in his hand. On one side were the three words "White Jade Capital," with the two smaller words "Yan Tower" at the lower right.

On the other side of the iron plaque were four words: "Divine Strategist."

"White Jade Capital."

"Yan Tower."

"Three-Mountain Suppressor."

Sheng Xiaotian had attended elementary school for two or three years and could read. Holding the iron plaque, he read the words aloud, his face full of curiosity. "Hero Yu, what do the words on this mean?"

Sheng Dayang also looked toward Chen Jichuan.

"In heaven stands White Jade Capital, with twelve towers and five cities."

"Six years ago, Great Chu underwent its transformation of heaven and earth. Five martial Grandmasters in Yong Prefecture founded 'White Jade Capital,' each commanding a region and each called a 'City Lord.' Beneath the five cities stand twelve towers. I am the master of Yan Tower, ranked twelfth among them."

Chen Jichuan lied through his teeth.

It had to be said—

The Banished Immortal's poem, <After the Chaos, Bestowed Grace to Journey by Night to Yelang: Recalling Old Travels, I Write My Feelings and Present Them to Prefect Wei Liangzai of Jiangxia>, truly overflowed with immortal aura.

In his previous life—

All sorts of protagonists had used that poem to show off so often that Chen Jichuan had nearly vomited from reading it.

But now that it was his turn to use it, he felt indescribably satisfied. Especially when he saw Sheng Dayang and his son being bluffed into stunned silence, he was even more pleased.

His expression revealed none of it.

Chen Jichuan continued, "Those who enter White Jade Capital are not questioned about their origins or pasts. Each receives a code name. From this day onward, when you encounter others within White Jade Capital, you are 'Divine Strategist' and 'Three-Mountain Suppressor.'"

The iron plaques had been forged from the iron swords acquired ten days earlier.

Chen Shaohe repeatedly fired clay molds.

After working for ten days, he had forged dozens of iron plaques. Chen Jichuan selected the two finest and most successful ones and brought them along.

The plaques looked superficial.

But Chen Jichuan knew that a sense of ceremony was indispensable. It was an important part of forging a sense of belonging.

From Sheng Dayang's dazzled expression, Chen Jichuan knew this move had been the right one.

"Good heavens!"

"Hero Yu is so formidable, yet he can only rank seventeenth in this White Jade Capital! How many experts must there be in it?!"

Sheng Dayang truly took to it.

Holding the iron plaque, his heart grew hot.

Originally, he had only wanted to follow Chen Jichuan, wipe out the Li River Gang, and avenge his old mother. But now his fighting spirit had been stirred. White Jade Capital! I, Sheng Dayang, possess immortal arts—why can't I cultivate immortality and attain longevity?!

Sheng Xiaotian did not think that far ahead.

Holding the iron plaque, he was simply delighted. He turned it over and over, unable to stop looking at it, his heart blooming with joy. Three-Mountain Suppressor—what a mighty title. From now on, I'll be called Three-Mountain Suppressor!

He was young.

Whether at school or at home, he had always merely been treated as a child. No one had ever regarded him as an adult.

This time—

Chen Jichuan treated him as an equal to his father, Sheng Dayang. It made Sheng Xiaotian's heart blossom, giving him a wholly different feeling.

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