Fortune Is Won Amid Peril, and So Is the Great Dao

Lianshan Xin was not sleepy yet.

He believed anyone with a dream was remarkable.

"Third-Place Qi, is there any shortcut that could help me break through quickly?"

Qi Shiyun did not despise Lianshan Xin for wanting a shortcut.

"In cultivation, there is no inherent hierarchy between shortcuts and other paths. As long as you succeed, they all lead to the Great Dao."

Qi Shiyun first corrected one of Lianshan Xin's assumptions.

Lianshan Xin quietly mulled it over. "So heroes are judged solely by success or failure?"

"What else would you judge them by? Their mouths?"

Lianshan Xin could not refute that. He could only nod. "Your student wholeheartedly agrees."

"Of course there are ways to break through quickly. Our lineage primarily cultivates dragon energy, also known as imperial energy. The closer we are to the heart of the imperial court, the faster we cultivate. That is why I chose to join the Nine Heavens.

"If we become embroiled in a struggle for the throne, or some other major case that sweeps through court and country, our rate of advancement will tower over everyone else's.

"The day I became a Grandmaster at twenty, I killed the Crown Prince's personal retainer right before his eyes. By trampling on his dignity, Third-Place Qi became a Grandmaster at twenty and shook the Divine Capital."

At this point, Qi Shiyun smiled silently, an imposing air rising naturally from her.

Lianshan Xin savored the implications, his expression turning strangely peculiar. "So you were already enemies with the Crown Prince long ago, Third-Place Qi."

Qi Shiyun glanced at him and retorted, "If I offered the Millennium Snow Lotus to the Crown Prince, he would undoubtedly treat me with all due courtesy and make me his trusted confidante. Everything that happened before would be beneath mention."

Lianshan Xin believed that, provided the Crown Prince was a clever man.

He did not yet know whether the Crown Prince was.

But he knew Qi Shiyun was someone who could neither bear obscurity nor settle for a small victory.

This woman wanted to win big, and win it all.

"Third-Place Qi, why does it sound as though our lineage... wants nothing more than to see the world in chaos?"

"Your understanding is correct."

"Then will the imperial family keep tolerating us?"

Qi Shiyun smiled. "His Majesty himself was the Hidden Dragon our lineage chose back then."

Lianshan Xin was convinced.

"Within the imperial family, many want to tear our Chosen of Heaven Lineage out by the roots. But many others, whether for themselves or their descendants, hope our lineage will exist forever. As long as we remain, they or their descendants have a chance to ascend as the dragon.

"Most importantly, our Chosen of Heaven Lineage is very powerful in its own right.

"Of course, I will not deceive you. Among the Nine Heavens' Nine Lineages, ours is the one whose members are most likely to die."

Lianshan Xin understood perfectly.

He would have found it incomprehensible if the Chosen of Heaven Lineage did not have a high mortality rate.

"I came to Jiangzhou this time both on official business and for personal reasons. The Divine Capital is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There, I count as someone of note, but not a major figure. I cannot stir up towering waves. That is why I have gone a whole year without a breakthrough."

Lianshan Xin frowned.

Listen to that. Was that something a human being would say?

He had gone eighteen years without a breakthrough. Had he complained?

Just one year without a breakthrough, and she was already anxious.

"So you want to stir up a major case in Jiangzhou, Third-Place Qi?"

Qi Shiyun gave Lianshan Xin a meaningful look and spoke with exceptional bluntness. "Replacing the Jiangzhou Governor would be enough to help you become a Grandmaster."

Lianshan Xin immediately perked up. "As I see it, this Jiangzhou Governor has already given us grounds to put him to death."

Having lived in Jiangzhou City for eighteen years, Lianshan Xin, a local, was well qualified to comment on the Jiangzhou Governor's reputation.

He could not be called an incompetent official, but he was certainly a corrupt one.

From Lianshan Xin's personal perspective, he actually considered the Jiangzhou Governor rather capable. At least he had kept any major upheavals from erupting in Jiangzhou City over the past few years.

As for taking a few bribes, marrying a few extra concubines, and having children who injured people while galloping their horses through the streets... honestly, for a regional governor of his standing, those were all minor matters.

But that was before.

Anyone who blocked his path to advancement had surely given him grounds to put them to death.

"Of course, your needs come first," Lianshan Xin said quickly.

He could not compete with his superior for benefits.

Qi Shiyun shook her head. "The Jiangzhou Governor is not enough for me."

"Huh? Third-Place Qi, forgive my bluntness, but your standing is not higher than the Jiangzhou Governor's, is it?"

Great Yu had nineteen provinces, and the governor of each was a regional authority, a senior official of the Principal Third Rank. Yet the actual power they wielded locally exceeded that of many second-rank officials in the Divine Capital.

Qi Shiyun was merely the young leader of the Chosen of Heaven Lineage. As Lianshan Xin understood it, she could not compare with the Jiangzhou Governor yet.

If they wanted to challenge the Jiangzhou Governor, the Heavenly Sword ought to step forward.

"In terms of standing, naturally that is true. But my previous advancement to Grandmaster came from humiliating the Crown Prince. For my next breakthrough, a governor will no longer suffice."

Lianshan Xin said, "...Is there anyone in Jiangzhou with a higher standing than the governor?"

"Of course there is. You simply cannot come into contact with them yet. Thousand Faces is one of the Demon Cult's five greatest powers, while Kuang Mountain is even rumored to harbor immortals. It has produced immortal figures such as the Celestial Master. Even today's White Deer Grotto Academy has a thousand-year heritage and deep foundations.

"What concerns me is not the Jiangzhou Governor, but Jiangzhou's officialdom and the Jiangzhou Martial World.

"Also, the greater a person's providence, the more beneficial they are to our cultivation. This is not determined solely by standing. Once you become a Grandmaster, you will be able to sense it yourself.

"In short, first investigate the Demon Cult fiends hidden within White Deer Grotto Academy. Thousand Faces has lurked there for decades, painstakingly building a network. Its roots and branches must be tangled throughout every aspect of Jiangzhou City.

"Lianshan Xin, do you know what that means?"

Lianshan Xin said gravely, "Heads will roll."

"Their heads will pave your stairway to the clouds. You asked me whether there was a shortcut. This is your answer. How quickly our lineage cultivates depends entirely on your courage and methods. Fortune is won amid peril, and so is the Great Dao."

Lianshan Xin studied Qi Shiyun carefully and realized he had still underestimated her.

This peerless beauty, with her slender branches bearing sumptuous fruit, was an utter madwoman to her bones.

The Dragon Aiders lineage sounded, in every way, like the hidden hands that stirred the world into chaos.

But a world where people devoured one another seemed to have always worked that way.

The other factions were probably no different at their core.

If you swallowed hardship, you only earned more hardship to swallow.

Only by devouring others could you rise above them.

Since he was here, he might as well settle in.

He still had to follow the local customs.

"Your student has learned his lesson."

"Actually, aside from that, there is one method that could truly be called a shortcut."

"What method?"

"In your case, marrying a princess."

"Huh?"

"The Great Yu Imperial Family carries the Great Yu dynasty's thousand years of providence. His Majesty's own children, in particular, are each born with a supreme destiny. If you marry a princess, you gain the right to directly share in the dynasty's providence. But plenty of people want to marry a princess, and you do not know any princesses. Besides, once you marry one, whenever you want to share her bed, you must first obtain permission from the steward of her residence. Could you endure that?"

Lianshan Xin nodded emphatically. "I could. Third-Place Qi, could you introduce me to a princess?"

"Those princesses all regard me as their enemy, and you want me to introduce you?"

"They regard you as their enemy? Why?"

"They possess the exalted status of princesses, yet cannot shine as brightly as me, a daughter discarded by a military family. Princesses are human too. How could they not feel jealous?"

"..."

"Still, your chances are not entirely nonexistent. The Nine Heavens also came to Jiangzhou with a secret mission this time. During an incognito tour years ago, His Majesty met a woman here who became his intimate companion. His Majesty said he confirmed through special channels that she had conceived his dragon seed. The Heavenly Diviner personally performed a divination and said the princess was in Jiangzhou."

Lianshan Xin's eyes lit up. "Is there any other information?"

"The Heavenly Diviner could only determine that the princess possesses an innate alluring constitution."

Lianshan Xin's heart sank.

He seemed to have just offended someone with an alluring constitution.

Had he known, he would have given her a chance to pursue him.

After pondering for a moment, he mustered his courage. The moment he spoke, he startled Qi Shiyun. "Third-Place Qi, what if... I killed the princess?"

Qi Shiyun said, "...Lianshan Xin, I thought I already had a very high opinion of you."

This fellow was truly born for the Dragon Aiders lineage.

Lianshan Xin said solemnly, "As you said, fortune is won amid peril, and so is the Great Dao."

"Marrying a princess would guarantee your advancement to Grandmaster. Slaying a princess... could help you swiftly break through to the True Intent Realm and comprehend our lineage's deadliest and most taboo technique, the Dragon-Slaying True Intent. And then, all nine branches of your clan would be exterminated!"