"Tomorrow at noon?"
Zhou Juechen had a bad feeling. "What are you planning to do?"
"Nothing much. Just have a good chat with the King of Yue's heir."
Li Xian spoke.
A good chat...
That was what he said, but Zhou Juechen clearly felt somewhat uneasy.
Only after a good while did he say, "Leaping Over the Dragon Gate is the foundation of talent selection. The Rising Dragon Pavilion has a rule: if a martial artist wishes to participate in Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, local powers must not persecute them... Those with nothing to lose can naturally disregard this rule, but the more exalted someone's status, the less they dare defy this command from the Rising Dragon Pavilion!"
He spoke rapidly. "Once you actually go to the Royal Capital and register, Prince Yue's Residence certainly won't dare make any rash moves against you again! Otherwise, if they leave behind so much as a scrap of evidence, the Rising Dragon Pavilion's wrath will bring utter destruction upon all of Prince Yue's Residence! They don't dare gamble on that!"
His meaning was clear.
As long as Li Xian registered for Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, his safety would have some protection.
After all...
How could a behemoth like Prince Yue's Residence bear to stake its future on a life-or-death gamble against a martial master at blood exchange and marrow washing?
"When is Leaping Over the Dragon Gate?"
"In another month and a half."
Zhou Juechen said, "Registration generally opens a month beforehand. As long as we hide for half a month after getting there, once you've registered, no major power will dare target you openly."
"All right."
Li Xian nodded.
Over the past two months, he had heard so much about Leaping Over the Dragon Gate that his ears had grown calluses.
He also knew full well that it was a magnificent gathering where he could fight to his heart's content against a host of experts in the heavenly cycle without leak realm.
He would not miss such a gathering, no matter what.
"Then shall we set out now?"
"I'll go to Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, and I'll meet the King of Yue's heir too."
Li Xian spoke.
"You..."
"I know what I'm doing."
Li Xian calmly cut off what Zhou Juechen was about to say.
Zhou Juechen opened his mouth, recalling the disposition Li Xian had told him about long ago...
In the end...
He could not get a single word out.
His expression turned bitter as he thought of his appointment with Daoist Xuantie tomorrow...
This time, his clever scheme had backfired outright.
But what could he say?
He could only do his utmost to protect Li Xian when the time came.
"Do you know why I remain unmoved, even though I know perfectly well that pledging myself to a major power would smooth the road ahead?"
Li Xian spoke.
Zhou Juechen froze.
Before he could answer, Li Xian continued, "Everyone is only willing to trust themselves, especially when they seem to hold a superior position. When my interests become closely intertwined with theirs, they can't help pointing fingers and giving orders."
He paused. "But they clearly forget that if they could truly obtain those benefits themselves, they wouldn't pin their hopes on someone else."
Those words immediately shook Zhou Juechen.
He had said that he would no longer view Li Xian through a lens of prejudice. Clearly, he had failed to do so.
How could human nature change so easily?
He found Li Xian's actions difficult to understand, and that lack of understanding was perhaps...
The greatest difference between them.
It was also the greatest difference between genius and mediocrity.
For a time, Zhou Juechen could not help sinking into thought.
Li Xian said nothing more. He asked for a room and went off to the side to continue refining the Blood Spirit Powder.
The Blood Spirit Powder produced immediate results.
Li Xian trained hard all night, making significant progress in replenishing his depleted qi and blood.
His blood exchange and marrow washing finally completed a full heavenly cycle as well.
At this stage, he had already attained minor mastery of blood exchange, and anyone would have to address him respectfully as a blood exchange martial master.
He could charge through enemy lines, one man against a hundred.
With a little military merit, he could become a Guerrilla General. With careful cultivation of his prospects, he could even rise to Deputy General and command an army of his own.
Within a prefecture, he would rank among the foremost, enter the homes of the powerful, and have disciples in droves.
In the martial world, he would also rise to the second rate. As he traveled through the commanderies, any local power would have to show him respect and receive him properly.
But Li Xian cared about none of that.
There was only one thing he truly cared about.
"I'm stronger than I was in my previous life!"
At noon.
Li Xian stepped out of his room.
Zhou Juechen was already waiting in the courtyard.
"Master Zhou."
Li Xian greeted him politely.
It was as though their little disagreement last night had never happened.
Zhou Juechen looked at Li Xian and gave a firm nod. "Let's go."
That straightforward response surprised Li Xian a little.
After looking him over, he said, "You seem a little different."
"I realized I've been thinking too much."
Zhou Juechen spoke.
"You've come to understand something."
Li Xian smiled. "I haven't yet attained primordial unity or an impervious body myself, so saying this might be meaningless, but in my humble opinion, the most important thing for primordial unity is purity of mind. Perhaps you've never broken through because your mind isn't pure enough."
"Indeed. I'm not pure enough."
Zhou Juechen nodded.
Ever since he had begun blood exchange and marrow washing, he had pursued only one goal-Leaping Over the Dragon Gate.
Everything he cultivated and practiced had also been preparation for Leaping Over the Dragon Gate.
Yet in the end...
For all these years, he had remained stuck at the threshold of an impervious body, with almost no hope of Leaping Over the Dragon Gate in sight.
After thinking all night, perhaps...
He ought to cast everything aside, clear away distracting thoughts, and face his own heart to discover just what lay at the essence of his martial path.
Li Xian said nothing more.
In fact, he now felt he had already said enough to Zhou Juechen.
Everyone had their own understanding and thoughts.
Let go of the compulsion to help others, and respect their destinies.
The two soon left the Canglang Sword Sect and went straight to the Wave-Viewing Tower in the small town at the foot of the mountain.
By then, Prince Yue's Residence had booked the entire second floor of the Wave-Viewing Tower.
Only when Li Xian and Zhou Juechen went upstairs under the "guidance" of guard captain Luo Teng did they discover that, besides Daoist Xuantie and Yan Kaigui, the young commandery princess Yan Ruxue, Liu Yanran of the Marquis's Residence, and Ma Fu, another blood exchange and marrow washing expert who had joined the Prince's Mansion, were also present.
Ma Fu's foundation in the blood exchange and marrow washing realm was not deep, and he had yet to reach major mastery. The crucial point was...
In terms of seniority, he counted as an elder to Zhou Juechen and was on quite friendly terms with the head of the Zhou Family.
"Master Zhou truly is a man of his word. You've really brought him to us."
As soon as they met, Yan Kaigui took the initiative to rise, showing them every courtesy. "Please, sit."
At the same time, he pushed the box on the table forward. "Master Luoxia's manuscript is right here."
Ma Fu followed close behind with a smile. "Juechen, it's been half a year since we last met, hasn't it? I still remember those days when I was staying with the Zhou Family and you came to me full of enthusiasm to ask about martial arts. We must have a proper chat about old times today."
"Li Xian! Zhou Juechen, the man you consider your greatest support, has already sold you out! He brought you to this banquet to hand you over for us to deal with. Have you seen the lineup we've assembled today? You're finished! Not even immortals can save you."
Unable to contain her excitement at the prospect of finally wiping away her humiliation, Yan Ruxue also stood and shouted.
Yet compared with Yan Kaigui, Ma Fu, and Yan Ruxue, who seemed to be racing to speak and declare their positions, Li Xian appeared utterly composed.
"Calm down."
He even extended a hand toward Yan Kaigui and his sister, pressing it downward. "What do you mean, not even immortals can save me? If immortals really came, wouldn't you immediately throw yourselves down in worship, kowtowing and begging for mercy? Don't get agitated. Sit, all of you."
That utterly unrestrained manner, along with Zhou Juechen's lack of any reaction, made Yan Kaigui frown.
Had he gone back on his word?
Still, he was not surprised.
Otherwise, he would not have invited Ma Fu over in the middle of the night while the latter was handling business nearby.
Two blood exchange and marrow washing martial masters, plus Luo Teng and a dozen or so guards from Prince Yue's Residence, against a Zhou Juechen held back by misgivings and a viscera martial master who only possessed blood exchange combat strength through practicing the Blood Jade Demonic Art...
More than enough!
(End of chapter)
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