Chen Xia was not joking.
He really wanted the other immortal to die in seclusion, simply reaching the end of his natural lifespan. Wasn't that a pretty good way to die?
Besides, an immortal who could teach a thing like Yang Wei certainly couldn't be a good person. Who knew whether he might come looking for revenge on Chen Xia later?
The other three sect leaders dared not answer and merely laughed awkwardly.
Chen Xia slowly walked back toward his house.
The martial artists along the way hurriedly moved aside. Not a single person dared walk down that broad street. They all stood at its far edges with their heads lowered, respectfully waiting for Chen Xia to pass.
Chen Xia stretched lazily, glanced at the three sect leaders trailing far behind him, and casually beckoned.
The three sect leaders hurried over, nodding and bowing. "What are your instructions?"
Chen Xia asked in puzzlement, "Where are Weixi Town's original residents? Why is everyone a martial artist?"
The three sect leaders hurriedly replied, "The original residents of Weixi Town all sold their houses for high prices and moved to the nearest city. Most people in Weixi Town are martial artists now."
"Oh." Chen Xia nodded, not particularly concerned.
The changes of the world were just that unpredictable, especially for ordinary people whose lives lasted no more than a hundred years.
He ducked back into his little weed-choked house.
The three sect leaders waited respectfully outside, not daring to take a single step inside. One of them plucked up his courage and called in.
"Would you like us to repair your house?"
"No need," Chen Xia's calm voice came from inside. He added,
"I like Weixi Town."
Only staying in this dilapidated little house gave him the feeling of living in Weixi Town thirty-five years ago.
If time was an unstoppable stream, then Chen Xia was a stone submerged in it, unmoved by the flowing water.
Once the water had flowed long enough, he would turn back and look.
The old faces and old affairs were all gone.
But surely some old belongings had to remain.
The news that an immortal had emerged in Weixi Town, severing a river, shattering a mountain, and killing with a flick of his finger, soon spread more fiercely than December's cold fronts.
Within half a month, almost everyone throughout Great Song was discussing the news.
And the most terrifying part was that the immortal had killed no ordinary person with that flick of his finger, but another immortal!
It perfectly illustrated what it meant for there to be differences even between immortals.
The storytellers in the taverns had already put their stories together.
"Last time, we spoke of how Yang Gang mastered an Immortal Method and, treading on lotus flowers, crossed the river straight toward Little Jianghu. Brutal by nature and addicted to slaughter, he killed a sect leader without a word, then sought to threaten the immortal surnamed Chen..."
Chen Xia's name resounded throughout Great Song in a very short time, to the point that the martial artists were discussing whether to remove the word "half" from his title of "half-invincible under heaven."
"But there's still another immortal in Great Song who hasn't emerged. Those two haven't truly competed yet. Isn't it too early to remove that 'half'?"
Quite a few martial artists agreed with these words.
If Chen Xia truly wanted to be invincible under heaven, the other immortal was an obstacle he had to face.
As long as no victor had been decided between the two immortals, they could only remain half-invincible.
After the news of Chen Xia's emergence from seclusion spread.
The first to seek him out was an expert from the Constabulary. It was even the same man who had begged Chen Xia to leave his retreat ten years ago. Now showing some signs of age, he kowtowed outside the door and respectfully addressed Chen Xia.
"I beg you to come forth, Immortal, and save our Great Song from fire and flood."
Chen Xia slowly walked out of the house, glanced at the Constabulary expert, and asked with a smile,
"I remember you came last time too, didn't you? Ten years have passed, and this war still isn't over?"
The Constabulary expert gritted his teeth, his expression filled with grief and indignation. "The barbarians are mighty in battle, but His Majesty found a way to counter them back then, and the situation remained stable."
"But five years later, His Majesty passed away and the crown prince succeeded him. Young and ignorant of warfare, he was pushed back a hundred li by the barbarians. Only when the eldest princess, who had studied military texts thoroughly, went into battle did we barely stabilize the situation."
Hearing this, Chen Xia asked with some curiosity, "Does your Great Song have no generals of its own? Why did even the eldest princess have to go into battle?"
The Constabulary expert gritted his teeth. "The late emperor previously weakened the military officers' power and cultivated civil officials."
"Oh." Chen Xia nodded, then smiled again. "Then you've brought this on yourselves. What's it got to do with me?"
"But..." The Constabulary expert raised his head anxiously, about to explain something else.
Chen Xia abruptly opened his mouth and blew.
A fierce wind howled, swirling around the Constabulary expert and carrying him a thousand meters backward before dropping him safely onto the road.
The Constabulary expert sat blankly on the ground, with passersby watching from far away beside him.
He sat stunned for a long while before furiously punching the ground and cursing himself through gritted teeth. "Useless! I'm truly useless!"
Chen Xia lay on the battered rocking chair inside his house, looking up at the ceiling.
It wasn't that he didn't want to act.
He was simply lazy.
Perhaps because he had practiced the Great Turtle Breathing Technique, he now preferred stillness to movement.
Chen Xia hurriedly shook his head and patted it.
No, no. If this keeps up, I'll really turn into a turtle. I have to get moving.
Chen Xia drew a breath to spur himself on. He felt a surge of strength within him, his heart stirring with excitement that he simply had to release.
So he rolled over on the battered rocking chair.
Good.
Workout over.
Atop the walls of a frontier city.
The Constabulary expert, who had rushed back at full speed, knelt on one knee and cupped his fist toward the valiant female general before him, speaking sorrowfully.
"Eldest Princess, I am incompetent. I failed to bring the immortal."
The woman pinched the tip of her nose, exhaled, and shook her head. "It's all right. This isn't your fault. If the immortal refuses to come, no one can force him."
The Constabulary expert gritted his teeth in silence, unspeakable sorrow filling his heart.
The woman rested a hand on the sword at her waist. Besides valor, there was a trace of delicate beauty in her features. Her eyes were slightly lowered as she asked again,
"What about the newly recruited martial heroes? Any news?"
The Constabulary expert hurriedly said, "Some martial heroes are willing to come, but their numbers are thirty percent lower than in previous years."
The woman nodded and exhaled helplessly. "The martial heroes willing to come arrived long ago. Those unwilling to come could never be persuaded in a lifetime."
The Constabulary expert nodded, then added, "But this time, Zuo Feiyang, ranked first under heaven, and the old monk ranked third are both willing to come, along with some other long-renowned experts."
The woman nodded. "Good."
She raised her lowered eyes again and gazed ahead, toward where the barbarians were encamped. They had a million cavalrymen. When they charged, the earth shook and the mountains trembled, and nothing could stand in their way.
And there were many experts among the barbarians as well.
The woman sighed again, worry written all over her face. She shook her head. "Will it really be enough? What if we can't hold?"
The Constabulary expert hurriedly gritted his teeth and cupped his fist. "Rest assured, Eldest Princess. I swear to defend the gates to the death!"
The woman chuckled, then shook her head somewhat helplessly. "How many times have I told you? Father has passed away, my younger brother now sits on the throne, and I've come to guard the frontier. What sense does it make to keep calling me Eldest Princess? Just call me General."
"Yes, General!" The Constabulary expert hurriedly corrected himself.
A spark flashed through the woman's open eyes. Seemingly struck by an idea, she hurried toward the rear.
Three days later.
News spread that the eldest princess was heading south, straight for Little Jianghu.
"Why is the eldest princess going there?" someone asked.
"To ask the immortal to come forth."
What was the immortal doing?
The immortal was playing dead at home.
In short, he embodied laziness and an unwillingness to move. The three sect leaders did not dare disturb him either, and Chen Xia was all the happier to enjoy his leisure.
Of the twenty-four hours in a day, he could sleep for twenty-three and spend the remaining hour sitting in a daze.
If you could level up sitting down, who would want to move, right?
But these leisurely days did not last long.
Very soon.
Someone came to visit him again.
A grand procession sealed off the surroundings. The martial artists could only stand far away, and even the three sect leaders did not dare approach.
"See that? Those are the Constabulary's official uniforms."
"I recognize them. They all seem to be Constabulary experts, and there seems to be an imperial restriction in place too. That person must have come, right?"
The martial artists did not say it outright, but they all knew who the visitor was.
Great Song's eldest princess had arrived!
Inside the dilapidated little house.
A woman dressed in a bright yellow robe sat with dignified poise, her pretty face entirely solemn and earnest. Her delicate eyes fixed on Chen Xia, who lay sprawled crookedly before her, as she made her request.
"On behalf of Great Song, I ask you to come forth and save Great Song from its crisis. I am willing to grant you the position of national preceptor and fulfill all your demands."
Chen Xia turned over on the battered rocking chair, lifted his dangling head, and looked at the woman upside down as he replied.
"I have to make one thing clear to you. Although I'm a good person, you don't have any rewards that appeal to me, right?"
The woman nodded, acknowledging Chen Xia's words. She lowered her hands onto her knees and gripped her robes tightly, pleading again.
"But you have lived within our Great Song's lands for so many years. Surely you have some attachment to it? And the barbarians are utterly savage. Once they enter Great Song, they will surely slaughter the common people. By coming forth, you would be saving not just Great Song, but the people."
"You're right." Chen Xia nodded, but replied, "But emotional appeals don't work on me. Your moral blackmail is useless against me."
"But... but..." The woman repeated "but" several times, yet could not get any words out. Finally, she merely shook her head, sighed, stood up, and bowed to Chen Xia.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you."
"Good that you know," Chen Xia replied, drawing his head back onto the battered rocking chair, ready to lie flat.
[Effect of fortune: through your interaction with the imperial family, Flood Dragon Qi increased to 1/100.]
That works too?
Chen Xia immediately rose from the battered rocking chair and called out to the woman as she was about to leave.
"Go back first. I'll come in three days."
Why three days later?
Because he wanted to lie around for another three days.
The woman turned back joyfully and thanked Chen Xia in excitement. "Thank you, sir! It's wonderful that you're willing to act. Great Song has no way to repay you. I'll notify my younger brother at once to appoint you national preceptor."
[Effect of fortune: you have gained the imperial family's favor. Flood Dragon Qi: 5/100.]
At this rate, Flood Dragon Qi should undergo its next upgrade when it reached 100.
[Status updated: National Preceptor of Great Song. You possess the blessing of 20% of the nation's fortune, which can increase your cultivation realm by 20%.]
Another new notification popped up in Chen Xia's mind, showing that he had become the National Preceptor of Great Song and could receive the blessing of the nation's fortune, increasing his strength.
But why hadn't this notification appeared when he had been a constable and town mayor?
Chen Xia thought about it and figured his previous positions had probably been too insignificant to provide any improvement, so the notification simply hadn't appeared.
This meant that the higher Chen Xia's position became in the future, the stronger the benefits he could receive.
Chen Xia nodded. A surge of heroic spirit rose from his chest, making him want to do something.
So he rolled over again.
Nice.