The Disciples’ Residences stood in dense clusters among the mountains near the Ten Directions Pavilion.
Countless inner-sect disciples hurried back and forth among them. Seen from afar, they resembled swarms of industrious ants, a sight that was almost amusing yet somehow rather sad.
Luo Yao stood upon a flying sword, speeding toward the residences.
This sword was somewhat different from ordinary ones. Its entire surface was a dull, dark red, inconspicuous and lacking any luster. Its only unusual feature was a spirit talisman attached to the tip. Whenever its spiritual light flashed, the flying sword’s speed increased considerably.
After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, the sword descended through the clouds and landed before a courtyard.
This was Fuyou Residence, where one of the small courtyards belonged to Luo Yao.
Luo Yao put away his flying sword and was about to step inside.
Suddenly, a streak of fire shot toward him, aimed directly at his face.
He reacted instantly, flinging out a talisman that formed a wheel of water before him and dispersed the flames.
Only then did he turn around, his face cold. “You again?”
Three to five cultivators were gathered beneath a tree beside the courtyard gate, contempt plain upon their faces.
Their leader had a frivolous look in his eyes and the bearing of a spoiled young noble, with none of a cultivator’s demeanor. He toyed with a bright-red hairpin, tracing it toward Luo Yao as he spoke. “You find yourself a Golden Core Perfected One to cling to, and suddenly you won’t give this young master any respect? Luo Yao, you’ve got some nerve!”
Disgust flashed across Luo Yao’s eyes. He tossed out another talisman, dispersing a second tongue of flame. “Young Master Du, if you have nothing to do, please stop loitering here and disturbing the peace!”
Young Master Du snorted. “As long as you refuse to submit to me, I’ll make sure you don’t have a single comfortable day! Don’t imagine the Golden Core cultivator you’ve attached yourself to is so impressive. He’s only one talented man. My Du family has a position in this immortal sect that no mere genius can rival!”
Luo Yao frowned, but ultimately held back. “There’s no point raising this again. Luo has long been accustomed to coming and going alone. Young Master Du should find someone else!”
Young Master Du’s expression darkened, and the people behind him immediately began shouting over one another.
“Our young master taking an interest in you is a blessing! Don’t reject a gracious offer and invite punishment instead!”
“You have a little talent, and that’s the only reason Young Master came personally. Hurry up and pledge yourself to him, or you’ll regret it!”
“You truly don’t know what’s good for you! Young Master, let this servant teach him a lesson so he understands your authority!”
“Exactly! You can’t keep indulging someone like him, Young Master…”
For a moment, everyone was shouting, and the surroundings became extremely noisy.
Luo Yao was in such a foul mood that he almost lost control and attacked.
But Young Master Du raised a hand, silencing his followers. “I’ll give you a few more days to consider it. Once the tournament is over, Luo Yao, you’ll belong to my Du family!”
With that, he turned and walked away with his pack of lackeys.
Only after Young Master Du had disappeared did Luo Yao compose himself and turn toward his courtyard.
He had taken only two steps when a plainly dressed man came hurrying over, sweat gathering on his brow and concern written across his face. “Luo Yao! Has that Du Zihui come to make trouble for you again?”
Luo Yao nodded and sighed. “I only just returned, and already I have to put up with someone so aggravating. Really…”
The man looked him up and down. Seeing that Luo Yao was unharmed, he relaxed. “I heard you’ve recently made the acquaintance of a Golden Core Perfected One. Is there any chance of becoming his disciple?”
Luo Yao shook his head. “I only went there for a reference book on talismans. It wasn’t even in Perfected One Yun’s possession, but in the hands of a young cultivator. That youth agreed to let me read it, so I ended up staying quite a while. Now that the tournament is near, I’ve come back to stay for a few days. Once it’s over, I’ll return to Little Slaughter Peak to cultivate.”
Envy showed in the man’s eyes. “Even if you can’t become a disciple, that small peak has a third-grade spiritual vein. Being able to cultivate there is an opportunity in itself.” He left the matter there and changed the subject. “While you’ve been away, we’ve been afraid you might have offended the Perfected One and met with trouble. We’ve kept coming by to check on you. Yue Jun and Long Xuan are inside too. Go in and have a proper reunion with them.”
Luo Yao entered with him.
Fuyou Residence was a large compound divided into many smaller courtyards for the numerous inner-sect disciples who lived there.
After winding left for half a li, they came to a small courtyard laid out exactly like the others, except that the faint aura of firestones could be sensed within.
They pushed open the gate and entered. This was Luo Yao’s home.
A stone table stood in the courtyard, and two young men were already seated beside it, pouring wine from a jug.
At the sight of the newcomers, both raised their heads, a hint of urgency in their expressions.
The man in a brocade robe was Yue Jun. He rose and examined Luo Yao carefully before smiling. “You look unharmed. Now I can stop worrying.”
Long Xuan was muscular and sturdy, with his robe open at the chest and a long saber strapped to his back. He looked like a warrior and appeared just as rough and straightforward. He pulled Luo Yao over and pressed him onto a stone stool. “Come on, tell us how you’ve been these past few days. Was that person willing to give up the reference book?”
Luo Yao first beckoned. “Qiu Ze, come sit with us.” Then he told them everything that had happened on Little Slaughter Peak before adding, “I can pay back the merit points I borrowed from you now.”
The three did not refuse, and he transferred the merit points back to them.
Long Xuan took a swig of wine, his eyes glowing with excitement. “Luo Yao, you lucky bastard! You actually got to meet the foremost of the sect’s core disciples, the genius ranked fifth on the Heavenly Dragon List! What an extraordinary talent! It’s a shame you didn’t get to exchange a few words with him. Ah!”
Luo Yao was in a much better mood with his friends, and his smile was genuine. “Perfected One Yun is cold by nature and doesn’t much care for conversation with outsiders. But from what I’ve seen, he’s exceptionally good to Ziqing.”
The other two grew interested. Qiu Ze asked, “Really? What makes you say that?”
Luo Yao smiled. “Ziqing may have taken Perfected Qiu He as his master, but in practice, Perfected One Yun personally instructs him in all his techniques. Besides, his cultivation isn’t much different from ours, and he joined the sect less than a year ago. Yet he can casually produce the merit points that the four of us had to pool together…”
Yue Jun raised an eyebrow. “You mean… Surely…”
Luo Yao nodded. “Exactly. He entered the Heavenly Demon Cavern earlier, and Perfected One Yun gave him all the demon crystals he’d collected. His wealth increased enormously overnight. That’s how he can afford such things.”
None of these men had a master. After years of struggling to earn their way, how could they not know how difficult merit points were to obtain? Each was also studying several auxiliary arts and understood how costly those pursuits could be. Hearing about Xu Ziqing left them sighing in amazement.
If only they had a sect lineage that protected them so generously! Their paths of cultivation would never have been so difficult.
After lamenting for a while, they could do nothing but envy him privately. Then Yue Jun suddenly remembered something and turned toward Luo Yao. “Speaking of which, since you’ve become friends with Xu Ziqing, there are certain matters in which you might ask him for help…”
He spoke obliquely, but everyone seated there understood.
Luo Yao’s expression darkened at once, and he fell silent.
Qiu Ze sighed. “Luo Yao, I know why you’re driving yourself so desperately. But what happened to Kuang Fu has already become an inner demon for you. If you don’t resolve it, no amount of effort will let you break through that obstacle… Even if you bring your talisman arts to perfection, how will you ever have the power to take revenge?”
Long Xuan urged him too. “A man should certainly have principles about what he will and won’t do. But there’s no harm in taking an easier path when one presents itself. At worst, you can remember it as a debt of gratitude. When the time comes, repay him with everything you have, even your life. You won’t have let him down!”
The three urged him repeatedly, but Luo Yao refused outright. “Leaving aside how recently Ziqing and I became friends, even if we’d known each other for years, I couldn’t do that! What would it make of our friendship? What kind of man would I be if I used a friend that way?”
Seeing his three oldest and closest friends before him, he softened his tone. “I know you mean well. But after all these years of cultivation, how many narrow-minded, ungrateful people have we encountered, people who repay kindness with betrayal? Such heartless creatures aren’t worth mentioning. Ziqing has a sincere, generous nature. He’s a rare kind of friend, and I truly don’t want to dishonor him in this way. Besides…” He sighed. “Though I dislike Du Zihui, he wasn’t entirely wrong about one thing. Perfected One Yun of Little Slaughter Peak is powerful, but he’s still only one man. Ziqing has yet to come into his own, and their lineage isn’t especially illustrious. It may even be less formidable than Perfected One Yun himself. If I drag Ziqing into my troubles, I’ll only end up harming them both. I can’t do that.”
The other three fell silent.
Luo Yao bore a deep blood feud, but he had never told his friends the identity of his enemy, nor had he permitted them to intervene. They had assumed that now he knew a Golden Core Perfected One, taking revenge would be a simple matter of the Perfected One lifting a hand. But from what Luo Yao had just said, his enemy was apparently even more powerful than a Golden Core cultivator. Could that mean…? The thought horrified all three of them.
After taking a long breath, they stopped trying to persuade him.
If his enemy truly was someone at an even higher cultivation level, then this was not a matter in which they had any right to meddle.
Yue Jun was the first to recover. “Let’s leave that aside. The sect tournament starts tomorrow. Are you all going to watch?”
Not wishing to burden his friends with his own troubles, Luo Yao agreed readily. “That’s one reason I came back. Ziqing will be competing tomorrow, and I’ve already promised to cheer for him. Why don’t you come with me and support him?”
Qiu Ze smiled. “Then perhaps we’ll get to see Perfected One Yun compete too.”
Long Xuan was even happier. “If we really can, that would be wonderful!”
As they laughed and chatted, their earlier gloom gradually faded away.
* * *
Little Slaughter Peak.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie sat facing each other, a Go board between them with half a game already played.
Ever since they had arrived in the great world and Yun Lie’s heavenly soul had returned to his body, they had never had another such leisurely opportunity.
Xu Ziqing had experienced more of the world since then, and his Go play had acquired a more daring, ambitious edge. His moves against Yun Lie were sharper than they had once been.
Yun Lie’s play still carried a powerful killing aura. Yet since forming his Golden Core, he was better able to conceal its edge, even as his actual skill had deepened.
They continued placing stones, surrounded by an air of tranquility.
At last, Xu Ziqing tossed down his stones and conceded. “Today I’ll allow myself a little rest, Senior Brother Yun. But tomorrow, I’ll certainly apply myself. I don’t want to lose to anyone else.”
Yun Lie nodded. “If you place well, the sect will grant you rewards.”
Xu Ziqing smiled faintly. “Then I’ll have even more reason to fight for victory.” After considering the matter, he added, “A-Yao went home to prepare today. He said he’d bring a few friends to support me tomorrow. Would that bother you, Senior Brother?” He hesitated, then said earnestly, “If you’d rather they didn’t come, I’ll turn him down.”
Yun Lie looked at him, his expression unchanged. “I do not mind.” After a brief pause, he added, “That man harbors hatred in his heart. You should pay attention.”
Xu Ziqing was startled. “Hatred in his heart?”
Yun Lie said, “I’ve met many people who carry blood feuds. Those who endure humiliation and shoulder heavy burdens often conceal their thoughts just as he does. But an inner demon has already taken root in him. Unless he gains his revenge, he will never advance further in cultivation.”
Xu Ziqing sighed. “So he’s been suffering all this time.”
Yun Lie lowered his eyes. “If you wish to befriend him, observe his words and deeds from now on.”
Xu Ziqing nodded, understanding what his senior brother meant. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Whether Luo Yao would truly prove someone worth befriending would become clear from that.