Early morning, outside Qingxi City.
The city gates were still closed, but merchant caravans and wagons were already waiting outside. Villagers from nearby settlements carried baskets and shoulder poles laden with vegetables and melons, ready to enter and sell their produce.
Among the crowd, a family of three waited anxiously. A young couple supported a man who was well past fifty. The husband asked, “Father, this is the place Uncle mentioned in his letter, right?”
The old man nodded repeatedly. “It is. Qingxi City. That’s right. The letter said your cousin Ah Kai would meet us at the gate.”
The young wife asked uneasily, “Father, we don’t have a single coin left. The gate fee…”
The old man was silent. “If we absolutely must, we’ll pawn that silver hairpin. We need to get inside first.”
While they were talking, the surrounding crowd began to stir. The gates had opened. People surged forward, but the broad entrances quickly absorbed the hundreds upon hundreds of travelers, and the flow of people moved smoothly in both directions.
The three fell silent and waited with growing anxiety.
Then a voice sounded nearby. “Second Uncle? And is that Cousin Zhong Qi?”
They looked up. Before them stood a young man in rough, short work clothes, wearing a simple, honest smile.
The old man blinked. “Yes, yes, that’s us.” He tugged at his son. “This is Xiao Kai, your uncle’s boy.”
Zhong Kai greeted them guilelessly. “Greetings, Second Uncle, Cousin, and Cousin-in-law.” He reached out to support the old man. “Did you wait long? It’s crowded in the mornings, so I was late getting through the gates.”
The old man hurriedly said, “Not at all, not at all. Thank you for coming to fetch us.”
Zhong Qi nodded again and again. The Zhong family had always been inarticulate, however, and he could not think of anything particularly graceful to say.
Zhong Kai said, “Let me take you home first. Ever since Father got your letter, he hasn’t slept properly. He’s sent me to the gates every day to look for you. At last you’re here…”
Zhong Kai’s father had once had two brothers. The youngest had died long ago, leaving just the two older brothers. In their youth, the Zhong family had been reasonably comfortable, and both brothers had even attended school. But the family fortunes had declined until life grew harder by the day.
Zhong Kai’s father was timid and cautious. After leaving his hometown for Qingxi City, he settled down, married, and raised a family. His younger brother, Zhong Kai’s second uncle, traveled with merchant caravans for years. He saved a little silver but suffered many injuries, and eventually settled in another city.
The brothers had been separated by a great distance and had not seen each other for more than twenty years. Still, they exchanged letters every year and remained as close as ever. When Zhong Kai had been injured and his family was at its poorest, his second uncle had even sent them money.
So when misfortune struck his second uncle’s household and they asked to take refuge here, Zhong Kai and his father agreed immediately.
As they approached the gate, Zhong Qi looked at its magnificent height and asked nervously, “How much is the entry fee?”
During their journey from their former home, they had passed many cities. They had learned that the larger the city, the higher its entry fee. Otherwise, they would never have been squeezed out of every last coin.
Zhong Kai grinned. “Don’t worry, Cousin. Qingxi City is different. Merchants coming here to trade pay an entry fee, but people visiting relatives and friends don’t.”
The family stared. Zhong Qi asked incredulously, “Not a single coin?”
“Not one.” Zhong Kai smiled honestly. “Just watch.” He brought them to the gate guards, exchanged a few words, completed a registration, and led them inside.
Only after they entered Qingxi City did Zhong Qi’s family come out of their daze. “We really got in…”
Before they could fully process it, a new commotion drew their attention. Qingxi City was bustling with life!
It had been a long time since they had seen a city like this.
The cultivation world was no longer what it used to be. Demonic qi ran rampant, and battles between sects were common. Many small cities simply disappeared in the fighting.
Guangrong Commandery, where the family had lived before, had once been perfectly ordinary. Then a nearby minor force was contaminated by demonic qi. Its members all suffered qi deviation and stormed into the city, slaughtering people until the streets ran red with blood… Everyone who survived had fled, leaving Guangrong Commandery a dead city.
They had seen many places like it on their journey. With their meager savings, they could not afford entry to the larger cities. In the smaller ones they could enter, even when disaster had not struck directly, an air of death still hung over everything.
Cultivators sometimes managed better, but very few mortals could even afford to eat their fill. Even wealthy households dared not display their fortune. People hunched and lowered their heads in the streets lest some exalted cultivator notice them and take their lives on a whim.
Remembering everything they had endured on the road, then seeing Qingxi City before them, the three stood entranced. It felt like entering another world.
Zhong Kai scratched his head, unable to understand what they were staring at. He was about to speak when a quarrel broke out nearby.
A customer had bought a bag of roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, eaten half, decided they tasted bad, and demanded a refund. The vendor offered to return half the money. The customer refused and demanded the entire sum. The vendor patiently explained, “You ate half the chestnuts and only brought half back, so naturally I can refund half the price. I’m running a tiny business. Please be reasonable.”
The customer flew into a rage, raised his fist, and summoned a burst of flame around it. “Reasonable? I’ll kill you today! Then we’ll see who gets to talk about reason!”
A cultivator!
Zhong Qi’s face changed. He grabbed his father, wife, and cousin and started retreating. “R-run! These cultivators kill without blinking…”
To his horror, Zhong Kai shook off his hand, ran forward, and shouted, “Help! There’s a cultivator violating the City Lord’s decree by assaulting a mortal!”
Zhong Qi: “…”
His heart nearly stopped. His uncle’s letters had said this cousin was kind and simple, but Zhong Qi had never imagined he was this simple! Why was he running toward the trouble instead of away from it? A City Lord’s decree? What decree could possibly stop a cultivator from beating a mortal?
Then something even more astonishing happened. The other people of Qingxi City did not run either! Not only did they stay, but several strong young men rushed toward the cultivator alongside Zhong Kai!
The cultivator was obviously stunned too. It was his first time in Qingxi City. How could he have known the locals were so fearless?
But it did not matter. They were mere mortals. If he killed one, the others would be frightened into obedience, and then…
Bang!
A Spirit-Binding Rope dropped from the sky and tied him into a tight bundle. He writhed like a maggot, but his mouth was gagged too, leaving him unable to make a sound.
Two members of the Qingxi City Guard landed among the crowd after a few quick leaps. Cold-faced, one asked, “Just this one? Anyone else?”
Zhong Qi, who had been running forward to drag Zhong Kai back, froze behind his cousin. Wh-what was happening?
The people of Qingxi City responded more quickly, calling out eagerly, “Just him!”
“Right, right! You don’t see idiots like this very often anymore!”
“He ate half that fellow’s chestnuts and still demanded all his money back…”
The two Guards maintained their severe expressions while searching the cultivator. They took a few spirit pearls from him and handed them to the vendor as compensation. Then they hoisted the prisoner onto their shoulders and prepared to leave.
The townspeople made way enthusiastically and shouted praise. “You two young lords are so handsome!”
“Exactly! And your cultivation must be very advanced! That bad cultivator could make fire appear on his fists. I hear that’s an impressive ability!”
“So that’s how it is! If these two young lords caught him so quickly, they must be very powerful indeed!”
The corner of one Guard’s mouth nearly curled upward before he hurriedly forced it straight again.
Then someone murmured, “Strange. Why have all the Guard officers started behaving like this lately?”
Another lowered their voice further. “You haven’t heard? They’re trying to catch the City Lord’s attention!”
“Really? Is that the sort of person the City Lord likes?”
“Our City Lord and Lord Shang are a couple, aren’t they? Lord Shang is always expressionless and hardly speaks. That’s why so many new recruits copy his mannerisms…”
The two Guards could not keep up their stern masks any longer. Carrying their prisoner, they hurried away.
The crowd burst into laughter and dispersed. The entertainment was over, and everyone still had work to do.
Zhong Kai chuckled and muttered, “Lord Shang isn’t cold-faced at all. He talks a lot in front of the City Lord…” He turned and discovered Zhong Qi standing right behind him, both hands poised to grab his belt.
Puzzled, he asked, “Cousin, what are you doing?”
“N-no, nothing.” Zhong Qi came back to himself, still dumbfounded. “Just now, that… the fire…”
“Oh, those were members of our Qingxi City Guard.” Zhong Kai explained, “They patrol inside and outside the city every day. If you’re in danger, you just shout. Especially when a cultivator bullies a mortal, they’ll come right away.”
Zhong Qi fell silent. After a long time, he asked, “Like just now?”
Zhong Kai nodded firmly. “Exactly like just now.”
Zhong Qi suddenly smiled bitterly. If this was the life of Qingxi City’s people, what kind of life had they been living before?
He looked at Zhong Kai earnestly. “Second Brother, tell us more about Qingxi City.”
Zhong Kai blinked. “Oh! All right.”
Since reaching home meant crossing half the city anyway, Zhong Kai decided to give them a tour.
Qingxi City’s roads were broad and level, running in every direction. Mortals and cultivators moved among one another without any obvious barriers.
There were cultivators running stalls and mortals buying their wares, and mortals running stalls with cultivators as customers. Most exchanges were peaceful. The occasional quarrel arose over a disagreement about prices. Fools like the fire-attributed cultivator were unusually rare.
Zhong Qi and his family watched with growing envy.
But there was still more to envy ahead.
Zhong Kai led them to East Street. “This is the liveliest street in Qingxi City. Several high-ranking people from the City Lord’s residence own shops here. The most famous is our City Lord’s Qingming Pavilion.”
He pointed to a long queue ahead. “That’s the place. Most of the people lining up are cultivators. There’s a separate counter for pills meant for mortals, so anyone who needs them can go straight there.”
Zhong Qi nearly choked. “There are… pills that mortals can buy?”
Zhong Kai scratched his head. “Sure! Our City Lord’s spirit pills are pretty famous, even among mortals outside the city. Haven’t you heard? Maybe Guangrong Commandery is just too far away.”
Zhong Qi’s wife hesitated. “Can those pills treat illness? Would they cure a chronic cough?”
Zhong Qi met her eyes, and she smiled faintly. “Father has been coughing for years. If he could be cured, it would be worth selling everything we own.”
Zhong Qi squeezed her hand. “Ah Zhi…”
Zhong Kai boomed, “Why don’t we go ask whether they can cure it?”
Zhong Qi blinked. “Go ask?”
Zhong Kai rubbed his head. “Oh, I haven’t told you yet! Right next to Qingming Pavilion is our city’s Hall of Ten Thousand Affairs. Heh, the City Lord named that too. There’s not much special about it. A bunch of kids who’ve only just started cultivating work there. The City Lord thought they had too much energy and were driving everyone crazy, so he made them take shifts at the hall. People who need help can go ask them. It’s free, though they aren’t always reliable.”
Zhong Qi hesitated. “When you say they’ve started cultivating, do you mean…?”
Zhong Kai said, “You know, refining artifacts… er, no, I think it’s called refining qi? Anyway, they’re people who’ve only just become cultivators!”
Zhong Qi: “…”
Quite a few people stood outside the Hall of Ten Thousand Affairs, though most had come to watch the spectacle.
Inside were indeed many children. The youngest looked barely five or six, while the oldest were fifteen or sixteen.
They had all only recently drawn qi into their bodies and were students at Qingxi City’s cultivation school. They spent most of their time cultivating at school, but they received a holiday every half month. Finding them unbearably noisy, Xia Yunzhao had built the Hall of Ten Thousand Affairs to use up their energy.
Zhong Qi was brought before a crowd of these little cultivator lords by his cousin. He had absolutely no idea how he should behave!
There were staff on duty. Today’s supervisors were Su Ying and Yu Fanyang. Both had gentle temperaments and were beloved by the children. Since Yu Fanyang had also come from a mortal background, the tedious responsibility had fallen to the two of them.
When the family of four entered, Su Ying gave a soft “Oh.” Yu Fanyang understood what he had noticed. She smiled but said nothing.
Su Ying looked over the two relatives and let his gaze rest on Zhong Qi’s wife. “What can we help you with?”
Zhong Qi opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. But Zhong Kai immediately announced, “Lord Su Ying, is there a young medical cultivator on duty today? My second uncle hasn’t been feeling well. We’d like someone to take a look.”
Su Ying considered Second Uncle Zhong, then Zhong Qi’s wife. “Why don’t both of you get examined? Plenty of the young cultivators are on duty today and have nothing to do. Think of it as doing them a favor by giving them a chance to practice.”
Yu Fanyang looked surprised at his suggestion and glanced at him. Su Ying signaled to her with his eyes. She startled, then grew thoughtful.
“No problem!” Zhong Kai agreed without hesitation.
And so all four members of the family went in to see the young healers.
Yu Fanyang, always meticulous, assigned a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old student to Second Uncle Zhong, supposedly the best young medical cultivator in class.
For Zhong Qi’s wife she chose an eight-year-old girl said to be quite talented, though still very young and childlike.
Even knowing that the girl was a young cultivator, Zhong Qi’s wife could not help wanting to laugh when she saw the little one frowning solemnly as she took her pulse.
After the urge to laugh passed, she sighed faintly. She and Zhong Qi had been married three years and had always wanted a child, but fate had not granted them one. Now their home was gone, and they had fled all the way to Qingxi City… Who knew when that wish might come true?
The little girl felt her pulse for a full quarter of an hour. Second Uncle Zhong’s diagnosis was finished and he had already gone to buy spirit pills, but this examination was still going.
At last the little girl jumped down from her stool and approached, her small face exceedingly serious.
Zhong Qi’s wife smiled. “Young lord, what’s the matter?”
The little girl said solemnly, “Auntie, don’t move!”
Zhong Qi’s wife hurriedly nodded. The little girl leaned forward, pressed her ear against the woman’s lower belly, listened for a long time, then pronounced gravely, “Auntie, you have a little baby! You shouldn’t walk so much lately. You need to take good care of yourself!”
Zhong Qi’s wife: “…!”
Off to one side, Yu Fanyang gave a quiet exclamation. “So this is the child?”
Su Ying nodded discreetly. “Yes. The future shown by the Sky-Peering Mark reveals that this child will possess a supreme-grade Heavenly Spirit Root. If they hadn’t come to Qingxi City, the child would very likely have died at the age of three. But now…”
Yu Fanyang’s eyes curved with delight. “Now our City Lord is looking for promising seedlings. This child’s future will be bright.”
* * *
Xia Yunzhao had not arranged a grand public spirit-root test for everyone in Qingxi City. He had plenty of tricks. He simply disguised the Spirit-Testing Stone, placed it in the main hall of the Hall of Heroic Spirits, and announced that it was a blessed stone that would glow when touched. The brighter its light, the more good fortune the person could expect. Countless parents brought their children to touch it.
In just one month, the stone identified more than four hundred children with spirit roots.
That sounded like many, but the test had already covered tens of thousands of children throughout Qingxi City.
It showed just how rare spirit roots truly were.
Most of those four hundred children had relatively modest aptitude, their spirit roots no higher than Yellow grade. Still, more than seventy had Mystic-grade roots. Such a child could cultivate at least to Golden Core. Once they grew up, they would become Qingxi City’s most dependable defenders.
Two children with Earth-grade roots were found as well, though there were none with Heaven-grade roots.
Children with spirit roots were taken into the Heaven-and-Earth Secret Realm to cultivate. Time formations had already been installed there, allowing the flow of time to be adjusted as needed.
Since the children were still at low cultivation levels, time was not accelerated too drastically. One month outside meant nearly one year inside. Some of the quicker learners with better aptitude had already reached the third level of Qi Refining. So Xia Yunzhao’s Hall of Ten Thousand Affairs was not merely a prank. It was a place for the children to practice what they had learned and become more interested in cultivation.
Participation was voluntary, and anyone unwilling could refuse, though secrecy was required. So far, however, not a single parent had turned down such an immense opportunity.
For the people of this world, the chance to embark on the immortal path was truly a golden windfall from heaven.
At the City Lord’s residence, another meeting was underway. Affairs had been so busy lately that no one could escape them, and meetings had grown more frequent.
Jiang Hanchuan said, “There’s something I don’t understand. We also discovered that many adults have spirit roots. Why aren’t they being allowed to cultivate too? Adults may progress more slowly than children, but there are so many more of them.”
Xing Wenyu had not been closely involved with the cultivation school and was not very familiar with Jiang Hanchuan. Hearing the question, he turned to Xia Yunzhao. “Did this fellow Daoist only recently come down from a mountain?”
Xia Yunzhao understood the implied criticism and smiled. “Fellow Daoist Jiang hasn’t paid much attention to these matters before, so he doesn’t know.” Then he explained to Jiang Hanchuan, “Qingxi City may seem harmonious now, but other powers have eyes hidden everywhere. Some people don’t even know they’re being controlled. If we recruited adults, we’d have to screen them carefully. Children are much less likely to pose that problem. We’ll certainly recruit adults into the school later, but we aren’t ready yet.”
Jiang Hanchuan nodded thoughtfully.
Xia Yunzhao continued, “Now that the cultivation school is running smoothly, you should all come teach classes when you have time. I’ve already prepared your schedules.”
Everyone wore the same expression: Damn it, more overtime.
Pretending not to notice, Xia Yunzhao said, “Now that we’ve gained experience in Qingxi City, the other cities should begin as well. I’ll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Jiang to make a few more Spirit-Testing Stones.”
Jiang Hanchuan nodded.
Xia Yunzhao thought for a moment. He seemed to have finished his business, so he asked, “Does anyone else have something to bring up?”
Everyone else shook their heads, but Brother Xing nodded. “Remember the golden spirit beast someone reported seeing before?”
How could Xia Yunzhao forget? He and Shang Shuangze had entered the Liancui Mountains precisely to search for that golden beast. That was how they had encountered the strange stone chest and Bu Yao.
Xing Wenyu said, “The spirit beast has appeared again. It’s still in the Liancui Mountains, but this time it was seen close to your little valley.”
Xia Yunzhao shot to his feet. “What?”
He grabbed Shang Shuangze and ran for the door, delighted as a puppy let loose to play. “Quick, quick! Another spirit beast is coming to live with us!”
Everyone behind them: “…”
Then it dawned on them, and they glared at Xing Wenyu. Damn it! This fellow had found an excuse to give Xia Yunzhao a day off!