Volcanic Age

The first thing Zhou Xuchuan did after leaving Shandong was to change his identity. He decided to begin with his face, so he went to the same craftsman from before and asked him to craft another human face mask.

"Whew, it's been a while." Zhou Xuchuan looked at the face reflected in the water and stroked his cheek. It had been a while since he saw the face of the Phantom Bow Swordsman.

"Now, I'll have to start moving in earnest."

He had been hiding his identity and staying quiet for a while, but he no longer had to do that. Now, he could act freely.

There's not much time left.

The Great War of Good and Demonic was still ongoing. He had to calm down and adjust his mental state so that he could fight alongside them during the war. He had to run around like crazy, so he had to use his lightness art all day long.

"Little Ghost, consume these first. Otherwise, it'll be hard for you to keep up with me."

He had Little Ghost take two elixirs that the Gold Will Merchants procured for him, and he improved their efficacy using what he had learned from the Divine Physician.

Thanks to those two elixirs, Little Ghost gained nearly a year's worth of qi. While she still couldn't advance to the next realm due to the Mind Killing, her qi reserves were, for all intents and purposes, already comparable to the next realm.

If she was lacking in raw power, she could take advantage of the Piercing Mark Sorcery Art to break through to the Harmony Realm. Thus, her inability to make a breakthrough wasn't really a problem.

"By the way, do you need anything?"

Zhou Xuchuan would have died if Little Ghost hadn't helped him at the time. After all, his heart was punctured. Moreover, his head would have gone flying before he could use Regression had it not been for her.

Zhou Xuchuan found it weird to order around his benefactor, but even if he wanted to make her life easier, there was nothing he could do about it.

"I don't really understand the meaning of the question."

Little Ghost was a puppet who wouldn't do anything unless he ordered it. Even if Zhou Xuchuan wanted to fix her mind, he couldn't do so. In fact, he had tried several times, but he realized that his efforts were useless.

"The Three-Eyed Godly Thief truly is the devil."

The aftereffects of the Mind Killing were truly horrifying.

"Let's start by looking for Destructive Soldier."

Zhou Xuchuan began investigating the Regional Military Commissioner of Gansu Province—or the high-ranking official of the second rank who had ordered the opening of Yumen Pass.

However, he immediately ran into an obstacle.

"The Regional Military Commissioner died?"

During the Great War of Good and Blood, he found traces of Destructive Soldier, but Zhou Xuchuan's one and only clue had disappeared, leaving him bewildered.

Looking into the Regional Military Commissioner's cause of death, of all things, it was falling off a horse.

"Falling off a horse?"

Zhou Xuchuan frowned.

The Regional Military Commissioner was under the command of the Five Military Commissions. Moreover, being in charge of such a commission at the border meant that the Commissioner would have been an officer.

Falling from a horse was rare, and it was also strange that such a capable officer had died during training.

"So you've cut off your tail, Blessed Existence!"

It seemed that this wasn't going to be easy. Even Blessed Existence's trail was severed neatly. Moreover, it was amazing that he casually killed such a high-ranking individual.

I'm sure it's more than just falling off a horse. Considering his rank, he would have at least tried to use a falling technique while falling to the ground.

Zhou Xuchuan had the Phantoms of the Gansu Branch investigate the falling off a horse accident as intensively as possible.

It had been quite a while since the accident itself, but considering the status of the deceased, the Phantoms barely managed to uncover more information.

It's hard to accept that a horse suddenly went crazy and ran wild during training. Considering it was the horse of the Commissioner, so they would have been even more careful.

In the empire, high-ranking officials had power comparable to that of a king. The horse of a high-ranking official would surely have three or four stablekeepers and managers.

There was almost no chance that a horse that had been thoroughly checked by such experts beforehand would suddenly go crazy and run wild.

Zhou Xuchuan wondered whether the horse had gone wild due to poison or some hidden weapons, but that wasn't it, either. After investigating with suspicion, additional clues came up.

"It was a sound art."

As the name suggested, a sound art was a technique performed through sound.

Like Lion's Roar, some techniques could only be performed through sound, and they would use sound waves to destroy their targets. It was also possible to use the vibrations of sound to attack, and it was similar to qi penetration techniques.

It was versatile, like poison arts, but most martial artists discriminated against it for more mainstream techniques. Since no one would actively practice a sound art, its lineages disappeared, and there was only one place specializing in sound arts.

"The Four Gates of the Evil Dao—the Melody Gate!"

***

The Righteous Faction forces stationed at Qinghai Lake had grown. Looking down from above, the scale of the installed barracks was quite large. It was very different from its earlier appearance, which made it look like a refugee camp.

Among them was a barrack engulfed in a strange heat. It was a tent with a plum blossom-shaped flag erected over it.

"...!"

Clang.

Luo Xiaoyue's sword fell to the ground.

"Child."

Shen Yulian came over and patted Luo Xiaoyue's hand. The girl had been swinging a sword since she was young, so there were calluses on her hand. However, her hand was completely bruised and battered. Her calluses were torn and bleeding from swinging her sword too many times.

Shen Yulian took out a bandage from her bosom and wrapped Luo Xiaoyue's hand.

"I'm fine."

Luo Xiaoyue smiled faintly as if trying to reassure her master, but her smile made her look pitiful. It was a forced smile, and anyone could see that, which was why it was even more heartbreaking.

"Get some rest." Those who knew Shen Yulian would be surprised by her words, as she was known for being strict even within the Mount Hua Sect.

She was the type of master to tell her disciples to study whenever they had free time. In fact, the trainees hated her the most. The fact that such mellow words had come out of her mouth proved that Luo Xiaoyue's condition was exceedingly bad.

Zhou Xuchuan…

Almost a month had passed since that incident, and when the Mount Hua Sect heard the news, they were stupefied. At first, they had also dismissed it as a mere rumor, refusing to believe it.

As time passed, Zhou Xuchuan's whereabouts became even more unclear, and the rumors gained strength, leaving them no choice but to accept it.

The disciples of Mount Hua Sect were sad and angry.

From then on, Luo Xiaoyue's behavior became bizarre. She began training to the point of torturing herself—to the point of eliciting bewilderment from those familiar with her.

People tried to stop her, but she refused to stop. Even if she was forced to rest, she would go back to practicing the next day. The calluses on her hands had long been ripped apart, but she would continue until her hands were lacerated.

Unable to stand it any longer, Shen Yulian scolded her, saying not to push herself too hard, but it was to no avail. Luo Xiaoyue was still swinging her sword as if she had lost her mind.

Is that child's death that saddening?

There was a subtle anger to Luo Xiaoyue's sword, and it didn't take long for Shen Yulian to understand why she was pushing herself so hard.

The hero of the Righteous Faction and the greatest disciple of Mount Hua—Zhou Xuchuan.

Shen Yulian missed Zhou Xuchuan, but she resented him at the same time.

As one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua, she was grateful to him, and she was disappointed that he died so early.

Shen Yulian sighed. She wanted to tell her to stop; she wanted to take away her sword and make her face reality, but she couldn't do that. In the end, she could only watch her disciple from afar, and she would only stop her whenever she thought that Luo Xiaoyue was on the verge of death.

However, Shen Yulian's efforts were useless because Luo Xiaoyue would wake up earlier than anyone else and return to training with the sword the next day.

The master wasn't happy whatsoever at the sight of her disciple working so tirelessly, and at the same time, she felt regretful at the sight.

***

Jiangxi, Nanchang…

It was a city rich in natural resources, including the fertile rice fields of the Jiangxi Basin. It was also famous for rice, tea, cotton, tobacco, hemp, wood, and porcelain.

Among its incredible resources, there was a famous place often mentioned throughout the world—the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

It was one of the three famed pavilions in Nanchang. It was founded in the Tang Dynasty and was rebuilt over time. It had three stories and was standing about nine zhang high and five zhang wide.

It was also historically valuable, and it was the most striking building in Nanchang.

A closer look would easily overwhelm anyone by its grandeur, and one would also be dazzled by its majesty.

The sound of the zithers and the plucking of strings attracted people's footsteps.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng was where Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the Founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had held a banquet to commend the merits of his ministers, along with poets and bards writing poems and essays to entertain the nobles.

However, that was a tale from a long time ago.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng was a pleasure house meant to entertain government officials, but it had been destroyed several times over the years due to various wars.

Whenever it was being rebuilt, the emperor and other government officials would visit other places, and eventually, they stopped visiting its halls.

Afterward, the Pavilion of Prince Teng became a brothel, targeting ordinary people and wealthy merchants, all for the sake of survival. However, even the new brothel version of the Pavilion of Prince Teng was eventually destroyed beyond recognition, only for a martial sect to pay to take it over.

The martial sect was none other than the Melody Gate.

"Wow~ It's the Pavilion of Prince Teng. The Pavilion of Prince Teng!"

"My dream is to rise to the second floor."

The gap between the floors of the Pavilion of Prince Teng was as wide as the gap between warriors and experts.

Ordinary people would have to give up their life savings to reach the second floor and enjoy the provided drinking and dancing. As for the third floor, it was impossible to reach with money alone.

Its main customers were the members of the upper class, so visitors needed the appropriate dignity, courtesy, and reputation. Even if one couldn't reach the third floor, there were still courtesans on the second floor capable of stealing a man's soul, leaving one completely satisfied.

Moreover, while the first floor wasn't as splendid as the second floor, the provided courtesans were still of a higher quality than most. Of course, their price matched the standards of their service.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng was surrounded by men who wanted to have fun but were too broke, so they decided to stay here to catch a glimpse of the courtesans' faces, at the very least.

"Little Ghost," Zhou Xuchuan muttered as he looked up at the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

"I await your orders."

"Don't follow me and wait nearby."

"Understood."

Zhou Xuchuan climbed the stairs to the Pavilion of Prince Teng and headed toward the main gate.

"Look at that fool! He must have sold his house deed, right?"

"Kekeke!"

Zhou Xuchuan was looking around as he ascended, so the others instantly realized that it was his first time here. The men nearby teased him.

When Zhou Xuchuan passed through the main entrance, he was instantly inundated by loud noises.

"Bwahahaha!"

"Drink, drink, drink!"

"Come over here!"

There were attendants running around busily, courtesans laughing with their sleeves covering their mouths, and patrons muttering random things while slurring their words.

"Welcome to the Pavilion of Prince Teng."

The courtesans at the entrance bowed and greeted Zhou Xuchuan.

Every move that they made was filled with grace.

As expected, this truly is the den of the Evil Faction murim.

The courtesans and the attendants were clearly trained martial artists and most of them were either Second Class or Third Class experts. Zhou Xuchuan also noticed a few figures strategically hidden within the pavilion, and most of them were either First Class experts or Peak Realm experts.

Even the Red and Blue Houses of the Xia Wu Sect weren't on this level.

As expected from the domain of the Melody Gate, they weren't ordinary.

Well, the Gate Master is a gate master, after all.

Zhou Xuchuan had no intention of making a fuss at the Pavilion of Prince Teng. He searched his pocket and took out a gold yuanbao weighing a whopping ten taels.[1]

"Ah!"

When the gold yuanbao appeared, people gasped, and some revealed greed at the sight.

"I'll guide you to the second floor," a courtesan said carefully as she took the gold yuanbao.

"No." Zhou Xuchuan waved his hand. "The third floor."

Swoosh!

There was some movement from above. The gazes of the people enjoying the drinking and dancing around him shifted slightly. The courtesan who had received the gold yuanbao bowed, seemingly ashamed.

"Excuse me, Great Hero, but may I ask your name?"

"The Phantom Bow Swordsman."

Snap.

Time came to a screeching halt, and a deafening silence descended. Everyone's eyes landed on one place. Everyone wasn't looking at the new guest but rather at a warrior drinking alcohol surrounded by courtesans in the corner of the first floor.

"What sort of bastard dares to impersonate Eldest Hyungnim?!"

There were nine of them. They were all warriors with fierce expressions and sword scars. There were also swords hanging at their waists.

"Impersonate?" Zhou Xuchuan tilted his head.

"I am Jin Ba, and I'm the eldest of the nine younger brothers of the Phantom Bow Swordsman. I'm a hero of the Evil Valley, and I contributed to the suppression of the Four Gates' rebellion!"

"Damn it! Eldest Hyungnim's name must have already spread throughout the Central Plains, as there's actually some bastard impersonating Eldest Hyungnim!"

The warriors standing behind Jin Ba hurled harsh curses.

"I've never had younger brothers like you."

Zhou Xuchuan snickered at the sight of Jin Ba and the other eight.

"Hahaha!" Jin Ba laughed in disbelief. "This swindler really is good at speaking out of his ass. I guess he doesn't value his life."

"You're right; you don't value your lives." Zhou Xuchuan smiled lightly at Jin Ba.

1. Roughly about 33 THOUSAND USD. Wtf. Also, a Yuanbao, more commonly known as a Sycee, was a type of ingot used in Ancient China in a larger monetary amount than a tael. ☜

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