The hand was several hundred meters long, its fingers closed as Daemonic Qi churned over it.

  As it descended directly overhead, Three Blades Lin was left absolutely astonished.

  The hand had locked on to his Qi and there was nowhere to go.

  Resist?

  Resist, his foot!

  The land around him was crumbling under the tremendous force that hand wrought even for it reached, forming a huge palm print. Three Blades Lin himself would have been pressed into the rocks if he himself had nothing go for him.

  Even so, there was a flash of despair in his eyes.

  Neither fight nor flight were options……so he had to rely on his wits!

  Looking skyward, he bellowed in rage, “Sir, my gramps is the disciple of the Penglai immortal sect……”


  Boom!

  The air rumbled.

  The gigantic hand paused above, just three feet short of Three Blades Lin’s head. The mighty gusts it swept up were crashing through every direction, causing a tempest that extended over a thousand meters and snow to dance, cutting down untold numbers of ancient trees.

  Three Blades Lin was fully dumbstruck, his eyes going blank as he sweat buckets all over, his breathing becoming raspy right then.

  He had truly felt the brush of death in that split second.

  It took him over ten seconds to finally regain his senses. He wheezed as he gulped in mouthfuls of air, his face now looking a little pale.

  He looked up with much difficulty, but there was no seeing what was behind that hundred-meter-long hand that materialized out of Daemonic Qi.

  Whoosh!

  Nearby, another figure came dashing—it was Pei Donglai, the military elite stationed at the Jiangnan City base.

  Being another elite of the blade, he had strong links with Three Blades Lin and could be considered a disciple of Three Blades Lin’s father, having studied the way of the blade under the man’s tutelage.

  However, Three Blades Lin’s father failed to reach divine-tier and had passed away some time ago.

  Blade in hand, Pei Donglai stood at Three Blades Lin’s side and communicated with acoustics. “Brother Lin, don’t be reckless. It’s probably an ancient daemon eminence. I’ve already informed both our grand-master and Minister Wang, and we should wait until they arrive.”


  Three Blades Lin said nothing.

  Reckless, my foot.

  Can’t you see that daddy here doesn’t even dare to breathe too loudly?

  Beside them, the Scarlet Fox King called out shrilly, “Forefather, kill him, kill him……”


  A wave of killing intent resonated up in the air just then.

  Three Blades Lin caught it sharply and seethed, “Sir, are you really going to interfere?”


  “My gramps……”


  Cold laughter echoed from up in the air then, “Young human, do you really take me for a fool?”


  Whoosh.

  The Daemonic Qi palm faded.

  Up in the skies, an elderly person wearing an ancient scholar’s gown strode towards them.

  His frame was a little hunched and his ears were pointy, and he had a wooly fox tail dangling behind his back. The tail wagged restlessly even as he strode forward, making him look very unusual.

  He landed from above, stood before the Scarlet Fox King and took out a pitch-black medicinal pellet which he handed to the beast before eyeing Three Blades Lin and saying flatly, “If your grandfather was truly a disciple of the Penglai immortal sect, why aren’t you cultivating immortal arts?”


  “I feel not a single ripple of mana within your body.”


  ***

  Although Lin Tianzheng had mentioned that the foreign heritage site he entered was left by the Penglai Sect, he did not mention one word about the immortal art or Dao technique that he cultivated over there, only that he had sworn an oath before accepting the legacy.

  Therefore, Three Blades Lin had used the Penglai Sect’s fame only with the intent of staying his opponent’s hand, and certainly did not expect that he would rouse suspicion. Even so, he gained another moment of inspiration and smiled coolly, “I’m me, and my gramps is my gramps. Why should I learn those doggone immortal arts?”


  Now that things had come to this, he had to make it up as he went along.

  Every minute he could buy counted, and anything could wait until his gramps and Minister Wang rushed to the scene.

  Staying alive was top priority.

  “I am of the Lin clan, having trained diligently in the martial arts since I was a child whether it was winter or summer, and only then did I excel in the martial world and become the man I am now. If you ask me to give up on martial arts to learn immortal arts……daddy here won’t cave in easy!”


  As Three Blades Lin’s laughter continued, his frightful demeanor was all gone and his very gaze changed. In fact, his very speech and laughter was resounding…… even bearing a curious boldness!

  Meanwhile, the Scarlet Fox King had recovered considerably as well. It opened its mouth to swallow the three-floored tower back into its stomach before pointing at Three Blades Lin and screaming, “Forefather, kill him! His gramps is a martial elite of the Hua Nation just like him and there’s no way he’s a disciple of the Penglai Sect…… No one in the Hua Nation has received legacies of immortal arts or Daoist traditions!”


  “Nonsense!”


  Three Blades Lin barked, blade in hand as he shot the Scarlet Fox King a glare. “You piece of trash! Don’t you believe that I’ll cut down your doggone head if you dare to spout more rot?”


  “Not killing you is me giving your forefather face. Do you really believe yourself a bigwig now?”


  Scarlet Fox King was dumbfounded.

  In that very moment, the Scarlet Fox King, whose entire body was red like flames, was left a little baffled.

  That……tough?

  Was he for real?

  Was the Blade King’s gramps really a disciple of the Penglai Sect, a name that left even its forefather wary?

  As a matter of fact, Pei Donglai was as baffled as the Scarlet Fox King.

  He gave Three Blades Lin a surprised look why subtly communicating, “Are you for real, brother?”


  “Nonsense. Of course it is!”


  Three Blades Lin was speechless, and shot back, “The old man really did inherit a legacy from the Penglai Sect……don’t you know?”


  “I know that. I’m talking about……you refusing grand-master’s offer to teach you immortal arts……”


  Three Blades Lin was speechless.

  What the hell.

  When did that old man even offer that?

  I wanted to learn, but the old man was always about oath this, oath that…… and very stubborn about it. That said, I’m different since swearing oaths is no different from drinking.

  As for unhappy about cultivating immortal arts……that was clearly me putting on airs.

  But if I don’t make things up at a moment like this, how am I suppose to buy time until the old man and Minister Wang arrives?

  Meanwhile, the ancient daemon cultivator released a sudden burst of killing intent when he saw Three Blades Lin scold the Scarlet Fox King, but soon withdrew it and laughed coldly, saying, “Young human, you are quite spirited…… you are the first one who would dare to be so smug even in my presence.”


  Three Blades Lin smiled but said nothing.

  Spirited?

  I might look like my guts could reach the heavens, but I am actually scared witless inside!

  And smug? Is this being smug?

  You must have never met the smugger ones.

  If Wang Hou were here, his imposing aura would be overflowing and would start coming to blows once he hears something he doesn’t like.

  As for Jiang He……

  He would not even bother talking and would simply raise his blade to cut you down.

  Still, as Three Blades Lin stopped talking, the ancient daemon cultivator stopped saying a word as well. Even so, the vague aura emanating from his body was locked on tightly upon Pei Donglai and Three Blades Lin, keeping them from making any false moves.

  Nonetheless, a blade light cut through the horizon around half an hour later.

  Lin Tianzheng was the first to arrive.

  He landed in front of Three Blades Lin, but could not help twitching upon seeing the ancient daemon.

  Nonetheless, he offered him a fist-palm salute. “The name’s Lin Tianzheng, a titular disciple of the True Habitant of Nine Dragons hailing from the Penglai Sect. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”


  The ancient daemon frowned.

  He could confirm Lin Tianzheng’s identity.

  Anyone who could mention the Daoist title ‘True Habitant of Nine Dragons’ would definitely not be a phony……that said, merely being a titular disciple did not amount to much, and the man before him had not even reached Golden Pellet in immortal arts despite having passable martial arts cultivation.

  Even so, the Penglai Sect had sealed its mountains for over two thousand years, so there must be something special about him to have been taken in as a titular disciple.

  Whoosh!

  Wang Hou arrived then as well.

  He descended from the skies, combat blade in hand while emanating a towering killing intent. Frowning at the ancient daemon, he muttered, “Spirit clone?”


  “No…… this should be the Yuan Spirit Clone that kid Jiang He mentioned, isn’t it?”


  Wang Hou’s insight naturally identified that the aura of the ‘old man’ was above himself, but he was completely fearless. Putting fist to palm in salute, he flatly asked, “Are you an ancient daemon cultivator, sir?”


  “Why interfere in this matter if you are?

  In truth, the ‘old man’ was stunned upon seeing Wang Hou.

  His unique Qi Sight could see Wang Hou’s fiendish aura that seemed to reached the heavens……

  Curiously, however, a virtuous aura seemed to coexist alongside it.

  Most importantly, Wang Hou’s luck aura was unbelievably powerful as well.

  He had wanted to teach these men a lesson by subjugating them, but changed his mind right then.

  The foxes……had no feud with the world after all.

  It was the same two thousand years ago, and so it would be the same two thousand years later, as enlightenment returns with the Revival of Qi.

  The ‘old man’ hence pointed at the Scarlet Fox King and said, “This old man has no intention of meddling with worldly matters. Even so, the Scarlet Wolf is a descendant of the foxes, and this old man’s reluctant to allow it to die to a human blade. That is why I would act to save it—please be understanding over any transgression.”


  Lin Tianzheng’s gaze twitched.

  Inwardly, he was rather surprised.

  He had read about the foxes in one of the texts in the heritage sites. Though they had no feud with the world, it did not mean that they were weak.

  In fact, that ‘old man’ did not even look him straight in the eye even when he mentioned his identity as a titular disciple of the True Habitant of Nine Dragons from the Penglai Sect.

  On the other hand, he seemed to regard Wang Hou with importance, and even appear to humble himself.

  Be that as it may, Wang Hou took no notice of such manners. Furrowing his brow, he said at the ‘old man’ and said, “Sir……do you mean to protect the Scarlet Fox King?”


  The ‘old man’ nodded and offered a fist-palm salute. “I hope you would honor us foxes, friend.”


  Ignoring the ‘old man’, Wang Hou turned to Lin Tianzheng and asked, “Old Lin, how powerful is this Yuan Spirit Clone?”


  He was not using acoustics—Wang Hou had never bothered with using acoustics when facing a subject directly.

  After some thought, Lin Tianzheng answered, “The clone itself already wields power equal to a full-fledged Yuan Spirit……the true form would be Yuan Spirit-tier, equal to Zero Void tier in martial arts.”


  “Of course, daemonic cultivations are diverse. They might be slightly superior against martial artists despite being on the same level.”


  “Fart off!”


  Wang Hou barked, and started to laugh coldly. “Immortal arts are superior to martial arts? That might not be true. If I were Zero Void, I could definitely beat that Yuan Spirit or whatnot cultivator.”


  With that, he shot the ‘old man’ a look and said flatly, “Since your clone is more powerful than I am, you certainly would get your wish if you want to keep the Scarlet Fox King alive.”


  And then……

  “Let’s go!”


  Whoosh!

  Wang Hou took to the air.

  Sighing, Lin Tianzheng followed.

  Pei Donglai did so without a blink as well, whereas Three Blades Lin did a double take before yelling, “Minister Wang! The Scarlet Fox King has the blood of two hundred thousand lives on its paws and we’re letting it go just like that?”


  Wang Hou, who had flew several kilometers away laughed out loud before speaking with a thunderous voice that resounded over Mount Changbai. “Since we can’t kill it for now, why would letting it go matter?”


  “Would we really fail to kill it in the future as well?”


  “Let’s leave that bunch of monsters alive for a little longer!”


  “As long as I don’t die, every single one of their blood debts shall be repaid.”


  Three Blades Lin laughed at those words, feeling revitalized as every grief he felt being swept away. His entire body relaxed and he took to the air as well, chasing after Wang Hou.

  ***

  Back at Mount Changbai, the Scarlet Fox King watched as Wang Hou and the others left, smirking as it did. “A bunch of trash trying to kill this king?”


  Pow!

  Even before if finished, the fox elder had slapped into the ground.

  “Forefather……”


  The Scarlet Fox King was stunned, whereas the Fox Elder growled, “Us foxes had no quarrel against the world, but you would slaughter two hundred thousand mortals? What monumental karmic vileness.”


  Sigh!

  The ‘old man’ breathed a long sigh.

  He stared at the direction from which Wang Hou left for a while before reaching out to grab the Scarlet Fox King and disappearing in a flash.

  If he knew this would happen, he shouldn’t had bothered with this piece of trash.

  Still, since he had made a move, he naturally could not surrender the Scarlet Fox King for the dignity of the foxes……after all, the Scarlet Fox King possessed a special bloodline, being a descendant of the foxes’ greatest.

  Otherwise, it would not be this scarlet and grow wings on its back.

  ***

  Damn it!

  After flying over fifty kilometers away, Wang Hou, getting increasingly frustrated the more he thought, suddenly released a slash, chopping a peak off a mountain.

  Such grief!

  If he had stuck to his guns, he would have gone on a rampage at a single wrong word. Would he have bothered with enduring such grief like he did today?

  Once he reached Void-tier, he was honored as the Hua Nation’s First Man……even though it was mostly flattery, did it not have a ring to the ears?

  Still, no one would have expected that some monstrosity would pop up in the blink of an eye.

  Did the title Hua Nation’s First Man even matter now?

  That said, if he were not Void-tier, but Zero Void or even stronger, would he have given face to that fox elder?

  He would kill the Scarlet Fox King on the spot, and destroy the Yuan Spirit Clone of the ‘old man’ as well if he dared to get in his way!

  ‘My cultivation at the moment is lacking…… I must go in seclusion to cultivate for a while!’


  ‘No way, that’s too slow. I need to seek a chance encounter……’ Wang Hou thought to himself.

  While such ‘chance encounters’ were as hard as shooting for the skies, especially for others who would not gain such providence over the course of their lives……

  Wang Hou had the experience.

  He was merely in his forties, but his cultivation did not fall short even against 200-year old antiques like Lin Tianzheng, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan.

  But what had he relied upon?

  Ancestry? Schooling?

  Wang Hou had none of those.

  Before the Revival of Qi, he was an ordinary public servant whose hobby was martial arts.

  His martial arts skills were not passed down in his familiar or from a master.

  Instead, he simply picked it up at the mountains, when he was on a trip.

  Then, a dozen years ago, when signs of the Revival of Qi were becoming obvious deep in the forests across the world, Wang Hou’s ‘chance encounters’ became even more outrageous.

  Any trip would end up with a discovery of curious treasures and floral spirits, developing upon the dawn of the Revival of Qi.

  He would find heritage sites if he went up a mountain and secure the legacies within.

  In fact, Wang Hou’s claim that he alone inherited the legacies of seven heritage sites were not false.

  If he was in a novel, he definitely possesses a protagonist’s template, and on a cheater’s level at that.

  ***

  Meanwhile, at Jinyintan Village, inside the farm of Jiang He’s house—having finished harvesting the third batch of Doom Shrooms, Jiang He arrived before the massive lotus flower.

  At the center of it was the ‘dangling’ Boa Hancock……

  Ripe for the plucking.