The Echo of Victory

Having reached the Primal Daoist stage, the Snowfeather Daoist was no fool. He understood very well that someone like Ji Ning, who had advanced at such a monstrous pace—from birth to his current level in merely thirty years, matching the achievements of someone like himself who had cultivated for a thousand years—was absolutely not someone to be made an enemy of.

“All of you, listen carefully.” The Snowfeather Daoist’s gaze swept across the assembled crowd below. “This Ji Ning is absolutely not to be provoked. If you do provoke him, I fear that even our Snowdragon Mountain will be unable to protect you.”

Everyone acknowledged the order.

After witnessing that battle, not a single person dared to provoke Ji Ning.

News of this battle began to spread at an astonishing speed. The Snowfeather Daoist had not imposed a gag order on his subordinates, because he knew that even if the people of Snowdragon Mountain did not spread the news, the Ji Clan would certainly do so. Since that was the case, he might as well pretend not to know and let the news spread as it would.

“At Ji Ning’s rate of progress, it won’t be long before his reputation shines even more brightly. To have become his stepping stone is hardly a disgrace.” The Snowfeather Daoist consoled himself with this thought.

The news quickly reached the heart of the Anchan Commandery, Anchan City itself.

Among Ji Ning’s circle of friends, the first to receive the news was Beishan Baiwei.

“Haha, excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Beishan Baiwei excitedly slammed his hand down on the low table before him. The fruit platters and wine jugs on the table jumped into the air, scattering all over the floor, startling the nearby musicians.

“Pu’an.” Beishan Baiwei looked at the kneeling servant who had delivered the message, a smile on his face. “You have rendered great service by bringing this intelligence. Here, I bestow upon you ten taels of Primordial Liquid.”

He tossed a jade bottle directly to the servant.

The servant, who had just barely stepped into the Zifu Disciple realm, accepted the bottle with trembling excitement. This was merely an intelligence report from the Beishan Blacktiger Estate’s information department, and he was just the messenger… yet he had been rewarded with ten taels of Primordial Liquid. Clearly, Young Master Beishan Baiwei was in an extremely good mood.

“This brother of mine, Ji Ning, is truly formidable. Formidable indeed!” Beishan Baiwei paced excitedly back and forth within the hall. “It hasn’t been that long. He only joined the Black-White College a little over ten years ago, and he is still just a Wanxiang Adept. Yet he actually managed to make the Snowfeather Daoist retreat and force a branch of Snowdragon Mountain to relocate. That’s a clear sign of submission!”

“In the Black-White College’s third generation of disciples, my brother Ji Ning can probably stand shoulder to shoulder with slobs like the Sanpang Realperson and Flamesaint.”

“But the Sanpang Realperson and Flamesaint have each trained for over two hundred years. Ji Ning has only trained for thirty years.” Beishan Baiwei was first happy for his brother, and then he realized that his decision to befriend Ji Ning in the past had truly paid off handsomely.

In his excitement, Beishan Baiwei suddenly glanced at the group of dumbfounded musicians beside him. Only then did he remember he had been in the middle of listening to a performance.

“All of you, leave. All of you, out.” Beishan Baiwei waved his hand.

The musicians and the maidservants all withdrew.

A look of anticipation appeared in Beishan Baiwei’s eyes. “I hope my brother Ji Ning doesn’t stumble and fall on his path of cultivation. With a rate of progress that far surpasses the Sanpang Realperson and Flamesaint, and even surpasses most reincarnated Immortals… as long as he doesn’t die, once he becomes an Immortal, he will be among the top-tier of Immortals. When that time comes, I will truly have a powerful ally.”

The news also spread to the Black-White College.

The Black-White College’s ‘Flowing Cloud Realperson,’ Chen Jin, had just returned from enjoying himself in the Wuyou Caverns. He was feeling quite at ease as he descended into his own mountain peak estate.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowing Cloud.”

Two of his ten female retainers immediately greeted him.

“What is it?” Chen Jin glanced at the two female disciples.

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowing Cloud, you told us to pay attention to any news regarding Senior Apprentice-Brother Northmont, didn’t you?” One of the slightly thinner female retainers quickly said. “We just heard… that Senior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning fought a battle with the Snowfeather Daoist, one of the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain, at Serpentwing Lake. Ji Ning’s strength was so immense that the Snowfeather Daoist ultimately chose to retreat and leave, even voluntarily relocating their Snowdragon Mountain branch in the Yan Mountains.”

“What?” Chen Jin’s good mood instantly vanished, and his face turned ashen. “You heard this correctly? This Ji Ning forced the Snowfeather Daoist to retreat? He has this kind of strength?”

“We did not hear incorrectly. The news just reached the Black-White College today, and the entire college is abuzz with it.”

“That’s right. Everyone is talking about it right now.”

Both female retainers spoke.

Chen Jin’s face was dark. Ji Ning had long since become a demon in his heart. Seeing Ji Ning’s glory naturally filled him with fury. He said in a low voice, “Tell me everything you’ve heard, in full detail.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowing Cloud, the source of this matter is the Ji Clan of the Yan Mountains and the Snowdragon Mountain Yan Mountain branch…” The thinner female retainer began to speak.

In a broad and luxurious hall, a short old man dressed in tattered beggar’s robes was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Before him were various bowls and plates containing delicacies. With his greasy hand, he grabbed the meat and ate it directly, while in his other hand he held a gourd of wine, drinking as he pleased.

Across from him sat an equally slovenly, fat youth, who was also eating and drinking without any regard for manners.

“Little Slob, it seems this Ji Ning has made great progress in his strength. He has at least reached the level of Flamesaint and the others, and might even be a match for you.” The short old man quickly said.

The fat youth shook his head. “The title of being the number one third-generation disciple of the Black-White College… did it ever give me any real benefit? Not a single shred of advantage!”

The fat youth was completely unconcerned. “I can rank at the very top here in the Black-White College, but if you look at the entire vast world ruled by the Grand Xia Dynasty… at the Wanxiang Adept level, there are thousands, even tens of thousands of reincarnated Immortals. There are probably countless who are stronger than me!”

“So, ranking number one in the Black-White College means nothing. My only opponent is myself. I just have to keep surpassing myself, and that’s enough.” The fat youth shook his head. “That’s why I don’t go to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s capital.”

“Right, right! The Grand Xia capital has attracted the strongest geniuses from almost every commandery in this endless land this time. Even some peerless geniuses from overseas have all gone to the capital. This is an opportunity that comes only once every three hundred years, and only those below the Primal Daoist stage can participate. A once-in-three-centuries chance! If you win against all those reincarnated Immortals and geniuses from other regions, you would truly fly up to the heavens!” the short old man quickly said.

“I’m afraid of dying,” the fat youth shook his head.

“You lazy slob!” the short old man scolded angrily. “How can the path of cultivation tolerate such laziness?”

“No rush. I’ll just cultivate slowly. Good wine to drink, good meat to eat, and a beautiful life to live. I’ll become whatever I become. I’m not going to go fight and kill,” the fat youth shook his head.

The short old man was helpless.

But he also admired this fat youth. In fact, he often wondered… when it came to the Dao-heart, it was possible that among all the Primal Daoists and Immortals of the Black-White College, this fat youth had the strongest Dao-heart of them all. But whether a Dao-heart was strong or not was not apparent on the surface. He was the only one who believed the fat youth’s Dao-heart was the strongest in the Black-White College.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is truly amazing! After not seeing him for ten years, he’s already this strong.” Mu Northson, who had been engrossed in his study of puppet arts, was extraordinarily excited when he heard the news. “I haven’t seen senior apprentice-brother in all these years. I should go and see him.”

With Ji Ning’s battle being so famous, there were quite a few people interested in visiting him.

Mu Northson made a few connections and soon gathered a group.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go to Serpentwing Lake.”

“After so many years, Junior Apprentice-Brother Northmont has become so powerful.” There were over a dozen people who went to visit Ji Ning, most of them friends who had a good relationship with him, and even two reincarnated Immortals were among them.

When one’s strength reached a certain level, recognition naturally followed.

Soon, this group of over a dozen people left the Black-White College and headed for Serpentwing Lake.

Seated cross-legged on a jade bed, the black-robed, black-haired Diancai Immortal opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face.

“So many little fellows are going to Ji Ning’s place. It seems my disciple’s strength has earned the recognition of his fellow disciples. To be able to force the Snowfeather Daoist to retreat… my disciple’s ‘Three-Foot Sword’ must have reached an extremely profound level. The fourth stance? Or the fifth? Hmph, this kid hasn’t come to see me even once in ten years.” The Diancai Immortal thought to himself. The Three-Foot Sword only had six stances publicly available in the Black-White College, so even the Diancai Immortal only knew the first six stances.

Of course, the Diancai Immortal’s strongest sword technique was not the Three-Foot Sword; he had already forged his own path.

This battle truly spread Ji Ning’s fame throughout the entire Anchan Commandery. His friends, his seniors in the sect, and even other major sects and great tribes began to pay attention to Ji Ning. From this moment on, Ji Ning could be considered one of the influential figures in the land of the Anchan Commandery.

In the distant Dongshui Commandery, within the Dongyan Mountain Range.

Inside a secluded, deep cave.

Nine Lotos, clad in a pristine white Daoist robe, sat cross-legged on a rocky surface. She had been trapped within this Ten Thousand Lotus Cave for nearly nine years. Almost every day, she attempted to break the formation. However, the formation set up by the ‘Dongyan Ancestor’ reflected one’s Dao-heart. To break the formation, one actually had to comprehend their own Dao-heart thoroughly, to see through themselves, a process of truly understanding the heart.

Nine Lotos had not yet succeeded.

“Master, Master.” A voice came from outside.

Nine Lotos opened her eyes and spoke, “What is it?”

Although she could not leave, her retainers would still report important matters from the outside world using the simple method of shouting from outside the cave.

“Master, we have just received news. That Ji Ning of the Yan Mountains forced the Snowdragon Mountain branch in the Yan Mountains to relocate. This provoked the Snowfeather Daoist, one of Snowdragon Mountain’s three patriarchs, to personally arrive at Serpentwing Lake. Ji Ning absolutely refused to back down, and so the Snowfeather Daoist made his move,” the retainer said from outside.

Nine Lotos was filled with a mixture of anger, anxiety, and worry. “This fool, why does he have to be so stubborn. That is a Primal Daoist at the perfected stage!”

“The Snowfeather Daoist used his ultimate technique, the Mandarin Duck Divided Light Sword, in a battle with Ji Ning. However, Ji Ning used a divine ability to transform into a hundred-meter-tall giant and executed an astonishingly powerful sword technique… He actually fought the Snowfeather Daoist until the latter took the initiative to retreat and even lowered his head, telling the Yan Mountain branch to move away,” the retainer continued from outside.

“What?” Nine Lotos was stunned.