The Silent Onlooker

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.” Ji Ning, now fully aware of how brutally competitive the Immortal Destiny Gathering would be, turned to look at the woman beside him with concern. “You’ve only trained for ten more years than I have. The experts at the Gathering might all be at the Wanxiang stage, but many have been cultivating for over three hundred years…”

“I already tried to talk her out of it,” Cangjiang the Realperson said with a sigh.

“Exactly. It’s far too dangerous. The top figures at the Gathering are all at the Wanxiang completion stage, but their insights into the Dao are already at the Immortal level—some even surpassing ordinary Immortals. Some of them are monstrous talents like you, brother Ji Ning, who deliberately held themselves back for three hundred years just to participate in this battle.” Beishan Baiwei shook his head worriedly. “Fire Rainbow Immortal, you may be a reincarnated Immortal, but you’ve only been training for a short time. Unless your past-life memories fully awaken…”

If those memories fully awakened, everything she had comprehended of the Dao in her past life would come rushing back.

Only then would she have a chance to truly compete!

“Most participants at the Immortal Destiny Gathering have completely mastered a single Dao,” Yu Wei said, shaking her head. “Those who have mastered two complete Daos are extremely rare. Comprehending three Daos would likely place one in the top ten. And understanding the Dao… you grow fastest in the Dāos you are naturally suited for. The ones you aren’t suited for become harder and harder.”

Ji Ning nodded.

Aside from the supreme Dao of the Sword, he was skilled in the Dao of Blazing Fire, the Dao of Rainwater, and the Dao of the Gale. Give him a hundred years, and he was confident he could fully comprehend all three. But if he needed to comprehend four Daos, five Daos… even if you gave him three hundred years, he had no confidence at all. He had no entry point for any of the other Daos.

“I’ve only mastered a single Dao for now,” Yu Wei said with a smile. “However, I occasionally recall fragments of my past-life memories, which has allowed me to learn a few secret arts. I’m much stronger than someone who has just recently mastered a single Dao.”

“Making it to the top ten is hopeless,” Yu Wei admitted. “But I am confident in my ability to survive.”

Ji Ning, Beishan Baiwei, and the others exchanged glances. Since Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei had already made up her mind, there was no point in trying to dissuade her further. Reincarnated Immortals were inherently special; there was always the chance her past-life memories would fully awaken.

“In my past life, I failed my tribulation and fell. This time, I must advance with courage and ferocity.” Yu Wei’s eyes shone with fierce light. “The Immortal Destiny Gathering is a chance to cross blades with the truly top-tier geniuses of the entire world. That is a tempering opportunity that comes once in a lifetime.”

Ji Ning felt a sudden stir in his heart.

She was right.

To have a chance to battle so many geniuses—this was a window that would only exist before one broke through to the Primal stage. Once you broke through, that opportunity would be lost forever.

“Should I go or not?” Ji Ning pondered. “Yu Wei said that comprehending three Daos generally guarantees a top-ten ranking. For cultivators, every additional Dao they comprehend causes a straight-line skyrocketing of power… As I am now, I am still far from the level of someone who has comprehended three Daos.”

“I still have three years.”

“I’ll wait and see. I’ll see how much my strength can increase in these three years.”

Ji Ning made his decision in that moment. For the next three years, he would exhaust every effort to increase his power as quickly as possible.

“Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei, Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang.” Ji Ning looked at the two of them.

Yu Wei and Cangjiang both looked back at him.

“Would the two of you be willing to stay at Serpentwing Lake for a while longer?” Ji Ning said helplessly. “I would like to ask for your guidance on martial techniques. In the years I’ve spent at Serpentwing Lake, I only truly went all-out against Daoist Snowfeather. The other times I hunted criminals or the like… I never got to truly cut loose.”

“Hahaha!” Cangjiang the Realperson laughed. “It’s hard to find a worthy opponent, indeed. Little brother, you walk the path of a Sword Immortal, and I hear you’re quite a fierce combatant. I would very much like to have a good bout with you.”

Yu Wei nodded and smiled. “I have nowhere in particular to go before the Immortal Destiny Gathering. Before I cross blades with the countless geniuses of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, sparring with you, Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning, might just allow me to increase my own strength another notch. But you’d better prepare plenty of fine wine and good food. Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang and I are quite demanding.”

“Leave that to me,” Beishan Baiwei said with a grin. “I’ll make sure the three of you are completely satisfied.”

These three were all at the very pinnacle of Wanxiang Adepts.

Yu Wei and Cangjiang were both reincarnated Immortals. As for Ji Ning, many people suspected he was also a reincarnated Immortal—after all, how else could his soul be so powerful? They believed Ji Ning had been a truly mighty Immortal in his past life, and precisely because he had been so powerful, it was incredibly difficult for him to awaken his past-life memories.

The stronger the past life, the harder the awakening. Loose Immortals like Celestial Immortal Juhua or Celestial Immortal Beixing, who rivaled true Celestial Immortals in power, would find it almost impossible to awaken their memories even if they successfully reincarnated and trained back up to the Earth Immortal level.

“The three of you are going to spar, and you’re just going to ignore me?” Mu Northson glared at them.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Cangjiang all turned to look at Mu Northson.

Mu Northson said indignantly, “I might not be your match when it comes to controlling magic treasures, but I have a real trump card—a golem that Master and I built together. It consumes a massive amount of Primordial Liquid, yes, but it’s absolutely comparable to a Primal Daoist! And this golem is a magic-treasure body; it’s even more indestructible than a Fiendgod Body Refiner’s body!”

“I suppose we can count you in,” Yu Wei said, laughing.

“Some powerful golems are indeed very formidable,” Cangjiang the Realperson agreed. “But it’s a pity that golem-users aren’t allowed to participate in the Immortal Destiny Gathering.”

“Why aren’t golem-users allowed to participate?” Mu Northson said angrily. “That’s completely unfair!”

Ji Ning chuckled. “I know a bit about this one. I’ve never heard of any major power who has fully comprehended the Dao of Golems. Since there’s no major power who walks this path, how could they guide you to become a Celestial Immortal?”

Mu Northson fell silent.

He was right.

The fundamental purpose of the Immortal Destiny Gathering was to allow the major powers to discover monstrously talented geniuses and take them as disciples. If a major power wasn’t skilled in the Dao of Golems, they naturally wouldn’t choose a disciple of that path.

The Dao of Golems was a pursuit of pushing the physical properties of all things to their absolute limit, seeking the perfection of heaven and earth. But heaven and earth contained so many things… simply reviewing all of them would take countless years. To truly and fully comprehend the Dao of Golems was said to be impossible, even in legend. Every cultivator who walked this path knew this… and yet they all acknowledged that this Dao had no limit. They would pursue ever greater power.

Yu Wei, Cangjiang, and Mu Northson decided to stay at Serpentwing Lake for a time. Beishan Baiwei returned home.

Ji Ning sparred and debated the Dao with the three of them. This allowed all of them to make varying degrees of progress.

One day, a large boat drifted across Serpentwing Lake.

The four of them were chatting idly.

“Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei? What’s wrong?” Ji Ning noticed that Yu Wei’s eyes were brimming with tears. He asked in surprise. During their earlier conversation, he had mentioned that his parents had passed away, and it seemed to have made Yu Wei very sad.

Cangjiang the Realperson said softly, “It’s the same as you. Yu Wei’s parents also died when she was young. It happened when she was still a child.”

“Died young…” Ji Ning was stunned.

Yu Wei’s eyes were filled with tears, but they instantly evaporated. Her gaze grew distant as she said calmly, “When I was young, I hadn’t even started cultivating yet. My memories were still sealed. Our tribe was attacked, and we were forced to flee… In the chaos of the escape, my parents died protecting me. In that moment, the shock triggered my innate, powerful soul to erupt. I slaughtered all of our enemies.”

Ji Ning could imagine it. A young child, her parents killed before her eyes, her soul exploding in a torrent of power. With the divine sense of a reincarnated Immortal… even Zifu Disciples would have been annihilated.

“But it was too late,” Yu Wei said, shaking her head. “My parents could never come back. I only spent three years with them, but I will never forget that time in my entire life.”

Three years?

Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei had only been three years old at the time.

A long shuttle streaked across the sky, traveling from the distant Shangshui Commandery all the way to the Yan Mountains of Anchan Commandery.

Because Nine Lotos was not a member of the Yinglong Guard, she couldn’t use the teleportation arrays. Thus, she was forced to fly the entire way…

“Finally here!”

The shuttle came to a halt.

Nine Lotos, clad in a pristine white Daoist robe, flew out and waved her hand to put the shuttle away. She gazed into the distance and immediately spotted a boat on the surface of Serpentwing Lake below. On the boat were four people drinking and chatting: Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Fire Rainbow Immortal Yu Wei, and Cangjiang the Realperson.

“Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei? Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang?” Nine Lotos was surprised.

At that same moment, the four people on the boat below also sensed the fluctuations in the air above and looked up.

Upon seeing Nine Lotos in the sky, Ji Ning’s face lit up with joy. He immediately stood up.

Yu Wei and the others also rose to their feet. Yu Wei and Nine Lotos had always been very close, so she immediately called out, “Little sister Nine Lotos!”

Swoosh!

Nine Lotos descended from the sky, landing directly on the boat. First, she exchanged a glance with Ji Ning. A subtle affection could be seen in both of their eyes. Then, she turned to look at Yu Wei and said happily, “Senior Apprentice-Sister, I didn’t expect to see you here. It’s been so long. Oh, and Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang, Junior Apprentice-Brother Northson.”

“It’s been a long time for me, too. Has it been ten years?” Yu Wei was also delighted. “Where did you disappear to for a full ten years?”

“Don’t even mention it,” Nine Lotos said, shaking her head helplessly. “My clan trapped me in the Ten Thousand Lotus Caverns. I couldn’t get out until a few days ago when I finally managed to break the formation. I flew all the way from Shangshui Commandery to Anchan Commandery. It took me ages.”

“Given your status, why did your clan trap you in the Ten Thousand Lotus Caverns?” Yu Wei asked, surprised. She was the one in the Black-White College who had the closest relationship with Nine Lotos. If Luo Qing was Nine Lotos’s childhood friend, then Yu Wei and Nine Lotos had become close simply because their temperaments matched so well. As a result, Yu Wei was one of the few people who knew about Nine Lotos’s background.

Nine Lotos cast Ji Ning a helpless glance. “It’s because of him.”

“Him?” Yu Wei felt that something about Nine Lotos’s glance was… off. It wasn’t the glance of a normal junior apprentice-brother or sister. It looked more like that of a pair of lovers bound by a romantic bond.

Ji Ning walked over and took Nine Lotos’s hand. He didn’t know what to say. After holding his tongue for a long time, he finally squeezed out three words: “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. It was a bit boring, but now that I’ve left the Ten Thousand Lotus Caverns, the Dongyan clan will no longer interfere with anything between you and me.” Nine Lotos looked at Ji Ning, her eyes filled with joy.

“They won’t interfere anymore?” Ji Ning couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight. The obstruction of the Dongyan clan had always been a thorn in Ji Ning’s heart. Now it seemed everything had been resolved, like smoke in the wind.

“Those two?”

Yu Wei stared, stunned, at how intimate Ji Ning and Nine Lotos were being.

“Can’t you see? They’ve become Dao-companions!” Cangjiang the Realperson laughed heartily.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning! You formed a Dao-companion bond and didn’t even tell me!” Mu Northson bellowed.

Yu Wei, meanwhile, simply stood to one side, watching silently. A faint, distant smile was the only thing on her face.