The Weight of a Sect’s Legacy

Ji Ning’s eyes stung.

After killing Shaoyan Nong, Ji Ning had no longer held any hope that the Black-White College would continue to help him, its disciple. In truth, Ji Ning felt he owed the Black-White College a debt. Because of him… the relationship between the Black-White College and the Shaoyan clan had certainly soured. Ji Ning had resolved to face the Shaoyan clan alone.

“Master… he went out to train?” Ji Ning asked, worried.

“Mn. Your master couldn’t help you at all with your affairs, and it shook him badly. On top of that, he doesn’t feel confident about surviving his tribulation, so he went out to temper himself,” the Wufeng Immortal said with a sigh. “But in this world, how can everything go as one wishes? Your master is just too stubborn.”

Ji Ning was silent.

“Look quickly,” Wufeng Immortal said, placing the Aqua Source Manual in Ji Ning’s hands.

Ji Ning nodded. No matter how many thoughts he had, insufficient power made them useless.

“In my past life and this one, what I want is to hold my fate in my own hands.” This fierce desire in Ji Ning’s heart only made his Dao-heart grow more resolute.

Ji Ning flipped through the lower volume of the Aqua Source Manual, memorizing it carefully.

After he had finished memorizing everything.

Flames appeared in Ji Ning’s hand, directly burning the books. Wufeng Immortal then handed him the third volume of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens.

The complete Aqua Source Manual, the third volume of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, the complete Heavenly Transformation, the complete Thunder God Eye, the complete Ten Thousand Venoms, the complete Three Heads, Six Arms, the complete Blazing Heart Eye, the complete Soul-Shattering Art, the complete Soul-Confusing Art, and the complete Soul-Annihilating Art.

These were what Wufeng Immortal had brought — nearly all of the most important divine abilities and secret arts from the Black-White College that were suitable for Ji Ning.

He read one, burned one.

Some divine ability manuals had over ten copies. As a cultivator, his memory was naturally astonishing. Ji Ning continued memorizing until daybreak the next morning before he finished committing everything to memory. Of course, in the middle of it, Ji Ning had accompanied his grandmaster to the banquet prepared by Yuchi Xiyue.

“No need to see me off.”

At the gates of the marquis’s estate, Ji Ning was sending off the departing Wufeng Immortal.

“Ji Ning,” Wufeng Immortal said, looking at him with a smile. “From the banquet last night, it seems that Yan Marquis thinks very highly of you. He’s a Celestial Immortal, and he values you so much—you have to work hard. Everything the Black-White College can give you, it has. I’m just surviving one tribulation at a time now, and I don’t have many years left. I sincerely hope that one of the disciples of our Black-White College can become a Celestial Immortal. Your master is fighting for it, so you have to fight too.”

Ji Ning nodded.

“In the Grand Xia capital, you need to be careful on your own,” Wufeng Immortal said, grinning. “Since you’re going to the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, give it everything you’ve got. If you manage to take a high-ranking power of the Three Realms as your master… when that happens, the Shaoyan clan will definitely be dumbstruck.”

“Mn. I’ll give it my all,” Ji Ning said.

“Alright, I’m off.” Wufeng Immortal turned and left, carrying his gourd of wine, completely at ease. He quickly vanished from Ji Ning’s sight.

Ji Ning took a deep breath. At this moment… his sense of belonging to the Black-White College was overwhelmingly strong.

“No matter what day it is, I, Ji Ning, will always be a disciple of the Black-White College,” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

Then he turned and went back into the Yan Marquis’s estate.

…

“Senior, Ji Ning has arrived at the estate gates.”

“He’s out?” Floating Cloud Immortal said urgently.

“He went back in.”

Floating Cloud Immortal’s face revealed barely restrained anxiety. “Go keep watch,” he barked.

Although he was a Loose Immortal, and although his patience was excellent, he had sworn a Heavenly Oath before Ancestor Xuanji. He had to kill Ji Ning within three days.

“A day and a half has already passed,” Floating Cloud Immortal said, his voice filled with anxiety. “Ji Ning, Ji Ning… are you planning to stay in the estate forever? If that’s the case, I’ll die far too unjust a death.”

Inside the estate, in the Water Mansion’s main hall.

“Ji Ning, that fellow Wufeng brought a lot of divine abilities and secret arts. The secret arts are up to you, but among those divine abilities, don’t cultivate the Ten Thousand Venoms — absolutely refuse to cultivate it,” the yellow-furred bear said.

“Ah?” Ji Ning was surprised. “The Ten Thousand Venoms is considered one of the most powerful divine abilities of our Black-White College. It and the Blazing Heart Eye both require the most Black-White Pearls to exchange for. Besides, divine abilities… the more, the better, right? It shouldn’t be a problem.”

The yellow-furred bear shook his head. “It is more, the better. But training in a divine ability requires you to split your focus, doesn’t it? And it takes time. The Ten Thousand Venoms requires you to use over ten thousand types of rare poisons to train. Finding that many poisons is extremely difficult, and fusing them into your body one by one is a huge hassle—it’s a thankless task. Besides, your divine body should be as pure as possible. What good does it do to mix that many poisons into it? When you become a True God in the future, you’ll probably have to actively expel all those toxins and discard the ability anyway.”

Ji Ning was stunned.

“What about the other divine abilities?” Ji Ning asked hurriedly.

“Heavenly Transformation and Three Heads, Six Arms are divine abilities that almost all Fiendgods in the Three Realms cultivate. They’re the most common, but they’re also very practical,” the yellow-furred bear said. “You definitely need to cultivate those. As for the others… didn’t you already acquire Five Thunders Subdues All Evils? That, along with Thunder God Eye, are both cultivatable. They complement each other, boosting each other’s power. Also, Thunder God Eye is actually the foundation of a top-tier grand divine ability of the Three Realms — the God of Thunder Eye.”

Ji Ning laughed. “Having an elder in the house really is like having a treasure.”

“Mm. So you little brat better show me a bit more respect,” the yellow-furred bear said smugly.

“How powerful is this top-tier grand divine ability of the Three Realms, the God of Thunder Eye?” Ji Ning asked curiously.

“In the Three Realms, it ranks among the top hundred divine abilities. It’s one level below the Starseizing Hand,” the yellow-furred bear said. “But that’s still extremely formidable. Everyone who has fully mastered the God of Thunder Eye is an influential figure in the Three Realms.”

Ji Ning nodded.

Over the past year or so, he had already trained Five Thunders Subdues All Evils, Sprinkle Beans to Form Soldiers, and Three Heads, Six Arms to their current limits.

“There’s still a year and some before the Immortal Fortunes Assembly. I need to make some progress with Thunder God Eye, Soul-Confusing Art, and Soul-Annihilating Art,” Ji Ning thought to himself.

…

“Open!”

Ji Ning stood in the main hall of the Water Mansion, letting out a loud shout. His forehead split open, revealing a vertical eye, and a bolt of lightning thunderclap shot out, striking the distant ground of the hall.

“Hm? Someone? It’s not even dark yet, and the banquet hasn’t even started. Why would a servant be coming over?” Ji Ning focused his mind, and the Thunder God Eye in his forehead immediately closed. He had only just begun to train this divine ability, but its power was already nothing to scoff at.

Ji Ning arrived at the entrance of the Immortal Estate. Uncle White and Little Qing followed.

“What is it?” Ji Ning asked.

The female soldier attendant at the door said with a smile, “The commandery princess requests your presence, young master.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning nodded. “Uncle White, Little Qing, I’ll be right back.”

Soon, Ji Ning arrived at his cousin-sister’s residence.

His cousin-sister was sitting in a pavilion, holding a golden, shimmering beast-hide scroll in her hands.

“Everyone, withdraw,” Yuchi Xiyue ordered.

The entire garden was soon left with only Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue.

“Little brother, when you threw down five million catties of Primordial Liquid at Heavenly Treasures Mountain to buy that peacock plume, news spread. Now, quite a few people in the Grand Xia capital know who you are,” Yuchi Xiyue said, handing the golden beast-hide scroll over. “And so, someone has already invited you to a banquet.”

Ji Ning took it and looked.

“The Zhuanshui clan?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

He had also purchased intelligence on the major powers within the Grand Xia capital. Although he didn’t know the details, he had a general understanding.

“The Zhuanshui clan and the Shaoyan clan are mortal enemies. And the Zhuanshui clan is stronger than the Shaoyan clan,” Yuchi Xiyue said with a smile. “Legend has it that during the Primordial Fiendgod Era, the Zhuanshui clan led a large group of tribes, and the Xiamang clan also led a large group of tribes. The Xiamang and Zhuanshui clans fought for a long time before the Zhuanshui clan finally submitted.”

Ji Ning was astonished. He hadn’t known this bit of secret history.

“During the Primordial Fiendgod Era, the Zhuanshui clan once claimed the title of Emperor,” Yuchi Xiyue sighed. “Even now, after submitting, they are still one of the top three clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ji Ning knew this much.

The top three clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty were, in order: the Xiamang imperial clan (who were absolutely dominant), followed by the Zhuanshui clan, and then the Heishen clan.

“The Zhuanshui clan and the Shaoyan clan have a deep blood feud. It makes sense that they’re the first ones to invite me,” Ji Ning said with a laugh. “Oh, right, this invitation also includes you, cousin-sister. Would you like to come with me tonight?”

“I won’t go. Although I was invited, I was only included as an afterthought. I’ve never liked mingling with them,” Yuchi Xiyue said, shaking her head. “Don’t force me.”

“I won’t trouble you, cousin-sister,” Ji Ning said, nodding.

That evening.

Ji Ning brought Whitewater Hound and Little Qing to the main gates of the marquis’s estate. The fifty Golden Armored Imperial Guards were already assembled.

“Greetings, young master,” the captain of the guard, ‘Immortal Chengyu,’ said.

“I’ll be troubling you, Daoist Chengyu,” Ji Ning said.

“It’s no trouble. We have been ordered by Yan Marquis to do our utmost to protect you, young master,” Immortal Chengyu said.

Ji Ning waved his hand, and a large ship appeared. It was an ancient vessel, plain yet radiating a faint aura of power. This was one of the treasures left behind by Celestial Immortal Juhua, a construct war-vessel worth even more than Shaoyan Nong’s Black Dragon chariot.

Ji Ning, Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing all boarded the ship.

Whoosh.

The Golden Armored Imperial Guards also boarded the war-vessel. They were very familiar with the procedure, quickly taking their positions along the railings, all on alert as they scanned the distance.

The ship pressed through the air, moving directly towards ‘Water Cloud Tower,’ a top-tier place of pleasure where the Zhuanshui clan had invited Ji Ning to the banquet.

Whoosh.

Floating Cloud Immortal appeared in midair, staring into the distance at the massive war-vessel flying away. The golden-armored guards standing on the vessel infuriated him.

“The three-day deadline is getting closer. He’s finally come out, but why, why is he still bringing a squad of Golden Armored Imperial Guards? How am I supposed to kill him with a squad of Golden Armored Imperial Guards escorting him?” Floating Cloud Immortal’s eyes were filled with extreme anxiety. He was genuinely panicked. He really didn’t want to die, his soul scattered, from the punishment of the Heavenly Dao because he had no chance to act before his time ran out.

That would be far too unjust.