Chapter 911: Who Comes?

Chapter 911: Who Comes?

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Flying Ascension City.

The tavern was doing good business today. Two groups of drinkers arrived one after another. Fan Dache and Wang Xinshui, among a few bachelors, had just sat down when several women including Situ Longqiu and Luo Zhenyi also came in.

Without even waiting for acting manager Zheng Dafeng to give a look, Fan Dache and the others voluntarily gave up the last table to the women, obediently squatting by the roadside to drink, planning to listen to their brother Dafeng tell some stories about immortals fighting and beds walking.

Little did they expect that Zheng Dafeng had already scurried over to sit at the women's table.

An old Golden Core sword cultivator sitting by the roadside sighed sorrowfully. This old bachelor, not young anymore, could nurse a bowl of wine for ages. Every time he listened to Zheng Dafeng's stories, he'd still have at least half a bowl left, ears pricked up to catch the acting manager's tales.

The old man would inevitably end with a catchphrase: "Who would have thought that in all my years of self-discipline and uprightness, I'd end up hearing such things."

When Zheng Dafeng sat down, already perched on the edge of the long bench, a female sword cultivator immediately stood up and moved to squeeze onto a bench with two friends.

Zheng Dafeng silently lifted his rear and slid along the bench. Ah, warm. Even without drinking yet, Brother Dafeng's heart felt cozy.

Seeing this, the woman's brows furrowed sharply, but knowing that cursing would be useless—might even encourage him to say more outrageous nonsense—she just raised her bowl and took a big gulp of sulky wine.

Sitting across from Zheng Dafeng was precisely the female sword cultivator from the Summer Pavilion Hidden Official lineage, Luo Zhenyi.

Her face, figure, temperament, and sword realm—all impeccable.

Look at her from left, right, front, back—any way you looked, she was easy on the eyes.

Probably, in the eyes of Flying Ascension City's young men, Luo Zhenyi was what Song Caiyun or Zhou Cheng had been to the old-timers of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Our acting manager Zheng Dafeng, when he first took over this tavern, quickly established himself on the Sword Qi Great Wall with just three things.

His striking features—thick eyebrows, big eyes, jade-like elegance—his good gambling manners at the table, and the two lists he concocted: every few years, he'd select the Top Ten Female Immortals and Top Ten Beauty Prodigies, casting a wide net.

Every two or three years a new ranking, and Luo Zhenyi was always in the top three of the Top Ten Female Immortals.

As for Dong Bude, who hadn't come to drink today, she'd been selected twice, but her rankings fluctuated wildly. The first time she was dead last; the second time, she shot straight into the top three.

However, for the upcoming fresh ranking, Dong Bude had already been secretly designated by Zheng Dafeng as the top pick.

No helping it. Before Guo Zhujiu left the Multicolor World, she'd sneaked him a sum of immortal money, saying that this time, that "old maiden" had to be first, or else she'd really never marry.

That little girl also had the style of a chivalrous heroine who did good deeds without leaving her name. She repeatedly told the acting manager never to mention her credit. If the old maiden asked, just say Chief Deng Liang paid for it.

Situ Longqiu asked, "I heard from the Hidden Official that your Heaven's Vessel Continent has a place called Wild Goose Dangle Mountain? Beautiful scenery? And it's going to become some kind of 'Crown Prince Mountain'?"

Previously, she and two close friends had begged Chen Ping'an for three seals. Her book-collecting seal was related to a scenic spot called Wild Goose Dangle Mountain's Great Dragon Leaping Falls.

Zheng Dafeng nodded. "Indeed, the scenery is superb. I should go see it sometime. Next time, Brother Dafeng can guide you. Miss Situ, you don't know this, but on the Bright Ocean Heaven side, there are plenty of scholars, but few upright men like your Brother Dafeng."

Situ Longqiu was a concubine-born daughter of the Situ Clan from Grand Elephant Street. Before the great war, she was merely a bottlenecked Observing Ocean realm sword cultivator. She broke through in Flying Ascension City, and later, during an expedition in the Multicolor World, she advanced to Golden Core.

She and Dong Bude were bosom friends who shared everything. Among the younger generation of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Situ Longqiu wasn't considered a genius, but she had excellent interpersonal relationships.

A few years ago, she inexplicably earned a nickname, rather long: "A Walking Landscape Gazette of the Sword Qi Great Wall."

This nickname spread throughout Flying Ascension City in no time. It was said to have originated from a careless leak in the Summer Pavilion.

Actually, it was the young Hidden Official who had accidentally let it slip in his early years. The few notorious bootlickers in the Summer Pavilion were impressed, thumping the table in admiration. Word spread gradually.

Moreover, with Dong Bude in the Summer Pavilion, could any secret be kept?

As Guo Zhujiu's master was away from Flying Ascension City, she had to take up the mantle.

If there was such a thing as "the son pays the father's debts," then "the disciple repays the master's debts" was even more natural. Whatever grudges or disputes couldn't be resolved, bring them all to me!

Thus, Guo Zhujiu's fate was a series of "thump thump thumps."

Zheng Dafeng suddenly asked, "Miss Situ, what do you think of your Brother Dafeng as a person?"

Situ Longqiu glanced at the man. "Don't know if he's useful, but he's certainly not nice to look at."

A girl like that, a city like Flying Ascension—how could Zheng Dafeng not love it?

It was no different from his hometown.

Zheng Dafeng raised his wine bowl. "Pretty women's words can't be trusted. Take them as the opposite."

Under the table, Luo Zhenyi lightly kicked her friend.

A woman named Guan Mei rolled her eyes at her friend and smiled at Zheng Dafeng. "Acting manager, since Ning Yao returned from the Bright Ocean Heaven side, didn't she bring any news? Like how Lin Junbi and the others are doing back home?"

On the way here, Luo Zhenyi had asked her to inquire about something—she wanted to know how that group of outlander sword cultivators from the Summer Pavilion were faring.

Guan Mei actually had a fairly good impression of Zheng Dafeng. He was witty and good-natured, never getting angry no matter what was said about him. He did make plenty of crude jokes, his eyes would gleam whenever he saw a woman with a good figure, but this acting manager of a little tavern never got handsy.

Zheng Dafeng rubbed his chin, looking troubled. Calling him "acting manager" felt too formal. It pained him so much he couldn't speak.

Guan Mei quickly leaned forward to pour him a bowl of wine, cooing, "Brother Dafeng, just tell us. I'm begging you."

Zheng Dafeng raised both hands to receive the bowl, craning his neck to peek down her collar. "Sister Guan Mei, if you put it that way, Brother Dafeng will be hurt. What's this 'begging' business? With your own Brother Dafeng, you don't need to beg."

Guan Mei deliberately maintained the pouring posture, taking her time sitting back. She shook her shoulders coquettishly. "Tell me."

For the sake of a friend, today she was going all out.

Oh my, that shaking made Brother Dafeng's heart tremble and eyes ache.

Seeing the girl sit back, Zheng Dafeng said, "Ning Yao didn't say much. Basically, everyone went back to their own homes and continued their cultivation. But it seems that Lin Junbi became the state preceptor of the Shaoyuan Dynasty, the youngest state preceptor among the ten great dynasties of the Bright Ocean Heaven. Calling him renowned throughout the world isn't an exaggeration. Cao Gun was lucky—his sect is in Flowing Mist Continent and wasn't affected by the war. They're even planning to establish a branch sect in Fuyao Continent. Maybe Cao Gun can become its sect master by exception. Song Gaoyuan and Xuan Shen were less fortunate. Their sects were in Fuyao Continent and Golden Armor Continent respectively. Now they're probably busy rebuilding. Whether they're renovating the old sites or starting from scratch, I wouldn't know."

The previous generation of the Summer Pavilion, the Hidden Official lineage of sword cultivators.

Outlander sword cultivators included Chen Ping'an, Lin Junbi, Deng Liang, Cao Gun, Xuan Shen, and Song Gaoyuan.

Native sword cultivators included Chou Miao, Pang Yuanji, Dong Bude, Guo Zhujiu, Gu Jianlong, Wang Xinshui, Xu Ning, Luo Zhenyi, and Chang Taiqing.

Pick any one of them for a sword challenge, and they could both fight and scheme. As long as the realms weren't too disparate, you couldn't say victory was guaranteed, but the odds were certainly in their favor.

In Zheng Dafeng's view, the two younger batches who later joined the Hidden Official lineage in the Summer Pavilion were still somewhat inferior to these "predecessors."

Guan Mei waited a long time, but Zheng Dafeng just lowered his head and drank. She asked doubtfully, "That's it?"

Zheng Dafeng looked up, his expression shy. "Some things can't be forced, you know? It's not like writing an essay, where you can just endure and squeeze something out eventually."

Guan Mei was momentarily puzzled—what was he being shy about?

Too bad that shameless Dong Bude wasn't here; she was an expert and would surely understand Zheng Dafeng's thoughts.

As soon as Situ Longqiu's group of women left, Zheng Dafeng visibly relaxed. He no longer had to deliberately maintain that old man's unique charm.

Otherwise, these inexperienced young ladies might not be able to resist.

If they couldn't resist, that'd be a pile of romantic debts—not worth it, unnecessary.

Zheng Dafeng quickly turned his head and waved. "Hurry up, all of you standing there like you're squatting in a latrine. If you're any later, the benches will get cold."

He kicked off his boots and sat cross-legged on the bench. "Xinshui, any girls you've been pining over, tossing and turning at night?"

A bunch of bachelors scurried over to grab seats. Wang Xinshui shook his head. "No."

Zheng Dafeng wagged his head. "If you'd put just a little effort into romance, you wouldn't be hanging out with Fan Dache."

Wang Xinshui was indeed a genuine genius sword cultivator. His only problem was that his mind moved too fast and his premonitions were too accurate, making his sword delivery unable to keep up—a subtle situation extremely difficult to improve.

So over the years, Wang Xinshui still liked to come here to drink sulky wine and drown his sorrows.

Fan Dache looked helpless. Why drag me into this?

Zheng Dafeng took a sip of wine, picked up a piece of appetizer with his chopsticks—it was really quite salty—and hurriedly washed it down with another gulp. He turned and asked, "Dache, now that you walk the streets and kids call you 'Uncle Fan,' how does it feel?"

Fan Dache smiled. "No particular feeling. It's fine."

Zheng Dafeng rubbed his chin. He'd heard that in the early days of the Summer Pavilion, Pang Yuanji, Lin Junbi, Cao Gun, and of course the great sword immortal Mi Yu, were all exceptionally handsome.

He wondered if they had seventy or eighty percent of his charm.

After Fan Dache's group left, as the sun set, more empty tables appeared in the tavern. Zheng Dafeng leaned on the counter doing accounts.

Since he'd taken over, business had been decent—no shortage of earnings. In terms of liveliness, it was unmatched in Flying Ascension City.

But those two little rascals, Feng Kangle and Tao Ban, always complained that the tavern wasn't as lively as before—far less so.

Zheng Dafeng was truly aggrieved. Nowadays, in the entire Flying Ascension City, there were only a handful of Upper Five Realm sword cultivators, and not many young Nascent Souls either.

As the saying goes, even a clever housewife can't cook without rice. Where was he supposed to find a bunch of Jade Purity and Nascent Soul sword cultivators to squat by the roadside and drink?

The tavern had the same old faces. Besides the change of manager, it was still Qiu Long, Liu E, Feng Kangle, Tao Ban, and a few others.

Zhang Jiazhen and Jiang Qu had been taken by the Second Manager to the Bright Ocean Heaven early on.

Actually, Qiu Long and Liu E had long reached the age for marriage. They'd put it off for years. Eventually, Qiu Long finally heeded the acting manager's advice: instead of chasing distant dreams, cherish the one before you. They got married before the New Year. Qiu Long married Liu E, with Zheng Dafeng officiating. Naturally, he also led the raucous wedding night eavesdropping.

The young couple settled into a stable life, planning to save more money before opening their own family-run tavern. Not in Flying Ascension City—they'd choose one of the four border vassal cities. Most likely, it would be the Summer Resort City, since that city's lord was a sword cultivator from the Summer Pavilion Hidden Official lineage—basically family. If the tavern ran into trouble, they'd have support.

Sword cultivators newly entering the Summer Pavilion would all come here for a drink. It had become an unwritten rule, akin to paying respects to a mountain's founder.

The two youths who used to help with odd jobs, Feng Kangle and Tao Ban, were now proper waiters.

The tavern still offered only three types of liquor: cheap Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine, exorbitantly expensive Green God Mountain wine, fire-knife-like Mute Girl Lake wine, plus a complimentary plate of pickled vegetables and a bowl of plain noodles.

The wine bowls were the same size as before, the benches just as narrow.

On the wall of the two adjoining rooms, the "Wu Shi" (No Worry) plaques remained unchanged—not one missing, not one added.

Because since Zheng Dafeng came to Flying Ascension City as acting manager and reopened the tavern, he'd discontinued the tradition of writing a plaque after drinking.

It was like sealing the mountain.

If there were truly no worries, there was no need to write "no worry" plaques.

At first, some people objected—both old regulars and new customers. But it was useless. Zheng Dafeng bowed and scraped, apologized profusely, punished himself with three bowls, but refused to allow any more plaques.

Fortunately, the Second Manager had secretly cultivated many drinking decoys in his early years, most of whom spoke up for Zheng Dafeng. Over time, since Zheng Dafeng was indeed a likable fellow, the customers gradually got used to it and stopped making things difficult for this acting manager, who was also an outlander and a scholar.

The acting manager had read many books—especially in certain fields, the Second Manager truly couldn't compare.

Other taverns in Flying Ascension City, having bought a few jars of genuine Green God Mountain wine at high prices from somewhere, treated them as treasured items. Naturally, they were also trying to compete with the little tavern, selling by the tael. People quickly patronized them, but after a single drink, they'd curse and leave, some even reluctant to pay.

Fake wine! Selling fake wine! Green God Mountain wine didn't taste like that at all!

Everyone nodded in agreement, a bunch of people at tables and by the roadside bobbing their heads like chicks pecking rice.

That tavern owner was nearly driven mad.

To this day, they'd sold less than one jar of Green God Mountain wine. Not only did the tavern not make a profit, but they couldn't even recoup the cost.

Zheng Dafeng glanced at the two people at a nearby table, heads down, eating bowls of plain noodles. At least they didn't shortchange themselves, knowing to add two fried eggs.

Nowadays, Tao Ban and Feng Kangle were sturdy young lads who could have pancakes fried on their backsides, with stubble on their chins.

When they were still children, Tao Ban had once asked the Second Manager a question. At Zheng Dafeng's, he asked a similar one, just replacing "sword immortal prodigy" with "martial arts genius."

Later, Tao Ban asked Zheng Dafeng a question he didn't know how to answer.

"Will I ever get to see the Second Manager again in my lifetime?"

Because Tao Ban knew he wasn't a sword immortal prodigy or a martial arts genius—just an ordinary person. He'd soon become middle-aged, then old. He might not live to see the next opening of the Multicolor World.

At the time, seeing Zheng Dafeng say nothing, Tao Ban muttered to himself that he'd been too young to drink back then, so he'd never had a drink with the Second Manager.

In the deepening dusk, a table of drunkards was thoroughly tipsy. Someone chuckled, "Brother Dafeng, winning your money like this—at first it was fun, then awkward, then painful, and now I'm almost remorseful."

Zheng Dafeng, clicking away at the abacus, nodded. "Mm, just like romantic love."

Someone had an epiphany, chewing on the aftertaste, and shouted in approval.

Another asked, "Acting manager, tell us honestly: is it really your good gambling manners, or is it because you never wash your hands all year round?"

Zheng Dafeng couldn't be bothered to respond and just raised his middle finger.

Someone started slurring drunk words: "To speak the honest truth, if I went fist-to-fist with the Second Manager, he couldn't land two punches on me."

"Why isn't the Second Manager back yet? No one's running the gambling table anymore."

The Sword Qi Great Wall once had two sets of "Five Greats"—old and new.

The old set included: That Damn Good Gambling Manners; the Old Deaf Man's Speaking Human to Everyone; Lu Zhi's National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance; the Hidden Official's Compassion for Flowers and Jade; Mi Yu's Eternal Deep Affection Cannot Be Retained.

The new set included: the Second Manager's Honest Dealing, Never Running the Table; Situ Longqiu's I Swear It's True; Gu Jianlong's Let Me Speak Fairly; Dong Huafu's Spending Money Like Water; Wang Xinshui's No Problem Before Drawing Sword, Leave the Fighting to Me After.

Both the old and new sets had outlanders on the lists. Both these listed fellows were considered scholars, but with differences. Ah Liang wished he could carve "Refined," "Scholar," "If You Think I'm Not Handsome, Your Eyes Are Broken" onto his forehead.

The young Hidden Official was the exact opposite—never deliberately flaunted his scholar identity. At the tavern, he'd swear with a straight face, "I'm really not much of a drinker," "I never run the gambling table," "Toasting at the table damages character," "You have to have a conscience," "You need evidence for frame-ups"...

Later, in Flying Ascension City, a new saying of "Four Oddities" emerged.

One, Ning Yao temporarily held the Hidden Official position but didn't become city lord.

Two, the true identity of Nian Xin, the second-in-command of the Punishment Official faction, remained unknown to this day; it was said Nian Xin never spoke a word at Ancestral Hall meetings.

Three, the Dustpan Winnowing Studio, one of the former sword immortal mansions outside the city, had three male sword cultivators wearing women's dresses.

Four, the account-keeping cultivators of the Spring Treasury lineage were so money-grubbing they'd pick up trash, and anyone blocking their earning was akin to issuing a sword challenge.

These cultivators hung various inscribed plaques in their accounting rooms, each with distinctive phrases like "Heaven Rewards Diligence," "Diligence Compensates for Clumsiness," "Wealth Rolls In," and "Heaven Is Three Feet High."

The last two in particular—their fame had spread across nearly the entire world.

Because Shezhou, Shuiyu, and Yanzhen, three Earth Immortal sword cultivators, using a passed-down divine ability, took turns leaving the city to search for outlander sword immortal prodigies.

The threshold for this secret method was extremely high. Among over a dozen direct disciples, only two could barely grasp it.

Shezhou had actually already advanced to Nascent Soul. According to his master's instructions, he could now change into normal attire.

It was said that Shezhou had just put on a standard robe from a former clothing workshop and hadn't even made it out the door to find someone for a drink when two junior fellow disciples found him and nearly turned against him. He had no choice but to continue "sharing blessings."

Thanks to the direct disciples recruited by Shezhou and his junior fellow disciple Shuiyu, who had asked a terribly unfortunate question back then, now all disciples of the Dustpan Winnowing Studio lineage had to follow their masters in wearing women's dresses.

Thus, these two "senior brothers" remained the thorn in the side of their fellow disciples.

This "Four Oddities" saying was amusing and fun.

But for some reason, everyone felt it wasn't as interesting anymore. Something seemed missing.

Perhaps because Flying Ascension City now lacked those Upper Five Realm sword cultivators who had been so familiar, those old-timers of the Sword Qi Great Wall, or maybe those two scholars who got scolded the most.

It was like cursing—if you're the only one standing there with hands on hips, spitting curses, with no one talking back, eventually you just get tired.

So you need someone to trade insults with.

Cheng Quan and Zhao Geyi were old sword cultivators who knew how to curse, right?

But against the Second Manager, the two of them together couldn't hold a candle.

Nowadays, the head of the Punishment Official lineage, Qi Shou, was said to have once just sat on the city wall, doing nothing, saying nothing, and was merely collateral damage from a quarrel, yet nearly got cursed into a mess by Cheng Quan.

On the Sword Qi Great Wall, people either liked or hated the young Hidden Official. There was no third option.

Of course, it also depended on whether you'd been swindled out of money or not.

There was once a Spring Treasury cultivator, either driven mad by thoughts of money or long admiring the Second Manager. One night, the young man sneaked into the tavern intending to steal the Second Manager's couplet, of course bringing along a "fake" couplet. But Zheng Dafeng caught him by the neck. After that, he had to come to the tavern for a month of drinking to settle the debt.

Zheng Dafeng turned to look at the street and sighed.

Nowadays, in Flying Ascension City, three major factions had taken shape.

They were the Punishment Official, Hidden Official, and Spring Treasury forces.

Ning Yao temporarily held the Hidden Official position. The Summer Pavilion lineage of sword cultivators now numbered twenty.

But in Zheng Dafeng's view, Flying Ascension City still had many hidden concerns.

Even within the Hidden Official lineage itself, there was a lack of a truly convincing second-in-command. Although Luo Zhenyi was a Nascent Soul sword cultivator and almost certainly would advance to the Upper Five Realms, due to her personality, when Ning Yao wasn't in Flying Ascension City and disputes arose in the Summer Pavilion, it was hard for anyone to make a definitive decision. It wasn't that they weren't smart enough—everyone was smart—but no one could claim to be the "smartest" in an undisputed way.

Moreover, the new Hidden Official lineage in the Summer Pavilion found it difficult to return to the previous close-knit atmosphere. The environment had become much colder.

For instance, the small faction that had first rallied around the new Hidden Official consisted of six sword cultivators: besides Guo Zhujiu and the great sword immortal Mi Yu, there were four others.

Gu Jianlong, Wang Xinshui, plus Cao Gun and Xuan Shen.

Two natives and two outlanders, these four young sword cultivators, known as the "Four Lackeys of the Summer Pavilion," had unanimously and willingly acclaimed Guo Zhujiu as the leader of some gang.

In the Summer Pavilion now, how could such a scene reappear?

After all, there was neither Chen Ping'an nor Sword Immortal Chou Miao.

Ning Yao was already the number one in the world, the only Flying Ascension realm cultivator in the Multicolor World, and a sword cultivator at that.

But facing those trivial, annoying affairs, it was hard for Ning Yao to cover every aspect thoroughly, and indeed it shouldn't be something she needed to do.

Additionally, Chief Supplicant Deng Liang had gradually, invisibly, gathered a hidden faction of his own.

It wasn't out of selfishness or a desire to contend for power, but rather a trend of the times.

Combined with the increasingly clear direction of the world, outlander cultivators kept arriving at Flying Ascension City. Although four vassal cities acted as barriers with layers of checking, the endless infiltration was hard to guard against.

Furthermore, the entire Flying Ascension City hadn't realized one thing.

What truly determined Flying Ascension City's future direction, besides the handful of sword immortals on the surface, or perhaps all sword cultivators, were actually those inconspicuous mortal commoners.

Zheng Dafeng knew some inside information that ordinary sword cultivators didn't.

Not long ago, Ning Yao suddenly left the Multicolor World with her sword, then returned to Flying Ascension City from the Bright Ocean Heaven.

She convened an Ancestral Hall meeting. After offering incense, Ning Yao only said a few words, which stunned the more than forty people with seats.

Chen Ping'an had taken her, along with Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi, Punishment Official Hao Su, and teamed up with the Third Patriarch of the White Jade Capital, Lu Chen, to travel together to the depths of the Barren Wilderness World.

They had cut the Immortal Hairpin City in two, killed the Flying Ascension realm great demon Xuan Pu, split the Moon Support Mountain with their swords, slew the chief culprit among the eldest disciples of the Barren Wilderness Grand Patriarch, and moved a bright moon named Hao Cai to the Cyanblade Heaven.

As for how they did it, or who accomplished which feat, Ning Yao didn't say. She quickly changed the subject and started discussing other things.

Even when the Hidden Official lineage sword cultivators asked afterward, Ning Yao still didn't reveal the secrets, only saying that they could ask someone themselves later—she hadn't contributed much during this journey anyway.

One item on the Ancestral Hall agenda was about selecting a calendar.

The first year of a world's era was named "Jia Chun" (Fine Spring), as established by the Confucian Temple. Since the Multicolor World was a newly opened territory that Confucian sages had created at great cost, no one objected.

But compiling the calendar—the Temple didn't intervene but left it to the local powers of the Multicolor World. This was no small matter. Especially if this calendar could be adopted throughout the world, it would mysteriously claim a precious "Heavenly Timing" that "followed Heaven's will."

In the Bright Ocean and Cyanblade Heavens, celestial changes had always been linked to the rise and fall of mortal emperors. Hence, establishing a calendar and conferring seasons on behalf of Heaven was a major move hailed as "setting the orthodox calendar." Various countries' Imperial Astronomical Bureaus had mathematical calculation departments dedicated to calculating the degrees of celestial motion through arithmetic methods, with layers of checks to prevent any deviation.

The White Jade Capital Taoists had first produced a calendar, which had already spread quite widely in the Multicolor World.

Meanwhile, the Year's End Temple and the Dark View Monastery had jointly compiled a rival calendar.

Moreover, the "refugees from fallen states" of Fuyao Continent and Parasol Leaf Continent had each put out over a dozen different versions of calendars.

At this Flying Ascension City Ancestral Hall meeting, Ning Yao suggested using the calendar jointly compiled by the Year's End Temple and Dark View Monastery.

No one objected, but besides the Hidden Official lineage sword cultivators, all Ancestral Hall members looked at Ning Yao with complex expressions—curiosity, doubt.

It was as if they were asking Ning Yao: Doesn't our Hidden Official have one?

Ning Yao found it amusing. Do you really think he knows everything and can do everything?

In the twilight.

Fan Dache left the tavern. After parting with his friends, he walked alone along the street—whether livelier or more desolate than before, he couldn't tell. The solitary Golden Core sword cultivator neither returned to his own residence nor went to the Summer Pavilion to look through archives. He just wandered, until late at night, when he returned to the tavern entrance. It had already closed, so he sat at the outdoor table, which was never taken in according to the old rule.

Nian Xin sat in a small house, staring blankly. The Ancestral Hall meeting had passed a resolution: she now secretly oversaw a newly built prison, much like the Old Deaf Man used to.

A woman referred to as "old maiden" sat on the high railing of a boudoir, gazing at Flying Ascension City's sparse lights.

In her hand, she held an exquisite round fan, gently waving it, a faint melancholy in her air.

Back when the Summer Pavilion "divided the spoils," Dong Bude had obtained this fan. It shimmered with treasured light. On the fan surface were beautiful characters: "Gold ripples, jade clusters. Old stubborn fool, dream-wandering the Moon Palace, cutting down the cassia's spreading boughs, men say, the clear light increases. This night most reunion, lamps and fires of a million households."

To say the young Hidden Official had used public office for private gain—it was and wasn't. It wasn't, because the Hidden Official lineage sword cultivators had earned their rewards through real battle merits. It was, because the Hidden Official had indeed kept some good things for his own people.

Luo Zhenyi, who had been living in the Summer Pavilion all these years, now sat by a table, chin resting on her hand. Beside her was an ancient inkstone, also a "within reach" object.

On this Kui-dragon patterned, worm-eaten inkstone was engraved a collector's seal: "Clouds hang, waters stand; deep bond of words."

Xu Ning and Chang Taiqing were drinking together elsewhere in the Summer Pavilion.

The two friends talked about everything, but both intentionally or unintentionally skirted around the young Hidden Official.

How had an outlander, who wasn't even a sword cultivator back then, managed to secure his position?

Just one thing, whenever Xu Ning thought of it, still left him with mixed feelings.

In the past, every single sword cultivator on the Sword Qi Great Wall, even every non-sword cultivator on the streets—as long as the Summer Pavilion had a file on them—the young Hidden Official remembered them all clearly.

If it were just remembering names and general resumes, that was nothing. The problem was that the Hidden Official had connected everyone into threads, just to find possible sleeper agents of the Barren Wilderness.

Qi Shou wasn't in Flying Ascension City at the moment. He stood on the city wall of Moon Drag City, hands behind his back, gazing at the starry sky.

In his view, some carefree registered immortals on the path of cultivation, if they hadn't experienced many worldly trials, might have a hundred years of age but be mere cultivation prodigies in terms of mental maturity—especially worldly wisdom, possibly inferior to many twenty-year-old men in the mortal world.

Fortunately, the young sword cultivators of Flying Ascension City were growing up at an astonishing pace.

Every one of them was enterprising, dedicated to expanding territory.

While showing their sharp edges, they constantly made mistakes and corrected them. Fortunately, this was a brand-new world, both in space and time, allowing the Flying Ascension City sword cultivators to afford mistakes.

Moreover, Deng Liang, the chief supplicant of Flying Ascension City from the Bright Ocean Heaven, played an excellent bridging role.

Now, eight mountain strongholds had been established, and four cities built, with Flying Ascension City as the center, delineating a landscape region of a thousand li in radius.

Additionally, four extremely distant enclaves had gained a foothold. The sword cultivators stationed there hadn't crossed swords with outlanders for a full two years.

Qi Shou suddenly patted the new city wall, squinting with a smile. "Finally, everything is new."

The Chen Family Mansion on Grand Elephant Street.

A youth named Chen Ji, with nothing to do, was flipping through a literati's notebook in the study, one bought cheaply from a refugee of Parasol Leaf Continent by a traveling sword cultivator.

A personal maidservant stood silently in the room. She had recently advanced from Nascent Soul to Jade Purity realm.

Thus, Chen Ji, still stuck at Nascent Soul, had accepted a Jade Purity sword cultivator as his chief disciple in this life.

He bestowed the surname Chen and named her Hui.

Hui, the last day of each month.

It signified her ability to achieve a lofty great path, truly living long and seeing far, so she could remain in Flying Ascension City as a hidden card in critical moments.

Chen Ji—or rather, Chen Xi of the previous life—after his sword dissolution and reincarnation, had used a secret method to supplement a missing soul and spirit. Since his soul had changed, his nature inevitably shifted. Thus, he wasn't in a particular rush to become Flying Ascension City's first city lord. He hoped Qi Shou or someone else would take up the burden.

As for Ning Yao, forget it—she definitely wouldn't be any city lord.

Actually, many sword cultivators in Flying Ascension City now felt aggrieved on behalf of old Sword Immortal Chen Xi. If, after killing a Flying Ascension realm great demon, Chen Xi hadn't been surrounded by two old Throne great demons leading a bunch of Barren Wilderness cultivators, and after killing another Jade Purity sword cultivator, forced to dissolve his sword and pass away, then Chen Xi could have become the first sword cultivator in the history of the Sword Qi Great Wall to have two characters inscribed for him.

Chen Ji, of course, didn't care about such things.

One of the eight vassal mountain strongholds outside Flying Ascension City, Purple Mansion Mountain.

Deng Liang stood before an ancient stone tablet, gazing at the two lines of archaic seal script: "Six Cave Cinnabar Mist Mysterious Texts, Three Pure Purple Mansion Green Memorials."

He took a jade box from his sleeve. Soon, he would completely refine it. If nothing unexpected happened, he could touch the threshold of the Jade Purity realm bottleneck.

This was the profound mystery of Dao affinity.

It seemed this mountain had been silently waiting for Deng Liang for ten thousand years.

Thus, over the years, Deng Liang had built a thatched hut here to cultivate.

A certain beloved woman named "Bude"—since he couldn't obtain her, he stopped seeking.

Deng Liang had entered the Multicolor World in the seventh year of Jia Chun and became the chief supplicant of Flying Ascension City.

At that time, Qi Shou had just advanced to Jade Purity, while Gao Yehou was still at Nascent Soul.

Deng Liang turned and left, strolling through Purple Mansion Mountain.

The Fifth World was too vast, and too few people had entered this new world. It was like throwing a few baskets of fish into a huge lake.

He walked to a tree, crouched down, and picked up a fallen leaf.

Fallen leaves under a foreign tree.

Longing was like fallen leaves all over the ground—each one looked the same, but none were alike.

As the acting manager said, unrequited love is like hanging yourself. The rope is longing, and the beam overhead is the beloved you can't obtain.

All unfulfilled unrequited loves are restless ghosts of the hanged.

Not frightening, not harmful, just annoying, just worrisome.

Gao Yehou was now also a Jade Purity sword cultivator. The Spring Treasury had merged the old Sword Workshop, Clothing Workshop, and Alchemy Workshop of the Sword Qi Great Wall, making Gao Yehou the undisputed god of wealth in Flying Ascension City.

But Gao Yehou didn't meddle much in specifics. The Spring Treasury cultivators who actually managed money and affairs were mostly young people selected from the Yan and Nalan families. Few of them were sword cultivators, and those who were had mediocre talent—otherwise, they wouldn't be pushing abacuses in the Spring Treasury. They seemed to transform grief into strength, focusing even more single-mindedly on account books than ordinary Spring Treasury members.

Inside the Spring Treasury, lights were bright. Gao Yehou sat in his accounting room, missing his little sister. He wondered how her cultivation was going at the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake in Northern Juzhou Continent, and whether she'd found her ideal partner.

But thinking of the upcoming establishment of an academy in Flying Ascension City, Gao Yehou felt troubled. It wasn't a money problem, which made it all the more troublesome.

In the night, at the southernmost vassal city, two outlander cultivators arrived: a middle-aged man in a blue long gown and cloth shoes, and a young man in a yellow hat, blue shirt, and green bamboo staff.

At the city gate was a stall. In the Multicolor World, there were no travel permits, but according to Flying Ascension City's rules, all visitors had to sit here honestly and write down their origins: name, Dao title, hometown, master's lineage. The more detailed the better—no less than three hundred characters. The more, the better. Even if it took an hour or two, that was a skill. If you wrote enough, you could even get a pot of prepared wine. At the northern Summer Resort City, it was a pot of Mute Girl Lake wine; here, it was Yan family brew.

Behind the stall, on a bench, sat two young sword cultivators, one male and one female, neither of high realm. One wasn't even a Middle Five Realm cultivator.

"Who comes?"

"I don't understand."

The man gestured north-south, roughly asking where they came from.

If from the north, their home was Fuyao Continent; otherwise, it was that notoriously infamous Parasol Leaf Continent.

The blue-robed visitor used a continental refined speech: "Parasol Leaf Continent cultivator, Dou Yi. Attendant, stranger."

The man suppressed his discomfort, using broken Parasol Leaf Continent refined speech: "Do you know the rules here?"

"Just arrived. Don't know."

The man picked up a piece of paper, flipped it over, and smoothed it across the table. "Follow the items listed here and write them all out clearly."

Upon hearing that the other was a Parasol Leaf Continent cultivator, his expression soured, but at least he didn't speak harshly. If it weren't for duty, elsewhere he wouldn't have given him a second glance.

So the man calling himself Dou Yi sat on the bench, across from the two sword cultivators with the table between them, and began to write.

The young man remained expressionless, communicating via heart voice to the woman beside him: "This character, is it Yi?"

The woman said helplessly, "I don't know. Seeing it for the first time too."

The man couldn't help cursing in his heart, "Damn scholars. As expected, a bastard from Parasol Leaf Continent."

The woman nodded lightly in agreement.

Unexpectedly, the blue-robed visitor wrote with increasing enthusiasm, asking for one sheet of paper after another, seemingly endless.

Each time he finished a sheet, the young sword cultivator took it. Damn, so many obscure characters—they knew him, but he didn't know them. So pedantic and sour. Did he think he was our Second Manager?

The female sword cultivator found it quite interesting to read. Mm, written with some literary flair.

She took another look at the blue-robed man. Not particularly handsome, but regular features. The more she looked, the more agreeable he became.

Seeing the blue-robed visitor write so diligently, and judging by his momentum, he could write several more sheets—because his last page had only just gotten to how he repeatedly failed the imperial exams but kept trying, and finally passed—well beyond three hundred characters. The man couldn't help asking, "Do you drink wine? If you can, take a break and write slowly. The wine is free."

The man, lifting his brush and writing, looked up and smiled. "I don't drink much."

"Then forget it?"

"Drink, why not? It's free anyway."

Hearing this, the woman smiled and helped pour a bowl of wine.

The blue-robed man put down his brush, gently rotated his wrist, turned his head, and invited, "Xiao Mo, sit down and drink together. Your biography will have to wait a bit. Tonight, my literary inspiration is gushing, unstoppable."

The young attendant with the strange name sat at one end of the bench, sat upright, took the wine bowl, and nodded with a smile to the female sword cultivator in thanks.

Lifting the bowl to take a sip, the blue-robed man suddenly squinted and smiled. "Aren't you curious why I suddenly understand your Flying Ascension City official language?"

The woman smiled. "Not curious. We've already sent a flying sword message to the city."

It turned out that when the male sword cultivator asked if he drank, he'd deliberately switched to the Flying Ascension City official language, and this blue-robed visitor had foolishly taken the bait.

Chen Ping'an nodded. Punishment Official lineage sword cultivators—very good.

Old brother Qi Shou, not bad.

They'd done business together, brothers who'd been through thick and thin. Surely Qi Shou must miss him dearly.

A clear, cold voice suddenly sounded behind Chen Ping'an. "Is the wine good?"

The implied meaning was: Are you having fun making trouble like this?

Are you planning to visit all four vassal cities and eight mountain strongholds before going to Flying Ascension City?

Why not just drop by the Dark View Monastery and the Year's End Temple? You have many friends there.

Then, once at Flying Ascension City, sit in your own tavern first, slowly tour the Summer Pavilion, take a look at the Winter Avoidance Palace?

Xiao Mo had already stood up and moved aside.

The two sword cultivators across the table exchanged looks, then quickly rose.

Ning Yao was here?!

Then the two sword cultivators saw the blue-robed visitor lift his foot, turn, rise, and smile, reaching out toward Ning Yao.

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow. What does that mean?

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Gather your heart."

Ning Yao glared. "You've got problems!"

The two sword cultivators, along with a batch of city guard sword cultivators who had arrived on flying swords, were all dumbfounded. Was this guy drunk on some tavern's wine, addled, to dare speak to Ning Yao like that? Even if Ning Yao didn't cut him down, if the Second Manager found out... tsk tsk.

Chen Ping'an lightly flicked his sleeve, dispelling the disguise, reverting to his true face. He cupped his fists and smiled. "Everyone, long time no see."

The sword cultivators hovering on flying swords in the distance immediately descended and landed, each cupping fists and saying solemnly, "Greetings, Hidden Official!"

Never mind that Ning Yao was temporarily acting as Hidden Official—they were family anyway.

Besides, regardless of one's opinion of the young Hidden Official, whether good or bad, everyone had to acknowledge his role as the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

In an instant, sword light flared across the city. At the same time, lamps lit up one after another. The city became incredibly noisy, with chaotic sounds rising and falling.

"The Hidden Official is back!" "Really?" "I'll be a drinking decoy if I'm lying."

"That damn Second Manager, let me into the gambling table!" "Second Manager, someone in Flying Ascension City is selling fake wine! Aren't you going to do something about it? I can guide you."

"I always said the Hidden Official couldn't bear to leave our wine here. What's so good about the Bright Ocean Heaven? Since you're here, don't go."

Perhaps in the hearts of Flying Ascension City's sword cultivators, the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall was no longer Xiao Xun, nor even Ning Yao—perhaps it had always been that young man, neither human nor ghost, standing alone on the city wall, waving farewell to the entire Flying Ascension City. That fellow named Chen Ping'an—both an outlander and a native.