Martial Cultivator

As time passed and it became late autumn, the harvest season was nearing its end. The small village near Sword Sect had been spared any natural disasters this year, resulting in a bountiful harvest. The men of the village dried and stored the year’s rice crop in granaries, feeling content knowing there was enough to last the entire next year, with plenty left over. One man was in high spirits and dragged a long bench to the front of his house. He took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and began to leisurely puff away.

However, as he enjoyed this rare moment of leisure amidst the swirling smoke, his wife emerged from the house, looking somewhat glum. She sat down beside him, frequently glancing toward the back mountain.

How could the man not know what his wife was thinking? He said rather impatiently, ”Our son wasn’t abducted by anyone, he’s gone there to train in the sword. He will become a great sword immortal someday. What are you worried about?”

The woman who had been holding back her tears, could no longer contain them after her husband’s words. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, ”I know, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen him. Is he getting enough to eat over there? Is he happy? He’s... just a child!”

The man took a few more puffs from his pipe, exhaling a large cloud of smoke. He was also somewhat moved and patted his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. You agreed to this back then, and the boy himself wanted to go. It’s too late for regrets now.”

The woman nodded, it was just that she continued to sob. No mother in the world did not want her child to succeed, but no mother wanted her child far from home, facing hardships with their well-being unknown.

The man thought for a moment and then asked softly, “How about I go to the back mountain tomorrow and see if we can get the boy to come out and see us? But I heard from the old people in the village that once they go up the mountain and learn some skills, they might not even acknowledge their parents.”

The woman was shocked and questioned loudly, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?!”

The man looked at the woman and, after some thought, took another puff of his pipe before saying softly, “Even if I had told you then, you wouldn’t have stopped him, would you?”

The woman stood there, dazed, but soon she nodded dejectedly. “Yes.”

The man sighed and said nothing more.

“But you should have told me.”

The woman gave the man a somewhat reproachful look, but the emotion quickly faded from her eyes. She then looked toward the back mountain with some anticipation and said, ”But the boy wouldn’t be that heartless, right?”

The man was about to reply when he suddenly widened his eyes. In his line of sight, two figures, one large and one small, were descending from the back mountain. He recognized both of them. The larger figure was Ji Baili, his son’s current master, who was said to be a remarkable big shot. As for the stinking brat who grew quite a bit, despite not having seen him for a while, how could he not recognize his own son?

As the two approached, the boy who had already achieved some minor accomplishments, and now carried a sword on his back, knelt down with a thud. ”Your son, greets Father and Mother!”

The woman burst into tears and quickly embraced her son whom she had not seen for a long time. Ji Baili smiled at the man. Hearing the couple’s earlier conversation, the sword cultivator shook his head and said, ”The Sword Sect is different from other cultivators. We don’t teach our disciples to forget the mortal world. Living in the mortal world, how could one forget it? No need to worry, Elder Brother.”

The man was a bit embarrassed as rubbed his hands together, but soon shouted loudly, ”Aren’t you going to get food? Do you want our son to be hungry?”

The woman wiped her tears and hurriedly pulled her son into the house.

The man patted the long bench beside him, motioning for Ji Baili to sit.

Ji Baili did not stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he took the initiative to say, ”Although Tianyuan misses you two during this period, practicing swordsmanship is like rowing upstream; if you don’t advance, you’ll fall back. Especially since he’s still building his foundation, it means he has to spend more time away. But I can promise you, Elder Brother, that you’ll be able to see him at least once a year.”

The man laughed heartily, ”With Immortal Master’s words, I feel much more at ease. If it weren’t for my wife crying all the time, I’d have let the boy stay on the mountain and focus on his cultivation.”

Ji Baili smiled, ”Don’t you miss your son?”

Having his true feelings exposed, the man could only laugh awkwardly, ”How could I not? But what’s more important is whether the boy can achieve something worthwhile.”

Ji Baili chuckled, ”Actually, that’s not entirely the case. If my parents hadn’t passed away early, I’d probably have come down the mountain more often myself over the years.”

The man looked puzzled, ”Immortal Master, you’re not from our village, are you?”

Ji Baili pointed to the east.

The man came to a sudden realization, ”The village head Old Ji huh. Turns out that Immortal Master is from Old Ji’s family. Speaking of which, we’re somewhat related.”

Ji Baili nodded with a smile, ”After going up the mountain, I’ve occasionally returned home and actually saw Elder Brother a few times, but I didn’t come forward to disturb you.”

”You don’t look that old, yet you’ve achieved great success,” the man sighed. ”It’s a pity Old Ji only had you, this one son. Otherwise, that house wouldn’t be in such a dilapidated state.”

Ji Baili smiled gently, ”The ways of the world are hard to predict.”

The man exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded in agreement.

Afterward, the whole family, along with Ji Baili, had a meal together. After eating and drinking to their heart’s content, Tianyuan kowtowed to his parents. Then, he stood up and said with a smile, ”Father, Mother, your son will be going down the mountain to see the world.”

The man looked at Ji Baili with some confusion, and the latter said with a calm smile, ”Although the Sword Sect is usually low-key, it’s important to see the world. Tianyuan is still young, and it’s the right time for him to broaden his horizons. There’s a good opportunity now, so I’ll take him around. But don’t worry, with me there, no one will harm a hair on his head.”

Tianyuan also smiled and said, ”Master has told me many things, but hearing about them is nothing compared to seeing them with my own eyes. This time, I’m going North with Master. I’ve heard it snows most of the year up there.”

The man laughed and nodded, ”Snow, huh? Around here, we might not see snow for years. It’s good to see it, and when you come back, you can tell your mother all about it.”

Ji Baili smiled without saying a word.

While the woman had already started crying again.

But before she could speak, Tianyuan suddenly looked up and pointed at the sky, ”Look!

At that moment, the couple looked up, and even Ji Baili raised his head.

In the sky, countless flying swords were streaking across, heading north like shooting stars.

Ji Baili sighed with some regret, ”It’s ultimately a showdown between the young ones.”

……

……

A young girl in white entered the Divine Capital alone, arriving in this grand city, the largest under the heavens.

Most people, upon seeing this grand city for the first time, would be dazed for a moment outside the city walls, marveling at its majestic splendor. However, the young girl paid no mind to this, she simply walked slowly into the city. After passing through the city gate, she reached the end of a bustling street filled with street vendors and stood quietly for a moment, as if remembering many things.

Though this pause seemed brief, by the time the girl came to her senses, dusk had passed, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.

Fortunately, the Divine Capital was too vast and there were too many people as well, and it was not uncommon for peculiar-looking cultivators to enter the city. As a result, the girl’s presence on the street did not draw much attention. However, as night fell and the number of pedestrians decreased, the street became much quieter. The girl looked up and quickly climbed a high building, and sat on the rooftop, gazing at the myriad lights of the city below.

But after a short while, the girl grew bored and shifted her gaze towards a specific part of the city with renewed interest. She began walking in that direction.

The streets were deserted. Although the young girl did not walk fast, she unexpectedly did not make a sound.

As she passed through, she listened to the snippets of daily life from the nearby households and finally arrived in front of a red wall.

Then, she lightly leaped over the red wall, chose a tall palace, and walked slowly across its rooftop.

This was the Great Liang’s imperial city.

Yet, not a single person noticed the girl.

This was no ordinary feat. The forbidden land of the imperial city was far from what it once was. Despite its calm appearance, this imperial city was guarded by powerful Nepenthe Realm cultivators, numerous secret array formations, and, of course, the formidable Great Liang Emperor.

Even the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple would find it difficult to enter this imperial city unnoticed.

But the girl strolled around as if it were her own backyard, completely undetected.

After an unknown amount of time, the girl sat on the roof of a palace, her legs dangling over the edge, staring at a nearby room.

This was the imperial study of the Great Liang Emperor, illuminated by bright lights. The emperor was hunched over his desk, reviewing the accumulated reports.

Li Heng stood quietly at one side, resting with his eyes closed.

After some time had passed, the emperor rubbed his forehead and stood up. Li Heng understood his intentions and opened the door of the Imperial Study to accompany the emperor back to his bedchamber.

Having done this many times, he was naturally familiar with the routine.

However, just as the Great Liang Emperor stepped out of the study and had not yet descended the steps, he stopped in place. After a moment of silence, he said softly, ”Li Heng, go back and rest.”

Though finding it odd, Li Heng did not ask questions and quickly left on his own, leaving the emperor alone.

After Li Heng left, the emperor slowly raised his head, looking directly at the white-robed girl sitting on the rooftop opposite.

The white-robed girl seemed rather surprised, as if she had not expected the middle-aged man in front of her to notice her presence.

But she did not speak, simply looking at the emperor quietly.

The two stared at each other in silence.

Neither showed much emotion.

After a long while, the emperor smiled and said, ”A guest has arrived. Would you care for a drink?”

The white-robed girl shook her head and said softly, ”I don’t like alcohol.”