Chapter 348 – Life 90, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

I wanted JueXin’s group to consume as much of the Su Clan’s strength as possible so that they could create a new, more stable clan to replace it. But to make this happen, I needed help.

“System, teleport me to LuLu.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 3,760 credits.

I arrived to see LuLu already dashing away, but when she sensed my presence, she returned. Then, while LuLu was reabsorbing her memories, I paid to teleport JiaQi to us and handed her the orb from the life where she had led Clan LuLu on a path of conquest.

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1,500 credits.

Once they were ready, I sent them to the Plane of Wood to reconnect with their clan while I jumped away to meet with my next contact.

“System, teleport me to a secluded spot in Blue Wind City.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 11,165 credits.

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After booking a room at an inn, I sat down and prepared for the series of charades that I hoped would push my clan in the direction I wanted it to go.

“System, change my outward appearance to what I would look like as an old man who is less than a day away from death.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 100,000 credits.

As a tingling energy coursed through my body, I watched my already anemic muscles disintegrate and fade into nothingness. My skin became wrinkly, and liver spots appeared on the back of my hands. Most of my hair fell out, and what little was left turned steely gray. Several of my teeth rotted away, and I grew a scraggly beard that extended down to my waist. These changes didn’t affect my strength or health in any way, but I looked like someone with more than two feet in the grave.

Once the changes to my body settled out, I began cultivating a dual-element light-dark qi technique.

This time, I used a Rank 5 formation and a collection of Rank 4 pills to reach Peak Grandmaster in only two days. However, the rate at which energy had poured into me was beyond what my Warrior Tier body could tolerate.

With my absurdly high affinities, I had been able to keep things under control, but just barely. I was able to create the facsimiles of meridians and a dantian, but my cultivation base looked like it had been ravaged by a wild animal. My dantian couldn’t hold even a drop of qi. While advancing as a Grandmaster, I had to maintain an iron grip on my energy at all times to prevent it from leaking out and causing severe damage. This was both the worst and most difficult advancement to Peak Grandmaster that I had ever attempted.

When I was finally done, a portal opened, and Emperor Li stepped out. After giving him his memory orbs, I explained my plan. While this caused him to snort in a mix of amusement and derision, he still agreed to help.

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Exiting a portal, I arrived at the edge of a clearing in the territory of the Red Forest Sect and slumped down against a tree to give off the appearance of someone close to death. Then, with a mental yank, I pulled Suliang JueXin out of my inner world and forced him to appear in front of me.

JueXin whipped his head around wildly as he tried to understand what had happened. When his eyes landed on me, he jumped back and assumed a defensive posture. “Who… Who are you?”

I let out a ragged cough. “I… am your ancestor. I… am Ancestor Fang.”

JueXin took a step back. “But… you…”

I shook my head, and a tear rolled down my cheek. “I am aware of what has happened to you, but… there… is little I can do to help. I can only… give you a chance. This… is the territory of the Red Forest Sect. Claim it… as your own. Use it… to grow stronger.”

“But, Ancestor…” JueXin was awash with complex emotions and struggled with what to say.

I just waved him away. “The clan… doesn’t understand the truth. This world… is an illusion. Use it… to grow stronger, but your home must always be… Chang’an. I have already… set things in motion. In one hundred years… come back here. There will be a portal… to take you home. At that time… you must be ready. Reclaim your home. Cast out my unfilial descendants.”

I raised my right hand and clenched my fist.

Everyone associated with JueXin suddenly appeared behind him.

“The Red Forest Sect… is powerful, but you will not be alone.” I opened my hand then clenched it once more. JiaQi, LuLu, and a hundred deer appeared behind me. These two mental exertions caused my body to slump, and for the first time, my pain and exhaustion were not an act.

“This… is all I can give you. Good… luck.”

I struggled to my feet and stumbled into a portal that had suddenly appeared next to me.

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With Emperor Li’s help, I was able to swiftly return to the Wastes and sneak back into my house only days after I had left.

Using the techniques that I had mastered during my time with Yan and Meng LuYao, I pulled on my qi to create an illusion around my entire body, and my appearance shifted back to that of a naive 16-year-old boy. This illusion didn’t just affect the appearance of my physical body, though. When viewed through basic qi vision, I looked like a young man who had never cultivated and whose qi had only recently awakened.

However, while this illusion was expertly crafted, my mangled cultivation base caused ripples within its energy patterns. This wouldn’t matter too much, but if someone were competently trained, they would easily be able to pierce the veil and see the true state of my body.

Sitting in my tiny house, I sent a letter to Sushou BaHu.

It is done. Gather your warriors.

A few hours later, I walked to the residential area’s martial arts training field and gave a mental tug, causing a team of a dozen Grandmasters to appear around me. Like last time, these Grandmasters didn’t immediately run off to subdue the Su Clan. Instead, they locked down the immediate area and waited for me to summon their compatriots.

I pulled out an orb formed of golden rings that surrounded a dark gray spatial barrier like one might find in a storage bag. The metal rings glowed with the light of a formation, but, strangely, the inscribed lines butted up against one another, and the formation’s energy simply disappeared into the metal. To a novice, this wouldn’t make any sense, but an expert would instantly know that this was a Rank 7 formation.

I had sculpted this orb during my time with Yan, and I had put the finishing touches on it while I was in Blue Wind City. If a skilled Formation Sovereign saw the thing, they would know that it was a worthless piece of scrap metal, but to anyone else, it was a priceless artifact of unknown power.

I channeled a thread of qi into the orb, and a second group of Grandmasters appeared.

After this group dashed away to begin taking over the Wastes, I tried to use exhaustion as an excuse to head back to my tiny house. However, the leader of the first group held up a hand to stop me. He had been carefully scrutinizing me, and it looked like he had been able to pierce my illusion.

“Please wait, Brother. It will only take them a moment to bring down the formation. We need you to send out the Lords.”

“I know, but… I must rest. I need to–”

He cut me off. “Please, I insist. We need to ensure that nothing goes wrong, don’t you agree?”

Weakly, I lowered my head. Then, after we felt the earthquake caused by the destruction of the formation’s first ring, I followed the man’s directions and used the orb to pull out the Lords who were tasked with destroying the second ring.

I looked at the Grandmaster who had been tasked with guarding me. “Brother, please, I need to rest a bit before doing any more.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I understand. Why don’t I help you? Just show me how to use the orb, and I will take care of things. After all, we need to ensure everyone can leave the World Orb as soon as possible, don’t you agree?”

I took a step back. “I… I… I’m sorry, but I cannot.”

The leader reached into my robes and extracted the orb. I tried to fight back, but his body cultivation had reached the Peak of Rank 3, and there was nothing I could do.

He rotated the orb around in his hand and tried to replicate my actions, but, of course, nothing he did was effective. “Explain.”

I rapidly shook my head. “I… I can’t… If I–”

He took a menacing step toward me.

My eyes darted around the courtyard. “You just need–”

I cut myself off mid-sentence in my best attempt at mimicking the effects of an Oath.

The guard snarled and slammed a fist into my midsection, causing me to crumple to the ground. Then, he continued his study of the orb.

A couple of hours later, when the second ring of the formation fell, he shoved the orb into my chest. “Extract the next group, now!”

Following his command, I pulled out a group of Kings.

This same sequence repeated itself, and a few hours later, I pulled out the Emperors who formed the clan’s leadership council.

Sushou BaHu glared at the guard who had been ordering me around. “Why haven’t you taken control of the World Orb yet?”

The Grandmaster dropped to his knees. “Apologies, Patriarch. I have attempted to do so, but I am not capable of understanding how it functions.”

“Incompetent,” grunted BaHu. “Elder Sumo, take charge of this. Have the Ancestor continue extracting our people, but do whatever needs to be done for us to gain complete control over the artifact.”

A middle-aged man cupped his fists and bowed. “Yes, Patriarch.”

Then, he gestured for a group of guards to haul me away.

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After being thrown into a cell in the Su Clan’s Palace complex, Elder Sumo forced the ‘World Orb’ into my hands. “Show us how it works.”

I lowered my head, channeled my qi, and extracted a group of two dozen people.

Elder Sumo narrowed his eyes. “Continue.”

Gasping, I did as instructed.

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Over the next several years, I extracted millions of people from my inner world. Sushou BaHu kept a contingent of high-Rank cultivators within to maintain order, but if he wanted to take control of the Nine Rivers Continent, he needed his people out here helping him.

During each extraction, a team of Elder Sumo’s formation specialists watched me work, but the most powerful among them was only an Emperor. They were blind to the secrets of Rank 7 formations.

When it became obvious that they weren’t making any progress, they tried to force me to explain things. At first, they tried drugging me with pills, but pulled each one they fed me into my inner world before it could take effect. Then, they tried using various types of gu—from puppet gu to soul gu—but I used my soul to crush each and every one of them, so they eventually gave up.

Finally, after clearing out the majority of BaHu’s loyalists from my inner world, I was ready for my next step. When Elder Sumo handed me the orb, I channeled my qi and soul like always, but this time, it wasn’t an act.

I created an avatar in my inner world. “System, teleport me to a secluded location within the capital of the Rising Sun Empire.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 3 billion credits.

Right before finishing my purchase request, I tossed the orb lightly into the air so that as I vanished, the orb dropped to the ground. With any luck, the Su Clan would believe that I had sent myself inside it.

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Upon arriving in Rising Sun, I booked a room at an inn, consumed an Energy Expulsion Pill, and rebuilt my cultivation base properly.

Over the next several months, I listened for any news from the Wastes, but there was nothing.

Then, suddenly, the entire continent was rocked by a startling development. A new Sovereign, Sushou BaHu, had emerged, killed the Nine Rivers Saint’s Emissary, and claimed the continent as his own. The Sovereigns from the Jiu and Zhuge Clans were dead, and the Sovereigns from the Li and Ning Clans were on the run. Sovereign Sushou had already slaughtered dozens of Emperors, and any Rulers who refused to swear their loyalty would be cut down without mercy.

It was at this point that I understood just how dangerous the game I was playing truly was.

However… It wasn’t exactly dangerous to me. That idiot BaHu had announced his name to the entire continent. He would be the target–not me.

When I realized this, I smiled. This was good. I could finally observe a failed coup without being the one stuck in the middle of it.

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The Saint’s response wasn’t what I had expected.

I had thought he would show up and personally slay anyone who dared to question his authority. Instead, he only sent a new Emissary and a large contingent of cultivators from the Central Continent’s Jiu, Li, and Zhu Clans. At first, this seemed strange to me. However, when the people from the Central Continent began their offensive, I understood.

They didn’t swarm the Wastes and attack BaHu directly. Instead, they sent small groups of cultivators to attack each city, kingdom, and empire individually. For cities, they only sent Lords. For kingdoms, they sent Kings, and for empires, they sent Emperors. The Sovereigns were likely using portals to keep an eye on everything, but they never interfered in the fighting. They never even left the Nine Rivers Sect’s Summit.

Why would they act like this? Because the Saint didn’t consider BaHu’s uprising important in the slightest. This continent was only a farm for him. The ‘animals’ had gotten out of control, but instead of slaughtering them, he had decided to use them to train his soldiers.

Something about this reaction made me feel… offended. I had spent millennia worrying about the Saint’s reaction, but he probably never saw me as any more important than BaHu.

Still… If he was using this as a training mission… that was good. I had sent people out on a training mission as well, after all. I just needed to ensure that my trainees were able to survive this madness.

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The Sovereigns were in no rush to finish off Sushou BaHu, so their war stretched across decades. Every few years, they would pull back, give BaHu time to rebuild, and then send an entirely new wave of Rulers against him.

In this chaos, a third power arose on the far eastern side of the continent. It was a coalition of humans and demon beasts that fought back against both the Su Clan and the Central Continent invaders. In terms of raw numbers, they were outmatched, but through deception and determination, they were able to persevere and claim a large empire as their own.

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The year I turned 116, I returned to the territory that once belonged to the Red Forest Sect.

The forest where I had left JueXin and the others was no more. The place was now an open field teaming with countless cultivators interspersed with large, vicious deer. In the center of this group, there was an open circle where JiaQi and LuLu stood at Suliang JueXin’s side.

Using a movement technique that I had learned from Ning ZeKun, I appeared in the middle of this circle without anyone knowing how I had arrived. I looked like an old man with two feet in the grave, but this was no different from the last time that JueXin had seen me.

JueXin’s eyes widened in shock. “An… Ancestor.”

I gave him a gapped-tooth smile. “You have done very well, Emperor JueXin. Now, it is time to make your choice.”

I tapped on the air behind me and created two portals. Then, I raised my voice so that everyone in the surroundings could hear me. “The portal to my left leads to the Plane of Wood. It is the home of all these deer that you are so fond of. The portal to my right leads to Chang’an, the ancestral home of the Su Clan. Everyone here may choose to enter whichever portal they wish.

“Life on the Plane of Wood will be completely different from anything you are used to. It is a harsh place filled with nothing but wood energy. There is not even any light, and you will only be able to see using qi vision. I don’t know if any of you will be able to survive it. Chang’an is more… normal. However, it contains several powerful foes, and you must first defeat them if you wish to claim the place as your own.”

I waited a moment to let them absorb this before continuing.

“After you enter, do not expect to ever return. I offer you a new life in a new world, but only those who are willing to cast aside this one will be able to grasp it.”

Without waiting for a response, I used my movement technique to disappear.

Watching from afar, I saw JueXin lower his head, glance at JiaQi. Then, step into the portal to Chang’an.

Several people followed him, but not everyone. Some–mostly those who had established a bond with one of the deer–chose to try their luck on the Plane of Wood. The majority, however, chose to just walk away.

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After arriving in Chang’an, JueXin gathered up his commanders and charged to the center of the plane.

When Sushou BaHu had left for the Nine Rivers Continent, he had left an Emperor from the Suba lineage in charge. After I left the Su Clan, Chang’an had lost contact with the continent, and Emperor Suba declared himself the new Patriarch.

The war between JueXin and Emperor Suba was much shorter than the one between the Sovereign clans and BaHu. JueXin had no desire to play around. He only wanted to establish a safe, prosperous home for the people who followed him. So, he attacked directly and cut down his opponents without mercy.

Of course, even then, things shouldn’t have gone so smoothly. Chang’an had existed for millennia, and even though the place was safe, its leaders had still installed countless formations to prevent anything from going wrong.

Unfortunately for Emperor Suba, his continued existence was no longer beneficial to my plans. So, whenever I felt these formations would prove too great a hindrance to JueXin’s forces, I removed them. However, I was not subtle about this. Each time, I used a flare of spirit fires to mark my actions.

In this way, the fighting was over in less than a day. When Emperor Suba’s last loyal subordinate fell, I sent a letter to JueXin.

Call your commanders for a meeting on the top floor of the central skyscraper.

While he might not have known the origins of this note, JueXin didn’t consider disobeying it for even a moment.

Once everyone was gathered, I created an avatar in the center of the room in my guise as an old man. “Suliang JueXin, you have done well. Chang’an is now yours to command.”

He cupped his fists and bowed to me. “Thank you, Ancestor. Without your help, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

I waved a dismissive hand. “I do not need your thanks. I only need you to know that I am here. Chang’an is yours to command, but I will always be watching. Make sure to train your people well, and do not follow in Sushou BaHu’s footsteps.”

I turned and began walking away, but after only two steps, I halted. “I must warn you. The barrier between this world and others is failing. You have already seen one invasion from these other planes. In the future, they will only grow worse. Use this time to strengthen yourselves for the challenges ahead.”

Then, I took one more step and banished my avatar from existence.

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Back in the real world, everything that had happened with JueXin had been witnessed by several Sovereigns, but the one who chose to confront me was none other than Sushou BaHu.

His eyes were filled with fire as he glared at me. “Hand over the true World Orb.”

I dipped my head to him in gratitude. “Thank you for helping me give birth to a new Su Clan. Your contribution will not be forgotten. However, your assistance is no longer required.”

Then, after giving him a final salute, and before any of the actual powerhouses decided to show up, I swallowed a pill to make my escape.

You have died. Calculating…

You died as a Martial Sovereign Peak – 100 trillion credits awarded.

You died at Peak of Rank 7 in Body Cultivation – 100 trillion credits awarded.

Total Credits: 553,734,587,449,973

Rank 4 Small World – 1,466/10,000 km3 (Earth, Wood, Fire, Dark)