Qianye’s thoughts drifted about. He only heard half of the old man’s words while the remainder just floated past his ears. The scattered scenes, pieced together, formed a rough narration of the story between the Song clan and Elder Lu. Back then, he had stepped into the divine champion realm quite early and was considered a character with potential for taking the next step. However, he made no progress at all after hiding his surname and entering the Song clan.
That wasn’t all. After realizing that his elder brother would enter the Great Maelstrom to train, he used their brotherly relationship to force the man to guard the Heavenschild Pasture.
Such a brother truly made one speechless.
Qianye’s thoughts were naturally reflected on his face. The old man said, “It’s difficult to say whether it’s a loss or a gain for me. I was only able to step past the divine champion threshold and keep forging ahead by utilizing the treasures of the Great Maelstrom. I only reached a bottleneck around ten years ago. Speaking of which, most of the merit goes to things like this wine here. But my success and failure is all dependent on the wine, I progressed by relying on the wine, and now, I can’t take a single step on my own.”
Qianye understood this because the key to clearing bottlenecks was the purity of one’s origin power. The old man’s wine could provide energy pure enough to break through the divine champion threshold, but that wasn’t enough to make him a heavenly monarch since the origin power wasn’t at the apex of purity.
It was just that the old man had been left to guard the Heavenschild Pasture for fifty years because of his brother—truly something to sigh about. No wonder the Song clan had never lost the pasture throughout the years.
The old man flicked East Peak with his finger, saying, “There are numerous profundities in this blade that I do not understand, but it doesn’t look solely like my brother’s work. Why is that?”
Qianye didn’t hide the fact that the Zhao clan’s Crafts Manor had helped him modify it.
The old man remained silent for a good while. “Heh! Crafts Manor, Crafts Manor. The Zhao clan really is far-sighted, they actually established such a place. No wonder they have never faltered since the founding of the Empire.”
He returned East Peak to Qianye along with a crystal bottle, and there was a purple ball hovering inside that was translucent and almost crystalline.
“This sword can still be upgraded. Inside this bottle is the marrow of a void colossus that had fallen here. This is something I came across by chance. After reaching the Pond of Life, apply this marrow on East Peak before entering. The endless power of the pond will help you incorporate the material into the weapon. If you have other good stuff on, use all of them as well. It’s just that I have no idea how much more the weapon can be strengthened.”
Qianye expressed his thanks as he received the bottle.
At this point, East Peak was no longer able to sweep through everything like it used to. As Qianye’s enemies grew stronger, more and more of them possessed weapons capable of contending against—or even suppress—his blade.
It would take yet another upgrade for East Peak to be a good match for Qianye’s current combat strength.
As the two men began walking toward the hut, Qianye suddenly asked, “We’ve never known one another, so much so that you don’t even know my name. Why would you treat me so well?”
The old man smiled. “Do you know how I recognized East Peak?”
“I do not.”
“It wasn’t because of the style or craftsmanship, but the material. It was crafted from a piece of wondrous metal he had come across back in the day, an ore of special characteristics and unknown origins. He treated that item with utmost importance and was never willing to use it. However, East Peak contains a fair amount of the strange ore, and by the looks of it, he probably used the entire metal to forge it. Since he gave you this sword, it’s naturally because he sees something in you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given you this sword just because of a mere examination.”
By the time the two men arrived at the door, Ji Tianqing was already seated in the courtyard and enjoying tea with Li Kuanglan. The old man’s expression changed rapidly as he sniffed the fragrance. “My Flying Spring!”
Ji Tianqing chuckled. “Back then, I had only managed to steal half a cup’s worth of Flying Spring from my grandpa. Who would’ve thought there would be two entire cups of it here? The Empire would only produce three taels of such tea a year. Now that I see it just sitting there, how could I just let it go?”
The old man’s lips trembled in anger, but his eyes lit up. “There’s only one cup’s worth here, where’s the rest?”
“Here.” An unassuming earthen jar appeared in Ji Tianqing’s hand.
The old man made to snatch the container back, but he had just moved when Ji Tianqing put more pressure on her hands, effectively causing the old man to freeze. Such high-quality tea usually involved strict storage conditions. The tea would have to be brewed on the spot once it had come into contact with outside air, otherwise, the taste would decline.
Ji Tianqing was able to grasp the old man’s weakness immediately.
The old man sat down at the table and glared at Ji Tianqing. “Lass, you’re going too far! Back then, even your grandfather had to treat me with a certain level of respect.”
“That’s because he needed a favor from you, isn’t it?” Ji Tianqing’s tongue was sharp.
The old man was livid. He wanted to deny the claim, but he couldn’t quite lower himself to lying. The Pointer Monarch was one of the top major characters of the Empire and a person of high status. There was really no need for him to be courteous unless the old man had some special ability. The Pointer Monarch was notorious for his temper back when he was young. It was only after a certain event that he changed into a completely different person. However, the kind and gentle Pointer Monarch filled people with a different type of fear.
Perhaps, to be blunt, one could say that most people who dared to hop about in front of the Pointer Monarch had ended up as corpses.
The old man quickly realized that he wasn’t Ji Tianqing’s match in a verbal spar. His treasure was also in her hand, so there was no way out for him.
Qianye was more focused on Ji Tianqing’s body. He noticed that her aura was somewhat weak, but her origin power was purer and more active. He felt relieved, knowing that the star cherry fruit was really beneficial to her.
The old man gave up. “What do you want, speak.”
“Firstly, regarding the two of us, whether you’ve noticed certain things or not, you’re not allowed to tell anyone.” Ji Tianqing pointed at Li Kuanglan.
The old man nodded. “That’s easy, I barely see a single person in several years. I don’t have anyone to tell even if I wanted to.”
Ji Tianqing looked fairly relieved. “Secondly, you seem to know a lot about my grandpa’s past. You must tell me every little thing you know, no withholding information! I also want to know why you’ve been here for fifty years.”
The old man was livid. “Lass, don’t go too far!”
Ultimately, the old man had to restrain himself after seeing Ji Tianqing raise the jar up. “Sigh, this matter is also related to you, so it’s fine to tell you. No one remembers me back in the empire, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
The old man calmed himself and said, “Ji Wentian was extremely talented and capable of learning countless mysterious arts that were difficult to master. He was also of Imperial blood, so there were a fair number of people who wanted him on the throne. He didn’t need to care about anyone back then.”
Everyone listened to the narration with bated breaths. Even Qianye, who knew some parts of the story, was listening closely.
“But the world isn’t so kind; the more favorable one’s life is, the easier it is to encounter problems. Why did Ji Wentian have to fall in love with her?”
Who was “her”? Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan were curious, but Qianye was thinking about Heartgrave.
The old man didn’t keep them in suspense. “That person is the sister-in-law of Eldest Princess Haimi.”
It wasn’t just Qianye, even the two ladies were puzzled. They all knew Princess Haimi as a key character in the political movement back then, who later returned to her hometown and lived in seclusion thereafter. No one knew who her sister-in-law was, however.
The old man laughed bitterly. “She was quite famous back then, but the Imperial clan did their utmost to hide this part of history after the accident. On the other hand, everyone knew this was a wound in Ji Wentian’s heart. Who would dare bring up this matter? It’s only natural that no one would remember her as time goes by.”
Qianye recalled how the Pointer Monarch’s remnant-will had warned him not to mention this matter in front of the monarch himself.
“Just what kind of person is she?” Ji Tianqing inquired.
“She’s… how should I say… an indescribable woman. There’s really no good way to summarize her…” The old man sighed as he fell into reminiscence. “The first time I saw her, my head went completely blank, I could neither remember nor think of anything. I still remember that feeling even today, it’s just emptiness. I can’t even recall her appearance.
“She was sick back then, she had been sick for a fairly long time. Countless doctors could do nothing to help her, so Ji Wentian came to find me. I had gained a bit of fame back then, but how capable could I be in medical techniques when I hadn’t even broken through to the divine champion rank. It was just that he had no other choice than to go around trying to seek help.
“It just so happened that I knew some unorthodox things and was born sensitive to origin power. After repeated investigations, I finally discovered that she wasn’t sick, that she had been poisoned, and was suffering from a hidden injury. The poison was almost undetectable and integrated into a wisp of cold origin power. Her cultivation was also of the ice attribute, so it was extremely difficult to sense. If it wasn’t for the fact that my origin power examination skills were unrivaled in the Empire, that wisp of foreign origin power would’ve gone undetected.
“This origin power, mixed with the poison, became almost undetectable. The activation was also extremely slow, gradually devouring the host’s vitality to strengthen itself. The person who had poisoned her was the most capable person I’d ever seen. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it myself.
“I only found out the cause but was helpless with regards to a cure. Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t a divine champion back then, even if I was, I would still fail to solve the problem all the same. After sitting alone for one day and night, he suddenly disappeared with her, and no one knew where they had gone. By the time he returned to the Empire, he was already a completely different person. There was no more Ji Wentian thereafter, only the Pointer Monarch.”
The three felt stifled after hearing the story. Someone had actually dared to target the Pointer Monarch’s lover. This person was probably at the top of the Empire both in terms of scheming and skill.
This poison wasn’t just to stop Ji Wentian from entering the heavenly monarch realm; it was probably related to that supreme character as well.
After hearing the story, even the usually obstinate Ji Tianqing didn’t press on with more questions. She only sighed and fell into silence.
The old man didn’t continue with the story. “Actually, you must’ve guessed by now. I hid here for fifty years, not because of my useless brother, but because my heart could accept no other person after seeing her that one time.”
