Translator: Kazeyuki_ Editor: Jimmy_
Despite the apparent news of Qin Wushuang’s death, the people inside the Royal mansion remained rather calm. They publicly announced that as long as they did not see Qin Wushuang’s body, they would never accept his death. Thus, they refused to accept any guests that came to attend a memorial service and called on the people to stop believing the rumors…
Since the Heavenly Royal Mansion had made this statement, naturally, numerous powerhouses in the Bai Yue Country who had wanted to establish a connection with them shrunk back.
In the beginning of the spring, the construction of the Royal mansion still continued onwards like a wildfire. Especially the construction within the mansion, it had sped up.
Under Qin Wushuang’s secret instructions, naturally, the constructions within the mansion were designed according to Qin Wushuang’s intention. They had connected that area beneath the Great Cang Mountains directly to the Royal household. This area had rich grassland and was suitable for raising horses and other domestic animals.
After some planning, he was able to include that entrance.
Naturally, the underground passage from the center of the mansion to the underground cave was excavated by the mansion’s most trusted aides. They would not allow anyone who was not loyal to participate.
This way, after three month, the entire Heavenly Royal Mansion had expanded and was ten times bigger than before.
Beside Qin Lianshan, only Da Xi Ming and Qin Xiu knew that Qin Wushuang had not died.
In these three month, besides supervising the construction, Qin Wushuang only trained in his martial arts.
After the enlightenment he had experienced while watching the snow in the cave, Qin Wushuang felt extremely motivated. Each day, as he watched the ice and snow melting into the blooming flowers, his mind was calm and peaceful.
After hearing his teacher’s words, regarding the martial arts training, Qin Wushuang had new goals, new directions and a new motivation.
Void Martial Force…
The most ordinary elite warrior at the Void Martial Force could easily kill the strongest Perfect Stage warrior in seconds!
This had attracted Qin Wushuang’s desire deeply and he was filled with expectations of the future.
Five months passed in a snap of the fingers.
Gradually, the spitting war between the Great Luo and the Heavenly Lake Empire had stopped. Both sides had secretly made determined vows to defeat the other party to the extreme at the Friendly Competition and humiliate them!
Naturally, the Heavenly Lake Empire were much more frustrated since they had lost many Elders. Plus they were the host, they were full of confidence in beating the Great Luo Empire. As the host, they had no reason to teach the Great Luo a lesson.
Qin Wushuang counted with his fingers and realized that he was only a few months away from that Friendly Competition.
In these five months, each day, Qin Wushuang trained hard in that cave. He felt that Spiritual Qi presence was no less than the Qi from the Stargaze Virtuous Cloud Mountain Range.
“Indeed, the Great Cang Mountains is a special place. The senior who had set the Seven Deadly Formation Arrays must have set his eyes on the Spiritual Qi of this place and established the Second Loop.”
As Qin Wushuang thought about it, the more he looked forward to that Purple Flame Beast.
On this day, Qin Wushuang suddenly felt a strange feeling as he bid goodbye to his family and started his return journey to the Stargaze Palace. Of course, he had hidden his identity along the way. Fortunately, with the mask from the Thousand Face Shakyamuni, he was not worried about being exposed because of his appearance.
That day, only those nine Core disciples knew his true appearance. Most likely, those nine people were training hard at the Virtuous Cloud Summit and preparing for the upcoming Friendly Competition of the Three Empires of the East.
Thus, Qin Wushuang did not worry about encountering many problems along the way.
By going back and forth, it would take him another half year to return to his homeland after the Friendly Competition. It meant that after he had returned, it would be the end of the year again.
Because of the Friendly Competition, although the year-end exam would continue, the Core ranking competition would be put on pause for this year.
When Qin Wushuang return to the Bai Yue Country, his sister, Qin Xiu, would have already given birth to the child. He would formally become an uncle.
Soon, Qin Wushuang arrived at the Stargaze Palace.
After he had secretly returned to the Stargaze Palace, Qin Wushuang went straight to see Tan Zhongchi. Naturally, the reunion of the two was some cause for joy.
Tan Zhongchi laughed: “Good boy, in less than a few months, you solidified your Middle Stage a lot. With your speed, you will break into the Advanced Stage in less than ten years for sure.”
In the world of martial arts, ten years was not too different to one or two years of some ordinary people.
Of course, Qin Wushuang would not think too highly of himself, instead, he said: “Teacher, should I go with you guys to the Heavenly Lake Empire, or should I go on my own?”
Tan Zhongchi became silent for a moment and said: “For this competition, the Head Palace Master will lead the team again. Us four Palace Masters would draw lots on who stays. Thus, it’s easier for you to act on your own. If you have nothing to do, you can leave now. Only, you must change your mask.”
As he spoke, another mask appeared in his hand in a flash. Tan Zhongchi smiled: “I took this from the Thousand Face Shakyamuni. Haha, here you go.”
Qin Wushuang took it: “Thank you, Teacher.”
“Yes, just treat it as a tour. You only need to gather at the Pine Crane in in the imperial capital of the Heavenly Lake Empire on the first day of July. However, you must remember that this is only a tour and don’t inflame the hostilities from Green Jade Mountain. It would not benefit us in any way to get into a conflict with the Archaic Mysteries Sect in the Heavenly Lake Empire.”
Qin Wushuang laughed: “Of course, a strong dragon cannot repress the snake. I will not act recklessly to provoke the Archaic Mysteries Sect.”
“Good, if you can think this way, I can be free of worry.”
Then, Tan Zhongchi said seriously: “In the Heavenly Lake Empire, they also have five Advanced Stage martial artists. They are all heads of the Archaic Mysteries Sect. The rest are all Elders, equivalent to our Shakyamuni. For these Elders, the strongest of them are only at the Middle Stage. However, even Middle Stage warriors have differences in strength. Thus, when you go this time, besides avoiding those five Advance martial artists, you must be careful of those Elders. In general, keep a low profile and don’t expose your identity.”
“I understand.” With the lesson from the Green Jade Mountain, naturally, Qin Wushuang would not make the same mistake.
After a moment’s thought, Tan Zhongchi said again: “I have three Nine Reversal Sun Pills, these are rare Spiritual Pills. Once you consume it, even the most severe injuries could be healed in a short time. You should keep it to prevent any unexpected circumstances. Additionally, I also have a piece of the “Hidden Dragon Talisman.” When you meet with a strong foe, you can escape underground. For two hours, you can travel for thousands of miles. This piece of talisman is unimaginable to most elite Spiritual Force warriors. This object cannot be made by elite warriors in the Spiritual Martial Force, I only got it through a coincidence. Now I will give it to you…”
Immediately, Qin Wushuang waved his hands to refuse: “Teacher, such a precious object, how could I take it?”
“No need to decline, I’m only giving it to you as protection. If you feel uncomfortable and your journey goes smoothly, you can return it to me afterwards. In case of accidents, use it when you need it to. Don’t hold back.”
Although these treasures were marvelous and rare, they were only material objects to Tan Zhongchi. However, he only had one of Qin Wushuang. He would not have another luck for the second time.
The experience from the Green Jade Mountain had left Tan Zhongchi scared. Thus, he was willing to give all his good items to Qin Wushuang as a way of protecting him.
Unable to refuse, Qin Wushuang could only take it and he thought: “This time, I must keep a low profile and avoid all troubles. After I have reunited with teacher, I will return it to him. Since my teacher gave these to me as a protection, I cannot use it randomly. Such precious objects, it’s extremely rare in the Spiritual Martial Force, how could I use it recklessly?”
After giving instructions, some encouraging words, and reminders, Tan Zhongchi said: “Wushuang, go ahead. After half a month, the Stargaze team will also depart. At that time, who stays behind will be determined by a lottery. Three Palace Master will go and the two remaining will stay to defend. It’s possible that I might not be able to go. July 1st, don’t forget to meet us at the Pine Crane inn in the imperial capital.”
“I understand.” After Qin Wushuang received his instructions, he left the Stargaze Palace secretly after bidding goodbye to Tan Zhongchi. He made a clear analysis of the map and headed east toward the Heavenly Lake Empire.
The Heavenly Lake Empire shared quite a long border with the Great Luo Empire. To avoid suspicion, Qin Wushuang did not travel the path toward the Green Jade Mountain, but toward the north west side.
On this day, he had passed the border and entered a Subordinate Country near the Heavenly Lake Empire.
Per the map, the name of this Subordinate Country was called the Silver Leaf Country. It was only an ordinary Middle Ranking Country that had no special traits.
However, since it was a tour, naturally, Qin Wushuang would not take a detour. Yet, he traveled along the way to broaden his horizon at each city. He would go and experience the local cultural and their fantastic stories.
As the night grew darker and the sun set from the west, Qin Wushuang was sitting at a restaurant in some city of the Silver Leaf Country. He was drinking alone while facing the setting sun.
“These Three Middle Empires of the East seemed to have achieved a mutual understanding, even the number of Advanced Stage warriors are the same. Most likely, they could only restrict each other to create a balance. No one would dare to provoke others easily and no one would dare to act overly arrogant. If this was not the case, the Heavenly Lake and the Great Luo Empire would most likely already be at war with each other after the battle at the Green Jade Mountain.
Just when s Qin Wushuang was dozing off, a wave of cool laughter suddenly came from behind: “Mister, why are you drinking by yourself at the window, isn’t this not fun? Why not treat me to a drink?”
Qin Wushuang turned around to look and saw a local mysterious scholar dressed in literati clothing. He held a signboard that wrote “Supreme Common People Fortune Teller.” The eyes of this person showed the cunning of a local scholar. However, his expression appeared clear as if giving people the feeling of him being an elite person among the common people.
This person sat before Qin Wushuang without asking and stared at Qin Wushuang’s alcohol pot. With a sound of the “drums”, he swallowed some saliva and complimented: “Nice drink.”
“Since this is a good drink, please help yourself.” Qin Wushuang did not have a bad feeling about this person. Instead, he only watched him with a pair of cold eyes and said lightly.
When that scholar heard this words, he laughed and poured a full cup without hesitation. With a sound of the drum, he had finished it all. Then, he grabbed the pot and drank another three cups. Then, he clicked his tongue, brushed that goatee besides his lips and sized Qin Wushuang from head to toe with a laugh.
“Brother, since I drank three cups of your alcohol, I don’t know if I should speak some of these words?”
