Chapter 384: The Robbery of Pang Feiyun (4th edition)
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In the Four Eastern Regions,
the Central Mainland, Penglai, Yingzhou, Buddhist Abbot.
Among all the lands, the most expansive was the Central Mainland Region with the Penglai Region possessing the most Spiritual Qi. This was precisely because of the breadth of the Central Mainland Region, where the Immortal Palace, Dragon Thunder Palace, Bigwheel Temple, and Jade Pool had chosen to build their sects. And it was precisely because of the fact that the sects of the four major powers were all in the Central Mainland Region that the Divine Wind Palace simply had no means to seize control of the region. Even if they were stronger, it would have been simply impossible to simultaneously compete with the four major powers.
As these sects differed from the Divine Wind Palace, the four major powers did not harbor any desire to fight for territory with the Divine Wind Palace. Hence, everyone lived peacefully together up until the present day.
However, things had taken a turn. In recent years, the world had seen a great deal of change. The Jin Dynasty’s Northern Yuan was only a prelude to something bigger. In fact, in addition to the Jin Dynasty, there had been mutual confrontations in other fields. For one or two countries to be destroyed overnight it could still have been said to be an occasional anomaly, but the frequency of such destruction was too high for it to be accepted as normal.
It was extremely abnormal.
It should be noted that although there were many countries in the Seven-deity Regions, the real power belonged ultimately to the behemoth sect, the Divine Wind Palace. The shadow of these sects could be traced throughout the rise and fall of every dynasty.
To make the most straightforward comparison: the Three Great Sects of the Jin Dynasty were all significant spokespersons of these huge sects in the mortal world. As they controlled a place’s power and resources on behalf of the powerful sects, they influenced a dynasty’s rise and downfall. Therefore, in general, events such as the national annihilation of a country were more or less related to these powerful sects. This time it was obviously not. The demise of Northern Yuan was so sudden that there was no time to react at all. In the ensuing investigation, everyone was surprised to find that the collapse of the great empire of Northern Yuan was entirely caused by a few coincidences and a few men whose only fear was peace in the world. Behind their backs, there was no trace of a powerful sect.
Subsequently, be it the Four Eastern Regions or the Three Western Regions, similar events happened one after another. The next was the emergence of remnants of the Fiery Eyes during a once in a millennium meeting in Taiyuan Heaven and Ye Qingtian’s possession of the Fairy Weapon, the North Pole Frozen Wheel. A series of events took place in succession that made even the dullest people aware that this world was on the brink of change.
As the real rulers of the Seven-deity Regions, these giant sects naturally felt more powerful. This sense of threat had not been felt for tens of thousands of years. But as for the exact nature of the threat, no one really knew. Even the mighty people of these powerful sects were not able to discern the source of this sense of threat despite using all sorts of means to do so. However, they all began to take precautions. If the Divine Wind Palace’s sinister plotting toward Taiyuan Heaven began a thousand years ago, or perhaps even further back, then they spontaneously decided to focus on the Azure Secret Area after their plot had failed.
Although even fools knew that the Azure Secret Area was perhaps the Divine Wind Palace’s backup plan when the plan to seize Taiyuan Heaven had failed, the Divine Wind Palace’s response was too hasty. If a common adage was used to describe the situation, it was like eating without manners.
If it were not for the huge sense of threat that they felt, they would not have been so anxious. They could have waited a few decades or even a hundred years to obtain sufficient bargaining chips to negotiate with the big powers that controlled the entrances of the Azure Secret Area and it still would not have been too late.
The Seven-deity Regions was situated in a bizarre place susceptible to strong winds and rain. The Divine Wind Palace’s actions were no doubt a prophecy to everyone that a storm was imminent.
When storms approached, it was generally the time when all kinds of conflicts, both external and internal, occurred together.
The conflict of interests among the School of Five Virtues was only a miniature version.
Zhou Bao’s formation map of the Yin and Yang Dust Formation was the exact trigger for this conflict of interests.
With the step-by-step expansion of both the land and power of the Wuyang Region, management issues of the entire territory gradually became apparent. Zhou Bao was skilled and powerful enough to suppress all hostile forces, but to be honest, he was not a good managerial talent. Be it internal affairs or diplomacy and the like, he was totally clueless about them. Therefore, he decentralized his territories and handed their matters over to Jiang Xiao. In the beginning, the territory was only a small town, so Jiang Xiao could still manage it. However, the territory had now grown huge and talent issues, especially the management of talent, had become a problem.
Renzhen Cuo used to be a princess. She had a lot of prestige and managerial skills in the northwest region, so to make her a maidservant was a slight waste of talent. Hence, Zhou Bao decided to release her from her post as a maidservant, teach her powerful martial arts, and prepare her to be his subordinate.
As for whether Renzhen Cuo regarded him as an enemy that she would fight against using the strength she developed under Zhou Bao, it was simply not one of his concerns. The disparity between their levels of mastery was so wide that it made any kind of plotting a joke. As long as he maintained his power, Renzhen Cuo would not have the courage to betray him. Even if he lost his strength one day, it would not be a person with Renzhen Cuo’s level of mastery that caused the trouble.
To speak the truth, he felt a little indifferent about this piece of territory, but as time went by, he helplessly sensed that as his power grew stronger and stronger, he had to bear more and more burdens. Putting Jiang Xiao and the rest aside, just his family alone made him regard his piece of territory more seriously. Perhaps old Zhou Bao did not request anything from him, but as his own power grew stronger and stronger, he was susceptible to more and more influences. His family’s life and safety were issues that he had to care about and his wife could not be disregarded as he wished.
All of this inevitably caused Zhou Bao’s wholehearted thought-training practice to fail as that was all channeled to common matters.
“Looks like I’m just a layman after all who isn’t open minded and can’t let go!” Sitting behind a heavy rosewood desk, his fingers tapped lightly against the thick table. He listened to the heavy sound of his taps to relieve his nervousness due to stress.
Suddenly, his fingers stopped in mid-air. His brows furrowed slightly, his head also lifted slightly, and he looked out the door.
“I’m not sure which friend has arrived ceremoniously. Please show yourself!”
“The Divine Wind Palace, the School of Five Virtues, Pang Feiyun!”
A white figure appeared with a brief introduction of himself outside the library of Zhou Bao’s study room.
“Pang Feiyun?!” Zhou Bao’s squinted slightly. The guy named Pang Feiyun was a young man, a very young man. His youth was not based on his appearance. There were many strong men and women in the world who had undergone plastic surgery but looked very young when they aged. And the young man standing in front of Zhou Bao was evidently not an aged man for he carried the ostentatious aura of youth and its prideful spirit. These signs showed that he was a young man, not an old-aged tree trunk who had undergone plastic surgery.
“The School of Five Virtues, huh, I have actually heard of it. I wonder why Your Excellency Pang Feiyun has arrived here today!” Zhou Bao raised his eyebrows, shooting a provocative glance at Pang Feiyun. He did not welcome him into his house nor greet him politely.
The anger in Pang Feiyun’s eyes flashed briefly before dissipating. But even a fool could see that he was suppressing his anger.
“I have come this time with all due respect to the Second Supervisor to discuss a matter with you!” Pang Feiyun briskly took huge strides toward the desk of Zhou Bao, sat down in the first chair, raised his chin up high, and eyed Zhou Bao fiercely.
“It seems that we have nothing to talk about!” Zhou Bao shook his head. “I know that you and that idiot Master of Golden Lights have made a stupid deal to steal my Yin and Yang Dust Formation’s formation map. But let me tell you that is only a dream!” Zhou Bao spoke in an understated tone, but the effect was surprisingly good.
Pang Feiyun’s reaction was entirely within the expectations of Zhou Bao. Pang Feiyun swiftly stood up and pointed his fingers at Zhou Bao as if he had something to say. But, for a long time, his fingers trembled an uncountable number of times. As the direct disciple of Yi IV in the School of Five Virtues, Pang Feiyun was an expert young man. Pang Feiyun’s status in the Penglai Region was extremely noble. Even the prince and princesses from the Li Dynasty were only small figures next to him. Together with his qualifications and his years of cultivation, he was the top one among the youth in the Divine Wind Palace. Naturally, he developed the habit of feeling superior to everyone else so that even his bones could be said to be made of pride. In all the years of his life so far, there had never been anyone who rejected him outrightly or even snubbed him so subtly like Zhou Bao had.
“Don’t point at me like that and don’t look at me with that strange look. As a disciple of the Divine Wind Palace and a subordinate of the School of Five Virtues, you should learn to respect others. When you visit someone, you should at least greet them. And when you make demanding requests you should maintain a humble attitude, rather than sting and snub others like you have. That’s not good!”
“Brat, you are asking for death!”
This condescending attitude finally infuriated Pang Feiyun completely. Without a thought, he swiftly punched at Zhou Bao’s head.
“You are the only one who is looking for death!” As he watched the incoming blow, Zhou Bao reached out and touched Pang Feiyun’s fist with the tip of his finger.
There was no trace of a sound. Zhou Bao’s touch was like a black hole that directly engulfed the force that Pang Feiyun had struck with. Pang Feiyun froze slightly and his eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment. His body seemed to be lifted by a vigorous force before he flew back violently. Like a burlap sack, he fell heavily in the yard in front of the house. He bounced on the ground and completely stopped moving. For a moment, there was only exhalation but no inhalation in Pang Feiyun’s body.
“Take him away and throw him out of the house!” Zhou Bao’s gentle order summoned two strong servants from the darkness who took Pang Feiyun away.
