When he had arranged the chess pieces on the chessboard, Lu Fan leaned back against the Thousand Blades Chair. He panted slightly.
The Wind Rain Strategy, the second strategy in Heavenly Go Manual, was more complex than the River Mountain Strategy. This strategy required a tempering of Soul Strength. That was the one particular thing that wore Lu Fan out.
However, it was beyond doubt that the end result was great.
Although it took him half a day to play a game, Lu Fan’s Soul Strength did become stronger, and together with other cultivation methods, his Spirit Qi was augmented.
Lu Fan was currently at Refined Qi Level Three. If he wanted to achieve Level Four, he would need as many as nine thousand wisps of Spirit Qi to reach the maximum storage capacity and ten thousand wisps to level up to level four.
It was difficult, but Lu Fan did have a chance.
He still had one more quest to finish.
Make White Jade City a Supreme Power. Once that was accomplished, he would get one thousand Available Points.
With those one thousand Available Points, Lu Fan’s strength would naturally take another quantum leap.
He might even achieve Refined Qi Level Four instantly.
After stretching himself, he directed the Thousand Blades Chair out of the pavilion slowly to the terrace.
The wind after the storm was kind of humid. Basking in the wind, he felt relaxed.
The vermilion-carved wooden rail was soaked from the rain. Crystal droplets hung from it.
As Lu Fan’s hand brushed across the rail, the droplets on it evaporated immediately.
Down there.
He heard Lv Mudui and Lv Dongxuan talking.
“Three philosophers are coming to Beiluo?”
Lu Fan squinted.
Xie Yunling from the Daoist School, Hua Dongliu from the Sword Sect and Gongshu Yu from the Jiguan School. These three were philosophers of the three greatest powers among the Hundred Schools of Philosophy. They had led the development of this world.
He tapped on the wooden rail with his fingers.
Suddenly, Lu Fan realized something.
Leaning against his wheelchair, he felt expectant.
“You don’t want to have any regrets when the curtain comes down on the era, do you?”
“Well, I’ll satisfy you.”
Lu Fan’s voice echoed along the terrace.
On the first floor of White Jade City’s pavilion, Lv Mudui was making tea. His throat moved. He was kind of shocked by what Lv Dongxuan had told him.
It suddenly dawned on Lv Mudui that White Jade City had become so powerful. Before he knew it, the curtain would come down on the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
Lv Mudui could still recall how Lu Fan had been accused by Confucianist students in Beiluo City on the lake.
However, in the blink of an eye, that Young Master Lu had earned himself the reputation of being unpredictably and unfathomably powerful. A new era that belonged to White Jade City would come true very soon.
“Mudui, spread the news. The whole world should know about this. It’s time to let the world rediscover the power of these old men!” Lv Dongxuan exclaimed.
They used to be big shots in the world.
But now, although people might feel amazed at the mention of the Philosophers of these schools, who would know the names of Xie Yunling and Hua Dongliu?
“Yes.”
Lv Mudui got to his feet. He left with his bamboo cane.
He wrote the news down and tied the letter to a Tianji Pigeon’s leg. The pigeon flew away, leaving a white feather floating in the sky behind it.
Capital city.
Teahouse in a narrow alley.
The pretty woman Qianqian received the pigeon. She untied the letter from the pigeon’s leg. Her pretty eyes narrowed slightly after she read the letter.
She folded the letter solemnly and went to the top floor.
There, she copied the news and sent out more pigeons out to inform the world.
The pigeons passed the news on to more and more places.
Soon, it became known across all of Great Zhou.
The martial arts world and the government were all stirred up. Many people seemed to have a hunch that something unusual was about to happen.
The three philosophers’ visit to Beiluo showed their resolution.
It was like the last battle against fate before the sun finally set in the west.
Many martial arts practitioners and disciples of the Hundred School of Philosophy headed for Beiluo discreetly after getting the news. They wanted to be there in person to witness this grand event.
…
In a tent, West County.
Overlord received the news. His eyes were slightly sparkling.
“They are just like a moth to a flame.”
Xiang Shaoyun let out a sigh.
He rubbed his hands and the letter in his hands turned into ashes.
“Even if Mo Beike and Kong Xiu went with them, they won’t win…”
“The era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy is ending.”
Shaking his head, Xiang Shaoyun felt quite emotional.
He got onto his feet. Outside the tent, the moonlight shone pure and cold. He walked slowly under the moonlight and came to the giant rock by Dongyan River.
He gazed at the water running in Dongyan River. The water with white foam was disappearing into the east, washing away past heroes.
Gazing at the flowing water, Xiang Shaoyun closed his fist.
He wanted to be strong.
If he was not strong enough, he would also be washed away like those philosophers one day.
…
Capital city.
A room in a wing of the Imperial City.
Tang Xiansheng squinted at the letter in his hand, tapping the table with the fingers of his other hand.
“Young Master Lu from Beiluo… The number one cultivating power in the world, White Jade City,” Tang Xiansheng muttered under his breath.
“What a dreadful power.”
Looking at Tang Yimo leaning against the door on the outside, he called out to him slowly, “Yimo.”
Tang Yimo pushed the door open.
“I planned to go to White Jade City tomorrow, but I’m afraid I’ll be assassinated once I leave the capital city.”
Tang Xiansheng said with a gentle smile, “You are a cultivator. Why don’t you go to Beiluo City on behalf of your father? To see what the shocking fight will be like.”
Tang Yimo frowned.
Although he did not want to, Tang Yimo could not reject his father. He assented in the end. “Okay.”
Then he fell silent and disappeared into the dark night.
Tang Xiansheng watched as Tang Yimo disappeared from his sight.
The smile on his face faded.
…
The next day.
The sky was overcast.
It seemed to be threatening rain. The air was suffocating and thick.
From far away, black clouds loomed heavily over the city, and it looked as if the city was on the verge of caving in.
On the plains outside of Beiluo City.
Three coaches were approaching Beiluo City slowly, raising dust into the air. The clip-clopping of horses trotting broke the tense silence of the morning.
The three coachmen were a little nervous. The air was depressing somehow, and they found it difficult to breathe.
The coaches stopped on the plains, about two miles away from Beiluo City.
The curtains were lifted. Three men looked out of the coaches.
“Beiluo…” Xie Yunling exclaimed.
He got off the coach and stepped out onto the gravel ground.
Hua Dongliu, carrying his sword on his back, also got off his coach. Gongshu Yu stood next to them.
The three old men were all advanced in age. Their faces were heavily wrinkled.
They dismounted their coaches two miles away from Beiluo City and headed for the city on foot in a bighearted, determined and expectant manner.
On the city tower of Beiluo City.
Lu Changkong, fully armored, was looking straight at the three old men walking slowly under the overcast sky.
Luo Yue and Luo Cheng were standing next to him holding their knives.
Luo Cheng was a little astonished.
“They are the philosophers of the Daoist School, Sword Sect and Jiguan School?”
Lu Changkong gave him a small nod.
“Where did they get the idea of coming to Beiluo? They are no match for Young Master!” Luo Yue said involuntarily, frowning.
“They are strong, but after all, they are just human, whereas Young Master is not human anymore with his Immortal encounter…”
Standing with his hands behind his back, Lu Changkong shook his head. “They just don’t want this era to end silently. They are using this battle to remind the world that they were once the best in the world.”
Luo Cheng and Luo Yue fell silent.
They knew what era Lu Changkong was referring to.
The three philosophers represented the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
And Lu Fan represented the era of White Jade City.
Since Tianji School had paid allegiance to White Jade City, these philosophers had a hunch that White Jade City would outshine them sooner or later.
“Open the gate,” Lu Changkong said.
His eyes were sparkling. His ancestors had been Agriculturalists. Although Agriculturalism had declined a long time ago and had never been as powerful as the Daoist School or the Sword Sect, it was once a member of that great era after all.
Creak! Creak…
The heavy gate opened slowly.
Xie Yunling, Hua Dongliu, and Gongshu Yu looked up at the city tower. They could not help but smile when they saw Lu Changkong.
Lu Changkong, standing on the city tower, nodded at the three old men.
“Come on.”
“What a pity. Only the three of us are here. If the others were here with us, it would be a great party,” Xie Yunling said.
Mo Beike had refused to come to Beiluo. Kong Xiu was in seclusion at his pavilion, and Wei Luan had died a long time ago.
Among the hundred schools, few could make this trip to Beiluo with them.
Looking back, they suddenly realized that their peers had vanished down the long river of time.
The three men entered Beiluo City under the watchful overcast sky.
As the three of them disappeared from sight, the gate of Beiluo City closed slowly behind them.
Dong!
The gate closed firmly as if time was also sealed.
Outside Beiluo City.
One coach was approaching Beiluo from the left side and the other from the right side. Dust rose in the air. They stopped three miles away from Beiluo City.
Mo Beike was looking at the closed city gate. His heavy eyebags trembled slightly.
His hands clasped behind his back were also shaking slightly.
Mo Ju was leaning against the side of the coach, holding a feather fan and wearing a kerchief.
On the other side of Beiluo City.
Inside the coach, the Imperial Advisor Kong Xiu lay there, gazing up at the overcast sky. No one knew what was on his mind.
Mo Tianyu was pouring liquor into his mouth from a calabash.
Inside Beiluo City.
The long streets were pretty clean. There were only a few pedestrians. The three old men walked down the flagstone-paved street towards Beiluo Lake after they entered the city.
Teahouses and restaurants along this street were full of people.
Tang Yimo was sitting by the window at one of the restaurants, drinking while staring at the three old men walking by. His eyes were sparkling.
He paid his bill and left the restaurant. He followed the three old men at a distance.
Beiluo Lake was not far away.
Xie Yunling and the other two arrived very quickly.
Looking at Beiluo Lake shrouded in a dense fog, Xie Yunling, Hua Dongliu and Gongshu Yu all felt pressured, but also relieved.
“Afraid?” Xie Yunling asked with a smile, looking back at Hua Dongliu, whose back was ramrod straight.
“Afraid? When I got received the title of Sword Saint, Lu Ping’an wasn’t even born yet!” Hua Dongliu snorted.
“Keep your voice down. You should have heard about Lu Ping’an’s temper,” Gongshu Yu said in a hoarse voice, glancing at Hua Dongliu.
While the three were arguing, a boat came by on Beiluo Lake.
The water rippled. The boat split the water’s surface like lifting a curtain.
A white-clothed old man wearing a gold necklace around his neck was sitting cross-legged on the boat with a silly smile.
“It’s Lv Dongxuan. That old dog,” Xie Yunling said.
“His sense of smell is as keen as a dog’s,” Hua Dongliu commented right after. “He joined White Jade City because he knew how powerful it would be early on.”
Lv Dongxuan got to his feet on the boat.
With his hands behind his back, he nodded imperceptibly at the three men.
Xie Yunling burst out laughing.
He took a step forward. His Qi and blood burst. The water rippled as soon as he landed on the lake’s surface. He started to walk on the lake.
The Sword Saint, Hua Dongliu, snorted at Xie Yunling’s movement disdainfully.
He tossed out his sword suddenly. Executing agile acrobatic skills, he jumped with his sword flying towards the boat.
Gongshu Yu jumped into the lake. His shoes transformed. They pushed him towards the boat.
The three reached the boat using their different skills.
Then the boat sailed off into the lake.
They disappeared into the dense fog.
Tang Yimo was standing by the lake. The blood in him quieted down. The Spirit Qi in his Qi Core seemed to be frozen.
As if something dreadful in the lake freaked him out.
“Young Master Lu from Beiluo!”
It was not the first time Tang Yimo had heard this name, but it was the first time he had become so terrified at the mention of it.
The dark clouds finally found the raindrops within too heavy a burden to hold.
It started to rain. The rain was falling down like a bead curtain. The sky met the lake at the horizon. The whole lake was rippling.
On the boat.
The four old men were not taking shelter from the rain. Sitting cross-legged on the boat, they were all very silent.
As they sailed farther, they became more conscious of the pressure in the air.
Finally, the boat stopped.
The thick fog cleared.
They finally saw the island through the rain.
Lake Island looked like an immortal’s island.
There was a pavilion on the island. In the pavilion, there was a terrace. A white-clothed teenager sat in a silver wheelchair, one hand cupping his chin and the other hand placing chess pieces onto a chessboard.
The Young Master played chess while a maid held an umbrella above his head.
He looked like a picturesque painting.