Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 309: Chapter 309: I Don’t Want To

At mid-5 a.m. the next day, the sky was still yet to brighten, but the whole Chang Baifeng was already buzzing with activity.

It wasn’t the noise of a marketplace, but a lively, spirited bustle.

Push open the door and you’d see the "Auspicious Cloud" floating high above the main peak, a riot of colors, looking especially beautiful against the dim, unlit sky.

"Chang Baifeng really went all out. This sort of Auspicious Cloud is good-looking, sure, but the expense is outrageous. Running one of this scale for just a day probably burns through over a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Still, it really is impressive."

Shen Hao stood at the doorway, looking up. Behind him, Nie Yun came out as well and immediately pointed out the Auspicious Cloud above.

Shen Hao nodded in agreement—he couldn’t even picture burning through a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones in a day. But his view was a bit different from Nie Yun’s; as the sect’s show of power, he felt this expense was necessary—it’s all about reputation. People judge by appearances; if your face isn’t kept up, outsiders might just look down their noses at you.

Breakfast could be taken care of in Chang Baifeng’s dining hall, or handled yourself. Shen Hao and Nie Yun skipped the crowds, took out some meat cakes bought earlier in Fengri City from their Storage Bags, and washed them down simply with some hot water.

Truth be told, after just one day here, Shen Hao’s curiosity about the sect had faded a lot. He realized there wasn’t anything all that mysterious—there were just more cultivators and they tended to be stronger, that’s all. At least, that was the first impression. Though, it was true—there was barely any mundane bustle in the sect. Here, "cultivation" was the main point, not mere "survival."

Whereas, out in the secular world, "survival" had always been top priority.

"Let’s go, if we head up early we can snag a good spot to watch the ceremony."

Shen Hao didn’t really get it, but agreed and followed Nie Yun out the door and up towards the main peak. Cultivators streamed along the way, and besides disciples of Chang Baifeng, there were a great many guests. Shen Hao was dazzled trying to tell who was who from their outfits and badges. Just as Nie Yun had said earlier, most sects worth naming in Jingxi Territory gave face to the hundred-year celebration at Chang Baifeng, sending representatives here.

Compared to coming up the mountain yesterday, Shen Hao found far more eyes landing on him this time. The looks meant all sorts of things—some obvious disdain, some curiosity, some friendly. Either way, no one ignored him like they did yesterday.

A lot of people came over to chat, acting like they were Nie Yun’s old friends, but after a couple of sentences, they’d turn the conversation to Shen Hao.

"What’s your family name, little brother?"

"How long have you been in the sect?"

"With such potential, you’re still just a Named Disciple at Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute? Pretty strict, huh!"

"So you haven’t yet officially apprenticed yourself, little brother?"

None of these people said anything outright, but the hints in their words were nearly undisguised. Nie Yun’s face grew colder. Shen Hao’s identity had been arranged by Nie Yun; he wasn’t truly a Named Disciple at Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute, but these folks didn’t know that. Saying this sort of thing in front of him—what was that supposed to mean?

"So you all don’t want any face, huh?"

"Aiyo, Deacon Nie, what are you saying? We’re just curious, just making conversation, please don’t take it to heart! Well, I’ll be off then, see you around!"

Nobody dared to tear things wide open on the spot, but that "see you around" showed these people hadn’t given up yet.

Shen Hao, silent at the side the whole time, saw through it and found it pretty funny.

"You saw that, right? Didn’t I say there’d be tons of people trying to poach you? So, what do you think about it?"

"Think about what?"

"Joining a sect, of course. In the past, your talent was decent, but you were older than the ideal age, so the sect wasn’t interested. But now you’ve come to a sudden insight—your talent’s the same, but your potential’s been brought out a lot more, that much is clear. As long as you stay determined and don’t get killed, you’ll at least reach the Middle Stage of the Primordial Pill Realm. For second or third-tier sects, that’s more than enough to get their attention."

Shen Hao asked, "What about Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute?"

Nie Yun smiled slightly: "Hard to say. I think you might make it, but joining officially is up to the master in charge. Plus, I doubt you’d want the life of secluded cultivation up in the mountains."

"Why do you say that?"

"Life on the mountain’s all hardship—can’t compete with the excitement of the mundane world, can it? Didn’t you say you liked rolling around in worldly affairs? What, changed your mind?"

"Tsk tsk, can’t I just keep a spot in the sect and still make my way in the mundane world?"

"Sounds nice in theory. But have you ever seen a Sect Disciple working as an officer in your Xuanqing Guard? Or ever heard of sect disciples in the Local Government Office or military?"

Shen Hao was caught off guard, then realized: "So, Senior Nie, you’re saying the sect and the dynasty run on two separate tracks?"

"Of course. The system under the Jingjiu Dynasty and the sects don’t interfere with each other. The two socialize and make connections, but holding both identities at once isn’t allowed. I’m sure you can figure out the reason."

It was simple; the sects and the Jingjiu Dynasty guarded against each other. Both worried the other would plant spies, so that’s how this unwritten boundary came to exist.

Shen Hao really hadn’t thought about things this way before.

Nie Yun went on: "But if you resign from office and join a sect, then there’s no problem. So, what do you say—want to try the life of secluded cultivation?"

Secluded? Shen Hao quickly shook his head—he was a secular type, the life of pure cultivation clearly wasn’t for him.

The two talked as they climbed up to the main peak.

The top of the peak was a huge flat open space, leveled by human effort. At least several thousand people could stand up here without feeling crowded.

There was a high platform on the clearing, with a life-sized stone statue on it; it looked like a middle-aged scholar in long robes, one hand holding a scroll behind his back, the other stroking his beard, head inclined slightly down. His expression was gentle, but the eyes were carved particularly sharply—it was as if the statue was staring right at you.

"That’s Chang Baifeng’s founding ancestor, Lin Zhengfeng. Supposedly, he was one of the top sword cultivators of his era—shame he fell before the gates of Creation in the end."

Shen Hao had heard bits and pieces of Lin Zhengfeng’s story before—just snippets, all gleaned from file notes at the Xuanqing Guard Library. He knew the man was remarkable, but he’d been dead for nearly three thousand years by now.

Below the platform was a cordoned-off open area. On both sides were temporary, tiered stands for guests.

"Shortly, that’s where the Chang Baifeng disciples will stand; we observers are split on the two sides. Look, that’s our section over there—come on, let’s grab a good seat in the front!"

Nie Yun quickened his pace, led the way, and found them two seats in the very first row on the left.

"Senior, what are we supposed to watch?"

"The duels, of course! The centenary is not just for honoring the ancestors—it’s also when you show off your strength to the outside world. And what’s more direct than a good fight?"