Chapter One: The Engagement

Ling Luo waited in the distance for a long time. Only when he judged it was truly time to greet his master did he approach the edge of the cliff. When he was close enough to hear the conversation, he deliberately cleared his throat.

The two people at the cliff’s edge immediately stood up and turned to face him, bowing in greeting.

“It’s about time. Master and the Sect Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect are waiting. The leading disciples from the North Martial Sect and Sword Peak Sect have come to offer their congratulations, along with guests from hundreds of other sects. Master and the others are entertaining them, just waiting for you two.”

Bu Jingxian had not seen the representatives from the major sects while watching the excitement earlier, and was surprised that they had arrived so quickly. She guessed they had already met with the Sect Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect and ascended the mountain together after her.

At present, the three great sects in the world were the Flying Immortal Sect, the North Martial Sect, and the Sword Peak Sect. The Flying Immortal Sect had risen to prominence only thirty years ago, and its supreme martial art, “The Sovereign Power of the Ten Directions and Nine Fives,” was created by Zheng Feixian herself. Yet, its fame was unrivaled and its influence had shaken the world for many years.

The North Martial Sect, on the other hand, had a much older history. It was originally the human Wudang Sect. Decades ago, its members were massacred by the Divine Soul Sect, who seized control and renamed it the North Martial Sect. Officially, it merged the martial arts of both sects, but in reality, the Wudang techniques were so profound that the current teachings were still essentially Wudang’s.

Sword Peak Sect was now the school with the greatest variety of swordsmanship and internal disciplines. Decades earlier, the Divine Soul Sect had refused to be enslaved by human civilization and, after protracted conflict, overthrew the old human dynasties and martial sects. The secret martial manuals of the six great human sects—Huashan, Hengshan, Quanzhen, Songshan, Hengshan (Southern), and Taishan—fell mostly into Sword Peak’s hands after those sects were destroyed, as its founding ancestor was from among them. Thus, Sword Peak’s skills were a collection of their lost arts, naturally leading to a vast array of sword and internal techniques. Its disciples were spread across the realm, and its power was formidable.

Besides these three, there were, of course, many other great sects, but none could match the scale or renown of the main three, and they were too numerous to mention. Most of them taught students using secret techniques from the old human martial sects—some had full manuals, some only fragments, some blended with Divine Soul Sect arts under new names, and most cobbled together bits from various schools. The authenticity and true power of these mixed techniques varied greatly.

After urging them to hurry, Ling Luo shot Bu Jingxian a meaningful look. Understanding, though somewhat uneasy, she reached out to help Zheng Linran walk. Seeing Zheng Linran turn her face away, even more shy than herself, Bu Jingxian felt this match had come so unexpectedly, and considered herself lucky to have gained such a lovely wife. She could never have guessed the repulsion Zheng Linran felt at walking hand-in-hand, nor that Linran had resolved to burn the expensive fox-fur coat as soon as she could.

Zheng Linran walked with Bu Jingxian into the martial arena. Seeing the assembled guests from all the major sects, and hearing their murmured comments about Bu Jingxian, she felt such humiliation she wished she could dash her head against the wall.

Yet she had to force a happy, delighted expression, and in front of hundreds of onlookers, step by step, approach the North Spirit Elder and the Sect Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect to kneel and serve them tea.

The North Spirit Elder and the Sect Leader offered formal blessings before instructing Zheng Linran to remove a swan feather from her hat and present it to Bu Jingxian, thus formally sealing the betrothal. The Sect Leader had originally hoped they would marry at sixteen, but the North Spirit Elder, wishing Bu Jingxian to finish her tutelage at twenty, insisted on a delay.

With the betrothal complete, all the guests rejoiced and offered praise.

But all those congratulatory words about “a perfect match” sounded nothing but mocking to Zheng Linran. She could clearly see people still whispering and pointing even as the ceremony ended.

Indeed, a noble princess of the Zheng royal family, descendant of a line of kings, inheritor to the Flying Immortal Sect, was to marry an orphan who was worse than a beggar!

Zheng Linran dared not even let her parents attend, afraid the shock would kill them.

The only thing that gave her a shred of comfort, enough to forget her humiliation, was Zheng Feixian’s public announcement naming her as successor to the Flying Immortal Sect.

After the ceremony, a banquet was set up on the martial field. The guest hall was too small, so only the main sect representatives were seated there. Bu Jingxian and Zheng Linran, accompanied by their masters, went from table to table offering toasts.

Just as the meal was about to begin, Chu Gaoge stepped forward.

He knelt before the North Spirit Elder and said, “Among us are all practitioners or lovers of the martial arts. I respectfully ask Master’s permission to spar with Senior Brother before the banquet, to entertain our guests and to offer a display in honor of Third Brother and Sister Linran’s happy occasion!”

No one had expected such a request. The match between him and Ling Luo had been scheduled for today, and Zheng Feixian hadn’t notified the North Spirit Elder beforehand, intending to ask forgiveness after the fact. Thus, there had been no chance to reschedule. Chu Gaoge was willing to spar in public for his own reasons: victory would bring him glory, and if he lost, the humiliation would serve to temper his growing arrogance and overconfidence.

The North Spirit Elder, hearing his words, could not refuse in front of everyone. Considering Chu Gaoge’s status as the crown prince’s eldest son, he nodded and agreed with a smile.

“How rare to see such unity and devotion among my disciples, willing to perform for the guests before the feast. Very well, I approve!”

Those unaware of the backstory thought the brothers’ bond ran deep, that the son of the Left Minister of Zheng and the eldest grandson of Chu’s crown prince were humbling themselves to perform before the banquet. Applause and cheers erupted, everyone eager to witness the North Spirit Sect’s most advanced techniques—the clash of Divine and Kingly Arts.

All willingly moved to the martial arena. Those preparing to eat outside grew excited at the news of the match, quickly clearing space and gathering to watch.

Chu Gaoge wore silver armor, a purple-gold crown, and a fiery dragon belt adorned with a fierce golden dragon. He looked every bit a battlefield general. On his back was a massive, sheathless greatsword as wide as a man’s body, with a slender, sharp sword hidden within its hilt. The two could be joined or separated. This weapon, forged over three years by the swordsmith Yuanzi of Chu, was a gift from the King of Chu to his grandson, inscribed with the words “Sword of Kings.”

The greatsword was as tall as a strong man. Seeing Chu Gaoge wield it effortlessly with both hands, the crowd marveled at the North Spirit Elder’s teachings. They all thought Chu Gaoge was destined to be a mighty warrior, for he could easily lift a weapon weighing hundreds of pounds even now.

Bu Jingxian noticed that Chu Gaoge seemed to be wearing leather armor beneath his plate, evidence that he had long prepared for this battle, using the leather to further resist and absorb Ling Luo’s internal energy attacks.

Astounding strength, a legendary sword, resplendent armor—before the fight even began, the crowd could feel Chu Gaoge’s imposing presence. By contrast, they couldn’t help but worry for Ling Luo.

Ling Luo wore his usual white silk robe, thin and ill-suited for the lingering cold. His hair was tied with a matching silk band, his boots also made of white silk. At his waist was a flowing blue Immortal Belt, from which hung a precious Linglong Immortal Jade, said to ward off evil and draw in the energies of heaven and earth.

As the crowd fretted for him, suddenly his protective aura blazed with brilliance, so dazzling that his face and form seemed shrouded in ethereal light. Then, before their eyes, he slowly lifted off the ground, rising to a height of four feet.

The onlookers gasped in awe. All recognized this as the rare “Walking on Air” realm of internal mastery, attainable only by the most accomplished practitioners. There were fewer than a hundred such masters in the world. While all had expected the North Spirit Elder’s chief disciple to be gifted, no one imagined one so young could achieve such peerless cultivation.

Before the gasps had faded, the guests cried out again, even louder.

Around the floating Ling Luo, six white flames ignited one after another, circling and dancing about him.

This was another sign of profound inner strength—the manifestation of “Qi Spirits.” Formed by projecting internal energy, they could be wielded for attack or defense at the user’s will. Since they consumed enormous energy and required exceptionally pure cultivation, most martial artists needed eight to ten years to create even one. If the “Walking on Air” realm made the guests think Ling Luo a once-in-a-century prodigy, then six Qi Spirits at his age defied belief. Could a mere boy of ten have the power of decades’ training?

If so, just how terrifying was the divine method created by the North Spirit Elder…

The most shaken of all was the chief disciple of the North Martial Sect, who had come to offer congratulations. As the most qi-focused of the three great sects, the North Martial valued internal cultivation above all. The Flying Immortal Sect practiced both internal and external arts, but their techniques were aggressive and forceful, with internal skills serving mainly to enhance external power. Thus, the North Martial was still regarded as the foremost internal school, rivaled only by the Quanzhen and Huashan Qi branches of the Sword Peak Sect after twenty years of practice. Yet even then, most deemed the North Martial’s inner strength superior.