Leaning on the railing for half a day, speechless,

  Yet the rustle of bamboo and the new moon are just as they were those years ago.

  Gazing at that familiar figure in the peach grove, Yi Yue’s heart trembled.

  The Young Master had not changed at all.

  Under Lu Ping’an’s calm gaze from the grove, both Ni Yu and Yi Yue shivered slightly.

  Jing Yue stood quietly to the side, saying nothing.

  Yi Yue fell to her knees, long lashes trembling.

  “Young Master…”

  The wheelchair gently rolled over fallen peach blossoms, unhurriedly emerging from the grove.

  Reclining in the Thousand-Bladed Chair, Lu Ping’an’s expression remained neutral.

  “You’re back?”

  After a long pause, he finally spoke.

  Tears instantly welled in Yi Yue’s eyes, swirling within.

  She bit her red lip, said nothing, and only nodded heavily.

  Lu Ping’an looked at her, strands of hair dancing in the breeze.

  Yi Yue’s talent had never been exceptional. To grow stronger, she had endured endless hardship and bitterness. Now, at last, she had carved her own path.

  Yet her cultivation was still only at the ninth-step Yang Spirit realm.

  She had not even condensed her primordial spirit.

  A slight regret, perhaps she still carried some inner demon.

  Lu Ping’an raised a hand and gently tapped her forehead.

  Buzz…

  A ripple of energy spread outward. Yi Yue felt as though her entire being was sublimating.

  Her Yang Spirit consciousness suddenly touched the truths of heaven and earth and began to transform rapidly.

  Like a chick breaking free from its shell, brimming with boundless vitality.

  In that single instant, Yi Yue’s primordial spirit fully condensed.

  “Thank you, Young Master!”

  Yi Yue prostrated herself, kowtowing deeply.

  “No need. You were already one step away.”

  Lu Ping’an waved it off.

  “The rest of the path… you must walk yourself.”

  Beside them, Ni Yu—face still blackened like a calico cat—grinned widely.

  The Young Master hadn’t punished her. The tension in her heart melted away.

  As expected, the Young Master was cold on the outside, warm on the inside.

  Yi Yue had returned. The three maidservants who once served him together were reunited.

  Even the icy Jing Yue let out a soft laugh.

  Yi Yue raised her head, determination shining on her foxy face.

  “Young Master… over these hundred years, I have gained some insights in my cultivation. In direct combat, I cannot compare to Sister Jing and the others, but…”

  “I have walked a different path. I excel at hiding in darkness and striking fatally from the shadows…”

  Lu Ping’an twirled the green peach blossom in his hand. “And?”

  Yi Yue took a deep breath. Her body suddenly turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished as though she had never existed.

  Yet a faint voice drifted through the air.

  “Yi Yue is willing to forever lurk in the darkness and guard the Young Master’s side.”

  Lu Ping’an, seated on his Thousand-Bladed Chair, was momentarily speechless.

  Jing Yue and Ni Yu were both stunned—what kind of move was this?

  A gentle pulse of energy.

  Yi Yue was forcibly shaken out of the darkness, looking bewildered.

  “We’ll talk about that when you reach the Heavenly Person realm.”

  Yi Yue’s eyes lit up. Did that mean… the Young Master agreed?

  But soon, worry clouded her charming face.

  Only a Heavenly Person could guard his side?

  The Heavenly Person realm…

  So far away…

  Yi Yue’s return brightened the mood on the island considerably. Ni Yu chattered endlessly with her—they had always been the closest.

  Atop the White Jade Capital pavilion.

  Lu Ping’an summoned Gongshu Yu and Aru.

  Gongshu Yu sat across the Go board. Aru stood nervously behind his master, head lowered, occasionally stealing glances at Lu.

  This was the legendary Young Master Lu!

  Gongshu Yu, however, remained calm and unruffled—an old monster who had lived through the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.

  He drank wine and played a few moves with Lu Ping’an.

  Soon, though, his brows furrowed. The board had become too murky.

  After a while, he gave up entirely.

  Go was better left to Mo Beike and Kong Xiu, those two old fogeys.

  “Young Master Lu, why have you summoned this old man?”

  Gongshu Yu took a sip of wine and squinted.

  Lu Ping’an smiled, leaning back in his chair.

  “During the Heavenly Grand Competition, the Five Phoenixes were bullied by all sides. Armies from countless realms attacked us, and even the upper worlds sent forces to oppress us. In truth, the Five Phoenixes have always been like a lone leaf floating on stormy seas.”

  Gongshu Yu’s body stiffened slightly.

  How could he not know that battle?

  How could any citizen of the Five Phoenixes not know?

  “Because of the Void Heaven’s unique nature, as the only High Martial world to emerge from it, one day… the Five Phoenixes may face the enmity of the entire universe.”

  Lu Ping’an sipped his plum wine, white robes fluttering.

  Gongshu Yu suddenly felt immense pressure. Aru behind him trembled.

  Facing the enmity of the entire universe?

  Just imagining the Five Phoenixes besieged on all sides by powerful experts filled them with helplessness.

  “I can protect the Five Phoenixes forever, but the Five Phoenixes must still learn to stand on their own.”

  Lu Ping’an’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest.

  Gongshu Yu sat up straight.

  Then Lu Ping’an slowly explained his vision.

  Across the entire Five Phoenixes, perhaps only Gongshu Yu and his disciple could bring it to life.

  “Create a spiritual tool with enough deterrent power?!”

  “One that can intimidate top-tier experts—even sacred clans of the upper realms?”

  Gongshu Yu’s mind reeled.

  “Is the Young Master referring to the imperial weapon that once held open the Void Heaven?”

  Lu Ping’an shook his head. “Imperial weapons are woven from profound dao and principle—they represent transcendence of power itself. Only ancient Great Emperors can forge them.”

  “What we need is not that level of mystery. We don’t need interwoven dao and principle. We only need terrifying destructive force—enough to threaten or kill enemies.”

  “For example… the explosive power generated when multiple conflicting energies collide.”

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  As he spoke, Lu Ping’an raised a hand and formed a peach blossom out of pure energy.

  Primordial spirit energy, spiritual qi, origin qi, chaos force, vital blood force…

  Each petal was made of a different energy.

  As he compressed them…

  The void around the blossom began to collapse.

  Gongshu Yu felt his breath catch.

  Aru’s eyes nearly popped out.

  Lu Ping’an quickly dispersed the blossom.

  “That is the principle. Explore in this direction. First, create a vessel capable of containing terrifying amounts of energy. Then, a mechanism to release it. The longer these conflicting energies are compressed, the more devastating the explosion upon release.”

  Gongshu Yu fell deep into thought.

  In recent years, his forging had hit a bottleneck.

  He could already craft earth-tier spiritual tools—his greatest achievement being a single high-grade earth-tier tool, barely reaching that level.

  He had thought his path of forging had reached its end.

  That was why he had placed his hopes on Aru.

  But now, just when one door closed, Lu Ping’an had opened a window!

  “Imperial weapons require immensely powerful cultivators to wield…”

  “What Young Master Lu describes requires almost no cultivation from the user—the demand is on the tool itself.”

  The wrinkles on Gongshu Yu’s face twitched. His body shook with excitement.

  “Is it possible?”

  Lu Ping’an looked at him and smiled.

  “It is!”

  “Absolutely! The significance of such a tool to the Five Phoenixes is too great. This old man will stake his life on it—I will forge a vessel that can contain and unleash apocalyptic energy!”

  Gongshu Yu stood, his short frame radiating immense determination.

  He bowed deeply to Lu Ping’an.

  “Then you two will stay on the island and research.”

  Lu Ping’an said.

  Gongshu Yu and Aru bowed.

  Lu Ping’an was not stingy. He crafted another spatial ring, filled it with half the spirit stone veins, and handed it over—these were research funds.

  The remaining veins he embedded across the Five Phoenixes continent, feeding them back to the people.

  Weapons were necessary, but the Five Phoenixes’ own strength was more important.

  He looked up. The wind lifted his white robes.

  He seemed to see the rotating stellar origin, crisscrossed with the Dao reserves etched upon it.

  In recent years, more cultivators had comprehended unique Dao Intents at the Dao Stele.

  The Five Phoenixes now had 120 Dao reserve inscriptions—reaching the seventh-grade evolutionary level.

  But Lu Ping’an was far from satisfied.

  The Dao Derivation Mirror appeared in his hand—a heavenly-tier spiritual tool from the upper realms, still containing vast Dao reserves.

  Like fat meat dangling before him, he was tempted. If he merged them all into the Five Phoenixes, the entire world would experience a massive leap.

  More Dao reserves meant more people could comprehend Dao Intent.

  His own third-sequence destructive Dao Intent would soon reach second-sequence!

  He already had a clear plan for how to use the mirror.

  “The great war has just ended. The Five Phoenixes is evolving. Cultivators will enter a period of rapid growth… but steady progress is still too slow. They need stimulation.”

  Leaning on the railing, Lu Ping’an fell into thought.

  Suddenly, inspiration struck. He flicked his wrist, and fragrant wine poured from the gilded pot.

  It was the Heavenly Immortal Brew rewarded by the system long ago.

  Looking at the wine and thinking of his upcoming plan, the corner of his mouth curved upward.

  …

  As the Great Venerable of the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm had said—

  Lu Ping’an did not rashly enter Blood Fiend Heaven or Yuan Magnet Heaven.

  Those two realms were extremely dangerous—upper-realm experts could be lying in wait.

  In the previous war, Blood Fiend Heaven and Yuan Magnet Heaven had assembled a million-strong army and sent countless experts into the Five Phoenixes.

  With Lu Ping’an’s temperament, he would never let them off easily.

  He had actually given them a chance.

  He had waited to see if their leaders would come to apologize like the Great Venerable.

  They did not.

  In Pingyang Heaven, many High Martial worlds watched the Five Phoenixes closely.

  They noticed the Five Phoenixes had gone quiet. The mysterious Holy Lord Lu had not begun his reckoning.

  Many Holy Lords grieved their losses, believing Holy Lord Lu was afraid—too scared to invade Blood Fiend Heaven and Yuan Magnet Heaven.

  If they had known, they would never have followed the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm’s orders and handed over so many spirit stone veins and herbs.

  Now it was like throwing meat buns at a dog—gone forever.

  Within the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm.

  The Great Venerable sat atop the pagoda. The Joyful Venerable chanted sutras below.

  Buddha light bathed the realm in peace.

  The Great Venerable slowly opened his eyes, feeling the resentful thoughts from the other realms. He only smiled.

  He gazed toward the Void Heaven, toward the Five Phoenixes.

  There was no movement… but the Great Venerable could feel it—the calm before the storm.

  He remembered entering the Five Phoenixes.

  Two casually tossed Go stones had summoned pillars of spirit pressure that forced him to his knees.

  If not for his powerful Buddha body, he would have been crushed flat.

  At that moment, he was certain: Holy Lord Lu had surpassed Immortal Transformation and reached the Immortal Constellation realm!

  Even in Blood Fiend Heaven and Yuan Magnet Heaven, only the few top fifth-grade worlds controlled by upper-realm sacred clans possessed Immortal Constellation experts.

  “The reckoning is not forgotten… the time simply has not come.”

  The Great Venerable murmured.

  He pressed his palms together and closed his eyes once more.

  With Lu Ping’an’s personality, Blood Fiend Heaven and Yuan Magnet Heaven would soon be turned upside down!

  …

  Time passed, day by day.

  Great Xuan Calendar, Year 105, Winter.

  Human Emperor Tantai He issued a decree that shook the world: one hundred li outside the imperial capital, he established the “Marvels Bureau.” All graduates of the Great Xuan Academy and any willing cultivators across the land were to reside there, receiving official salaries according to court ranks.

  The decree sent shockwaves through the court.

  Many Confucian scholars knelt before the palace for three days and nights, begging the emperor to rescind it.

  But Tantai He shut his doors for three days and saw no one.

  The officials could see—this time, the emperor was resolute.

  Some scholars fell ill from anger and resigned, leaving the capital.

  In the past, Tantai He would have tried to retain them.

  This time, for the sake of the Marvels Bureau, he remained behind closed doors.

  The Marvels Bureau was eventually established, drawing cultivators from all over the world to the capital.

  Their gathering caused unrest.

  Yet Tantai He knew where to draw the line.

  The purpose of the Marvels Bureau was to keep cultivators separate from mortals and prevent disruption of the court.

  It was meant to serve as the dynasty’s ultimate defensive force—much like the Xuanwu Guards founded by Tantai Xuan.

  But the bureau was a mixed bag. He needed a powerful cultivator to anchor it.

  Tantai He personally traveled to Southern Commandery and sought out Tang Yimo, who was in secluded training.

  He asked Tang Yimo to oversee the Marvels Bureau.

  Tang Yimo refused without ceremony.

  Tantai He then went to Western Liang and found Overlord, who had secluded himself deep in the mountains with Luo Mingyue.

  Protected by an army, Tantai He arrived and found Overlord seated on a barren rock, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

  He explained his purpose.

  Overlord finally opened his eyes. In that instant, terrifying pressure turned the entire ancient forest into a demonic hell.

  “The Marvels Bureau…”

  “As Human Emperor, govern the mortals well. Why establish a Marvels Bureau?”

  “As long as you rule justly, who would dare invade the Great Xuan Divine Dynasty?”

  Overlord said indifferently.

  Tantai He’s body shook.

  Overlord’s meaning was clear: as long as Tantai He was a good emperor, with the connections left by Tantai Xuan, no one in the world would dare disrespect the dynasty.

  Because Overlord, Lu Jiulian, and others could crush any threat with ease.

  Tantai He withdrew from the mountains.

  He looked back.

  He could still faintly see that towering figure seated atop the peak, comprehending the great dao of heaven and earth.

  He clenched his fists.

  In the end, Tantai He invited Xue Tao, the former Grand Commander of the Xuanwu Guards.

  Xue Tao, who had watched Tantai He grow up, could not refuse.

  He agreed to anchor the Marvels Bureau.

  With ninth-step Yang Spirit power and unfathomable depth, though not on the level of Overlord or Tang Yimo, Xue Tao was like a stabilizing divine needle.

  Great Xuan Calendar, Year 110—five years after the Marvels Bureau’s founding.

  The court officials who once feared the bureau would bring disaster were shocked to find these five years unusually peaceful. Not a single evil spirit dared cause trouble within the dynasty.

  Tantai He was full of vigor. The Xuanwu Guards were his father’s achievement; the Marvels Bureau was his.

  That year, Xue Tao came to him.

  Snow fell from the sky. In the warm palace hall, a brazier burned brightly.

  Cultivators feared neither heat nor cold, but Tantai He was mortal.

  Xue Tao, in loose robes, walked side by side with Tantai He through the pavilion.

  “Your Majesty, this subject must leave.”

  Xue Tao looked at Tantai He.

  The little boy had grown into an emperor of his generation.

  Tantai He froze.

  “Uncle Xue, where are you going?”

  Xue Tao stood with hands behind his back. He reached out; a snowflake landed on his palm and instantly evaporated.

  Battle intent burned in his eyes.

  “White Jade Capital has spread word across the world: Young Master Lu calls all Yang Spirit realm cultivators and above to enter a secret realm and compete for mysterious training slots. This subject has been stuck at Yang Spirit for decades. I cannot miss this chance.”

  Xue Tao looked at Tantai He.

  Tantai He fell silent.

  A personal call from Young Master Lu—this matter was of utmost importance.

  “Uncle Xue… will you return?”

  Tantai He stared at him.

  Xue Tao only smiled and said nothing.

  He turned and floated out of the pavilion.

  BOOM!

  His loose robes exploded outward. In the next instant, the silver armor of the Xuanwu Guards covered his body—he was like a divine general descending from the heavens.

  Laughing heartily, spear in hand, he vanished from the Great Xuan palace under Tantai He’s gaze.

  …

  The news that Young Master Lu had the Heavenly Mechanic Pavilion summon all Yang Spirit and above cultivators to compete for mysterious training slots in a secret realm sent the entire cultivation world into a frenzy.

  One after another, cultivators shot into the sky, racing toward the Eastern Ocean.

  Unless a world-shaking catastrophe occurred, Young Master Lu never interfered in worldly affairs.

  Yet now, White Jade Capital’s Young Master Lu had personally called for Yang Spirit and above cultivators.

  How could the cultivation world not boil over?

  Everyone was curious—what was the land-god-like Young Master planning?

  Rumor said he had opened a secret realm for the strong to compete over training opportunities.

  What kind of opportunity would make Young Master Lu announce it so grandly?

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Across the Five Phoenixes continent, terrifying auras soared into the heavens.

  Western Liang—Overlord, seated on a barren rock, opened his eyes and laughed. Half-step Creation Venerable, he stood, axe and shield on his back.

  He glanced back at the graceful figure in the bamboo house who smiled and nodded encouragingly.

  The next instant, Overlord threw his head back and roared with laughter.

  He tore through the void like a streak of black light, vanishing in a flash.

  Southern Commandery—Tang Yimo opened his eyes, bones crackling. Arms wrapped in white cloth, he stepped into the courtyard, bid farewell to Tang Xiansheng, and left.

  From blessed lands and ancient forests across the Five Phoenixes, legendary cultivators who had once dominated the continent reemerged.

  Sima Qingshan, book box on his back, brought his disciple An Miaoyu to the Eastern Ocean.

  Kong Nanfei, still slovenly after a century, traveled with Meng Haoran.

  Bai Qingniao, now even more elegant and refined, raising nine phoenix chicks in her backyard, smiled at the news and headed to White Jade Capital with Chi Lian.

  Du Longyang and Ye Shoudao streaked across the sky like twin bolts of light.

  Prince Tianxu sat in his sedan chair, carried by four Yin Spirit disciples—his porters had been upgraded again.

  Empress Ni Chunqiu could barely contain her excitement—she would finally see Brother Lu again!

  The ancient tomb opened. Ximen Xianzhi emerged with his sword case, accompanied by Jiang Li, Luo Mingyue, and others.

  Lu Jiulian brought his little tag-along Tang Guo and drifted toward the Eastern Ocean.

  Zhao Zixu from Western Liang and many more.

  That day, the entire Five Phoenixes celebrated. Though only Yang Spirit and above could compete, for a continent that had been quiet for so long, it was a festival.

  Above the Eastern Ocean.

  Misty rain and smoke swirled.

  A giant whale loomed faintly in the haze.

  Soon, White Jade Capital appeared above the island at the lake’s heart.

  On the vast sea, countless cultivators stood shoulder to shoulder, powerful auras intertwining.

  Many hearts raced with excitement.

  Only White Jade Capital could gather so many experts.

  Lü Mudui of the Heavenly Mechanic Pavilion, white robes fluttering, beard dancing in the wind.

  Mo Tianyu, belly exposed, leaned close.

  “Old Lü, any guess what the Young Master’s mysterious training slots are? What kind of training?”

  Lü Mudui gripped his bamboo staff, shook his head, and chuckled. “How could this old man fathom the Young Master’s intentions?”

  Mo Tianyu pouted, suddenly bored.

  “But… the Young Master did tell me to prepare paper and brush…”

  Lü Mudui’s beard fluttered as he continued.

  “For what?”

  Mo Tianyu blinked.

  Lü Mudui glanced at him and laughed.

  “Overlord versus Tang Yimo—who is stronger?”

  “City Lord Du versus Sect Leader Ye—who edges out the other?”

  “Tang Divine Body versus Nie Sacred Body—who will reign supreme in the Five Phoenixes?”

  “Do you know the answers?”

  Mo Tianyu opened his mouth, but no words came.

  Dense excitement shone in Lü Mudui’s eyes.

  “This time… we’ll finally find out.”