Spring rains were gentle and nourishing, and thousands of acres of fertile fields sprouted lush green seedlings. A farmer in a straw raincoat straightened up in the fields, looking worriedly at the soldiers hastening back.
"My child joined the army; I wonder if he was hurt..."
A few days earlier, the farmer had received news of a great victory in the west with minimal casualties. He knew some soldiers had been executed for indulging in excesses and abuse, but he was not overly concerned.
"I've taught that boy for over a decade; he wouldn't do such things!" he reassured himself.
The muddy earth was compressed under the wheels while gleaming armor clashed in the rain, ringing out sonorously. The crystal-clear raindrops split in two upon hitting the sharp blades and rolled off swiftly, dripping onto Xu Gongming's eyebrows.
Xu Gongming looked ahead at the dark carriage frame, reviewing his conduct along the way and feeling satisfied that he had lived up to Old Master Xu's teachings. He visibly relaxed. Just then, he saw a rider approaching amidst the drizzle, a flag fluttering weakly behind him.
"Riding in the rain... it must be urgent news!" Xu Gongming perked up immediately and quickly moved forward.
The rider, whose cultivation was at the third stage of Embryonic Breathing Realm, reined in his horse in front of the carriage before carefully dismounting. He then handed over a bamboo tube, stating gravely, "A message from Mount Huaqian!"
Xu Gongming took it and climbed onto the carriage step. He shook off the rain and saw Li Pingyi emerge from behind the curtains to take the bamboo tube, bowing as he retreated back into the carriage.
"The first branch of the minor clans..." Xu Gongming looked enviously at Li Pingyi. Li Yesheng's branch was always the closest to the main family and was highly respected among the various branches, always priding themselves as confidants of the main family. It was a status even higher than that of Li Qiuyang's branch, fueling Xu Gongming's envy.
"If only the elders in charge during Lord Xuanxuan's time had been competent, we wouldn't be in this position..." Xu Gongming hopped down from the carriage, looking at the young man who had arrived on horseback.
He gave him a smile before asking, "May I know your name?"
"Tian Zhongqing."
The young man raised his wet eyebrows and responded politely with a sincere expression.
"So, you are a son of the Tian Family..." Xu Gongming gave a slight smile before ending the conversation, mindful of Old Master Xu's instruction to refrain from associating with prominent families. He chose to remain silent.
————
"Young Family Head, there's a letter from Mount Huaqian," Li Pingyi said as he removed the cloth covering from the wooden tube and walked to Li Yuanxiu's side.
Li Yuanxiu withdrew his gaze from the wooden scroll and whispered to himself, "Mount Huaqian..? Whatever could be the matter with Mount Huaqian?"
Taking the wooden scroll, Li Yuanxiu removed the wax seal and unfolded the white cloth inside, carefully reading the single sentence written on it.
Confidential: A letter from An Family's informant. An Zheyan confessed after getting drunk, revealing that An Jingming had broken through to the eighth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
"Eighth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm?!"
Li Yuanxiu was stunned for a moment, finding this hard to believe. He raised his head in disbelief and murmured softly, "How is that possible? An Jingming is only... about twenty-three or twenty-four, right..? Is he going to break through to Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty?! How talented is he?"
Li Pingyi remained wordless and did not respond while Li Yuanxiu furrowed his brow in thought. When he spoke again, his voice was low.
"Summon the messenger."
Li Pingyi nodded and exited. Shortly after, a man came in, removing his straw raincoat to reveal a damp tight-fitting robe. He cupped his fist respectfully before answering.
"Tian Zhongqing pays respects to Young Family Head."
"Tian Zhongqing..."
Li Yuanxiu felt a sense of familiarity with the name but could not quite place his finger on where he had heard it before. He then asked softly, "Which generation do you belong to?"
This was Tian Zhongqing's first meeting with Li Yuanxiu, but he was not nervous. He raised his head and smiled. "Tian Yun, the wife of Lord Xiangping, is my father's paternal aunt, and I am her grandnephew."
"Ah."
Li Yuanxiu noted that Tian Zhongqing was seventeen or eighteen years old and was already at the third stage of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, carrying himself with composure. He stored this information in his mind and nodded, saying, "Take this letter to the military accounting office and deliver it to my father."
"Understood."
Tian Zhongqing took the wooden scroll and wrapped it in a cloth bag before stamping a wax seal on it. He covered it with two layers of cloth before briskly leaving the carriage, riding westward along the military formation.
"This person is the eldest grandson of the Tian Family, the leader of the younger generation of their family," Li Pingyi said as he stepped forward to remind Li Yuanxiu, who simply nodded in agreement.
"That's not bad at all."
Rolling up the wooden scroll in his hand, Li Yuanxiu pondered inwardly, It's no wonder that the surrounding families are reluctant to let outsiders cultivate... How can a family compete with several families? With more people, there will always be a few geniuses. By then, allowing outsiders to become the top cultivators of the family would make things difficult! Fortunately, our family has the mirror and talisman seed which can accelerate cultivation speed, ensuring that the decent talent of each generation... It allows for our assurance, at least.
Returning from his thoughts, Li Yuanxiu picked up another wooden scroll from the desk and said in a low voice, "With An Jingming's talent and An Zheyan's careless behavior... how can he live long?"
After a moment of careful consideration, Li Yuanxiu felt rather uneasy. Setting down the wooden scroll in his hand, he declared firmly, "No, I must personally go and find Father!"
With that, he donned his raincoat and swiftly left the carriage to search for Li Xuanxuan.
————
Li Tongya slowly opened his eyes and waited a few moments before the carriage door was gently knocked on. He exhaled a breath of white air and said softly, "Come in and talk."
Li Xuanxuan pushed the door open and entered. The rain outside was getting heavier, but not a drop had touched him. Li Xuanxuan was also about forty years old, but due to his breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Realm, much of the white at his temples had vanished, making him appear just over thirty. His expression was grave as he followed Li Yuanxiu into the room, his clothes slightly damp from the rain.
"Second Uncle, An Jingming has already broken through to the eighth heavenly layer of Qi Cultivation Realm..." Li Xuanxuan said as he looked up at Li Tongya with a serious expression, adding, "This matter is of great importance, so I came to report it as soon as I received the news."
Li Tongya raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had anticipated An Jingming's rapid cultivation progress but had not expected it to reach such an extent. He said in a deep voice, "An Jingming isn't even thirty yet, is he?"
"Twenty-three or twenty-four," was the reply.
Li Tongya calculated the time; the last time he had seen An Jingming was over seven or eight years ago when the boy was only fifteen and at the third heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm. Now, he was already at the eighth heavenly layer. Li Tongya murmured quietly to himself, deep in thought.
"That's roughly one heavenly layer per year..."
Li Tongya found it increasingly unbelievable. Normally, a Qi Cultivator would take over five years to advance one heavenly layer; three to five years was considered extremely quick.
If one's talent was not considered good enough, it could even take up to seven or eight years... Yet, An Jingming had managed to advance five heavenly layers in just seven years, including two heavenly layers during the demanding later stages of the Qi Cultivation Realm, nearly catching up to Li Tongya himself!
Li Tongya knew that if he had not received the Deep Ocean Long Whale Talisman, his own cultivation would at best be at only the seventh heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, perhaps even lower than An Jingming.
Li Xuanxuan, who had only recently broken through the Qi Cultivation Realm himself and knew the difficulties involved, saw Li Tongya's silence and felt uneasy. He spoke in a low voice, "The spirit veins in Mount Huazhong are thin and inferior to those of Mount Huaqian, let alone Azure Pond Peak... I've heard that disciples in sects who consume heavenly treasures and bathe in spirit fluids advance one heavenly layer every two to three years... how does one advance one heavenly layer per year?!"
Li Xuanxuan paused, then clenched his already tensed jaw.
"I've heard gossip in the markets about reincarnated immortals who progress swiftly due to their past life's cultivation. Could this person be... some reincarnated deity or immortal?"
"That's impossible."
Li Tongya was also shaken but shook his head and said firmly, "If he were indeed a reincarnated being of the Golden Core Realm or higher, we would have been wiped out by him long ago... How could the Yu Family still be jumping around here?"