M49S Vol 1 Chapter 37. Gathering

Chen Boyan ultimately did not answer the question. Some matters were far more complicated than they appeared on the surface, such as the affairs of the Chen family, or his connection with Meng Qiqi.

Meng Qiqi did not press further either. For now, the most important issue was still Jin Man. Before long, Xiao Xiao appeared. He stepped out from the shadows at the mouth of an alley up ahead, clearly having waited for quite some time.

“What happened tonight?”

“I just asked Yao Guan about it. At first, they really were going after Daoist Wuyan, but somewhere along the way, whether the two were switched or that Wang Mu was wearing a mask, it all went wrong,” Xiao Xiao replied.

Meng Qiqi frowned. “Where did the tip about Wuyan come from?”

“From one of Wuhou Manor’s retainers. Jin Man didn’t suspect anything and led the pursuit himself. But Master, are you thinking this person might be a plant from the Wang clan?”

“Wuhou Manor has too many retainers, and they’re a mixed bunch. It would hardly be surprising if some of them were infiltrators. “What I’m wondering is whether both fake Wuyans were part of the Wang clan’s plan from the beginning, or if their spy uncovered the first impostor and imitated the tactic to create a second one and lure Jin Man in.”

Things had suddenly grown more tangled and obscure. But whichever guess it was, Meng Qiqi had no solid proof to support it. Fortunately, he never assumed he had all the answers. There were plenty of clever people in this world, and he was just a junior, fresh on the scene. Hoping everything would go smoothly from the start was never realistic.

“Keep searching for Wuyan. We cannot give up until the very last moment.” It was now impossible to draw Jin Man out tonight, so Meng Qiqi decided to take a different path.

Xiao Xiao said, “Yao Guan told me that Lord Jin warned him in advance that if anything happened to him, he could temporarily take orders from you.”

Meng Qiqi nodded. “Have the caravans from outside the pass arrived?”

“They should be here by late morning tomorrow. The Holy Sovereign’s people are escorting them. There shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“Make sure their safety is guaranteed. We cannot afford another mistake.” A cold glint began to gather in Meng Qiqi’s eyes. “Tell Yao Guan that Jin Man will be fine for now. Have them focus on preparing for the competition.”

He took out a palm-sized cloth bundle from his ring. “Deliver this anonymously to the Grand Elder of the Wang clan. No need to be too secretive about it. Once he sees it, he’ll know it came from me.”

The bundle was neatly wrapped. No one could tell what was inside. Xiao Xiao never questioned Meng Qiqi’s orders. But Meng Qiqi’s gaze lingered on the cloth for a moment, as if it had stirred some old memories.

Yet there is no chasing the past. Meng Qiqi soon looked away and said, “The real focus is tomorrow’s competition. Whether we rise or fall, the outcome will speak for itself.”

The grand competition was the true heart of the Knock upon the Immortal Gate. If the journey through the secret realm had merely served as a training ground for young cultivators, with no winners or losers, then the competition was a battlefield in every sense of the word.

Who truly stood as the finest among the younger generation of the cultivation world could only be decided through combat. Back then, it was Zhou Ziheng. Now it was Lu Yunting, Gu Shutong, Jin Man, and even the Chanhua Immortal, who had long since ascended. Each of them had once dazzled the stage during the competition.

Gushan Sword, the standard-bearer of sword cultivation, had missed the last Knock upon the Immortal Gate, drawing widespread doubt. If they failed to take the lead in this year’s competition, their standing would likely plummet.

After all, among all the great sects, Gushan Sword was the only one openly suffering a generational gap. The brighter its past under Zhou Ziheng, the more awkward its present. Even the current sect leader, Meng Qiqi’s senior brother, had achieved little in the way of swordsmanship. Paired with the other equally unremarkable elders, the once-prestigious Gushan Sword now had no one who could hold up its name.

But propping up the sect’s name had always been the task of the Little Martial Uncle. Back then, Meng Qiqi had been young and reckless when he boarded Zhou Ziheng’s pirate ship. Now it was far too late for regrets.

At Gushan, the title of Little Martial Uncle was always given to the sect leader’s youngest disciple. So whenever Meng Qiqi awoke from dreams in the dead of night, he would remember how Zhou Ziheng had stubbornly refused to take him as a disciple, and how that smooth-talking scoundrel had coaxed him into apprenticing under his senior brother instead. Just thinking about it nearly made him cough up blood.

It was a scheme. All of it had been Zhou Ziheng’s scheme.

Seeing his master’s expression grow increasingly complicated, Xiao Yu’er thought Meng Qiqi must be worried about tomorrow’s competition. Eager to offer comfort, he reached out to pat Meng Qiqi on the shoulder. But since he wasn’t tall enough to reach, he ended up patting his arm instead. “Don’t worry, Master. Xiao Yu’er will give it everything he’s got!”

Meng Qiqi was immediately filled with fatherly satisfaction. “What a good boy.”

The next day marked the first day of the grand competition. Cultivators from all over the city gathered at Mochou Lake.

After a full night of rest and focused preparation, they poured out of Chanhua Tower in a steady stream. Among the crowd, some faces brimmed with excitement, others remained calm and unreadable, while others were solemn and tense. There was little conversation. A heavy sense of anticipation hung in the air.

The dueling ground for the competition had been set up right in the center of Mochou Lake. The Wang clan, flaunting their immense wealth, had constructed an elaborate pavilion on the water for this purpose. Since all participants were cultivators, the Wang clan didn’t bother providing boats. Everyone was expected to make their own way across the lake.

Many among them were the impatient type. With only a polite nod to those around them, they took to their swords and flew out. One moved, then another, and soon trails of swordlight streaked across the sky in every direction, piercing through the morning mist and darting toward the floating platform over the lake.

By the time the Gushan disciples walked out from Chanhua Tower, more than half the crowd had already gone. Dai Xiaoshan shook his head and sighed, “Ah, Junior Brother Youqiong… not to nag, but this is the biggest day of the competition, and you’re still oversleeping? Your heart’s bigger than Mochou Lake.”

Tu Youqiong turned bright red. “I—I was just too excited last night and couldn’t fall asleep…”

After the incident with Jin Man, the Lion Banquet had gone on without further disruptions. Once the final course was served, everyone returned to their inns or to Chanhua Tower, seizing what little time they had left to sit in meditation and absorb the abundant vital force contained in the dishes.

Overnight, many of the cultivators staying at Chanhua Tower had used the combined effects of the lion’s head dish and beast cores to advance by a small realm.

Tu Youqiong was among the lucky few. He had been stuck at the peak of the first layer for nearly half a year, but last night, he successfully broke through to the second great realm known as Self-Cultivation. He had finally caught up with the rest of the group.

In the path of cultivation, the first and second layers marked a clear divide between those who had entered the gate and those who had not. Cultivating external force at the first layer meant nothing more than tempering the life-bound weapon within one’s dantian, a basic and superficial phase. Once a cultivator crossed the threshold of the first layer’s peak, especially for sword cultivators, they could begin to pursue the path of unity between sword and self. At this stage, both mastery over one’s life-bound weapon and the ability to channel vital force would undergo a fundamental transformation.

Among the five Gushan disciples sent this time, Chen Boyan’s cultivation remained a mystery. No one had been able to see through it. Beyond him, Song Ru ranked highest, having just broken through to the second layer’s mid-stage a month prior. Dai Xiaoshan and Mu Guinian were still lingering in the early stage. Now that Tu Youqiong had also broken through, it was a cause for genuine celebration.

Tu Youqiong himself was practically beside himself with excitement. He had already forgotten the embarrassment of being teased by his senior brothers and couldn’t wait to test his strength. He summoned his sword in a flash, itching to jump into battle.

An incense stick’s time later, the group of eight soared across the lake and arrived at the dueling grounds. The Wang clan had placed a Maze Formation over the misty waters, so they had taken a bit longer to reach it.

The dueling platform was massive. Seen from above, it resembled a blooming plum blossom. At the center, where the stamen would be, stood a seven-story tower that resembled a pagoda. Stretching out from it were wide, petal-shaped terraces that served as the competition stages. It reflected the Wang clan’s usual opulence. Three enormous orbs crowned the top of the pagoda, golden bells hung from its eaves, intricate carvings adorned the vermilion window frames, and golden coiling dragons curled around the beams. Every detail had been crafted with meticulous care.

Tu Youqiong let out a gasp. Gushan Sword had its own grand halls and ancestral buildings too, but those had been accumulated over countless generations. The Wang clan, with one foot in the secular world and wealth to burn, had raised this entire structure for a single Knock upon the Immortal Gate. And they had managed to build it right on the water.

“How much silver did this all cost…” Tu Youqiong muttered in awe as he looked around. The plum blossom had five petals, which meant the platform had five arms as well. Each one was astonishingly large, easily spacious enough to hold all the cultivators even if they crowded onto a single section.

“Master! Xiao Yu’er! Little Junior Brother!”
A bright voice suddenly called out from ahead. Xiao Yu’er turned quickly toward the sound and saw Qing Gu running toward them.

“Senior Sister!” Xiao Yu’er waved back excitedly.

At first, Tu Youqiong thought she was calling him when he heard “Little Junior Brother.” But when Qing Gu ran up and gave Xiao Xiao a pat on the shoulder, Tu Youqiong realized the title had been meant for him.

Poor Xiao Xiao. Despite being a few years older, all he could do was lower his head meekly in front of this mischievous senior sister.

Tu Youqiong let out a laugh. A grown man being called Little Junior Brother by a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl, how could that not be funny? Qing Gu playfully winked at him, then wrapped her arm around Meng Qiqi’s like a child clinging to her parent. “Master, what took you so long? The competition’s about to start.”

Tu Youqiong gave a slightly awkward cough and turned his head. Thankfully, Dai Xiaoshan didn’t call him out again.

Meng Qiqi asked, “Did Granny Zhu come?”

“No, I came with Uncle Wang and Wang Ziling.” Qing Gu pointed toward the neighboring platform. “Wang Ziling’s right over there with the Wang clan, and Uncle Wang went inside the tower.”

Uncle Wang referred to Wang Wan’nan. Last night at Granny Zhu’s, Qing Gu had enjoyed a full bowl of lion’s head soup all to herself, thanks to him, and their relationship had grown noticeably closer. With her sweet and likable nature, she won people over wherever she went. It was also because of her that Wang Ziling was able to come along with Wang Wan’nan today.

Meng Qiqi scanned the crowd. All the sects and clans had arrived. Elders like Tang Li were gathered inside the tower, where special seats had been arranged for them to observe the competition. Meng Qiqi, too, counted as an elder and would need to take his seat above.

Before leaving, he asked one last time, “Is everyone ready?”

Xiao Yu’er clenched his little fists. “I’ll make sure I don’t embarrass you, Master!”

The others nodded solemnly. Their battle spirits were already burning, and as they met each other’s gazes, the light on their young faces grew even brighter.