Chapter 48: Fu Shan’s Request

The Apricot Cottage.

When Su Yi returned from beyond city limits, he saw someone entirely unexpected waiting for him.

City Lord Fu Shan!

Master Su. Fu Shan smiled and stepped forward to greet him. I came uninvited. I hope you wont take offense.

This time, he addressed Su Yi as Master, just like Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin.

This was a show of respect, as well as an indication that Fu Shan no longer saw Su Yi as a mere youth.

Su Yi said thoughtfully, City Lord Fu, have you encountered a problem you cant resolve on your own?

I knew I couldnt hide it from you. Fu Shan sighed, a hint of worry on his brow. Im here with a presumptuous request, and I hope you can assist me.

Lets hear it. Su Yi nodded.

Fu Shan paused to organize his thoughts, then said, The Dragons Gate Banquet starts in three days. At first, everything was well under control, but yesterday, I received a letter from the Cloudfall City Lord, Li Jianyu.

In it, he suggested that we use this years Dragons Gate Banquet to settle our dispute over Spiritbamboo Islands ownership.

If a youth of Guangling City takes the martial arts championship, the island will enter our jurisdiction. The city lords estate will take control of it for a period of ten years.

But if the championship goes to Cloudfall City, the island will fall under their domain.

Su Yi was starting to understand. Is there something special about this Spiritbamboo Island?

Indeed there is. Fu Shan explained, The island is thirty miles away from Guangling City along the Great Azure. It's an island in the middle of the river.

Its only about three hundred feet across, but its a blessed land of concentrated spiritual energy. It includes a thirty-foot bamboo grove. The bamboo is a special variety called Bluejade Spirit Bamboo.

The bamboo is like lustrous jade, bright and flourishing. Every inch of it is a treasure. The roots, shoots, and leaves are all like spiritual medicines, brimming with ample wood element spiritual energy.

And the mature?bamboo is a precious spiritual material. If you use it to make weapons, the results are extraordinary, like divine artifacts.

In the past, Guangling City and Cloudfall City took turns controlling Spiritbamboo Island. The island would change hands every three years.

But ever since Li Jianyu became the Cloudfall City Lord two years ago, hes seemed intent on ripping up our former agreement. He no longer acknowledges our earlier rules, and he intends to bring Spiritbamboo Island entirely under his control.

Over the past two years, weve clashed over Spiritbamboo Island on numerous occasions, and our conflict has only worsened over time. If we dont resolve it soon, Im afraid a violent struggle is sure to follow. When he said this, Fu Shan laughed bitterly.

Su Yi said, It sounds like hes suggesting resolving this matter at the Dragons Gate Banquet. Isnt that exactly what you wanted?

Fu Shan sighed. Had I known about his suggestion earlier, I would have been happy to agree to his terms, but he only informed me last night. That makes this difficult.

Why is that? Su Yis eyebrows shot up.

All young martial artists aged eighteen and under are eligible to participate in the Dragons Gate Banquet. Had I known about this earlier, I would have prepared and arranged for some capable young talents to participate. Fu Shan patiently explained, But time is short; I dont have time to make such arrangements. By comparison,?that Li?Jianyu suggested this implies that hes long since prepared for it and is fully confident.

Su Yi nodded. That Li?Jianyu is quite crafty.

Fu Shan said coldly, That old fox is ruthless and crafty. Hes never fought any battle he isnt certain he can win, and this time is no exception. Ive already investigated, and it seems hes long since arranged for a young genius called Mo Tianling to take part in the competition.

Mo Tianling hails from Cloudfall Citys Mo Family. Hes eighteen, and hes at the peak of the Blood Circulation Realm. He spent two years cultivating at Blueriver Sword Manor.

Afterward, he left Cloudriver Prefecture and joined the Cloudlight Marquis Redscale Army. Hes spent over a year engaged in slaughter on the battlefield, and hes grown long accustomed to life-and-death battles. Hes accumulated numerous merits, too.

A ruthless, experienced fighter like him isnt someone our academy students, kids whove never seen bloodshed, can handle. Fu Shan sounded fraught with concern, and his brow was tightly knit.

So its him! The name felt a little familiar, and Su Yi quickly recalled where hed heard it.

During his three years cultivating in Blueriver Sword Manor, Mo Tianling was already an inner sect disciple.

He was cold and harsh, his temper violent and unpredictable. Hed once brutally severed a?sectmates?right arm in a duel, angering the sects higher-ups. In the end, they kicked him out.

Su Yi wouldnt have guessed hed hear his name again now, years later.

Master Su, I know that its unreasonable to ask someone of your status to participate in such a contest, but I really dont know what else to do, said Fu Shan. Su Yis silence was starting to make him nervous, and his heart pounded in his chest. Its fine if you choose to abstain; I can try and think of an alternative solution.

At first, he hadnt even considered asking Su Yi for help.

It was only after Nie Beihu reminded him that he suddenly recalled that Master Su, whose brilliance even the Spiritjade Marchioness respected, was only seventeen years old!

At his age, he was naturally qualified to participate in the Dragons Gate Banquet.

Thus, after hesitating for quite some time, Fu Shan made up his mind, thickened his skin, and requested Su Yis aid.

Of course, he didnt expect someone of Su Yis status to agree lightly. He was here because he thought it couldnt hurt to ask.

Su Yi suddenly asked, I heard that Blueriver Sword Manors Zhou Huaiqiu and Ni Hao are here. Why not ask Ni Hao to participate?

Fu Shan grimaced and shook his head. First, theres no connection between me and Zhou Huaiqiu. Second, he and Ni Hao have been staying with the Li Family. As you know, last time at the Wen Family matriarchs birthday, my attitude left Li Tianhan deeply displeased,?so.

Su Yi nodded. I understand. How about this? When the Dragons Gate Banquet starts, Ill head on over.

No matter what else he might say, Fu Shan had done him a huge favor back at the Immortal Gathering House. Sure, it had been on anothers orders, but Su Yi couldnt be ungrateful.

Now that Fu Shan had come to him for aid, he naturally wouldnt just sit back and ignore him.

His opponent might be unworthy of consideration, but the lantern-lit river was a sight to behold.

Fu Shan was overcome with delight. He clasped his fist and said, Master Su, with you there, the outcome is secure. I am no longer the least bit worried!

He then quickly bade Su Yi farewell and left.

Su Yi, meanwhile, turned and entered his room, took off his clothes, and sank into the medicinal bath hed prepared in his wooden bathtub.

Hed agreed to participate in the Dragons Gate Banquet, but he was still more concerned about his personal cultivation.

Over the past few days, Huang Qianjun had brought him a bone broth prepared with boiled medicinal herbs every morning.

Add that to his supply of fifty spirit stones, and Su Yis cultivation was proceeding at a shocking pace.

Just the night before, hed reached the very pinnacle of the Refining Sinew stage. His tendons and ligaments were like a young dragons, soft and flexible, yet bursting with explosive power.

If he met the Opening Acupoints stage Wu Ruoqiu now, he could kill him effortlessly.

As expected, now that Ive begun Refining Bone, ordinary medicinal herbs have become essentially useless..?Before long, Su Yi furrowed his brow and rose from his bath. His body looked lean, but beneath his clear white skin, his muscles were like carved jade.

His physique wasnt exactly bulky, but every inch of his skin, flesh, blood, and sinew contained enough power to leave an ordinary martial artist in the dust.

He wiped himself off, got dressed, and sat on his bed in the lotus position, a spirit stone in each hand.

Refining Bone was the final stage of the Blood Circulation Realm.

This stage was far harder to cultivate to perfection than Refining Sinew. The core problem was that tempering ones skeleton until the marrow like frost level was too difficult!

The vast majority of the Great Zhous martial artists remained stuck in this stage for their entire lives, unable to achieve higher breakthroughs.

Guangling City.

Here, Blood Circulation Realm cultivators were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, but there were only a handful of Qi Accumulation Realm experts.

This was because it was too difficult to complete Refining Bone. It was like an enormous, impassable gorge that prevented many from breaking through to higher realms.

But to Su Yi, the challenge wasnt the process of Refining Bone, but rather, acquiring sufficient cultivation resources to do so.

Before this, he could still use ordinary medicinal herbs to support his cultivation, but by now, ordinary medicines were no longer of any use.

He needed spiritual medicines, spirit stones, or to cultivate in places with dense spiritual energy!

But all three were unquestionably rare within the Great Zhous borders.

I still have more than thirty first-tier spirit stones. Without any spiritual medicines as supplements, Ill burn through five spirit stones a day. I cant let things go on like this. I should consider leaving Guangling City,?Su Yi thought as he cultivated.

The Great Zhous territory was vast, encompassing six provinces and thirty six prefectures.

Each province encompassed six prefectures, and each prefecture had numerous cities.

Like Cloudriver Prefecture. It was just one of the Imperatorial Provinces six prefectures. It alone included nineteen cities.

Guangling City was just one of them.

Within the vast territories of the Great Zhou, Guangling City was just a remote little city at best.

Years ago, Su Yi had chosen the Cloudriver Prefectures Blueriver Sword Manor specifically because he liked how remote it was; it was extremely far from the Jade Capitals Su Family.

In doing so, he hoped to escape the Jade Capitals Su Familys influence.

But against all expectations, the very day he lost his cultivation, the Su Familys power located him almost right away!

As such, shortly after Su Yi reawakened his memories, he made a decision

Hed wait until his cultivation reached the peak of the Blood Circulation Realm to leave Guangling City.

That way, hed have enough strength to fight back should he encounter any trouble.

But things?were?different now.

Guangling City was ultimately too remote to have much in the way of cultivation resources. It was sparse and barren as could be.

If he wanted to continue cultivating, he had to consider finding somewhere with more abundant resources.

Like the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital.

An old saying went, Even the cleverest housewife cant cook without ingredients. Su Yi couldnt work without resources, either.

I dont have to rush to leave, and no matter what, I have to visit the Azurecloud Mountains before I go.?Su Yi certainly hadnt forgotten about the?Six-Severings?Yin?Corpse in Mother Ghost Ridge, nor about the Six Yin Grass or Extreme Yang Flowers.

It was highly likely that an inauspicious yin spirit vein was hidden there!

Oh! Rumor has it that Mother Ghost Ridge has a long history of giving rise to various apparitions. When I visit, I should take Qing Wan with me.?Su Yi recalled the lady ghost in the Soul-Nurturing Gourd, and his eyebrows shot up. Finndd the newst ovels on n//velbin(.)com

The girls spiritual affinity wasnt the least bit shallow!

Neither the inauspicious yin spirit vein nor the Six Yin Grasses were useful to him at his current cultivation.

But to a low-class yin soul like her, they were enormously beneficial!

Three days later.

Countless spectators would watch the curtains open on the Dragons Gate Banquet this very night.

Su Yi stepped into the morning light and proceeded to the riverside mulberry grove as always.

To him, this was almost no different from any other day.

Chapter end