The city, while still recovering, had nearly doubled in population with the influx of people. Normally the months of winter would be full of starving villagers trying to find shelter and food, but with the many ideas Brother Yuan had brought forth, the city had begun rapidly expanding. The blessings of Chi kept everyone safer, more and more mortals now awakening to the energy and finding themselves walking upon an entirely new Path.With less mortals, food demands could be focused on other things, work could go on longer, and more people’s needs were taken care of. It was still surreal to watch, as Zhang flew through the skies, to see how much the world around him was changing.Making his way across the Seventh Peak city, Zhang slowly landed near the market hub, sensing Su Lin present there, arguing with some men.“Is something the matter?” Zhang asked, descending from the skies, as he eyed the men nearby.“Nothing brother, just some old thugs that’re having trouble accepting the new

Bringing my attention back to the map, I looked at where Xi is pointing.“These are the southern borders, and beyond here are the lands that the demons have conquered. At the border is where the main front lines are, and the empire keeps a constant stream of cultivators and warriors standing at the front lines, engaging in an eternal war against them to hold back the invasion. Many young cultivators rise to prominence here at the frontlines, fighting against the demons. Many times we have tried to claim back the corrupted lands from the demons, but the miasma in the air prevents us from doing so. That’s partly why holding these lines is so important to the existence of the empire. Any land that the demons can take from us, we will not be able to take back. These creatures corrupt everything they touch,” Xi said.I frowned, continuing to listen, as my mind went back to the images I had seen within the frame when bonding with Ash, and the deathless present there. Did the empire already

I looked up at the Patriarch. “Respected Patriarch, if you do not mind me asking a question in return to your question, how many cultivators does your sect lose every year? To Raiders? To bandits? To Demons? Whether the Jade court would like to admit this or not, the empire is at war. And has been for over a thousand years. And perhaps it is because of that, that people have forgotten. But war costs money. Not only does it cost the lives of your cultivators, the sect members, it costs you resources, weapons, food, goods, and so on.The Patriarch raised an eyebrow, and I continued to throw my bait.“Imagine a world where the mortals could fight. A world where mortals could be taught how to do simple Alchemy. How to create spirit weapons. If every farmer could break through and reach the first realm, they will not gain much significant strength, but they will become capable of working for more hours every day.The more hours they work the more they will be able to feed the Warriors. If

The old man sat in front of Lord Zhou sipping his cup of tea. It had been a long time since he had sat with the Lord like this.“This makes us nostalgic. You used to sit here just like this when we were younger, teaching us. We still don’t know why you kept refusing to work under us all those years. Was it something we did? Or perhaps our father?”The old man put down his cup of tea, looking at the lord. “Neither, my lord. It was this old man’s choice to settle into a quieter role. We had paid our debt to your father, he had grown into this splendid man. We felt content that you could handle things without us.”Lord Zhou did not reply, looking down at his own cup of tea, now growing cold. “Perhaps you’re right. He could have managed, and we did, for many years. But now…” the lord trailed off, drinking his tea, before looking up at the old man. "Sheng Ming, if we are right about this…”“Despite what we hope, you're most likely correct in your assumptions. And if my grandson- no, if tha

Taiyin walked behind the sect elder, her heart pounding with fear, uncertain of what had drawn his attention to her. All she had been doing was practicing the forms alongside her peers, but then, out of nowhere, he had appeared, singling her out and leading her away from the others. She shuffled her feet, secretly hoping the elder might suddenly realize he had the wrong person and release her. But with each step, her hopes faded, replaced by a growing dread of impending punishment.She wracked her brain, unable to recall any misdeed warranting such a consequence. She had completed her chores, practiced her forms diligently, and steered clear of trouble. Yet, if this wasn't about punishment, what could it be? She certainly hadn't done anything noteworthy enough to earn a reward, considering her average skill in the forms. So, if it was neither something bad nor good she had done, there was only one other thing she could think of. It must be about Mei.At this thought, Mei stirred withi