Book 7, Chapter 14

B7C14: Guests from all sides

The Stellar Tower has its layout based entirely on the Great Heavenly Stellar Formation. Not only is it filled with a lot of natural holy energy, it even gathers sunlight, moonlight and starlight. The most dazzling place in the Stellar Tower is its center -- the Sun Moon Hall.

This is the place where the guardians, company leaders and squad leaders have audiences with the 3 tower masters.

The Sun Moon Hall does not have a roof. By looking up, one can see countless stars hanging high. The area behind the seats of the 3 tower masters on the raised platform in the hall even shines with sunlight and moonlight all the time. When someone steps into the Sun Moon Hall, they will feel as if they have entered a different world. It is exceptionally fantastic.

It has been almost 2 years since the completion of the Stellar Tower. During the past 2 years, the Stellar Tower has come into routine operation completely. Uncle Lan, Miss Li’er, Yan Zi and the others from the ravine have often come over here for a stroll and Qin Yu has welcomed them happily.

At the moment, in the Sun Moon Hall of the Stellar Tower,

On the raised platform in the hall, Qin Yu is sitting in the center while Hou Fei and Hei Yu are sitting on either side of him. Behind the 3 of them are the sunlight and moonlight gathered by the Great Heavenly Stellar Formation. These lights shine high into the air, giving the 3 tower masters an aura of dominance.

The 8 guardians, 30 company leaders and 300 squad leaders are standing in 2 rows on the left and right sides of the hall in order.

Qin Yu always thinks that this Sun Moon Hall is even more luxurious and also more imposing than the imperial audience halls on the Qian Long continent. In this hall, with starlight taking the place of the sky, sunlight and moonlight being the background and holy energy floating like clouds and mists, his subordinates all look like immortals.

“1st master! 2nd master! 3rd master!”

More than 300 Xiuyaoists all bow and shout respectfully. Their voices resound through the hall.

After saying so, they look at Qin Yu with respect, waiting for his orders. The looks in the eyes of the 8 guardians and 30 company leaders are very hot because today is the day the manager of the Stellar Tower is chosen.

The manager will be in charge of nearly everything so their status will be very high, inferior only to the 3 tower masters and superior to the 8 guardians.

Theoretically, a manager should have been appointed long ago, but Hou Fei likes to supervise subordinates so he has been the acting manager for the last 2 years. Qin Yu also knew Hou Fei’s temperament. Indeed, after his managerial craving was satisfied, he has lost interest in handling those trivialities.

Therefore, a manager has to be appointed.

The manager must be capable and at least decently powerful as they will only rank lower than the tower masters after all. So, the candidates are the 8 guardians and the 30 company leaders.

“1st master, last time you said you wanted to choose a manager. May I ask if you have made your decision?”

A guardian on the left stands in the middle of the hall then bows and says. This is none other than Yan Rui, the leader of the Stellar Tower’s current 8 guardians. After gaining the ability to take the human form, she transformed into a woman. And she is powerful, having even reached the late Dongxu stage.

Hearing Yan Rui’s words, the other guardians and the 30 company leaders all look at Qin Yu with blazing eyes.

Qin Yu is sitting in the middle, dressed in a black robe. Actually, his subordinates in the Stellar Tower have prepared very luxurious clothes for him, but he likes some clothes his master Lei Wei made in the past.

Even though the robes made by Lei Wei look very simple, they are much more comfortable to wear than the luxurious clothes proffered by the Stellar Tower’s subordinates. They may not look good from the outside but very useful inside.

“Please don’t be anxious, guardian Yan Rui. The 3 of us brothers have already made the decision and now 2nd master is going to reveal it.” Qin Yu looks smilingly at Hou Fei. Immediately, the over 300 pairs of eyes present are focused on Hou Fei.

Hou Fei gives a smile, baring his teeth: “This manager position of the Stellar Tower is of course extremely important. Therefore, the 3 of us had to choose very carefully. Ahem, and now I’m going to announce the chosen one.”

Qin Yu gives a smile.

This Hou Fei fellow is unexpectedly even raising the tension.

The 8 guardians and 30 company leaders all look at him. One of them can become the manager, who is second only to the 3 tower masters. The manager will be in charge of all ordinary matters so this is a very lucrative, advantageous post.

“Kaka, this manager is … Zhuang Zhong.”

Hou Fei finally announces the decision.

Zhuang Zhong cannot help getting excited. He goes to the center of the hall right away and gets down on one knee, saying: “Thank you for your kindness, tower masters. I shall definitely manage the affairs of the Stellar Tower well and absolutely shall not disappoint you.” His voice is very loud because he simply cannot contain his excitement.

As a company leader, he already had quite a lot of authority, but now he has leapfrogged the 8 guardians to become the manager, who is only lower ranked than the 3 tower masters, so how can he possibly not be delighted?

This is not an ordinary manager position, but the manager position of the Stellar Tower, which is in the same league as the Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion and the Nine Demons Hall. It has a lot more authority than a company leader position does. Today Zhuang Zhong has really become an important and influential figure.

“All right, from now on, Zhuang Zhong will start to serve as manager.” Qin Yu says directly. “The opening ceremony of the Stellar Tower is coming up in a half year. At that time, members of the Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, the Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion, and the Nine Demons Hall will come to congratulate us, therefore …”

As soon as Qin Yu says this, everyone on the lower part of the hall focuses their entire attention on this matter.

The opening ceremony will be a big event because the Stellar Tower is in a high position of power. It will cause quite a stir in the entire overseas Xiuzhen world. When the time comes, the other major powers will all send representatives to attend it. This event will definitely be a big gathering of the overseas Xiuzhen world’s experts.

“Zhuang Zhong, you immediately make arrangements. The Stellar Tower still has quite a lot of dwelling places. You must make the other 5 powers experience our generosity, and the feast for the opening day must also be prepared in advance. This is your first task as manager.”

Qin Yu says while staring at Zhuang Zhong. He does not doubt Zhuang Zhong’s abilities at all and Zhuang Zhong has been following him for a long time, therefore, he has given Zhuang Zhong the manager position.

“Yes, 1st master. I definitely shall not let you down.”

Zhuang Zhong answers in a sonorous and powerful voice. The look in his eyes is sharp and resolute. Seeing this, Qin Yu gives a satisfied smile.

“Kaka, Zhuang Zhong, I’ll come to check frequently. If I discover that you have done some excessive things then don’t blame me.” Hou Fei tells Zhuang Zhong with strange laughter. Zhuang Zhong gives a guarantee smilingly, not minding Hou Fei’s words at all.

Even though Hou Fei now allows the manager to handle the Stellar Tower’s affairs because his craving has been satisfied, who knows when he will get itchy and come to carry out a check?

Therefore, Zhuang Zhong had better be careful.

“All right, that’s it. Everybody can leave now.”

With his robe fluttering, Qin Yu immediately leaves the hall. Hei Yu, who has been sitting in repose with eyes closed, suddenly open his eyes. The look in his eyes is frighteningly sharp. Seeing that look, even late Dongxu stage Yan Rui feels that it is frightening.

This is not because the look in Hei Yu’s eyes is sharp, but because it makes her feel as if her soul is being devoured.

Since Hei Yu started to practice quietly in the Great Heavenly Stellar Formation, he has eventually made another improvement by reaching the late Yuanying stage. Even Hou Fei has had to admit that he is not certain of defeating late Yuanying stage Hei Yu.

If Hou Fei represents frenzy and violence then Hei Yu represents iciness and darkness!

With a movement of his body, Hei Yu disappears in the hall. When he reached the late Yuanying stage, his speed was unexpectedly not inferior to Qin Yu’s anymore.

Both Hei Yu and Hou Fei have reached the peak of the late Yuanying stage so it has become impossible for them to make a breakthrough by absorbing energy. Now they have to wait for the 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. There is no telling when they can sense the times of its arrivals.

After leaving the hall, Qin Yu goes through various bridges, buildings and corridors to eventually arrive at a storied building surrounded by clouds and mists. This is none other than Miss Li’er’s dwelling place here.

Yan Zi and Xiao Jin are playing in the lake close to the side of the building.

“Hello, big brother Qin Yu. You must come to find sis Li’er, right? She’s fishing over there.” Yan Zi says smilingly. Xiao Jin on one side also winks at him a couple of times. Afterwards, she motions towards Li’er with her eyes.

“You 2 little brats.”

Qin Yu gives a smile then immediately treads on the blue water to go to the pavilion in the center of the lake.

After the Stellar Tower was completed, it does not need any restrictive spells because that Great Heavenly Stellar Formation automatically keeps water away. The interior of the Stellar Tower is totally like a new dimension.

Li’er’s long hair is slightly tied up with a hairband. She is dressed in white and a white belt is fastened tightly around her waist, revealing her body’s attractive curves. Qin Yu just stands in the pavilion watching her focusing on fishing while sitting on the edge of the pavilion.

“What are you looking at, Qin Yu?” She looks back and says smilingly. That smile makes Qin Yu’s eyes brighten.

“I’m watching you fishing.” Qin Yu smilingly sits down beside Li’er.

He always feels that she seems to isolate herself from the world. She is passionately friendly to Yan Zi and the others but that is only a façade. Only when she is in one place with him can that barrier be removed.

“Li’er, you have never mentioned your parents to me. Can you tell me about them a bit now?” Qin Yu says smilingly.

Li’er is startled. She ponders for a while, which is a very rare sight, then says with a nod: “My father has a very high position. He and others always fight for status and power so he doesn’t spend a lot of time with me at all.” There is a tinge of grief in her eyes.

Qin Yu’s heart trembles. He immediately feels emotions and thoughts surging in him.

Was he not in the same situation?

He suppresses his mental agitation with effort and says: “Looks like your father is an important figure.”

Li’er says with a nod: “Yes, he’s an important figure. I’ve seen many people since I was little and they all have so much respect and awe for him. Nobody dares to disobey him. But there are also other important figures. They compete with each other all the time and even fight each other. I was tired of it so I and Uncle Lan left home to wander outside.”

“Perhaps that was because you’re a girl. My experiences were very similar to yours, but I’m a guy. My father was a prince of the Chu dynasty on the Qian Long continent. He wholeheartedly wanted to seek revenge and realize our ancestors’ several-hundred-year-old hopes. He focused on teaching my big and 2nd brothers and didn’t pay close attention to me, the useless 3rd son. But I was different from you. I wasn’t tired of those things. Instead, I trained very hard, desirous to do some useful things for my father.”

Qin Yu says dispiritedly. Even though it has been many years since then, he still feels unhappy when thinking about what happened.

He seems to be seeing himself, as a kid, in a harsh winter night, keep running while carrying weights and thrusting the fingers into sand to practice the Iron Sand Palm …

“Because I’m a girl?” Li’er’s eyes flash with a hint of tenacity. “No, at first I also wanted to help father like you, but … later an incident happened. It grieved me and grieved Uncle Lan.” Her eyes are full of pain.

Seeing Li’er like that, even though Qin Yu does not know what she actually encountered, he knows it must have been something very serious.

“Oh, a fish took the bait.”

Li’er’s eyes suddenly brighten. She pulls back the fishing rod and a 5 to 6 jin big fish is caught.

Just now she was immersed in her memories and pain but at the moment, because she has caught a fish, she is so excited that she smiles broadly. It seems she has simply forgotten what happened a moment ago.

“Qin Yu, has your chess skill improved? You want to play the game of Go or chess? If it is chess, I’ll give you one rook, one horse and one cannon. If it is the game of Go, I’ll give you 4 pieces.” Li’er looks jokingly at Qin Yu. With a wave of her hand, 2 chessboards appear.

“Well, chess and the game of Go? This, this …”

A moment ago Qin Yu was still feeling comfortable but now he has become nervous.

Playing those games with Li’er is no different from getting massacred. She has been giving him a rook, a horse and a cannon in chess and giving him 4 pieces in the game of Go. Even so, he has always lost, and lost miserably at that. His skills are not bad, but Li’er is just an extraordinarily strong player.

Qin Yu dares to guarantee that even his father Qin De and Adviser Xu Yuan cannot defeat Li’er despite having a 4-piece advantage in the game of Go.

……

Various beautiful clouds are flying above the vast ocean. Riding the clouds are several tens Xiuxianists. The leader of them is none other than the top man of the Penglai Immortal Region -- Reverend Yan Xu. These people are the delegation the Penglai Immortal Region has sent to the Stellar Tower.

The opening day of the Stellar Tower is coming. Because the Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon and the other places are all extremely far from the Stellar Tower, it will take them almost a half year to arrive even if they fly all the time. Therefore, they have had to set off even earlier than that. This is also the reason why at that time Qin Yu said that the opening ceremony would take place 3 years later.

Reverend Yan Xu is the leader. On either side of him, there is a young man with long, flaming red hair and a handsome young man with flowing, white hair.

“Reverend Yan Xu, that Stellar Tower is merely a power of underwater Xiuyaoists. Though it’s backed by a loose immortal … to make us go all the way to his mansion is really …” The young man with long flaming red hair says with a hint of disdain.

Most Xiuxianists are very disdainful of Xiuyaoists’ mansions and consider them low-class.

“Reverend Huo Tian, it goes without saying that Xiuyaoists have a bad taste in architecture and can only build things like palaces. How can their mansions compare to our wondrous lands? But they are undoubtedly powerful. Architecture is only an external thing. Nothing is as important as real power.” The white-haired young man says.

The long-flaming-red-haired young man says frowningly: “Reverend Di Feng, I only said that Xiuyaoist architecture is bad. I didn’t say they are weak. I find staying in that kind of place really offensive.”

“Reverend Huo Tian, Reverend Di Feng, you haven’t seen the Stellar Tower so please don’t comment at will.” Reverend Yan Xu says indifferently.

However, despite saying so, even he actually looks down on Xiuyaoists’ dwelling places.

To Xiuxianists and Xiumoists, they totally have the right to look down on Xiuyaoists when it comes to highly-skilled activities such as weapon forging, pill making and mansion building. The other Xiuxianists all begin to discuss with each other about how bad Xiuyaoists’ dwelling places are.

“We’ve arrived at the Stellar Tower.” Reverend Yan Xu says all of a sudden.

Every Xiuxianist immediately stops talking. This Reverend Huo Tian and Reverend Di Feng look like young men but in fact they are just a little younger than Reverend Yan Xu. They are the grand elders of the Ziyang school and the Lanyang school respectively.

Reverend Yan Xu, Reverend Huo Tian and Reverend Di Feng can be considered the real controllers of the Penglai Immortal Region.

The several tens Xiuxianists then dive into the ocean. The water at the places they go to is pushed back and therefore does not touch their bodies in the least. As a result, a passage through the water appears. In this way, these Xiuxianists fly extremely fast towards the Stellar Tower.

NOTE:

Reverend Di Feng and the Nine Demons Hall’s Di Feng have different surnames.

End of b7c14.