Chapter 47

The life-or-death duel had finally ended. Despite battling each other with cultivation at the same realm, the fact that Jiang Xiaofan had beaten the Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s number two core disciple and broken Ying Tianyang’s precious-ranked Bow Slayer shocked everyone to the extent of their jaws dropping to the ground.

The complexions of the Heavenly Sun Peak’s disciples paled to a deathly white. With poison in their eyes, they glared at Jiang Xiaofan before leaving the martial arena. The faces of Zhu Youwei and Zhu Yunlin were equally as unsightly. They had never believed that Jiang Xiaofan would emerge as the victor.

“Qianbei, thank you for your aid. I am eternally grateful!”

Jiang Xiaofan looked at Yu Wuyan and bowed low in an expression of his gratitude.

Yu Wuyan nodded and beamed at him. “I have heard of your story. Heroes are cultivated from a young age. A man of honor knows which things must be done and which things must not be done. Very excellent. No wonder why that lass, Xue’er, cares so much about you.”

Ye Yuanxue was a mischievous and cute yet pure and kind-hearted girl. As a result, she had won over everyone’s hearts within the Heavenly Maiden Peak despite having arrived at the sect not long ago. Along with her sister’s relationship, Yu Wuyan naturally grew very fond of Ye Yuanxue.

Regardless of how thick-skinned Jiang Xiaofan was, he couldn’t help but blush at her words of praise. He hastily replied, “Qianbei, thank you but there are many areas in which I still need to excel in.”

The platform was now sealed off by the leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation. With the same zombie-like face, looking as if someone owed him a great deal, he abruptly left the martial arena without even saying goodbye to Yu Wuyan.

Ye Yuanxue, Lin Quan, Tang You, and the others then swarmed Jiang Xiaofan and bombarded him with questions of worry.

Jiang Xiaofan was overjoyed because he could feel the warmth exuded by his peers. He was once an orphan. Except for that old man who passed away, no one else had ever truly cared about him. Now that he was in a new world, he, at long last, had friends.

“Child, are you alright? Are your injuries grave?”

Deeply worried about his current state, Old Man Liu was the last one to walk up and question him.

Jiang Xiaofan immediately got up and gently supported him. Breaking into a grin, he replied, “I’m fine, Old Man Liu. Don’t worry.”

Not long after, the crowd of onlookers finally dispersed and went about their ways. Jiang Xiaofan bowed once more in gratitude before Yu Wuyan. He then called Lin Quan and Tang You, and together, they escorted Old Man Liu back to Standstill Peak.

Darkness soon descended, and the sky was filled with infinite, glimmering stars.

The ambiance on Standstill Peak was a joyous one. Several hares were skewered on top of a campfire. Oil dripped down and created cracking sounds. The enticing smell of the golden-brown hare meat permeated the air around them.

Jiang Xiaofan’s victory over Ying Tianyang was an event worthy of celebration. Ye Yuanxue was the last one to join in the party. She brought many things with her, one of those being a pot of wine which she had sneaked out. Thanks to her, the atmosphere around the campfire grew even merrier.

As expected, Little One came along with Ye Yuanxue. It flapped its multicolored wings and chirped excitedly. It was well-liked among everyone.

Little One was the name which the Heavenly Maiden Peak disciples had decided to give to it. Jiang Xiaofan thought that it sounded quite nice and perfectly suited the cute little fellow. Its presence elicited a few glances from Old Man Liu as well.

After a couple of drinks, Tang You and Lin Quan crawled up to Ye Yuanxue and begged her to let them tour around the Heavenly Maiden Peak or introduce a couple of female disciples to them. If not, then she could at the very least bring her fairy sisters for a stroll at Standstill Peak.

With a look of exasperation on his face, Jiang Xiaofan complained, “Can you two be more manly?!”

On the second day, Jiang Xiaofan and Ye Yuanxue went up the Heavenly Maiden Peak to see Yu Wuyan. He took out the first-generation leader’s jade pendant, warily handed it to Yu Wuyan, and confessed about his previous intrusion into the Heavenly Maiden Peak.

Rather than getting angry, Yu Wuyan was impressed by Jiang Xiaofan’s daring feat and explained, “Everyone knows that the Heavenly Maiden Peak forbids any man from entering its grounds. However, do you know why the first-generation leader set such a rule back then?”

The place that they were in was a quiet little courtyard. Other than Yu Wuyan, only Jiang Xiaofan and the Ye sisters were present. They shook their heads in response to her question. Even a core disciple like Ye Qiuyu had no idea why that rule was put in place.

Yu Wuyan caressed the jade pendant and sighed. “The first-generation leader once had a daughter whom she loved very much. Later on, the daughter fell in love with a man, but the first-generation leader didn’t like him at all. She thought that the man had a bad character but was unable to convince her daughter to leave him. Therefore, she came up with an idea to test this man. She made her daughter temporarily stay at the peak while notifying those down below that her daughter was to be forever imprisoned.  In addition, no man was to enter Heavenly Maiden Peak ever again or else risk castration and be permanently expelled from the sect.”

The three of them fell into a daze. Yu Wuyan stared at the jade pendant and smiled. “That man was indeed disciplined.”

Everything became clear to them. That man should have had been like the others and feared the repercussions of breaking this rule. Thus, he had never stepped foot into the Heavenly Maiden Peak again and failed to pass the first-generation leader’s test.

After arriving at this conclusion, Jiang Xiaofan viewed that man with disdain. What the hell?! Is he even a man?! What a wimp! Making all men lose face! He should be castrated and become a eunuch! He can’t even rescue his beloved woman!

Noticing their expressions, Yu Wuyan knew that they had already guessed the end of the story. She chuckled, “After that, the first-generation leader exploded into a fit of rage. That fake rule was originally used to test the man. However, she decided to turn it into a real rule afterward. The truth is known only to the generational leaders of the Heavenly Maiden Peak.”

The three of them nodded their heads in understanding, but Jiang Xiaofan soon felt aggrieved. Damn it! So the one that almost got me neutered is that spineless scumbag! Fuck him!

Yu Wuyan returned the jade pendant to Jiang Xiaofan. “Because of Xue’er, you forced your way into the peak. I think that if the deceased first-generation leader was to know of this, she would approve of you becoming an exception to this rule.”

After a short while, Yu Wuyan got up to leave. As the leader of one of the seven main peaks, she had many tasks ahead of her that needed to be fulfilled. Taking the time out of her schedule to see Jiang Xiaofan was a rare occasion.

“Sister Yu, take care. Don’t tire yourself out!” Ye Yuanxue waved at her.

Yu Wuyan looked back and jokingly chided her, “Lass, call me Aunty Yu!”

Even though this was what she had requested, Jiang Xiaofan could tell that Yu Wuyan was very pleased. It’s normal for women. Who doesn’t prefer a more junior honorific?

After Yu Wuyan had left, Jiang Xiaofan then expressed his gratitude to Ye Qiuyu. After all this time, this girl had treated him quite well. Of course, the main reason was his relationship with Ye Yuanxue, but he still needed to thank her for everything.

With one look at Jiang Xiaofan, the clever Ye Qiuyu knew what he was thinking. She warmly laughed and said, “Jiang Gongzi, no need to be so courteous. You are Xue’ers friend and are my friend as well. Besides, you are a friend worth making.”

Jiang Xiaofan grinned back at her. He felt somewhat embarrassed.

Time quickly ticked by, and five days passed since the duel. During this time, Jiang Xiaofan’s name had spread to every corner of the sect. Even a hermit probably knew of his being by now.

Jiang Xiaofan was the one who had beaten up the number one core disciple’s elder cousin, Zhu Youwei, and brother, Zhu Yunlin. He was also the one who had taught a rough lesson to three of the main peaks’ disciples, detained them, and forced them to labor. In addition, he was the one who had intruded the Heavenly Maiden Peak and come back down unscathed. Adding to his list of infamy, Jiang Xiaofan was now known as the one who had battled Ying Tianyang, the sect’s number two core disciple whose cultivation had been suppressed to the Micro Realm during the duel, defeated him, and destroyed his precious-ranked Bow Slayer.

These series of feats made Jiang Xiaofan greatly renowned throughout the Emperor’s Heaven Sect. There were some who worshipped him, and there were those who cursed him. Either way, his name was no longer unheard of, even among those who have never seen him.

Over these past few days, Jiang Xiaofan had done absolutely nothing. He wandered back and forth between Standstill Peak and the Heavenly Maiden Peak. Accurately speaking, he spent his days at the Heavenly Maiden Peak and his nights at Standstill Peak.

Once, the female disciples were bored and decided to let Jiang Xiaofan guard the gate. Needless to say, Jiang Xiaofan didn’t refuse them. All he had to do was just stand at the base of the mountain. Unexpectedly, tragedy arose. It was all because a group of wolves had come up to him.

“Yo, how do you go up the peak?”

“Brother Jiang, introduce some chicks to me, please?”

“Vicious One, you can’t be this selfish and have them all to yourself!”

Jiang Xiaofan forgot how he was able to get away from that pack of wolves. He only remembered that when he had arrived at Standstill Peak, his robe was already torn into pieces. He grew so enraged that he wanted to hit someone. Xue’er gave this to me! It’s invaluable!

On this particular sunny day, Jiang Xiaofan was still snoring in bed when Ye Yuanxue pulled him up by the ear. He didn’t know how her interest came about, but Ye Yuanxue picked up another task from the Xuanyang Pavilion. She had come here to team up with him, and this time, it was a black-grade.

Looking over the jade scroll that Ye Yuanxue had handed over, Jiang Xiaofan’s eyes bulged. He suddenly felt dizzy.

“Oi oi! What for?! It’s just a black-grade!”

Ye Yuanxue waved her delicate hand in front of Jiang Xiaofan.

He wanted to cry. Please, sister. I’ll call you sister from now on, okay? Why do you want to travel so far for this task?! Argh, Sea of the Setting Sun! Some time ago, he had gone to the Pavilion of Stored Scriptures and studied the geography of Planet Ziwei. Naturally, he knew where the Sea of the Setting was located. The distance between the Emperor’s Heaven Sect and there was very far. With the flying sword, the journey would still require a total of six days!

Ugh, six days! The thought nauseated Jiang Xiaofan. He wanted to throw up.

“Can we not go?”

Jiang Xiaofan pleaded Ye Yuanxue with pitiful eyes.

She shook her head, threatened him with a wave of her fist, and resolutely answered, “No way. I need to accumulate my contribution points. Sister’s already a core disciple. I can’t dishonor her by falling behind. I need to become a core disciple too!”

At last, Jiang Xiaofan unwillingly gave in. So be it. Sea of the Setting Sun it shall be! Six days of the flying sword! Not a big deal! Vomiting is no big deal! Besides, I might even get used to vomiting.

However, one he was in midair, Jiang Xiaofan immediately regretted his decision. No matter how many times he had vomited, he just couldn’t get used to the nauseous feeling. His eyes continuously swirled in circles. It was as if there were a million bumblebees buzzing inside his head.

The journey indeed required a total of six days, but because of a certain someone who easily got sword-sick, the trip was extended to ten days. When they finally arrived at the Sea of the Setting Sun, the sky was somewhat red. Its color was no different than that of the sun below the horizon.

They landed on a large island, surrounded by red-colored seawater. Waves rolled in one after another as the sound of the water crashing into the rocky shore echoed in their ears. It sounded eerie as if someone was weeping.