The Nian clan misfortune Part 1
/*unedited*/
The night sky is already high as the moon shines like a luminous pearl along with the sparkling gem-like stars. In this tranquil night, the Great city of Wu is quiet and the threat of war is almost non-existence. Inside the castle, a large celebration is happening as a welcome gesture for the guest from the Imperial city of Xi.
Qian Li and her group mingled with the nobles of the clan which shows interest in them. Though they look like mortals, the nobles are aware that these people are not simple.
"So, how do you find our city Captain Li?" asked a man who wore an expensive-looking green robe.
The man is one of the heads of an influential clan in the city. Around him are also the other heads of the family.
Right now, they are surrounding Qian Li who didn't seem to mind the attention.
As a former princess of a kingdom, she is already used to this kind of attention whenever her father, the king, would visit places. Added to her unique beauty and silver-colored hair, she would truly attract attention anywhere she would go.
"I'm happy and amazed at the scenery of the kingdom good sir. Your kingdom truly lives up to its reputation." She replied flatteringly.
"Umm… Captain Li or should I call you Princess Qian Li… I've heard that the city of Dis is not what it used to look like when it was just a town. Is it true that the structures there are made out of metal?" a man who is aware of Qian Li's former identity asked with a smile.
Although Qian Li was a little taken aback she still showed a smile on her face and look at the man.
"Well, the Dis is a border town. And we heard that it is always attacked by a large number of monsters every year, unlike the other border towns… So since we lived inside the Daemon forest, we decided to help the town and turn it into a huge fortress city for the protection of the people."
Her reply made the people understand her stance. She is insinuating that, the power behind her is not normal and that it has the ability to make a mere small town into a mighty and powerful city. Hence she is trying to convey to these aristocrats that if they should not offend her and her group or else…
While talking and associating with others, two figures are alone and talking happily. These two people are the old man Gung Xi and the old woman but middle-aged looking Fu Rong Bai.
"The two are really hitting it off don't they?"
"Yeah, I guess senior Bai's springtime has come… Hey, do you think they can still have a child?"
"What do you know…if you are listening to the explanation in the training camp, if we reached the Sword Master status in our practice then you can live for around 200 years. And right now, senior Bai is the fastest out of all mages in the camp. She is almost reaching high mage; hence her physique has changed drastically."
"But I heard that her progression was too fast that it is abnormal."
"Well, that's because she always deals with medicinal herbs, potions, and pills. Her body is always exposed to the natural elements."
"Anyway, for me, I'm just happy to be in the middle stage swordsman. Haha…"
The discussion of Qian Li's group was heard by some of the people around them and they knitted their brow in confusion.
Although they belong to the aristocratic family and are well-informed when it comes to mortals having powers appearing in the cultivation land, they are still kept in the dark of what kind of powers are those. This is because, except for the main imperial city of Xi, the other kingdoms didn't know this information yet.
This is due to the distance from each of the kingdoms. If this was on earth, a single kingdom would be enough to house around ten empires. Due to the vastness of the land, and the difficulty of transportation, sometimes it would take 5-6 months before information could be disseminated throughout the whole empire.
But as of now, the knowledge that there are people called mages and warriors that exist among the mortals are already widespread since a long time has passed after the news of the city of Dis was spread. Hence each kingdom is now partial to the treatment of mortals since then.
The happy occasion made everyone feel that the cooperation would be successful and that the Great Wu kingdom would be able to rise up and defeat its enemies.
"Captain Li, the crown prince of Xi is calling for your audience." A man courteously said to Qian Li with a bow.
Qian Li followed the man and entered a huge majestic hall inside the palace. In the middle of the hall, a long table with many men surrounding it while discussing something.
"Captain Li, welcome." The crown prince of Xi said as he stood up from his seat.
Jiao Long Xi is the name of the crown prince of Xi. He is the oldest son of the emperor and was the firstborn son of the empress.
He is a quiet and reserved person, but his leadership capability is second only to the 2nd prince Li Yan Xi who is considered as a genius commander and cultivator throughout the whole empire. But the relationship between the crown prince and the rest of the princes is good, hence with their help, the rule of the emperor is solidified.
"I'm happy that you could join us here… let me introduce you to these fine gentlemen…" the crown prince said as he introduced all the important people in the room.
The night was a happy night for Qian Li's group, while Qian Li herself gains a lot of information in the incoming war against the demons and the situation in the front lines.
She learned that the demons have already taken over half of the whole northern part of the beast clan empire. And as they are talking millions of beast clan members are rushing to escape the battle. The borders are already filled with many construct and fortifications just in case the beast clan could become uncontrolled.
But humans are still humans and lend a helping hand to their enemies. Hence they build and fortified cities for the beast-men behind the borders. Although it is already within the Wu kingdom land, it is still considered as part of the border area because of the natural formation protecting the cultivation land.
This is also the reason why the empire needed the long-distance communication ability of the phone to report what is happening in the war in real-time.
If this is so, then they could immediately respond in any situation that may arise.
After hearing this information, Qian Li felt a little pressured. But when she heard that they are going to meet with the crafting department of the Great Wu academy, she immediately felt excited.
She knows that tomorrow will be the day that she would see her master and the man she likes. Hence, she felt that night is very long.
…
At the same time, in another part of the kingdom of Wu.
Inside a cave with low glowing light due to the many rare and precious stones and gems, two figures suddenly came out of a gate that suddenly appears atop a circular array formation on the ground.
Shin Jiao and BeiBei Ji have reached the underground cave where many of Shin Jiao's rare and precious stones are being kept.
But when BeiBei Ji appears in the circular formation, what she saw is a dark cave with almost zero visibility. Since Shin Jiao has already taken back the glasses he lends her, hence she is unable to see clearly her surroundings.
"Follow me."
Shin Jiao walks ahead as she followed behind.
With the array formation protecting the whole cave, anyone who would accidentally stumble inside it would be trapped in the illusion array. But with the use of the glasses or goggles, one can see the real illusion and never be trapped inside.
After walking out of the cave, Shin Jiao realized that it is already dark.
"This is the Dark forest near Crow Town; I guess you know you way around her right?" Shin Jiao said while turning to look at BeiBei Ji.
With a nod of her head, she confirmed.
Although it is the Dark Forest, she can see that it is only near the outskirts of the forest, hence she is not worried that they would face higher-level demon beasts in this area.
As the two walks, they noticed something peculiar.
"It feels like the whole dark forest is devoid of a demon beast." Shin Jiao muttered.
"Well, I guess this is because of the massive hunting that has happened a few weeks ago." BeiBei Ji answered beside him.
"Umm… this is because one of the princesses of the Xi empire was said to be lost after searching for someone a few months ago along with her guards. So the crown prince of Xi and the 2nd prince scour the whole Dark forest and hunted every possible demon beast they could see until the found the princess in a cave protected by her only remaining two guards."
"Huh? Is this after the clan trials?"
"Ah, no… this is during the Heavenly Crow sect disciple selection exam… the princess wanted to join the Heavenly Crow sect, hence she tried her luck along with many others… at that time, there was a rumor that the Heavenly Crow sect has at least five slots in the Immortal schools' acceptance trials or most commonly known as the Immortal Trials." she explained further.
"This is very attractive to those young cultivators; hence many entered that examination that day… But who would have guessed that a demon beast would appear? It was an uncommon demon beast who can talk. Many said it was asking about some son of the demon phoenix. And it is hunting that person… but before it could cause more havoc, the powerful elders of the Heavenly Crow sect defeated it, but three of their elders died by its hands and five more are wounded."
When Shin Jiao heard the story he was amazed at the power of the Heavenly Crow sect. But his problem right now is how he can cause trouble to the Nian clan without getting the Heavenly Crow sect's ire.
"The current patriarch of the Nian clan is a great elder of the Heavenly Crow sect, so this would be a bit troublesome." Shin Jiao thought.