Chapter 14: Preserving One’s Nature, Safeguarding One’s True Self

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“Brother Zhao, now that you’re coming down the mountain, do you plan to continue roaming the world, or will you stay for a while in the town below?”

On the way to see off Zhao Zhen and Li Muxuan, Lu Jin asked curiously.

“I haven’t decided yet. For me, whether I go or stay doesn’t really make much difference. But since I have already paid my respects to Chief Zuo, there’s nothing here that holds me back. I’ll probably leave in a couple of days.

Why do you ask, Brother Lu?”

“Oh, that’s really a pity. I was hoping that if you stayed in the town for a while, I could take the opportunity to come down the mountain and spar with you again.”

A trace of regret flickered in Lu Jin’s eyes.

“Actually, I also wish I could be as free and unrestrained as you, Brother Zhao. But the sect’s rules are very strict. Until we have enough ability to protect ourselves, our master won’t allow us to travel out early.”

“Brother Lu, though the jianghu is vast, as long as fate allows, why should we worry about not meeting again?

When you are able to travel freely, you won’t have to look for me. If I hear news of you, I will come find you. Then we can have another match.”

“That sounds great. Well then, Brother Zhao, I’ll see you off here. Wishing you a smooth journey ahead.”

“Mm.”

Zhao Zhen waved his hand, then continued walking down the mountain with Li Muxuan.

“Really not going to say anything?” Zhao Zhen glanced at Li Muxuan beside him.

“What’s there to say? Didn’t he make everything clear already?”

Li Muxuan chuckled lightly, his fist unconsciously clenching slightly.

“It’s all about sincerity, sincerity! Damn sincerity! From the start, he kept telling me about sincerity, and just played me for over two years.

I just want to tell him, even if I don’t become his disciple, sooner or later I’ll make a name for myself in the jianghu. Then I’ll see how he can still say I’m insincere!”

Seeing Li Muxuan’s angry expression, Zhao Zhen understood that Zuo Ruotong’s words had ultimately failed to touch his heart.

But that was only natural. If a few words could make Li Muxuan suddenly see the light, he wouldn’t have been called the “Unstained Immortal.”

Thinking this, Zhao Zhen sighed helplessly.

If Li Muxuan continued his reckless behavior, sooner or later he would, along with Wugen Sheng, uproot the Three-One Sect’s foundation, triggering a tragic conflict between the Three-One Sect and Quansheng.

Zhao Zhen did not care much about the Three-One Sect or Quansheng, but he deeply respected Chief Zuo.

Whether in his past life reading comics or from their brief encounter just now, in Zhao Zhen’s heart, the only truly venerable figures worthy of genuine respect in this world, aside from the Grand Celestial Master, were this “Great Abundance Immortal.”

Yet the root cause of the tragedy was not any individual, but the flawed ideology of “reverse-life threefold,” which was wrong from the start.

The three-fold cannot merge into “one”—this was the last straw that completely disheartened Zuo Ruotong.

“Forget it, what’s the use of thinking so much? With my current strength, whether I can survive in a chaotic world is uncertain. How could I have the energy to worry about others’ fates?”

With that thought, Zhao Zhen shook his head.

“Brother Zhao, when do you plan to leave after coming down the mountain?”

“I’ll say farewell to Old Wang and leave directly. Why?”

“Where are you heading next?”

“Hmm, let me think… maybe I’ll visit famous mountains and great rivers, experience firsthand the unique techniques of the major sects in the world of mystics.”

“That sounds fascinating. I envy you so much. I wish I could be as free as you someday.”

“When you graduate or master all of Old Wang’s techniques, then maybe. Otherwise, how could he let you go so easily?”

“True…”

Li Muxuan lowered his head, dejected.

“Brother Li, since we both belong to the Three-One Sect, we share some fate. Before you go, how about I give you a word of advice?”

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“Please, Brother Zhao.”

“We both are disciples of the Quansheng Sect, which means we have one foot in Quansheng already. It’s impossible to completely separate ourselves from it in the future.

But even if the day comes that we truly join Quansheng, I hope you remember: in this murky world, true ‘Quansheng purity’ is not indulgence in desire, but guarding the brightness of one’s true heart.”

“Guard the brightness of one’s true heart?”

Li Muxuan murmured softly. Before he could ask what that really meant, he looked again—and Zhao Zhen had already vanished without a trace.

“Gone already? This guy really is quite unrestrained…”

-----------------

Five years later, spring of 1928.

Inside the Yinghe Pavilion, a group of young talents gathered, laughing and chatting, raising their glasses.

This Yinghe Pavilion was a tavern established by the Xiaozhan Sect, not for business, but to make friends with heroes from all over.

Because of this, the tavern was located in a very remote place, rarely visited by ordinary people. Those who came were either a few accidental wanderers or mostly mystics.

The rules of Yinghe Pavilion were strange: once inside, you could freely enjoy fine wine and dishes at prices far cheaper than outside taverns.

But the prerequisite was that you must display some skill or technique at the entrance.

As for the Xiaozhan Sect, it was an established power specializing in intelligence trade, with many spies spread throughout the mystic world after years of operation.

Thus it was said: In this world, there is nothing you can’t ask about that they don’t already know.

“Excellent wine! This must be Brother Liu’s treasured vintage, right? To bring it out to treat us, Brother Liu, you are truly generous!”

On the second floor, a refined gentleman wearing a long robe and glasses smiled slightly.

He was the owner of Yinghe Pavilion—Liu Wei.

“Wine is meant to be shared with friends. If it’s kept hidden, wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“Hahaha, Brother Liu, you’re truly righteous!”

“Has Xiaozhan recently heard any interesting news from the mystic world? Brother Liu, please share with us so all the fellow cultivators can enjoy.”

At these words, Liu Wei suddenly clapped his hands.

“Brother Qian, since you mention it, I do have some interesting news to share with everyone.”

“Really? Let’s hear it.”

“I’ve heard that in recent years, a very peculiar young man has appeared in the mystic world. In just a few short years, he has visited nearly hundreds of sects, large and small.

And with each visit, he insists on sparring with the disciples of that sect. Yet, after all these years, no one has been able to defeat him!

You’re all fellow cultivators from major sects. Have any of you experienced this firsthand or seen this youth? Feel free to share.”

As soon as Liu Wei finished speaking, a crew-cut youth hurriedly stood up.

This was Hou Ling, a disciple of the Green Bamboo Garden.

The Green Bamboo Garden was a longstanding mystical sect in the mystic world, ranked alongside the Three-One Sect and the Celestial Master’s Residence. Its foundation lay in Taoist thought, and its moves were named after the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove from the Wei and Jin dynasties, whom they revered.

“Brother Liu, believe it or not, I actually saw that youth with my own eyes. Not long ago, he just visited our Green Bamboo Garden!”

“Monkey!”

Ruan Tao, the senior disciple of Green Bamboo Garden sitting next to Liu Wei, gave him a scolding glare.

“Oh come on, senior brother, what’s wrong with admitting it? It’s just sparring between peers. If you’re not good enough and lose, so be it~”

Hou Ling grinned and ignored Ruan Tao, clearing his throat before continuing, “That youth’s name is Zhao Zhen. As for his master, it’s hard to tell—he never said. I only know his life cultivation is extremely profound.”

“Specializing in life cultivation? Could Zhao Zhen be a Quanzhen cultivator?”

“Hehe, let our senior brother explain that, since he was the one who sparred with him.”

Though Ruan Tao didn’t want to get involved, he couldn’t resist the crowd’s urging. He stood reluctantly and shot a fierce glare at the grinning Hou Ling.

“I’ll deal with you later!”

“Brother Ruan? You really lost? No way! Your strength is top-tier among us.”

“Actually, there’s no shame in admitting it. I did lose.”

Ruan Tao smiled helplessly.

“Like Brother Hou said, Zhao’s life cultivation is extremely deep. I was no match for him. But after sparring, I sensed he wasn’t truly a Quanzhen disciple.”

“No worries, Brother Ruan, you’re not the only one who lost. I’m here with you.”

“Hahaha, count me in.”

“Me too…”

With Ruan Tao leading, several more young talents who had lost to Zhao Zhen soon came forward.

Seeing these “fellow sufferers” spontaneously starting to toast each other, a smile grew wider on Liu Wei’s lips.

“These guys were all silent when asked earlier, but now that someone admitted it, the others follow suit.”

An elderly man resembling a steward beside Liu Wei chuckled softly.

“They’re all young and reckless, so naturally they think losing is shameful and won’t admit it first.”

“But looking at this, Zhao Zhen has defeated quite a few experts from various sects.

What’s stranger is that despite losing, none of these guys seem to hold grudges against Zhao Zhen. That’s interesting…”

Thinking this, Liu Wei stroked his chin thoughtfully.

He had sent people to investigate this rising star of the mystic world, but the information on Zhao Zhen was limited.

All he knew was that Zhao had previous contact with Quansheng disciples, but nothing more detailed.

Below, after the “victims’” little gathering, these young talents who had been defeated by Zhao Zhen clustered together.

“How many survivors do you think the major sects still have?”

“Hard to say. Before coming, I heard Brother Zhao even visited Wudang and Shaolin, and didn’t lose there either!”

“Amazing. So it seems only the Celestial Master’s Residence remains unvisited by him.”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard otherwise. But the Celestial Master’s disciples have always been powerful. If Zhao Zhen goes there, he might not win.”

“It’s untested yet. Who knows the result? But Zhao Zhen is really incredible, he’s beaten nearly all the young experts our generation.”

“Indeed, I have no idea how he cultivates. When he activates his protective qi, my fire attacks can’t even harm him!”

“And his unique technique—when I sparred with him, I only saw a flash of golden light, and the next moment, I was instantly on my knees! Lost without understanding how…”

“Damn! Same here! He was at least dozens of meters away, but as soon as the gold light flashed, a shotgun was pointed straight at the back of my head.”

…

As everyone was exchanging stories about how they lost, a discordant voice suddenly rang from behind.

“What, you’ve only heard of Zhao Zhen, but never heard of me, Li Muxuan?”