Chapter 35: The Immortal Fairy Qingyu
The Four Seas Trading Guild was founded by Qian Baozhen, who is known as the Master of the Four Seas—a grandmaster in his own right. Moreover, he is the disciple of Lu Wanshan, and ever since Lu Wanshan took charge in Central State, Qian Baozhen has held his post in Yangzhou on behalf of his teacher.
The story of Lu Wanshan and Qian Baozhen, master and disciple both being grandmasters, is considered a celebrated tale in the present age. Yet, for other grandmasters, this so-called tale of virtue may not be so delightful.
Establishing the East Sea defense line would inevitably affect the interests of the Four Seas Trading Guild; Qian Baozhen would hardly sit idly by. And to provoke Qian Baozhen is, in effect, to provoke Lu Wanshan as well—the foremost martial power in the current Great Jing court, and among the top ranks in the world. Even if I were to join forces with the Thunder Lord, we would still be no match for this master and disciple. Not to mention, the Great Jing court possesses other grandmasters as well.
Although the Great Jing dynasty has long since declined and is far from its founding strength, after the resurgence led by King Huntian, Lu Zhengyang, it remains the preeminent power in the world. Speaking of grandmasters, apart from Lu Wanshan and Qian Baozhen, the court also counts among its ranks Lu Yuanlin from the lineage of King Wei, Feng Yixuan, master of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion and court ally, King Wuyuan Lü Wu, who holds Bingzhou, and King Yunhuang Xia Mingye, who holds Huangzhou—six grandmasters in total, which constitutes nearly a third of all grandmasters in the world.
With such strength, never mind that Simingyue has only just become a grandmaster—even if she were the foremost grandmaster of this age, unless she attained the rank of Supreme, she would still be powerless against such a colossal force.
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“If all else fails, I’ll have to ask Qingyu for help—then, with myself, Qingyu, and the Thunder Lord, three grandmasters, even the Great Jing court would have to tread carefully!”
Though Simingyue’s talent and fortunes are extraordinary—becoming a grandmaster at sixty-five—she was not the first among the Three Immortal Maidens of the martial world to achieve grandmastery.
It was Ning Qingyu, a year younger than her, who achieved it first.
Ning Qingyu, the youngest and most beautiful of the Three Immortal Maidens, was also the most favored by fortune. It is said that at her birth, a feather-shaped spiritual treasure descended as an omen, and thus her parents named her Qingyu—“inclined to the feather.”
With this stroke of destiny, and the grandmaster heritage of her sect—the Azure Cloud Sect—Ning Qingyu’s cultivation was smooth and unimpeded. Forty years ago, when she had just turned thirty, she became a Martial Lord. This talent, while rare among her generation, was not wholly unprecedented.
Yet for Ning Qingyu, this was but the beginning. After becoming a Martial Lord, she began to fully comprehend the mysteries of her spiritual treasure, her cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds. She swiftly reached the Martial Lord's peak, and during a moment of profound insight into the unity of heaven and man, she naturally broke through to grandmastery.
At the time, she was not yet forty.
Perhaps because her path had always been so smooth, Ning Qingyu seldom involved herself in the conflicts of the martial world. Compared to Simingyue, her temperament was gentler, more reclusive and serene. Even after her breakthrough, she remained unassuming and discreet.
It was not until the master of Severing Void from the Grand Void Sect of Youzhou invaded, seeking to seize Qingzhou and expand his power, that Ning Qingyu revealed her true strength as a grandmaster—defeating Severing Void, who was already over a hundred years old.
Such power stunned the world. A grandmaster not yet forty—throughout history, only a handful have achieved such greatness. And even those who did, though not all became Supreme, were all renowned among grandmasters.
In this era, Ning Qingyu had joined their ranks.
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“The Azure Cloud Sect holds Qingzhou; to the north lies the Grand Void Sect, which once invaded; to the east, the sea, at the junction of the East and North Seas; to the west, the heartland of the Great Jing court in Central State; and to the south, the Yangzhou Lu clan, which occupies some parts of southern Qingzhou.”
Considering the situation around the Azure Cloud Sect, Simingyue was confident in persuading Ning Qingyu:
“The Grand Void Sect claims to be the world’s foremost sect, boasting three grandmasters—Lingxu, Yanxu, and Jiexu. Lingxu and Yanxu both took part in King Huntian’s campaign to slay the Golden Wolf King, holding off other grandmasters and fourth- and fifth-tier beasts from the grasslands. Both are masters of void refinement and are counted among the strongest grandmasters.”
“For this reason, the Azure Cloud Sect cannot expand northward.”
The Grand Void Sect was founded by the disciples of Master Void, the Supreme Grandmaster, and had been granted Youzhou for resisting northern steppe threats after aiding Emperor Jing in unifying the land. For over a thousand years, they had taken root and flourished there, their power deeply entrenched. After the decline of Great Jing, they even seized northern Jizhou, coming to border Qingzhou. Such a sect was not one the Azure Cloud Sect could resist.
“To the west and south, the Yangzhou Lu clan, inheritors of King Wu’s legacy, have long since become autonomous, but they share imperial blood with the Central State Lu clan that leads the Great Jing court. After Lu Wanshan of the Yangzhou Lu clan took power in Central State, the two lines have effectively merged.”
“The Azure Cloud Sect cannot expand in these directions either—not even reclaim the lands in southern Qingzhou occupied by the Yangzhou Lu clan.”
“After all, those territories were the fiefdom granted to Qian Baozhen by King Wu.”
In the days of the Yangzhou Lu clan’s strength, the then King Wu seized most of Qingzhou during a period of chaos. Later, as the clan declined and local powers in Qingzhou rose, most territory was recovered. However, several counties in the south remained irretrievable, having been granted by a later King Wu to Qian Baozhen. Even as a grandmaster, Ning Qingyu was powerless against lands held by another grandmaster.
“Because of this territorial dispute, relations between the Azure Cloud Sect and the Four Seas Trading Guild have long been strained—so inviting them to oppose the Trading Guild together is not difficult. Moreover, if the Azure Cloud Sect wishes to develop further, the only path lies eastward. This would not only benefit their maritime trade but also reduce the threat from sea-dwelling beasts—this is the basis for our alliance!”
The Azure Cloud Sect’s eastward expansion into the islands would infringe on the Trading Guild’s interests and might provoke Qian Baozhen’s retaliation, but compared to directly attacking his fief, it was far less severe and allowed more room for negotiation.
Furthermore, an alliance of the Azure Cloud Sect, the Bright Moon Sect, and the Thunder Gate could withstand the pressure from the Trading Guild or even the Great Jing court—there was a natural foundation for cooperation among the three.
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Nevertheless, Simingyue harbored some concerns about involving the Azure Cloud Sect:
“If it were only the Azure Cloud Sect, there would be little to worry about. What troubles me is—when resisting the Grand Void Sect years ago, Qingyu became entangled with someone known as the ‘Night Emperor.’ Though he is a formidable grandmaster, his actions are always secretive and underhanded—I cannot bring myself to trust such a man!”