Author’s note: Episode is sponsored by Noremac! Thank You!! ^o^

Host’s note: I’m not the author; I’m hosting this with author’s permission

Jin Xia slowly opened his eyes. He slightly frowned as he stood up from his bed.

“I have cultivated for nearly the entire day and have only managed to reach the pinnacle of the 4th stage of Spiritual Dan. It seems I had seriously overdraft my Qi and soul energy yesterday…” Jin Xia sighed in his mind.

After pushing his entire being way past his limit, Jin Xia’s body had experienced a small set back, causing his cultivation speed to slow down significantly. While it was not permanent, Jin Xia understood that he would not be able to increase his level as rapidly as before, at this time.

But his cultivation speed was still yet several times faster than the inhabitants of this world. And if anyone was able to hear Jin Xia’s thought, they would’ve vomited blood on the spot!

To reach the pinnacle of the 4th stage of Spiritual Dan using barely an entire day could already be considered a dream-like progress. After all, as one’s level increases, the difficulty of passing another stage increases as well.

“Seems like I’ll have to start using a few pills if I want to cruise through my cultivation now.” Jin Xia muttered.

Before, he did not rely on high quality pills to enhance his cultivation. It was all due to his ancient knowledge that he was able to easily maneuver the Qi flow inside his body, allowing the maximum efficiency when cultivating.

And by understanding these little tricks coupled with his purified body and two 4-stars pills, Jin Xia was able to cultivate at an extreme rate. He did not want to rely on pills too much. Not because it would harm his cultivation, but because there was no need to. His knowledge alone was enough.

But now that his cultivation had suffered, he would now be forced to consume a few stronger pills to progress his cultivation faster. While using pills would create a shallow foundation, as long as Jin Xia utilizes his soul to completely absorb the pills’ essence and stabilize his base, then there should be no detriments.

Like a ghost, Jin Xia quickly prepared himself and left the Jin mansion without anyone noticing. Without wasting time, Jin Xia immediately darted across the empty streets of Tian City before stealthily leaping across the city wall and hitting the darkened road, all without a pause in between his movements.

As Jin Xia traveled across the forest outside of Tian City, he began to head northeast towards a city in a nearby province, the Harbin City.

Since the Great Azure Country was not that big to start with in comparison to other countries, much of the provinces were quite near each, with only small patches of forests separating each sector.

Many people would be able to reach another province within several hours of travel, with a full day or two being the longest time it takes to arrive at the innermost province from the outskirt of the country.

Although Jin Xia had told his father that he wanted to leave for the outside in order to gain experience, that was only half truth and half lie. After all, given Jin Xia’s plethora of experiences as an ex-deity, was he really lacking such wisdom? Naturally, the response was “no”.

The reason why Jin Xia wanted to go explore the areas outside of Tian City was because he wanted to gain a greater understanding of his surrounding environments.

He wanted to fully grasp the different forces and situations in the Great Azure Country, so that when his Jin Clan rose in power, Jin Xia would know the proper steps to take care of any nuisances that may arise.

The Jin Clan’s fame and influence are only limited within the surroundings of Tian City, and no further. If Jin Xia was to leave in the near future, and a greater force from a different province came to attack his clan, the Jin Clan would undoubtedly perish.

And Jin Xia did not wish to see that happen. But with complete power, a scenario such as this could easily be avoided!

Thus, Jin Xia had directed his aim to bring his Jin Clan into even greater heights, one that would envelop the entire Great Azure Country and deter any forces within — and possibly even outside as well!

But to do this, Jin Xia had to first understand the strength of those clans and powerhouses within the Great Azure Country.

After all, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle!*

(TL: *A famous quote; To be victorious, you need to know your enemy and yourself).

Since JIn Xia had already gained a thorough understanding his own Jin Clan, the next step is naturally to understand his clan’s potential enemies.

And what’s better than to personally collect these data, while freely enjoying the delicacies from the other cities?

Therefore, Jin Xia had decided to visit Hu Feng in Harbin City, who was the first person to come to his mind when he thought of going out.

He wanted to have the youth guide him around, while learning about the situations in the country from the latter. Since, this Hu Feng had given him a good impression when they had first met.

And Jin Xia was also quite interested in why he was unable to see through that person’s soul…

Furthermore, someone from a Greater city would undoubtedly know more about the other clans within the Great Azure Country than those from a Lesser city.

By the time the sun rose fully into the sky, Jin Xia had already arrived in the bustling city of Harbin. Although it may seem like Jin Xia did not sleep for the entire night, for cultivators, having no sleep is not an issue.

Since when one cultivates, they are not only cleansing their body but calming their mind as well. And after cultivating, the practitioner would feel a refreshing energy course through their body, rejuvenating them. That’s why, while a person cultivates they are likewise revitalizing their body.

As such, the rest that a person gets from cultivating may even be several times better than a person who merely sleeps.

As Jin Xia wandered around the city in search for the Feng Clan, he continuously drifted towards the restaurants and food stands in the streets. And because of his stunning visuals, Jin Xia would involuntarily attract the attentions of the female walking around the street.

Some would even send him a flirtatious glance as they walked by him, but Jin Xia had steeled his heart and pretended to not see them.

After Jin Xia became a mortal, many hues of emotions had begun to surface within his heart. When he was a still a deity, many of Jin Xia’s emotions were greatly dulled, like other gods after living for several millenniums and more. The longer a deity lived, the duller their emotions became for them.

Feelings such as lust, anger, jealousy, or even joy, became almost nonexistent for him. It was very rare for him to feel these emotions. That time when he was banished out of the Heaven Domain could be said to one of those rare moments when he felt anger at those who wronged him, as a deity.

It was only after occupying a mortal’s body, did Jin Xia began to fully “feel” once again. After all, a mortal’s body was a far cry of a difference from a great deity’s physique.

And it was only because Jin Xia was able to “feel” such emotions did he thought of bringing along companions back to the Heaven Domain in the future. He was able to reflect on his previous solitude, and once again understand what exactly was compassion, what exactly was familial care. These emotions were all resurfacing rapidly inside Jin Xia’s mortal heart.

After searching for a while, Jin Xia finally located the Hu Clan’s mansion. Although the huge residence was quite eye-catching in the city, with its huge structures and bright red pillars, because Jin Xia had been busy indulging in delicacies around the city, he had failed to take proper notice.

Or it could even be said that he didn’t want to notice, after being attracted to the foods and all.

Upon arriving in front of the Hu residence, Jin Xia saw two guards in bronze clothing standing at either side of the entrance. Walking up to them, Jin Xia casually threw light brown colored seal towards one of the guards.

“I want to see your young master, Hu Feng.”

The guard, who caught the brown seal, narrowed his eyes at Jin Xia. But when he looked down and saw the authentic “Hu” emblem in his hands, he immediately readjusted his attitude.

Giving a small bow to Jin Xia, the guard said respectfully: “I will go inform him right away, sir.”

Then, after returning the emblem, the bronze guard quickly rushed into the Feng mansion. Moments later, Hu Feng came out and arrived at the entrance.

“Haha, Brother Jin Xia! We meet once again.” Hu Feng laughed as he went forward.

Jin Xia smiled and replied: “Brother Hu Feng, it has been a while.”

“I was wondering when you would visit me, but I did not expect it would be so soon! Come inside, I cannot have my guest standing there on the doorway, now could I?” Hu Feng said as he respectfully led Jin Xia into a private room reserved for honoured guests.

As Jin Xia followed Hu Feng into the residence, the two guards looked at each as they began to whisper quietly.

“Who is that person that the trash master brought in? To think he gave away our Hu Clan’s authority emblem to a stranger so casually…” A buff, grizzly beard guard whispered.

“Heh, who knows. At least he looks much better than our useless master. Peh! If not for the Hu emblem that’s equivalent to the patriarch’s word, I wouldn’t even want to act respectful towards that Hu Feng.” A scrawny guard spat.

“Hehe, you do not need to worry. Soon enough, we do not need to worry about giving face to that useless young master anymore. I heard that some of the upper Hu elders are planning to pressure the patriarch into giving up his position after the Annual Clans Gathering…” The grizzled beard guard sneered.

“Hmph! Wasn’t that to be expected? With a dog son like that, how could the Hu Clan survive in the future? From what I see, Hu Mang’s son, Hu Long, is much better! I heard he’s at the 7th stage of Wudan!” The scrawny guard softly said, a look of admiration in his beady eyes.

***

Inside the guest room, it was beautifully decorated with expensive-looking vases and items carefully set up around the area. Jin Xia and Hu Feng began to start chatting among themselves over a table of fine wine and dishes.

Occasionally, Jin Xia would catch a glimpse of displeasure and disdain in the servants’ eyes when they looked at Hu Feng. But it would be quickly covered up when they turned to serve Jin Xia.

“Hoh…” Jin Xia mused in his head. “This Hu Feng doesn’t seem to be quite popular in his family, eh.”

As the two chatted, in the middle of their conversation, Jin Xia suddenly asked: “By the way, Brother Hu Feng, as I’ve already told you, I am away from my clan this time in order to gain some experiences.

But I am embarrassed to say that I truly do not understand much of the things that are going on in our Great Azure Country. As such, I was wondering if Brother Hu Feng would be able to enlighten me?”

Hu Feng smiled, with his chubby inflating upward, as he replied: “Brother Jin Xia thinks too highly of me. While I do know some things about the current situations in our Great Azure Country, I do not dare claim I know them all. But since Brother Jin Xia have personally asked me, I will tell you everything that I know of so far.”

Hu Feng then began to describe the various clans and powers in Harbin City as well as from other provinces. Strifes between certain clans, the wars that the Great Azure Country had fought, the strength of armies of the country, the strongest clans and renowned geniuses among the twelve provinces; these details were all noted by Hu Feng.

In this way, Hu Feng had practically almost narrated the entire history of the Great Azure Country, and even some information beyond.

In short, the country itself was an independent faction. In the Eastern Moon Continent, there were numerous countries, sects, and territories scattered everywhere. The Great Azure Country was bordered by the Lan Country, Fei Vermillion Country, Kang Country, and Niu Country. There were eleven other countries as well.

With all sixteen of them being independent and vulnerable to invasion, such as the Great Azure Country and the Fei Vermillion country. Wars often occur between these independent countries as they struggle to gain authority over one another.

These 16 countries were all apart of a large land, collectively known as the Da Jiang Region. This area was littered with forests, woods, and green mountains.

West of the Da Jiang Region, there are four combined countries that were collectively known as the Golden Tai Empire.

These countries represent a single entity, which was several times stronger than any one of the sixteen countries. Because the sixteen countries were independent, and no powers within the Da Jiang Region had been strong enough to unite them, they were much weaker than the Golden Tai Empire in general.

Fortunately, there were several mountains and dangerous geographic landscapes that separate these four closely knitted countries from the rest of the sixteen countries.

Otherwise, it could be said that the Golden Tai Empire would have invaded the other nations long ago. But as time passed, the Empire soon gave up on this ambition.

The Golden Tai Empire and the sixteen independent countries were considered different entities. But all forces within the Da Jiang Region had unknowingly came to revere and fear the Golden Tai Empire. This was because a few of the independent countries before had once gathered a large army and attempted to take over the Golden Tai Empire for its rich resources.

But in the end, not only did they fail, the entire army was annihilated, with not a single person alive. It was only after a month of no news did a country send a spy to check on the Golden Tai Empire. It was then that they came to realize the demise of their entire united army.

Thus, while the Empire was not in direct control of the other countries, its influence was already widespread, reaching the level of some of those top sects.

It was said that because the Golden Tai Empire realized their level of influence, that they decided to halt their invasion. After all, if the other countries were willing to recognize it as the overlord, why would the Empire still waste manpower to try to convince them? — was what the people thought.

Moreover, a treaty was later struck between the Empire and the Da Jiang Region. The Golden Tai Empire will promise to not invade their country, and each country would elect to send over large amounts of resources and goods in return for their “freedom.” This action likewise further abated the Empire’s ambition, as they were receiving resources for doing practically nothing.

It was also because of this that many countries, such as the Great Azure Country were lacking resources. People were willingly carving up these natural resources and basically offering them to someone else!

But according to Hu Feng, the country of Great Azure was still able to produce a few stunning geniuses in this generation. There were six renowned geniuses from five different provinces, with two of the geniuses coming from the same province.

These six figures from the younger generation were collectively known as “The Six Great Azure Experts.” It was said that these youths even possessed the ability to rival the older generation practitioners. Their exact cultivation level was unknown, but Hu Feng said they would be able to meet them during this year’s Annual Clans Gathering.

As for the rest of Hu Feng’s narration, Jin Xia continued to listen closely, storing the newfound information into the back of his mind for the future.

After all, while the previous ‘Jin Xia’ had considerable knowledge, it was not entirely complete nor extremely vast. The host only knew the mainstream concepts and gleamed some knowledge from several written textbooks. In regards to the overall, current situation in the Great Azure Country, or the number of influential forces within it, the previous Jin Xia simply had no clue.

But for Hu Feng, who came from a Greater City, the amount of things he knew in the Great Azure Country and even a bit beyond, were naturally much more than Jin Xia who came from a Lesser City with a limited information network.

As such, this time around Jin Xia had gained a much more concrete picture of the overall situations of the Great Azure Country.

In short, if Jin Xia was to describe the strength of the Great Azure Country, it can be easily summed up in three words: Weak as f*ck.