Hou Jingshu had left the capital not long after her meeting with Zhou Lihua. It had taken several days to prepare the Imperial Family’s airship, gather the necessary supplies to make the trip, and handpick her bodyguards, but she was able to leave in five days.

Because the Shang Kingdom was small and lacked the resources to build airships on their own, they only had a handful themselves. Airships relied on materials their kingdom lacked. All of the materials they had used to construct the ones they currently had were important from the Xia Dynasty. More specifically, they came from Heavenly Sword Mountain--where the most powerful among the Three Celestial Sects resided.

The military had six airships, and the Hou Family had one. She normally would have never been allowed to use this herself. Her oldest brother had even argued against letting her take their family’s airship, but he had been overruled by their father. Hou Jun might have been suffering from a serious illness, but he was still the emperor. Hou Gin had no choice but to obey.

They were traveling at a height of several hundred lî above ground. She could see mountains in the north and south. Her gaze was currently turned toward the north, where a pair of mountains stood like the fangs of a magical beast. It was the Twin Fang Mountains.

“Zahn City is in that direction,” Hou Jingshu murmured, placing a hand against her chest. She clutched the fabric of her cloak.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Hou Jingshu wore a dark cloak over her outfit. Underneath the cloak was a pink martial arts gi with long sleeves and pants. Her shoes were likewise made with combat in mind.

“I thought I might find you here,” someone said behind her.

Hou Jingshu didn’t turn around, but she did crane her neck to look at the person who had spoken. It was a young man with messy black hair and blue eyes. He had a light tan. His martial arts gi was mostly black but had gold dragon scales covering the shoulders. The yellow sash around his waist looked a little loose, but she knew it was not meant to keep his clothes secure.

“Wu Yong,” she greeted.

Wu Yong was Wu Jian’s older half-brother. Hou Jingshu had not known him when she lived with the Wu Clan. He had already been sent away by the time she arrived.

They had met at the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy. She had recognized the similarities between him and Wu Jian, which was how they had begun talking. It had taken her months to warm up to him. Hou Jingshu remembered hearing stories from Wu Meiying about how this man had bullied Wu Jian, so she had given him the cold shoulder. It wasn’t until she realized how hard he was working to make amends that she decided to forgive him.

Wu Yong walked over until he stood next to her, though at a respectful distance. He never overstepped the boundaries she had set. He placed his hands on the railing and leaned forward to gaze at the vast land below.

“It’s a magnificent view, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Mmm,” she nodded just once.

“The Twin Fang Mountains, huh…”

Hou Jingshu heard the regret in his voice. He had confided in her that he always felt remorse over what happened between him and his younger half-brother, that he would have gladly apologized for acting like an idiot back than if he could. He would never get that chance now. Just like Hou Jingshu would never again see the man she loved, Wu Yong would never have a chance to apologize to Wu Jian.

“It shouldn’t take too long to reach Hǎiyáng City,” Wu Yong continued after reminiscing for a moment.

“Let us hope we reach Hǎiyáng City soon,” Hou Jingshu said.

They had been traveling for close to two months now. Hou Jingshu spent most of her time cultivating inside the sanctity of her cabin, which would normally be the captain’s cabin. It had been given to her because she was the Shang Kingdom’s princess.

Thanks to her dedication, unique cultivation method, and Zhou Lihua’s alchemy pills, she was half a step away from reaching the Asura Realm. She had reached this level in just under two months. That was incredible for her age. Even cultivators belonging to major sects would have been hard pressed to match her pace. It was nearly unheard of for a sixteen year old to reach the Asura Realm.

I’ll be seventeen by the time we reach the Qing Dynasty. I hope I can reach the Asura Realm by then.

There were going to be many cultivators entering the White Tiger Sect ruins, and she was sure most of them would be at the Asura Realm. Her entourage consisted of Wu Yong, Yin Wuhan, and Zheng Yawen. They were all at the fourth subrealm of the Asura Realm, which was good, but there was a good chance many cultivators would be at an even higher level. In order to not drag down her people, she needed to at least reach a level where she could defend herself against attacks from Asura Realm cultivators.

“I’m going to cultivate some more,” Hou Jingshu declared, turning around to head back to her cabin.

“Just make sure you don’t overdo it. You need to let your body rest,” Wu Yong said.

“Don’t worry. I know my limits,” Hou Jingshu said.

Hou Jingshu briefly nodded at the crewmembers of the Dragon’s Claw--the name of this airship--as they bowed before her. She didn’t want to interrupt their work, however, and so she quickly made herself scarce.

The captain’s cabin was the largest room in the airship. The Luxurious carpet felt soft underneath her feet after she had removed her shoes. Several paintings hung from the walls, most of them landscapes, though she paid them little mind. The walls themselves were made from sturdy wood imported from Heavenly Sword Mountain. It was called Skywood, named such because it was the perfect material for building airships. All of the walls were painted in the royal colors of the Shang Kingdom Imperial Family.

Hou Jingshu sat down on the soft bed, which sank as she moved. It felt like she was crawling on a cloud.

She moved into a cross-legged position and summoned several pills from her storage ring. They were Low-Grade Chi Gathering Pills refined by Zhou Lihua. Even though they were the lowest grade of Chi Gathering Pills, they were still far superior to the average alchemy pill.

This particular pill had also been custom made for Hou Jingshu specifically. It was made with her unique cultivation method in mind.

After popping a pill into her mouth, Hou Jingshu began running through hand signs. There were twelve hand signs used to direct chi. Known as the Twelve Celestial Hand Seals, they were based off the twelve beasts of the Celestial Zodiac. Hou Jingshu went through each hand sign in a specific order: Dragon, rat, dragon, ox, dragon, tiger, dragon, rabbit, dragon, snake, dragon, horse, dragon, goat, dragon, monkey, dragon, rooster, dragon, dog, dragon, pig, dragon.

There was a legend in the Xiao Continent that was as old as time itself. The legend went thus; the Jade Emperor (said to have ruled the entire world before the start of the new era) summoned all the animals to his palace in a great race, and the order in which they arrived determined the animal’s place in the zodiac.

One might find it strange that a rat should place first, but the rat was smart, and had used the ox as a ride before jumping into the arc just before the ox could enter.

The cultivation method Hou Jingshu used was called Nine Heavenly Dragons Embodiment. It was the Hou Family’s most prized cultivation technique, said to have been handed down by the Azure Dragon himself. No one had been able to practice this cultivation method for over one thousand years. Using it required a cultivator to have a Perfect Yang Physique like her.

This cultivation method was unique in that it only required yang energy to cultivate. So long as she could consume treasures with an abundance of yang energy, she could increase her cultivation by ten or even twenty times that of the average cultivator. And because her chi was composed almost entirely of yang, her body was enhanced proportionate to her cultivation.

The pills Zhou Lihua had refined for her, which could have been considered high-grade third-tier pills due to their difficulty, were basically condensed yang bombs. Each pill contained an incredible amount of yang energy. All of that energy burst forth the moment she swallowed it.

Hou Jingshu breathed in deeply as she condensed the yang energy within her dantian, then directed it with hand seals to flow through her meridians. They took a specific course through the meridians based on the order of her hand seals. Since this method had been created by none other than Seiryuu himself, the dragon seal saw the most use.

It wasn’t long before all the energy inside of the pill was used up. She popped another pill into her mouth, then began the process over again. She did this over and over and over. Time lost all meaning as she cultivated to her hearts content. She wished for nothing more than to reach the Asura Realm before they reached Hǎiyáng City.

Unfortunately, while the method she used let her cultivation much faster than the average cultivator, the amount of chi required to ascend each subrealm and consequently each realm was greater. She had been cultivating for a while now and still hadn’t even felt the bottleneck that let her know she was close to the next realm.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Princess, we’ve reached Hǎiyáng City,” said Wu Yong.

“We’ve reached Hǎiyáng City already?”

“What do you mean already? You’ve been cooped up in your cabin for a whole month.”

“What? Really?”

“This is what I meant when I said you shouldn’t overdo it.”

“You’re right. My apologies. Give me one moment. I’ll be out once I freshen up.”

Hou Jingshu sighed. It looked like she hadn’t met her goal. She shook her head and regained her bearings.

Climbing off the bed, Hou Jingshu went over a bucket that sat in the corner of the room. Airships did not come equipped with baths. At least, hers did not. She had heard there were some airships owned by other royal families like the Xia Dynasty’s Phoenix Royal Family that had airships with their own baths installed.

She stripped her clothes, which she realized only now were covered in sweat. After quickly wiping herself down, she changed into a new martial arts gi, attached a cloak over her shoulders, and walked toward the door. She slipped her shoes on and opened it.

Three people stood on the other side.

Standing next to Wu Yong was a man and a woman, both several years older than their companion.

Yin Wuhan was an older man with graying hair and sharp eyes. He wore a silver martial arts gi to hide his muscular and scarred physique. The sleeves of his gi were currently rolled up, revealing thick forearms covered in veins. He looked like an old martial arts instructor. The thought was somewhat amusing since he lacked the patience needed to teach.

Zheng Yawen was the only woman among her bodyguards. Her black hair had a single streak of silver passing through it, and her eyes were a light green--a rarity among people from the Shang Kingdom. The elegantly flowing hanfu she wore made her look more like a courtesan than a cultivator, but she was, in fact, one of Hou Jingshu’s strongest bodyguards. Like Hou Jingshu, she had a pair of hairpins keeping her hair into a neat bun.

“Your highness,” Yin Wuhan and Zheng Yawen greeted with a bow. Only Wu Yong did not, but he had earned the privilege by being related to the man she loved.

“Let’s go,” said Hou Jingshu.

“By your command,” all three said in unison.