Wu Jian kept his eyes closed. The solitude of his room prevented any sounds from reaching him. He could only hear the sound of his own breathing and the beating of his heart.

As he took a deep breath in, it felt like he was breathing in the world. The yin and yang of the world permeated every fiber of his being.

Rooms in the academy had a grand sealing array that helped gather chi so people could cultivate. He heard from Hou Jingshu that these rooms were a far cry from those of sects like the Saintly Sword Sect, but it was fine for now. His cultivation still wasn’t high enough that he needed to be concerned. This room wouldn’t lose its effectiveness until he reached his bottleneck to the next realm.

I am one with the universe.

Everything exists within the universe.

If everything exists within the universe, then I exist within everything.

For I am one with the universe.

And the universe is me.

All things within the universe exist within their own space.

He had managed to learn another verse of his cultivation method thanks to his diligent studies in the Dao of Space. His cultivation had increased because of this. He could feel himself getting closer to the Ninth Subrealm. He believed he could reach it in another day or two.

It was unfortunate that he wouldn’t be able to continue cultivating.

Breathing out slowly through his mouth, Wu Jian opened his eyes, blinked several times as they adjusted to the light, and stood up. He put on his mask, grabbed a change of clothes and a towel, and made for the door.

“Ah?”

He was greeted by a somewhat familiar face upon opening the door.

“H-hello,” the young woman said with a bow.

“Hello. You’re… the one who fainted while I was training, aren’t you?”

It was indeed the woman who had passed out after seeing his head separate from his body through a spatial distortion. She blushed bright red upon being reminded of that embarrassing episode.

“I am so sorry you had to see me do something so unsightly. Also, thank you for carrying me to the hospital. You left before I woke up, so I never got the chance to say that.”

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome. It’s not like I could leave you passed out on the forest floor, could I? Anyway, was there something you wanted from me?”

“I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Xia Lin. I’m part of the Xia Clan. Our clan is located near the mountain range that borders the Ming Province, and we are charged with protecting the pass from invasion.”

“So you’re a militaristic family. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.”

“The honor is all mine. I heard you were very close to Her Highness.”

“I am, yes.”

“Um… would you like to have breakfast with me?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m actually meeting with Jingshu in a bit, so I can’t.”

“Oh. Well, maybe some other time.”

“Perhaps.”

Wu Jian smiled at the woman, who seemed downtrodden. He didn’t deny the possibility of breakfast but also had no intention of getting her hopes up. It was clear that she wasn’t meeting with him to simply make friends. While it was important to leave doors open for future partnerships, he also had to set boundaries. He couldn’t let this woman think she had a chance of joining him as anything more than a friendly acquaintance.

He parted ways with Xia Lin, took a quick bath, got changed, and walked outside of his building. A crowd had gathered near the entrance. He couldn’t see what had caused his gathering, but he had several guesses, and lo and behold, his first thoughts proved correct as he pushed through the crowd and found someone standing near a dragon statue.

“Jingshu,” he called out.

“Jian Wu. Are you ready to leave?” Hou Jingshu held out a hand.

“Yes.” Wu Jian grabbed it.

The two ignored the crowd as they walked away. It wasn’t easy to ignore the eyes of men burning a hole through his head, but Wu Jian was an old hand at this.

They reached the entrance to the academy, descended the stairs, and found a carriage waiting for them. Wu Jian entered first, then helped Hou Jingshu inside. There were two seats. However, they chose to only sit on one of them, and they sat close enough that their thighs touched.

The driver cracked the reins. The horses neighed. Wu Jian felt the carriage begin moving.

“The auction starts in two hours. We should get there an hour early,” said Hou Jingshu.

“Zhou Lihua won’t be waiting for us, right?”

“That’s right. She’s the host of the auction this time, so she’s too busy preparing to greet us.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

They were on their way to the Zhou Family’s auction house. The auction house in Imperial Shang City was the largest and most powerful one within the Shang Kingdom. Every auction raked in hundreds of millions of spirit coins. This auction was sure to bring in even more cash since they had several ingredients that were quite hard to come by.

The auction house was a massive red and gold pagoda marked by Qilin statues on the roof of each floor, archways leading up a set of stairs, and thousands of people streaming in through the double doors. It was easy to spot. Wu Jian saw the pagoda getting closer in the distance before they arrived near the staircase.

“Come on,” Hou Jingshu said.

Wu Jian nodded as he exited, helped Hou Jingshu off the carriage, and observed the other people getting out of their own carriages.

It was easy to tell who belonged to which faction by the colors and symbols on their carriage. He could see the symbols of many Shang Kingdom clans. They not only had the dragon, Seiyruu, on the carriages but also their own unique clan symbol. He also spotted a carriage with a flaming hand and another with a daodao surrounded by a diamond.

A young man was emerging from the latter. His long hair was tied into a ponytail on his head. He had sharp eyebrows, dark eyes, and softer than normal features for a man. Combined with his pale skin and he looked more like a woman. Wu Jian was sure his pretty boy looks garnered a lot of attention among women. He wore billowing white robes without adornments and carried a sword strapped to his waist.

“Uh-oh,” Hou Jingshu muttered.

“What? Who is that?” asked Wu Jian.

Hou Jingshu sighed as the young man spotted her and began walking in their direction. The look in his eyes said he’d already noticed how intimate she and Wu Jian were with each other.

“That’s Húndàn Wang. He’s the son of the Saintly Sword Sect’s Sect Master. Be careful. He’s half a step into the Human Limit Realm.”

Wu Jian nodded to show he understood. The Human Limit Realm might not have been special in the Three Celestial Sects and Xia Dynasty, but it was the pinnacle of cultivation in the Shang Kingdom. That someone this young had reached such heights was a testament to his talent.

“Your Highness, I’m pleased to see you are in good health.”

To his credit, Húndàn Wang did not immediately ask about Wu Jian, instead choosing to offer a traditional martial bow.

Hou Jingshu plastered a smile on her face as she let go of Wu Jian’s hand and performed the same bow back. Wu Jian also followed suit.

“You as well, Senior Wang. I see you are as strong as ever.”

“Thank you, but my cultivation is nothing special,” the man said with a smile. He then turned to Wu Jian. “I do not believe we have met before. My name is Húndàn Wang. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve already heard so much about you. Many people in the Shang Kingdom call you the Strongest Youth. You are admired far and wide, and some have even claimed that you’ll be the person to surpass Yu Chenguang in the near future,” said Wu Jian.

“I highly doubt that. Yu Chenguang is a legend. There’s no way one such as I can match up to him.”

While Húndàn Wang acted humbly, it was easy to see from the way he smiled and preened that he had a lot of pride in his abilities.

Of course, Húndàn Wang did have a reason to be prideful. In a nation where cultivation resources were scarce, he had managed to take a step into the Human Limit Realm at a mere twenty years of age. This put him on the same level of talent as the geniuses of larger sects. Knowing this also made it easy to understand why he was here.

Before Hou Jingshu had time to suggest they all enter the auction house, a loud bird cry caught their attention. Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, and even Húndàn Wang looked up as a silver bird with nine tail feathers pulled a carriage behind it. Like the bird, the carriage was pure white. A blue crystalline snowflake was imprinted on the surface.

“It looks like even members of the Ice Phoenix Sect have come for this auction,” Húndàn Wang said. “That’s quite the rare treat.”

The Ice Phoenix Sect was a woman’s only sect located at the peak of Ice Phoenix Mountain. Its cultivators were said to all be devastatingly beautiful thanks to their cultivation method. As the carriage descended, the door opened, and three figures stepped out, Wu Jian realized the rumors were no idle boasts.

The women were indeed beautiful.

Skin like fresh snow, soft features, and slender, graceful limbs made their beauty evidence. All three wore veils that covered the lower half of their faces. Rather than detract from their appearance, this served to add an aura of mystery. Two of them looked like mere bodyguards. They were dressed in silver hanfu with long flowing sleeves and a translucent shawl over their shoulders. One had a sword strapped to her hip. The other carried a pair of fans.

The one in the center caught the most attention.

She had long silver hair, ice blue eyes, and a snowflake pattern on her forehead. Her silver hanfu was decorated with flowing blue lines that shimmered as she walked. She had a shawl like the others, but it was clearly of higher quality. She bore no weapons. However, the storage ring attached to her finger let Wu Jian know she could likely summon a weapon on a moment’s notice. He could not see much of her face, but her eyes were cold as if she felt nothing. She was like a doll made of snow and ice.

“That’s Hua Xue,” Hou Jingshu informed Wu Jian. “She is the head elder of the Ice Phoenix Sect. No one knows what her cultivation is because she has some method of keeping it hidden, but there’s a rumor going around that she’s the strongest person in the entire Shang Kingdom.”

“Really? I thought Yu Chenguang was the strongest,” Wu Jian said.

Hou Jingshu wore a half-smile. “Technically, he is. At the very least, Yu Chenguang is the most celebrated cultivator of our nation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is the strongest. Hua Xue is not well-known. She rarely appears in public and has made no attempts to distinguish herself, so not a lot is known about her. The only reason she’s even famous is because of her beauty.”

Well, it’s not like he couldn’t see why. Hua Xue was exceedingly beautiful. The effects she had on the crowd was even more pronounced than Hou Jingshu. People stared so hard it was like they had forgotten how to breathe. Even Húndàn Wang was unable to take his eyes off her.

Wu Jian knew very little about this woman, only what his father had taught him. He knew that she had been around for at least a century. His father had once met her during a territorial dispute between the Shang and Zhou Kingdoms. She had been instrumental in helping quell the incident, though most of the credit had gone to Yu Chenguang.

Is it just me, or does she walk kind of funny…

“Well, now. I did not expect to see Her Highness, Lady Hou Jingshu, here at the auction house. How is your father doing,” a voice that crackled like lightning and howled like wind suddenly interrupted Wu Jian’s musings. He turned around and found a man glaring holes in his head.

Who is that guy? And why is he looking at me with such loathing?

His hair was short and he had green eyes. The goatee lining his jaw gave him a distinguished appearance. He was broad-shouldered, stood tall, and wore a green hanfu with yellow lightning patterns that appeared and disappeared as he walked. Wu Jian could not sense his cultivation at all.

Hou Jingshu quietly sucked in a breath before putting on a fake smile.

“Duo Long, I did not expect to see you in the Shang Kingdom. I heard the Wind-Lightning Pavilion was preparing for the Thirteen Nations International Tournament.”

Wu Jian felt like he’d been hit by lightning. He knew that name. Duo Long. He was the Sect Master of the Wind-Lightning Pavilion and the teacher of Yin Xuefeng, whom Wu Jian had killed.

This was not good.