Volume Three: Rising to Fame Chapter Thirty-Six: The Eve Before It Begins

The best news lately was probably that this Assembly of the Hundred Clans would be over far sooner this time.

That meant Li Yu could return to his shut-in life a little sooner. After being out and about these past days, he had already begun to miss the little lakeside dwelling in the Qing clan’s estate.

How he missed those days of eating, drinking, fishing, and idling away the hours. And he could even openly take out the puppet stand-in; the two of them cultivated far more efficiently together than one person ever could alone.

After finishing a set of his refined sword technique, Li Yu put away the long sword carefully chosen by Little Cui. With the gauntlets still on his hands, he then casually launched into a crude flurry of punches before taking a brief rest.

“Master, it begins tomorrow,” Little Cui said from the side when she saw him stop.

“Mm.”

Li Yu was not infected by her nervousness, even if the current situation was far from encouraging.

At first he had thought many clans would choose to stand alone. Yet, contrary to what he had expected, word from the outside suggested that, aside from the Qing clan and the Bear clan, nearly every other clan had gone looking for allies.

Even members of the Bear clan had been approached. Whether there were secret dealings among them, no one knew.

“What is there to fear? Inside the mystic realm, only the chosen participants will be there. If I cannot win, I can always run,” Li Yu said patiently when he saw the clouds hanging over Little Cui’s face.

This was not merely comforting words, either. Li Yu’s rise to fifth rank was known to almost no one outside.

At One-Line Sky that day, nearly everyone outside had died, and the one who had snatched away the city lord’s son at the end naturally could not know what had happened in the middle. The soldiers of the Azure Sun Army were carefully selected elite troops; their loyalty was beyond question.

Most of the people taking part this time were at the peak of seventh rank or the early stage of sixth rank. If Li Yu truly wanted to flee, once he took to the air, very few could catch him.

As for opponents who were also fifth rank, they would not confront him head-on from the outset either.

“Allying has its advantages, just like a pack of wolves. They can tear apart prey far stronger than themselves,” Li Yu said. “But it has its drawbacks too. In such a temporary alliance, it is hard for there to be a true alpha wolf. They will also be wary of one another, and in that case none of them will dare throw everything into dealing with the tiger.”

“It is enough that Master has confidence in himself,” Little Cui said obediently, nodding.

She had blind faith in Li Yu’s cultivation, and she did not even dispute his shameless comparison of himself to a tiger.

In her heart, Li Yu was a tiger. Now that he had gone out into the world, it was a tiger descending the mountain, and facing any hardship would naturally put him under no pressure at all.

“Oh, right. Keep an eye on Yangde’s side. He may finish later than I do,” Li Yu suddenly remembered and instructed her.

Qing Yangde had set out early that morning with a hundred soldiers from the Azure Sun Army. The Bear clan was doing the same, leaving only those meant to enter the mystic realm and the personnel assigned to protect them.

“All right, Master.”

“If I am not here, then do not go out,” Li Yu said with a nod, then continued patiently, “Those two—I do not care much for them, but they were sent down by the clan, so their cultivation is surely not weak. For now, you should just stay here.”

The two he referred to were the middle-aged woman Qing Miaoyan and the old crone Qing Yingyao.

On ordinary days, the two of them would teach Li Yu from the manuals of martial arts and cultivation. Apart from that, they usually kept their distance, especially Qing Miaoyan. Clearly, ever since the matter of Little Cui’s poisoning had put her in direct conflict with Li Yu, she had become even more estranged, and they hardly spoke to one another at all.

“I know,” Little Cui said obediently, then worried aloud, “But what will you do about food, clothing, and lodging once you enter the mystic realm?”

“Uh…”

Seeing her like this, Li Yu reminded her in a low voice, “When I am in the clan, this is all basic stuff for me.”

The implication was something Little Cui naturally understood.

After all, the thing she praised Li Yu for most was how quickly he learned anything. No matter what it was, he only had to look once and try once before he could master it with ease. Rarely did he ever need a third try.

“I am just worried, that is all!” Little Cui shot him a glare and said in mock anger. “I have always been the one preparing these things for you. Am I not allowed to worry a little?”

“Of course you are!” Li Yu immediately held up his hands in surrender.

The two of them bickered a few more times before settling down. Li Yu closed his eyes to cultivate, while Little Cui stood guard nearby.

This scene fell into the eyes of Qing Yingyao not far away.

A thoughtful look appeared in the old crone’s cloudy eyes.

So it seemed Li Yu still did not know what had happened to Little Cui? And Little Cui had said nothing at all?

That should be the case. Judging from Li Yu’s behavior before, if he had truly known, he would never have been so calm.

Qing Yingyao closed her eyes again, but a decision had already taken shape in her mind.

...

That night passed without incident. The next day, Eunuch Zheng came to knock on the door.

“Sir, I have come to escort you all over. The mystic realm is about to open,” Eunuch Zheng said.

After waiting a moment, he saw the three members of the Qing clan emerge, while on the Bear clan’s side, their three chosen participants also came out.

Then he led the way ahead.

“You do not need to come,” Li Yu told Little Cui, before turning his gaze to the other two. “If anything happens, protect her.”

Qing Miaoyan said nothing, but she clearly did not object.

Qing Yingyao, on the other hand, smiled and agreed readily, saying she would be sure to do so.

It seems the Qing clan is not entirely of one mind after all.

Walking ahead, Eunuch Zheng, though he did not ask outright, was already turning the matter over in his mind.

If they truly were united from top to bottom, Li Yu would never have needed to give such an explicit instruction, and one that carried such a firm, almost commanding tone at that.

Could there be something to exploit here?

Eunuch Zheng said nothing and continued leading the way with his head lowered.

After winding through several turns, they arrived at a vast plaza, where he finally spoke up. “Please wait here a moment, everyone. His Majesty will be here shortly.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Chief Steward,” Li Yu said, surveying the bustling crowd in the plaza.

Unlike the area where he stood, the plaza was filled with the sounds of conversation. Most of the people were gathered in groups of a dozen or several dozen. It was obvious these were clan groups that had formed alliances.

The three royal participants were all separated?

Li Yu had read plenty of intelligence beforehand, all neatly organized by Little Cui. So when he stood in the plaza, he was not at a complete loss.

As for the three separate royal groups, he had seen enough historical dramas to understand the situation perfectly well. It was obvious there were still struggles for power among them, and they were doomed to lack the unity of ordinary clans.

As for the rest, a glance was enough for him to spot many of the people Little Cui had marked as worth watching. Most of them were brimming with spiritual power and had considerable cultivation. Not only that, many of them were gathered in twos and threes.

“This could be troublesome,” Li Yu muttered.