On the surface of the sea, the ship sailed steadily onward. But as it passed through a bank of sea mist, a dark figure silently dropped into the water and vanished without a trace.
A tall man ca out onto the deck, surveying his surroundings.
Once he was certain nothing was amiss, he took off his black robe.
He was a burly, middle-aged man.
His body was covered in nurous runes.
His Qi and Blood resonated with the runes, causing them to glow brilliantly.
His gaze was as sharp as a general seasoned by countless battles.
A powerful aura began to radiate from him, causing the weaker Demon Beasts in the vicinity to flee in a panic.
He circulated his Spiritual Qi, and the ship began to move swiftly.
After making a full circle of the area, the ship returned to the Central Island.
As it entered the harbor, soone was already there to greet him.
"Steward Chen, was there anything unusual?" a man in his early thirties asked respectfully.
The mont the ship docked, Steward Chen’s feet landed on the pier. He shook his head slightly. "No problems for now. The underwater Demon Beasts haven’t made any moves, but Area One is starting to fog up. You all must be careful during your patrols.
"The Demon Beasts over there could use the heavy fog to make a move at any ti.
"Those Evil Demons and Outsiders might also use the fog to approach the island.
"But this isn’t the most dangerous area.
"It’s easiest to fish in troubled waters in the tournant area. Remind them over there to be on high alert, but we can’t let our guard down here, either."
The man imdiately took note.
After giving several more instructions, Steward Chen headed for the central market.
Chen Shi, one of the three Stewards of the Guyan Islands.
He was born into poverty, but his outstanding Talent had been apparent since his ti with the Yunqian Bureau.
He soon caught the eye of a local family.
Eventually, he married into their family, becoming one of them.
In the beginning, he wholeheartedly treated them as his real family, cultivating diligently and even staying up all night to do so.
After reaching Foundation Establishnt, he didn’t dare to slack off in the slightest.
His Cultivation speed had always far surpassed others.
Whenever anyone started to catch up, he would stay up all night cultivating to pull ahead again.
Everyone said pulling all-nighters damaged one’s Heart Spirit, but he never believed it.
He believed his sweat and effort would not betray him.
While it was truly difficult to endure at first, he believed that as long as he pushed through, it wouldn’t be a major problem. And, without a doubt, he did. He overca it and advanced by leaps and bounds.
Those were the years he received the most acclaim.
Until it was ti to advance to the Golden Core realm. A fog then appeared in his heart, blocking his path forward.
He refused to believe he could be stopped, but as he pressed on, he saw endless darkness, a Taiyang that would never rise, a severed path ahead, his own frailty, and the despair of the abyss.
Core Formation... a failure!
At that mont, he felt that sothing was wrong.
’If I just try one more ti, maybe I’ll succeed.’
’I just need a few more resources.’
However...
The family t him with scorn and ridicule. His wife thought he was wasting resources.
His father-in-law called it another failed investnt.
No one was willing to give him a second chance.
He suddenly realized they had never cared about him, only about the glory that surrounded him.
Once that glory was gone, he could be cast aside at any mont.
Family?
Love?
Friendship?
They were nothing more than byproducts of his glory.
But he refused to accept this, so he made inquiries with his Sect.
The Sect inford him that his condition was a side effect of his all-night Cultivation sessions. To reverse it, he would need to cultivate the Sleep Dream Skill, which required entering a deep slumber to wear away the damage.
But the Sleep Dream Skill required a Spiritual Source, and he had none.
He tried to simply sleep well and then cultivate to break through.
But that didn’t work. Due to his contract, he first needed to repay the family a certain amount of Spiritual Source.
In the end, he chose to enter the Ancient Well Sixth Secret Realm. ’As long as I get out quickly enough,’ he thought, ’the lingering effects won’t be too severe.’
’There’s still a chance.’
He spent three months inside and earned enough Spiritual Source.
He planned to rest and recuperate before attempting to advance again.
Unfortunately, a year of rest did nothing to help him recover.
Then one night, lost in despair, he had a dream.
He dread of a being who called itself an Immortal Spirit.
And his destiny changed forever.
...
As Chen Shi walked deeper into the market, everyone around him lowered their heads and bowed respectfully.
Recalling the past, Chen Shi rembered standing on the precipice of despair, feeling powerless against reality—until that Immortal Spirit told him it could remove all his obstacles.
In that mont, the being beca a light within his Heart Spirit.
He broke through.
He achieved the Golden Core.
The family ca looking for him again, but he turned them away.
Resentnt?
No, it was clarity. He saw that they were never from the sa world to begin with.
After years of Cultivation, his progress was substantial. He suppressed the family on several occasions, thwarting the rise of their younger generation and completely severing the future path for their lineage.
’I was just doing sothing I wanted to do, sothing that made happy. That’s all there is to it.’
After finishing all that, he volunteered for his current post here.
Plotting for the future.
And now, his mission had co.
First, he had to find a way to win over the people from the Seventh Courtyard. Second, he needed to make contact with this Jiang Man.
’I’m not sure how far Jiang Man’s interactions with the Immortal Spirit have gone.’
’I can only test the waters for now.’
’Tonight, I’ll have my people approach their residence first.’
’Then I’ll find a way to abduct a few of them.’
’The Foundation Establishnt Instructors are mostly just ordinary Golden Core cultivators. Nothing to be too concerned about.’
’Trapping one or two of them with a Magical Treasure should be enough.’
’Especially on a dark and windy night when everyone is resting. That would be the perfect ti to strike.’
Back then, he thought he was being clever by cultivating all night, only to end up suffering unspeakably.
Nowadays, very few people pulled all-nighters, but that also presented an opportunity.
Returning to his residence, he waited quietly for cries for help to erupt from the Seventh Courtyard’s quarters.
However, he waited through midnight and all the way until dawn, but he heard no shouts whatsoever.
’Did they fail? Or does that Instructor not dare to raise an alarm?’ Chen Shi wondered.
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