Ch. 67 - Featherflight Stele

“Say whatever you want, but the choice is yours,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “If you want to join True Martial Sacred Ground, you’ll need to compensate me for burning through a lot of connections. Or… you can leave right now. I won’t stop you.”

Ji Baiyu fell silent for a moment, biting her lip before asking, “What kind of compensation do you want?”

“You’ve got Grand Emperor Fei Yu’s inheritance, don’t you?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.

“What are you trying to do?” Ji Baiyu instinctively grew alert.

But as soon as she said that, she realized she was being too obvious and quickly added, “No. I don’t.”

“You should know about the Featherflight Stele, right?” Xu Zimo continued, unfazed.

“Nope. Never heard of it. Never seen it,” Ji Baiyu replied firmly, a rapid-fire triple denial.

“As long as you give me 3,000 pieces of Featherflight Crystals each month, I’ll help you stay in True Martial Sacred Ground,” Xu Zimo said. “You don’t have to answer right now. If you’re unwilling, you can leave immediately.”

The Featherflight Stele had originally been a nameless stone monument, standing in one of the Ten Forbidden Grounds, the Infernal Ghost Sea.

After Grand Emperor Fei Yu received the Heaven’s Will, he made a special trip to the Infernal Ghost Sea, uprooted the monument, claimed it as his own, and named it the Featherflight Stele.

Though it didn’t possess much offensive power, it had one function that made it incredibly coveted, It could produce Featherflight Crystals. As long as it had enough spirit crystals to power it, it could generate them endlessly.

Featherflight Crystals were specifically used to enhance enlightenment and inspiration.

With their help, cultivators could drastically accelerate their progress in understanding techniques and martial skills.

For someone like Xu Zimo, who wanted to walk his own martial path, these crystals weren’t just convenient, they were highly valuable. Not quite doubling his results for half the effort, but close.

This was one of the treasures Grand Emperor Fei Yu had intended to leave behind for future generations before his ascension.

……

Xu Zimo wasn’t worried about Ji Baiyu refusing. He knew she needed the protection of True Martial Sacred Ground.

Years ago, several forces had joined together to annihilate Ji Baiyu’s clan in order to seize Grand Emperor Fei Yu’s legacy.

She had fled from the Northern Continent to the Western Region of the Eastern Continent, intending to grow stronger and eventually return to take her revenge.

But she hadn’t had time to grow stronger, her enemies had already found her trail.

So now, seeking shelter from True Martial was her only option.

It was a tragedy, really. During Grand Emperor Fei Yu’s reign, the Ji Clan basked in unmatched glory.

Yet even the bloodline of an emperor could fall into decline.

……

“Three thousand Featherflight Crystals is too much. I can give you three hundred at most,” Ji Baiyu said after thinking for a moment.

“Fine, five hundred it is,” Xu Zimo nodded. “I’ll take the loss. Let’s call it friendship.”

“I said three hundred,” Ji Baiyu blinked in confusion, thinking he hadn’t heard her properly.

“What? A thousand?” Xu Zimo blinked too, then nodded sincerely. “I see. That’s a heavy-hearted gesture. I graciously accept.”

Ji Baiyu felt like she had a thousand question marks floating over her head, with ten thousand wild beasts stampeding through her mind.

……

After a long silence, Ji Baiyu realized her understanding of Xu Zimo’s shamelessness had just reached a new level.

She took a breath, steadied her temper, and said, “Three hundred. No more.”

“Five hundred crystals a month,” Xu Zimo replied flatly.

Seeing that Ji Baiyu still wanted to argue, he snorted and said coldly, “Let me make one thing clear, you don’t have the right to choose. I could easily capture you right now, and believe me, I have plenty of ways to extract the secrets of Grand Emperor Fei Yu’s inheritance. The only reason I haven’t is because his legacy doesn’t interest me that much.”

Ji Baiyu thought Xu Zimo was just completely unpredictable. One moment he was joking around, and the next he was completely ruthless.

“Fine. Five hundred,” she said bitterly before storming off.

She didn’t want to stay a second longer, nor say another word to him.

……

After Ji Baiyu left, Little Gui entered the room and said, “Senior Brother, there’s something I think I should report to you.

While Ji Baiyu was staying at Heroes Mountain, a disciple named Yu Bo from the outer court kept harassing her.”

“Yu Bo… that name rings a bell,” Xu Zimo said, thinking.

“He’s one of the new disciples this year. During the aptitude test, he showed Sovereign-Grade Aptitude and was immediately taken in as a personal disciple by an inner court elder,” Little Gui explained.

“Oh, I remember now,” Xu Zimo nodded. He had been there at the time but hadn’t bothered to pay attention to minor characters like that.

“What should we do about him?” Little Gui asked.

“Go bring him to South Goose Mountain,” Xu Zimo said with a casual smile.

Little Gui nodded and left the hall.

Not long after, he returned, looking a little sour.

“What? Got blocked?” Xu Zimo asked with a laugh.

In his previous life, Yu Bo had talent, but was arrogant and lazy. Because of his ego, he neglected training and never achieved anything significant.

“He said he’s cultivating and doesn’t have time to meet with you,” Little Gui snorted. “He’s too full of himself. Thinks that just because he’s backed by an inner court elder, he doesn’t need to respect even you.”

“Not a big deal. Not worth getting angry over a clown like that,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “What’s his ranking on the Crouching Tiger List?”

“Sixty-eighth,” Little Gui replied. “Sovereign-Grade Aptitude, cultivation at the peak of the Spirit Meridian Realm. Such good talent, completely wasted.”

“With a personality like that, go find someone in the outer court who has a grudge against him,” Xu Zimo said as he pulled a pill from his storage ring.

“This is a Meridian Forging Pill, after taking it, a Spirit Meridian Realm cultivator can instantly break through to the Meridian Forging Realm. Give it to someone who hates him, and let them challenge him.”

Outer court disciples on the Crouching Tiger List could challenge higher-ranked disciples once a month.

Each disciple was required to accept at least three challenges per month, no excuses allowed. Declining meant automatic defeat.

“Understood,” Little Gui’s eyes lit up as he took the pill and rushed out eagerly.

Clearly, he was itching to put Yu Bo in his place.

……

Night began to fall.

True Martial Sacred Ground wasn’t ablaze with lights, but even in the dark, the atmosphere remained lively and full of energy.

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