Li Ao encountered Zhu Qiu at the brothel’s lobby.

‘’Welcome back.’’

‘’Yeah, yeah—’’

The boy shot past him up the stairs. Zhu Qiu raised a brow, put down his drink and followed him up.

He saw Li Ao’s door still open. Standing next to the entrance, he looked inside.

‘’What’s the hurry?’’

Li Ao replaced his robe and cleaned his face while he spoke.

‘’Didn’t you tell me to make connections?’’

‘’Oh?’’ Zhu Qiu nodded, then Li Ao pushed him away from the door to descend again. ‘’With whom?’’

‘’Sun Jian fellow.’’

A list of names and associates appeared in Zhu Qiu’s mind.

They were okay for now.

‘’Don’t be so eager, they’ll misunderstand.’’

‘’You think I’ll act like that outside?’’

‘’I know.’’

Li Ao cursed him under his breath and descended. Zhu Qiu stopped him one more time.

‘’What was the result?’’

‘’Your dumbass smile tells me you know it.’’

‘’At least I want to hear from you.’’

When he said so, Li Ao straightened his robes, then waved his hand.

A brilliant aquamarine hammer appeared in his palm, thick and wide. Zhu Qiu glimpsed its use at a moment.

‘’Well done.’’

‘’Ehehehehe~’’

‘’Okay, go off now. Don’t laugh like a retard in front of them.’’

‘’You are the retard!’’

Saying so he left.

Zhu Qiu went back to his table, rested his back on the seat, and drank another cup.

‘He’s becoming too high profile now.’

They weren’t out of danger yet.

There had to be something of paramount value in his message for the opponent to be so pesky.

So, even if the chance of danger was small, Zhu Qiu didn’t count his chances to be any good.

But he didn’t want Li Ao to restrict himself as well. He was a good friend, but also a few years younger than him.

Zhu Qiu considered himself young, too. Only, he was privy to some truths of life which made his mentality much more different than Li Ao. He couldn’t find it in himself to advise against what Li Ao wanted to do.

He could have chosen to hide the competition from Li Ao, for instance, and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

Still, he chose to tell. He knew the boy had interest in forging, and the reward, if he could even obtain it, would aid him in further enhancing his safety.

‘He is too talented for his age.’

‘Is he truly a member of the Two-fold Sect?’

Thinking so, Zhu Qiu closed his eyes again. Memories of Li Ao’s martial arts flashed through, as well as their escape from Last Bulwark.

Large swaths of flames, a refined attitude, a speech honed by someone of high status...

He stood up, stretched, and paid for the wine.

‘’I’m going to work at Fragrant Grass.’’

After the attendant bowed, Zhu Qiu left.

‘If he is going to gather attention, I’ll need to pull it somewhere else.’

‘That Jiao also needed to put off some weight.’

*********

Li Ao, on the other hand, had already passed the Eastern Square’s outpost. A little nervous, as it had been a long time since he talked with other nobles of his age, Li Ao asked around for Chiming Bell’s location.

Taking turns around the quiet and happy streets, Li Ao found the place. It was a single-floor store with a garden in front of it.

Most of the buildings in the Eastern Square didn’t fit the city’s building restrictions. Some had five or six floors, some had haphazard floor widths and lengths. Some were dangerously built in weird spherical shapes that defied laws of physics.

However, considering people who settled here, no one batted an eye.

Chiming Bell was another abnormal structure. It was shaped like a temple bell, with a high ceiling, and inside people rested on cloud-shaped mattresses and pillows. Just as he entered, a soft and pleasant chime rang.

‘’Xu Liao! Get over here!’’

Sun Jian’s shout wasn’t that pleasant.

Walking over to the rowdy boy, Li Ao saw only three people. Apart from the ecstatic/stoic Sun Jian, there was Lei Jin and Qing Yan.

Lei Jin still wore a mix of gold and black robes, with a butterfly ornament on his long hair. Qing Yan had changed to a more modest purple robe that only showed her muscular arms.

‘’Howdy.’’

‘’???’’

‘’I mean, good afternoon.’’

Li Ao sat beside Sun Jian.

‘’Xu Liao!’’ Sun Jian patted his back with great force. ‘’These two are my great bestest friends!’’

‘’Lei Jin, Qing Yan.’’

‘’Nice to meet you, Sir Xu.’’

‘’Likewise, Sir Lei.’’

‘’Well met.’’

‘’Well met.’’

Li Ao cupped his hands and the duo did the same.

‘’I called us all together because of one reason—’’

Sun Jian didn’t give anyone a chance to familiarize. He stood up and pointed at an attendant. The man rushed with tiny steps and bowed.

‘’I heard something about your store.’’

‘’Oh, my good young master, what have you heard?’’

Li Ao could see the Lei and Qing duo shrinking in their seats.

Thinking of Sun Jian’s performance at the Central Square market, Li Ao prepared to sink into the ground.

‘Is this the re-emergence of People’s Tsundere?’

‘’I heard...’’ Sun Jian laughed. ‘’You have very great sweet cakes with something called chocolate?’’

‘’Oh, spare us young master...’’ The attendant, familiar with the routine, stood frozen.

‘’Huh?’’

‘’I mean, yes! We indeed have them! We have a lot of them!’’

‘’Good! Bring one for each of my friends here!’’ Saying so, he sent a mid-grade spirit stone to the attendant.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The man seemed dumbstruck, then smiled like a buffoon and left in strides.

The three around them let out a held breath and exchanged glances.

Now that they shared a common enemy, there was a good understanding between the fellows.

‘’Xu Liao!’’ Sun Jian slapped his back again. ‘’Let’s get to know each other! Talk about yourself a little!’’

Hearing the question, Li Ao scratched his chin.

He had talked about this to Zhu Qiu a long while ago, and they already made a general outline for him to improv.

‘It is good enough to mix in false facts. The rest, you can just reference from your life.’

‘’Where are you from?’’

‘’I’ve come from the Northern Border.’’

Hearing this, all three showed an understanding expression.

‘’Border nobles?’’

‘’Strictly warriors.’’ Li Ao said.

‘’My family also has a strong ancestor.’’ Here he nodded at them, and the three understood that it was not an identity he could discuss. At least, not in a public space.

Apart from the Three Great Families and Imperial Family, there were dozens of major and hundreds of minor nobles across the Bai Dynasty. The Northern Border, the land past the Servant Mountain, housed most of them.

These families were wartime, warrior clans. Zhu Family was one of the major ones, and they had two Core Formation cultivators manning the helm. They were the main force against the demons trying to invade the realm.

Any family with a strong ancestor would be just under the Zhu Family. Few people among court officials knew the Northern Border very well. These young masters, hence, wouldn’t know if there was any Xu family in them.

‘’What brought you here?’’

Lei Jin motioned at Sun Jian ‘’The Sun family?’’

‘’No.’’ Li Ao shook his head. ‘’My uncle works at an alchemy store here. I wanted to visit him and see the world, so I’ve traveled with my elder cousin.’’

‘’See the world...’’ Qing Yan muttered. ‘’I always wanted to go out as well.’’

‘’Can’t you?’’

‘’How could we leave so easily?’’ Lei Jin shook his head at Li Ao. ‘’Our families are proper court officials. ‘Proper’, and so much that they don’t even let us spar with each other.’’

Li Ao raised a brow.

In the Great Wei Dynasty, life and death duels were commonplace even between prodigious youths.

He had known a few who lost their lives or cultivation from such duels. Li Ao’s grandpa’s sister in law, in their youth, had suffered a similar fate, though she now reigned as a Soul Formation cultivator at the border.

‘Father had killed a few in his youth as well...’

‘’It is so weird that they expect us to hit wooden dolls all day. Then when the time comes, no one lets us go out.’’ Qing Yan continued. ‘’They are way too protective!’’

‘’My big sister,’’ Lei Jin turned to him.’’You might not know her, Xu Liao, also went to the Northern Border to fight. When she first wrote back a year ago, do you know what she said?’’

‘’She said the family wasted away her life.’’

‘’She said the people there trained their children so harshly that at the age of ten or eleven, they already had mastery of sword and spear. Although they didn’t beat them, she said, the parents of the houses would hire soldiers beyond the walls for them to train their children. No one complained when a child was beaten blue and purple.’’

Shu Jian clenched his fists ‘’Is that true?’’

‘’That’s what my sister wrote.’’

‘’She must have exaggerated for you.’’ Li Ao shook his head. ‘’But...I understand her sentiment.’’

‘’So they don’t beat children?’’

‘’Unless they ask to train like that, no.’’

Li Ao thought of his former self.

His path bore a great resemblance to the children Lei Jin mentioned. For a long time, he lived in despair and rage. He trained in a mad manner, cultivated until his meridians burst, and slept dreaming of avenging his parents.

He was but a child who didn’t know how to heal.

Yet, everyone around him was the same. Everyone suffered from the same tragedy.

When he first began reading those books, he realized that.

He was aware that the world didn’t revolve around him. No one stopped for him. Only when he stopped did people take notice.

And only when he stopped did Li Ao notice he wasn’t the only wounded one.

His grandfather, his dear cousin Li Nan. One had lost his children, the other her beloved family. There were other people who lost their parents and children as well.

‘’Xu Liao?’’

Li Ao shook his head at Sun Jian. ‘’Sorry. I just thought of something.’’

Why was he thinking so much these days?

And the thought wasn’t even connected. He seemed to fall into a daze at the faintest of connections.

‘’I am sorry if I have offended you.’’ Lei Jin cupped his hand, seemingly apologetic for affecting him.

‘’It is no matter, no matter.’’

Sun Jian sighed and patted his back again.

This time, Li Ao didn’t find it so displeasant.

‘’...how is the world like?’’ Qing Yan asked again.

‘’Is it so dangerous?’’ Lei Jin added.

‘’My grandpa said it was mad fun!’’

‘’...Master Sun sure knows how to use language.’’

Li Ao scratched his chin again.

‘’If you are strong enough,’’ and he stressed the word strong, ‘’Yes, it is mad fun.’’

‘’How so?’’

‘’How is it?’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’How do I say it?’’

Li Ao thought back to his journey.

If he and Zhu Qiu weren’t in danger, how would it be any different?

Until they reached border cities, most of the journey had been a constant rush for survival.

After that, they reached a kind of stalemate that didn’t allow them to relax, but still let them ‘experience’ the world in a sense.

‘’You know how the cities feel...stable?’’

‘’The Qi and the air outside is volatile. Sometimes, some areas have such different varieties of Qi that using my Divine Sense feels like staring at a dozen colored rainbow.’’

‘’The smell is sometimes terrible, sometimes pleasant. I really liked forests in that aspect. But the sounds are really haunting—there aren’t many beasts that can threaten you, but I felt a little scared of them at night.’’

‘’The mountains...the sight is the only thing that makes them passable. Climbing one, or heavens forbid traveling a cave inside one is something I wish none of you experience.’’

‘’You can go inside a mountain?’’

Li Ao nodded at Sun Jian.

‘’Some mountains have tunnels going in and around them. But some are too tight, and some are too slippery. There are even holes where you can barely fit in, and those you can’t get out backwards.’’

Lei Jin took a deep breath at that.

Truly, Li Ao did feel a little silly himself. How he had the courage to go through with Zhu Qiu still puzzled him to a great extent.

For a while, Li Ao mixed in some of his safe experiences with stories he heard from his father, mother, and grandpa, as well as Zhu Qiu’s own. The three listened intently, and when he felt spent they discussed some country matters. Li Ao had great interest in how these three viewed their nation.

After all, he didn’t really talk with his peers much back then.

The three also viewed each other like Li Ao.

Everyone here was around their twenties, and at such an age one would have bursts of inspiration that brought them a naive maturity.

Cultivators didn’t mature the same as a mortal. Their realizations often came late, and this was even longer for pampered children of the noble clans.

As such, this spark of maturity, through which all of them took the first steps to see the world for their own, interested Li Ao and the others.

In time, their cakes arrived, and they ate with silly smiles on their faces and talked about their daily lives.

It painted a somewhat humorous picture of the group. One moment, they discussed matters of governance, importance of lives, morality, and human experience. The other moment, they were eating cake and squealing like kittens.

Still, that was only normal.

Li Ao had a great time socializing with the four, and when he talked of how he failed to rent a forge, all three offered him to visit their estate.

Li Ao thought for a moment.

‘’Let me discuss it with my elder cousin.’’

After another hour they parted ways, promising to meet next week at the same hour.

Slightly after midnight he arrived back. When he returned to the inn, Li Ao didn’t find Zhu Qiu.

‘Is he at work?’

The past few months, Zhu Qiu had been working at Fragrant Grass and a few other establishments for pocket money. The work he did wasn’t anything special, though at Fragrant Grass Li Ao heard him doing some alchemy.

Deciding to talk later, Li Ao went into his room and sat cross legged on his bed.

Taking out the blade he forged, his divine sense swept over its scarlet body.

‘What should I do with it?’

He already had the Phoenix Sword with him, though his sword skills weren’t anything passable.

It was just long enough to be a shortsword. Or, he could re-forge its shape to curve the edge and make a glaive.

None of them took a hold of him, though.

Then, Fan Yueyin’s advice sounded in his mind.

Could he make it into a flying sword?

His formations weren’t up to the task for now. But it wasn’t something too far off into the future.

‘I’ve already got plenty of materials. I only need to study more.’

Thinking so, Li Ao took out five small metallic rods.

These were the so-called ‘flags’ of a formation.

Flags weren’t exactly ‘flags’ in the general sense. They were waypoints for an array or formation to take shape and work.

Depending on the aim of the practitioner, flags could be iron rods, metallic plates, pillars, structures, engravings, or even pebbles. Of course, less Qi-conductive materials required higher mastery to use.

Li Ao was studying only two branches of formations for now—illusions and utility.

From his youth, he had a little experience with utility talismans. He could make signal talismans or strike talismans, the former for scouting and the latter for protection. There were also a few he could do to store extra Qi.

He wanted to study illusions for an obvious reason—in case he couldn’t practice an avatar art, or if the art itself showed a weakness, he could cover it with his illusion formations.

It could also be a fun way to prank people.

That was only secondary though.

So metallic rods worked very well for his aims.

Planting the rods beside his feet, Li Ao took out the Elementary Formation Study and began working.