The seven walls of the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect were built more than a thousand years ago to resist attacks from the monsters and provide a safe haven for the Disciples of the soon-to-be Sect.
The castle was built upon one of the so-called 'Holy Lands' for cultivators, a place that the Heavens had blessed with powerful martial energy [Note: Martial energy and Spiritual energy will from now on be interchangeable] and with a high density of Qi.
This had been one of the reasons that the founder had decided to build the sect there in the first place.
Those walls were made out of a special kind of rock, the Oraum, a rock whose durability had been boosted by the martial energy in its surrounding over the period of several thousand years. The founder had found a large amount of this rock in the Four Divine Beasts Mountain Range and had mined it all out to build these walls.
He had chosen the place with the highesy density of martial energy and Qi and built the gigantic castle there: he did not harm the environment too much and instead kept many lakes, forests and rivers inside the gigantic fortress, as to not give the impression of a prison and instead make it look more like a paradise to future Sect Members.
In the present, a cold night about a thousand years later the founding of the Sect, on top of the largest of the more than a thousand feet tall Walls, the Seventh Wall, two people looked towards the horizon: the first was an old man, his back stood straight and he had piercing yellow eyes, a long white beard and hair and, although he didn't seem to have a cultivation base, he still gave off a weird feeling of unstoppable might.
Behind him stood a man in his late thirties: he had shoulder-length blonde hair, brown eyes and wore a white robe with four black stripes going from the left shoulder to the right ankle: a Core Elder!
The Core Elder turned his head and spoke "Father, is everything proceeding as intended?"
The old man moved his attention from the thin line that was the horizon and instead focused on the middle-aged man next to him.
He sighed and he shook his head "Unfortunately, things are moving too fast for me to keep up. Still, we might consider ourselves lucky: we have finally found the last piece we needed, now we only need to place it on the chessboard before we can truly begin. I will only need a few months at most and we will finally be able to show ourselves after all those years of hiding ourselves and our true strength!"
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The middle aged man also nodded "These years were harsh and I almost felt like giving up at some point... But soon, all those years of effort will show their worth!"
The old man also emotionally nodded "Bi Liang... My son, I am sorry for all these years of pain that I have forced you to endure and I apologize again-"
"Father! There is no need. It was my own choice that I went along with your plan, as you know, since I started riding the tiger, it is now too hard to get off!" The thirty-six years old man chuckled.
The two men smiled and the blonde male bowed "Lao Jianghu! I, Bi Liang, see you as my father, master, friend and also comrade. I cannot repay you for having picked me up and even raised me as your own son, so such a thing is only me repaying a part of the huge debt that I owe you!"
The old man shook his head and he warmly rebuked "Just like you truly see me as a father, I also see you as my own son, you are my son in all but blood, you are my friend that I enjoy drinking, play chess and spending my time with the most and you are also the comrade that went along with this old fool's plans for all these years! There is nothing that you need to repay me for!"
The old man's previous soft expression hardened and he clenched his fist "But now we have almost all the pieces on our palm, we only need to wait for two more months to make our move! At this time, I will make one last foolish request!" The old man turned and bowed before Bi Liang could stop him.
"Bi Liang, my son, from this day on you and the Core members of the Faction will keep staying in the Outer Sect for these two months. However, while they will only need to hide themselves, you need not hide your cultivation or your status as a Core Elder. Just stay in that single hut and wait! I have already left your key and the map to the new place in the hideout! Bi Liang, this is my last request!"
The old man sighed emotionally as he turned towards the man beside him and told him:
"Remember, Bi Liang! Remember that the last piece hasn't been set!" Before Lao Jianghu could hear Bi Liang's response, he kicked off the ground and floated in midair, disappearing into the night leaving only those few words behind.
Bi Liang recovered from his shock and smiled bitterly to himself "Do I even have a choice?"
He turned and look towards the horizon "But, after all these years of scheming... The chess board only needs one piece, the most important piece, the Star of the show, the King! Once that one piece is set..." Bi Liang smiled "The match will start! The Plan... Will begin!"
The wind blowed on the one figure standing on the tall wall but it did not show any signs of giving up and instead it stood as straight as a spear, his hair fluttering and his white robes dancing with wind...