Kong Shihong resembled a gentle and wise old man. From the hilltop, he was gazing down at some disciples training with satisfaction.

Since he understood that he would probably never become a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, his dream had always been to create his own sect. Deeply hidden in his heart, there was a secret hope that one day his sect would rise to the top and that he would be revered as the founder by thousands of disciples every year.

Thus, after a couple of decades at the Core formation realm, Kong Shihong had left the large sect he came from to start his own sect, which he named Spirit Hill Sect. A core formation cultivator had a high standing everywhere he went. His initial sect couldn’t force him to stay and signed an alliance in case Kin Shihong’s organization grew to a decent level.

A sect with a Core formation realm cultivator already had some weight in the SCA’s multitude of establishments. Kong Shihong was able to quickly gain followers at the formation establishment stage and follow his dreams. He was already quite satisfied by the state the sect had reached in less than a century.

But there was still an issue bothering Kong Shihong: he was approaching the end of his lifespan and he had yet to find a successor at the Core Formation realm. Deprived of a cultivator at that level, the standing of the sect would drop, it’s available resources would be gobbled up by neighboring sects and it would be able to recruit less disciples. It was a tough ask for a weaker sect to climb back up by birthing another Core Formation Cultivator. A more likely outcome for such a sect would be the eventual disbanding.

This happened relatively frequently for sects created by a core formation cultivator. Kong Shihong had one insurance though, he had built a team of loyal followers who shared a common vision with him. He could count on them for the future. Some of the sect Spirit Valley’s Elders that were at the foundation establishment realm have worked on the sect for nearly all their life.

Just as Kong Shihong was silently contemplating his sect’s future, he spotted a black meteorite that zoomed past in the sky.

He thought to himself. ‘A black meteorite? Is it a bad omen? Wait, since when did meteorites start leaving black trails in the sky? I think I am seeing things with my age. It would be amusing if I was being scared by just a cultivator passing by, hehe. But that’s impossible, no Core Formation cultivator could ever reach that speed, even with flying treasures. Wait. What if?... No… A nascent soul cultivator?’

It might be just his imagination, but Kong Shihong couldn’t remove this idea from his mind. The nascent soul realm had always been this unattainable goal for him. Witnessing the glimpse of one flying, filled him with admiration, reverence and distant memories of his past in a top sect.

In the air and already at a large distance from the Spirit Hill Sect, Qiao Fa was speeding along to exit the continent. He was the Black faction cultivator that had watched over the SCA competition. He had taken Xue Guo in his wake, and protected him with a qi barrier as they moved at high velocity.

Xue Guo was fascinated by the rapidly changing scenery and was anticipating crossing the dangerous ocean. He had to leave the Deep Abyss sword with the Cheng Huang School but he didn’t mind those details. He would have an incredible choice of skills, weapons and more when he reached the Black Rainbow Sect anyway.

Qiao Fa suddenly slowed down rapidly and came to a halt with a frown. “Who’s there?”

In front of him, a cultivator was silently hovering on his path. Qiao Fa had a bad feeling. Who would dare to bar his path on this continent?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hahaha, little junior Qiao Fa, you don’t even recognize your senior Yi?”

Qiao Fa’s eyes widened before relaxing. “So, it’s old Yi? Are you still wasting your life on this weak continent?”

This ‘old Yi’ also originated from the Black Rainbow Sect. Qiao Fa only had a faint recollection of him when he was a disciple but it had been centuries since old Yi appeared in the sect. Before coming to the continent, Qiao Fa’s own master had mentioned him in passing. Apparently, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Rainbow faction that took upon his mission to watch over the Edera Continent.

Elder Wen would have been shocked to recognize the face of the mysterious Elder of the Edera Array Meet.

Qiao Fa had relaxed but not dropped his guard, he still had to learn why this antiquity was blocking him. His master had an incredible level and was the one to send him on a reconnaissance of the continent. Therefore, Qiao Fa had no fear, especially with his master backing him. Plus, Rainbow faction members were considered as feeble for their level.

“Haha, little Qiao Fa, it’s important to show to one’s seniors the level of respect they deserve. I see you had your fun on the Edera Continent?”

Qiao Fa became more and more irritated by this man looking down on him. “Old Yi, what I do is none of your concern. I don’t know what you are still doing here but you will soon be replaced anyway as your stupid Rainbow faction disappears from this planet. If you have any problems with my presence, go voice them to my master. He is Venerable Gong.”

“Ah so it’s that old friend Gong sending you over! No wonder. I definitely recognize his style of sending messages. But let’s talk about you, little Qiao Fa. How’s your situation among your fellow colleagues? To be sent here, you must be struggling to keep up with the best of them, right?”

Qiao Fa frowned. Indeed, he wasn’t as brilliant as his good friend he called “older brother”, but his talent and achievements had still garnered him the respect of his peers in the sect. “I’m afraid you are wrong, old Yi. Perhaps your age has dulled your judgment?”

A faint smile crept on Elder Yi’s face. It was fun to play a little game sometimes. “It’s tough to break the truth for you, junior Fa, but your master doesn’t seem to agree with your personal assessment.”

Qiao Fa was beginning to have a hard time holding back his anger. He wanted to attack that old man on the spot. But killing was not permitted between sect members and a fight would probably obliterate the poor Xue Guo who was patiently waiting behind his back. “What the hell are you blabbering on about, old Yi?”

“You see, little Fa, if your master truly cared about you, he would have added some more information. First of all, my position is of the Edera continent’s protector, sent by the Black Rainbow Sect itself. Now, let’s think about it for a second. On a continent where dozens of early Nascent Soul realm cultivators roaming around. What should the cultivation of the one watching over it be?”

Qiao Fa stopped on his tracks as he contemplated elder Yi’s words and its implications. “Medium or even late Nascent Soul stage. No… That couldn’t be! You are just bluffing!”

“Hahaha, keep reassuring your pitiful self. But that’s what the black faction has always been, they have to keep weeding out the trash to not plateau in their one-dimensional world. Still, this old geezer Gong always likes to have several meanings behind his actions. Him bringing you here serves two causes you see. The simple one is to get rid of you silently, and the second one is to pass on the message to me that he wants me to come back to the sect. It seems that the role of protector will soon change hands. Well, this was decades in the making anyway.”

In front of the old man, Qiao Fa had completely lost his cool. In an instant, he circulated his qi at full force in a desperate all-out attack. The all-out attack of a Nascent Soul cultivator!

On his hilltop, Kong Shihong was still pridefully watching his sect’s disciples bustling around when suddenly, he saw a bright flash of light on the corner of his eye.

For a moment, he wondered if he was witnessing the birth of another Sun as a giant ball of fire was growing on the horizon. Then the realization hit him that this wasn’t a Sun but a huge explosion.

‘Shit, was it actually a giant meteorite that just crashed?’

“EVERYONE, BE CAREFUL!”

The blast arrived only a couple of seconds later. A shockwave mixed with wild qi particles passed through the Spirit Hill Sect, bending the trees and throwing the standing disciples off balance.

Thankfully, the explosion had taken place dozens of kilometers away and the energy of the shockwave had already weakened considerably. In truth, the situation wasn’t that critical for the Spirit Hill Sect but all had a massive fright after witnessing such a phenomenon.

Once everything settled down, the disciples began contemplating the destruction. Most of the building were still standing but quite a few of the shabby disciple accommodations had crumbled.

In the air above a scene of desolation, Elder Yi was dusting off his clothes with a sigh. There was no trace left of Qiao Fa or Xue Guo. With a wave of a hand, Elder Yi dissipated the qi remnants still wreaking havoc around so that nature could slowly reclaim its land over time. The cleaning accomplished, the old man disappeared behind the horizon.