The Heavenly Wandering Sword
Chapter 4
For Li Jian, the Skytower was not quite as impressive as he had originally thought. He had been to the banquets held by Xian Lan as well as Shen Huli, and the mortal Skytower Tavern although nice, would have been considered humble. In his opinion though, it made the place much more appealing. In truth, he had second thoughts about the place. More than anything else, it seemed like to him to be just a place where those with a rich background came to enjoy exotic dishes. He ordered a few dishes that were simple in nature (relatively.) He had dishes made from various spirit beasts that he rather enjoyed.
The meat was very rich, perhaps overly rich to his more simple palette. What enchanted him more was actually the view. From the inside of the private room, he was able to look outside and see out from the tenth floor. It was a sight which made him even more glad to have left Sword Mountain. The sight from Sword Mountain was cold. He looked down the mountain at nothingness, at the void itself. It made Sword Mountain an extraordinary place for cultivation. That did not however, make the view any better.
He enjoyed the view of the hundreds of thousands of candle lights and some augmented spirit force lamps that lit up the night, with people hurrying to dinner or on night time errands. It was something he had not seen for a very long time. He poured himself a cup of wine and looked up at the night sky and held it out, for the Heavens themselves before drinking it down. He hoped that Tan Tie and Xian Lan were doing well up there. Perhaps Hei Chuin Zi was already raising a commotion and trying to absorb his former portfolio. He looked over at the empty plates in front of him. He had drank and ate his fill, and it was perhaps time to go.
He knew that the Purple Pavilion said they were going to pay for everything, but he also knew that there was no such thing in life as a free meal. He would lightly put a tiny sliver of spiritual force into the bell beside him, and within seconds the door would open and a hostess was there. She bowed politely. “What wishes can I fulfil for the senior brother?” He looked at the dishes he had eaten and wine he had drunk. “If you would be so kind, how much would a meal like this cost?” The Hostess thought about the orders he had made and the wine. “Senior brother, it would be around 8000 Spirit stones or so. The special VIP room also includes a monthly fee for retaining of a specific host or hostess. In the case of this VIP room, that would be this humble servant. The monthly fee is usually around 20 000 spirit stones.” Li Jian nodded, it was not surprising. He retrieved 30 thousand spirit stones and placed it on the table. He had more than enough now, after having taken the storage rings of not only Xin Kun but also of Dai Ye Ge. With over 100 thousand spirit stones, he considered himself quite blessed already.
Of course more money would have to be made in time but it meant he was able to wander around for a while at least. The hostess began to protest but Li Jian raised a hand. “Please junior sister, if Skytower will not accept this for the meal to give face to the Purple Pavilion, then please let Skytower accept this as a token of appreciation, and my appreciation for the excellent service. It is a small gesture for yourself and the wonderful chef who made this. I am also sure it was not an easy journey for the hunter who had to kill these spirit beasts.” The Hostess, with that reason could only bow. “I must fetch the manager, senior brother as I cannot accept this myself. Please excuse me for a few moments.”
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After a few moments, the Hostess came back with an older man in tow. Dressed in the impeccable livery of the Skytower, a tunic hemmed from a dark blue silk with silver trim, the man bowed in greeting. “Manager Xin Jie humbly greets the kind senior.” Li Jian saw him and quickly raised his hands. “Please Elder, you are far too kind. This junior cannot accept such kind words, it would be disrespectful for me to do so.” The Manager looked at Li Jian and saw what others saw; a young man in his 20s. No remarkable looks, perhaps a bit more handsome than the usual. However, he wore only a simple outfit, with nothing that stood out. He was expecting a more spoiled rich kid with a powerful background. “I am here to humbly accept your generous offering. If I may ask kind traveler, what do you wish for in return for this generous gift?” Li Jian shook his head. “I think senior has misunderstood, I do not wish for anything in return. A gesture of appreciation should include only that, a gesture and appreciation.”
Xin Jie examined him carefully but was unable to see any hints of cultivation. However, Xin Jie had been part of the Skytower for many years and he knew this; this boy was not simple. A young man with no cultivation that the Purple Pavilion has gifted the VIP Token to. His background must be extraordinary. “Please forgive me for offending you and misunderstanding your kindness.” As soon as Li Jian left, Xin Jie gave out the order. No matter the circumstance, Li Jian must be given a private room when he asked for it. If none were available, the private room of the owner will be given. He knew that the owner would understand.
“Stop! What are you doing?” A voice called out from in front of the Skytower. On the streets below, a man laid injured, his chest badly bruised and his meridians severely damaged. In front of him stood four men dressed in all gold and red. “Stop it, it was an accident. You don’t need to injure him to this extent.” Chi Ru Yan called out, standing in front of the injured Ling Feng. Teng Ye Lung stood beside her as Ling Feng coughed up blood onto the streets. The four men simply looked up at them and frowned. “A mere disciple of a Rank 3 sect dares to protest against the actions of a Rank 2 sect? Do you understand who we are?” The man in the front activated some of his spiritual force, the aura of a golden lion sweeping over the two Spiritblade disciples, sending them to the floor. “Not only are we inner disciples of the Golden Temple sect, but this master’s name is Lu Xia, the first son of the Lu family. You dare?”
“He tripped and bumped into you, why are you acting with such cruelty?” Teng Ye Lung said as he struggled to sit up, his body damaged by the attack of a Golden Core cultivator. Lu Xia sneered at him and stepped onto his chest, and looked down at him. “Cruelty? For trash such as yourself, I do not need a reason to waste all of you. Although the woman there is quite something. What do you say vixen? If you beg to serve me and keep my bed warm, I will let your sect members live.” Li Jian looked over this scene and was filled with disgust. This was the dark side of the world of cultivation. Absolute power was absolute. What was right was strength. Of course, he also owed these two a slight favour. He also knew that he had to keep calm, because if he lost his temper that might be the end of Baiyang city.
He stepped forward to confront the group of them. With a simple shove, he sent Lu Xia flying into the opposite wall. “Using your strength to bully the week. Is that what the Golden Temple sect teaches?” Lu Xia got up coughing and sneered at him. “Boy you have just given up your life.” Li Jian tilted his head and looked at him curiously. “Oh? And who here is qualified to take it?” Lu Xia looked at the other three Golden Temple disciples. “Let us kill to our delight tonight.” The other three all grinned and activated their spiritual force. Each practiced the variant of the Golden Temple martial arts. Golden arrows of flames appeared in the sky, while the other two drew their weapons, a saber and a spear respectively. Each weapon as covered in the golden glow of their martial auras. Lu Xia drew his sword, the golden blade a thousand year treasure. “Time for you to meet my sword spirit. Sword spirit, come out!”
“Traveler, please, you don’t need to sacrifice your own life. Run for it while you can.” Chi Ru Yan called out, recognizing the man. The three of them had not seen the ending of the fight, only knowing that Li Jian had beaten down a Golden Core cultivator. “Lu Xia is at the nascent soul stage, he is too powerful. The others are all Golden Core realm. Please, run and save your own life.” She called out desperately, not wanting this new person they just met to die. “It’s too late, your life is mine.” Lu Xia roared out as his sword spirit stepped into existence. “This is the Sword Spirit Golden Swordsman, he is the sword spirit of this Golden Sky Sword. The last thing you will see in your trash life is true power!”