Dual Cultivation God Returns

The Silver Wing City arena was known as both a grand and a small venue at the same time.

It was grand in the past, and the massive structure still stood to this day, somewhat repaired and patched over and over. Falling apart in places, but still reminding of the glory of this city in the past when the continent was prosperous.

But with the decline of the Silver Wing City, and dwindling number of people visiting the city overall, the arena’s audience became limited to the city’s native population which declined over time as well.

Even the demographics of that native population, shifted away from members of the big Sects, and adventurous cultivators who wished to travel into the Great Wilderness, or mercenaries who hoped to be hired by them into expedition groups, as well as hot-blooded newly ascended cultivators from the Battle God’s Cradle, eager to defend the fame of their home world as the birthplace of the Battle God, to more mundane and peaceful people with less interest in both witnessing and participating in the fights of the arena.

This meant that scheduled fights organized for entertainment were not as profitable, and thus became less frequent. If before, the arena had two-three hours for scheduled fights every single day, sometimes even big tournaments that lasted a month or two, in recent years it became more like a fight once a week or even a month.

The rest of time was now open for so-called ‘open gates’ that were much more limited in the past. For a toll, cultivators who had to resolve a conflict, argument, or a bet, a dispute between Sects or Clans in view of the public, or even a simple showcase fight, could do so freely in this time.

But even these became less frequent, so for the majority of time it stood simply empty and desolate.

Thus, with years not much of that grand arena was kept being used.

Most of it, actually, was abandoned, with almost the entirety of the old audience stands and terraces completely closed off and condemned.

Instead, the newer audience seats were built on parts of the fighting pit grounds, shrinking it to a much smaller radius because even the quality of fights happening here were getting lower, thus not requiring as much space. The long distance from the much less spectacular fights was offputting to the people instead.

That is, until not long ago.

The influx of cultivators, groups, and even Sects to the city inevitably meant much more conflicts between them, and since the City Guard was working at all hours to keep the streets orderly, they had to go to the arena.

This, in turn, brought more and more interested gawkers, who wanted to witness how a conflict that started on the street would end, to fill the audience seats.

Not only that, the Disciples of the three big Sects now vying for control over the World Stone to the Battle God’s Cradle, after clashing verbally on the streets, began settling conflicts and disputes there almost daily, which brought even more people over.

The arena’s owner saw the opportunity in the city being full of a much more interested in fights audience and began launching more scheduled fights as well.

The influx of audience caused him to start renovating the place, eventually completely tearing down the newer audience stands and restoring the size of the old fighting pit grounds, while repairing and opening up more and more of the older audience seats of the grand arena.

And on the day of Duan Feng’s fight, the rumors of this fight being filled with tension between two Imperial princes of the Wei Dynasty, as well as involving a big Sect and someone from the birthplace of the Battle God, caused this massive place to become completely filled for the first time in thousands of years.

That arena owner, an old but energetic looking man, watched the grand arena from his office overseeing the entire thing from a pagoda tower with a bright and gleeful look on his face, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was quietly giggling under his nose, “Hmhmhm~ hmhmhmhmhmhm~…”

Suddenly, a knock on the door woke him up from his deep thoughts, causing him to frown a little, “Who is it?”

“Master Qian Ying, your grandson, Young Master Qian Lei have come to visit”

“Tsk, what’s that raskal’s here for now…”, the old man called Qian Ying murmured under his nose, and then, taking a look around the room, removed a few items into his Spatial Ring. He then took out a cane, and, placing it beside him, leaned on it as he turned to look at the view again in this new posture which instantly made him look more old and less energetic. He also took out a handheld fan with a beautiful painting on its face, holding it like an elder would when not used, folded, behind his back in the other hand.

Now, he had a completely different expression from before, his eyes filled with touched joy and deep nostalgia as he looked at the arena, and even tiny drops of tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. He then lightly cleared his throat before saying in a quiet, contemplative voice, “Let him in”

“Grandpa!”, the door burst open and a young man walked in with a bright smile on his face, seemingly having missed the old man very much.

“What is it, you rascal? Your Father threw you out again?”, the old man spoke in a slightly frosty voice, without turning to look at the visitor while the door was closed behind the latter by the old man’s assistant.

“Grandpa, how can you be so cold? I just missed you…”

“I don’t have any money”

“Ayy~ look at that crowd! It’s not even that long ago that the sun rose, that big fight is what? At noon? It’s only around 6~7 am and people have already come out in droves to not miss out in case there won’t be any seats later~… the place is packed!”, Qian Lei pointed at the view from the large open window they both now stood in front of.

“And? You think the place is suddenly profitable? You think this covered the renovation costs? And centuries of this place’s decay?”, the old man grumbled.

Qian Lei, however, either didn’t hear that or was captivated by the scenery.

“You know, Grandpa, I always thought you got scammed when you bought this place… Dad used to tell me that it was that decision that ruined our family’s prosperity and that you squandered the inheritance passed through generations into this. He constantly brought it up as a cautionary tale of someone still paying for a single mistake made nearly 13 thousand years ago. But… it turns out you were a genius!”, his grandson sighed with admiration.

“I just couldn’t let it be torn down…”, Qian Ying spoke emotionally, “This arena is near and dear to my heart. It is where my father used to bring me as a young child to, and it looked just like this then, full of glory… so when I got a bit older, about your age, I bought it at the first opportunity…”

“You and great-grandpa didn’t go to the Iron Claw City’s arena instead?”, the grandson raised his eyebrows.

Annoyance flashed in the old man’s eyes, “Hmph! How ignorant are you to the history of your own city? It didn’t exist… that arena. That ‘Iron Claw City’ you love to go to so much, was just a village back then, and didn’t have a name at all. There was a fort belonging to our Silver Wing City there around the World Stone as a checkpoint, and a small town filled with outlaws and dirtbags to the west of that, that’s all!”

“Wha-…? N-no way!”, the grandson turned a shocked gaze to the old man.

“Yes way. Tsk tsk tsk, you youngin’s… ” the old man grumbled, turning a side-eye to his grandchild, while inwardly smirking, ‘Heh, let’s see how much you’re going to hold out for this time listening to my notations…’

He then began ranting with some indignation, “The center of this continent, and its beating heart was always our Silver Wing City! It is still the administrative center recognized by the Wei Dynasty! Which is why the City Lord of this city is technically still the Governor of the Continent. The Ko Clan governing this city used to be powerful overlords, they held the reigns of the entire continent with iron hands for generations of long-living cultivators, no one could question their authority here. Even the Wei Dynasty left this continent to largely be autonomous. Why do you think their delegation came here instead of staying in your fancy new Iron Claw ‘City’? Even that Silverleaf Trade Hall you constantly talk about was originally located here… those opportunistic traitors… why do you think there’s silver in their name just like in the name of this city? And that fancy-…”

“A-alright alright, Grandpa…”, the young man raised his hands in capitulation, “I just didn’t expect… you know… you were young around when… 30 000 years ago?”

“Am I a skeleton in your eyes?! What 30 000 years ago, you scallywag?!”

“Ouch!”, the grandson received a light smack on the head with the handheld fan, cowering from his grandfather with a slightly guilty smile while covering his head with both hands.

‘What’s going on? Why is he not asking for some pocket money and running away now that I’m in a “ranting mood”…? Something smells here…’, Qian Ying narrowed his eyes, while replying, “It was only around 13,000 years ago when I was young… and so this arena was at the heights of its glory when I bought it. And this city, along with the arena with it, stayed relatively strong, even if slightly worse off, for about 5000 years of my life as well… it was also only about then that the Iron Claw City started developing as a separate city… though it became almost what it is today in just a 1000 years or so after appearing…”

“So you’re basically saying you bought a very successful business and run it down into the-…”, the Qian Lei placed both hands behind his head in a relaxed pose as he watched the scenery, speaking in a lighthearted tone but almost bit his tongue as he realised what he was saying, turning a side glance to the old man whose face turned frosty again.

“Hmph! It’s only because of me this place is still even standing!”, the old man spoke with an insulted indignation, “And don’t give me that look! I know what your father thinks. Yes I used some of the money from our family’s business to keep this place afloat a few times, but honestly, it didn’t even hurt that much, and would that business even run properly were it not for me going out on long trips for it almost yearly? Why isn’t he going instead of me then if he’s so right about everything?”

“D-dad said you were adamant that you had to be the one-…’

“Because he doesn’t have the knack for it!”, Qian Ying shook his head with the look of a stubborn old man.

“A-anyway… you can’t argue the arena declined after you bought it, no?”

“Haa~ it’s the city that’s declined. The city. The arena’s lifeline is the city’s prosperity, and this city began its decline during the reign of the previous City Lord, the current City Lord’s father who began ruling a bit before I was born”, the old man spoke with mixed feelings in his gaze, “He wasn’t a bad person… on the contrary, he was beloved by people who knew him… but the City declined sharply under his reign, right in front of my eyes. It took this beautiful arena down with it”

“Was he that bad at governing? Or just unlucky?”, Qian Lei, for whom this was just an interesting story, chuckled.

“Who knows? Part of it wasn’t his fault, but no one denies his weakness either”, the old man for whom this seemed like a heavy memory sighed, his eyes seemingly reliving scenes from the distant past, “the City Lord before him, along with most of the Clan Ancestors died in a major conflict so he took up reigns of ruling early, with little council to rely on”

“Whoa~…!”, the grandson exclaimed with wonder, “Isn’t that basically the death of even powerful clans if their Clan Ancestors perish… how brutal was that fight? Did they piss off someone powerful?”

“Haha, I don’t know such details, child. As I said, that fight happened not that long before I was born. There were rumors going around long after though, that someone coveted a very powerful artifact the Ko Clan had, and that despite the desperate fight they put up, it was wrestled away from them”

“Tsk tsk, why bother fighting? If they wanted it that much wasn’t it much less messy to steal it instead?”, Qian Lei asked with the indifference of an onlooker who wasn’t hurt by the development.

“Tsk tsk tsk, this rascal”, Qian Ying gave him a stern look, which made his grandson clear his throat, and then continued, “But the previous City Lord’s problems didn’t end there… about a 1000 years after he became City Lord, someone who likely saw an opportunity in the weakened Silver Wing City, wanted to expand the frontier again to the Great Wilderness, making this not a Frontier World but just a transitional one. Such attempts happened numerous times in the past, but were mostly blocked by the Ko Clan…”

“Eh? The Great Wilderness? Isn’t that World Stone sealed?”

“That is the great tragedy that followed that attempt to expand the frontier”, the old man shook his head, “After another 2000 years of efforts, and countless lives lost in clearing out a few Worlds of the Great Wilderness of Demonic Beasts they almost succeeded. There was momentum, and they even started building a city there, but the advanced parties that went even further to explore and prepare to expand, went too deep. They awakened something much more terrifying, so terrifying that the World Stone had to be sealed shut. This cut off a major lifeline of the city”

“But you said the city still was going strong for another 5000 years after the death of the City Lord before the previous one and Clan Ancestors… isn’t this only 3000? Wait, is it because of the Iron Claw Group? You said they started building the city…”

“Yes, that was the start of the real fall of this city, they arrived about 2000 years after the calamity struck the other World Stone”, the old man heavily sighed again, shaking his head “When they took control of the World Stone leading to Wei Dynasty territory, the focus of this continent started shifting there”

As he spoke his eyes subtly glanced toward his grandson again, ‘This rascal’s still listening… This is really strange. If it was like always he’d be out of here the moment I start rambling even a little bit… it’s not that enjoyable for me either scallywag so hurry up and give up!’

Meanwhile, his speech continued, “Perhaps if the Great Wilderness was still accessible, it wouldn’t have happened. But now, there was no one to travel through the continent toward it, and the Battle God’s Cradle World Stone was only a lower Boundless World access point, it was important to control, but it was an arrival point of fresh blood from the lower world, not a destination for travelers across the Boundless Profound World. But despite seeing all this, the previous City Lord did nothing. Many said he was too afraid, some said he was too peace-loving. I don’t know why he just allowed it to happen… and for 3000 years after that this city decayed, strangled more and more by the Iron Claw City until almost everything moved there apart from Sects who handled access to the Battle God’s Cradle World Stone which was closer to this city…”

“Hehe, and then even that World Stone became just a giant brick around 5000 years ago, that one I heard of”, the grandson laughed, but seeing his grandfather’s expression, shut up, clearing his throat with a somber face again.

“Yes, that was also around when the current City Lord came into power while the previous one retired”, Qian Ying shrugged, “That braggard. He talked a big game and promised a lot, but in the end… it’s basically a managed decline”

“Didn’t he inherit a basically ruined great legacy and manage to keep it afloat and even begin improving the situation somewhat? Dad was praising him…”, Qian Lei spoke, almost adding that it was basically the opposite of his grandfather with the arena but managing to control his impulses.

“But at what costs! He turned the city, once a city of adventurers and heroic fighters, into one of farmers, low-level Demonic Beast hunters, cultivation herb collectors, and plain business owners! The mortal population almost doubled while the cultivator population shrank to half! There’s only boring people living mundane lives left here now! Those who have no interest in the arena!!!”, Qian Ying now openly revealed the reason for his frustration with the current City Lord.

The grandson looked at the arena, packed full of people, and smiled, his tone becoming more lively all of a sudden, “But look at this! Everything turned out well! Isn’t this amazing?! And it’s a ripe time for an event! Mm, how about it? I told you before, when we met a few months ago, someone approached me about organizing a tournament. I pestered you for weeks, but you were adamant that you weren’t interested and that it was a shady deal to offer a tournament to an arena in decline… do you think you’ll be interested in talking to them now?”

The old man narrowed his eyes at his grandson, “You rascal, and here I thought why you were so obediently listening to this old man talk… you came here for this, didn’t you?”

“Grandpa~”, the young man shifted to a pleading ‘cute grandson’ attitude, “It’s an opportunity! They’re offering you a good deal!”

“Tsk tsk tsk…”, the old man clicked his tongue, but his gaze and tone softened a lot, as he looked at his beloved grandson acting in a way that always managed to break his defenses, “Is it that… feather or something… trading company you talked about?”

“Yes! The Soaring Feather Trading Company! They’re super hot right now in the city! It’s because of their auction the city’s so thriving. They’ve brought this wave you’re riding now, so they could be said to be your benefactors!!! I’m sure they approached us before because they were anticipating their auction would cause this! There are a few businesses around the city they partnered with before and they’re booming!”

“Haa~… alright I’ll meet with them”, the old man grumpily said as his grandson began shaking him, “But I don’t guarantee anything”

“Thank you!”, Qian Lei hugged his grandfather, who swayed slightly.

“Ooh… haha~ careful child, you’re going to make this old man fall”

“Hahaha”, his grandson moved back with a slightly embarrassed laugh while scratching his head, “Then I will tell them we will visit them soon”

“Hm? They’re not coming to me?”

“Of course, grandpa! They’re big shots now! Of course we have to show sincerity and go to them! Remember, we also have to be polite when talking… we’re the side that is benefitting more here…”, Qian Lei spoke in a slightly pleading tone, both scared his grandfather will back out, and in the tone of someone explaining how things work to an older slightly out-of-touch generation.

Qian Ying looked at his grandson with hesitation for a bit, “Mmh… m~alright… if you say so”

“Grandpa, you’re the best!”

“Hehe, what, is your reward for coaxing me that big?”

“G-grand-…”

“What, you can tell the old man that at least, right?”

“Mphs~… a-about this much?”, Qian Lei showed him four fingers.

“Hahaha, you little rascal. I guess you’re not going to come to me for more money for a while then…”

“Oh! Almost forgot! They wanted me to ask you a permission to install a communication formation around the fighting pit”, the grandson suddenly remembered.

“A communication array?”

“Apparently, they want to use a large-cast long-distance communication array to show the fight in the Iron-Claw City as well… I-I know, I know you don’t like Iro-…”

“How much are they willing to share?”, Qian Ying was surprisingly accommodating on this despite it involving the Iron Claw City.

“O-oh… they’re offering 70% of audience profit from there, only pure profit though, not revenue…”

“Done”, the old man nodded, “Tell them they can go ahead and install it, and go hurry now, I imagine setting up that kind of complicated thing takes a while…”

“Ah! Y-yes… I-I’ll go right now then!!!”, Qian Lei was still slightly taken aback at how surprisingly well the old man took this proposition, and perhaps he was mistaken, it almost seemed like he was even enthusiastic about it.

As soon as the young man ran out of the room and the door closed, the cane and handheld fan the old man was holding fell to the floor as Qian Ying started dancing with both hands moving in energetic rhythm above his head, “It’s raining~ it’s raining go~~~~~~ooold~! Oh yea~h!”