Chapter 44 - A Sudden Visit From A Fellow Competitor
Suddenly two years of quiet passed by, and Wang Wei turned 13 years old. In the past two years, the Dao Opening Sect seemed calm and quiet on the surface. And the same can be said for the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.
It was as if the shocking news about the whereabouts of a powerful cultivation technique such as the [Ancient Desolate Bodyrefining Scripture] was nothing but a stone sinking into a river without creating any ripples whatsoever.
The situation seemed that it would remain stale for quite some time. However, today was destined to be different, to be more exciting--at least for the people of the Dao Opening Sect that is.
Wang Wei was enjoying a rare relaxing day by drinking his ginseng tonic, when his head maid, Wang Ju walked in with some fresh information.
Wang Ju walked into the Wang Family's Manor, bowed as usual, and reported the information that she had just received.
While Wang Wei was concentrating on the information at hand, Wang Ju looked at the Young Sect Master.
He had changed greatly the past two years. His figure became more thin, his complexion more pale. There were many heavy bags under his eyes. In general, he had the demeanor of a sick and dying man.
However, Wang Ju knew that these were just external changes.
As a cultivator in the Supernatural Realm, she could easily notice the internal difference of the Young Sect Master.
His single breaths were deep and long, signifying the ability to internal breathing and conserving energy.
There was a large amount of medicinal energy embedded in the Young Sect Master's body. Despite not having started cultivating, there was a large amount of Blood Qi scattered all over his body.
These Blood Qi will make it a lot easier and faster for the Young Master to cultivate in the Bodyrefining Realm, and lay a powerful foundation for the future.
A few minutes passed by before Wang Wei finished reading the information, then he said, "So, they are finally making a move?"
"Yes, Young Master. A delegate composed of both Crown Prince Ji Song and First Prince Ji Su is currently on the way to the sect right now. They will arrive in about two days."
"What excuse did they use for this so-called visit?"
"We received a Diplomatic Invitation concerning the dispute over a certain Origin Source Mine. They also emphasized that it is necessary for the younger generation to get to know each other properly."
Wang Wei sneered and continued: "So, they can both investigate the news about the [Ancient Desolate Bodyrefining Scripture] and also try to find my information and determine my level of threat for the Heaven Mandate Battle."
Wang Wei then kept on looking at the window, looking like nothing in this world mattered to him. Then, he said: "Continue with the plan we had already prepared. As for the challenge, let the Crown Prince enter the First Trial of the Pagoda."
Two days soon passed, the delegation of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty composed of the two princes, Ji Song and Ji Su, the Prime Minister Zhao Yan, a Retired Prince of the Ji Royal Family--which is the equivalent of a True Monarch Supreme Elder of the Dao Opening Sect-- and a bunch of servants and bodyguards.
Sect Master Wang Tian and many of the Great Elders of different Halls received the guest, accompanied by some noteworthy disciples.
Upon arriving, Ji Su was the first to notice something odd. He did not see the Young Sect Master of the Dao Opening Sect.
In formal occasions such as this, only people with similar status and the same generation can receive each other. As the son of the Sect Master, only Wang Wei is truly worthy of receiving them, and yet, he was not here.
Ji Su easily noticed this because he recognized the person that was in the front receiving them. It was the #1 Contemporary Sacred Son, Han Li--who has just partially healed from his injury.
Ji Su knew Han Li because they had fought a couple of times. And in their many fights, he had won more than he lost.
Ji Su walked in the front, put his two hands together and slightly bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Han Li also stepped forward and returned the courtesy. However, a sudden voice rang behind Ji Su.
"It seemed that we are not worthy to be received by the Young Sect Master of the Dao Opening Sect. After all, your sect is one of the most powerful sects in the world."
The person who spoke was a very burly man with bulging muscles all over his body. He is the very definition of " the back of a tiger, the waist of a bear". He had an intimidating air about him, a calm face, but also a very condescending look in his eyes.
He exudes the arrogance of a person of superior status.
Sect Master Wang Tian stepped forward and said: "This younger generation should be Crown Prince Ji Song. Worthy of the famous Heavy Axe Physique. Despite not having cultivated, still having Innate Divine Strength compared to Bodyrefining 1st or 2nd Layer."
"The reason that my son did not attend this meeting today is due to the fact that he is currently visiting his maternal Grandfather."
Hearing this, Retired Prince Ji Xiang also stepped forward and asked. "Is True Monarch Yu Zhuang recovered from his injury?"
"He is fine now," said the sect master, then went on to say, "please come in, we have prepared adequate accommodation for all of you. If you have any other requirement, please notify the Elder in charge and we will try our best to meet your needs."
While a somewhat diplomatic meeting was taking place in the Dao Opening Sect, a very serious one was also taking place in the Heaven Mystery Pavilion.
Old Chu took more than ten years to heal from the backlash he received from calculating the fate of Wang Wei when he was just born.
Even still, his lifespan was greatly affected. Unless he could find some precious medicine, he would still have to live with a severely reduced lifespan.
The current Pavilion Master asked during the meeting: "Master, why did you call all of us for this meeting?"
Including Old Chu, there were currently less than 10 people in the room--each of which were the core members of the Heaven Mystery Pavilion.
The Heaven Mystery Pavilion was different from other sects or factions of this world since they were mainly focused on divination or calculating the secrets of Heaven.
As Divination requires very special talents, there are few people who can cultivate their technique, let alone join the core membership of the Pavilion.
However, there are still many outer disciples of the Heaven Mystery Pavilion. These disciples are mainly there to procure resources for the core members, or to protect them.
Due to the fact that people who peep at Heaven Secrets often receive all kinds of backlash, they are almost always in a weakened state. So no matter what the level of their cultivation, they are extremely weak when facing people of the same realm--even the genius of lower cultivating realms can easily beat them. As such, the core members of the Heaven Mystery Pavilion require protection from powerful people.
As for how they manage to keep the loyalty of the outer members, well, that is a secret privy to only the Pavilion Master and his master.
"I called all of you to this meeting because I fore-sawed a catastrophe strong enough to eradicate our entire Heaven Mystery Pavilion."
Upon hearing this news, the Pavilion Master's heart started to beat rapidly, he started to perspire profusely, then cold sweat dripped down his back.
"Master, we did not offend anyone, where did this Sect Destroying Catastrophe come from?"
"The Dao Opening Sect!"