Chapter 533 - 13: Current Situation of the Shangjing City Area

Wang Ping looked Xia Wen Yi up and down with the scrutinizing gaze of an elder. In his Spirit Sea, Yu Lian commented, ’His aura of self-importance is still there, but the benevolence about him has improved.’

The education of every member of the Xia Dynasty’s Imperial Family centered on benevolence, a requirement for their Divine Techniques. However, their version of benevolence was specially defined. It was merely for self-satisfaction, a tool to cultivate their Divine Techniques, and not at all the kind of benevolence the common people needed.

Now, having experienced an idealized benevolence and a harsh reality, Xia Wen Yi was finally beginning to form his own ideas. In the Mortal World, this process was called ’life experience.’ People make many attempts on their journey from birth to adulthood, only discovering this so-called ’experience’ after trying things for themselves.

"How is the Shangjing Region now?" Wang Ping asked. Although he had gathered some intelligence through his puppets and had a general understanding of the situation in Shangjing City, Xia Wen Yi had experienced it firsthand.

"Come in and have a seat," Yu Lian interrupted as Xia Wen Yi was about to answer.

"Thank you, Martial Uncle Yu Lian!"

Xia Wen Yi cupped his fists in a salute, then entered the courtyard as instructed. At a gesture from Wang Ping, he sat on the stone stool opposite him and began to answer the question. "When I first arrived in Shangjing City, it looked like a savage wasteland. Broken locust tree trunks were everywhere, and the waters of the Nong River had flooded vast tracts of land."

"I traveled for hundreds of miles without seeing a single living soul, aside from a few scattered Cultivators. Later, more and more Cultivators arrived in the Shangjing Region. They built a fortified settlement on the upper reaches of the Nong River and dispatched Earth Vein Cultivators to dredge the channel. It took them only a year to bring the chaotic Shangjing Region under control."

"During this time, they also rallied a number of Cultivators to search the Shangjing Region for the rumored relics of the Third Realm Cultivators, and they actually found quite a few. In the beginning, news of a successful find came back to the settlement almost daily. However, the good times didn’t last. Soon, Cultivators claiming to be descendants of the relics’ original owners showed up. At first, it was just a war of words..."

"Sensing things were about to turn ugly, I left the settlement well in advance. A few days later, word came that the two sides had come to blows. The battle caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties, and the rallied Cultivators were almost completely wiped out. If a Third Realm Cultivator from Lishui Prefecture hadn’t arrived on the scene, it’s likely only one person would have walked out of that settlement alive."

"After that incident, the Shangjing Region was peaceful for two years. However, more and more Cultivators came to explore Shangjing City. They naturally split into three factions based on their home regions: the Southern Cultivators, the Northwest Cultivators, and the Northern Cultivators. Some Cultivators from the East Sea Region were mixed in among these three groups, and occasionally, Cultivators from other continents would show up to watch the excitement."

"Over the years, the strongholds they established have grown into three decent-sized small cities. The only problem is that the conflict among the three factions is fierce. Whenever their Cultivators cross paths, they start fighting before two sentences are exchanged."

Xia Wen Yi paused as the sound of footsteps approached from outside the courtyard. An attendant brought in a platter of fruit, which Yu Lian had ordered via voice transmission. After the attendant left, Yu Lian herself picked up a piece of fruit and began to eat. Xia Wen Yi then continued his story.

"About a year ago, someone—I don’t know who—began to stir things up between the three factions. Their hostile relationship actually improved. They banded together and began negotiating terms with the Chu Country, the Datong Marquisate, and the Northern Yunhai Grassland. By the time I left, the three Shangjing City factions had formed a mutual defense pact, attempting to carve out their own kingdom."

Yu Lian swallowed a juicy snow pear and said in disbelief, "Are they out of their minds? How is that any different from courting death?"

"I can’t understand why they would do that either."

Xia Wen Yi responded, his face a mask of confusion. He then looked to Wang Ping, as if hoping his master had the answer.

Wang Ping picked up a snow pear and tossed it to Xia Wen Yi, then took one for himself and bit into it. As the sweet juice filled his mouth, he chuckled. "When I first began my cultivation, my master told me that mortals, even with all their imagination, could never conceive of a Cultivator’s true power."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "In the same way, an Entering Cultivator cannot imagine the power of those at a higher level. They might even daydream about how they could possibly defeat a high-level Cultivator. I thought that way myself more than once when I first started."

At this, Wang Ping took another bite of his pear and gestured for Xia Wen Yi to try his. Then, his tone shifted.

"However, I believe the people who’d dare to risk their lives in Shangjing City aren’t that naive or ignorant. That leaves only one possibility: they were given an offer that made them willing to set aside their hatred and dignity. Even if this offer requires them to risk their lives, which of the Cultivators who dared to go to the Shangjing Region wasn’t already doing just that?"

"What kind of offer?" Xia Wen Yi asked.

"If it were you, what offer would make you give up all that and still be willing to risk your life?"

"No offer in the world could make me abandon my dignity, but there are plenty of things I would risk my life for!"

"..."

Wang Ping set down his pear and smiled. "Very good. Maintain that mentality, and you’ll have a much better chance of breaking through. However, for a Taiyan Cultivator to advance, they must be able to perceive all of creation..."

As he spoke, he tapped his storage pouch and took out a jade slip. "Starting today, you will need to cultivate a Wood Spirit Vein within your body. Also, it’s time you had your own Dao Field."

He took out two silver banknotes from his sect’s bank. "Find a place on Qianmu Mountain to establish it. This should be enough money."

"Thank you, Master, for making this possible!"

Xia Wen Yi rose, set down his pear, and performed a deep, formal kowtow.

Wang Ping picked up his half-eaten pear, took another bite, and looked at his kneeling disciple. "Until your Dao Field is built, you’ll stay here with me. I will personally oversee your cultivation until you reach Foundation Establishment."

"Yes!"

"Get up. Go outside and find your Junior Martial Brother Xuanling. I have an important guest arriving shortly. Go and greet them at the main gate for me."

Wang Ping glanced at the sky and calculated the time with a pinch of his fingers. It was already 7:45 AM. Hu Yin and her people would be arriving for their visit soon.

After Xia Wen Yi left, Yu Lian devoured all the remaining fruit on the table in one gulp. "You were never this attentive with Xiaozhu," she remarked.

"Xiaozhu has her own way of thinking; excessive interference would only hinder her cultivation. Wen Yi is different. He and Xuanling are actually quite similar—both are blank slates. But Wen Yi’s surface has been coated with a layer of hypocrisy by the Xia Imperial Family’s education. If he isn’t carefully sculpted, he could easily go down the same old path as Xia Yao."

Wang Ping answered Yu Lian’s question earnestly.

Yu Lian flicked her tail, cast a cleaning spell to clear away the mess from the fruit, and said, "Are you afraid, too? Afraid of ascending to the Fourth Realm, like Zi Luan was?"

Hearing this, Wang Ping subconsciously opened his glowing status panel. He stared at it in silence for over ten breaths before speaking. "I have complete confidence in myself. But it’s good to pass on one’s legacy, isn’t it? To have something to be remembered by? Besides, if I am to walk the path of the Xiao Shan Lord in the future, I’ll need two trustworthy disciples."