When Pei Zi Yun first met Wei Ang, they had not the slightest trace of conflict between them. In fact, they both understood each other on a deep level, knowing that each of them were talented in one way. Wei Ang bore the demeanor of a rich, young man in the olden days. After they became familiar with each other, their friends.h.i.+p blossomed. Soon after however, Pei Zi Yun had contributed greatly to the policy which exterminated the pirates. Since then there were cracks in their friends.h.i.+p due to the different parties they supported. And finally, he plotted with King Lu to kill Pei Zi Yun off.

Fortunately Pei Zi Yun sensed that something was not quite right, and made preparations in advance. If not, he would be the casualty instead.

As he had these thoughts in his mind, he could feel a sudden onset of dizziness, as though he had been hit hard on the head and lost his orientation. When he touched his head, he noticed that he was bleeding.

Pei Zi Yun then started coughing loudly, where more blood came out of his mouth and nose, and a sharp pain ricochet across his chest.

'So it seems like even using external forces, a Daoist would experience backlash for killing officials? However, it’s much lighter than if I had killed him directly with my sword.' Pei Zi Yun thought as he heard someone shouting down below.

"Run, hurry run away, there’s a monster. A bird monster has come to devour us. Run, hurry and run away!" People were screaming frantically down below and were running as they shouted.

Pei Zi Yun looked down and saw a group of wood cutter held onto a flaming torch as they ran into the forest, clearly terrified of the huge flying bird monster above them.

Pei Zi Yun forced a laugh. The wings that he’d used to glide down were actually the same methods deployed by parachute gliders. He actually could not fly, and was instead gliding down at a relatively slow speed.

Pei Zi Yun then took out a handkerchief from his robes and wiped his face. The entire piece of cloth was red with blood. He could understand how he’d look to the woodcutters, with his face full of blood.

When he turned around to look, he could see still see the ravaged temple on the peak of the mountain. He could faintly see people gathering atop that mountain. He then felt more blood dripping out from his nostrils, which he wiped away with the piece of cloth and forced a laugh. "A normal warrior would only face pursuit from men without any side-effect after killing people. But even when I don’t use Dao arts to kill people, I still face a backlash. That’s the suffering of a Daoist."

Pei Zi Yun broke out into a cold laughter. It seemed like he had killed someone prominent, and thus, was facing a backlash right now.

"The eunuch present was of the fifth rank, or was it the sixth rank?"

When he had finished laughing, he realized that he was approaching the ground. He thus retrieved the large cloth he had used for wings and landed. He used the cloth to wipe all the blood on his body before walking to a nearby creek. Pei Zi Yun washed his face in the creek, and took out a makeup kit, where he started disguising himself.

He started drawing thicker eyebrows, and added contours to his nose, making them appear sharper. He darkened his eyes and made his skin paler. Pei Zi Yun then added several strands of beard, and he looked like a completely different person.

Not far from the mountains was a city, with a huge restaurant with two stories. Icicles that were a meter or two hung from beneath the roof. The door was closed, and many people were huddled together, having their meals and consuming wine.

Pei Zi Yun glanced around the restaurant before deciding to head up. He selected a table next to the window of the second floor before sitting down. A waiter stepped forward to serve him.

"Get me a jug of osmanthus wine, a plate of pig’s ears and a plate of sliced beef." Pei Zi Yun instructed.

"Please wait, young master." These were cold dishes and could be prepared very quickly. Before long, the waiter served the dishes and placed them on the table in front of Pei Zi Yun.

Pei Zi Yun obtained a pill from the folds of his robes and placed them into his wine cup. Once the pill touched the surface of the wine, it started dissolving rapidly. Pei Zi Yun drank the entire cup in one gulp and looked out of the window, where his gaze lingered on the street. He was deep in thought, 'I thought that the pill I refined wouldn’t be of much use, but I just remembered that it was extremely effective in healing injuries.'

Just as he was thinking, he could hear several footsteps ascending the wooden steps. Pei Zi Yun turned around to see a man with a calm and clear expression on his face on the second floor as well.

When the waiter approached him to welcome him, he waved his hands, "There’s no need, I’m looking for someone."

He cast his glance around the room, before his vision finally rested on Pei Zi Yun. Seeing that the man was staring right at him, Pei Zi Yun’s hands moved to his side and touched the hilt of his sword. The man seemed to be unperturbed by this and continued walking to Pei Zi Yun, where he eventually sat down at the same table. He then turned to the waiter, "Waiter, fetch me a cup and a pair of chopsticks."

"Will do, please wait a moment." The waiter responded.

Just as the waiter turned around to leave, the man whispered softly, "Master Top Scorer, that was extremely brilliant and capable of you to dispatch the entire group of men. King Lu and Hou Mansion. They sent a hundred men after you, thinking that you wouldn’t stand a chance against you, and yet you managed to blow them up. Thirteen men were killed, twenty six men severely wounded. And that’s not all, you killed a very senior advisor to King Lu. This person was a well learned man, and was one of the five eunuchs given to King Lu by the Emperor himself. He was of the sixth rank!"

"You’ve even taken out an eye from the third master of Hou Mansion. His entire face is disfigured, and he’s in a state of coma. Now the entire Hou Mansion, and the entire city is in chaos."

Pei Zi Yun looked up at this man before him, "How did you find me?"

"Guests, your bowls and chopsticks are here." The waiter then placed his utensils on the table, in front of him.

The man picked up his chopsticks and had some pigs ear, sampling it noisily. "Master Top Scorer, although you’ve disguised your features, your clothings are still the same. Your build, stature and longsword gave you away. Finding you wasn’t difficult."

The man spoke very matter of factly.

"Which family do you represent?" Pei Zi Yun eyed him coldly before speaking, not trusting this man from the start. To be able to track him down so easily, he incurred Pei Zi Yun’s suspicions.

"Young master, if I were an enemy, I would report your whereabouts immediately so that they can attack you. Why would I bother striking a conversation with you at all?" The man looked at Pei Zi Yun before whispering, "I come on behalf of the Crown Prince. I’m an official in charge of a hundred houses."

"The Royal Concubine sends her regards. That year, you saved her life and allowed her to bear the child of the Crown Prince. The Royal Concubine said that whatever problems you might face, we will do our best to help you out."

"This official arrived too late, as I didn’t expect King Lu to be this vicious."

"If you didn’t expect this of him, I have to tell you I do not believe you." Pei Zi Yun glared at the official and replied.

The official sighed before placing his chopsticks down, "There are many things that even the Imperial Concubine is powerless against. She just wishes to repay her debt towards you."

Hearing these words, Pei Zi Yun didn’t reply. He retrieved the wine jug and refilled his cup before draining it in a single gulp. Instantly, some color returned to his cheeks.

Seeing Pei Zi Yun this way, the official sighed once again and drained his own cup. "Master Top Scorer, whatever request you have, please tell me and I shall make the necessary arrangements."

Pei Zi Yun held onto his cup and mumbled to himself for some time before speaking, "As for my request, it’s not a big matter. I just wish that my mother and Snail Village would not implicated by my actions. As for me, I wish to roam the earth freely, and do as I please."

When the official heard this, a glimmer of admiration could be seen on his eyes, but was erased immediately as his face reverted to its normal gaze. "Master Top Scorer is indeed one of the wisest and smartest man around. This request is not a big one, and can be arranged easily. I shall ensure that it’s met and that your relatives shall not be implicated by this matter."

Pei Zi Yun held onto his wine cup, his expression turned to one of fear, as his face turned pale. If he was really a seventeen year old youth, regardless of how wise and intelligent he was, he would still be limited by his lack of experience. Did he expect the Crown Prince to show up and intervene in this matter, just because he was a talented individual? Was he thinking to himself, that if n.o.body helped him, he wouldn’t be able to help the Crown Prince?

It was clear that Pei Zi Yun understood deep down, that he was leveraging on his talents to get help from the Crown Prince.

A Top Scorer, a reputable poet, a Yin Master Daoist. Doesn’t that show the talent he possessed?

Whether the Crown Prince would intervene would determine on the severity of the situation. And such a position, where the Crown Prince was directly involved, and King Lu was involved, made in extremely difficult.

Afterall, the Crown Prince’s main priority was to ascend to the throne smoothly without incidents. Additionally, there were many circ.u.mstances where a person should only observe from afar and not meddle in. For doing so would result in dire consequences. That was how the principle of fate worked.

From the perspective of the official, the Crown Prince was a wise man. Now that the situation was such that it was a wolf fighting with a tiger, it was so crucial that he would have no choice but to enter the fray.

'Ai, this is the olden days afterall. Even if the Emperor seemed to admire my talents and capabilities, I am of too low a status to actually matter to him. Even if I were to die, he wouldn’t be the least affected. In order to get a clearer understanding of both his possible successors, the Crown Prince and King Lu, he would be ready to sacrifice a hundred Pei Zi Yuns, and be more than glad to pay that price to learn more about them.'

'And the Crown Prince isn’t much different. Every action and move is under close scrutiny by the rest of the world. Even if I helped him out, I am too lowly for him to care and to act on my behalf. Frankly speaking, for the Crown Prince to send an official to watch out for me is quite a rare gesture.'

'That's the way it was in the olden days. At this point, he’s doing all this to look good and appreciative.'

"Waiter, get me the bill." Pei Zi Yun thought thoroughly before taking a silver tael and placing it on the table. He then turned around to leave.

"Young master, please be careful in your travels. Should you need any help, I shall be there to offer it to you." The official rose, and his expression was masked.

"I got it!" Pei Zi Yun ran down the flight of stairs.

'King Lu, the Crown Prince!' Pei Zi Yun’s eyes glimmered in excitement. They were both counting their eggs before they were even hatched. He glanced back at this restaurant and exhaled soundlessly. Feelings of fear, anxiousness and resentment welled up within his heart.

'King Lu, since you’ve forced me into a corner, I have no choice. You and Xie Cheng Dong are on the same side, and I cannot avoid dealing with my enemies. It’s just that I didn’t expect to pit myself against you so soon. Original owner, you’ve really done me in.'

'Since that’s the way it has to be, Xie Cheng Dong and the rest of your henchmen will be killed off cleanly be me. At least I have a certain direction to take!'

Just as he was deep in thought, an information interface showed up before him, depicting a new mission.

"Mission : Clear out Xie Cheng Dong’s men in Ying, Yong and Liang Prefectures."

Pei Zi Yun looked at it once and wanted to turn it off, when he saw a message being received, and he was forced to take a second look. A look of frustration appeared on his face as his cheeks turned rigid, 'Original owner, I’m going to kill you.'

"When the mission is completed, you will be able to manipulate your Divine Powers."

The amount of spiritual energy in this world is extremely little. The ten steps of cultivation in the full circle foundation were steps to transform the natural energy within the human body to spiritual energy. Apart from this transformed energy, which was very minimal, there was no other way to produce spiritual energy. Only Paradise contains it.

Since spiritual energy existed in small quant.i.ties, a Daoist would not be able to become an Earth Immortal without gaining entry into Paradise. However, it now seemed like the Plum Blossom was able to manipulate energies, and a.s.sist in the transformation of spiritual energy. This was clearly against the nature and laws of this world.

It’s no wonder the original owner managed to become a Rogue Cultivator and progressed so rapidly after five years, and was able to break through the gates of heaven after a short while. It’s no wonder Xie Cheng Dong made the impossible possible where he transformed his mortal body into the flesh of the saint, and became the first person to ever accomplish this in the spiritual realm.

'That’s really touching, to offer something like that to me. But it also makes me really angry. Original owner, did you antic.i.p.ate that such a day would come, and intentionally hid from me all these vital information and capabilities, so that I would fall into such a situation? All of these just to ensure that I would take revenge on Xie Cheng Dong on your behalf?'

Pei Zi Yun mumbled to himself, and discussed the information in his head. Had he known all these information earlier, would he still be caught in such a sticky situation? He would have avoided all of this and planned an entire route which didn’t implicate him to such an extent, and he would’ve done everything differently. But it was too late now.

The only way out now was to defeat and destroy Xie Cheng Dong and King Lu.

'Original owner, you really planned this out very well. It must’ve been all that time you spent in captivity, where you could think up such a plan.'

People walked past him casually, as the sky started to fall in the form of snow, causing the temperature around to drop drastically.

Hou Mansion

More than twenty bodies were lying around, their limbs were destroyed and they piled up together.

"Master Hou, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d went absolutely crazy. He managed to plant explosives in the mountain, and even added poisonous metal fragments into the explosives, causing severe damage to our troops. Thirteen people died on the spot, and more than ten others died subsequently. Young master… Young master led people to the mountain and now…."

"Take me to him now." Ji Bei Hou spoke coldly.

The butler led the way into the room. The minute they walked in, Wei Ang could be seen, his entire body covered in bandages. The skin on his face was ripped off, where medication had been applied. An entire eye was removed, and he was still unconscious.

Seeing Wei Ang in such a state, Ji Bei Hou looked down and whispered, "My son, Wei Ang, little Ang..."

He kept repeating himself, calling out to his beloved son. He had three sons, and Wei Ang was the most free spirited out of them. Although he often berated Wei Ang for being naively innocent, Ji Bei Hou favored and loved him the most. And now he was laying down in such a state. He whipped out a knife and slashed it down on the table, where it broke into half. He shouted out angrily, "Pei Zi Yun, you ran away very quickly. Hm, gather my troops now. I shall kill off your entire family, and burn your household. I shall kill your entire family, and see if you dare to deal with me."