Volume One: A Chance Meeting in Youth Chapter Sixty: The Motive Behind It (2)

Elder Yuan was a prominent figure within the sect, not accustomed to such insults. His face alternated between red and pale, clearly furious, yet the harsh words thrown at him made him feel humiliated, causing another flush of shame to creep across his cheeks.

“I say, Elder Huang, don’t think that just because we show you some respect, you can act like a big shot. If you don’t wish to speak, simply say so—there’s no need for such unpleasant words. Who’s forcing you?” Elder Yuan snapped bitterly.

After venting her anger, Elder Huang felt much relieved. She sneered, “Don’t think everyone here is a fool, unable to catch the meaning behind your words. You claim to have done nothing, but with a few casual remarks, you seek to isolate our Yingshan Sect, even inciting other sects to be wary of us. If you have so many schemes, you’d do better to focus on how to open the Heavenly Gate, or improve your own cultivation.”

“You—you—you…” Elder Yuan was so infuriated that he couldn’t utter a complete sentence. His breath caught, and he collapsed into a chair, gasping for air.

Now, an elder from Tianji Gate seized the opportunity to intervene, hastily smoothing things over, “Enough, enough, we’re here to discuss matters concerning the Heavenly Gate. Isn’t unity what we need? How can we quarrel among ourselves before even facing external threats?”

He then turned to comfort Elder Yuan, “Come now, Elder Yuan, since Elder Huang chooses not to speak, there must be some reason for her reticence. If it’s inconvenient now, we’ll wait patiently—why insist on knowing immediately?” As he spoke, he shot Elder Yuan a meaningful look, urging him to calm down and not jeopardize their greater purpose.

Seeing this, Elder Yuan understood that now was not the time for conflict and allowed himself to cool down.

Next, Elder Chen of Tianji Gate addressed Elder Huang of Yingshan Sect, “Elder Huang, please bear with us. You’re all respected figures; even if Elder Yuan’s words were harsh, it was for the sake of opening the Heavenly Gate. Besides, you’ve had your say, and the man himself was so provoked he’s collapsed in his chair. Let’s each take a step back and end the quarrel. It’s more urgent to discuss the matter at hand. Don’t you agree?”

Having vented her frustration, Elder Huang had no wish to pursue the quarrel with Elder Yuan of Luowang Peak. Though her temper was fierce, she understood priorities—otherwise, Yingshan Sect wouldn’t have appointed her to lead this expedition to Heavenly Gate Town.

Thus, the minor episode settled, and under Elder Chen’s calming influence, both sides lowered their flags, refraining from further confrontation.

Seeing everyone composed, Elder Chen continued, “The secrets of the Heavenly Gate have been shrouded by immortals tens of thousands of years ago. Moreover, this is a lawless land, making it impossible to divine anything about the Gate. As for the information we’ve gathered in Heavenly Gate Town, it pales in comparison to what Elder Huang and Elder Lian have shared. However, our sect’s ability to investigate the outside world is quite good. This time, not only have people from our continent arrived, but delegations from the other four continents as well. Though they lack power bases in Heavenly Gate Town, they’ve come aligned with Dacheng, and it’s clear some form of cooperation has been reached. This cooperation involves the Grand Preceptor.”

Elder Luo of Shengong Gate asked hesitantly, “Who exactly is Dacheng’s Grand Preceptor? Does anyone know?”

Indeed, the Grand Preceptor of Dacheng was an enigma—his origins a mystery, his cultivation shrouded, as if he appeared from nowhere. During the change of dynasties, his remarkable cunning won the trust of the late emperor, and he assisted the current monarch from his post as Grand Preceptor.

Originally, the Imperial Hall held absolute sway over the continent. But after the Grand Preceptor’s emergence, his faction began to suppress the Imperial Hall’s influence, resulting in the current tripartite balance—Imperial Hall, Confucian Order, and the Grand Preceptor’s faction.

All sects on the continent, under this balance of power, chose one side as their patron, establishing their place in the cultivation world.

For sects allied with the Imperial Hall or the Grand Preceptor’s faction, it was a matter of profit and loss. For the Confucian Order, however, it was the sacred ground for all scholars, with its true sanctum lying on another continent.

Though unspoken, most believed the Grand Preceptor originated from that Confucian continent.

There had been attempts to assassinate him, hoping to either eliminate him or uncover his origins. Yet, the would-be assassin vanished without a trace, and nothing was discovered.

No one present could answer Elder Luo’s question—not for lack of desire, but for lack of knowledge.

So, soon someone turned to another matter, “Elder Chen, do you know what kind of cooperation they’ve established?” Elder Gao of Huangquan Sect inquired.

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“We do not know. We’ve only discovered that a cooperation exists, but its exact nature remains elusive.”

Elder Yuan of Luowang Peak, now recovered, asked, “Even your Tianji Divination couldn’t uncover it?”

Apart from their prowess in arrays, Tianji Gate possessed a secret divination art known as Tianji Sight.

Legend held that Tianji Sight was an ancient art, capable of probing the origins and connections of any person, event, or object, tracing all related threads. Of course, uncovering every link was beyond most practitioners, but investigating someone’s recent history or origins was within reach.

Elder Chen’s expression turned grave. “It’s not that we’re unwilling, but his fate is shielded as well. We can find nothing.”

This was remarkable.

To shield someone’s fate, apart from using special artifacts, few could directly do so with magic. Such artifacts were rare and precious, often heirlooms passed down through generations, of immense value. Yet artifacts have their drawbacks—they can only conceal fate for so long, and when a cultivator’s power grows, they may sense the gaps.

But to shield fate with supernatural arts was far more elusive. If someone could achieve this, they could blend their fate with Heaven’s, making it impossible to detect any deficiencies. The truly mighty could even rewrite or alter fate.

Such feats belonged to ancient legends. Since the great war tens of thousands of years ago, with the Heavenly Gate shattered, many supernatural arts were lost, and transmission was broken.

“And he does not rely on artifacts to shield his fate,” Elder Chen added.

The shock among them was profound.

To shield fate with supernatural arts, regardless of cultivation, was already astonishing. The legendary Grand Preceptor’s origins were clearly extraordinary, possibly dating back tens of thousands of years. For the group, this was a major discovery—even if Tianji Gate failed to reveal any secrets about the Heavenly Gate, knowledge about the Grand Preceptor was already invaluable.

Only Elder Yuan of Luowang Peak and Elder Gao of Huangquan Sect had yet to speak.

The two exchanged glances, cursing silently. The value of shared information kept rising—if their own contributions were lacking, it would shame their sects.

Elder Yuan, eager to speak, caught Elder Gao’s eye and was given a sheepish smile, indicating he should go first.

Thus, Elder Yuan began, measured and deliberate, “Our sect has not uncovered anything greater than what you’ve shared. However, our ancestor warned us to be wary of one person—the Wanderer.”

Elder Luo of Shengong Gate asked, “Wary? Why?”

Elder Yuan replied, “No details were given. Our ancestor merely said: he has reached the peak of cultivation.”

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This revelation was even more astonishing.

The peak of cultivation did not mean merely a fourteenth realm powerhouse, but someone who had reached the threshold of the fifteenth realm—the ascendant, half a step from immortality.

For most, each step after entering the Dao was like crossing a chasm—every realm another hurdle.

To reach the fourteenth realm was already astounding; to cross into the fifteenth required talent and comprehension beyond compare.

Elder Huang of Yingshan Sect finally showed true interest. She asked gravely, “Are you serious? Is there really a fifteenth realm powerhouse here?”

Elder Yuan, initially inclined to ignore her, saw the others’ curious faces and responded coolly, “Yes. Our ancestor said this person’s power is unfathomable, capable of triggering a Dao resonance. Throughout history, only those in the fifteenth realm could do so. It means the Dao of this land can no longer contain him; even the slightest manifestation of his Dao causes the very laws of the continent to tremble.”

Thus, curiosity about the Wanderer’s identity grew. Elder Yuan shared the image passed down from his ancestor, and everyone studied it, each with their own thoughts. Only the faces of Huangquan Sect’s members turned ashen.

Sitting beside him, Elder Lian of Myriad Beasts Sect noticed his distress, asking, “Elder Gao, what’s wrong? Why do you look so troubled?”

Elder Gao hesitated, then spoke, “Originally this was a matter for our own sect, and our head and grand elder forbade us to speak of it. But I didn’t expect him to be here, so I must share what I know.”

Interest among the assembly grew keen.

Elder Gao then succinctly recounted the events in Huangquan Sect, and described the Wanderer’s actions, giving everyone a direct understanding. They now believed Elder Yuan’s claim that the Wanderer may possess fifteenth realm power.

It was known that a sect’s grand protective array embodied its full heritage—drawing on spiritual energy, arrays, and the presence of grand elders. For someone to effortlessly shatter it, without the use of any artifact, with a single palm strike that forced two grand elders to intervene, was extraordinary.

Such strength and directness—if he was not yet at the fifteenth realm, he was halfway there.

None voiced what they suspected about how Huangquan Sect had provoked him—it was obvious. No wonder they had sent so few people to Heavenly Gate Town this time, merely going through the motions.

Yet, curiosity about the Wanderer’s true identity arose.

As all eyes turned to Elder Gao, he thought of his sect’s precarious position and smiled bitterly. If they could not stand among the six great sects, they would soon be suppressed by the other five. He said, “We only know one thing—he is acquainted with someone from the Skyward Mirror.”

Shock rippled through them. The Skyward Mirror was an organization established by the Imperial Hall and the Grand Preceptor together, to deter evil and punish wrongdoing—essentially, a hidden blade for their interests.

Given the Wanderer’s cultivation, if he could connect with the Skyward Mirror, he must know either the Imperial Hall’s hierarch or the Grand Preceptor.

Such a formidable figure, linked to either the Grand Preceptor or Imperial Hall, raised the pressure on everyone. If he was indeed a fifteenth realm powerhouse and sought to seize the Heavenly Gate, then the Imperial Hall or Grand Preceptor would be the greatest beneficiaries, and before such absolute power, they would be helpless.