Chapter 4: Fainting from a Realm Breakthrough
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
In the central hall of the County Magistrate’s Hall, a graceful woman held a teapot with practiced elegance, carefully pouring two cups of aromatic Mingqian Tea. Unlike a brand name, Mingqian Tea referred to tea leaves harvested before the Qingming Festival. Known for its vibrant color, subtle fragrance, rich flavor, and beautiful shape, this tea was highly prized.
However, Yuyang County did not produce tea. A cup like this was undoubtedly expensive, a silent testament to the saying: “A year as a county magistrate yields ten thousand taels of snow-white silver.” Under the prevailing tax system, such extravagance was to be expected.
“Instructor Cao, Senior Sister Pei, please enjoy the tea,” Fang Ruo Yao said, bowing with decorum.
Cao Jin Song, an instructor from the Heavenly Script Academy, picked up his cup and took a measured sip, his eyes narrowing in satisfaction as a sense of clarity washed over him. Beside him, Pei Ru Yi, the chief disciple of the Outer Court, seemed uninterested in the tea. She swirled her cup before speaking.
“We leave for Shengjing tomorrow. Have you packed your things?”
Fang Ruo Yao nodded immediately. “Senior Sister, everything is ready.”
Stroking his beard, Cao Jin Song added, “After entering the academy, you must diligently cultivate and not squander your time. Remember, simply being admitted to the Heavenly Script Academy does not mean you’ve entered the Immortal Path. True immortality…”
“True immortality?” Fang Ruo Yao asked, curious.
“No, it’s nothing.” Cao Jin Song chuckled, choosing to leave the topic unfinished.
In the Azure Clouds Dominion, seven great sects upheld the Three–Five Realm Qi Cultivation Technique, a method passed down from the Primordial Era’s Heavenly Dao. The technique divided cultivation into the Lower Three Stages, Upper Five Stages, and Immortal Ascension Stage. Ultimately, cultivators sought the day they could laugh triumphantly and ascend to the heavens.
To those on the Immortal Path, the first three stages were merely foundational, honing the internal realm and laying the groundwork for true cultivation. Only upon reaching Essence Refinement Stage, where internal spiritual essence condensed, could one claim to have taken their first steps on the path, achieving what was known as the completion of the Lower Three Stages.
Fang Ruo Yao’s aptitude was not exceptional, and Cao Jin Song did not wish to burden her prematurely, fearing it might harm her Dao Heart. In truth, the Heavenly Script Academy’s standards had declined over the years. Though they primarily selected descendants of immortal sects or esteemed families, this year only two disciples under twenty had completed the Lower Three Stages.
When the Seven Great Sects jointly established the Azure Clouds Immortal Edicts, they included a provision allowing anyone under twenty who completed the Lower Three Stages to join the Immortal Registry without question. Yet, such prodigies had become exceedingly rare.
Fang Ruo Yao gave Cao Jin Song a half-understanding look when a servant hurried into the courtyard.
“Miss, Young Master Kuang is here to bid you farewell.”
After some thought, Fang Ruo Yao replied, “I am preparing tea for the immortals. Please ask Young Master Kuang to come another day.”
Pei Ru Yi waved dismissively. “The journey ahead is long and arduous. Since he has come specially to say goodbye, you should see him.”
“Then… I will go greet him,” Fang Ruo Yao said hesitantly, leaving the hall.
As soon as she left, Pei Ru Yi took up the teapot to refill Cao Jin Song’s cup. However, just as she tilted the spout, a sudden burst of radiance surged from the north, piercing through the evening sky and merging with the twilight glow. The fiery clouds stretching thousands of miles across the horizon were abruptly cleaved, leaving a ten-mile scar as if an immortal had drawn their sword.
Before anyone could react, the radiance swiftly withdrew, vanishing into the clouds as though it had never appeared. Moments later, only two empty cups remained in the hall. The white-robed celestial from the Heavenly Script Academy had already drawn his sword and left the hall with a grave expression, heading straight for Archway Street in Yuyang County.
The remote and impoverished Yuyang County had no immortal sects. The nearest cultivation site, Immortal Worship Mountain Manor, was thirty leagues west, far too distant for its Dao resonance to pierce the heavens. This left only one possibility—a rogue cultivator.
Somewhere in Yuyang County, someone had just broken through to the Essence Refinement Stage.
The pair arrived at Archway Street to find its residents moving hastily but with dazed expressions. The aura that had briefly filled the air was long gone.
“Instructor, the trace is gone,” Pei Ru Yi reported.
“Yes, it has vanished,” Cao Jin Song murmured. His gaze briefly lingered on the Ji Clan’s ancestral plaque, a flicker of shock crossing his eyes before he concealed it. Yuyang County was small, and news traveled fast. Immortals, with their keen senses, could discern truths ordinary folk could not.
He knew of the Qiu family’s gifted daughter and the Ji family’s young master, still under twenty…
Pei Ru Yi noticed Cao Jin Song’s gaze and frowned at the Ji residence. “Could the rogue cultivator be hiding inside?”
“No, even without looking, I know that is impossible.”
“?”
Without further explanation, Cao Jin Song turned and left, though his hand trembled slightly within his sleeve.
Fang Ruo Yao’s fiancé was despised throughout the county, reputed to be a coward… yet under twenty, under twenty, under twenty!
Pei Ru Yi followed behind, marveling at the instructor’s vigor. [Even his footsteps quivered as though from cultivation.]
Meanwhile, just a short distance and two courtyards away, Ji You sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut, sweat beading on his forehead and falling to the ground in shattered droplets. Moments later, he opened his eyes, glancing at the twilight outside the window, only to realize that thirteen hours had passed.
[Almost fainted from the breakthrough…]
As expected, youth fades swiftly, and mastery of the Dao is elusive. Time, even a mere inch, should never be squandered. He had always practiced with diligence, toiling for no less than two full hours each night before retiring. Yet, despite his unyielding effort, the gap remained insurmountable.
Meanwhile, Fang Ruo Yao and Kuang Cheng met in the side hall. However, Kuang Cheng’s visit was not to bid farewell but to discuss the matter of the Qiu Clan’s young daughter. Disappointed in Ji You, yet unwilling to witness the atrocity of human life being used in alchemy, Kuang Cheng took it upon himself to act.
Fang Ruo Yao had anticipated his purpose; after all, she had already said her farewells to everyone days ago. Such a superfluous gesture now could only provoke suspicion.
Sure enough, Kuang Cheng’s introduction of his map of Great Xia was succinct, while Fang Ruo Yao’s refusal was equally resolute.
“Indeed, the Heavenly Script Academy is the sacred sect of the Great Xia, yet the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace is also one of the great immortal sects. Though they’ve clashed in the shadows for years, outwardly, they’ve maintained harmony, their waters never crossing.
“What you’ve read is correct—Heavenly Script Academy does bear the responsibility to protect its disciples and their kin. However, I have no connection to the Qiu Clan. If I were to intervene, wouldn’t it be seen as meddling in another sect’s affairs?”
“Moreover, I’ve yet to officially join the academy. My position is insignificant. How could I dare trouble the immortals?”
“Master Kuang, I depart tomorrow. Your presence to bid me farewell is appreciated, and it is only for this reason that I agreed to see you. However, I have no wish to create further complications. This matter is truly beyond my ability.”
Fang Ruo Yao, now a disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy, had yet to learn the immortal techniques. Even so, she carried an air of transcendence, no longer the delicate maiden she once was, but akin to a proud swan. To become a cultivator was to ensure a life of dignity.
Kuang Cheng paused before speaking, his tone carrying a hint of reproach. “Even if it’s the life of a five-year-old girl, it’s not worth a try, Miss Fang?”
“In this world, who can truly save whom?”
“It is precisely because of this world that we must save others!”
“Master Kuang, do you not understand that we cultivators must have an untainted heart, or else how can we follow the Dao?”
Startled by her words, Kuang Cheng’s expression grew solemn. “Forgive me for the disturbance. I shall take my leave.”
As he turned to leave, Fang Ruo Yao, after some contemplation, called out once more. “You sought out Ji You, but he dared not come, so you came in person?”
“Indeed.”
“The Qiu Clan was a great benefactor to him, yet he can feign ignorance?”
“What, then, do you wish to say, Miss Fang?”
“When the Ji Clan fell into ruin, I seized the chance to annul our engagement. I endured much criticism—some said I struck while he was down; others said I lacked virtue. Now it’s clear how baseless those accusations were. How could such an ungrateful man have been a worthy match for me?”
Kuang Cheng said nothing, merely waving his sleeve as he departed the Fang Manor.
He couldn’t entirely agree with Fang Ruo Yao. An engagement was one matter, and character another. Just as merits cannot erase faults, neither could they be equated. If Fang Ruo Yao truly did not favor Ji You, she could have chosen a more dignified way to break the engagement, sparing both sides from humiliation.
Yet she had opted to strike while Ji You was still bedridden, forcing an annulment. Her character was hardly impeccable either.
But now, Kuang Cheng found himself unable to argue, for Young Master Ji hadn’t dared step beyond his threshold even now. Disgusted by Fang Ruo Yao’s conduct and disdainful of Ji You’s cowardice, Kuang Cheng resolved to help neither.
After watching the scholar’s figure disappear into the distance, Fang Ruo Yao stood in the center of the hall, her expression cold. She would not save the Qiu Clan’s daughter, even if she could.
Soon, she would ascend to the ranks of the immortals, and she desired no ties to past acquaintances or events. If she begged her instructors and senior sisters now, word might spread of her past engagement with a mere rural commoner. How could she hold her head high before her Daoist companions then?
Pouring her tea into the flowerbed, Fang Ruo Yao rose and walked toward the main hall. Yet, there were no immortals in sight—only her father, Fang Zhong Zheng, returning from outside.
“Father, have the carriages for the journey to the capital been prepared?”
“They’ve been ready for some time. However… the Celestial Master of the Heavenly Script Academy has just returned and announced plans to meet guests from the Immortal Worship Mountain Manor tomorrow morning.”
Fang Ruo Yao pursed her lips. “Didn’t they send their invitation days ago? Didn’t Instructor Cao say they wouldn’t meet?”
Fang Zhong Zheng seemed equally puzzled. “Indeed, I’m not sure why he suddenly changed his mind today.”
“But I’ve already informed my old acquaintances to come see me off. Won’t this delay the journey?”
“No matter. Arrange some tea tables along the corridor. Let your old friends witness the majesty of the immortals themselves—it could only add to the occasion!” Fang Zhong Zheng chuckled heartily.