Chapter 30: Living Side by Side

“Haha, you flatter me, Great Magician. Please, come in, let’s sit and talk,” Dongbo Xueying laughed.

“Alright.”

Bai Yuanzhi did not dare to see Dongbo Xueying as merely a teenager. So young, yet already capable of slaying the Silver Moon Wolf King protected by a pack, he was widely acknowledged as the strongest expert in Yishui City! And in a few more years… he could very well step into the Named Rank, becoming a renowned figure in Qinghe County, whose every footstep could shake the entire land.

Moreover, it was said that this ‘Dongbo Xueying’ was utterly obsessed with the spear…

In many biographies of the Transcendent, there were those who were eccentric, obsessed with painting, forging weapons, or simply staring at the sky for days… only to awaken suddenly and break through to the Transcendent!

“To be so obsessed since childhood, and already this strong, he could very well reach the Named Rank in the future! Perhaps he’ll transcend at any moment!” Bai Yuanzhi murmured inwardly. Of course, it was just a fleeting thought—those obsessed individuals who sought to perceive the world, in the end, very few truly became Transcendent.

The two walked side by side.

After entering the living hall, they sat down. Zong Ling and Tong San were also present to accompany.

“Hearing the news from outside, I’m still in awe. You killed that notorious Gai Bin in just a few moves! You shattered the entire Cutlass Alliance. I, Bai Yuanzhi, have lived long, and although I’ve heard of young Lords from great families who are as talented as you, this is the first time I’ve seen one with my own eyes,” Bai Yuanzhi said with a smile.

“Great Magician, you didn’t come here today just to praise me, did you?” Dongbo Xueying asked.

He paid little attention to those prodigies from powerful families, cultivated with vast resources. He wasn’t proud or complacent either, because his goal had always been transcendence! Compared to the legendary Transcendents recorded in stories, he still considered himself ordinary.

“Hahaha, I indeed have a matter to ask of the Lord today,” Bai Yuanzhi said.

“Please speak, Great Magician. If I can help, I will naturally do my best,” Dongbo Xueying replied.

“It’s like this. My residence in Yishui City is often disturbed by nobles, and I am greatly troubled by them!” Bai Yuanzhi sighed. “Also, some other magicians have taken interest in my research, so I’m often troubled by petty thieves trying to steal my findings. Since I received the Silver Moon Heart from you, my research has finally achieved a major breakthrough! I fear many small troubles. Therefore, I plan to move, to leave Yishui City.”

“Leave Yishui City?” Dongbo Xueying was taken aback. “Great Magician, have you already chosen where you want to live?”

His younger brother, after all, was going to go out to seek a master.

“Haha, that’s exactly why I came to you, Lord! I want to choose a spot on your Xueshi Mountain and build a small pavilion to live in,” Bai Yuanzhi smiled. “Your place… is quiet, and located at the mountaintop. The mountain path is defensible by one against a thousand, with many barriers. Petty thieves would find it hard to enter. As for nobles? Those willing to travel hundreds of miles to come here will be far fewer.”

“But I feel a bit ashamed for troubling you, Lord,” Bai Yuanzhi added.

Dongbo Xueying exchanged a glance with Zong Ling beside him.

Both understood each other’s thoughts.

“Haha, I’d be more than happy! Having a Great Magician residing in Xueying Domain is a blessing for us,” Dongbo Xueying laughed. “There are many peaks on Xueshi Mountain, plenty of empty spots. Magician, you can choose any place you like.”

Bai Yuanzhi’s face lit up with joy. He knew he had a good chance, but still felt pleased that Dongbo Xueying had agreed: “Then I’ll be bold and choose another peak nearby.”

“A small matter. Great Magician, you can start construction anytime. If you need my help, just say the word,” Dongbo Xueying said.

“Building a small pavilion is easy enough. Among my disciples, there are some skilled in earth magic,” Bai Yuanzhi smiled.

Building castles, grand cities.

For ordinary men, carving and moving massive stones would be extremely difficult. But for those skilled in earth magic… with a powerful spell, the earth would split open, countless massive stones would gather and form, and the construction speed would be greatly accelerated. For instance, Dongbo Xueying’s ‘Xueshi Castle’ had originally been built by other magicians. His mother, although a Celestial-ranked magician, was not particularly skilled in earth magic.

…

Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling stood before the railing, gazing into the distance.

Their eyes passed over the castle walls and reached a peak several miles away, where a stone pavilion was rapidly taking shape under magical influence. The surrounding soil and rock transformed into neatly cut blocks, the stones flew into the air, and construction began… and on the walls, streams of waterlight and firelight appeared, making the walls smooth and seamless.

Great Magician Bai Yuanzhi was also carving some magical arrays into the ground and walls around the site.

“Xueying, will Bai Yuanzhi’s coming here bring us any trouble?” Zong Ling was somewhat worried.

“Don’t worry. Bai Yuanzhi has lived in Yishui City for many years and has never caused any major trouble. Coming here won’t be any different,” Dongbo Xueying smiled. “Even if there were trouble, it wouldn’t be too serious. If a Named Rank expert were to come looking for trouble, he wouldn’t come here in the first place. And as long as it’s not a Named Rank opponent, there’s nothing to worry about!”

Zong Ling nodded.

At this moment, Dongbo Xueying was in an excellent mood because with a Great Magician residing here, Qing Shi could learn magic without leaving.

…

Xueshi Mountain had many peaks.

The main peak was Xueshi Castle. A few miles away stood the Magician’s Tower. On another peak, five miles from the Magician’s Tower and three miles from the castle, a secluded peak of Xueshi Mountain had a new bamboo pavilion built!

The bamboo pavilion was personally constructed by Dongbo Xueying. As a master with perfect control over strength, he built it quite beautifully.

“From today on, I will mostly reside in the bamboo pavilion at the back mountain,” Dongbo Xueying told Zong Ling, Tong San, and Qing Shi beside him. “I’ll leave the domain affairs to you, Uncle Zong. If anything important really requires my presence, come find me.”

“Alright,” Zong Ling nodded.

“Brother, you’re going to live in the bamboo pavilion from now on. Won’t that be too boring?” Qing Shi couldn’t help but ask.

“Haha… not at all boring,” Dongbo Xueying laughed. This had been his idea since reaching the level of a spearplay master.

After reaching a high level in spearplay, with clarity and insight, his perception of the natural world had become increasingly acute.

The growth of grass, the weight of the earth and stone, the agility of the wind, the fluttering of leaves… everything fascinated him. He had never realized in all these years that the natural world was so beautiful! For him, living in a secluded bamboo pavilion was actually a pleasure.

Cultivating the spearplay…

There were different paths.

Some warriors had rather modest foundations. They honed their skills in life-and-death situations, discovering many flaws in their spearplay, gradually improving and perfecting it until reaching the unity of man and spear, and eventually becoming a spearplay master. In the end, they still had to walk the path of taking ‘nature and the heavens as their teacher.’

Dongbo Xueying was different.

He didn’t particularly like pushing himself to the edge of life and death. Instead, he practiced in ordinary circumstances, constantly refining his skills, discovering his weaknesses, and improving them. This incredibly solid foundation was only possible through an extraordinary level of obsessive cultivation. This made his foundation in spearplay extremely solid, naturally leading him to the unity of man and spear. A slight life-and-death pressure during the battle with the Shadow Leopard was enough for him to reach the level of a spearplay master.

In fact, even without that life-and-death pressure, he would have naturally broken through in another year or two.

Dongbo Xueying preferred this gradual buildup rather than repeatedly risking his life.

“Brother, can I come visit you often?” Qing Shi asked eagerly.

“Haha, anytime is fine. I might even come looking for you when I’m free,” Dongbo Xueying teased with a smile.

Zong Ling looked at Dongbo Xueying, dressed in black, and sighed inwardly.

Taking nature and the heavens as a teacher?

Easier said than done. Without reaching the required level, one couldn’t even begin to grasp it.

…

From then on, Dongbo Xueying began living in the secluded bamboo pavilion at the back mountain of Xueshi Mountain, starting his life of fetching water, splitting firewood, cooking meals, drinking from mountain springs, sitting cross-legged in quiet contemplation by the springs, and practicing spearplay in the bamboo grove.