Sweat drenched Sai's clothes as he continued translating the divine-like mantra. Energy from the seven origins; earth, wind, fire, water, sun, moon, and the stars began to stir inside of his immature dantian. Soon, a small maelstrom was formed and absorbed the overflowing forces within two meters of Sai, enriching his meridians and bringing him closer to the road of cultivation. This power, however, did not come without a price.

Sai felt as if a thousand needles were stabbing into him as the substantial energy coursed through his veins. He was not yet eighteen, so his dantian was not fully formed as a result, causing the stinging pain. Sai immediately paused his cultivation and gritted his teeth, stopping the vortex inside of his abdomen and releasing the strain on his meridians. He had completely forgotten about the age requirement and ignorantly began to start cultivating ahead of time.

He heaved a deep sigh and stood up from his chair. 'Thankfully, I stopped the energy flow before it caused irreversible damage to my future cultivation prowess' he thought to himself while walking out of the cafeteria.

As Sai exited, a sudden realization dawned upon him — he had absolutely no idea where his temporary room was located. Guan Hei had only led him into both the infirmary and cafeteria, both of which were when he was basically unconscious. When he glanced left and right, only the long and unrecognizable corridors could be seen. Mounted torches layered the sides of the walls, illuminating the vacant halls and large assortment of wooden doors. Each room was listed with its corresponding number, ranging from “1” to “200” on this specific floor of the Gao Protectorate.

Sai grumbled out a string of curses directed toward Guan Hei as he hesitantly walked down the right corridor, where the spiritual energy was significantly weaker. After feeling the initial stages of origin energy earlier, he could now vaguely sense it in the nearby atmosphere. It was deep into the night and Sai was not foolish enough to rely on Guan Hei to return and pick him up; he was clearly unreliable. As for sleeping in the cafeteria, the creepy girl who cooked his food seemed to control that domain.

Thus, he decided to use his influence as War Sage Song’s grandson to its fullest extent and bunk-up with a random soldier. He continued walking until he landed in front of a rather dainty door with the number “8” engraved into it. Unlike the other doors, this one didn’t have a lock, nor did it appear to be of much importance.

Sai hesitated for a moment, his thin lips forming a wry smile. He knew that it was incomparably rude to interrupt someone’s sleep, especially in the Central Plains. But, he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. He delicately pushed open the door and strode inside, the smell of fragrant tea assaulting his nose.

“This is…” Sai mumbled, unable to believe his eyes.

Almost every single possible scenario, good and bad, had run through his head before he decided to enter the room. Yet, the scene in front of him betrayed all of those expectations, rendering him flabbergasted and confused. Instead of the sleeping soldiers of which he assumed to be present, laid a small table with five or so young women sitting around. They adorned their undergarments, some more revealing than others.

All of them were frozen in place as they observed Sai, who had just waltzed into their room. Their cups of tea were paused in mid-air, a few inches away from their supple lips. Steam rose up from the cups and broke Rui Xiu out of her daze, causing her to furrow her brows and stand up from her chair in a fit of rage. Perverts were heavily disdained upon in the Central Plains, especially if the perpetrator was a scion of high status!

Her lips trembled as she was about to rebuke Sai, but her trail of words was cut off by the sound of him clearing his throat. “Before you reach any rash conclusions,” he started with a solemn expression, “Wang Fuu had ordered me to come and check up on you ladies; to make sure that the refreshments were up to standard, of course.”

The tense atmosphere eased up a little bit, but the young girls remained a little unconvinced. “Why would he send you so late into the night, and why did you not first knock on the door?” one of the dames to the right, asked. She possessed vermillion red hair and very sharp facial features.

It only took Sai a slight moment to bubble up an excuse, “Wang Fuu is both a prestigious and ruthless general,” he explained, “what would his enemies think if it became known that he was worried about a few young women? He would become a laughing stock!”

The red-haired lass nodded in understanding, as did the other gals, except Rui. She scrutinized Sai with a suspicious glare, “if Wang Fuu was so worried about his image, then why would he send you, an unruly scion as his messenger?” she paused, “besides, I highly doubt that the man who looks down upon me and the other women would be so worried about our refreshments.”

Sai flicked his hair back and replied with an eloquent tongue, “Wang Fuu does not look down upon women, he simply believes them to be fragile. You see, it is due to the fact that he wishes to protect you, that he has sent me to make sure all of your refreshments are to your liking.”

The corner of his lips curled upward as he continued, “as for why he has asked me, a supposed unruly scion, that is rather simple. I am the grandson of War Sage Song, the man known for his integrity and trustworthy nature. Surely, you have heard of the saying — the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree?”

With this being said, even Rui found it hard to find any holes in his story. The worst part was that she could not even ask Wang Fuu if what he said was true. She could only close her eyes and let this matter go, shooing Sai out of the room.

None of them actually fretted about being seen in their undergarments, it was the principle that they mainly cared about. After all, they were aspiring warriors, not those little girls who relied on their father’s influence. They saw Sai out and continued conversing around the table, forgetting about the matter entirely. Since it was an order from Wang Fuu, none of them deliberated about it much more.

After Sai was “gently” thrown out of the room, he massaged his forehead and sighed. “How unforeseen,” he whispered to himself and made his way onto the next room. Whether it was his trainer, Guan Hei, or his other mishaps, he couldn’t help but feel that his luck was at an all-time low. Even if his silver tongue could wiggle him out of the most perilous of situations, it would not work forever.

In fact, forging orders from a direct superior could land Sai into a lot of trouble, but he covered most of his bases. Even if they assumed him to be lying, on the slight chance that he was telling the truth, it was not worth it to look into it. Lest they want to offend Wang Fuu, who is known for disciplining his soldiers a little bit harsher than normal

Due to this, Sai became a tad bit more vigilant. He decided to knock on the next average-looking door, instead of making another mess.

He could hear the shuffling from behind the door as the man or woman got out of bed and rushed to the door. Soon, a silver-haired young man popped out of the room with his messy hair and sleepwear on.

The refinement he had shown at the training grounds, prior, had utterly disappeared, replaced by a groggy and exhausted man. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and inspected Sai, a hint of surprise flashing within his eyes. “Do you need something?” he asked, after a moment of contemplation.

His voice was surprisingly sharp and deep, causing Sai to squint his eyes. The more he scrutinized the silver-haired youth, the more he felt as though he were a foreigner. These people were often referred to as Hu. Although such a thing was not unheard of, particularly in the Central Plains, being sent to the Gao Protectorate was a huge privilege that few nobles were capable of possessing. Let alone a Hu, even a Han would find it rather difficult.

Even though Sai was thinking about hundreds of different issues, none of it showed on his placid expression. Instead, he smiled and bowed toward the man. "I was not assigned to any particular room, so I was wondering if I could sleep here for the night."

The white-haired youth hesitated but relented after some thought. "Please call me Liu, " he said while stretching his hand out, attempting to greet Sai as a friend.

Sai, of course, accepted the handshake and strolled into the room. He was in dire need of a place to sleep and recollect his thoughts.

The room was simple, with a few dressers and only one bed. A bathroom was placed to the right and a small table was set next to the door. Unlike the girl's room, there were no clothes, tea, nor food left out to enjoy. Only a strong smell of sweat lingered about.

Arguably, Sai was a source of the odor, but he didn't pay it much mind. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Liu, he laid on the floor and organized his thoughts.

He would be turning eighteen in one month from now, signaling the beginning of his cultivation path. Which also meant that he should focus on something a little noteworthy in the meantime.

Though, It didn't even take him more than a few winks to conclude what he should be practicing.

The sword!

Even though his current mantra and "inheritance" was a complete mystery to him, he understood one thing. His body felt afresh and free when he swung a sword… almost like it was his calling. Sai could similarly feel his skill with the blade grow as he practiced, further proving his theory.

Sai's main ideal in life had always been to shed his ignorance. Whether it was studying, or reading, he believed himself to have always been walking on that very path. But now, with the emergence of an incredible mantra, and the countless cultivators surrounding him, he understood that he had been a frog at the bottom of a well. He would never learn the intricacies of the world if he did not gain the power to do so.

Slowly, a new ambition was formed, replacing the lazy ambitions Sai once held in high regard. He began to desire more and more power; strength that could split the heavens and tremble mountains.

He couldn't help but smile as he thought of this, slowly drifting off to sleep.