Wu Jian only spent two days touring Shēnyuān. While there was a lot to see, he didn’t much feel like spending it all visiting food stalls, restaurants, and brothels like his companion.

He spent the remaining three days before the auction cultivating inside of the inn. He didn’t have any alchemy pills, so there was a limit to his cultivation, but he did not stop. Even now, he was gathering the world’s yin and yang, which swirled around him like an invisible whirlpool. It entered through his acupoints, mixed together inside his dantian, then spread through his meridians, strengthening his body and cultivation.

And while he cultivated, he also contemplated the mysteries of the Nine Heavens Spatial Severing Cultivating Method.

I am one with the universe.

Everything exists within the universe.

If everything exists within the universe, then I exist within everything.

For I am the universe.

And the universe is me.

The first verse of this cultivation method was already so profound he didn’t think he would ever fully understand it. Sadly, there were more verses after this, but he couldn’t see them. The scroll in which this method was written had many areas that were grayed out. He assumed the way to see these sections was to increase his cultivation. Perhaps if he reached a higher realm, the next verse would appear before him.

Black cracks appeared around him as he thought about what it meant to be one with the universe. His eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see them, but he could feel each one as though they were extensions of his body.

These were small tears in space. They were like a blade, which could cut through any substance. The tears were weak right now. They could cut through normal weapons, but they would not be able to cut through spirit weapons. He could probably increase the power of these blades if he found a good spirit weapon himself, but he didn’t know what kind of weapon he should get.

I want something heavy. Something that can handle my full strength. A sword won’t do. Spears are too flimsy. A hammer? No. Those aren’t conducive to cutting. An axe like the ones Mao Yuhan used? They might work, but I don’t like the aesthetic of axes…

Wu Jian brought his line of thought away from weapons and spatial blades. The cracks disappeared as he thought of something else.

If he became one with the universe, did that not mean he could become invincible? No cultivator could destroy the universe as far as he knew. If he and the universe became a single entity, it might make him invulnerable.

“Oh? What’s this?”

Wu Jian stared at his hand, which had become translucent. He lowered it to the floor and watched as it disappeared into the ground. His eyes widened. Then his chi destabilized.

“Oh, crap!”

Wu Jian yanked his hand back, or tried, but he soon realized it was stuck. He swore up and down as he got to his feet and began pulling. This was so not good. This was so freaking not good. He gritted his teeth, flexed his muscles, and pulled again.

Crrrrrrk!

He was finally able to pull his hand free… but the floor came with it. He looked at the hole in the floor, then at his hand. Several wood fragments were stuck inside. He grimaced and was about to remove them, but then remembered the sensation from earlier, closed his eyes, and pictured himself becoming one with the universe.

The wood clattered to the floor.

“Well, that was dangerous. Note to self, practice this before attempting to actually use it,” Wu Jian muttered.

Yōuměi, who was cultivating by his side, glanced in his direction. She had already consumed all of the lesser Yang Fire Flowers and was now a Half-Step into the Asura Realm. She only needed some stimulation to break through.

“I guess that’s enough cultivating for now,” Wu Jian stretched his arms above his head. “It should be about time for the auction.”

As if his words were magic, Huǒ Shuchang walked through the door, several skewers in his hands and one in his mouth. He quickly consumed his food and grinned at the pair.

“Looks like you’re done cultivating. You’re pretty obsessed with cultivating, you know. Can’t you relax a bit?”

Wu Jian shrugged. “I would if I could.”

“Ah, whatever. Anyway, the auction is gonna start in about two hours. Let’s head over to the auction house.”

Yōuměi leapt into Wu Jian’s shadow as he threw his cloak and mask on. He followed Huǒ Shuchang out the door.

They reached the auction house, but were forced to stop by the crowd that had gathered. There must have been thousands of people. It was just a sea of heads.

Wu Jian furrowed his brow as he wondered why no one was moving. He pushed his way through alongside Huǒ Shuchang and caught a few tailend conversations.

“Look over there! It’s Xiao Yi!”

“How can anyone be so pretty?”

“Damn, I wish I looked half as good.”

Wu Jian didn’t know who this Xiao Yi was, but he turned in the direction everyone was facing and found a woman with skin like snow, eyes like emeralds, and vibrant hair that graduated from black to purple near the tips. Adorning her body was a blue and silver hanfu that stretched tight across her chest and had slits running up the side. It was a style he’d never seen before, so it must have been fashion exclusive to the Ming Dynasty. She held a pair of elegant fans.

I guess she’s pretty enough, but I don’t understand what people are getting so worked up over.

Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua were all prettier than this girl. That said, she did have a pretty amazing cultivation base.

“She’s half a step into the Human Limit Realm,” Huǒ Shuchang rubbed his chin. “That’s not bad for someone so young. She can’t be older than twenty-three or twenty-four. Those fans must be her weapons. She must be a core disciple of the Water-Moon Pavilion.”

“How can you tell?” asked Wu Jian.

“Her hair.” Huǒ Shuchang’s answer was simple. “You see how it gradiates to purple? It’s a sign that she uses a unique cultivation method. Cultivation methods like that are quite rare, and unless someone has a very fortunate encounter, the only way to get one like that is by becoming the core disciple of a powerful sect. Of course, while the Wind-Moon Pavilion is strong here, they would only be considered a mid-ranked sect in nations like the Xia Dynasty or the Ten Kingdoms Alliance. You can also determine that by her hair. It hasn’t changed fully, meaning the method she has isn’t the best it can be.”

Now that Wu Jian was thinking about it, Huǒ Shuchang’s hair was a fiery red, which was not a normal hair color. Most people had black or brown hair. A few who lived in places with more sun might have blond hair, but auburn was the closest anyone could get to red. Huǒ Shuchang’s hair had also turned an even more startling shade of red after he broke through to the Asura Realm.

Which means he comes from a very powerful clan or sect in one of the larger nations. He’s either from the Xia Dynasty, Ten Kingdoms Alliance, or Southern Tang Dynasty.

“If it isn’t Xiao Yi. It seems fate has blessed me with a chance meeting. I’ve longed to gaze upon your beauty since last we met,” someone said.

Wu Jian, Huǒ Shuchang, Xiao Yi, and everyone else turned as a young man with flaming red streaks in his hair walked over to the beautiful young woman. He looked around the same age, maybe a little older. He was tall, had a feminine face, and sharp black eyes. His eyebrows were thin like razors. The hanfu he wore was bright red and had short sleeves. Gold tassels trailed down the front and back, glimmering as he walked.

“A good day to you, Senior Shao,” the young woman said with a polite bow.

The man smiled. “There’s no need to speak to me with such formality. We might not know each other very well, but we are both core disciples of our respective sects, and besides, Senior Shao is my father.”

Xiao Yi merely smiled. “I’m afraid I couldn’t dare refer to Sect Master Shao as senior. It would be disrespectful, Senior Shao.”

“Ha ha ha! Your rebuff is so polite yet so firm. I guess I don’t mind that. Very well. Feel free to call me whatever you want.”

“I thank you.”

“Who is that?” Wu Jian asked.

He didn’t expect an answer, but someone turned to look at him, aghast. “You don’t know Shao Lin? Have you been living under a rock? He’s the son of Shao Hanying, the current Sect Master of the Burning Flame Pavilion. I heard he’s just half a step away from reaching the Human Limit Realm.”

“So both the Burning Flame Pavilion and Water-Moon Pavilion have a Half-step Human Limit Realm Cultivator,” Huǒ Shuchang crossed his arms. “It seems they have been going all out. They must be trying to train their members for the upcoming international tournament.”

Wu Jian would have asked about this tournament, but a chill ran down his spine, causing him to suddenly look a little ways from where the two core disciples were talking. Two more people were walking toward them.

One of them was a man with muscles even more defined than Wu Jian’s. He was taller than anyone else present, wore a sleeveless white gi, and had no shoes. His hair was cut short and spiked. Several scars lined his arms and peeked out of his gi. His thick eyebrows reminded Wu Jian of caterpillars.

The other man looked younger by several years, and he was much thinner, but Wu Jian didn’t dare underestimate him. He could get a sense of the other man’s strength. Yet he couldn’t see the depths of this young man’s cultivation at all.

He had pale skin, a thin face, and sharp eyebrows. His small nose and thin lips leant him a feminine appearance. The long black hair didn’t help either. He wore extravagant green and blue robes with voluminous sleeves and a thin sword was strapped to his waist. Wu Jian found himself eying the sword, which seemed almost alive. Chi flowed through it.

A powerful spirit weapon.

Huǒ Shuchang took a deep breath. “That pale-skinned young man is close to breaking through to the Human Limit Realm. He just needs one small push.”

Wu Jian wasn’t too surprised, but having his guess confirmed still caused a chill to run down his spine.

“That means he is here for the Three-Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill, doesn’t it?” asked Wu Jian.

Huǒ Shuchang nodded. “Probably.”

Wu Jian glanced at his friend out of his peripheral vision. Something about his single word response made him wary. Was he planning something?

“Well, now. If it isn’t Brother Sun Bai and Brother Yin Xuefeng,” said Shao Lin. His smile was quite mocking, until Yin Xuefeng got closer. Then he pursed his lips.

“It seems you’ve had a minor breakthrough. Congratulations, Brother Xuefeng,” said Xiao Yi.

Shao Lin clicked his tongue. “So Xuefeng is brother but I’m senior to you? That hardly seems fair.”

Xiao Li merely hid a smile behind her fan.

“It is good to see you both,” Yin Xuefeng said with an amiable smile. “It seems we are all here for the same reason. I hope there will be no hard feelings when I acquire the Three-Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill.”

“Likewise. Don’t come crying to me when I get that pill instead of you,” Shao Lin said with a growl.

Sparks seemed to fly between the two as they stared at each other. While Yin Xuefeng’s smile seemed polite enough, it reminded Wu Jian of a sheathed blade. There was a clear threat of violence in his eyes.

“Is this how the core disciples of sects normally act?” he wondered out loud.

Huǒ Shuchang laughed. “Pretty much. I’m guessing you’ve never met disciples from large sects or you wouldn’t be asking that. Resources are always scarce, especially in smaller kingdoms like this one. And sects like theirs are always competing for those resources. Naturally, this strong rivalry bleeds over into their disciples, who know that if they want to get ahead, they have to ruthlessly squash the members of rival sects.”

“I guess that makes sense, but it makes me glad I don’t belong to a sect,” Wu Jian said.

“You say that now, but being part of a sect offers many benefits that you can’t get as a rogue cultivator. Anyway, it looks like they’re heading inside now. Let’s go in after them.”

They followed the four core disciples from a distance and waited until they disappeared into the auction house before walking up themselves. Huǒ Shuchang flashed the guards a smile as he showed them a platinum card. Wu Jian eyed the card as the guards nearly tripped over themselves. The four core disciples who had just entered only had silver cards.

“R-right this way, young master!” said a nervous servant girl.

She led them up several flights of stairs. There was only one room on this floor. Wu Jian gawked at not only the size but sheer opulence spread out before him. The soft carpet was a deep beige. Original pieces of artwork lined the walls, depicting qilin in various landscapes. One of them, a depiction of a qilin riding through a lightning storm, caught his attention. A large couch sat before a window that overlooked a massive auction hall. Down below was a stage and several seats arranged in tiers. There were also balconies, where Wu Jian could see the four core disciples sitting.

“I will remain here to cater to your every need, so please let me know if there is anything you desire,” the servant girl said.

“What if I said what I desire is you?” asked Huǒ Shuchang.

The girl flushed bright red. “If… that is what you want, young master.”

Wu Jian sighed but didn’t say anything as he stood by the window and looked down. “Can they see us?”

“I… assume you mean the other guests?” the young woman said as she squirmed on Huǒ Shuchang’s lap. “They cannot see us. That window is only one way. This booth also blocks out the powers of a Sensor, so no one can peer in here with their chi.”

Wu Jian nodded and turned back to the auction hall. The tiered seats were already filled to capacity. Time passed. Wu Jian tried his best to ignore Huǒ Shuchang as he flirted with the young servant girl on his lap. He breathed a sigh of relief when the lights dimmed and a single spotlight illuminated the stage as a portly man walked up.

The auction was about to begin.