Heavenly Wheel Ascension

"Ji Haoxuan, do you wish to meet him?" Wei Tianfeng asked without beating around the bush. "I do too, but not to ask for my steps to be guarded in the land of Huang Tu. I am also a Weaver, yet with a figure like that, I feel that he is someone who will truly stand equal to the Ancient Clans one day. I want to witness his every step from now on."

"Brother Tianfeng, are you serious?" Ji Yuanyi replied, her eyes blinking. "Gu Fengyan... he is like an existence almost approaching Divine Transformation, a figure who could move tens of thousands of troops if he were on the side of an Ancient Clan. Yet he remains solitary. Personally, I think it’s better to watch him from afar without becoming a burden to him."

"Well, does little Yuanyi want to become a follower of the one called a Devil?" Wei Tianfeng said with a raspy laugh. "As for me, I will indeed watch him while walking behind him. I will stand on my own, but I will stay behind his pace; I won't be a directionless dragon, but one with a goal that is always in sight."

Ji Haoxuan’s steps stopped right at the threshold of the pavilion's outer gate, meeting the biting night air of Chi Di. He looked up, staring at the expanse of stars.

"Followers? I would rather call us witnesses," Ji Haoxuan answered, his eyes looking far off. "Tonight, I feel as if my eyes have been opened wide. If the sky collapses, where must I hide? That is the image of what will happen in Huang Tu; if I am not strong enough and hesitate in every step, then I too will feel my own sky collapse at that very moment."

"Truly a painful enlightenment," Wei Tianfeng murmured while leaning his back against the cold gate pillar. "All this time we felt grand because of the title of Young King, because our sects control one or two major cities. But before him, those titles feel like children's toys made of straw."

Ji Haoxuan nodded slowly, his fingers stroking the jade-encrusted hilt of his sword. "Tianfeng, did you feel his aura earlier? Not when he destroyed Bei Huanteng’s soul, but when he spoke of tearing the sky. That wasn't just a bluff. That was a Dao Intent that has already merged with his very spine."

"I felt it, Brother," Ji Yuanyi said in a small voice, her eyes still fixed on the path swallowed by darkness. "It felt like standing before a bottomless abyss. Cold, yet it makes you want to leap just to see what is down there. Why did the people in there hate him so much?"

"Because he is a mirror, Yuanyi," Ji Haoxuan answered bitterly. "He is a mirror that shows how small our ambitions are. They hate him not because he is heretical, but because he proves that the limitations we’ve complained about all this time—about Ancient Clans, about destiny, about talent—are merely shackles we created ourselves."

"Look at Meng Zhan and Wu Xinghan," Wei Tianfeng snorted, a cynical glint dancing in his eyes. "They would rather break the mirror than admit their faces are full of the stains of cowardice. To me, that is the greatest joke in Chi Di this year. A city ruler is dead, a great clan's dignity is destroyed, and all they talk about is how that 'Devil' hurt their feelings."

"But Brother," Ji Yuanyi tugged at the edge of her brother's robe, her face looking anxious. "Seven days from now in Huang Tu... if it's true the Ancient Chen Clan is sending envoys, and the people in there unite to trap Senior Gu, will he survive? I mean, no matter how strong an independent practitioner is, can he withstand a siege of thousands of practitioners and the laws of an Ancient Clan?"

Ji Haoxuan fell silent for a moment, letting the night wind comb through his neatly tied hair. "Yuanyi, do they even know what the Ancient Clan is thinking? Gu Fengyan certainly knows the Holy Sons and Maidens of the Chen Clan. If those practitioners think the Ancient Chen Clan will side with them, they don't know the mind of an Ancient Clan."

"And if the Ancient Clan truly wanted to capture him, why not do it long ago?" Wei Tianfeng added. "Is it because Gu Fengyan has a Dao bond with Holy Maidens Zhu and Ye? Can you guess why beings said to be celestial from birth would choose a mortal figure as their Dao Protector? We know nothing, little Yuanyi. We can only watch, and I believe my steps this time will not be wrong."

"You are right, Tianfeng. Too much mist shrouds that figure," Ji Haoxuan replied while stepping down from the gate stairs, his boots clashing with the frozen basalt rocks. "But one thing is certain: if even the Ancient Clans have been unable—or perhaps unwilling—to stop his pace until this second, then who are we to dare judge him?"

Ji Yuanyi furrowed her delicate brows, trying to digest the conversation between the two youths. "So, Brother, you believe that the Ancient Chen Clan in Huang Tu might not necessarily attack him? Even though he just humiliated a major clan's authority in this city?"

"Ancient Clans do not regard ordinary clans, Yuanyi," Wei Tianfeng interrupted, his voice now heavier. "Ancient Clans are like the highest peak of existence. A clan like the Bei doesn't even invite the interest of Holy Maiden Shen to care if a clan in her own sovereign territory is trampled by Gu Fengyan. To an Ancient Clan, those who are not of them are no more than grass, Yuanyi."

Wei Tianfeng downed his wine again. "Besides, who even is Meng Zhan? Thinking he can negotiate with the Ancient Chen Clan as if he were a great figure. Heh, I heard the Holy Son of Chen, Chen Jianyun, is a figure who acknowledges Gu Fengyan's sword."

"Chen Jianyun..." Ji Haoxuan murmured the name, and suddenly the air around him seemed to vibrate slightly. "The Holy Son from Mo Yan who possesses a Sword Body. If it’s true he acknowledges Gu Fengyan’s blade, then it’s foolish for practitioners like us to try and bring Gu Fengyan down."

"Exactly, it's no wonder even the Ancient Clans only watch Gu Fengyan’s steps," Wei Tianfeng agreed. "But good gods... did you see how he acted toward Holy Maiden Shen? What a waste! If I were approached by a moon carrying charm like Holy Maiden Shen, I wouldn't be able to cultivate properly a single day."

"Truly an insult to men across the Nine Plains!" Wei Tianfeng chuckled bitterly, shaking his wine jar which now felt lighter. "Holy Maiden Shen, the moon capable of toppling city walls with a single glance, treated like a servant carrying a cup."

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"But Brother, doesn't Holy Maiden Shen have terrifying cultivation?" Ji Yuanyi asked, her voice whispering as if afraid the pavilion walls had ears. "Earlier, when she rose, I felt as if my soul were being pulled into a deep purple well. How can Senior Gu remain so cold?"

"Who knows, Yuanyi," Wei Tianfeng replied. "Just think about it: a figure who has been the Dao Protector for two Holy Maidens, then approached by another. And he keeps wandering as if he’d die if he stayed too close to a woman for too long. I don't know where a practitioner like him is headed."

"It's not distancing out of hate, Yuanyi," Ji Haoxuan interrupted while staring into the distance. "But he realizes he originates from the mortal realm like us. Ancient Clans have an unimaginable cultivation speed. And speaking of Holy Maidens, their snares are not what you see on the outside, Yuanyi. You may be a woman yourself, seeing Holy Maiden Shen look at Gu Fengyan with longing, but you don't know her mind or her next steps. An Ancient Clan Holy Maiden can topple even a god if that god takes a wrong step."

"How terrifying..." Ji Yuanyi hugged her shoulders, as if the Chi Di night wind had suddenly pierced her protective cloak. "So, that affectionate look from the Holy Maiden could actually be the most deadly poison?"

"Not a poison that kills the body, sister, but a poison that paralyzes the Dao Heart," Ji Haoxuan replied in a deep tone. "Imagine if you were a mortal practitioner climbing the peak of eternity, and then a goddess from an Ancient Clan offered you a soft throne, limitless resources, and warmth you never imagined. Would you still have the courage to tear the sky alone?"

Wei Tianfeng snorted, twirling his wine jar in the air. "Precisely. Most practitioners would choose to be a guard dog at the gates of heaven rather than a starving wolf in the wilderness. But Gu Fengyan... he chooses to be that wolf. He drinks the honey from their hands, but he refuses to wear their leash. That is what fascinates them and terrifies them at the same time."

"Then what will we do, Brother?" Ji Yuanyi asked. "In seven days, we will cross the Plains and leave Chi Di for Huang Tu. Will we stand in Senior Gu's circle?"

"We will, but not as followers," Ji Haoxuan replied, his brow slightly furrowed. "But... perhaps we can be his juniors. Yes, juniors. Not followers, nor disciples. But something that walks on its own yet does not burden him, while still observing his steps."

"Juniors..." Wei Tianfeng repeated the word with a smile full of madness and courage. "A humble title for the Young Kings of the western region. Yet, to tread a path never before touched, bowing one's head for a moment to a figure who has seen the 'end' is a form of wisdom, not humiliation."

"Truly a strange conversation for a Young King," Ji Haoxuan sighed, white steam escaping his mouth as he began to walk away from the pavilion. "Let’s go."

Meanwhile, under the dim light of the moon beginning to be covered by dark clouds, three figures were walking through the streets of East Tiger City. Shen Ruolan herself walked gracefully, her voice melodious as she spoke with Zhao Xue beside her.

"So, you once wanted to be a disciple of Holy Maiden Zhu, didn't you?" Shen Ruolan asked, a thin smile gracing her lips. "Indeed, the Ancient Zhu Clan possesses unmatched techniques, like an Ice Phoenix that shakes the sky."

Zhao Xue lowered her head slightly; the pale hue on her face had not fully vanished, but the look in her eyes remained firm. "That is true, Holy Maiden. Long ago, when I was still in the Xing Luo Plains, the figure of Holy Maiden Zhu was the peak I wished to reach. However, fate led my steps to northern Chi Di, and there I realized that without the support of a major clan, my path felt like climbing a mountain without feet."

"Do not be discouraged, little lotus," Shen Ruolan replied, her supple fingers touching the black bamboo tassel at her waist. "Because you are someone with a past with Senior, would you like to become a disciple of the Ancient Shen Clan?"

Shen Ruolan’s question came out effortlessly, light as a feather falling onto a pond's surface, yet its impact left Zhao Xue frozen instantly. The offer to become a disciple of the Ancient Shen Clan was not just a grant of status; it was a gateway to the resources of heaven and earth that had been mere fairy tales for an independent practitioner like her.

Zhao Xue stopped her steps, staring at Shen Ruolan’s back wrapped in a luxurious velvet cloak. Before her, a Holy Maiden offered a shortcut to the peak, something thousands of practitioners in the Nine Plains would give their lives just to hear.

"Becoming a disciple... of the Ancient Shen Clan?" Zhao Xue whispered, her voice trembling between disbelief and deep hesitation.

Zhi Xuan, walking a few paces ahead of them, did not stop. His brown robe fluttered gently, as if he did not care about the conversation that could change the fate of a sword practitioner. Yet, his ears caught every vibration of sound in the night air.

"Correct," Shen Ruolan turned around, staring at Zhao Xue with purple eyes flashing mysteriously under the moonlight. "Senior will not guard you forever. You will walk alone beneath this sky. Under the banner of my clan, you will have unmatched protection."

Shen Ruolan glanced briefly toward Zhi Xuan’s back, then returned her gaze to Zhao Xue with a smile containing subtle guile. "And most importantly, you will remain in the same circle as him. Isn't that what you want, little lotus? To not be left far behind in his shadow?"

Zhao Xue was about to answer, but Shen Ruolan had already waved her hand and manifested an eternal treasure: the **Frozen Heart Eternal Sword**. The sword glowed with a cold silver light, as if a piece of the moon had been forged into a thin, sharp blade. The cold it radiated was so pure it could freeze the dew in the air even before touching its surface.

"Do not be in a hurry to reject me," Shen Ruolan said, her tone calm and clear. "I do not intend to waver your sword heart or your ice sacred body. Zhi Xuan is a rebel, and his path is not something you can easily achieve. I offer this not because you are someone from Zhi Xuan’s past. Rather, I respect your talent; reaching the late stage of Soul Transformation for a woman like you is a blessing from heaven."

Zhao Xue stared at the Frozen Heart Eternal Sword with bated breath. The spiritual essence within her body, originating from her Ice Sacred Body, churned violently as if finding a long-lost soulmate. Yet, in the midst of such great temptation, she shifted her gaze to Zhi Xuan’s receding back.

Zhi Xuan stopped walking. Without turning around, his voice flowed low, cutting through the silence of the quiet city streets. "The choice is yours, Zhao Xue. Becoming a disciple of an Ancient Clan means you will have a mountain peak for shelter. Ruolan is right; I will not carry you forever."

"You are someone I consider my companion," Zhi Xuan continued. "Whether you accept Shen Ruolan’s invitation is not my business to make you refuse or accept. Your sword heart will find its answer."

The night wind blew again, blowing several strands of Zhao Xue’s hair loose from its tie. She looked down, staring at her own palms which still bore the scars of Bei Yun’s spiritual essence shackles.

"Holy Maiden Shen," Zhao Xue’s voice finally sounded, now more stable and clear. "Your kindness is like a boundless ocean, and this sword... is the dream of every ice element sword practitioner in all the Nine Plains."

She paused for a moment, then raised her head, staring directly into Shen Ruolan’s mesmerizing purple eyes. "However, if I accept the protection of the Shen Clan merely out of fear of being left behind, then my sword will never be truly sharp. My master died because he was not strong enough to face the fangs of the Bei Clan, and I do not want to become strong simply because I borrowed someone else's fangs."

"If you wish to make me a disciple under the shadow of the Ancient Clan, then I refuse," Zhao Xue said firmly. "But if you accept me as a student whom you see as someone still originating from the mortal realm, walking with my own purpose without being constrained, then I am willing to stand beside you, not beneath your banner."