Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

’Borrow the Ming King’s soldiers?’

’Take revenge?’

Outside the tent, Wei Tu listened to it all, his eyes narrowing as killing intent filled his gaze.

He knew, of course, that the "Captain Wei" Miao Dashu mentioned was none other than himself.

He was the only West Gate Guard Captain in the entire Prefecture City with the surname Wei.

He hadn’t expected the King of Mingzhou to be involved in the Li Family’s affairs. And simply because he hadn’t saved them, he had become Li Xingye’s sworn enemy.

’The King of Mingzhou got involved because he wants to use the Li Family to drag me into this mess. He wants me, the West Gate Guard Captain, to open the city gates for the Rebel Army.’

Wei Tu quickly deduced the reason. After all, rebel kings like the King of Mingzhou would only be interested in him because of his post as Defender of the West Gate.

’But the King of Mingzhou, Li Xingye, and Miao Dashu are truly delusional. Without an Immortal Master or an Innate Martial Artist to back them, what gives them the nerve to plot such things?’ Wei Tu almost pitied their shortsightedness.

In terms of strategic ability, Li Xingye and Miao Dashu weren’t bad. Unfortunately, this was a world of supernatural power. Not only would their strategies fail, but they would also lead to their own doom.

Now that they were enemies, Wei Tu wouldn’t hold back. He pulled several Willow Leaf Darts from his waist and, with a flick of his wrist, sent them flying toward the rebel soldiers guarding the tent.

With a few soft thumps,

the guards outside the tent fell to the ground one by one.

Wei Tu charged into the tent. He glanced at the King of Mingzhou and, before the man could speak, killed the self-proclaimed "hero of the people" who had risen amid the chaos with a single dart.

The King of Mingzhou was dead. Stunned by Wei Tu’s sudden intrusion, Li Xingye and Miao Dashu had been about to shout for the Personal Guard. Now, they forced the words back down their throats.

The King of Mingzhou was dead.

They, his two advisors, knew they wouldn’t be spared.

Wei Tu had little interest in Miao Dashu. With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a Willow Leaf Dart into the man’s forehead. He then shifted his gaze to Li Xingye, who was cowering under a desk, having already wet himself in terror.

"Originally, I was going to spare you, since you are the last of the Li Family. But I never expected you would plot to harm me."

Wei Tu shook his head and sighed.

After speaking, he showed no more mercy. As Li Xingye stared in shock, another dart took his life.

’If it hadn’t been for what Miao Dashu said, I would have spared him—for the sake of the Buddha’s Face, if not the monk’s—and let Li Xingye, the last survivor of the Li Family, live.’

But unfortunately, Li Xingye had wanted him dead.

Compared to any old ties, Wei Tu felt it was better to eliminate a future threat sooner rather than later.

He wasn’t afraid of the threat Li Xingye posed.

But his family was!

With that, Wei Tu strode out of the tent without a backward glance and hurried on toward the Prefecture City’s West Gate.

From the moment he overheard Li Xingye and the King of Mingzhou plotting to when he entered the tent and killed the three men, the entire affair had taken him no more than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

...

The plan went smoothly.

Wei Tu made it inside the Prefecture City before dawn without incident. He found Weii Fei and led him to a cellar in a private residence he had purchased years ago.

There, the two of them would wait for an opportunity to escape.

「Two days later.」

"It seems the Court has lost this time," Wei Tu sighed, shaking his head as he listened to the sounds of battle outside the cellar.

’I don’t particularly care whether the Court or the Rebel King wins,’ he thought. ’In the valley battle, I killed at least forty or fifty elite enemy soldiers. That’s more than enough to repay the Court for my salary as an Eighth-Grade Military Officer all these years.’

However, with the Rebel King’s victory, the fall of the Prefecture City was imminent, and the catastrophe that would inevitably follow was something he did not wish to see.

「Four days later.」

Seeing that the turmoil in the Prefecture City had begun to subside, Wei Tu and Weii Fei climbed out of the cellar that evening and escaped from the city under the cover of darkness.

On their way out, they witnessed the city’s grim state. Stinking corpses piled up in the streets and alleys, and many buildings had been burned to the ground. From the houses they passed, they could occasionally hear the sounds of the Rebel Army violating the local women.

"The officials were corrupt, but this Rebel Army... they’re hardly good people either."

Weii Fei remarked with a sigh.

Despite his words, Weii Fei wasn’t so overcome with pity that he would risk his own safety by charging into those homes to kill the soldiers of the Rebel Army.

After escaping the Prefecture City, Wei Tu and Weii Fei spurred their horses on, racing toward Qingliang Posthouse in Xiaoyi Prefecture to rendezvous with Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang.

...

「Five days later.」

「Inside Qingliang Posthouse.」

The four sworn brothers were reunited.

"After interrogating Xie Yuanshan and his grandson, I’ve finally learned... some secrets about the Immortal Families..."

Fu Zhizhou looked at Wei Tu, nodded seriously, and said with a smile.

They had just faced a life-and-death crisis, going from respected, court-appointed officials to fugitives on the run. The reversal of fortune was immense.

But now that they had secrets of the Immortal Families, it all seemed worth it.

Before Wei Tu and the others could ask, Fu Zhizhou launched directly into what he had learned from interrogating Xie Yuanshan.

"I have four key pieces of information."

"First, Xie Yuanshan has the complete *Five Elements Spirit Body* cultivation technique."

"Second, Xie Yuanshan has been to Danqiu Mountain and knows a fair bit about it. I’ve written down the details on paper for you three sworn brothers to look at later."

"Third, Xie Yuanshan knows the inside story of the rebellion in Guangyuang Prefecture. It was a dispute caused by the Chisong Jia Family and the Qiyue Zhao Family fighting for control over the mortal world."

"Both of these are among the Seven Great Cultivation Families of the Zheng Country. And the Qiyue Zhao Family is the Royal Family of our Zheng Country."

"The Xie Family’s ancestor was once a servant of the Chisong Jia Family. They founded Wuyun Tower to serve as a source of secular power and support for the Chisong Jia Family."