The Youth's Journey 012

However, her actions angered Fang Zhiyi, who never expected that the one who seemed most harmless could also strike so viciously.

Hua Nongying was seized by the death-dealing guards and imprisoned in the unused dungeon of You Mountain. There, there was no sound, no people, and no light, a perfect match for a child like Hua Nongying who feared loneliness and suffered from paranoia.

Li Wenyan traveled alone, encountering no great difficulties or dangers, and stealthily made his way back to Tiancheng. Along the journey, he witnessed much and deduced even more.

The weapons held by those rebels were called "guns," terrifying arms that could injure or even kill cultivators, and the source of these weapons was likely the Wanbao Pavilion!

Emperor Tianyan and Prince Xuan were already locked in a fierce struggle. Although Prince Xuan's faction was not large, he stubbornly held on relying on his cultivation.

It was now almost certain that Prince Xuan and the Wanbao Pavilion were in cahoots!

Finally, there was the Li family... The Li family had been imprisoned by Emperor Tianyan. As long as he demonstrated his own talent, he believed he could certainly help the Tian family quell the rebellion, execute Prince Xuan, eradicate the Wanbao Pavilion, and finally rescue his entire family!

Only, he never expected that the moment he entered the city, a beggar by the roadside would hand him a package.

Upon opening it, Li Wenyan stood frozen in place.

Looking at the items the beggar had given him—the second brother's hairpin, the third brother's ring, the fourth and fifth brothers... each of their personal belongings was now in his hands, lying quietly in his palm as if staring back at him.

Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes: how they met, their roughhousing, their kowtows, their oath of brotherhood, their adventures together, roaming the martial world...

"Big brother, next time I'll buy you a hat?"

"Big brother, this is a new medicine I refined."

"Wenyan, when are we going back home for a visit? Our families must be worried."

"Big brother..."

"What are you doing, standing there dumbfounded?"

Those figures gradually blurred, their smiling faces so vivid. And then, before his eyes appeared the Qingyun Lodge. They had once promised that no matter where they were, they would always meet again at Qingyun Lodge.

An immense wave of grief struck him. Even when his whole family met disaster, Li Wenyan had never felt such heart-wrenching pain. In his sorrow, he felt something deep within his heart snap.

His abnormal state immediately caught the attention of the patrolling city cultivators. With just one glance, someone recognized his identity.

Although Li Wenyan was a strategist, his overall strength was the strongest among them all. Now, upon learning the news of his companions' complete annihilation, his mental state was damaged. The spiritual energy within his body raged uncontrollably, and he cast all reason aside, leaving only a heart full of grievance and fury.

Li Wenyan's rampage threw Tiancheng into complete chaos. Prince Xuan, who had been hiding, thought his army had arrived and gleefully showed himself, only to see a lone madman. However, his appearance quickly drew Emperor Tianyan's pursuit. On this day, all factions within Tiancheng emerged. Emperor Tianyan and Prince Xuan battled fiercely, while various sects and noble families began internal strife amidst the chaos. Li Wenyan had been chasing Prince Xuan relentlessly since spotting him. Then he saw Emperor Tianyan and, in his state, came to hate him as well. But with his current strength... he didn't even have a chance for revenge.

Emperor Tianyan and Prince Xuan almost simultaneously struck out at him. The irrational Li Wenyan didn't dodge but charged straight forward. Sent flying, he coughed up blood from his mouth and nose. At that moment, his senses gradually returned. In his daze, he saw his companions once more.

They smiled at him and waved.

Then, a dazzling light came crashing down upon him.

At that moment, everyone in Tiancheng saw a purple lightning bolt as thick as a bucket strike the imperial palace, once, twice, thrice.

All the sects and families were stunned. Was Emperor Tianyan's cultivation so terrifying? Or was Prince Xuan ascending to immortality?

A day later, Prince Xuan's corpse was hung above the city gate, the entire body charred black. Rumors spread privately that Emperor Tianyan was also severely injured, but no one dared to investigate the truth. The internal strife in Tiancheng ceased, but there was no one left to take charge of the overall situation.

Three days later, Tiancheng was besieged. Hundreds of thousands of commoners, holding those magical instruments called guns, stood in confrontation with the cultivators of Tiancheng.

That afternoon, the mastermind behind the righteous army finally revealed himself. Hoisting a flag representing the common people, he led the charge into Tiancheng, followed by tens of thousands of civilians shouting slogans to avenge Prince Xuan.

"And that is the history of our Xuanzhou," said the teacher in the classroom, closing the textbook.

A student asked, "But the cultivators weren't wiped out, right? We even have elective courses on it now."

"In history, after Lord Fang led the common people to victory in the war, he did not propose a plan to exterminate cultivators. Instead, he proposed a plan for co-governance," the teacher paused and smiled. "That's why we have this school. Whatever skills you have can be matched according to your needs."

"Nothing is absolute, and no ability is inherently bad. The key lies in how the user employs it."

The students buried their heads in their notebooks, taking notes.

A few whispered among themselves.

"Honestly, I kind of resent this Lord Fang."

"Why?"

"If he had been a bit more ruthless back then and wiped out all the cultivators, I wouldn't have to write such long papers now! Or learn about cultivation method research and analysis reports!"

"Brave soul, you actually dared to choose a cultivator course."

"You think I wanted to? All the others were full!"

"Look on the bright side. Once you become a cultivator, you can report directly to government departments for work."

"Ah, forget it. Being a cultivator is pretty high-risk, and the income is just average."

One student turned and saw the girl next to him staring blankly at a book in her hands. "What are you looking at?"

The girl snapped back to reality, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm reading an unofficial history."

"What unofficial history?"

"About the Nine Youths of Qingyun."

"What's that?"

"They were nine young wandering heroes who appeared during Emperor Tianyan's reign. They came from all directions, each with different personalities, and just... met, gathered together, roamed the martial world, fought for justice..."

"Sounds interesting. What happened then?"

"Then they died, and died, and died, and died."

"???"

"The unofficial history says two of them didn't die. The archer lost his sight, and the sword prodigy could never wield a sword again. They finally made it back to the place they had promised to meet, only to find the Qingyun Lodge, which held all their happy memories, burned to the ground. Wuwuwu..."

"Who was that cruel? Out of nine, only two came back? And both crippled?"

The girl flipped through the book. "It was that Lord Fang, the one whose full name isn't known."

The boy instantly looked disdainful. "Unofficial histories really are wild. You should read fewer novels."