Chương 85: The Pearl of Liush-Dao

The night had commenced. All Qijian saw was the deep forest as she made her way to the area where her former bandit leader's boss's stronghold lay. She had been here plenty of times, yet she still felt mesmerized every single time. The bamboo forest was giant and dense. Its stalks towered over two hundred meters tall and were nearly two meters thick, glowing in a vibrant parakeet green that seemed almost unnatural under the moonlight. She pushed through the swaying stalks until she reached the massive stronghold.

It was built from dark iron-coal and steel with a metallic sheen, reinforced with green accents that formed the shape of a fierce, leopard-like beast covered in sharp, horn-like protrusions along its back. The entire structure looked alive and dangerous, as if the forest itself had grown teeth and claws, harboring many active souls within it. On top of the highest watchtower that overlooked the whole territory over it stood Overlord Number 21 Zhài Zhǔ Bao, known simply as Master Bao.

He was massively muscular in build, 1. 83 meters tall, with a full brown beard that covered most of his face and hair swept back like a lion's mane, wild yet controlled. His presence alone made the air feel heavier.

"Master Bao, what is it?" his direct subordinate asked. Bao stood motionless, overlooking his territory of two hundred thousand bandits hidden within the deadly bamboo sea. The forest felt wrong as beautiful yet oppressive, as if something ancient and hungry watched from between the stalks. The stronghold itself radiated menace, its metallic walls reflecting the green light in sharp, threatening patterns. The subordinate continued nervously, "The shaking battles three hundred kilometers from our position…

is there any development with our units? Have they broken through?"

"No," Bao answered, his voice low and displeased. His expression shifted to disdain.

"But you should know it as well as I do, so what is it you want to ask or tell me, Shipal?"

"The truth, my liege, is... the fast cat Qijian is here for you, Master. She has something of value to give. The bandit leader of the Zhenhai Northern Section wanted you to receive it… but he died trying to acquire it." Bao's fist crushed the steel mast he was leaning on. Metal bent and tore with a screech as he ripped the entire support off in raw anger.

"My good servant Washuiang perished?"

"Yes, my Liege…" He looked furious under the dark sky. Washuiang had brought them a monthly profit of 1, 300 osmium, and replacing him would take time, Bao thought bitterly. Bao jumped from the two-hundred-meter tower. He fell like a feather in a perfect candle stance, landing silently right in front of Qijian with no impact. His face turned red with barely contained rage, eyes promising violence if she gave the wrong answer.

"Qijian. What do you have for me?" She kept her eyes on the ground and presented the iridescent pearl. It was perfectly round, slightly larger than a common marble, glowing with shifting rainbow colors deep inside like captured starlight. Bao took it. At first he held it far away in the dark, thinking it was just an ordinary pearl, maybe worth two hundred osmium at best. Then he felt it subtly absorb a tiny amount of his Animo. Curious, he unconsciously poured more power into it.

The pearl exploded with brilliant light so intense that it could be seen from twenty kilometers away, turning night into day for a moment. Bao started laughing loudly, a booming, joyous sound. He patted Qijian's shoulder hard with his calloused hand.

"Oh my dear Washuiang… how dare you die without telling me about this finding! I would have come personally and helped your out!" He danced a few steps in pure excitement.

"It is near priceless in any value parameters!" His direct sub-leader, Shipal (1. 77 meters tall, muscular but leaner, with short hair and a short trimmed beard), air-walked down from the tower.

"Master, what is so special about it?" Bao turned on him with blazing eyes.

"You dumb ape! This is the pearl tied to the legendary story of the Dao Sect... it has to be the near Original Body Reconfiguration Art of Wujiren-Dao, the Progenitor of the Dao Sect of our Zhongguodao Nation!" Shipal looked confused.

"Sorry, my Liege. I am a bandit from the streets. I do not know what you speak of." Bao sighed but his excitement remained.

"Then let me tell you the tale of our creator…" He spoke with real passion and pride, recounting how in the year 241 of the Michaelanius Age (what others would call Age 871 with ancient time counting) a seventeen-year-old arrogant amber hued lad named Wujiren-Dao appeared from nowhere. No one knew where he came from. No village claimed him. No master had trained him.

Yet the moment his hands touched any weapon, he already wielded it with near-perfect mastery, as if the knowledge had been carved into his soul since birth. He started small, an arrogant smile on his face and a thin, double-bladed sword on his back. Within months, entire clans and sects fell before him. He moved like a storm across Zhongguo, conquering one power after another with terrifying speed and overwhelming skill. He defeated old masters with near-perfect execution, using their own styles against them.

They called him the Master of All Weapons, for no blade, spear, axe, or staff could resist his might. Yet, his favorite remained that thin, double-bladed sword. With it, he cut down armies and carved rivers of blood ten thousand meters long. He united the fractured land. He crushed the Blood Demon worshippers and the filthy Dìyù cultists who sacrificed innocents to their dark god.

When the mighty hordes from the far East known as the Mongore, millions strong, came to swallow our ancestors, Wujiren-Dao met them head-on for over two decades with his sect. He learned their ways, adapted to their strength, and ultimately broke them. By the time he reached the age of thirty-nine, he had a daughter. Two years later, a son was born, and the tragedy slowly started to unfold. His greatest gift to his own was the True Body Reconfiguration Art... a supreme near divine technique he created himself.

He taught only its full power to his closest blood relatives. All the sects today use pale imitations of it, none reaching even fifty percent of its true potential. But jealousy is the poison that rots even the strongest tree. Bao's voice grew heavier, filled with both admiration and sorrow as he continued the tale.

"Jealousy… that venomous serpent that even the strongest blood cannot always escape. Wujiren-Dao's daughter, Mei-Dao, grew increasingly bitter as she watched her younger brother surpass her in every way. Where she struggled, he excelled. Where she trained for years to master a single weapon, he needed only months. The fire of envy slowly consumed her heart. When her father named the son Wushan-Dao as young heir, the final crack appeared. On the very night of the coronation, Mei-Dao disappeared without a trace.

For years no one heard from her. Many hoped she had simply left to forge her own path. They were dead wrong. Years later she returned, but no longer the proud daughter of the Progenitor, but a battle demon consumed by pure hatred. Mei-Dao rampaged across the Zhongguodao. She destroyed countless sects, ancient clans, and even neutral nations that had once sworn loyalty to her father. Entire cities were burned to the ground. Sacred training grounds were reduced to ash.

Rivers ran red with the blood of her own kin such as cousins, uncles, aunts, anyone who still carried the Dao name. She showed no mercy. Provinces that had flourished under Wujiren-Dao's rule were left in smoking ruins. The main Dao Sect could no longer ignore the threat. They summoned the young heir, her own brother, to stop her. What happened in that confrontation remains partly unknown. Some say he hesitated because she was still his older sister. Others claim she had grown far stronger than anyone expected.

Whatever the reason, he failed. Mei-Dao carved the word 败者 (Bài zhě meaning Loser) deep into her brother's forehead with her blade, a permanent mark of shame and eternal mockery that he would carry for the rest of his life. The Dao Sect was thrown into chaos. The young heir, humiliated and marked for life, spent years recovering from his wounds and training in seclusion. Many believed he had given up. Others whispered that he could not bring himself to kill his own sister...

the very girl who had once protected him as a child. Whatever the reason, he stayed away from the battlefield while Mei-Dao continued her rampage. But the bloodshed eventually became too great to ignore. After years of further destruction and countless pleas from the surviving Dao elders, the brother finally emerged from seclusion. He had grown colder, stronger, and filled with a quiet, burning resolve. This time there would be no hesitation. Their final confrontation was legendary. It shook the heavens themselves.

For days and nights they fought across mountains and valleys, their clashing Animo splitting the earth and staining the sky red. The battle was so fierce that entire peaks were leveled and rivers were diverted by the force of their blows. In the end, the brother slew her… but the victory cost him everything. The sister he had once loved and protected as a child had become his greatest nightmare. The scars ran far deeper than flesh as they scarred his very soul.

In utter disgust and grief, the brother stood among the ashes of what remained of their family home. He looked at his father's cold body, at the ruins of everything Wujiren-Dao had built, and made a fateful decision. He discarded the name Dao entirely. He took the new name Wushan-Tang and founded the mighty Tang Clan that still stands powerful to this day. Before all of this tragedy unfolded, the younger brother of Wujiren-Dao, Liush-Dao, had foreseen the coming storms.

He secretly left behind this very pearl as a key, a final gift and safeguard for the future of the Dao Sect should darkness ever rise again. This iridescent orb you brought me is no ordinary treasure. It is one of the keys to the true, original Body Reconfiguration Art that Wujiren-Dao himself created. The superior version. The one no sect today has fully recovered."

Bao rolled the pearl slowly between two thick, calloused fingers, his eyes narrowing as he revealed the small, ancient marking engraved at the bottom and a clear 「一」 (One) was to be seen.

"This… is only the first key," he said, voice low and hungry. And I will not let anyone else claim the rest." He turned his gaze to Qijian, the playful light in his eyes completely gone, replaced by cold calculation.

"The Golden Tooth Agency?" He let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Never heard of them. Some pathetic little escort group scraping by in Zhenhai. But a Suren was involved as well? Hah… the world truly is changing. Back in my day, a pale-skinned outsider like that would have had his head chopped off the moment he stepped into our territory. Only the Star Sect far in the South dares to tolerate their kind." Bao's expression darkened further as he clenched the pearl tightly in his fist.

"Still… if even a weak little merchant agency managed to get their hands on something this valuable, that means others might be sniffing around too. I will not allow it." He looked toward the dark bamboo forest, his voice turning into a low, dangerous growl.

"Once I am done dealing with this charlatan who calls himself an Overlord… we will attack immediately. The Golden Tooth Agency, that Suren, whoever else is involved... I want them all crushed. I cannot let anybody else discover the true worth of these pearls." He turned back to Qijian, a savage grin spreading across his bearded face.

"You did well bringing this to me, little cat. Very well. But know this, if there are more keys out there, they belong only to me. And I will paint the entire northern Zhenhai red before I let anyone else take what is mine." Back in the evening, thanks to Xihua's care, we survived the harsh attack and finally made it back to the agency. The moment we stepped through the gates, the Elders came rushing out. Their faces, which had been tight with worry all day, broke into wide relief.

"You're alive! All of you!" one of them shouted. They rejoiced openly at our successful return, especially when they saw the heavy coin pouches we carried. The agency had been desperate for money lately, and our delivery had bought them precious breathing room. For the first time in a long while, laughter and grateful claps filled the training grounds as veterans slapped our backs and the younger members looked at us with shining eyes. We spent the night recovering.

My body ached from the use of the overloading which is inefficient of a move, but I had to do it even if I wanted first to properly train it after the brutal fighting. The warmth of the agency's care helped ease the pain. Xihua checked on both me and her brother multiple times, her usual sharp tongue softened by quiet worry. The very next day, however, trouble returned. The front gate opened with a heavy creak. Merchant Faihzu stood there with a fresh group of paid guards, his face no longer polite.

He marched in like he owned the place, eyes scanning everyone with clear suspicion.

"I will ask only once," he said arrogantly, voice loud and demanding.

"Did any of you have the pearl which you transported?" We honestly did not even know what he was talking about. Only Hifui had known its true value, and he was still unconscious from his wounds. Faihzu's mask of civility completely fell away. Madness flashed in his eyes.

"A Suren cannot be truly trusted! Check his pockets! Search everything!" Without any respect, his men pushed past the Elders and began rummaging through my belongings. They tore through my room, flipped my bed, emptied my pockets, and even patted me down roughly in front of everyone. I stood completely still and told the others not to interfere.

"Let them look," I said calmly.

"I have nothing to hide." They found nothing. The Elders had finally reached their limit. One stepped forward, voice cold with fury.

"You dare come into our agency and treat us like thieves? Cut this madman's head off if he dares disrespect us again!" Faihzu turned pale upon seeing the angry faces of over two hundred men. He knew how tight coin was for the Golden Tooth right now. With a nervous laugh, he quickly apologized and threw one hundred osmium onto the ground like it was dirt.

"A small compensation for the… misunderstanding," he muttered, turning to leave as fast as possible. But before he could exit the gate, a powerful presence descended. Zhuofing the Dirty Finger dropped from the top of the gate and landed heavily right in front of him. His Animo flared violently, thick with rage. The merchant shrieked in surprise. Even his guards froze, not daring to move. Xhife rushed in immediately, trying to mediate.

"Father, please. Don't make this worse." Faihzu, now sweating heavily, swallowed his pride and proposed an additional deal in a shaky voice. A big mission for the successful retrieval of the pearl. The rewards would be substantial: one thousand osmium for first place, four hundred for second, two hundred for third, and fifty for last. Zhuofing stared at the merchant for a long moment, clearly still wanting to rip his head off for the disrespect shown to his agency, his son, and his new friend.

But after a heavy breath he cooled off and accepted the offer reluctantly. And so we had one week to prepare and make our way to the city of Kailume, where the Merchant Trial would be held.