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Chapter 44 - Chapter 44: A Chance to Break Through—The Era of Great Strife

Li Guanyi had never met an old man so utterly shameless.

Clinging to his leg in the middle of the street, yelling "Master! Master!" at the top of his lungs, drawing a crowd of onlookers. Furious, Li Guanyi was just about to shake him off when the old man lightly tapped his leg. Immediately, the youth's breath froze, and his meridians were locked in place.

The old man suddenly wailed, "Ah! Master, what's wrong with you?!"

"I told you not to turn yourself into a young child again!"

"See?! You're having another fit!"

"Don't worry, Master! I'll handle your funeral!"

He hoisted Li Guanyi up with practiced ease and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of rice, sprinting away down the street on his twig-like legs. Only when they reached a secluded corner did he set the boy down, plop onto the ground, and shuffle closer to examine him from head to toe.

"Good, good…"

The old man grinned and rubbed his hands together, looking slightly overwhelmed.

"I'll remove the restraint spell on you—don't move."

Li Guanyi could see a transparent rope of energy binding his body. The tiger and dragon were furiously trying to tear it apart. The old man gave a casual flick, and the energy rope snapped, dissolving into nothing and flowing back into the world.

Realizing how profound the technique was, Li Guanyi didn't make a sudden move to flee. He merely rested his hand on the hilt of his Autumn Water sword and said:

"Senior… what exactly do you want?"

The old man didn't answer, only stared at him intensely.

"You can see it?"

"How can you see it? And since when?!"

Li Guanyi chose his words carefully. "I've been able to since I was a child."

The old man frowned.

"Huh? You didn't eat some rare fruit? Didn't witness any strange phenomenon? No magical artifacts?"

Li Guanyi answered naturally:

"No. I was born this way."

The old man scratched his head and turned to the massive black tortoise beside him.

"What do you think, old friend?"

The tortoise studied Li Guanyi, its gaze piercing. To Li Guanyi's surprise, the face—spotted and ancient—wore a kind and gentle smile. The tortoise shook its head but said nothing.

The old man interpreted:

"You mean—he's a good kid. Nothing to worry about."

Sīmìng continued, "Right, how you saw it is not important."

"What matters is—you can see it."

He placed a hand over his heart, solemn and calm.

"I am Sīmìng, one of the top three among the twelve seats of the School of Yin-Yang. Whether I'm your teacher or your disciple, that's up to you."

Li Guanyi twitched at the absurdity.

A rich voice interjected: "He's asking if you're willing to join the School of Yin-Yang."

Li Guanyi stared at the tortoise-like he'd seen a ghost.

Sensing his emotions, the white tiger on his shoulder looked at him, then at the tortoise—its eyes widening in equal disbelief.

The tortoise spoke slowly:

"Don't look at me like that. Human speech isn't difficult. If you live long enough, you'll eventually understand it. Child, this generation's Sīmìng is a playful one. Don't let his antics affect your judgment."

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then asked bluntly:

"What do I gain from joining the School of Yin-Yang?"

The old man froze—then burst out laughing, pointing at Li Guanyi.

"You see? He and I are fated—he's got a thick skin like mine!"

"But being direct is good."

"Our School of Yin-Yang is one of the Nine Scholarly Traditions. We control the dual energies of Yin and Yang, divide them into five elements, and understand their transformations. Join us, and you'll gain countless benefits—renown, and respect from princes and kings alike."

The tortoise added patiently:

"The Yin-Yang Sect's Grand Patriarchs are among the rare few qualified to preside over state rituals. Since peace was restored 700 years ago, new kings are crowned with Heaven's Mandate—and it's the Yin-Yang Sect that reads the omens and affirms the decree."

"But once that king falls, the sect's Grand Patriarch falls too."

"In one nation, we may be honored; in another, considered manipulators. Over a century ago, when the Purple Star Palace burned, over a hundred officials from the Bureau of Astronomy were executed. It's no longer an exalted path in times of chaos."

The old friend exposed this plainly, but the tortoise didn't care.

He continued:

"Still, those who master the flow of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements can explore the mysteries of the 'One.' They can read the signs of all things, avoid misfortune, discern geomancy, and walk between Yin and Yang."

"With your talent, not studying it would be a waste."

Li Guanyi studied the tortoise's expression and suddenly realized something.

He sat cross-legged, let go of his sword hilt, rested his hands on his knees, and smiled:

"You're the real Sīmìng, aren't you?"

"Am I?"

Both the tortoise and the old man looked slightly surprised.

The tortoise smiled gently.

"Clever child."

"All things possess Yin and Yang. Living beings belong to Yang, while divine aspects are of Yin. To see both is a skill normally acquired only after reaching a certain mastery in our sect. If you can perceive me—you are fit to inherit the name of Sīmìng."

Li Guanyi noticed that the bronze cauldron couldn't draw any essence from this tortoise.

As if the tortoise had no outwardly released energy at all.

Was the cauldron not strong enough—or was it himself who had not reached the right level?

The tortoise said kindly,

"Child, learning some Yin-Yang techniques will not harm your destiny."

Li Guanyi asked,

"Then what was that move earlier that trapped me?"

The tortoise replied:

"That was a Qi-binding technique. Unlike martial artists' pressure points or Daoists' meridian seals, it's unique. Only those who can perceive Qi can see through it, and only those who understand the balance of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements can break it. But to learn it, one must first enter the realm—the stage where one's Qi can move outside the body."

Li Guanyi was disappointed.

Again with the "realm."

This threshold mattered greatly to all sects and traditions.

The tortoise looked to the old man, who pouted and refused to speak.

"You're the real Sīmìng, why look at me?"

The tortoise nudged him, and he reluctantly picked up a straight stick, and drew a few lines on the ground, each one emanating faint energy. Then he tapped the center.

The earth thickened, and a seedling grew. It sprouted and bloomed into a flowering plum tree. Petals drifted into Li Guanyi's hand. Then the tree withered, burned, became water, then dust—vanished like a dream.

Yet the plum blossom remained in his palm.

The old man tossed the stick and said nothing, just raised his chin.

The tortoise explained,

"This is the essence of our Yin-Yang tradition—transformations of Yin and Yang, cycles of the Five Elements."

"It's a way to explore the foundations of the world. Not suited for killing—but within the same level, if a martial artist gets close, you're as good as dead. Against other Qi practitioners, we're average. Slightly better than those Confucian scholars who study calculations."

Li Guanyi asked:

"Confucianism?"

The old man shouted,

"Confucians are brutes! They're great at smashing people with bamboo scrolls!"

The tortoise said calmly:

"Though not martial, if we master it, we can stir storms across rivers, alter celestial phenomena through formations, raise dust and winds, shift battle formations with ease."

"Throughout history, great strategists learned this path."

"In this time of chaos, the Yin-Yang sect's military advisors alter the weather, Confucian tacticians balance political powers, and mathematicians calculate national strength. And when war erupts—mighty generals lead troops, kings rule from the court, and the people flow in the mortal world, like the Five Elements themselves."

"Child, if you wish to learn, wait until you break into the realm—then return to me."

"No need for formal titles."

The tortoise's shell glowed faintly, releasing a portion of its essence. The bronze cauldron within Li Guanyi hummed in resonance. The energy entered it and naturally transformed into the image of a black tortoise. No elixir was given—but the imprint was left behind.

For the first time, someone had willingly entrusted a divine aspect to him.

The tortoise said kindly:

"If one meets a worthy talent and does not pass on their teachings, the ancestors will crawl from their graves."

"After your breakthrough, I can pass on a 'Divine Aspect' using the secret arts of our sect."

The old man glared at his friend.

"You're stealing him?!"

The 'Divine Aspect'—splitting off a piece of one's own Qi to bestow it—is the core of the Yin-Yang sect's inheritance.

Li Guanyi sensed the change in his cauldron and solemnly accepted the gift. As he stood to leave, he asked:

"May I ask… who are you?"

The tortoise replied:

"Me?"

"Don't mind it."

"I'm just… an old turtle who once carried the River Map of the Luo."

As Li Guanyi departed, the old man and the tortoise looked into the distance. The tortoise said,

"Zǔ Xiaoyou should be arriving soon. The Confucian scholar Wang Tong, titled 'Master Wen Zhong,' is here. The seventh pillar of the Mohist school has infiltrated the city. The energies of war and scholarship are already surging."

"What are you looking at?"

The old man replied,

"His stars."

Though it was daylight, he squinted up at the sky. His white hair and beard fluttered in the wind. The tortoise gazed at this generation's most gifted Sīmìng. Among all those who read the stars, none surpassed him.

This was a man who had once presided over a great state ritual, with kings kneeling beneath him. As incense rose and massive banners danced like clouds, Sīmìng sat cross-legged before a towering bronze cauldron, reciting ancient chants with solemn reverence.

People said he was the greatest of his era.

But only the tortoise knew—the man had been hungover that day. His expression of solemnity came from a pounding headache. He carved hidden grooves into his divination shells ahead of time to fake auspicious signs.

The tortoise remembered the real words beneath the sacred music:

"Damn it—this headache's killing me."

He was the most gifted Sīmìng—and also the most irreverent.

Now he sighed:

"So that's it. He isn't the White Tiger Patriarch."

The tortoise looked at him. The old man said softly:

"I can't see his star—but I see the one representing his fate."

"It hangs in the sky like a black whirlpool in the Eastern Sea, swallowing all nearby stars, even those of the Four Auspicious Beasts. And yet, it emits no light."

"It's as if… it doesn't belong to the stars at all."

"A pitch-black vortex of a destiny."

"I… I can't read it…"

"But destiny is only a starting point. What matters is whether he can live up to it."

"This time at Guan Yi City, with both civil and martial forces gathering—Jianghu, court, the Empires of Chen and Ying, noble clans, border tribes, Confucians, Daoists, Mohists, military strategists, and powerful merchants…"

"All the world's powers converge. It's the best chance for someone of the Dragon-Tiger fate."

"Like waves rising in a storm, a fish may ride the current and become a true dragon. If he breaks through now, his foundation may be unmatched."

"Whether he rises to glory—or fades into obscurity…"

"We'll soon see."

The tortoise asked,

"Why didn't you tell him all that?"

The old man froze.

"…I forgot."

The two looked at each other.

The old man leaped up and ran.

"Disciple! Master! Wait up!"

"Wait up!"

Li Guanyi returned to the Xue family estate. He needed to warn the old general about the city's shifting defenses—even if the elder already knew, he had to report it. He also wanted to move his aunt into the Xue family's side estate temporarily.

As he reached the gate, he saw a caravan arriving.

These people looked very different from the locals—brawny, fierce.

Curious, Li Guanyi was about to ask when a guard greeted him respectfully as a guest official. A man in the caravan, about thirty years old, turned upon hearing this. Hair neatly tied with a jade hairpin, skin fair, with a gentle demeanor and thin mustache.

To Li Guanyi's eyes, energy swirled around him—and on his shoulder, a white fox emerged.

Li Guanyi's white tiger prowled, red dragon coiled.

A divine aspect?!

Impossible—only elite talents had those! In his entire life, Li Guanyi hadn't seen one—and now, in just a month, so many had appeared in Guan Yi City?

Something was wrong.

He thought of the changed city defenses and felt a storm approaching.

The man smiled slightly.

"A guest official?"

"So young and already a guest of the Xue family—you must be extraordinary."

Li Guanyi replied,

"Sir, you too carry an air of brilliance."

"Hahaha, I'm just a humble traveling merchant from Longxi. Hardly worthy of being called 'sir.'"

The handsome man bowed slightly.

"From Longxi, my surname is the compound 'Changsun,' given name Wuchou."

"A pleasure to meet you, young master."

(End of Chapter)

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