Chapter One: The Gate of Endless Strife

A few days after returning to the Martial Academy, the upper administration finally approved the origin points Chen Fan had earned from his victory at the Huaqing Pool. It was only a few thousand, but for Chen Fan, it was sufficient.

He spent the remaining days buried in the Hall of Myriad Illusions, practicing in seclusion. After his breakthrough in the "Three Thousand Lightning Movements," the lightning formation in the hall was of little use to him. Once he had attained the initial stage of the Intent of Lightning, his automated cultivation efficiency slowed to a crawl, and he could no longer rely on virtual lightning to improve. Furthermore, he was still far from reaching the Bright Sun Pavilion, so he could not access the Earth-ranked rooms or higher. He turned his attention to other arts, primarily the "Blazing Fire Sword." Once a cultivation slot opened up, he chose to begin practicing the "Heavenly Frost Fist."

Fire, lightning, and ice were all elements that the Hall of Myriad Illusions could simulate. However, Chen Fan understood that attempting to merge the "Blazing Fire Sword" and the "Heavenly Frost Fist" to comprehend a higher Intent would not be as opportune as his experience with the "Three Thousand Lightning Movements."

Time slipped away. Autumn turned to winter. Chen Fan spent his first New Year at the Martial Academy. He took Zhang Fan to meet his Second Senior Brother, Tao Xian. Since Zhang Fan had joined the academy later, he had not previously known Tao Xian. Neither of them was aware of the details of Tao Xian's past, but they encouraged him to take the opportunity to return and visit their Master.

Tao Xian was a martial arts fanatic, and among all of Chen Fan’s senior brothers and sisters, he possessed the greatest natural talent. Before turning thirty, he had already entered the Bright Moon Pavilion, ranking among its middle-tier members. Although he had sought martial arts training in Yan City, he was not a native, and he had not returned to the city in several years since entering the academy.

After the New Year, Chen Fan remained in seclusion. With enough origin points, he was in no hurry to challenge the Myriad Forms Void Realm. Time flowed like water, and winter gave way to spring. Several more months passed. It had been over half a year since Chen Fan joined the academy.

Although the Blue Field Jade Refining Pill had helped him complete nearly half of the fifth stage of tempering, the latter half still required a significant amount of time for automated cultivation, even with the aid of medicinal pills. Over these months, Chen Fan had only pushed his bone-tempering progress to seventy percent. His "Heavenly Frost Fist" had reached the realm of Subtlety through daily training in ice and snow. The "Blazing Fire Sword" had also reached the pinnacle of Subtlety, yet the progress bar for the subsequent "Unity" realm remained unmoved. Meanwhile, he had fully mastered the third stage of the Star Body-Forging Technique, resulting in a significant increase in his physical constitution.

During this period, he did not participate in the assessments of the Myriad Forms Void Realm. Although he had not been at the academy for long, his profile had been too high; it was better to keep a low profile for a while. Since he could not break through to the sixth stage of martial arts for the time being, and his strength had hit a temporary plateau, Chen Fan could not sit still. He wanted to go out to participate in the Origin Merchant assessment, complete some missions to earn more origin points, and return to Yan City to visit his Master and family. His last trip had been a hurried affair; this time, he intended to stay a few days longer.

Before accepting any missions, Chen Fan went to see Ye Wuji. Ye Wuji had told him outside the Huaqing Pool secret realm to come and see him when he was ready to leave.

"You have quite the patience. Finally leaving the academy?" Ye Wuji asked, looking at Chen Fan with a smile. Chen Fan had been holed up in the academy for months, something most disciples could not compare to.

"This disciple needs to complete missions to earn origin points..." Chen Fan said, bowing with his hands clasped. Compared to other disciples, his frequency of completing missions was extremely low. Relying solely on the monthly stipends for Bright Moon Pavilion disciples was only enough for daily cultivation; there were no extra origin points to be earned, and the progress made in the Hall of Questioning yielded very little. Most of his previous gains had been consumed. Of course, his main purpose for this trip was to return to the Origin Merchant secret realm and visit Yan City; the missions were secondary.

Ye Wuji nodded. "To become a powerhouse, one must not fear hardship. Although mission training is dangerous, it is also an opportunity for rapid progress. Of course, if you were an ordinary student, you could come and go as you pleased to complete missions. But for you, I must offer a few words of caution..."

Chen Fan recalled the warning Tao Xian had given him earlier. He understood. His performance had indeed been too outstanding; it would be strange if he did not attract jealousy.

Ye Wuji narrowed his eyes, his expression complex. "I specifically asked to see you because there is something important I must tell you. Have you ever heard of the Wujian Gate?"

Chen Fan was stunned and shook his head.

Ye Wuji continued, "Though the Great Qian is vast, it is not the only power in the world. Surrounding it are countless small nations, most of which are mere tenths the size of our own and not worth mentioning. However, there are two dynasties whose strength rivals that of the Great Qian: the Great Qing to the north and the Great Chang to the south.

"Between the Great Qian and the Great Qing lies the Spirit God Dao Sect. This sect is incredibly powerful, and because of this barrier, the two nations rarely interact, allowing them to coexist in peace. But the southern border directly abuts the Great Chang; we have territorial disputes and even harbor mutual hostility."

Hearing the name of the Spirit God Dao Sect from someone else left Chen Fan with a strange feeling. Though it was only a sect, its actual jurisdiction was likely no smaller than a prefecture of the Great Qian. Its strength was immense, rivaling the entire dynasty, yet as a sect rather than a state, it did not easily interfere in worldly affairs. It even assisted secular dynasties in dealing with demonic beasts, and its disciples often traveled the world for cultivation. Because of its unique location, it served as a natural divide between the Great Qing and the Great Qian. As for the long-standing grudge between the Great Chang and the Great Qian, Chen Fan had grown up in Qinghe Prefecture, far from the southern border, and had little personal feeling toward it.

Chen Fan frowned. "I don't see how this relates to what you said about the Wujian Gate, Headmaster."

Ye Wuji explained, "The Great Chang and the Great Qian have been hostile for decades, leading to constant friction at the borders. Both sides have dispatched espionage organizations into each other's territories, and the Wujian Gate is the most powerful spy organization that the Great Chang has planted within our Great Qian."

Chen Fan was taken aback again. Named "Wujian" (No Space/Seamless), yet acting as spies—he found the irony of the name amusing.

Ye Wuji continued, "The Wujian Gate is spread throughout the interior of the Great Qian, with many hidden agents and spies lurking in every prefecture. They have even established a special assassination list, divided into seven grades. The targets are either high-ranking officials of the Great Qian or talented martial arts disciples. Many of our academy's geniuses are on that list."

Seeing the look on Ye Wuji's face, Chen Fan suddenly realized, "Am I on this Wujian Gate assassination list as well?"

Ye Wuji nodded. "More than that. We have received the latest intelligence: you have reached the third grade on this list. This is the highest level of assassination for anyone below the level of a Grandmaster. You should know that even the top ten young masters of Qinghe Prefecture are only ranked at the third grade... At this level, it is possible for you to encounter a seventh-stage killer."

Chen Fan’s progress had been too terrifying. In four months at the academy, he had surged from four hundredth to within the top three hundred, and then entered the Huaqing Pool secret realm, obtaining an opportunity for enlightenment. Even though he had remained in seclusion afterward without further displays, his performance was truly stunning. At his age, no one in the academy could match his strength; even the likes of Changsun Shichuan and Ji Guanjian were far behind him at that age.