Soaring the Heavens

Dark clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. No one knows when it would be sunny again, or if it would come again at all. The troops of every single Cave from Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor rallied out, totaling a force of over three thousand riders. They marched from three separate directions, and their destination—Tranquil Sun Manor.

Cheng Hailiang, the Mountain Chieftain of Raincloud Manor’s Mount Hongdong, galloped across the muddy road, circling back and forth beside his marching army.

"Formation! Formation! Stay in formation!" bellowed Cheng Hailiang as he waved his sword towards the areas where the troops were slightly out of formation.

He then galloped to the rear end of the formation and continued to yell out, "Stay in line! Stay in line! Liu Gui! Are your Yellow Gate Cave men incapable of walking? They can’t even stay in a proper formation! Why do I still need a Cave Master like you then?! Just tell me if you don’t want the job. I’ve got a whole line of people waiting to take your place!"

After being called out like that, Liu Gui immediately turned around and barked, "All of you, look alive! You bastards, stop looking around like idiots already! If you dimwits can’t even walk properly, I’ll have you crying when you get your pay at the end of the year!"

"What the hell is up with this? Why do we have to go through such torture on such a rainy day?!" One of the cultivators couldn’t help grumbling to himself.

The uncannily sharp hearing of Cheng Hailiang naturally noticed this little complaint. He immediately turned his steed around, pointing back towards the source of the voice and shouted, "Who was talking just now? I want everyone to be silent while we’re marching! No whispering amongst yourselves! I’m warning all of you, the Manor Head will be personally examining the forces under all the Mountain Chieftains today! What kind of person is the Manor Head? He’s someone who cut his way out of that dreaded Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade! In short, a battle expert! In contrast, look at your sloppy selves. You’ll never catch the Manor Head’s eye this way! Damn it! If one of you causes me to lose face in front of the Manor Head and I lose my position, I’ll make sure you suffer too! We’ll all go to hell together!"

This situation didn’t just occur in Mount Hongdong but in every single one of the Mountain Chieftains’ forces within Raincloud Manor. Manor Head Miao Yi already told them that one person would be replaced from the ten. Fearing that this whole thing was a test of sorts, all the Mountain Chieftains didn’t dare to be careless. They spared absolutely no effort in making sure everything was perfect!

Similar situations were happening amongst the forces of Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Lake Manor as well.

Within the main forces of Raincloud Manor, Qian’Er and Xue’Er sat, garbed in armor, on their Black-Scaled Drake Beasts. The two of them were right beside Miao Yi, and behind them were the three Advisors, six Deacons, and the rest of the main troops. They all galloped in the rain towards the stone bridge upon the lake.

Staying behind to look after the place, Yan Xiu saw them off from outside the assembly hall.

As Miao Yi and his forces made it onto the other side of the lake, he noticed someone galloping towards them. This person was none other than Wen Fang, who braved the rain and came all this way to see him.

"Big Brother!" Wen Fang hastily stopped her steed and shouted. Her face lit up with glee.

Sadly, Miao Yi simply nodded at her before leading his men to charge right past her. He didn’t slow down for even a second.

Wen Fang’s smile immediately froze. Her body entirely drenched, she pouted her lips, and her eyes looked dispirited. However, she soon gave herself an encouraging smile and brought her steed to a gallop towards the other side of the stone bridge...

Braving the storm and charging relentlessly through the muddy roads, Miao Yi led his troops to the rendezvous point for his Raincloud Manor forces. However, when he arrived, he was met with a surprise!

The ten Mountain Chieftains stepped forward to greet him. Coming to a halt before Miao Yi, they alighted their mounts and bowed deeply. "We respectfully greet the Manor Head!"

Miao Yi forgot to reply, still staring in a daze at the flatlands between the two mountains nearby. There, over a thousand troops stood at the ready. Both solemn and orderly, there was not a single person who stood out of line. Miao Yi had never seen nor heard of an army that could be so well-trained and organized. The shock had him completely tongue-tied for a second.

He wasn’t the only one. Qian’Er, Xue’Er, and Chen Fei were also in awe.

Miao Yi turned back to look at his own troops. Compared to them, his group was an absolute hot mess, causing Miao Yi to feel a little ashamed of himself.

"Thank you for coming all this way, everyone!" Miao Yi raised his hand and signaled for everyone to be at ease. He then rode alone towards the massive army.

The ten Mountain Chieftains immediately followed behind him. Miao Yi circled around that unbelievably organized army a couple times, then tried shouting out a command for them to be at attention. However, not a single one of them paid him, the Manor Head, any heed. Their eyes didn’t so much as dart towards his direction; they all just stood incredibly still.

Miao Yi couldn’t hide his surprise as he turned around and asked, "Are these the forces of our Raincloud Manor?"

"Yes!" said the ten Mountain Chieftains. They continued, "We are all at your command, Manor Head!"

"Good, good, good..." said Miao Yi as he nodded repeatedly. He then offered them a heartfelt compliment, "It looks like I have underestimated you all!"

Miao Yi’s compliment had the ten Mountain Chieftains behind him bursting with delight deep down. They cupped their fists and replied, "You flatter us, Manor Head. We are merely doing our duties!"

Miao Yi suddenly felt more motivated to do this. Initially, he was worried about what to do with these people and even considered making an example out of some of them. However, from the looks of things, it seems that these people were not only good at kissing their superiors’ butts. He had completely underestimated them.

After another bout of compliments, Miao Yi handed down the necessary instructions to the ten Mountain Chieftains, then proceeded to call out one of his Advisors named Mu Tailai. He commanded Mu Tailai to lead some of the men from the Raincloud Manor’s main division and follow after him to Tranquil Sun Manor.

Qian’Er, Xue’Er, and Chen Fei were to wait here on standby. Miao Yi was still not completely sure he could trust these people, so he decided to leave his trusted subordinates to monitor the ones left behind.

However, it seemed as though the heavens were not on their side. There was no sign of the rain stopping, rather, it seemed as though it was getting heavier instead. As Miao Yi and his forces reached the border of Tranquil Sun Manor territory, he bumped into Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. Their three forces numbered over a hundred people in total.

At this moment, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were riding atop the spiritual beasts they had brought back from the Sea of Constellations, courtesy of Tan Lao, of course. One was a Steelhead Panther, and the other was a Six-Eyed Vampiric Fox. Both looked incredibly ferocious, with bodies as tough as an ox, and a set of incredibly sharp fangs.

"Damn this stupid weather!" Sikong Wuwei barked at the clouds.

"Let’s not waste time! Begin the attack!" Zhao Fei shouted.

The rest of the troops couldn’t believe their ears. ’Didn’t we come here to attend a banquet? What do you mean ’begin the attack’?’

Miao Yi and Sikong Wuwei nodded. The three Manor Heads each wrote down a decree, placed it inside the messenger tube of the spirit eagles they brought along with them, then released the birds from their cages and into the sky.

They then handed down the jade archives that they’d prepared beforehand down to their respective subordinates.

"The defenses here are hopelessly weak. There is no need to fear them at all. I want all of you to head down to your assigned locations and lay in wait. Once you hear the signal coming from Tranquil Sun Manor, attack immediately!"

Miao Yi barked out his orders coldly. Not only were his men utterly aghast by the sudden command, but the Advisor Mu Tailai that he had brought along was also horrified. He immediately cupped his fists and said, "My lord, what are you doing? Are you thinking of attacking Tranquil Sun Manor? My lord, I must advise against it!"

"Shut up! Do I need you to teach me what to do?" Miao Yi pointed to his face and yelled, "If I catch you letting even a single person slip, I will have your head! That goes for the rest of you as well. Whichever one of our enemies manages to survive, your life will be used to replace theirs! I’m a man of my word. There’s no use asking for someone else’s help to save you either. I don’t give a damn about that! Today is the day for you all to prove your worth! The Mountain Chieftain’s seat is up for grabs. But which among you have what it takes to seize it?"

Mu Tailai was speechless in his horror, and so were the rest of them!

"You heard him!" Sikong Wuwei pointed at Miao Yi and barked towards his own men, "Those are the rules!"

Zhao Fei also yelled, "If any of our enemies manages to escape, one of you will be chosen to take their place. If you wish to be Mountain Chieftain, then fight for it with your actions!"

Suddenly, someone from Mulberry Cloud Manor cupped his fists towards Sikong Wuwei and said, "Manor Head, you mustn’t take such a risk alone. I am willing to follow you and ensure your safety!"

Sikong Wuwei rolled his eyes in disdain and scoffed, "Stop trying to kiss ass! I can come and go as I please in the Sea of Constellations. Do you think I need your protection for a little Tranquil Sun Manor?"

Zhao Fei barked, "What are you hesitating for? Do you intend to defy my orders?"

The trusted aide that Zhao Fei had brought with him to Thousand Lake Manor immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Let’s go!"

After their forces split into three directions and headed into the forest, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged glances, then immediately charged up the mountain.

"When they reached the mountain gates, they were stopped by two umbrella-carrying gatekeepers. They asked, "Who goes there?"

Miao Yi and the others didn’t force their way in. Instead, they showed the other party their decree of appointment from Hall Master Shen Huaixin. Zhao Fei then said, "The three of us are Manor Head Chang’s new neighbors, and we specifically arranged to pay him a visit together today!"

"Please wait for a moment, Manor Heads!" The gatekeepers nodded humbly and immediately tucked his umbrella away before running off to report to the people inside.

Within the Manor Head’s quarters, Chang Zijiu had received the report and was presently standing in the hall. He was a rather burly man and had a prominent amount of stubble on his face. He mused, "And here I was wondering when to find the time to visit them. I can’t believe they’re even more anxious than I am, and came all the way here in the rain."

He turned to his handmaiden and said, "We have some rather important guests today. I shall go and meet them. Tell the men to ready the main hall for a feast!"

His handmaiden acknowledged the order and left. Chang Zijiu then strode out the door, where a servant was already waiting for him with an umbrella. However, he pushed the servant aside. Since his guests had braved the rain to come here, then naturally he had to welcome them in a similar fashion as well.

Soon, Manor Head Chang Zijiu arrived before the mountain gates, braving the pouring rain. He cupped his fists from afar and smiled, "I am truly sorry for making you come all this way, Manor Heads!"

Miao Yi and the others jumped off their mounts and exchanged pleasantries with Chang Zijiu. Highly impressed with Zhao Fei’s and Sikong Wuwei’s mounts, Chang Zijiu couldn’t resist complimenting them.

As they all possessed a similar status, the four of them walked side by side, talking amicably as they made their way to the Manor Head’s quarters. Naturally, they had servants tending to their needs.

Once Chang Zijiu’s handmaiden informed them that the feast was ready, he rose from his seat and extended his arm, "Please, after you!"

As they entered the main hall, dozens of tray tables with gorgeous-looking dishes of food were spread out before them in rows of two. Tranquil Sun Manor’s three Advisors and six Deacons were already here waiting for them.

Chang Zijiu introduced Miao Yi and the others to his subordinates, then sat down upon his seat. After the crowd mingled around for a while, they also went to their assigned seats.

The atmosphere within the main hall was quite festive, with beautiful women serving wine, the fervent hospitality from the host, and even a wondrous dance performance from several handmaidens in the center. After everyone had a few drinks, Chang Zijiu took the initiative and asked for stories about the Sea of Constellations. "My friends, my subordinates and I have never been to the Sea of Constellations before. I wonder what kind of place it is. Can you share with us some tales?"

The crowd immediately cheered in agreement. With a faint smile on his face, Miao Yi stood up and said, "Speaking of the Sea of Constellations, it just so happens that I have a friend I’d like you all to meet."

Chang Zijiu asked curiously, "Could there still be a guest waiting outside in the rain?"

Miao Yi stood up from his seat and walked towards the center of the hall, waving his hand to dismiss the group of dancers in his way. The dancers stopped and looked towards Chang Zijiu, who also waved his hand for them to be dismissed.

Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei sat quietly behind their tables and watched as Miao Yi spread his arms out before the crowd. Then, Qi Xiuhong’s body suddenly appeared out of thin air and was held in Miao Yi’s embrace.

The hall instantly fell silent. Miao Yi slowly spun around the hall, eventually stopping before Chang Zijiu. His voice as cold as ice, he asked, "I brought her back all the way from the Sea of Constellations, just so I can ask everyone in this very hall this question: Do you still recognize her?"