The Regressor of Mount Hua-Chapter 321. An Ideal Reality (1)

"What did you say?"

Luo Xiaoyue puffed her cheeks, eyes turning fierce.

"No, I didn't say anything..."

"Oh my, I never thought the Strongest Under the Heavens Sword God would be helpless against his junior sister."

At that tense moment, a savior appeared.

"Oh! Young Lady Wave Sword Phoenix! You've arrived!"

"I actually arrived yesterday. But since you never left the Alliance Master’s office, I didn’t get a chance to greet you. Oh? Was there something secret going on in there...?"

"You really don’t waste any time, do you? No, nothing at all! Absolutely not. My sexual preference is female."

Zhou Xuchuan hurriedly stopped Duan Lihua from saying anything strange.

At that, Duan Lihua placed her palm on her cheek and smiled bitterly, as if embarrassed.

"Even I would get embarrassed if you woo me so passionately in front of others... Besides, didn't we spend some time together on the boat just a little while ago? Right?"

"Senior Brother?"

Luo Xiaoyue glared at Zhou Xuchuan, on the verge of tears.

For the first time in her life, his junior sister's gaze was as fierce as a demon's dagger.

"Can you explain what this is all about?"

"It's because the boat was rocking!"

"Seriously, since you moved so roughly..."

"Shut up!"

He really wished she would keep her mouth shut.

Zhou Xuchuan finally rejoined his group.

"Oh my, Great Hero Zhou. You must have had a hard time at the Martial Alliance meeting. Are you tired? I knew you would be, so I made a drink with the fruits I brought from Hainan Island!"

Li Yicai laughed and handed him the drink.

Thankful for his timely arrival, Zhou Xuchuan took the South Sea drink and used it to soothe Luo Xiaoyue, who was still pouting.

"I only came to the Martial Alliance because I was worried about you. If there’s nothing else, can I return to Shandong now?" Zhuge Shengji asked, stamping his feet anxiously. He seemed impatient because he had been talking to Gan Yezi and wanted to finish his mechanism.

"I was going to suggest that anyway... but are you fine leaving without seeing your Hyung?"

"Ah!"

Zhuge Shengji slapped his knee and exclaimed.

"You really are..."

He hadn't even thought about seeing his own brother, whom he rarely met—even though he was right there.

After all, he was a freak who valued machines over people and had zero social skills.

He wasn't called the Mechanism Freak across the murim for nothing.

"I-I'm going to go see him!"

Feeling guilty, Zhuge Shengji bolted off, only to turn back.

"But where is he?"

Everyone sighed.

"Let's go together."

Zhuge Xiuluan smiled faintly and tugged at his sleeve. The youngest, whom no one could decide was a genius or an idiot, scratched his head.

"Head Merchant, I have something to say about how things will go in the future," Zhou Xuchuan said.

"I, your humble merchant Li Yicai, will engrave the words of Great Hero Zhou into my ears, brain, and heart."

"As we all know, whether it's Shengji or Elder Gan Yezi, they tend to ignore their surroundings when they concentrate. Thus, I would like you, Head Merchant, to make arrangements on my behalf."

"Of course. It's something that I've been doing all along anyway, so don't worry."

"Since I have matters of my own to attend to and can’t be there personally, I’ll need you to prepare for war in my place."

Zhou Xuchuan explained the situation to Li Yicai.

"We will need supplies."

War cost money, and a lot of money at that.

"Military provisions and equipment are the main wares of the Gold Will Merchants. Please set aside your worries and trust me."

The Gold Will Merchants had started with rice. After that, Li Yicai had moved on to military supplies and equipment, growing his business.

While other fields also offered good opportunities for growth, military supplies and equipment were by far the most profitable. In his previous life, Zhou Xuchuan had seen Li Yicai successfully monopolize that market.

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"When this is over, I'm okay with having to hand over some of my shares if need be, so don't be stingy with your money."

"A-a-a-a-are you serious?!! What an incredible DiscipleofLiuZhengmu of the GreatestSectUndertheHeavens the GreatMountHuaSect and the MostHandsomeManintheWorld the Esteemed Sword God Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan!"[1]

Li Yicai's eyes sparkled. They bulged as if ready to pop out, and his stare was overwhelming.

"I'm not giving you any more shares just because you flatter me like that."

"N-n-n-n-no! W-what sort of person do you think I am?!" Li Yicai stuttered, drenched in sweat.

"You're the same as before. That's fortunate."

Zhou Xuchuan could put his trust in the merchant. To be honest, he would have doubted if it was really Li Yicai if the man had said that he didn't need the money.

***

As the days passed, the atmosphere of the Martial Alliance grew more and more stagnant.

"What in the world should we do about this situation?"

"How many days have we spent on the same topic..."

"The gaze of the Righteous Faction martial artists is growing colder by the day."

"Why, of all people, does it have to be the Juvenile Fist Emperor?"

The Elders held meetings in front of their desks every other day.

If they left things as they were, it would be as good as admitting to hypocrisy and corruption. Not only would they face death at the hands of the Juvenile Fist Emperor, but they would also bring dishonor to the names of their sects. In the past, it hadn't been the entire upper leadership that was implicated—only a few individuals. And since the matter had been resolved internally by the younger generation, it hadn’t dealt a significant blow.

People had even praised the new leadership, expressing support with enthusiasm.

However, the situation was different now.

"..."

The Boundless Dragon, Nangong Shanxu, sat alone in a quiet place.

As the days passed, the gloom on his face only deepened.

"Would it be okay if I sat next to you for a moment?"

Nangong Shanxu turned to identify the voice and couldn’t hide his surprise.

"Sword God!"

The hero of the Righteous Faction and an absolute figure of the murim.

It was the Sword God Zhou Xuchuan, one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords.

Nangong Shanxu stood up to greet him formally, but Zhou Xuchuan raised a hand to stop him and sat down beside him.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Ah... I'm fine. It's all thanks to the Divine Physician who looked after me."

Last year, during the Great War of Good and Demonic, Nangong Shanxu had been badly injured by the Heavenly Demon. All of his joints were either broken or snapped, and his internal injuries were severe.

Fortunately, Zhou Xuchuan had made a dramatic appearance and Nangong Shanxu survived. He was later fully healed by the Divine Physician's medical techniques.

"If you hadn't come, I would have long been dead, Sword God. I also owe you a great debt."

Though he didn’t rise, Nangong Shanxu turned slightly and politely cupped his fist in greeting.

Zhou Xuchuan scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and smiled faintly.

"No, on the contrary, I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner. And really, there’s no need for such formality between us. We're both members of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes."

Hero of the Era of War and Chaos, Boundless Dragon—no, Boundless Sword Hero, Nangong Shanxu.

This was the first time he had met Nangong Shanxu in private. However, Zhou Xuchuan knew Nangong Shanxu well.

As befitting the greatest of the younger generation talents of his era, Nangong Shanxu had also been active in various ways in Zhou Xuchuan's previous life.

Although he hadn't lived to see the end of the Era of War and Chaos, he had been the head of the Nangong Family and was renowned as a master.

He had been a strong candidate for becoming the next Empyrean Overlord during his lifetime, and was one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven. Unfortunately, he had died in the final battle.

"That won't do. How could I put myself on the same level as the Sword God? Even the thought of that is ridiculous."

Nangong Shanxu waved his hands in surprise.

He wasn’t speaking out of jealousy or flattery, but out of genuine respect.

He had every reason to feel that way—Zhou Xuchuan’s feats were legendary.

Not only had he reached the Harmony Realm at a young age, but he had also played an active role as a hero and had even claimed a seat among the Empyrean Overlords.

To call him 'great' would be an understatement.

"Compared to that, I..."

Nangong Shanxu smiled bitterly and lowered his head.

He had been born as the grandson of the Martial Alliance Leader and Absolute Master Nangong Weiwu, and was a descendant of the Five Great Ancient Families.

However, despite receiving all kinds of expectations and support since childhood, he hadn't done much.

Although he had once been known as a swordsman, recently, he had been unable to achieve anything and had only shown a pitiful side.

He had even told Zhuge Xiuluan, who had been anxious when the Sword God went missing, that Zhou Xuchuan was dead.

"You don't have to blame yourself so much."

Nangong Shanxu looked up, struggling with guilt, but his expression remained clouded. He was just about to insist he wasn’t worth comforting—

"You are a greater person than you think."

Zhou Xuchuan could see many people behind Nangong Shanxu.

Yes. It was the heroes who made me who I am today.

Nangong Shanxu was one of them.

Although he was the grandson of the Martial Alliance Leader and had the Five Great Ancient Families behind him, he was humble and was a hero who had valued righteousness and an upright character.

In the Era of War and Chaos, he had helped and protected the people by shedding his own blood and sometimes rolling in the dirt.

In the chaotic battlefield, Nangong Shanxu had followed in the footsteps of the Completion Sword, shining as a symbol of hope and an idol to the people.

"You and your grandfather are both great people. I, the Sword God Zhou Xuchuan, say so. Don't pay attention to what the world thinks."

"Sword God..."

"Don't waver. Don't bend your beliefs. Even if the world doesn't recognize you, I will."

In the past, when he spoke about the Dark Heavens Association, no one believed him. Even Luo Xiaoyue had been skeptical.

However, Zhuge Shengji was different. The boy had said that even if no one else believed him, it was okay because he believed him.

The boy had told him that even if the entirety of the murim, of the Central Plains, if even the heavens didn't believe him, that he still would.

He had likely never realized just how much strength that one statement had given him.

Nangong Shanxu trembled, fists clenched, unable to speak through the emotion.

"I have a favor to ask of you, no, of the Great Hero Boundless Dragon."

"'Little Hero' is more than enough. Please tell me what you need. I, Nangong Shanxu, will follow the will of the Sword God."

"It might actually be more painful than dying. To be honest, it's not a good favor."

"That's okay."

He didn't look weak like before.

Nangong Shanxu's eyes were firm and determined.

Zhou Xuchuan nodded and opened his mouth.

Three days later.

A herbalist who had been climbing the mountain to dig up herbs as usual screamed.

"Agh!"

The sight before him was a mountain of corpses.

Corpses upon corpses, strewn across the ground.

Masked figures, more than a hundred of them, lay lifeless—yet not a single drop of blood could be seen.

There was also a boy in neat clothes sitting on a rock.

It all created a strange scene.

The boy, Jing Bai, looked embarrassed as he looked at the herbalist.

"Tsk... It's because of me that your place of business is in shambles. I apologize, young man."

"E-eeek!!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have anything right now, so if you give me your name, I'll make sure to compensate you for the damages..."

"Eeeeeeek! It's a ghost!" the herbalist screamed and ran away.

Jing Bai watched the man flee, frowning in frustration.

"It's a problem that these annoying things keep following me wherever I go. The Alliance Leader isn't the type of person to do such things, but since there are more than one or two people among the upper echelons of the Martial Alliance who dislike me... it seems, even as the years passed, the murim is still the same."

1. This is also just one really long word, but you cannot have it formatted properly in the app if I leave it this long, so I cut it into chunks. ☜