Chapter 121: Senior Brother, the Southern Province Military Incident – 6K Subscription Request, Second Chapter Summary

Junior sister, who is he???

The next day after waking, we didn't linger on the road; Zhao Xingyue also pushed the flying boat to its maximum speed, arriving at Shang Xuan Sect—a massive sect nestled among the mountains—before noon.

Then the above questioning occurred.

"Senior brother, he is my lifesaver." Zhao Xingyue said calmly, showing no reaction to the senior brother's expression.

"So this is the senior brother you mentioned?" Wang Wu hadn't expected that just after entering the mountain gate, while still on the entrance plaza, he would encounter the senior brother Zhao Xingyue had spoken of on the road.

A young woman was with him, whose appearance was no less striking than Zhao Xingyue's.

"Yes." Zhao Xingyue nodded lightly.

"C‑can…" Actually, Zhao Xingyue's senior brother wasn't that excited when he first saw Wang Wu, until he noticed the jade pendant hanging from his waist.

At that moment, the senior brother thought he had misread it, but upon a closer look, he realized the item was indeed Zhao Xingyue's jade pendant.

It was something Zhao Xingyue treasured greatly; perhaps no one in the world besides her could ever take it from her.

Yet now the item hung around Wang Wu's waist.

"Senior brother Liu! The master is calling you."

Just as Zhao Xingyue's senior brother was about to say something, another Shang Xuan Sect disciple suddenly appeared behind Senior brother Liu and shouted at him.

Even though he had ten thousand words to say, faced with the master's summons, Senior brother Liu could only turn his countless words into silence, turning and flying up the mountain.

Shang Xuan Sect indeed matched Wang Wu's stereotypical image of a transcendent world's "cultivation sect," though so far he had only visited this one sect.

The Qingping Island side didn't give Wang Wu that kind of stereotype, and Qingping Island wasn't a sect headquarters; it was merely a garrison.

According to the fortress's surveillance cameras, the combined area of several cities comprising Shang Xuan Sect's headquarters within this mountain range likely exceeds ten thousand square kilometers, with essentially a city and a headquarters on every peak.

The largest of these cities lies on the main vein of the Shang Xuan Mountains, covering about three thousand square kilometers, situated at an altitude of six thousand meters.

As for the entrance through which Zhao Xingyue brought Wang Wu in, this is also a city at the foot of the mountains, one of the four entrances—east, south, west, north—of the Shang Xuan Mountains.

You cannot enter the range from other directions, because the entire mountain is sealed by the great powers of Shang Xuan Sect; anyone who trespasses will become lost in endless dense fog, circling around until they return to where they came from.

As for a forceful breach, unless you possess the ability to break the great formation, it's simply courting death.

It's hard to imagine how many people actually live here—perhaps over a million?

"My lord, this place is huge."

After the senior brother and junior sister left, Zhao Xingyue led Wang Wu and Wu Lian onward; the two quickly passed through the plaza at the mountain gate entrance, formally entering Shang Xuan Sect's "Cultivator City."

Seeing the massive city, perhaps ten to nine times more bustling than He Dong Xian, Wang Wu couldn't help but sigh.

Here live countless cultivators and their families, a place where transcendants and ordinary people coexist.

For a sect, population is naturally its most important resource. The more ordinary people they have, the more talent they can harvest.

Population is both talent and productive force; for both a nation and a sect, it is an extremely important strategic resource.

"How many people are here?" Wang Wu asked curiously after scanning the bustling main street.

Above, cultivators could be seen stepping on all sorts of magical artifacts, or simply soaring on clouds toward distant peaks. On the ground, the streets were full of people, yet not as overcrowded as an ordinary county town in the Great Zhou.

Perhaps the sheer size makes it feel less crowded despite the huge population.

"Around six hundred thousand?" Zhao Xingyue shook her head. "I don't know, but the total population of Shang Xuan Sect should be around seven million."

"That many???" Wang Wu was surprised, then scanned the surroundings and said, "So isn't this essentially a nation within a nation?"

"They still have to pay taxes to the court, contributing many things each year," Zhao Xingyue said with a smile. "Moreover, the sect itself has no military authority; the city's administration is handled by officials sent by the court."

"The court also stations troops here, so it can't truly be called a nation within a nation from afar."

"If those weren't present, then it would truly be a nation within a nation."

After hearing Zhao Xingyue's explanation, Wang Wu silently nodded. It seemed the court's control in this world was quite strong, easily manipulating such sects.

But thinking of the Great Zhou court's formidable military—its legions and those spacefaring warships soaring in the sky—

Of course, also the intercontinental missile named "Blazing Sun" in this fantastical world.

"This is my residence."

Ten minutes later, Zhao Xingyue led Wang Wu and Wu Lian to her residence within Shang Xuan Sect.

The place covered roughly six hundred square meters, surrounded by walls on all sides; the main house entered through the front courtyard was Zhao Xingyue's bedroom and living room, the bathroom was the house on the right side of the courtyard, and the house on the left was the kitchen.

The main house was fairly spacious and had several doors; the central one belonged to Zhao Xingyue, while the left side was occupied by one of her maids.

Only two people lived there: she and the maid who had grown up with her, responsible for attending to her daily needs.

"Miss, you're back?"

Soon after entering, a lively, cute girl ran out from a side room of the main house and bowed respectfully to Zhao Xingyue.

Then she looked at Wang Wu and Wu Lian, a flash of astonishment in her eyes, but that was all.

"Xiao Ling, go arrange the main house; from now on she'll live with us," Zhao Xingyue said to Wu Lian, gently patting her shoulder.

"Her name is Wu Lian," Zhao Xingyue added.

"Alright." Xiao Ling obediently nodded, shifting her gaze from Wang Wu's jade pendant, then walked to Wu Lian, smiling brightly as she took her hand.

"Let's live well from now on," Wang Wu said, looking at Wu Lian.

"Hmm…" Wu Lian nodded lightly.

"Sister Wu Lian, follow me," Xiao Ling then led Wu Lian toward the side room of the main house.

"Brother Wang, why not stay here a while longer?"

Just as he turned to leave, Zhao Xingyue called out to him.

Wang Wu turned back, "What? Why stay here?"

"I've taken on a sect mission this year; I'd like to ask Brother Wang for assistance."

"Help you?" Wang Wu looked at him, his eyes shifting, not refusing. "Then it depends on how much you can offer…"

Wang Wu's words were cut off as he choked on them, because his gaze was now completely drawn to whatever Zhao Xingyue had produced.

"Here," Zhao Xingyue handed Wang Wu several pieces of emerald‑gold, "Is this enough? If not, I have more."

"This… hehe." Wang Wu's face read "sorry," yet his hand didn't pause, directly slipping five emerald‑gold ingots into his palm.

"Ah, how can you be so polite, you… you're being way too courteous…"

"How about it?" Zhao Xingyue smiled brightly at Wang Wu.

"Your matter is my matter; what relationship do we have?" Wang Wu slapped his chest directly.

"Fine."

Late at night, at the border between Nanzhou and Tongzhou.

Wang Wu didn't know where this was; the woman's sect mission was to handle a case in a village under a county town four hundred kilometers from the Upper Profound Sect headquarters.

As for the specifics, Wang Wu didn't know, and Zhao Xingyue didn't either, but it seemed to involve some "bizarre" case that required dispatching a True Realm cultivator.

By the lit bonfire, Wang Wu and Zhao Xingyue sat together. After warming the fire for a while, Zhao Xingyue leaned her body toward Wang Wu and pressed one hand onto his.

Wang Wu didn't notice at first, but after a while he felt the woman's hand gripping tighter.

She seemed insecure, sweat seeping from her palm outward.

He turned his head to look at Zhao Xingyue and found she was staring intently at the fire before them.

"Cold? Want me to add some firewood?" Wang Wu also looked at the bonfire, cleared his throat, and said.

"No, I think not…?" Zhao Xingyue's voice sounded hoarse at that moment; Wang Wu turned his head, their gazes met. In those burning eyes, Wang Wu saw some unusual emotions.

He saw a flame, a liquid flame flowing deep within his eyes. As a demon, Wang Wu understood such a gaze clearly.

It was the flame called "Desire."

A gust of wind blew, her hair fluttered, drifting across her face illuminated by the firelight.

Her grip tightened further, more sweat seeped out, her whole palm became slick.

After staring at each other for about half a minute, Wang Wu was about to speak, but abruptly stopped due to an unexpected situation.

The flames in Zhao Xingyue's eyes finally erupted, igniting and scorching her. Then she rushed forward recklessly.

Awkward and stiff, with no technique at all, for a girl who had never had such experience, it was obviously very unfamiliar.

Yet she gave it her utmost effort to explore, offering everything.

Hot breath sprayed onto Wang Wu's face, heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat tangled and rose and fell, just like their words.

After a long while, the two finally slowly separated.

She brushed her hair, stared at Wang Wu without speaking. Yet Wang Wu could see that her flushed face was both expecting something and also very scared.

"I still don't understand what happened," Wang Wu tidied his words and asked, "I recall your senior brother, he…"

"He is my senior brother." Zhao Xingyue's gaze never left Wang Wu's face, firm and serious.

"That junior sister, I think you also saw her, didn't you?" she asked.

Wang Wu said nothing, merely shifted his posture, but Zhao Xingyue's reaction was as if she were aroused, her grip tighter and her body pressed closer.

So Wang Wu changed his approach, altering his stance to pull her into his arms.

This time Zhao Xingyue didn't get aroused again, but her face was

"Was it a bit awkward just now?" she lowered her head and asked softly.

"Just right." Wang Wu smiled lightly and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

Until the next day, Wang Wu gently held Zhao Xingyue. The two didn't do anything, only poured out their hearts, whispered intimately, and occasionally exchanged kisses.

Zhao Xingyue's mission this time didn't take long; it was resolved perfectly, despite a minor mishap, and with Wang Wu's formidable strength ensuring the mission's flawless completion.

The two returned to the sect, and Zhao Xingyue also received commendation.

That was roughly the fourth day of the new year's spring, when Zhao Xingyue that day completed the transition from girl to… um, although she is nearly thirty this year, that doesn't matter.

Anyway she still completed the change into a woman, though it's not that one must become a woman to be called that.

This refers to university graduation, nothing else. Although Zhao Xingyue is nearly thirty, she hasn't graduated college, so without a degree she can only be called a "girl", not a woman.

The relationship between Wang Wu and Zhao Xingyue remains very pure, only some kisses, with no indecent actions.

Inside the room, clothes were scattered on the floor, shoes and socks tossed directly onto the couch.

In this not‑so‑spacious room, both cast fatigue and reason aside, and the whole world became just the two of them, the two of them, and the two of them.

Night deepened, and the city where Zhao Xingyue lived remained brightly lit.

In this world, larger residential areas are essentially sleepless cities; even the villages here are similarly lit on spring nights.

They weren't doing anything, because the Spring Festival hasn't passed yet, and truly…

Zhao Xingyue's home seemed to have no anti‑theft measures, which is also the case for most residents in Upper Profound Sect's cities.

At night doors aren't locked, streets aren't patrolled; after all this is the Upper Profound Sect headquarters, the great formation not only repels external enemies but also provides internal surveillance.

But even so, you still can't just barge into other people's homes—except in one situation.

That is, both parties are familiar, and…

Just like now.

"Junior sister, I…!??"

The door to Zhao Xingyue's room was flung open, and the entering Liu senior brother saw something that made his eyes…

But in fact he saw nothing, because Zhao Xingyue, although indeed had…

So when the senior brother entered, his sight could no longer perceive anything.

But it was just a holy light, although the parts he shouldn't have seen were invisible, the view of Wang Wu and Zhao Xingyue alone was enough to break his defense.

This is the limit Zhao Xingyue could reach in this state, not intentional to anger the other.

"Senior… ah, senior brother…?" Zhao Xingyue strained to turn, looking at the intruding unexpected guest, and said with difficulty:

"Senior brother, no, don't look…"

Wang Wu of course also saw the unexpected guest, but obviously such a thing meant nothing to him as a demon. Moreover Zhao Xingyue had heavily censored…

However Wang Wu still slowly reduced his speed, but before long Zhao Xingyue became unwilling…

"Wu Lang, stop."

"Don't worry about him, Wu Lang."

The remaining hours of this night, for some people, are a warm and restless haze. It is the low hum at the start of a violent clash, like the buzz of mosquitoes, ending in a completely irrational scream.

But for others, it is despair and suffering.

Because the person he loves most thrust a forceful knife into his heart, that wound will never heal, forever lingering with a faint pain.

When Zhao Xingyue was in trouble, Liu Yin naturally opened his eyes at once, leapt out of bed, and tried to rescue his beloved.

But when his hand was grabbed and his gaze fell to his side, he was stunned.

That dream from last night was not a dream.

His junior sister pressed a sword against her own throat.

"If you go after her, I'll die right before you."

Zhao Xingyue is the most important person in Liu Yin's life, but isn't the junior sister just as important?

When the junior sister got into trouble, Liu Yin couldn't stay away, so he thought of subduing her before going after his sister, but then there was no after.

Looking into her eyes and the blood spilling from her throat, Liu Yin felt as if his own heart had been sliced open.

Thus, amid extreme pain, Liu Yin made his choice.

Of course, making a choice naturally entails bearing its consequences. And that consequence is really nothing—just… uh, nothing.

Liu Yin didn't see anything he shouldn't have yesterday; Wang Wu and Zhao Xingyue were merely gentlemen's friends.

Nothing happened, I repeat.

From the fourth day to the sixth, almost without rest day or night, each day unbroken, diligently studying and training.

Of course, Wang Wu has always been fair, so sometimes he also has to share responsibility for teaching them cultivation methods.

"Remember to wash my shoes and socks, Wu Lang, and give them back to me next time we meet."

Zhao Xingyue, smiling brightly, tossed the black, upturned‑toe, fire‑patterned boots she had worn for many days, along with silk socks, to Wang Wu, commanding proudly.

When they were in Wang Gu Lin, she already knew some of Wang Wu's quirks. After his injury healed, he watched livestreams every day, that guy…

Though shy, I have to say it's quite sweet, especially when, uh.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xingyue also knows her advantage in this won't last long. Her progress in refining a pure body is nearly complete, and she'll soon be able to start formally.

And by then, everything will be gone.

After saying goodbye to Zhao Xingyue, he left the Upper Profound Sect. But Wang Wu has no intention of returning to He Dong Xian, because Wang Lan there will leave soon as well.

As for their communication, Wang Wu gave both her and Zhao Xingyue a mobile phone for future contact.

But it still uses his own SIM card, a family plan: the advantage is it's free, the downside is it can only call himself, and the data fees are counted in his primary account's data package.

Wang Wu doesn't mind, he's rich now.

A yearly exchange limit of 150,000 looks small, and indeed it is small.

Yun Guang City has many items that aren't cheap at all, often costing tens to hundreds of millions.

Without a Yun Guang City household registration, even if a master helps purchase, many things are simply unaffordable, utterly beyond his means.

Wang Wu plans to go to Yuan Prefecture this time; it's said to be full of monsters and host many monster cities.

Yuan Prefecture, Tong Prefecture, and Nan Prefecture are all border regions; outside Yuan lies the so‑called "Hundred Thousand Great Mountains" mountain range, rumored to be home to countless monsters and many monster cities within it.

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains belong to no nation's domain, just as Si Hun Shan is not entirely within Great Zhou's borders.

Nan Prefecture covers 570,000 km², while the 270,000‑km² Si Hun Shan and Wang Gu Lin together occupy only 30,000 km² of its total area.

Yuan Prefecture itself is heavily forested, so monsters also run rampant there. However, the monsters there are honest, and news of them harming people is rare.

Nevertheless, as he traveled, Wang Wu noticed some things that didn't feel quite right.

He saw many armies, especially numerous ones, and on Guan Dao, troops heading toward the Nan Prefecture border could be seen everywhere.

There were also warships in the sky, one after another, big and small; Wang Wu wondered if this was the world's battleship fleet.

Spacecraft of this sort truly resemble battleships rather than carriers; they don't carry aircraft.

However, this world does have vessels akin to carriers, only they fly in the sky.

Wang Wu doesn't concern himself with national affairs, so he naturally doesn't know what's happening in Great Zhou right now. But that's not his fault; most Nan Prefecture residents are equally unaware.

Yet the massive troop gatherings can't be hidden, and the fleets in the sky are equally real.

Clearly, Nan Prefecture is facing something—perhaps a major maneuver, perhaps an imperial order from the Emperor of Zhou.

When the Emperor issues a decree, armies of each prefecture must gather, either entering the Wang Capital Region to converge and await orders, or marching to target locations to carry out military actions per the Emperor's command.

But whichever it is, it only means one thing:

War is about to begin.

"Father, are we really sending troops to ally with the Emperor of Zhou?"

In Nan Prefecture, the Si Tu family, Si Tu Jin looked at the middle‑aged man in the mirror before him and asked.

"By the Emperor's decree, we, as subjects of the Emperor, naturally must obey," Si Tu Jin's father said, "The deployment of the Nan Prefecture army is inevitable; if we refuse, wouldn't that prove Nan Prefecture harbors rebellious intent?"

"But…" Si Tu Jin hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Shen Prefecture has already allied with Western Wei, preparing to counter the Emperor's coalition. Western Wei's military is strong, and Shen's army has been battle‑ready for years; the Emperor's forces are likely to lose this war."

"Moreover, at that time the Emperor will surely order our Nan Prefecture army to set out from Nan Prefecture and raid…"

"The Emperor hasn't even said he'll attack Shen Prefecture, yet you already plotted for him," the middle‑aged man laughed, "Our Nan Prefecture army, faced with an imperial edict, will of course respond immediately."

"As for the campaign, of course we must wait for the Emperor's formal order before proceeding,"

(End of chapter)