Volcanic Age

Chapter 158: Unyielding Faith (2)

The weather had gotten a little colder. Zhou Xuchuan casually wondered if the snow blossoms would bloom soon.

Their journey from Hubei to the Gold Will Merchants in Shandong Province had been uneventful. After a smooth journey, the group arrived safely in Jinan.

Since they weren't in a hurry, the group took their time. The Red Forest was too busy reinforcing their forces to make up for the destroyed Stockades, dividing the Green Dragon Stockade's wealth among themselves, and selecting a new leader to lead them.

If they got hungry, they'd stop briefly to hunt game, and if they felt sleepy, they'd find a place to rest.

Despite taking their time, it only took them a week to reach Jinan in Shandong province. Ordinary people wouldn't have been able to cover such a distance within that time frame without riding horses, but the group was made up entirely of cultivators. They could walk swiftly for hours without getting tired.

"The Great Hero has arrived! Make way!"

Li Yicai must have heard they were coming even before they reached Jinan because he had a grand banquet prepared and rushed out to greet them. He was so impatient to meet them that he even forgot to put on his shoes!

"We're home!"

Zhuge Shengji smiled brightly as if he could finally breathe again. To him, the Gold Will Merchants' residence felt far more comfortable than even his own family's home where he had grown up.

Zhou Xuchuan chuckled. However, it didn't feel so bad to receive such a grand welcome.

"Aigoo~! Thank you for all your hard work! All those sons of… Oops, I meant the bandits causing trouble everywhere have stopped their nonsense and disappeared as if fleeing from your heroic feats, Great Hero! Hah~, the losses we've suffered in the meantime have been considerable."

Zhou Xuchuan curiously asked, "Are the losses far worse than previously expected?"

He suddenly began regretting not picking a few valuable treasures from the Green Dragon's vaults to make up for the losses.

"We've somehow managed to avoid plunging into the red, all thanks to your bravery, Great Hero. However, that was all we could do. After those bandits started running amok, we were too busy patching up the potential losses that we couldn't make any profit."

Li Yicai looked depressed at the fact that he couldn't make any money for a while.

"Several business ventures we had planned in other locations had to be delayed as a result. And in some places, our competitors snatched away our workshops as if they had been waiting for a chance, causing us to go back to the drawing board."

Zhou Xuchuan nodded and replied, "At least it's a relief to hear that you've avoided making major losses."

As expected of the Merchant King. If the same thing had happened to some other merchants, never mind incurring losses, their whole business would've gone under.

The Red Forest bandits had been raiding multiple locations, not just one. Li Yicai had to divert funds from other business ventures to cover the damage from those attacks.

"There have been a few close calls, but Elder Wu Qu came to my rescue several times, Great Hero," said Li Yicai. "Oh, and the duo you introduced me to were also quite reliable."

The duo Li Yicai mentioned were likely the Phantoms Zhou Xuchuan left behind as his bodyguards. The Merchant King smoothly beat around the bush since there were other ears here, too.

"If it was up to me, I'd love to drag Meng Gang out of the eternal Hell of pain and suffering, and kill him with my hands again!"

Li Yicai spat out, his voice noticeably colder now. His anger rose every time he thought about the time and money Meng Gang's men had cost him.

Zhou Xuchuan smiled and offered Li Yicai a cup of liquor. "Things must've been difficult for you. Please, have this cup with me and wash away all the suffering you've been under."

"Aigoo~! No, Great Hero. Compared to you, my situation hasn't been difficult at all. Indeed, the one who had to work hard this time was none other than the member of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, Plum Blossom Order Sword! Yes, it's you, Mount Hua's young cultivator, the one and only Great Hero, Zhou Xuchuan! Great Hero, huzzah! Zhou Xuchuan the Plum Blossom Order Sword, huzzah! Mount Hua, huzzah!"

Zhou Xuchuan lost count of how many times he got thanked while sharing a cup of alcohol. However, this was Li Yicai being sensible and behaving himself.

The members of the subjugation force enjoyed the banquet where the plentiful food threatened to break the legs of the banquet table.

"Although I never traveled beyond Shandong's borders, I've tried my best to stay up to date with all of you heroes' heroic feats. From Great Hero Chivalrous Plum Sword Zhang Hong to Great Heroine Jade Plum Flower Zhang Xuen, and of course, Great Heroine Luo Xiaoyue, the Beautiful Sword Blossom, and Mount Hua's Number One Beauty! To think I'd have the honor of serving you all! It will be this merchant's… No, this family's everlasting glory!"

Li Yicai let out his trademark corrupt politician-like laughter.

"Ah, that's right. Our junior sister finally earned a new title, so a congratulation is in order, I believe. Don't you agree, Mount Hua's Number One Beauty?" Zhou Xuchuan playfully asked, then laughed genially.

"Please, spare me," Luo Xiaoyue sighed deeply, as if she could never get used to it. Yet, her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.

"As expected of Mount Hua. Even the one and only Gold Will Merchants can remember Mount Hua and nobody else," Tang Hui said to seemingly no one in particular. Up until then, she had been sitting in her spot, silently downing cups of strong liquor like water.

Euh-huk!

Li Yicai inwardly screamed, feeling his heart jump up into his mouth.

"Ah-hahaha! That is not true at all, Lady Hui! You are all Great Heroes, so there shouldn't be any pecking order here! Of course, I've heard of the heroic feats of Poison Phoenix… No, the Tang Family, so much that my ears nearly fell off! Especially when I heard your feats in the Great Tiger Stockade, I couldn't help but slap my knee and go, Kyah, I had no idea that's possible! It was so amazing, Lady Hui!"

"Head Merchant, it seems you must've oiled your tongue with all the fat around your gut and chin, judging from how smooth you are with your words," Tang Hui spoke acerbically.

Yet, as her brows relaxed, her mood seemed to have improved.

"This Head Merchant can't contain his excitement at your wonderful praise, Lady Hui! Thank you so much. Also! Young Master Zhuge, I heard about your immense contribution to the subjugation. 'The Mechanism Freak', they say! Kuh-huh! Foolish masses might have failed to understand one man's unbridled genius and call you eccentric, but to me, that title shows you how much in awe they are of you. The Number One in the knowledge of trap mechanisms, Young Master Zhuge Shengji, the Great Genius! That is you!"

"Indeed, sir! That is me! When you say the Number One Genius in trap mechanisms, there can only be me, Zhuge Shengji. Definitely so! As expected of you, Head Merchant! You have a keen eye for people!"

Zhuge Shengji responded happily, his ears perking up.

Huh? Didn't he complain about how much he didn't like that nickname not too long ago?

Zhou Xuchuan stared dumbfoundedly at Zhuge Shengji.

"However, we should reserve our most heartfelt congratulations for the Plum Blossom Order Sword, Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan!" Li Yicai continued, laughing heartily. "Congratulations on becoming the greatest expert among the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, young master!"

"Haha! I knew this day would come when I first met you, captain!" Chu Lian chimed in, raising her cup high with a proud laugh.

"Indeed, indeed!"

Cheers rose from several people, mostly from the Gold Will Merchants, their emotions and excitement filling the room.

"Now, now! Please accept this cup from me!" Li Yicai said with a hearty laugh.

As he accepted the cup, Zhou Xuchuan fell into thought.

One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, is it…

A position only given to one hundred experts out of thousands of cultivators! Anyone who mastered martial arts would've dreamed of entering its ranks one day.

Honestly, I keep looking back to the past. And it makes me emotional.

Zhou Xuchuan had dreamed of it once himself, but that was long ago. Decades, even. Indeed, it was now a part of his previous life. His past.

Back then, he never had a chance to earn that honored title. During the Era of War and Chaos, the list of the One Hundred Experts changed daily as there had been plenty of geniuses to replace the fallen.

Compared to other cultivators, Zhou Xuchuan back then wasn't someone outstanding enough. And when the era of peace followed the end of all the strife, there were no more opportunities left for him to prove himself.

His work as one of the Five Elders of Mount Hua kept him busy. And he spent his free time polishing his martial arts and reading various manuals.

He succeeded in reaching the Harmony Realm toward the twilight of his life, passing away shortly after.

In short, Zhou Xuchuan in his previous life was a cultivator forgotten by everyone. A man whose name was never recorded in the history books describing the unprecedented Era of War and Chaos.

No one was next to him when he closed his eyes for the last time. A plain, unremarkable cultivator like that… But things were different now.

Great Hero, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

He's the true hero! A great hero!

Thank you for avenging my wife and daughter, young sir!

Your martial arts are extraordinary.

An expert of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, Plum Blossom Order Sword Zhou Xuchuan!

He had saved people, and in return, they called him a hero.

At first, he got goosebumps of embarrassment, but he couldn't deny that it wasn't a bad feeling.

Now, the title he had once dreamed of, One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, was finally attached to his name. It felt right, and his heart surged with excitement.

His past self would never have hung out with people like Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix, Posthumous Genius, the Merchant King, and Poison Phoenix. In fact, he would have looked up at them from some dirt floor, filled with awe.

Yet such people now accompanied him. They shared alcohol with him. They laughed and chatted happily with him.

This is…

As this scene, like a midsummer night's dream, continued to unfold, Zhou Xuchuan made up his mind.

"Everyone, if it's alright with you, I'd like to discuss something important in private."

****

The secret organization plotting to overthrow the murim, the Dark Heavens Organization!

No matter how powerful a cultivator was, stopping the machinations of that organization alone was simply impossible. The scale of the enemy's operation was simply too vast.

The Six Great Prohibited Arts were merely the tip of an iceberg. Not only did the Dark Heavens Association possess a mountain of secret manuals that could usher in a storm of blood if revealed to the public, it also had its tentacles secretly wrapped around righteous sects and Two Demonic Factions, as well as various merchant associations.

Zhou Xuchuan might have memories of the past, which was information of the future now, but he could only do so much.

To get people to help him, he must not lie and tell them the truth, perhaps more than what was necessary.

It's time to take a leap of faith.

His preparations weren't finished yet, but Zhou Xuchuan decided he would no longer keep his head low and conceal himself.

Besides, whether he liked it or not, after taking down the top boss of the Red Forest, he was already in everyone's sights.

His heroic deeds must've landed him at the top of the Dark Heavens Association's list of targets to eliminate. That meant the days of him acting alone had come to an end.

He felt the need to seek assistance, and the people around him were the only ones he could trust with this mission.

Once they were away from other people, Zhou Xuchuan revealed the truth to Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix Luo Xiaoyue, Posthumous Genius Zhuge Shengji, Li Yicai the Merchant King, Poison Phoenix Tang Hui, and Sword Demon Wu Qu.

Of course, he didn't reveal everything. He held back the truth about how this was his second life. But he did reveal the general information about the Dark Heavens Association, such as their schemes and their organizational structure.

He went with the explanation of discovering the truth of the Dark Heavens Association's existence while traveling alone in Gangho, and by secretly pursuing their shadow, he got to learn various information about them.

Since Luo Xiaoyue had already heard about the organization in the past, she wasn't as surprised as the others. The other four, however, displayed varied reactions.

"Huh… So, the whole incident in the Ominous Demon's tomb was their doing?" Zhuge Shengji asked incredulously.

"Yes, it was," Zhou Xuchuan replied.

"Hmm…"

Li Yicai pondered deeply, rubbing his rounded chin. His usual exaggerated, talkative demeanor was nowhere to be seen. His eyes remained as narrow as slits, but the burning light within them was intense and grave.

Zhou Xuchuan addressed his companions. "I know how sudden this is. It must be difficult to believe me. However, I still need all your strength and I'll be grateful if you give what I said some thought, at least once."

He was speaking from his heart. Zhou Xuchuan knew there was a limit to what he could do alone. He had to live and die once to learn this valuable lesson.

It didn't matter if one had been blessed with incredible talents that could send ripples throughout the era. It also didn't matter whether one was a veteran of countless battles or one of the absolute beings known as the Ten Empyrean Overlords who seemed to have transcended humanity.

Heroes and powerhouses, or even hidden experts, all fell helplessly before the Dark Heavens Association's machinations.

It wasn't for nothing that every murim expert united under one banner to fight the Dark Heavens Association toward the end of the Era of War and Chaos. That was how powerful this evil organization was.

"But aren't we already helping you, brother?"

Despite his surprise, Zhuge Shengji was still the first person to raise his hand to answer Zhou Xuchuan's request.

"This Zhuge Shengji still hasn't forgotten about how you scammed me when we were kids, brother. My soul has already been exchanged for that spiritual medicine."Zhuge Shengji said with a subtle grin.

Since he was a handsome man, a smile genuinely suited him. It didn't matter what he said, since he'd look cool regardless.

"It was you who saw my worth, brother. Not the murim, not the heavens. You. While others labeled me useless and an idiot, you called me a genius and taught me the true value of mechanisms. Without that, I would've never become the man I am today."

Zhuge Shengji's family had never supported his dream. Never mind cheering, they actively tried to hamper his studies!

He had felt isolated, as if no one was there to help him. Even the servants treated him like an eccentric madman.

His family, the murim, no, the entire Central Plains, looked down on the knowledge of mechanisms. Zhuge Shengji was called an idiot for trying to study it.

But then, someone suddenly appeared before him one day. Not just anyone, but a boy who was called Mount Hua's rising talent.

They were roughly the same age, yet this boy's behavior and talent were completely different from Zhuge Shengji's.

And yet, this genius looked straight at Zhuge Shengji, calling him amazing and encouraging him to do his best.

This boy told him to keep going. It'd be fine for Zhuge Shengji to not bother with cultivation, array formations, or military strategies, so he should just keep doing what he enjoyed the most.

That was what Zhou Xuchuan told him back then.

"That's why I believe you. Even if it's a lie, I'll follow you, brother. If you tell me to believe you, I will. Even if the murim, the Central Plains, and the heavens above don't believe you, I will! Just like how you accepted me seven years ago, I'll trust you and follow you."