Yin Jing Jing, Lu Li and the Ling sisters entered a hotel whose entrance seemed to be carved out of green jade. The color gave off an ethereal shine, no doubt to attract undecided tourists into booking a room within its lavish interior.

The four of them were then directed toward one of the biggest reception rooms, which had clearly been reserved for them. The room was already occupied, but the four of them entered naturally without drawing any ire.

This hotel, the Seven Valley Hotel, was actually a cover for the base for the Seven Valley Sects. All seven sects from the Seven Valleys usually gathered here, either for a brief sojourn in Tushan City, or for more…secretive purposes.

The four girls approached the center of the reception room, where an old man with red hair was guffawing boisterously as he spoke to Cloud Sky Mountain Sect"s Wu Tuo. The moment the red-haired man spotted them, he leaned back in his chair and grinned.

"You girls are finally back! So how was it, at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"

"Brother Shi, I"ll take my leave first. Don"t hesitate to let me know if you need anything else."

Wu Tuo stood up with a smile. Shi Jing Yun nodded and also rose to his feet to escort his friend to the lobby.

"All right. I won"t keep you then. We"ll continue discussing that matter next time. For now, we"ve no choice but to wait."

"Understood. Stay on guard, bro."

With a smile, Wu Tuo left Seven Valley Hotel. After watching him disappear into the busy street outside, Shi Jing Yun then returned to the reception room. Already the girls were making themselves feel at home, with a waitress serving them coffee and cakes.

"Uncle Shi, is that Cloud Sky Mountain"s Wu Tuo?" Lu Li was ogling in the direction where Wu Tuo had disappeared in.

"That"s right." Shi Jing Yun beamed. "Don"t let his appearance deceive you. Back during the war between Cloud Sky Mountain and Dark Asura Sect, Wu Tuo"s brother was killed by one of their masters. Wu Tuo personally broke into Dark Asura Sect without any support from Cloud Sky Mountain, defying his sect leader"s orders, and murdered the Dark Asura Sect master responsible for his brother"s death. While that master was still celebrating his victory, mind you."

"Whoa…"

Lu Li and the others gaped at him.

"When Cloud Sky Mountain Sect Leader found out, he quickly gathered the strongest martial artists in his sect and headed straight for Dark Asura Sect. while he did so, Wu Tuo fought his way out of Dark Asura Sect, killing everybody who got in his way and ma.s.sacring dozens…if not hundreds of Dark Asura Sect"s men. Despite all the other masters of Dark Asura Sect mobilizing to hunt him, Wu Tuo succeeded in escaping and meeting up with Cloud Sky Mountain Sect Leader, and they fought their way out of the entrapment and returned safely to Cloud Sky Mountain."

"That"s amazing," Ling Yu Mei said quietly.

Lu Li and Yin Jing Jing, despite having heard the story in the past, were still impressed and astonished. Yin Jing Jing, in particular, raised her voice in surprise.

"Eh? But he didn"t look that fierce?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Shi Jing Yun guffawed. "Why would he? You"re not his enemy. There"s no reason for him to bare his fangs toward you." as he quieted down, he smiled gently. "Speaking of which, Jing Jing, I"m here to tell you something."

Yin Jing Jing tensed up, already antic.i.p.ating that. As if he hadn"t noticed, Shi Jing Yun continued.

"Do you remember when you left Snow Valley Sect? You promised your father that you will obediently return to the valley and continue training your martial arts if you still have not become an inner sect disciple in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect after a year."

When they heard that, the Ling sisters exchanged a glance, recalling what Elder Tie and Tang Qi Hong said when they scolded Yin Jing Jing earlier. They clearly reminded her of her status as an outer sect disciple.

Of course, they were wise enough not to say anything.

"You should have gone back a long time ago," Lu Li said coolly and somewhat indifferently. "You were doing fine when you were training in martial arts, but you just had to stop out of spite against your father and ran off to learn blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving. You even boasted that your talents are extraordinary and that you will be able to comprehend the mysteries of the Spirit Engraved Pillars. Now, even after a year, what exactly have you achieved? From what I can tell, you"re just wasting your time."

"Stop nagging!" Yin Jing Jing snapped. "You"re so annoying. Fine, I"m ready to go back to the valley once we"ve settled our business here. Are you happy now?"

She was still bristling after the harsh reprimand and bitter reminder from both Tang Qi Hong and Elder Tie. Therefore, she had already resolved to leave Nine-Tailed Fox Sect even before Lu Li or Shi Jing Yun said anything. At least there she would be spoiled, pampered and treated like the princess she was. n.o.body would be able to scold her (except her Dad, clearly, which was what led to her running away in the first place).

"Speaking of which, how did it go?" Shi Jing Yun seemed to be a good mood. He smiled at Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan. "Did an elder from Nine-Tailed Fox Sect agree to forge Spirit Artifacts for the both of you?"

"Yeah." Both Ling Sisters nodded. Shi Jing Yun sighed and shook his head, his smile fading as he shot a glare in Lu Li"s direction.

"Good. I was worried at first, because Lu Li had to go and insult the current future sect leader and offend him. Good thing he wasn"t a petty or small-minded person, or he would have kicked all of you out of the city."

"I was only speaking the truth," Lu Li said coldly. Shi Jing Yun looked as if he wanted to slap her, but he controlled his temper.

"I believe Lu Li," Yin Jing Jing quickly put in. "Men are not to be trusted." She glanced at the Ling Sisters. "They"re always…l.u.s.ting after women."

"So you don"t trust me?" Shi Jing Yun raised an eyebrow. Yin Jing Jing quickly shook her head and hands.

"No, no! Uncle Shi is different! You"re not like other men!"

"…"

Shi Jing Yun didn"t know if he should be offended or flattered. He decided not to respond. Yin Jing Jing wasn"t aware of his conflicting emotions, and she continued.

"But that Fei Wu! I know he"s planning something! He seduced Senior Tang! Of course he will have his sights on the Ling Sisters!"

Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan glanced at each other, exasperated, but they were too exhausted to correct the rampaging Yin Jing Jing. Furthermore, their senior, Lu Li, was nodding in agreement, and they did not dare to speak up against her.

Shi Jing Yun, on the other hand, had given up on convincing the two b.i.t.c.hes. He sighed and waved his hand dismissive.

"You don"t have to worry about him. You won"t be staying at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect for long anyway." He then stroked his chin as he pondered over something, and then nodded. "Try your best not to get involved with the members of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Jing Jing, I also advise you to leave Nine-Tailed Fox Sect as soon as possible. Xiao Mei and Xiao Xuan, once you get your Spirit Artifacts, I"ll arrange for you to immediately leave Tushan City."

Or…you could, you know, take the delivery option. Nine-Tailed Fox Sect provided delivery services, after all. Either Shi Jing Yun was unaware of that option, or he had reason to believe that we wouldn"t be able to offer it in the future.

Clearly it was the latter, for all four girls were stunned by his statement. They stared at him in astonishment, as if expecting him to elaborate.

Shi Jing Yun"s bitter smile faded away completely and he turned grim. "Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is in deep trouble this time."

"What"s going on?" Lu Li demanded with a frown.

"That"s…" Shi Jing Yun hesitated for a moment, before he finally came to a decision. Sighing, he shook his head. "The Martial Arts Alliance…you know about them, right? They are the greatest authority of martial arts sects in the Great Zhou Empire. All the orthodox sects are governed by them. We are united in our goal to fight demonic sects."

"Yeah, but Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is part of the Martial Arts Alliance, isn"t it?" Ling Yu Xuan pointed out, still puzzled.

"Officially, yes." Shi Jing Yun nodded. "But because of their…status as the biggest provider of Spirit Artifacts and supplying both the Martial Arts Alliance and the Imperial Guard with Spirit Armaments, they have been largely granted unparalleled autonomy and freedom. They are virtually an independent sect when compared to even the other seven major sects."

"I find it hard to believe that the Martial Arts Alliance will just grant them so much autonomy because of that. If anything, I"m surprised they didn"t subjugate Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and split it among the other sects."

Ling Yu Mei just said something terrifying. What the h.e.l.l?! You were going to subjugate Nine-Tailed Fox Sect because we supplied you with weapons? Wasn"t that basically biting the hand that fed you? What stupid logic was that?

"Yes. The Martial Arts Alliance wants to rein them in…to disband the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and spread its resources all over the Alliance. They are afraid that the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect will monopolize all of the Spirit Weapons and Spirit Armaments industry, or that the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would become too powerful and leave the Martial Arts Alliance. They can"t afford to let that happen."

"Why would the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect leave the Martial Arts Alliance?" Lu Li asked. "They can"t possibly fight all the other orthodox sects and demonic sects on their own."

"I don"t know." Shi Jing Yun sighed heavily. "That"s what the higher-ups are afraid of. I don"t know what reason they have to believe it will happen. Perhaps it"s just politics. Maybe the various orthodox sects in the Martial Arts Alliance have gotten greedy and want Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers for themselves…as well as the Spirit Armaments that they forge and will forge in future. Most likely they fear Nine-Tailed Fox Sect becoming too strong and want to rein them in and destroy them before they become a threat."

"Why would they become a threat?" Lu Li was genuinely confused.

"Because they"ll inevitably become stronger." Shi Jing Yun lowerd his voice. "You"ve heard of the commotion that the boy named Fei Wu caused. He has shown quite a bit of promise by triggering the response from three of the Spirit Engraved Pillars, and killed Liang Shao Yang in self-defense. Before then, a few years back, he was responsible for the deaths of over a hundred demonic martial artists in the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect. and that was when he was still in middle school. I know it sounds extremely illogical, but many of the older generation fears his growth."

"They"re giving that trash too much credit," Lu Li sneered. Yin Jing Jing nodded. The Ling Sisters stared at them quietly, looking as if they wanted to slap the two b.i.t.c.hes, but refrained from doing anything that would jeopardize their safety.

"Of course, he"s not the only reason. Honestly, despite what Liang Yang Zu says about Fei Wu being a threat and murdering his son, he"s just one guy. The Martial Arts Alliance will hardly overreact because of him alone. There will be many sects and factions wanting to take him as their subordinate or disciple after they destroy Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, but that"s about the extent of it. No, it"s not just the boy. Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s Blood Blades have been steadily growing stronger over the years, and are now a powerful force to be reckoned with. Add to this boy, who I hear is earmarked to be the next commander of the Blood Blades in future…you can see why the old geezers are running around with their pants over their heads."

Shi Jing Yun paused for a moment, and then continued.

"There are many people who do not want to see Nine-Tailed Fox Sect transcending the eight major sects and becoming the top one. They want to maintain the balance of powers, to ensure that no single sect dominates the rest. And if that leads to the destruction of one of the eight major sects, so be it. After all, there will be many replacements. No doubt Divine Shadow Sect or Cloud Sky Mountain, depending on what they achieve in this battle, will step up to fill the void."

At this point, Shi Jing Yun stopped talking. He merely cast a glance across the four girls in the room.

They weren"t stupid. They clearly understood what he was driving at. After pondering for a moment, Lu Li finally spoke up with a question.

"So the reason why Wu Tuo came was because he wanted to discuss about this? Are the Seven Valley Sects and Cloud Sky Mountain getting ready to fight Nine-Tailed Fox Sect beside Divine Shadow Sect?"

"Wu Tuo wanted to know the Seven Valley Sects" stance. He also wants to know what the other members of the Martial Arts Alliance would do…whether we would support Divine Shadow Sect, help Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, or remain neutral."

"What is our stance?" Yin Jing Jing asked curiously.

"I am still waiting for a response from your father." Shi Jing Yun stared at her first, and then he turned to Lu Li and the Ling sisters. "As well as your masters. They are probably debating on what to do now, and will inform them when they come to a decision. Once all of the leaders of the seven valleys have come to a decision, then only will I know what to do."

"So that"s why you"re saying that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is in deep trouble this time." Lu Li smiled coldly. Shi Jing Yun nodded.

"If Nine-Tailed Fox Sect fails to resolve this…then it is very likely that their sect would be annihilated."

The four girls had already heard the intention, but even so the statement was sobering. They glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"Their sect will be annihilated," Shi Jing Yun repeated solemnly. "Every single Blood Blades martial artist will be slain and executed, and the blacksmiths will be imprisoned before they are divided among the other sects in the Martial Arts Alliance."

He paused for a moment, allowing that to sink in, and then his shoulders slumped.

"And this is their best case scenario."

Wait, what? So what"s the worst case scenario? Everyone dies? That was stupid, because if they ended up killing even the blacksmiths, then what was the whole point of attacking Nine-Tailed Fox Sect in the first place? And who was going to produce and supply the Martial Arts Alliance Spirit Weapons from now on? It was like attacking a munitions factory because you were afraid they were getting too powerful, but then slaughtering everybody who knew how to a.s.semble munitions, which meant you would have no munitions in the long run despite your early success. That was extremely short-sighted. Not to mention illegal.

The Imperial Guard would never stand for it. The royal family would intervene and do something about that before that could happen.

Ling Yu Mei seemed to remember as much and raised them.

"The royal family won"t allow that. They"ll send the Imperial Guard to intervene and protect the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. The Martial Arts Alliance would be the one who get destroyed if we commit such atrocious war crimes!"

"Oh, that"s why the Martial Arts Alliance is looking for an excuse to justify their invasion." Shi Jing Yun"s smile had turned extremely sardonic. "They are going to accuse Nine-Tailed Fox Sect of producing and concealing weapons of ma.s.s destruction, and Sect Leader Zi Shou De of being a tyrant, and will declare this as a war on evil…a war to promote democracy and freedom. If they phrase it that way, then even the royal family is powerless to act, because of the very legal const.i.tutions that bind them to protecting freedom."

The irony of their accusations had never occurred to the Martial Arts Alliance b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, it seemed.

Unfortunately, while all these conspiracies were unfolding within hidden bases throughout the Great Zhou Empire, I remained blissfully unaware of the calamity that awaited us. At that time, I was still focused on inadvertently producing those Weapons of Ma.s.s Destruction that the Martial Arts Alliance claimed we had (despite knowing that we didn"t, which was why they dared to attack us in the first place – who in their right mind would charge an enemy with a nuke?).

*

"You know what nuclear fusion is, right?" I asked. My memories from my previous timeline had mingled with my memories from this current timeline, and as such I was unclear which scientific knowledge and technology was from the previous non-xianxia timeline, and which was from this current timeline.

"Of course I do." Tang Qi Hong frowned, though she didn"t seem very familiar with the term. That made sense. Even in the previous timeline, not many people would know about it in great detail unless they were well-read. "Um, it"s the process that takes place inside the sun, correct? Something that produces lots of energy. I know that much."

I nodded, accepting her rough summary of the process. It was close enough, but I needed to elaborate so that she could help me.

"It"s the collision of two hydrogen atoms and fusing them them into helium atoms. The process produces a lot of energy."

"Ah, that"s right!" Tang Qi Hong nodded vigorously. Yup, it seemed that this timeline also knew what atoms and periodic table elements were. Good enough for my purposes. However, she frowned. "Why?"

"I was hoping to replicate the process, but with qi particles." I held up a couple of qi crystals that I had left on the bench. "What if we fuse the qi particles between the two crystals? That would generate a tremendous amount of energy."

Tang Qi Hong turned pale.

"Of course it would!" she shouted. "You would end up destroying the continent with that amount of firepower!"

"Oh…so it is possible." I was grinning. Tang Qi Hong gaped at me, turning extremely pale.

"You…you can"t possibly be thinking…"

"Why not?" I shrugged. "Aren"t martial artists always striving to become G.o.dlike warriors whose power can level entire continents, reshape mountains and vaporize seas? What"s the difference between using a Spirit Weapon to do it, and a martial artist using his techniques to do it?"

"If the Spirit Weapons fall into the wrong hands…!" Tang Qi Hong cautioned. "Anyone will be able to set them off!"

"What, so people shouldn"t learn martial arts just in case the wrong people learn those techniques and start killing everyone? No…if demonic martial artists possess that amount of firepower, then wouldn"t ordinary people need a weapon to fight back? Is it wrong to give them that chance, or should they resign themselves to being killed because they were "weak"?"

"No, that"s not what I mean…ugh!"

"Well, in any case, only Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would have access to these weapons. I have no intention of selling them to anyone else. They are more for deterrence."

At that time, I had no idea how prophetic my words would be. I swear, I really wasn"t creating these Spirit Bombs because I knew that we would be invaded by the Martial Arts Alliance. That had never occurred to me. The only reason why I wanted to do so was because of my memories from my past timeline regarding nukes and the epiphany I received when absorbing the purified qi in Will"O Wisp Forest and merging it with my own.

"Now, let"s get started." I began piecing the qi crystals next to each other and a.s.sembling them. Right now I was still experimenting because I didn"t have a clear idea of how to pull it off, only working on the snippets of suggestions from Google (but the Internet still didn"t have any information on how to manufacture such destructive weapons because they hadn"t been invented yet).

"Do you think I"ll help you with something so crazy?!" Tang Qi Hong demanded. I smiled and shrugged.

"That"s fine. You don"t have to help me if you don"t want to. I"ll just try building it myself."

"Ugh!" Tang Qi Hong clutched her head. "If I leave you to do it alone, you"ll just blow yourself up! d.a.m.n it, you"re so unfair!"

That was not my intention, to be honest…

"Fine! I"ll help!"

Complaining angrily, Tang Qi Hong stomped over and s.n.a.t.c.hed the components from my hands, beginning to study them as intently as she did whenever she was forging something. I watched her, relieved that she didn"t, uh…explode from anger.

There were already enough sparks flying around my workshop as it was…