Chapter 24: A New Era

"The Lord Protector has arrived. What are you all standing around in a daze for? Hurry up and invite him in!" After saying this, Shangguan Tianheng then shouted, "No, no, it's better for me to go out and welcome him personally." In terms of official rank, Zhang Xiao could not compare to him, but in terms of noble title, Zhang Xiao far surpassed him; welcoming him personally was entirely appropriate.

Shangguan Tianheng strode out of the grand hall. He saw a man dressed in scholarly robes with a head of silver hair standing there. Coupled with Zhang Xiao's ordinary-looking face, Shangguan Tianheng almost failed to recognize him at all.

"Haha, Brother Shangguan, long time no see. How have you been recently?" Zhang Xiao's mellow voice finally brought Shangguan Tianheng back to his senses. He hurried forward and said, "You've finally returned! Ever since the Battle of Kunlun, you have long been a legendary figure in Huaxia." Shangguan Tianheng would have been better off not saying that, but as soon as the words left his mouth, a chilling and murderous intent suddenly erupted from Zhang Xiao's body, instantly shattering the surrounding railings and pavilions into fine powder. Shangguan Tianheng felt a shock in his heart and rapidly retreated, but even with his formidable skills, he was still struck by Zhang Xiao's murderous aura, leaving a tiny cut across his cheek.

At this moment, clarity instantly returned to Zhang Xiao's eyes, and his entire body's murderous intent vanished in an instant. He smiled and said, "Apologies, I messed this place up." Before Shangguan Tianheng could speak, Zhang Xiao gently stamped his foot, and the surroundings were immediately enveloped by thick earthly energy. In just the blink of an eye, the shattered railings and pavilions were instantly restored to their original state by this surge of earth force.

Seeing this, Shangguan Tianheng's expression turned to one of great joy. He smiled and said, "Congratulations, congratulations! Who would have thought that in the short time since our parting, you would have actually cultivated to such a realm? Truly remarkable." One must not underestimate Zhang Xiao's feat of restoring the surrounding scenery.

Had it not been for Zhang Xiao's mastery of the method of the harmonization of the Five Elements, not even an expert at the Integration Stage would have been able to effortlessly restore destroyed objects the way Zhang Xiao had just done.

Zhang Xiao smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, we can chat about idle matters later. Let's talk about the important business first. What is the current domestic situation like?" Upon hearing Zhang Xiao's words, Shangguan Tianheng hurriedly led him into the main hall, pushing a stack of files over to him.

Zhang Xiao casually opened them and began to read carefully, while Shangguan Tianheng explained from the side, "On the surface, the domestic situation seems very calm, but in reality, the seeds of chaos have already sprouted. The disciples of the Nine Great Sects are basically acting on their own and have already clashed several times. If the Peacock Buddha Kingdom hadn't launched a massive invasion three years ago, the Nine Great Sects probably would have already gone to war with each other by now."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao's brow furrowed heavily. He pulled out another document and read it, noticing that it detailed the various emerging experts of the Nine Great Sects. In particular, a Shushan disciple named Zhou Fang immediately caught Zhang Xiao's attention.

The records detailed all of Zhou Fang's battle achievements, every single one of which was astonishing. What sparked the most controversy was Zhou Fang's cultivation level; up to now, he was merely at the late Golden Core stage, yet his combat prowess was enough to make even ordinary mid-stage Soul Formation experts hesitate to approach.

The reason for this was not that Zhou Fang's cultivation technique defied the heavens, but rather that this eccentric genius had actually combined the methods of refining magic treasures with modern technology, creating all sorts of high-damage, devastating weapons. He had even specially written an academic thesis on new-tech cultivation that had triggered a violent reaction in society, showing signs of overthrowing traditional cultivation altogether.

This came as a genuine and profound surprise to Zhang Xiao. He had not experienced much before his rebirth, and having only been an outer sect disciple, he knew very few secrets. Yet now, standing at the summit, he discovered a paradox: the higher he climbed, the more he realized how low he was actually standing.

For a Golden Core stage practitioner to defeat a mid-stage Soul Formation expert was already a heaven-defying feat. To be honest, Zhang Xiao really wanted to meet this eccentric genius. Setting the intelligence reports aside, Zhang Xiao asked Shangguan Tianheng beside him, "So, what is the current domestic situation?"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiao's words, Shangguan Tianheng immediately had a sand table brought over. Pointing to the location of the Crimson Blood Ridge on the sand table, he said, "Right here, here, and here—three million disciples of the Nine Great Sects have gathered and completely taken over Crimson Blood Ridge." Hearing this, Zhang Xiao raised an eyebrow, but he remained silent and continued to listen.

"Haha, the Nine Great Sects are basically unified on one principle: regardless of the cause, the Peacock Buddha Kingdom is strictly forbidden from stepping foot onto Huaxia territory. As for the Shaolin Zen Sect, they are practically frantic in their search for your whereabouts, and they have already made contact with overseas Buddhist factions, beginning a large-scale search for you."

At this point, a wry smile appeared on Shangguan Tianheng's face as he said, "You could say you are now the public enemy of the entire Buddhist world. You'd better be careful."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao nodded. Shangguan Tianheng then handed over an object shaped somewhat like a mobile phone and said, "This is a thousand-mile sound transmitter. It was actually invented by your junior martial brother, and it's extremely useful. Take it with you, and if there's any news, I can contact you at any time."

"Junior martial brother!" The corners of Zhang Xiao's mouth lifted slightly. Thinking of the two disciples his master, the Daoist Kongling, had taken in years ago, he shook his head faintly and dismissed the thought. Tossing the sound transmitter into his bone ring, he cupped his fists toward Shangguan Tianheng and said, "Alright, thank you, brother. Since Crimson Blood Ridge has been taken over by the Nine Great Sects, I suppose my only option is to use your portal to return home."

Hearing that Zhang Xiao intended to return home, Shangguan Tianheng's body jerked in shock, and he hastily cried out, "Are you out of your mind? Those bald donkeys of Shaolin are probably already lying in wait for you!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao gave a faint smile. "Since they are looking for me, how could I possibly hide? Besides, with the domestic realm now brimming with experts, I've been meaning to witness their skills firsthand."

Without paying any more attention to the dumbfounded Shangguan Tianheng, Zhang Xiao walked out of the grand hall alone and headed toward the teleportation portal. Seeing this, Shangguan Tianheng slapped his own thigh and shouted, "Someone! Send an urgent dispatch to the palace: Zhang Xiao has returned to the country!"

In the bustling ancient city of Z Province, streams of pedestrians flowed endlessly. It was no longer like the period right after the heavenly upheaval, when the shadow of leveling up, fighting monsters, and frantic cultivation was everywhere. Now, a vast majority of people had begun living ordinary, civilian lives.

Bizarre-looking hovering cars streaked rapidly across the sky. People walked and bustled through the streets with expressions of bliss, enjoying the novelties brought by this new era.

Most of these people had reached the early Golden Core stage, but due to various reasons, their cultivation had stagnated. After several failed attempts to break through, they chose to give up.

In fact, after abandoning cultivation, people discovered that many things previously ignored suddenly became wonderful—especially basic skills such as primary cooking. Primary remained primary and could only produce dishes from before the heavenly upheaval, but later, someone upgraded this skill to the intermediate level, and life instantly became colorful.

Ingredients were transformed into various fierce demonic beasts and spiritual herbs, making meals that were not only delicious but also capable of increasing cultivation. Although the gain was minimal, it sparked a flash of inspiration, prompting people to dive into mastering basic skills.

The bizarre hovering cars on the streets were products combining advanced forging and artifact crafting techniques; not only were they luxurious and magnificent, but they were also equipped with various defensive and offensive arrays. While their speed couldn't compare to that of Nascent Soul experts, possessing one caused a Golden Core disciple's combat power to skyrocket.

When Zhang Xiao's figure emerged from the teleportation array, he was utterly startled. The teleportation array was no longer set out in the open in some corner of a town like it used to be.

Before him was a magnificent, glittering hall, resplendent in gold and jade. Service attendants dressed in qipaos stood by the teleportation array, bowing and greeting Zhang Xiao the moment he appeared, politely inquiring what services he required.

The strange cars outside left Zhang Xiao staring in wide-eyed disbelief. Had everyone not possessed varying degrees of cultivation, Zhang Xiao would have thought he had time-traveled into a science fiction movie. He was too stunned to know what to say.

"Sir, take a look! This is the latest City Daily, yours for just one jade coin." Just as Zhang Xiao was feeling bewildered by everything before him, a young boy walked up to him holding a small basket filled with rolled-up newspapers. Zhang Xiao casually picked one up and discovered that the text and images on the newspaper were actually engraved using spiritual Qi. Particularly the illustrations—they played out right there on the paper just like a moving picture.

Zhang Xiao suddenly had the surreal sensation of having just returned to a modern city from a primitive, primeval wilderness. The mental gap was naturally impossible to fully convey to outsiders.

At that moment, a line of text caught Zhang Xiao's eye: An ancient array had been discovered in the Northern District. After being broken open by the Shaolin Zen Sect, an ancient ruin was revealed, unearthing numerous treasures, including a Divine Separation Grass that was about to bear fruit.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiao's eyes widened in an instant. It was truly a case of being handed a pillow just as one felt sleepy; he never expected to stumble upon the Divine Separation Fruit he had been searching for all this time right here. Without hesitation, Zhang Xiao tossed out a piece of square jade, clutched the daily newspaper in his hand, and strode out of the hall without looking back, leaving the young newspaper boy staring foolishly at the piece of jade in his hand, troubled over how to make change.

Gripping the newspaper, Zhang Xiao's figure suddenly transformed into a streak of rainbow light that soared straight into the sky. "Heh, since they belong to those old bald donkeys, I might as well help myself. Since the Divine Separation Fruit is about to mature, those donkeys naturally won't dare to move it lightly. I reckon the Divine Separation Grass must still be in the Northern District."

With this thought, Zhang Xiao's form morphed into a long rainbow, shooting off toward the north.

"Beep, beep!" Before Zhang Xiao had flown very far, a female rider on a hovering motorcycle suddenly appeared right behind him.

The woman was dressed in brocade robes and a jade belt, with a large character for "Arrest" emblazoned on her back. She shouted fiercely at Zhang Xiao, "Halt! Unauthorized aerial ascent is prohibited!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao almost plummeted straight out of the sky.

***

Thank you all for your support and your opinions. Guoshui wishes to express his heartfelt gratitude from the bottom of his heart to all the readers here, and give a grand acknowledgment to the Daoist friend "Hidden Among Fallen Fences" [Yin Ni Li Luo]. Of course, Guoshui will not forget the creative ideas of other Daoist friends either—especially the suggestion about the six-eared macabre from the Daoist friend "Green Calyx" [Lü E], which made Guoshui's eyes light up and inspired many great themes. Therefore, aside from an author's hard work, a good book relies even more on the ideas of my dear readers. Guoshui will be entering the premier book rankings next week and hopes you will all give your enthusiastic support!