6 Elephant City

The following morning, Wu Tianyi walked out of his living quarter with his training sword hanging by his side.

After walking a few minutes, he reached the entrance of the Unwavering Sword Academy.

"Halt. Where are you going, Junior Disciple?"

A guard standing by the gates stopped him before he could even get close.

"I am on a mission," said Wu Tianyi as he showed the guard the badge he'd receive from the Mission Hall Elder.

"Give me your name."

"Wu Tianyi."

The guard retrieved a book and wrote his name into it.

"Stay safe out there, Junior Disciple." The guard said to him before returning to his post.

After leaving the Sect, Wu Tianyi began walking south.

[The Yan Family is located in Elephant City, which is about 70 miles away from here. If I run there, I will be there before midday, when the gathering will take place.]

Thinking that, Wu Tianyi began using a movement technique that made his legs blurry when they moved, making it look as though they were disappearing.

[Even though I have perfect mastery over the Disappearing Steps, this body's cultivation cannot display its true potential.] Wu Tianyi thought to himself as he familiarized himself with his unfamiliar body.

Even though it's been some time since he traveled back in time, he has yet to fully familiarize himself with his own body, and sparring with Xu Jiaying was not enough to even warm him up.

Thus, he took this opportunity to push his body to its limits by using a movement technique that should not be physically possible for the current state of his body.

After just a few minutes of using this movement technique, Wu Tianyi could feel the muscles in his legs throbbing and screaming in pain.

However, Wu Tianyi casually ignored the pain and continued to display perfect movement, almost as though there was no pain in the first place.

A few hours later, by the time Wu Tianyi arrived at Elephant City, his legs were covered in blood.

[That was good training.] Wu Tianyi thought to himself, feeling satisfied with the results.

During his entire journey, not only did he practice the Disappearing Steps, but he was also tempering his body with the pain in his legs, allowing his bones to strengthen and muscles to grow.

In the world of Cultivation, Cultivators may train not only their internal strength but also their physical body. However, tempering one's body usually requires one to endure excruciating pain, something many Cultivators are unable to endure, hence why only a small percentage of Cultivators have tempered bodies.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" The guards standing before the gates to Elephant City looked at Wu Tianyi's legs with a horrified look, almost as though they cannot believe he was still standing. "Were you attacked by a demonic beast?"

"I am fine." Wu Tianyi showed them a calm expression.

"I-If you say so… Anyway, what are your reasons for coming to Elephant City today, Unwavering Sword Academy disciple?"

"I have a mission with the Yan Family."

"I see!" The guards nodded. "Normally, you'd have to pay a fee to enter the city, but since you are here to help the Yan Family, I'll make it an exception for you today."

The guards allowed Wu Tianyi to enter the city without any problem, which was convenient for him, who might be even poorer than a beggar at this point.

After entering the city, Wu Tianyi went straight to the Yan Family's residence.

However, upon approaching them, more guards stopped him.

"Halt right there! What business do you have with the Yan Family?"

Because the Yan Family is a top family within Elephant City, its security is always on alert. And seeing the blood on Wu Tianyi's clothes, he was nothing but suspicious in their eyes.

Wu Tianyi showed them his identity badge and said, "I am a disciple from the Unwavering Sword Academy, and I am here today to participate in the mission."

After the guards confirmed his identity, they nodded.

"So you are here for that, huh. What is your cultivation base? You must be at least fifth level Qi Condensation before even being considered to be a part of the group."

"Ninth level Qi Condensation." Wu Tianyi calmly responded.

"N-Ninth level…?"

The guards looked at him with wide eyes, seemingly in disbelief. How could someone so young already be at the ninth level Qi Condensation? And why would someone so talented be willing to be a mere bodyguard?

"Oh… I see how it is…" The guards showed a look of realization a moment later, and smiles appeared on their faces. "You must be trying to impress Lady Yan Jinxuan."

Wu Tianyi lifted an eyebrow at this unfamiliar name.

"Yan Jinxuan? Who's that?" he asked them.

The guards burst into laughter and said, "There's no need to be embarrassed or act dumb, young man. We know the deal. The young lady is as beautiful as a real fairy with countless admirers, so people like you are a dime a dozen."

"Anyway, although the meeting is still not until an hour from now, why don't you clean up your appearance in the guest building before waiting in the guests' lobby. I'm sure that you don't want to meet Lady Yan Jinxuan in those bloody clothes."

Wu Tianyi realized that they had misunderstood his intentions, but there was no point in explaining it to them, so he nodded his head and entered the Yan Family's residence.

A few minutes later, Wu Tianyi went into the bathroom and washed the blood off his robes before using his spiritual energy to dry the water, making the robes as clean as new.

As he exited the bathroom and searched for the guests' lobby that the guards had mentioned, Wu Tianyi noticed a disturbance in the spiritual energy in the area.

[There's a fight happening around here…]

Since he had time to spare, Wu Tianyi decided to approach where the disturbance was coming from, and it led him to the guests' lobby, where two young men were engaged in a sword battle.

These two young men were wearing Sect Robes, so they were disciples of a Sect like him.

[Both at the eighth level Qi Condensation…]

Wu Tianyi could tell their cultivation bases instantly.

"Geng Lijuan, I had warned you last time that if I were to see you trying to approach Fairy Yan again, I would cut you into a dozen pieces!" One of the disciples shouted at the other.

"And I had warned you, Wen Junhiu, that if you continue with your nonsense, I would turn you into dog food!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two disciples exchanged a dozen blows with each other until the guards came and stopped their fighting.

"Where do you think this is, your house?! If you continue to cause a commotion here, we will immediately remove you from this residence! This is your final warning, and it applies to everyone here!"

The guards shouted at them before returning to their posts, but their eyes remained on the guests' lobby.

"Be grateful that the guards had protected you, Geng Lijuan!"

"You may have escaped this time, Wen Junhiu, but there won't be a second time!"

The two disciples stared at each other before walking away in separate directions.

After the two of them stopped fighting, the spectators at the guests' lobby shook their heads.

"Geng Lijuan and Wen Junjiu have been at it for an entire year now, yet neither of them have managed to successfully court Lady Yan Jinxuan."

"The two of them may be geniuses in their Sect, but Lady Yan Jinxuan is also no ordinary girl. Not only is she the princess of the Yan Family, but she's also a disciple of a Tier 8 Sect."

Every Sect in this world is graded by their overall strength with a tier system numbering from 1 to 9 with Tier 1 being the highest tier. The Unwavering Sword Academy for example is a Tier 9 Sect, so they are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of strength and would only attract disciples with a talent at a similar level.

A Tier 1 Sect, however, will attract top geniuses from around the world, allowing them to grow stronger and stronger, hence the importance of a Sect's tier in the cultivation world.

[The higher the tier, the more respect you'll receive in general.]

Although Wu Tianyi is in a Tier 9 sect, he was not disheartened at all. Once he has solidified his foundation and regains some of his strength, he'll be able to enter Sects with a higher Tier and receive even more benefits to raise his cultivation base.

"Hey, you! Who are you?"

The disciple named Wen Junjiu suddenly approached Wu Tianyi.

"Why do you care?" Wu Tianyi remained nonchalant.

"Hmph! Quite arrogant, aren't you?!" Wen Junjiu coldly snorted. "I don't care who you are, but don't even think about courting my girl, Yan Jinxuan, or you'll regret it!"

"Don't worry, not everybody in this world has the time to fool around like you," said Wu Tianyi.

"You!!!" Wen Junjiu reached for his sword in rage but suddenly recalled that the guards were watching him and resisted his urges.

"You are a disciple of the Unwavering Sword Academy, right? I will remember your face!" Wen Junjiu said to him before walking away with heavy steps.

[What a clown.] Wu Tianyi shook his head before sitting down to cultivate, silently waiting for the meeting to start.