1 The World Has Changed

It was said that the great sects of the cultivation world were like the elements, they never got along and they could never agree on anything, from the matter of whether the trial cave for foundation level disciples was known as the Four Elements Cave (sì yuán sù dòng xué ) or the Elemental Cave of Death (sǐ yuán sù dòng xué) to whether the great ancestral founder had three or four moles ("it had to have been four, otherwise how was he able to give off that sage like aura?" - Anonymous Male Disciple). However, there was one thing they could agree on and that was that the Azure Lord Mo Lan was a genius above geniuses.

Despite practicing the path of water, generally considered a weaker path, Mo Lan managed to sharpen his water into the strongest ice. And after defeating the great demon lord in the decisive battle that would guarantee human supremacy for a millennia, none disagreed that Mo Lan was the strongest the cultivation world had ever seen...maybe even stronger than the great sage, but there's no way to prove that since he fell ages ago. So Mo Lan was a supreme existence, revered by all from children to the elderly.

However, there was one person who did not revere Mo Lan. This person's innate element was fire and from his element all the way to his personality and actions, every piece of him contested Mo Lan. His name was Huo Ran. From the very beginning it was as if Huo Ran was made to oppose Mo Lan. On Huo Ran's six year old celebration his parents, prominent heads of one of the great sects, arranged a massive banquet to unveil the results of his spirit roots. Guests came from afar to gaze at the newly born prince of the Fire Sect and they weren't disappointed. Huo Ran was a once in a thousand years seen genius, possessing powerful heaven grade spirit roots and a natural affinity for the fire path.

Beyond that, he'd inherited all the best parts of his parents, from his mother's large, dark peach blossom eyes, to his father's prominent nose and firm lips, making it clear he'd grow up to be a charmer. Even now all eyes were on the adorable little prince and he was basking in the glory until...Mo Lan arrived. Not only was Mo Lan's talent higher than the little prince, (supreme heaven grade spirit roots), he also carried a cold frostiness that, if paired with a more mature visage, would give him an extremely indomitable air however, with his childlike six year old face, simply evoked the viewer's maternal hearts and gave them the desperate urge to pinch his frosty little cheeks.

Either way, the minute he stepped into the room all eyes were on him and everyone forgot about the poor little prince. That was only the start. From that day on it was as if the little prince was possessed, chasing after Mo Lan, desperately trying to beat him in whatever he could. Mo Lan was going to the secular world to catch ghosts? Huo Ran was too! Mo Lan wanted to defeat the demon lord's army? Huo Ran had to destroy more minions than him!

And so it was no surprise that on the day Mo Lan returned from his closed door cultivation a certain someone was waiting outside to show off his newfound prowess. Due to the unique nature of his water turned ice element, Mo Lan habitually went into periods of closed door cultivation in order to refine his understanding of the ice element. These periods could last anywhere from a week to more than a century. Unlike Mo Lan, Huo Ran's element was fire so in order to increase his cultivation fighting was more beneficial than closed door cultivation. So each time Mo Lan exited from his closed door cultivation Huo Ran would be waiting there to show off and each time he'd be beaten until his face was buried six feet in the ground.

The whole cultivation world knew about this phenomenon, they had seen Huo Ran being beaten so many times that by now it was like talking about the weather.

"Oh, it's started getting cold, winter is approaching."

"Is it? Oh there's Huo Ran, getting beaten up by Mo Lan."

"Oh. I ought to get another fur coat."

"Oh I know a place where you can get them cheap!"

Excerpts from a conversation between passerby A and B from the cultivation world

Everyone in the cultivation world knew that Huo Ran hated Mo Lan, they had heard him say it numerous times. And everyone in the cultivation world knew Huo Ran couldn't beat Mo Lan, they had seen it even more times. But what did Mo Lan think of all of this? Did he hate his counterpart with as much enthusiasm and vigor? Then why did he, someone who had chopped off the head of even the great demon lord, never do anything more than burying Huo Ran's face in the ground? No one knows and no one would be daring or stupid enough to ask the great Azure Lord just as no one was stupid enough to ask the great sage just how many moles he really had.

So it continued, the Azure Lord would step out of his week, or month, or year, or decades long cultivation and find Huo Ran awaiting him to "get beaten up" for lack of better terms. This continued again, and again, and again, until finally one day the Azure Lord went into a particularly long cultivation. It spanned across eight centuries and for good reason because with it, the Azure Lord was finally able to push through the breakthrough and attain a level that no one had ever before, exceeding even the great sage.

And so, with that massive accomplishment, holding his head high, face perpetually frosty, the Azure Lord steps out of his cultivation cave to greet...a singular potbellied, chubby looking fellow.

"My lord, you have arrived!" The Azure Lord pauses, then glances back at the entrance to the cave doubtfully. Had he exited the wrong way? Where were the bells and laurels, the numerous sect heads standing respectfully in rows to greet him? Surely they should have felt his ascension? Furthermore, where was that small but vivacious, vibrantly clothed figure coming to challenge him?

"My Lord?" The chubby fellow scratches his head doubtfully. Has My Lord been cultivating for so long that he went silly? Surely not, right?

As if sensing his thoughts, Mo Lan's eyes sharply turn towards him, freezing him mid scratch and causing cold sweat to flow down his back. No wonder everyone says the Azure Lord is cold and imposing as frost, I have felt it today.

"My Lord...er...shall we go in?" Mo Lan pauses for a moment before finally responding.

"...En." Despite the numerous questions in his mind, the Azure Lord is not one of many words so he simply decides to wait and see. He follows the chubby fellow as they leave the clearing. Previously, the clearing was surrounded by a thick forest, however now instead of trees, the area is surrounded by...some strange looking structures. Is it some new type of array? But Mo Lan doesn't sense any spiritual energy from it. He turns his attention back to the chubby man but finds him spewing some strange sounding gibberish.

"We've renovated a lot of our old HQ so it's probably a different than what you're used to and property prices have gone up so it's been a little tough-"

"Wait, what? Renovated? HQ? Property tax? Speak properly!" The chubby man freezes mid speech, stunned. Then he pauses, as if a sudden thought hits him.

"My Lord...how long have you been in closed door cultivation?" Mo Lan thinks for a moment.

"I don't know."

"Then...what year was it when you went to cultivate?"

"Year...well it must have been the Golden Era then."

"THE GOLDEN ERA?!" The fat man clutches his head. "You-this…"

Mo Lan scrunches his eyebrows. "Speak properly." The fat man opens and closes his mouth a few times. Then he pauses and sighs.

"My Lord...I don't know how to tell you this but it's now the twenty-first century. You've been in closed door cultivation for eight hundred years.