Side Story: Sawtooth Mountains (I)

The Sawtooth Mountains were never anything special. Located deep within the Indigo Jungle Province, it had long been an annoyance that people had to navigate when heading for places they actually wanted to go. The expansive mountain range had numerous sharp, triangular peaks, in the form of sawtooths, thus the name. There was nothing interesting here, not even herbs or beasts that could be sold for money. It was a worthless collection of rocks and jungle-covered valleys.

That all changed in the last four months. All of a sudden, cultivators and adventurers were returning from the Sawtooth Mountains with all kinds of good stuff. Spiritual herbs, spiritual beasts, spiritual crystals… things that people couldn't even imagine were here. It was simply a gold mine.

Word spread like wildfire and attracted local sects, loose cultivators, and treasure seekers. And among them was a young man named Chen Wentian.

Chen Wentian arrived at the foothills of the mountains after a difficult journey. He was poor and weak and couldn't even afford a horse. Even worse, he found that he was not alone. There were hundreds of cultivators gathered in a clearing, all eager to head into the mountains to seek lucky opportunities.

It was an informal rest stop for those heading further to seek treasure. Aside from the peasants selling food and water, there were many disciples of the local sects, judging from the distinctive clothes. There were also loose cultivators in groups of at least three or four. Lonely ones like him were rare.

Chen Wentian found an inconspicuous rock to sit down, not wanting to attract any attention. He was a talentless loose cultivator. He was twenty years old and at the 1st Level of the Mind Focusing Realm. This was actually really good, enough to be a top disciple at an average cultivation sect in the region. However, if he hadn't run into a great fortune a year ago, he would have still been struggling at the beginning levels of the Body Refinement Realm with no prospect of improvement. His talent and background were indeed that bad.

As he took a drink from his gourd, a hand reached out and slapped it away.

"Move, idiot!" A rough voice sounded.

He looked up to see a group of five men. They wore similar robes of green, with the middle one's being noticeably more expensive and high-class. The one that had slapped him was a burly and stupid-looking one that seemed like the bodyguard. That guy was strong, at least several levels above him in the Mind Focusing Realm. The others were even stronger, with the leader at the peak.

Chen Wentian didn't complain or make any disrespectful reactions. He was long used to these kinds of situations and hurriedly retreated without a word.

As he stooped to pick up his gourd, another voice stopped him.

"Hey, I know you. Stop, turn around!"

He stood up straight and turned around. The man in the middle was pointing at him and he had to suppress a grimace. He recognized that man as well.

"Yeah… I know you! What was your name again, surnamed Chen something?"

Chen Wentian bowed, "Chen Wentian, Young Master Zheng…"

The man in the middle was Zheng Hao, scion of the Zheng Clan, a powerful cultivation family that operated out of Lavender Tower County. That unremarkable county was only a month of travel away Sawtooth Mountian and was also the birthplace of Chen Wentian.

Despite being from the same region, Zheng Hao's intentions were far from friendly.

"Ah, that's right. I knew it!" Zheng Hao laughed harshly, "Little Qing, you remember him?"

A skinny bootlicker beside him shook his head dumbly.

"Idiot! That surnamed Chen was one the contestants of the marriage seeking tournament for the Princess of Lavender."

"Oh, that's totally not allowed! Should I beat him up for you?" The big one asked.

"No need. No need. This Chen joined the marriage seeking tournament but he is simply insignificant. Do you know what his result was?" Zheng Hao asked.

His groupies shook their heads.

"Nine hundred and ninety-eighth… out of one thousand!"

They all burst into laughter.

"What an idiot!"

"He sucks!"

Chen Wentian said nothing and did nothing, keeping his eyes on the ground. The Princess of Lavender was the daughter of the governor of Lavender Tower County. She was gentle and beautiful, desired by all young men of the county. He had joined the marriage seeking tournament on a whim. There was never any real hope of winning the whole thing and becoming her husband. He knew how weak he had been back then.

Zheng Hao finished laughing and sat down on the rock that Chen Wentian had vacated.

"Oh, and in case you are thinking about the princess, don't bother." The arrogant young man said, "She has been warming my bed for the last six months. What do you think about that? The Princess of Lavender, pressed down by me, her legs spread by me, her sweet fruit plucked by me every night. Do you know, when her sweet voice screams out my name, it is bliss! You should see her writhing beneath me, begging me to stop, begging me for more, hahaha!"

"Young Master Zheng is powerful!"

"A true man amongst men!"

"There is no woman he can't conquer!"

His lackeys praised him endlessly.

Chen Wentian knew what they were trying to do but he didn't take the bait. He didn't care about their taunts; he didn't care about some princess. Perhaps if he was the same person as in the past, he would have been enraged and done something stupid. But now, he didn't care about such idle things. He had far greater dreams. His ambition was to fly into the sky and overlook these lowly mortals from high above!

"Congratulations to Young Master Zheng!" Chen Wentian finally said, "Truly, a man such as yourself is the only one deserving of the Princess of Lavender. I apologize for not knowing about the wonderful news of your marriage."

He then pulled out every tael of gold and silver he had and offered it, "Please, accept this as a belated gift…"

One of the subordinates grabbed the bag and handed it to Zheng Hao, who peeked inside and nodded in satisfaction.

"Young Master Zheng accepts your gift. You may leave!"

"Thank you." Chen Wentian said.

He backed away from the group carefully and then headed up the path leading into the Sawtooth Mountains. Such an amount of money was nothing to him as long he got out of the situation unscathed. It didn't matter since he would earn it back soon…

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