The shuffling

After Gongsun Liang entered Fallen Peaches city he separated from the merchant caravan. He still felt a bit weak but most of all he felt hungry, he felt like everyone else was food. So he walked to the market street. He bought a big hat and a strap box, then he went to the public restroom to place the baby in the box, after all with his current cultivation he didn't need to pee or poo except he forced himself to eat beyond his limit. Normally he would just use his qi to convert excess food into vital energy and let it seep out of his pores. Even though it consumed qi it was very efficient. When he came out of the restroom he was wearing a big hat that prevented others from seeing his slightly pale face and a box on his back.

'I would have gone to a luxurious restaurant to get some good food and wine, but I'm guessing there's a lot of people waiting there for someone of my present description'. He thought to himself as he walked to the area that sold street food.

Fifteen minutes later, as Gongsun Liang was wolfing down his second bowl of noodles he heard steady marching of soldiers.

"Move from the path!" the guard at the front called out as they passed by.

Gongsun Liang lifted his head after they passed.

"I heard there was a group of suspicious looking men in the Golden feather restaurant". One woman said to a fellow customer on the street.

"I also heard that, and some say they were dressed in black like people from Dark Fang." Another man added.

Gongsun Liang was feeling good about his decision to eat here. He ate a few more bowls because it was tasty. "How much is the bill?" He asked the shop owner.

"Young man you ate five bowls so that would be 100 bronze coins,"he said with a smile, "I would normally only charge you five coins per bowl, but" he leans forward to Gongsun Liang "today's food had the juice of the legendary fallen peach fruit".

Gongsun Liang scoffed internally, he didn't even have time to argue with this swindler.'fallen peach my ass' he thought as he left a silver coin on the table.

The shopkeeper looked down to see the money but what he saw instead of a pouch of bronze coins was a single silver coin on the table. He was dazed for a few seconds before he quickly grabbed the coin as he looked around for any eyes that noticed. He looked up but Gongsun Liang was gone. 'There's a big fish in town, I'll go tell the boss.' He thought.

It was well known that 100 bronze coins were worth a silver coin, but if you wanted to exchange for one you would need to pay a hundred and ten bronze coins for a single silver coin. That was if you found someone willing to make the trade.

Gongsun Liang was on his way to an old orphanage that was well known because it was said that the owner was from the mainland. The land on which the three kingdoms and the monarch desert were based was part of a bigger land called the Martial Yan Empire. The mainland was four times the size of this island.

Gongsun Liang was directed to the thirteenth street when he asked about the Happy house orphanage.

He knocked on the backdoor and left the box there.

........

Most martial artists and cultivators below the fifth layer of the martial mortal realm did not notice any changes in the atmosphere of their respective nations. But those above that level and the various powers could sense the building tension and hostility.

......

The next few days were full of happenings. It all started with a few wild clashes and skirmishes, then some cities governed by prestigious families or sects started hiring more guards and fortifying their defenses.

Then Azure cloud country and Great Han Dynasty joined hands and declared war on Wind Demon Realm. The king of Azure cloud country also sent in some spies to Great Han Dynasty to investigate the whereabouts of a certain person. The Order declared war on Dark Fang and so many other sects fought and perished. Many old monsters at the peak of virtual core realm and Elemental core realm came out of their secluded cultivation to fight for the survival of their respective forces. Many new resource mines were unearthed and many treasure troves revealed themselves. The spies sent by Azure cloud country reported 'the whereabouts of the individual are uncertain but we have found clues to where he may have dropped what we're looking for. Unfortunately the place was closed down even before the war began'. That was where the message stopped.

Azure cloud country's blood blade division took in a man named Gongsun Wu as a prisoner of war. Many sects were destroyed and people died on the battlefield leaving behind more orphans, this made it difficult for the various powers to find 'what' they were all looking for.

The qi in the atmosphere was increasing as the era of geniuses had fully dawned. The war lasted eight month's and finally came to an end when the mainland sent a few cultivators above the Elemental core realm to settle the people. The lord of Wind Demon Realm had lost his life to Han Wuchen, the king of Great Han Dynasty.

The forces that made it through the war sent out scouts to search for babies without parents and raise them.

It had been five years since the war came to an end most of the powers that survived had settled down and continued their operations. Most of them were still spying on the children being raised by other powers to see if they showed any extraordinary talents for cultivation. Many geniuses among the children awakened their martial spirits two years ago when they were three-year old's. There were even rumours of those who had awakened theirs shortly after the war. But majority still unlocked theirs at five years old.

Some powers went to fortune tellers and people who read the stars and secrets of the heavens.

Most recieved the same reply, "the boys that you seek are as far from each other as can be, one is in a prosperous bright country and the other is in the gloomy darkness".

The powers concluded that one was in azure cloud country and the other was in Wind Demon Realm. Although they weren't entirely correct, they wouldn't be ruled as wrong either.

The calendar that was used in this world read year 10,018. It was eight years after the war.

Somewhere in Wind Demon Realm, after the death of their former lord the nation had been split into three regions one side was taken by his only child and the his other loyal subordinates, with all the secret forces and royal guards. The other parts were taken by his left and right ministers and the army.

There were two sects that operated in each region. One of the sects that operated in the royal family's region was the Silver Raven sect. This sect was the most powerful and prestigious sect in the whole Wind Demon Realm. They had a few old monsters at the peak of virtual core realm so they survived the war.

Not far from the sect was a city called 'Shattered Banner city' it used to be called Ghost Banner city, they used to have a ghost banner at the centre of the city. It was said that the founder of the city had found a ghost banner in the monarch desert during his younger days even though it was damaged it still had a few functions, and that whenever he activated it, a big barrier would be formed around him. The more qi was infused in it the bigger the barrier would be. It had served as a protective barrier for the city and the city was one of the safest cities before the war. It could block every attack below the ninth level of martial mortal realm. But during the war even Elemental core realm martial artists showed up. The barrier was shattered and the banner destroyed.

Presently Shattered banner city was bigger place than it used to be. The city walls were broken at some areas. Low levelled cultivators from around the city areas gathered together to support one another. Many regular people also lived here to survive hard times. Although many rich people lived here there were even more poor people in the city. The city now had an inner district and an outer one due to the differences in wealth and status among the people.

Somewhere in the outer district there was a group of people living together. There were five children and a grown up woman who looked around her thirties, maybe we could say six because a man believed to be her husband came to the house once in a while. She was known to her neighbours as Mrs. Ao. Apparently the name of her husband. She was the mother figure to the five children. There were two girls and three boys. One of the girls was her biological daughter while the others were adopted children, they were believed to have lost their parents in the war and so the couple had compassion and took in an extra four children to raise.

Or so everyone thought until they were five years old and they were told some key information that changed their outlook on life.

Three years ago when the children were officially five years old, Mrs Ao told them a few things. She was like " You five, come. First thing is whatever I tell you today will never be heard by another person. Next thing is you are all children from an organization called Dark Fang. All of you have awakened your martial spirits except Shen Jian'', as she said this they all looked at him. He was just about as short as the others but he had blue eyes and was so cute that he may even pass off as a girl. All the children were very close to one another so the others looked at him with consoling gazes. All their years together he had become more like a senior brother to them even though they didn't even know their actual birthdays apart from Mrs Ao's daughter. He had a leader's spirit and he was good at martial arts. Every time the others got in fights with children from the neighbourhood he always came to the rescue. Mrs Ao continued '' the rest of you will start cultivation officially from now on, the leader will go to the most talented among you. You will also be graded and awarded accordingly. Someday we will gather back with Dark Fang.''