The Legend of Futian

That day was one destined to be recorded in the annals of the Eastern Barren Territory, for there had never been an event of such grandeur.

No one had expected that a student from the cottage would have already become a leader in the Barren State before he even turned 30. The students of Book Mountain all felt extremely honored because of him.

In Ye Futian’s perspective, it was also a day with unparalleled significance—he married the one he loved most. It was a responsibility like none other. It was more than just power offered to him in taking the place of Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace and shouldering the expectations of the many great figures who came before him. They would not have supported and urged him to take such a grand position otherwise. Of course, it was something to be discussed at a later date. Everything was to be put aside for the moment at that very day.

Many great figures from the Barren State left after the banquet, countless from the Eastern Barren Territory went down the mountain with incredibly restless minds.

The sky turned dark, yet Book Mountain remained lively, although it was nothing compared to what took place during the day. Red candles decorated the elegant room in Ye Futian’s residence. His beautiful wife laid quietly on the bed. Everything was tranquil and beautiful.

Ye Futian went to the bed and supported his jaw with his hands, gazing at the beautiful woman before him. Hua Jieyu rolled her eyes at him but she blushed nonetheless. She obviously knew what was to come next.

“Well, miss fox. It seems like you’re unable to escape me after all,” Ye Futian said to her softly.

“I’m drowsy. Let’s get some sleep.” Hua Jieyu turned her back at Ye Futian.

“My wife speaks the truest words. The night is worth a thousand gold. Let’s do so together indeed.” Ye Futian burrowed beneath the blanket and held his wife in his hands.

“Where are you putting your hands?” Hua Jieyu’s voice was as soft as the fluttering wings of mosquitoes.

“Very soft indeed.” Ye Futian’s hands were itchy.

“Pervert.” Hua Jieyu attempted to run, but there was simply no way she was able to get away from Ye Futian.

“Well now you know,” Ye Futian laughed.

The bed shook rather violently after that. It was as if the ones on it were having fun playing.

It was a fine day and a night to be remembered indeed.

…

Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu got up early in the next morning to serve tea to Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin. Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin smiled rather sheepishly as they looked at the newlywed couple. Nandou Wenyin then said, “Futian, I expect to be seeing my grandchildren from you soon.”

“Well…” Ye Futian smiled in a rather shaky manner and looked rather awkward. Hua Jieyu’s face went all red and she rolled her eyes at Nandou Wenyin then said softly, “Mother, what are you talking about?”

Hua Jieyu and Nandou Wenyin smiled, looking at the behavior of those two young people. It was normal for Hua Jieyu to feel embarrassed, but Ye Futian had always had skin as thick as a wall, so it was rather unexpected for him to be acting all awkward.

“Futian, your teacher and the others said they are packing up and leaving at first light. Go check on them for a bit,” Hua Fengliu said.

“Alright. Jieyu, keep teacher and mistress company here,” Ye Futian said. He did not change how he addressed his elders, and it was not due to him being unfamiliar with them, but rather simply because he was too accustomed to how he addressed them already. To him, they were both like his parents anyway.

Ye Futian left and headed for the other compound where the lords of the Holy Zhi Palace were.

“Teacher, uncle,” Ye Futian called. He had taken to calling the Sword Demon and Sage Daozang ‘uncle’ instead.

“We’re preparing to leave for the Holy Zhi Palace to set things up for your return. When will you be returning there?” the Sword Demon asked.

“This is why I’m here, seniors, to discuss this particular matter with you. Tianxing Pavilion is now in need of a lord to govern the place, and I’m thinking of having my Eldest Brother take the position. What do you think?” Ye Futian elaborated. While he had become the Palace Lord of the entire place, it was still unthinkable for him to throw his weight around without consulting others. A matter of such importance naturally required the other lords to discuss over it.

“Fine proposition.” The Sword Demon nodded. The Sword Saint fought Kong Yao hard that day. It was naturally a good thing for someone that powerful to be among the ranks of the Holy Zhi Palace. With the place now practically in shambles, they, of course, hoped to fill up the ranks. If Ye Futian was able to persuade the Sword Saint to take up the position of a lord in the Holy Zhi Palace, they saw no reason to be against it.

“Well then, I’ll go discuss the matter with my Eldest Brother. If there are no further issues, we shall depart for the palace together,” Ye Futian said. All three of his elders felt pleased with his words. It seemed that Ye Futian was ready indeed.

Ye Futian came to the Sword Saint’s resident palace, where the rest of the cottage’s students stayed the night before. Zhuge Mingyue smiled sheepishly and said as soon as Ye Futian came in, “You’re early, Little Brother.”

“You’re early yourself, Second Sister.” Ye Futian pretended to be oblivious and smiled. “Eldest Brother, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Go ahead.” The Sword Saint nodded.

“With the Eastern Barren Territory at peace and Book Mountain serving as its sacred ground, there is no need for you to remain here any further. How about you go train in the Holy Zhi Palace with us?” Ye Futian said, “Me, Seventh Brother, and Yu Sheng will be there too. As such, I’m thinking of getting all of the cottage’s students to train in the palace.”

“Little Brother,” Gu Dongliu, who was standing beside him, said, “I have discussed the matter with Eldest Brother yesterday. You’re right. With things being stable in the Eastern Barren Territory and you becoming the Palace Lord of Holy Zhi Palace, many forces throughout the Barren State will also cooperate. Our next target should be all of the nine states, and we will go to the Holy Zhi Palace with you.”

The Sword Saint nodded and said, “Dongliu spoke my mind.”

Ye Futian felt warm and fuzzy inside. Such were the students of the cottage. Everyone was willing to be by his side, entering the Holy Zhi Palace together and take on the rest of the nine states.

“Yeah.” Ye Futian nodded furiously. He knew before he even opened his mouth that his brothers and sisters had been planning things for his sake.

“I will hand the position of college chief to Bai Lishu. I consider that handing things over properly,” the Sword Saint said softly. Bai Lishu was the personal student of the previous college chief and was an exceptional talent. It was fitting for him to take over as college chief, while the Sword Saint and Goddess Wangyue would have made for the Holy Zhi Palace instead.

“Well, we’ll go get things pertaining to the Eastern Barren Territory arranged and then we’ll head to the Holy Zhi Palace,” Ye Futian said with a smile.

…

A group of mighty ones arrived in the Holy Zhi Palace seven days later, and the group was none other than the ones led by Ye Futian. Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin arrived with Ye Futian as well. Hua Jieyu was their only child and Ye Futian was also Hua Fengliu’s only student. With both of them married and Ye Futian becoming the Palace Lord, it was only natural for them to enter the Holy Zhi Palace as well.

Other than that, Ye Wuchen’s parents were there as well but Yi Xiang surprisingly did not show. He remained adamant about staying back as headmaster of Donghai Academy to teach the students there. That old man was so stubborn that Ye Futian was entirely incapable of persuading him. The only thing he was able to do was to have Yu Sheng and Yi Qingxuan go visit the old man more often.

Countless students of the Holy Zhi Palace headed towards the Holy Sage Pavilion after hearing that Ye Futian was returning. With Ye Futian agreeing to take the place of the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace and returning that day, many wondered what his orders would be.

The crowd was huge and mighty ones were outside the Holy Sage Pavilion.

Ye Futian and his party descended from above into the Holy Sage Pavilion. Many of the mighty ones from the Holy Sage Pavilion came to greet him, among them being many who were elders. They bowed to Ye Futian and said, “All hail the Palace Lord.”

“At ease, elders.” Ye Futian waved and said, “My plane at training is still low. Despite taking up the place of Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace, I still require your guidance from here on out.

“Teacher, uncles, please gather all the elders of the Holy Zhi Palace here,” Ye Futian said looking at Douzhan and the rest. They nodded and then took to the air, heading for their respective palaces and pavilions. All the elders came and gathered at Holy Sage Palace shortly after. They turned their eyes at Ye Futian, who was sitting before them and bowed. “All hail the Palace Lord.”

Ye Futian waved and said, “I’ve discussed with my teacher and the uncles before I came here. I know well that I haven’t been in the Holy Zhi Palace for long and my training is still lacking. The place of Palace Lord shouldn’t belong to me, but since I’m now at such a position regardless, I hope all the elders present will cast off any personal opinions and work to make the Holy Zhi Palace a stronger, better place.”

“It was the wish of the old Palace Lord before you. It is only natural that we place our faith in you,” someone said.

Ye Futian nodded. “The prior battles cost the Holy Zhi Palace heavily. Without a saint in the Barren State for many years, we have been bullied. With Zhisheng Cliffs intending to crush the Holy Zhi Palace, we do not have much time left. I hope you elders will work with me.”

Sage Douzhan stood beside Ye Futian and said, “The Holy Zhi Palace is the sacred ground of the Barren State, and we dedicate ourselves to creating a saint. We need to work harder on this goal in the coming days. If any are found harboring personal agendas as Ning Xian had, they will be cut down without question.”

“Besides that, we have been discussing several matters with the Palace Lord on our way here, and we would like the Palace Lord to make the announcements,” the Sword Demon added. Everyone was able to tell Ye Futian’s current status in the Holy Zhi Palace. He had all the support he was able to get from the lords.

“First of all, Tianxing Pavilion will be henceforth be renamed as Sword Saint Pavilion and will be governed by the Sword Saint. Gu Dongliu and Zhuge Mingyue will train in the pavilion, assisting the Sword Saint to reform the place into a proper Sword Saint Pavilion,” Ye Futian said with a brimming voice. Many shuddered to hear one of the six palaces and pavilions being renamed.

Tianxing Pavilion was reduced to some item of the past, replaced by the Sword Saint Pavilion governed by the Sword Saint. The man was more powerful than Sage Tianxing had been. Gu Dongliu, whose talent rivaled that of Bai Luli, and Zhuge Mingyue, the daughter of the Zhuge family, were to be added to the ranks of the palace as well. With that said, the new Sword Saint Pavilion would be restored to its former glory when it was called Tianxing Pavilion, eclipsing the pinnacle of its former achievements.

“Second, the people of Taihang Mountain will be moving into the Holy Zhi Palace. Yuan Hong, the king of Taihang Mountain, will serve as assistant palace lord of Holy Sage Pavilion, assisting me.” Many more shuddered as Ye Futian announced his second order. It was a move to replenish the losses suffered by the Holy Sage Pavilion. Even though it was far from enough to restore the Holy Sage Pavilion to its former glory, the addition of personnel from Taihang Mountain and assistance from Yuan Hong would at least ensure that the place would not look too vulnerable. All there was left to do was to wait for Ye Futian to reach greater heights.

Many were secretly startled. The old Palace Lord had good eyes all along. Ye Futian began injecting new energy into the Holy Zhi Palace to make up for the losses suffered in that battle. Furthermore, with the Sword Saint and Yuan Hong among the ranks of Holy Zhi Palace, Ye Futian’s position was further reinforced, as it was only natural for them to back him with all their might.

“Third, it is something concerning the rules of the Holy Zhi Palace. The bar for entry to the Sage Hall had been set too high, resulting in only one person or even none from a single generation to train within. Henceforth, all students who have been personally inspected by the six lords will earn the right to train in the Sage Hall. I have discussed the details of such inspections with the lords, and I hope we will be able to see more with potential for sainthood emerge from the Holy Zhi Palace.”

Ye Futian continued and everyone nodded. There were still no objections. With the crisis looming around the corner, the Holy Zhi Palace indeed needed to have more talented people emerge in order to fight the other states of the nine states.

“Fourth, this is something that does not concern the Holy Zhi Palace. The eastern region of the Barren State was in a weakened state. The force that originated from a saint’s lineage was divided into three factions, resulting in the eastern region being continuously weakened. There is now only one mighty one ranked on the Barren Sky Ranking among them. I propose to have the three major schools of the Divine Sky City of the eastern region be reunited as one school, and Zhaixing House to be returned among their ranks. The lineage of the saint shall be made one again with students of all three schools studying under one roof. The position of headmaster shall be taken by Chen Yuan, headmaster of Starry School, while the chief of Zhaixing House shall serve as vice headmaster. Yang Ding of Blazing Sun School and Gong Kui of Bright Moon School shall serve as elders.” Ye Futian added, “I will assign someone to relay the orders to Divine Sky City.

“Fifth, this is my own private matter. All the forces who descended upon the Eastern Barren Territory to fight for the Guqin score, I will absolve them of all their wrongdoings. However, in return, I ask for them to trade that absolution with one of their treasures, which will be placed in the Holy Zhi Palace.” Ye Futian said his fifth order slowly!