Chapter 4 – Neighboring Houses

“Haha, you have flattered me enough Great Mage. Please do come in, let us chat,” Xue Ying smiled pleasantly.

“Okay.”

Bai Yuan Zhi did not dare to treat Xue Ying as a child, at such a young age he was already able to eliminate the Silver Moon Wolf King along with its wolf pack. In addition, he was now being addressed as Water Rites Town’s utmost master! Not only that, in a few more years……it was even possible for him to achieve Legend Rank; he would become the talk of the entire River Azure County, a county which would tremble under his abilities.

Rumours had it that ‘Dong Bo Xue Ying’ practiced the spear like a spear demon……

In the numerous legends of Transcendents, there were some who were crazily obsessed with painting or smithing weapons, or staring dazedly at the sky……and out of the blue, awakened to become a Transcendent!

“He has been crazed ever since he was young and yet he is so strong now, in the future it is entirely possible to step into realm of Transcendence,” Bai Yuan Zhi secretly whispered. Of course,, it was just a random thought. Those insights varied throughout the madness of generations, and in the end those who became Transcendents were too few.

They walked alongside each other.

Once they were inside the living room, they sat down separately. Zong Ling and Tong San were present at their sides.

“I heard the news, and even now I am still shocked that you managed to to kill Ge Bin with just a few moves! You even made the entire Bent Blade Union fall apart. I have lived for so long, yet have never seen a young powerful warrior like my Lord. I have only heard of the powerful heirs to the great families……but to see this with my own eyes, this is a first.” Bai Yuan Zhi smiled.

“Great Mage, you did not come forth today to just simply compliment me, right?” Xue Ying inquired.

Those great families spent copious amounts of resources in cultivating their powerful heirs; however, he did not really care. He was not so proud himself because his goal has always been to become a Transcendent! Compared to those legendary tales, he considered himself ordinary.

“Hahaha, yes. I indeed came today with a favour to request,” Bai Yuan Zhi said.

“Please do say it. I will do my best to help,” Xue Ying replied.

“Well, while I was staying in my mansion in Water Rites Town, I was often bothered by the nobles, and I can no longer stand it!” Bai Yuan Zhi sighed in despair. “Besides, there are some other mages that took an interest in my studies, resulting in frequent break ins to steal my results. Because I was able to obtain fruitful results from the Silver Moon Wolf King’s heart you had given me I was afraid of such problems. Hence, I decided to move away, leaving Water Rites Town.”

“Moving from Water Rites Town?” Xue Ying froze. “Then, have you decided on a place to stay?”

His younger brother was about to embark on an apprenticeship with this man.

“Haha, have I not came to seek my Lord? I wish to choose a secluded place on your Snowrock Mountain and build a small house to live in.”

Bai Yuan Zhi laughed, “My lord……your location is tranquil and also located in a mountainous terrain filled with guards and traps, which would keep thieves out. As for the nobles? There will not be many who would trouble themselves to seek after me by travelling hundreds of miles.”

“To disturb my Lord, I am utmost ashamed,” Bai Yuan Zhi continued.

Xue Ying met Zong Ling’s eyes.

Both of them had the same thoughts.

“Haha, it would be my honour, to have a Great Mage within my Snow Eagle Territory. It could only count as a blessing.” Xue Ying laughed, “There are many mountains in this region and many empty places. Master, be sure to pick an ideal place for your residence.”

Bai Yuan Zhi’s face lit up with gratitude, he knew the chance of offering a place for him to stay was high, but the agreement from Xue Ying still made him pretty happy. “Then, I will begin choosing.”

“This is a trivial matter. The Great Mage can begin building anytime. If you ever need help, just ask,” Xue Ying replied.

“Building a house is easy, and within my disciples are those who know of Earth magic.” Bai Yuan Zhi smiled.

Building castles, building magnificent cities.

It was hard depending on regular mortals to drill and move boulders, especially compared to those who specialised in earth magic……if one was powerful enough, they could split the earth beneath them or create numerous boulders, thus easily expediting construction. Just like Xue Ying’s “Snowrock Castle” which was built by other masters as well because although his mother was a Heaven rank Mage, she did not specialize in earth magic.

……

Xue Ying and Zong Ling stood before the railings as they cast their eyes into the distance.

Looking beyond the walls of the castle, approximately a mountain a few miles away, a stone building was being constructed with great speed under a magic spell. The soil around the area formed into a smooth boulder, and flying debris could be seen everywhere. It was the beginning of the construction……On the walls, sheets of fire and water lay reflecting off each other, and soon, the walls became smooth.

Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi even began engraving some spell arrays on the walls.

“Xue Ying, won’t Bai Yuan Zhi residing here cause trouble?” Zong Ling was weary.

“Rest assured, Bai Yuan Zhi has spent many years staying in Water Rites Town, and there were no troubles there. As such, there would not be much trouble if he were to reside here either.” Xue Ying laughed, “Even if there were to be troubles, it would be quite mild. Even if a strong opponent were to come to stir trouble, it will be useless, not to mention those that would be under them.”

Zong Ling nodded.

Xue Ying was feeling great. Because of the residency of the Great Mage, Qing Shi would not be leaving him to train as an apprentice.

******

There were many hills on the Snowrock Mountains.

The peak was Snowrock Castle, and a few miles away, on another mountain, would be the Great Mage’s building! Between them, a full five miles away from the building and three miles from the castle, on the hills, a new bamboo building was being built!

The bamboo building was built by Xue Ying, and for a Great Master who has reached the realm of perfect power control, it was beautifully constructed.

“From today onwards, I will spend most of my time living in the back mountain where the bamboo house is,” Xue Ying told Zong Ling, Tong San, and Qing Shi. “As for the things happening in the territory, I will be troubling you Uncle Zong. Make sure to find me if there are any grave matters.”

“Okay,” Zong Ling nodded.

“Brother, won’t you feel bored living in the bamboo house alone?” Qing Shi asked out of curiosity.

“Haha……not at all.” Xue Ying smiled. This had been on his mind ever since he reached mastery in spearmanship.

Once his spearmanship reached a certain level, he had a different view on the world around him.

The growth of the grass, the heavy boulders, the breezing of wind, the fluttering of leaves……everything made him feel amazed. He had missed so much all these years. Look at how beautiful the world was! For him, living in the secluded bamboo house was a form of enjoyment.

Practicing with his spear……

Another perspective.

Similarly, some soldiers possessed very general foundations. Even with training alongside the boundary between life and death, their skills were flawed, but with constant practice, they perfected them. Becoming one with their weapon and becoming its master, they embarked on and mastered their own path through the heavens.

Xue Ying was different.

He did not like to force himself to live on the edge of life and death. He preferred to live normally and gradually polish his skills, understand his weaknesses, and then perfect them.Such an incomparably powerful foundation was more trustworthy and dependable but required an extremely insane practice regime to achieve. This produced a solid foundation of spearmanship, naturally allowing him to become one with his weapon. As a result of his close brush with death when battling the Shadow leopard, he reached spear mastery.

In fact, even without being forced to fight between life and death, in another year or two, he would have naturally been able to breakthrough.

Xue Ying preferred wisdom like this rather than numerous adventures between life and death.

“Brother, can I come over to visit you often?” Qing Shi inquired.

“Haha, anytime. I would even visit you.” Xue Ying laughed.

Zong Ling, dressed in black, stood there watching Xue Ying before sighing deeply.

In regards to his master’s worldly nature?

It was easy to say that trying to reach the same level of comprehension or even its fringes was difficult.

……

Since then, Xue Ying always resided behind Snowrock Mountain in the secluded bamboo house. He began cutting wood, cooking, drinking spring mountain water, meditating, and practicing his spear techniques in the bamboo forest.