At 3 AM, the sky was still dark.

All outer disciples had cleaned the banquet hall and left as the party was over. Sun Jing’s wife also excused herself and return to her residence.

The main character of the party, Miaomiao, had also been escorted to a guestroom in Sun Jing’s house.

The manor was a humble 3-story brick house with a flat cement roof. The room of Miaomiao was located on the second floor while Sun Jing and his wife’s room was on the third floor.

There was no air-conditioner, fan, TV, or any modern electrical appliance in Miaomiao’s room. Only a single stone bed with a cotton bed topper was there. Fortunately, the room had a window, or it would be too similar to a prison.

Getting his time alone, Miaomiao sat on the bed and contemplated his life choices. Sometimes, he doubted if his past decisions were correct.

In addition, Miaomiao was aware that he had been slacking lately. Unlike his early days when he worked so hard to gain power, he lacked the angst and the motivation to cultivate. Even though the threat of war was at hand, he couldn’t feel the necessity of getting stronger as he had gathered many strong allies in Siren City.

Most importantly, he was bored.

‘I know that I need to expand my dantian size, but things are dull lately. No matter how hard I dual-cultivated with my wives, the result was always lackluster. How many times do I need to have sex? How many side-quests do I need to complete? How many people do I have to kill before I can advance to the 5th-stage?’

Miaomiao had never experienced bottlenecks in cultivation as he knew a hundred methods to get stronger. Still, the progress was at a snail speed.

It felt stagnant.

Had any local cultivator knew what Miaomiao had been thinking, they would have been fumed with rage. It was totally normal for the progress to be slow and steady. Some of the top cultivators on Aves Continent even spent years before they advanced a small realm!

‘Is there a way to increase my dantian capacity faster other than having sex with my wives? I’m tired of being underestimated as a common essence gathering realm cultivator. I want to join the 5th-stage gangs!’

Ding

[The Sun Crow wants to punch you in the face for being too greedy and too lucky.]

[A few Anonymous Viewers are envious of your constitution and foundation.]

“…”

Miaomiao dryly laughed and shook his head. He closed his eyes, planning to rest and enter the Isolation Training Space.

Click

The window was suddenly opened, and two men entered the room. One was a ninja-like tall and toned guy while the other one was someone that Miaomiao had seen before.

It was the guy that ate the rabbit poop!

Different from the morning, this man wore an official brown robe and tied his hair like a scholar. His feminine handsome face, which could turn any man gay, looked attractive under the moonlight.

Miaomiao stared at the intruders, scanning their cultivation base and dantian. The ninja dude had the scent of shadow element that Wang Yun and Liu Bian had.

As for the other guy, he was similar to Miaomiao, a full-fledged 4th-stage cultivator. Though, in the term of dantian size, this person was a lot weaker than him.

As usual, Miaomiao had nothing to fear since he was confident in his natural physical defense and abnormal status immunity. He simply sat there, looking at the two men.

“Hello, there. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

Zhou Gongjin cupped his fist and saluted, “This humble junior is Zhou Gongjin, a servant of Sun Bofu. I greet the representative of Siren City.”

“Hoh?”

Zhou Gongjin was the name of a famous strategist in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was known by the other name in the modern world.

Zhou Yu

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu was portrayed as a rival of Zhuge Liang and the advisor of the Sun Family. However, in historical records, he was a capable strategist and general, who was responsible for Cao Cao’s defeat at Chibi. Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei didn’t contribute anything, but Zhou Yu was the one who single-handedly outmaneuvered Cao Cao’s armies.

Miaomiao broke a sweat upon hearing the counterpart of Zhou Yu’s name. Facing such as genius strategist in a flesh gave him goosebumps.

He wondered what kind of character Zhou Gongjin in this cultivation world was. As Miaomiao had already guessed that this man might be a hidden protagonist, he was curious about what Zhou Gongjin had planned for him.

Miaomiao stood up and returned the salute, “My alias goes as Cao Mao. I’m sorry that I can’t disclose my real name at the moment due to the sensitive issues.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind. So, I’ve heard that you’ve come here to convey our sect master not to attack your city. Is that true?”

“The news has traveled fast. Indeed, I’ve come here for a peace talk.”

Zhou Gongjin smiled and nodded, “Then, that makes things simple for us. As the matter of fact, we also desire peace, but our sect master lacks information at the moment, so he might make wrong decisions. I apologize in advance if he insulted you or he might offend you tomorrow.”

Miaomiao smirked as he found this protagonist interesting. He was indeed the counterpart of Zhou Yu as he had a way to play with his words.

He didn’t insult his sect master, but he gestured that Sun Wentai might not cooperate with Miaomiao.

Then, Miaomiao remembered that Sun Wu had given him a quest that involved Zhou Gongjin.

Since Sun Wu wanted to protect Zhou Gongjin, Sun Wentai, and Sun Bofu, it might be a good idea to get along with this strategist regardless of what they might be scheming. For now, Miaomiao wanted that third piece of time-and-space mural.

“I don’t mind. Actually, Lord Sun Jing should be talking to the sect master right now. I think the negotiation should be smooth when we have an official meeting tomorrow.”

Zhou Gongjin’s eyes brightened in excitement, “I see. That’s good! Oh, by the way, I know that it might sound rude, but could you tell me what had happened to Siren City and Red Sun City? I need to know the bottom of these recent incidents regarding the war, so I can encourage the sect master to make the right decision.”

Miaomiao raised his eyebrows as this came out of nowhere.

Zhou Gongjin wryly smiled and coughed, “Of course, it won’t be free. In exchange for your information, I shall tell you a few secrets regarding the Mount Hua Sect and the Yuan Clan’s strength.”

The topic of Mount Hua Sect and the Yuan Clan’s intel piqued Miaomiao’s interest, “Ah! So, you wish to trade information.”

“That’s correct. Is that possible?”

Miaomiao laughed as he had nothing to lose, “Sure.”

…

Miaomiao retold Zhou Gongjin the old story. However, he added a piece of new information as a bonus.

He revealed the identities of Liu Xuande, Guan Yunchang, and Zhang Yide, who had been lurking around Chicken Ann City, west of Red Sun City.

As soon as Zhou Gongjin heard the names of the trio, his eyes widened, “Those people… so they’re involved.”

“You knew them?”

“Yes. Actually, they are dangerous individuals. Those men can’t be trusted and can’t be tamed. Since they showed up near your city, it seems that the Yuan Clan is serious about taking over the source of elixir water in Siren City.”

Zhou Gongjin believed in Miaomiao since the Yuan Clan always moved by their self-interest. With the priceless magical spring water on the line, it was not strange for Yuan Shaoqing to mobilize his army.

“I’ve told you everything I know. Now, your turn, please.”

Miaomiao stopped disclosing sensitive information on his part. Now, he forced Zhou Gongjin to reveal his secrets while he prevented the latter from requesting more intel.

“Oh, sure. First off, do you know how many dangerous individuals on Mount Hua Sect?”

“No.”

“There are three people that we have to pay attention to. The first one is the 3rd elder of Mount Hua Sect, Ling Cao. He is a nascent soul cultivator who is rumored to be on par with Ma Ping during his prime.”

Miaomiao took a mental note while he recorded the conversation with his phone, just in case he forgot.

Zhou Gongjin continued, “The second person was Mount Hua’s sect master, Xie Chengzhi. He is from one of the Seven Great Families from the Holy Land Continent, the Xie Clan. We don’t know about his true cultivation base or his strength since he never fought or accepted a challenge from other cultivators, but my men discovered that he was an 8th-stage cultivator.”

“Huh!?”

This was the first time that he heard that another 8th-stage cultivator had been lurking nearby.

Moreover, his surname was Xie!?

Miaomiao raised his hand, “Before you continue, do you know a man by the name Xie Tian?”

“Oh? You know him? I’m surprised that you’re also Xie Tian’s acquaintance.”

Miaomiao squinted his eyes. Zhou Gongjin’s words hinted that the latter knew something about Xie Tian even though that dead protagonist’s fame shouldn’t have reached here. After all, Xie Tian didn’t complete his story arc and died prematurely.

“Not really. I just heard about the bounty when I was in Red Sun City. Say, what’s his relationship with Xie Chengzhi?”

Zhou Gongzhi paused and gave Miaomiao a meaningful look. He closed his eyes and sighed, “Right. Xie Tian is already dead. What a pity. Well, Xie Chengzhi is Xie Tian’s real uncle.”

“…”

Now, Miaomiao stumbled upon a clue of Xie Tian’s origin. However, it was no longer useful for the dead protagonist.

Seeing the subtle changes in Miaomiao’s expression, Zhou Gongjin pretended to not notice it, but he had already taken a mental note. He stopped talking about Xie Chengzhi and carried on revealing the Mount Hua Sect’s secrets, which he had learned in his previous life.

“The most troublesome individual is not Ling Cao or Xie Chengzhi. It’s Ling Tianlong, the legacy disciple of Ling Cao.”

Miaomiao’s pupils expanded as he was interested in the topic, “Ling Tianlong?”

“That man has somehow inherited a rare earth dragon bloodline. He can transform into an earth dragonewt, and he is immune to all physical attacks. Only 8th-stage or 9th-stage cultivators could harm him because of his absurd physique. Moreover, his sword techniques don’t belong in the mortal world since most of them are either immortal-grade or divine-grade. I need you to pay attention to this man and avoid fighting him without a backup.”

The information was shocking, but the most astonishing part was how Zhou Gongjin acquired this intelligence.

Yet, Zhou Gongjin continued to stun Miaomiao with new pieces of information.

“The most dangerous technique of his is Death Fortress Sword Techniques that can defend and counter any type of attacks from his opponents. Even 8th-stage cultivators can find it troublesome whenever he used the technique.”

At this point, Miaomiao was expressionless. The skill name coincided with his system technique, which he had fused from a system skill and his self-learned skill.

Death Fortress Sword

Indeed, it was a sword style and sword technique that focused on defense, and nobody should have it other than Miaomiao. Yet, Zhou Gongjin said that Ling Tianlong could use it, too!?

Then, there was this earth dragonewt transformation!

Miaomiao instinctively gulped as he compared his current self with another protagonist with a similar skillset as his.

This protagonist hunt might be more dangerous than the previous quests. Xie Tian and Liu Bian seemed like babies comparing to Ling Tianlong.

“That is not all,” Zhou Gongjin continued.

“There’s more!?” Miaomiao couldn’t remain calm anymore.

“Err, yes, senior. By now, Ling Tianlong should already have achieved the dao of the sword. He should be able to cut through any array or domain power of any 7th-stage cultivator now. The only way to stop him is to bring a few 8th-stage cultivators or immortals to besiege him.”

“…”

Miaomiao stopped thinking and rubbed his temples gently with his fingers. After relieving his headache, he gazed into Zhou Gongjin’s eyes, “How did you know? I mean, how did your men discover all of these?”

Zhou Gongjin snickered, “That’s a secret. I’m sorry, senior. I can’t reveal this information.”

“Yeah, right,” Miaomiao rolled his eyes. “Anything else I need to be worried about?”

“Yes. That’s the only information about the Mount Hua Sect. Next, it’s about the Yuan Clan’s strength and their mercenaries.”

Zhou Gongjin continued to unravel the secrets of the Yuan Clan, which he had learned from the other timeline. But in his mind, he had been scheming.

‘This Cao Mao seems gullible. Should I manipulate him into fight both Yuan Shaoqing and Ling Tianlong, so we can steal his city? Nah, that’s too hasty. I should at least eliminate either Yuan Shaoqing or Ling Tianlong first before I start thinking of double-crossing Siren City… Whoops, I almost forgot. Does he know anything about Ding Bu?’

Zhou Gongjin stopped talking about Wen Chou and Yan Liang, who had been backing the Yuan Family. He asked Miaomiao, “Senior, I just remembered something that I forgot to ask you earlier. By chance, do you know an expert by the name of Ding Bu?”

Miaomiao blinked a few times, staring at the shady strategist. He feigned ignorance, “Who?”

“Ding Bu, the son of Ding Yuan. Have you seen him anywhere in Red Sun City?”

“… Not that I remember. I didn’t stay at that place long enough nor did I visit the Ding Family.”

“Ah, a pity…”

“What about Ding Bu? Why are you looking for him?”

“Haiz,” Zhou Gongjin sighed and avoided the subject. “Actually, I have been searching for that person for a long time. I wish to recruit him to our sect or join our clan. Well, never mind. I’ll continue explaining about Wen Chou and Yan Liang’s strength.”

“…”