Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The crowd fell to an eerie quiet. Countless people watched on with open mouths as this current of black riders swarmed out like waves from hell, surging from all directions and surrounding the assassins.

Without any command, the black riders suddenly divided into 20 small groups. Each group had three black riders that surrounded an assassin, and their black dragon spears came stabbing out in unison.

The seemingly unstoppable assassins fell into a brutal life and death struggle. In the face of the black riders, their exquisite assassination skills were useless. They tried to flee but they were desperately blocked.

The black riders bled and the assassins died.

The sharp tang of blood filled the street. Faintly, people recalled the capital city in the past; the black riders had also fought like this.

Puff –

The last assassin was simultaneously pierced by seven dragon spears. Horrifying strength ravaged his body and ripped apart his insides.

The assassin’s eyes widened, filled with regret. And just like that, he died.

There was no mercy granted. This was because these were all excellent assassins, and if they dared to attack publicly in the capital city, then they must have already been prepared to die. Even if considerable effort was expended to capture them, the only thing they would receive was a body killed by poison. With the black riders’ ruthless and direct methods, they decided to simply kill off all enemies in the simplest and easiest way.

At one end of the street, atop a tall building, a fat old man gently shivered. A few drops of dirty tears dripped out from the corners of his eyes.

He was heartbroken!

It had taken him dozens of years of arduous labor to slowly raise this assassin squad, but just now, almost half of them had been lost.

Moreover, he could only stare helplessly on as they all died and he wasn’t able to save them at all.

Black riders! Damn it all, they had actually sent out black riders!

It was no wonder his master feared that noble lady in Sega City so much; she actually wielded control over such a horrifying power. What could the ruler of the royal palace be thinking? After mounting the throne, he actually let her control such a vital strength of the royal family.

But now, it was useless to think upon these things any further. His incorrect judgment had led to the death of many of his assassins, and this also meant that it was no longer possible to directly erase this obstacle. This was because the black riders were considered the most formidable defensive force in the sea region, and up until now there had been no one who had ever broken through them.

The fat old man turned and walked away. While he wasn’t worried that people would discover him and suspect him, he was pressed for time and had many other things to handle.

Peace returned to the street. The 60 black riders arranged themselves into a line. Some of them were injured and blood flowed thick from their black armor, but even so, their backs were straight and tall and the black dragon spears in their hands didn’t tremble in the least.

As the surviving guards looked on in awe, the black riders took over their duties and slowly circled around the caravan as it returned to Sea Spirit Pavilion. On this day, the appearance of the black riders inevitably solved the puzzle for many people about what the true background of Sea Spirit Pavilion was, and when they did, their minds shivered with shock.

Qin Yu looked out at the calmly riding black riders. They moved in complete unison, including the rhythmic sounds of their mounts and even their breathing.

This sort of well-trained sea race army was unimaginably strong. He even suspected that as long as there were enough black riders, even Nascent Souls would be trampled over. Compared with these people, the cultivator alliance army fighting in the Southern Empire seemed like nothing but a ragtag bunch of misfits.

There didn’t need to be too many. If 5000 black riders rode onto the mainland, they could completely crush both the demonic and righteous sides. Perhaps only the supreme royal family of the sea region had the chance of controlling such a dreadful strength.

Chief Manager Wu was full of praise. “The black riders are one of the strongest forces in the sea region. Their appearance is enough to guarantee that Mister Ning will never come to harm.” His eyes were filled with desire. There was no one in the world that wouldn’t want to control such a force.

But besides the royal family, there were only a small minority of formidable tribes who had the abilities to set up such an amazing fighting force; the other sea race influences could completely forget about it. It wasn’t that they weren’t allowed to, but simply that they weren’t able to afford it. To create an army that was entirely made up of powerful sea race members, the total cost of doing this would be astronomical!

They smoothly arrived at Sea Spirit Pavilion. Then, the black riders dispersed, vanishing from sight. But no one doubted that if Sea Spirit Pavilion was attacked, they would appear as soon as possible.

Chief Manager Wu stepped down from the carriage, his eyes solemn. “The black riders can protect from any frontal attacks. As for what follows, I guarantee that Mister Ning will be completely safe.”

….

Old Chao was in charge of Sea Spirit Pavilion’s cafeteria. He had worked there studiously for dozens of years, and because of his sincere attitude, skillful cooking abilities, and open and honest smile, he was well-liked by the employees of Sea Spirit Pavilion, and was considered a relatively popular figure.

An order came down from above to have him cook a nutritious medicinal meal. He considered himself an experienced individual who had seen many things, but even he was shocked by the materials given to him to cook the meal. Disregarding the other materials, just some of the soul-nourishing materials were so valuable that they could be sold at auction.

Old Chao gathered his wits. He scrubbed his hands, changed into new clothes, and then tidied himself up. It was only then that he started to carefully process the materials and cook the meals under the watchful gaze of several guards. Good materials needed to be handled by a skilled chef. Only by controlling the degree of heat and time could one properly stimulate the properties of the materials without making them too difficult to absorb.

Washing, cleaning, cutting, chopping, the materials were prepared and placed into a 30 year old soup cauldron, and then water was poured in. Old Chao looked at the several guards around him and revealed an awkward expression. Which chef didn’t have their own unique skills? And most of these were passed down from generation to generation. They weren’t even willing to allow their children to look, much less spread these secrets to outsiders.

The guard captain smiled, “Old Chao, we all know your rules here. We’ll turn around and you cook a bit faster, alright?”

Old Chao nodded again in thanks. Once the guards turned around he began to blend in the soup and various other ingredients. His actions were smooth like passing clouds and flowing rivers, and after a time, he smiled, “Good.” He lifted a hand and poured in some cooking wine. As the fire deepened over time, a rich fragrance began to spread out.

Several guards gulped. The guard captain chuckled and scolded them. You bastards really shouldn’t have any thoughts about this. Just smelling something like this is your luck, so wake up!

Old Chao smiled as he cooked. Two hours later, the medicinal soup was ready. He lifted the pot and inspected its color. As he smelled it, he nodded. This was just right. But, it needed to be drunk while hot, otherwise the medicinal efficacy would fade away.

The guard captain waved his hand and someone immediately took out a new food box and placed the medicinal soup inside. He smiled, “Old Chao, let’s have a drink tonight. I will prepare the materials and you can cook them.”

Seeing Old Chao nod, the other guards wanted to join in on the fun but were quickly rebuked. They carried the food box and walked away in a hurry. After they left, Old Chao started to clean up the mess. And once he was finished, he vanished through the rear door where trash was taken out. From that day, Old Chao never returned. Listening to others, it was said that he decided to retire.

That night, the guard captain died a violent death in his home. It was natural that no one would mention dining together again.

…

Business at Sea Spirit Pavilion carried on. Perhaps it was because of Mister Ning, but everything seemed far busier than normal. So many guests arrived that the consultants didn’t even have a chance to rest their feet.

A family of three customers walked in. The lady and her daughter were quite beautiful and the melon-like husband received many envious gazes. While he was gracious about this, from time to time he would vigilantly sweep his eyes around, glaring back at the heated gazes directed towards them like a dog protecting its food.

A consultant stepped forwards to welcome them. They chatted happily before heading over to a counter to register. Just as the exchange was going to be finished, the beautiful mother blushed red and whispered something in a low voice. The consultant smiled and motioned with her hands.

The man looked at her, unhappy. He was too busy to stay so he could only nod with a bit of resentment and advise her to return as soon as possible.

Humans needed to answer the call of nature and so did the sea races; this was even true for a beautiful young wife. As she walked forwards, she swayed from side to side, drawing the gaze of a consultant. Their eyes bumped into each other several times and the young woman blushed red. A look of anticipation crossed her face, leaving the consultant panting within.

She arrived at the washroom. Yes, that was right – the sea races also called it a washroom, a very elegant and clean name. The young woman eyed the handsome consultant one last time before walking in.

15 minutes, 30 minutes…

The consultant waited for a long time but the beautiful woman didn’t come back out. As for the melon-like man, he seemed to complete all his matters, so he took his daughter and left early.

…

For the sea races that had taken human form, the truth was that they weren’t any different from humans. They ate, drank, slept, and produced a great deal of trash. With so many people gathered in the capital city, taking care of general hygiene was a vital task. Thus, beneath the massive capital city, there was a vast series of sewage pipes that led to a distant trench. This was to ensure that the capital city and the surrounding environment wouldn’t be affected.

Every day, there was a massive number of workers who would enter temporarily closed sewage pipes. They would clean and repair the inside to maintain them.

A group of workers responsible for cleaning the sewage pipes walked in. As they stepped into the dark, one could hear their laughs from afar, as if someone had said a very bold joke.

The workers gradually vanished within. As they walked deeper, they began to split up, scattering towards their respective work areas. Six workers separated themselves from the group and after a moment, fell silent. They turned off the lighting equipment on their heads, looking like a bunch of mice scurrying in the dark. Then, carefully, they opened a sealed gate that normally wasn’t opened, and walked in.

…

Qin Yu was sleeping quite well.

Ever since entering the sea race capital city, he had always been tense about his environment. But now that he was certain there were people protecting him, he was able to relax a little.

He slept without dreams. When his eyes opened again, he was full of energy as if he had been completely cleansed. His strengthened soul seemed even clearer than before.

This was the way to relax.

As for the following match…was that even something he needed to consider?

Leon hurriedly stood up and bowed at his teacher. He hesitated and said, “Teacher, about the Skysea Wings…”

Qin Yu waved his hand dismissively. “I already said I would give it to you two. Just accept it.”

Leon was filled with gratitude. “Thank you, teacher!”

Qin Yu walked to the tea set placed on the worktable and lit the fire. Qin Yu began to boil the tea as Leon respectfully stood to the side.

Leon knew that while his teacher was boiling tea, he was also calming his mind and wouldn’t like to be disturbed.

But they were still interrupted by a knock. Leon quickly walked over to the door to reveal a slightly weary Chief Manager Wu. As he saw Qin Yu boiling some tea, he forced out a smile. “Mister Ning, you seem to be enjoying yourself!”

Qin Yu smiled. “Chief manager, you arrived just in time. Come, sit down.”

Chief Manager Wu took out a food box. “This is some medicinal soup. Have a taste, it is good for your health.” He watched Qin Yu pour tea and shook his head helplessly. “Mister Ning, you should know that in order for this soup to be brewed, from purchasing the supplies until it was cooked and sent here, seven people have died. Not only did a long-time food supplier of my Sea Spirit Pavilion die, but also some guards and even the chef who cooked my favorite dishes.”