Outside the city, continuous gloomy rain fell, striking chill into the bones. The temperature was dropping lower and lower.
On the wall.
Chen Fan sat in his rocking chair. A small charcoal stove burned brightly before him. In his hands was a coarse clay bowl containing freshly cooked pickled vegetables and tofu soup.
Some days ago, he had obtained an Eerie plant called 'Soybeans'.
It had no special effect, but tasted good.
A fine cook, Qi Chong had processed the soybeans into tofu and used them, along with pickled vegetables, to make a soup, soothing to the stomach and tasty.
From the soup rose wisps of steam.
Chen Fan, with his chopsticks, pinched off a tiny piece of tofu, dipped it in the accompanying sauce, then blew on it and put it in his mouth.
"Ha..."
He opened his mouth, letting the scalding tofu cool, and squinted his eyes in enjoyment.
Tasted good.
The sauce was simple, nothing fancy—just chili powder and coarse salt mixed—but it was delicious.
Especially the long-pickled vegetables, dark brown, finely chopped, salty and chewy, crunching between the teeth.
He lifted the bowl and took a sip of the soup.
A hot current flowed from his throat to his stomach, warming his limbs stiff with the cold.
"Feel so good!"
Chen Fan let out a long breath of white air, set down the bowl and chopsticks, and leaned back in his chair, watching Zhou Mo practice with the blade out there in the rain, humming an idle tune.
Just then—
"Hah!"
Zhou Mo suddenly shouted. The monotonous chopping motion repeated countless times until now had become fluid.
In that moment.
Zhou Mo seemed to forget about everything, even himself. Driven by the muscle memory forged through days of grueling practice and a relentless obsession in him, he swung once more!
"Shh—"
A tearing sound, like nothing from before, rang out.
The curtain of rain was torn apart.
Revealing a gap at that instant.
A cold white slash flew out, splitting the rain curtain, traveling several meters before fading.
...
Zhou Mo finally jolted back to his senses, watching dumbfounded. He looked down blankly at the blade the Station Master had given him, his eyes reddening, then cast his gaze up at Chen Fan on the parapet and said hoarsely,
"Station Master, I did it!"
"I have mastered the Water-Severing Blade Technique!"
"Excellent!"
Chen Fan, who had witnessed this firsthand from the wall, stood up, applauding and congratulating with a smile, his eyes full of wonder. This was the first time he had seen an attacking method like this.
Zhou Mo, like a real master, had been able to release blade energy.
Thanks to the 'Spirit Nurturing Pavilion' and 'Sunflower', Zhou Mo's cultivation, progressing little for years, had broken through to a Level-3 cultivator a few days ago. He had been getting a grasp on the 'Water-Severing Blade Technique' in the rain ever since.
Today, he had reached the Beginner stage in it at last.
Although it was only the lowest of the six stages—' Beginner, Skilled, Proficiency, Great Proficiency, Perfection, Great Perfection'—he could finally execute a move of the Water-Severing Blade Technique.
"Try the city wall, see how powerful it is."
"Alright!"
Zhou Mo agreed.
Taking a deep breath, he recalled his youthful dream of becoming a wandering swordsman, remembered his mediocre life, and thought of himself now mastering the Water-Severing Blade Technique.
A surge of heroic feelings arose from deep inside.
He inhaled long and deep, channeling years' pent-up frustration through his hand into the blade.
A gleam flashed in his eyes.
He exerted himself to the utmost in exercising the Blade Technique!
He took a large stride forward, and with a roar, the veins bulged on his neck as he unleashed a full-powered slash at the city wall.
A pale green arc of light escaped the blade, striking the wall solidly. This slash was stronger than the last; Zhou Mo had experienced another sudden enlightenment on the spot, his mastery of the Water-Severing Blade Technique deepening further.
However...
The blade energy struck the city wall squarely.
It didn't even raise a speck of stone dust.
...
Chen Fan remained expressionless, silent for a long moment. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, the ethereal shape of a city wall composed of white lines appeared out there, "A Level-3 wall is still too much. Try this Level-1 wall."
"Alright!"
Zhou Mo wasn't disheartened. After drawing a deep breath, another pale green arc of light darted from the blade!
This time, it finally made a difference.
Stone chips splattered.
A fist-deep gash showed up on the Level-1 wall. But judging by Zhou Mo's panting, it seemed he could hardly unleash a second strike in a short time...
"Not bad."
Chen Fan nodded slightly. The power was decent, but breaking a wall was still difficult. However, he did not doubt that if that slash hit him, it would rip right through him.
Darkness fell.
Perpetual Night enveloped the world.
"The Rainy Season is almost over."
Chen Fan toyed with a thumb ring in his hand, opened the city wall to let Zhou Mo in, then walked down from the wall towards his stone house, preparing to sleep.
The 'Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide' dropped tens of thousands of Eerie Stones, but only two Extraordinary Treasures.
One was the 'Eerie Eye'.
He had used it to build the Level-6 Eerie-Eye Cannon Tower.
The other was the jadeite thumb ring in his hand.
'Extraordinary Treasure Name': Jadeite Thumb Ring.
'Extraordinary Treasure Grade': White.
'Extraordinary Treasure Effect': One-time use. When there is any killing intent towards you, the ring will grow warm and shatter.
Like the Eerie-hide crafted by Qiu Kui, it had become one of the Extraordinary Treasures he carried on his person.
"The Rainy Season is almost over."
In the stone house, Chen Fan studied the 'Perpetual Night Calendar' carved on a wooden board, murmuring.
Only after the Rainy Season ended would 'Fan Gate' make its debut. He had been making every preparation to bring it to prominence.
And he was about to face the greatest crisis since arriving in this world.
He had done his utmost to make the camp as strong as possible.
But...
Whether it could withstand an Eerie King, he remained unsure.
He knew little about an Eerie King's power and methods, but he had tried his best. Whether to thrive or perish would be staked on that battle.
If he lost, he'd accept it.
Such was fate.
But if he won, he would gain the true opportunity to soar. The name 'Fan Gate' would become synonymous with Rivernorth.
Rivernorth Fan Gate!
His Imperial Dragon-horse Carriage would gallop across Rivernorth, bearing the banner of Fan Gate.
His name would resound throughout Rivernorth.
Everyone would know the name Chen Fan.
...
Rivernorth Wasteland, Ping City.
The place was in utter ruin.
The city walls had been breached. Green, viscous fluid was splattered over the ruins. Rooftops and streets within the city dripped with a sticky slime.
Night fell.
Darkness hugged Ping City in its embrace.
Ping City, a natural Eerie Fire Zone, was brightly lit as usual.
But tonight.
No soldiers were seen on the battlement. No human cries, wails, or sounds of battle could be heard. A deathly silence prevailed, the air thick with a stench of blood and rotting flesh.