My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

While waiting for Zi Luan, Ganxing and Huaimo were locking horns over the Go board again. Ganxing, for the most part, simply refused to admit defeat. But when it comes to Go, you either have it or you don't.

As he waited, Wang Ping received a letter from Yu Cheng Taoist, delivered by one of his disciples. The letter stated that even Wang Yang was unable to contact the members of the Wang Family in Shangjing City. For safety's sake, Yu Cheng had already severed all ties with the Wang Family there.

'All that effort building our network in Shangjing City, and it gets torn out by the roots in the blink of an eye.'

Wang Ping's thoughts turned to his junior martial brother, Wang Kang. He couldn't pinpoint when it started, but his memories of interacting with him had grown hazy. Now, all that remained was the faint recollection that such a person had existed.

"The Wang Family was our most visible ally," Yu Lian whispered. "The Shangjing Court isn't run by fools. It was only a matter of time before they were targeted."

Wang Ping smiled noncommittally and continued deciphering the coded message at the end of the letter. There was, however, concrete news from the Yang Family. They had moved their entire household to the Yunhai Grassland and had made it clear they would not get involved in the affairs of Shangjing City. At the same time, they had kept the secret of the gathering, effectively remaining neutral in the current situation.

He couldn't blame them, nor did he. It was a matter of life and death, after all.

CLACK.

A sharp sound came from the nearby Go board. It was Ganxing, who was losing so badly he was starting to lose his composure. After placing his stone, he shot to his feet, straightened his collar, and sat back down, staring at the board in defeat.

With a slight flick of his finger, a dense swirl of Wood Spirit Qi gathered at Wang Ping's fingertips and shredded the letter to pieces. He then walked over to the Go board.

Ganxing was set to lose this round as well, and they were only in the middle of the game.

CLACK!

Huaimo calmly placed a stone.

Ganxing tossed the stone from his hand and shot Huaimo a nasty look. "It's been a while since I've gotten to stretch my limbs. How about we go a few rounds?"

Unable to beat Huaimo on the board, he was actually challenging him to a fight.

Huaimo just smiled and said nothing. Beside them, Wu Quan snapped, "You lousy player, you want to fight just because you can't win? Shove off, let me try!"

As he spoke, he pushed Ganxing aside and looked at Huaimo. "Fellow Daoist, your skill is exquisite. If we play straight, I'm bound to lose."

"I can give you a two-point handicap."

"Deal!"

A new game began.

Unlike Ganxing, Wu Quan knew he was no match for Huaimo. He chose to compromise from the start, hoping to make the game a little less painful for himself.

CLACK.

Wu Quan quickly played out two standard opening sequences in a corner where he excelled.

Just then, Wang Ping sensed something and glanced at the sky. A familiar Puppet Bird was flying toward him. He calmly extended a hand to his side.

It was Yuan Zheng Taoist's Puppet Bird.

The message was written in plain text, forgoing the usual pleasantries and getting straight to the point: Elder Yue has cut off all coded communication with us. I went to find his disciple, Wu Kuo, during the night, but he is also unable to contact Elder Yue. My personal feeling is that he must be in a situation where he is acting against his will.

After reading the letter, Wang Ping fell into deep thought. He hadn't asked Yu Cheng Taoist to handle this matter precisely because he felt that Yu Cheng, Wen Yang, and Yue Ziyu shared a deep bond. Yu Cheng's judgment would have been clouded by his subjective feelings.

He hadn't expected Yuan Zheng Taoist to be the same, however. Based on the available intelligence, Yue Ziyu had clearly gone over to the other side. By severing contact, he was likely trying to communicate this very fact to Wang Ping and the others. And based on how things had played out, he hadn't betrayed them by leaking information about the gathering.

"Acting against his will?"

Wang Ping murmured those four words.

Yu Lian, perched on Wang Ping's shoulder, had also finished reading the message from Yuan Zheng Taoist. Hearing the four words Wang Ping spoke, she chuckled. "Human nature is the most difficult thing in the world to grasp. In my two hundred years, I've seen countless facets of human consciousness, and most of them are full of contradictions. Even someone carrying the heaviest karmic malice can have a kind and sentimental side."

Wang Ping understood what Yu Lian was getting at.

'Perhaps Yue Ziyu won't betray us right now, held back by some lingering guilt toward the members of the gathering,' Wang Ping thought. 'But as time passes and hatred builds between our sides, he'll become extremely dangerous. For example, he could easily use other members of the gathering to arrange for operatives to infiltrate Nanlin Road and strike at Qianmu Temple.'

This was a possibility that occurred to Wang Ping when he tried to think from his enemy's perspective. After all, a faint thought of eliminating Wu Kuo had already crossed his own mind, though it wasn't a strong impulse, and there was no need for it at the moment.

TAP TAP.

Clear footsteps sounded nearby.

It was Ganxing, deliberately making his approach known. As Wang Ping turned, Ganxing said, "There was a major crackdown in Shangjing City a few days ago. The spies I had in place were almost completely wiped out. Now, the entire Capital City is shrouded in a fog of uncertainty."

Wang Ping nodded. 'That's probably Xia Yao's objective,' he thought. 'She must be planning something important.' His mind drifted to the memory from Zi Hong, of the slaves being herded onto ships.

'Could it be related to some massive sacrificial ritual?'

"Does our previous deal still stand?" This was Ganxing's main concern. He was likely worried Wang Ping would order him into Shangjing City.

"Of course. Nothing has changed."

"Good!"

Ganxing let out a sigh of relief. He gave Wang Ping a cupped-fist salute and turned back toward the Go board.

Wang Ping looked up at the clear sky, feeling the sun on his face. "It's March fourteenth today, isn't it?"

"I believe so."

Yu Lian replied, "If you listen to the mortals in the nearby towns, you can tell. I noticed it this morning."

Wang Ping thought to take out his divination blocks to cast a reading, but as he did, his heart suddenly palpitated. It felt as if some force was preventing him from performing the divination.

"Why did you stop?"

"The threads of fate are in chaos. If I force a reading with my current level of cultivation, I fear the backlash will harm me."

"Oh?"

Yu Lian glanced at the sky—blue, with white clouds. A rare, beautiful day. Suddenly, she said, "The Xia Imperial Family's succession ceremony is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

At her words, the Spirit Veins throughout Wang Ping's body trembled faintly—an instinctive reaction of pure tension.

Some things you just can't help but dwell on, and the more you dwell, the more you dread them. It was like homework during a school holiday in his past life: as long as you didn't think about it, you were fine, but the moment you did, you became agitated.

Just as Wang Ping's mind was racing, a familiar Primordial Spirit aura descended from the sky.

He looked up.

A streak of deep green light flashed across the heavens, its projected identity token displaying the name: Zi Luan!

Wang Ping immediately released his own Primordial Spirit aura in response.

The streak of light speeding beneath the clouds came to an abrupt halt, revealing the figure of Zi Luan. He was dressed in a blue, narrow-sleeved Daoist robe suited for combat, his hair bound by a white jade coronet. Upon spotting Wang Ping, he executed a stylish flip in mid-air and glided down toward the mountaintop.

"Haha, so you're all here!"

Zi Luan's voice arrived before he did, filled with an uncharacteristic cheerfulness.

As he landed on the mountaintop, Ganxing was the first to approach. "To be honest," he said with a cupped-fist salute, "seeing you right now doesn't exactly fill me with joy."

Zi Luan waved a hand, motioning for Huaimo and Wu Quan to continue their game, before replying to Ganxing, "The tides of the world do not shift according to our will. Time is cruel; it neither pauses nor reverses."

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