Chapter 70: Rumors Beneath a Rainy Roof
The discussion around Yun Che's weaknesses gradually came to an end, though the list in Lin Xia's notebook had grown long enough to look less like a training plan and more like the reconstruction of an entire fighting style. By then the food had cooled, the rain had strengthened again, and Rivergate's inn had filled with travelers seeking warmth, drink, and an audience willing to believe whatever stories they carried through the door.
It was not a quiet establishment. The common room occupied almost the entire lower floor, with thick wooden pillars supporting a ceiling darkened by decades of smoke. Wet cloaks hung from iron hooks near the entrance. Boots left muddy prints across the floor no matter how frequently the servers cleaned them. The smell of fried fish, strong wine, damp leather, spiced broth, and foreign incense all competed for dominance in the warm air. At nearly every table sat a different kind of traveler—sect disciples in matching robes, merchants wearing rings on every finger, sailors whose skin had been roughened by salt and wind, mercenaries with weapons resting close enough to reach, and wandering cultivators who carried everything they owned inside a storage ring and trusted no one enough to sleep deeply.
Rumors flowed more freely than the wine.
At one table, a weather-beaten hunter insisted that a wyvern had been sighted above the eastern cliffs three nights ago. He had not seen it personally, of course, but his cousin's wife's younger brother knew a shepherd whose goats had all hidden beneath a bridge at the same time.
"It had wings wide enough to cover the moon," the hunter declared, spreading his arms so enthusiastically that he nearly struck a server carrying soup. "Scales black as midnight, and eyes like burning furnaces."
A woman wearing the brown-and-green robes of a beast-taming sect snorted into her cup.
"If it covered the moon, how did anyone see its color?"
The hunter paused.
"Lightning."
"There was no storm that night."
"There was around the wyvern."
Several listeners nodded as though that solved everything.
Yun Che quietly ate his fish and tried not to smile. In his previous life, rumors had spread through social media. Here, they spread through inns, marketplaces, caravans, and people who became increasingly certain of details the further they traveled from the original event.
At another table, a thin man wearing a flower-covered hat had gathered a much larger crowd.
"I tell you," he said, one hand pressed dramatically against his chest, "she appeared beneath the Silver Blossom Tree exactly as the legends describe. Hair like fresh petals. Eyes filled with morning light. Wings so delicate that the rain refused to touch them."
Several men nearby leaned closer.
"The Hundred-Year Flower Fairy?" one whispered.
"The very same."
The storyteller closed his eyes as though overcome by the memory.
"She lives for only ten days every century. Ten days to see the world, taste mortal food, hear human music, and choose one fortunate soul with whom to share a dance beneath the moon."
A collective sigh passed through several listeners.
Even Lin Xia glanced over with interest.
The Hundred-Year Flower Fairy was one of the more famous wandering spirits of the Cangyun Kingdom. Every century, according to legend, she emerged from an ancient flower field somewhere beyond the southern provinces. For ten days she wandered beneath the open sky before returning to sleep, leaving behind blessings of growth and fertility wherever she danced. Entire towns held festivals in the hope she might pass nearby.
The thin man opened his eyes and smiled smugly.
"And that fortunate soul," he announced, "was me."
Silence followed.
Someone laughed uncertainly.
The man continued, encouraged.
"We danced until dawn. Her hands were soft as petals, her breath smelled of—"
A chair scraped violently against the floor.
One of the listening men stood.
"You liar."
The storyteller looked offended. "You question the testimony of a man chosen by destiny?"
"I question the testimony of a man who was drinking in this inn every night last month."
"That was before the dance."
"The fairy appeared in the south."
"She brought me back."
Another man rose.
"You have insulted the Flower Queen with vulgar lies."
"I have done nothing vulgar yet."
"Yet?"
That single word sealed his fate.
Three admirers of the legendary fairy seized him before he could escape. The common room erupted with laughter as they dragged him toward the entrance while he loudly protested that jealousy was the natural burden of beautiful men. The door opened, rain swept inside, and the storyteller was thrown bodily into a puddle.
The innkeeper leaned over the counter.
"Do not return until the fairy confirms the story herself!"
The door slammed shut.
Jin Wei watched the scene with admiration.
"That was excellent entertainment."
"He was obviously lying," Lin Xia said.
"Of course. That was why it was entertaining."
Lei Zhenyu frowned slightly. "Why would anyone lie about something so easily disproved?"
Jin Wei looked at him with deep pity.
"We have so much to teach you."
From a table closer to the hearth came a conversation that silenced even some of the laughter.
"The Azure Knight fought the Void Swordsman again."
Several heads immediately turned.
Even Lei Zhenyu's attention shifted so quickly that Jin Wei smirked.
A traveling scholar adjusted his sleeves and continued speaking to the growing audience.
"They met outside Hollowstar City. The duel lasted from sunrise until the evening bells."
"Who won?" someone demanded.
"No one."
Groans answered him.
The scholar raised a hand.
"The Azure Knight called upon the Golden Current of Fate. Every path around him became a road toward victory. His spear moved before danger had fully appeared."
"And the Void Swordsman?"
"He severed the distance between himself and every attack."
The scholar's voice became quieter, drawing everyone closer.
"Fate told the knight where victory waited. The Void Sword cut away the road that led there."
Yun Che stopped eating.
That sounded less like an ordinary duel and more like two laws of reality arguing with each other.
Around the room, people began discussing the legendary rivals with the intensity normally reserved for wars and royal succession. The Azure Knight and the Void Swordsman were considered the brightest stars of the continent's young generation. Both were only sixteen, yet their names had already spread across kingdoms and sects. One wielded the elusive powers of fate and destiny, reading possibilities and forcing favorable outcomes into existence. The other cultivated space and void, severing distance, erasing trajectories, and turning empty space itself into a blade.
"Sixteen," Bao Kun muttered. "What are they feeding children these days?"
"Kingdom treasures," Shen Rui replied. "Ancient inheritances. Personal teachers who can level mountains."
"And talent," Lei added.
Jin Wei glanced toward Yun Che. "Do not start comparing yourself."
"I wasn't."
"You had the expression."
"What expression?"
"The same one you had while looking at Kaelor's movement."
Yun Che returned to his meal, though the names remained in his thoughts. Tianyu had seemed extraordinary within Mistforge. Lei Zhenyu represented a respected mid-level sect. Yet beyond them stood young cultivators who already touched powers like fate and void.
The road upward had no visible end.
Another conversation rose near the bar.
This one lacked the wonder surrounding the legendary duel. The speakers were practical men wearing travel-stained robes, their weapons marked with the emblems of several smaller sects. A broad-faced woman had spread a regional map across the table while the others argued over a spot northeast of Rivergate.
"The storm has moved again," one man said.
"It hasn't moved," the woman corrected. "It expanded."
"Thunderstorms expand."
"Not against the wind."
A thin cultivator wearing a copper pendant tapped the map.
"My junior brother saw lightning striking upward from the hills. Not downward."
That caught Yun Che's attention.
Another traveler lowered his voice.
"They say it is a treasure."
"What kind?"
"Thunder-aligned. Possibly a natural crystal. Possibly the remains of an ancient weapon."
"Or a beast undergoing advancement."
The woman shook her head.
"The beast is already identified. A Stormcrest Thunder Tiger."
Several people murmured uneasily.
Yun Che looked toward Shen Rui.
The scout had heard it too.
The Stormcrest Thunder Tiger was a powerful lightning species native to storm-heavy mountain regions. Its dark fur carried pale streaks resembling lightning scars, while a crown of rigid conductive hair rose around its head and shoulders whenever it gathered power. The species was known for violent acceleration, thunderous roars capable of disrupting Ki control, and claws that left electrical energy burning inside wounds long after the strike itself ended.
The speaker continued.
"Third Stage Foundation Establishment."
"That is manageable for a proper group," one sect disciple said.
"Except it holds the high ground, controls the storm, and has already killed two teams."
The confidence around the table weakened.
"Third Stage?"
"Confirmed."
"And the treasure?"
"Still with it. The storm follows wherever the tiger moves. Either it swallowed the treasure or built its nest around it."
A young cultivator leaned forward eagerly.
"How much would such a treasure sell for?"
"If it is a natural Thunderheart Crystal? Enough to purchase a good fourth-grade technique."
"If it is something better?"
"Enough to start a war between small sects."
The discussion immediately became quieter.
Maps were rolled up.
Groups exchanged careful glances.
Travelers who had never met one another began calculating temporary alliances while simultaneously wondering which ally would betray them first if the treasure proved valuable enough.
At the back table, Yun Che sat very still.
A Stormcrest Thunder Tiger.
Third Stage Foundation Establishment.
Lightning affinity.
Speed.
Physical power.
A roar that disrupted Ki.
A transformation possessing those abilities would solve more than one of the weaknesses they had just discussed. It would give him a body designed for lightning rather than forcing every electrical technique through human meridians. It could improve his understanding of Lightning Piercer. Its natural acceleration might teach him how to handle the speed of his boosters. If the beast truly possessed a thunder treasure, that treasure could strengthen his elemental cultivation or fund the materials he desperately needed.
He could almost see the solution arranging itself before him.
Not a complete solution.
But a beginning.
Lin Xia noticed the change in his expression.
"No."
Yun Che turned toward her. "I didn't say anything."
"You did not need to."
Jin Wei followed her gaze toward the table of traveling cultivators.
Then he looked back at Yun Che.
"Oh, no."
Bao Kun slowly put down the fish he was eating.
Lei Zhenyu's eyes sharpened with immediate interest.
Shen Rui, who knew hunters better than the others, sighed before Yun Che could speak.
"You want the tiger."
Yun Che looked around the table.
Everyone was watching him.
He tried to appear reasonable.
"I was only thinking."
"That is how your dangerous decisions begin," Jin Wei said.
"It is a rare lightning beast."
"Of course it is."
"It may also possess a treasure."
"That makes the situation worse, not better."
Yun Che glanced toward Lin Xia's open notebook. His weaknesses still filled the pages between them. Weak lightning. Insufficient speed control. No reliable movement restriction. Equipment too fragile for Foundation-level combat.
Then he looked toward the gathering cultivators, all quietly preparing to chase the same prize.
Frustration had followed him since the duel. Every solution required money, materials, techniques, or months of training. Now, less than an hour later, the world had placed a lightning beast and a possible thunder treasure within reach.
Perhaps it was greed.
Perhaps opportunity.
Perhaps simply the hunger to avoid remaining weak.
Whatever it was, Yun Che felt it settle firmly inside him.
"If I obtain that transformation," he said quietly, "I can solve part of the problem."
Beyond the inn's rain-covered windows, distant thunder rolled across Rivergate.
The sound did not come from the clouds overhead.
It came from the northeast.
-----------------------------------
The rain had stopped sometime before dawn.
Only the sound of dripping water remained, falling steadily from the eaves of Rivergate's buildings as the city slowly awakened. Merchants opened their storefronts, dockworkers shouted from the harbor, and caravans prepared to continue their journeys before the roads grew crowded.
Inside the courtyard of the inn, the Azure Wolf Consortium moved with practiced efficiency.
Drivers harnessed the great pack horses.
Workers secured the spatial storage crates.
The cooks packed away the breakfast utensils while the guards performed one final inspection of every wheel, axle, harness, and formation plate fixed beneath the wagons.
It was the same orderly routine Yun Che had watched every morning since leaving Mistforge.
Today, however, he barely noticed any of it.
His dream still lingered.
He could no longer remember every detail.
Dreams never remained complete after waking.
Only fragments survived.
A tiger walking through a storm.
Lightning striking upward instead of downward.
Power just beyond his reach.
And a single overwhelming feeling...
If you let this chance pass... you will regret it forever.
He knew it had only been a dream.
Yet the emotion remained stubbornly rooted inside him.
He had tried to dismiss it before sleeping.
Then he had calculated the distance.
He had told himself he was only checking the route.
By midnight he had listed possible targets.
By dawn he had stopped asking whether he should go and begun asking only how.
As everyone gathered beside the caravan, Yun Che finally spoke.
"I'll catch up later."
Several people looked toward him.
He took a slow breath.
"I'm going after the Stormcrest Thunder Tiger."
Silence.
The bustle around the courtyard suddenly seemed very far away.
Lin Xia blinked.
"...What?"
"I've thought it through."
"No," Jin Wei replied immediately. "You haven't."
Yun Che continued anyway.
"I won't interfere with the main hunt."
He unfolded a rough map he'd borrowed the previous evening.
"The tiger won't be alone. A beast like that controls territory. There will be younger members of the species or other lightning beasts around it. I only need one suitable target."
"You only need one?" Bao Kun repeated.
"Yes."
"I don't think you understand how ridiculous that sounds."
Yun Che pointed toward the mountains marked on the map.
"I'll stay away from the treasure."
"I won't approach the main battlefield."
"I'll hunt independently."
"I can transform."
"My chances are good."
The more he spoke...
...the less convincing he sounded.
Shen Rui folded his arms.
"Do you know what happens whenever a treasure appears?"
"People fight."
"They kill."
"They stop trusting strangers."
"They stop trusting allies."
He looked Yun Che directly in the eye.
"The moment another hunter sees you in those mountains, they'll assume you're after the treasure."
"I won't go near them."
"They won't know that."
"I can hide."
"You'll leave tracks."
"I can transform."
"They'll still know another beast entered their hunting grounds."
Yun Che opened his mouth to argue again.
Jin Wei interrupted first.
"Yun Che."
His voice lacked its usual teasing warmth.
"You know business."
"If I tell ten merchants I'm not competing with them..."
"...and then open a shop beside theirs..."
"...will they believe me?"
Yun Che hesitated.
"No."
"Exactly."
"People don't judge intentions."
"They judge possibilities."
Lin Xia stepped closer.
Her notebook was still tucked beneath one arm.
"You don't usually do this."
"What?"
"Convince yourself."
The words struck far harder than she intended.
She had watched Yun Che make decisions for years.
He always listed dangers first.
Prepared second.
Acted third.
Today...
...he was doing the opposite.
"I have prepared," Yun Che insisted.
"You haven't."
"I'll adapt."
"You always say adaptation comes after preparation."
Yun Che frowned.
"This is different."
"No."
Lin Xia shook her head.
"You've only wanted this transformation for one night."
"You haven't researched the species."
"You don't know the mountain."
"You don't know the other hunters."
"You don't know how many sects are already there."
Her voice softened.
"So why does this suddenly feel worth risking everything?"
Yun Che couldn't answer.
Not properly.
He simply felt...
...that he had to go.
At that moment Elder Ruan walked into the courtyard.
Elder Liang Wen followed behind him with his usual book tucked beneath one arm.
Both elders had clearly overheard enough.
"What is this nonsense?" Elder Ruan asked quietly.
Nobody answered.
Yun Che stepped forward.
"Elder."
"I wish to hunt the Stormcrest Thunder Tiger."
"I'll be careful."
"I'll—"
"You are greedy."
The words landed like a hammer.
Not shouted.
Not angry.
Simply spoken.
Yun Che froze.
Elder Ruan looked at him with disappointment rather than fury.
"Every cultivator becomes greedy."
"Power."
"Weapons."
"Techniques."
"Treasure."
"Bloodlines."
"There is nothing shameful about desire."
He took one step closer.
"The shame comes when desire begins speaking louder than judgment."
Yun Che instinctively wanted to defend himself.
"This isn't greed."
"No?"
"You spent all of yesterday listing your weaknesses."
"You discovered one possible shortcut."
"And now you're abandoning your escort to chase it."
The elder's eyes hardened.
"You have no planned escape route."
"You have no team capable of facing the hunters gathering there."
"You have no verified intelligence."
"You do not know the terrain, the factions involved or whether the beast is even where the rumours claim."
"You have no idea how many Foundation cultivators are already moving toward those mountains."
"If something goes wrong..."
"...you die."
Yun Che clenched his fists.
"I'm traveling to grow."
"If I avoid every danger..."
"...what's the point?"
"The point," Elder Ruan replied evenly, "is surviving long enough to become stronger."
Silence followed.
Lei Zhenyu finally spoke.
"I understand his reasoning."
Everyone turned toward him.
"A swordsman improves by facing danger."
"If Yun Che keeps enough distance from the treasure itself..."
"...and never approaches the main battlefield..."
"...his risk becomes acceptable."
Yun Che felt relief wash over him.
Someone understood.
Someone finally—
"Lei."
Jin Wei's voice cut through the courtyard.
"This isn't your decision."
Lei looked genuinely confused.
"I was only giving my opinion."
"And your opinion just encouraged the worst decision Yun Che has made since leaving Mistforge."
Lei's expression slowly changed.
He hadn't considered that.
He had viewed the situation only through the eyes of someone who sought stronger opponents.
He had forgotten...
...Yun Che wasn't him.
Elder Ruan looked away from Yun Che.
"I am disappointed."
The words carried no anger.
Only exhaustion.
"When we left Mistforge..."
"...I believed Lord Shen's expectations were well placed."
"I believed I was traveling beside a careful young man."
"A blacksmith who planned before acting."
"A hunter who respected danger."
He shook his head once.
"I was mistaken."
Yun Che felt something twist painfully inside his chest.
The elder continued.
"Until today, I trusted your judgment more than your strength."
Ruan's eyes hardened.
"Right now, I trust neither."
"An ignorant traveller walks into danger because he cannot see it. You have seen every danger clearly—and decided your desire matters more."
Those words hurt more than any beating.
Beside him, Elder Liang quietly closed his book.
Unlike Elder Ruan...
...he didn't even argue.
He simply walked toward the lead carriage.
His silence was somehow worse.
Jin Wei stepped forward one final time.
"Come with us."
"We'll reach Goldriver."
"We'll make money."
"You'll buy better materials."
"You'll become stronger."
"There will be another opportunity."
Lin Xia nodded.
"There always is."
Yun Che looked at both of them.
"You don't understand."
"I have to go."
Neither answered.
Because those four words frightened them.
They sounded nothing like the Yun Che they knew.
After a long silence, Yun Che climbed onto Amon's back.
The Iceback Glacier Drake gave a questioning growl but obeyed.
Mirage fluttered uncertainly above his shoulder.
Whisper drifted quietly beside him.
Yun Che looked at his friends one last time.
"I know what I'm doing."
"You're all treating this like I'm walking to my death."
No one answered.
"I'll prove it."
Lin Xia's hand tightened around her notebook.
For a moment, she looked as if she wanted to argue again.
Then something in her expression closed.
Yun Che hated seeing it.
He turned away before the feeling could weaken him.
He turned Amon toward the northern road.
The drake began walking.
No one tried to stop him.
They simply watched.
Each step made the distance between them greater.
Lei Zhenyu remained standing where he was.
Only when Yun Che had nearly reached the city gate did realization finally settle across his face.
He looked back toward the caravan.
"...I made things worse."
No one answered.
Because everyone already knew.
Lei bowed his head.
"I'll bring him back."
Without waiting for any response, he unsheathed his flying sword.
Lightning gathered beneath his feet.
The blade rose into the air.
"I won't let anything happen to him."
With that, Lei Zhenyu shot after Yun Che, disappearing above Rivergate's rooftops.
Behind them, the courtyard remained strangely quiet.
Elder Ruan watched the two young cultivators vanish into the distance.
"They are still children."
Jin Wei lowered his eyes.
"I know."
"But today..."
"...one of them stopped acting like Yun Che."
Deep within his soul, the Abyss Seed pulsed once.
It simply fed upon the fear, frustration and ambition Yun Che had carried into the morning—strengthening them until desire felt indistinguishable from reason.