Chapter 68: The Fire Seed

Chi Wen’s previous university, eighth day after Wang Sheng returned to the mountain.

In a corner of the campus, in an ordinary four-person male dormitory, three students were locked in a fierce battle in the gaming world, occasionally shouting in excitement or groaning in frustration.

It was no different from any other dormitory.

University students made up the core of esports. They poured their youth and passion into the virtual battlefields, chasing the fleeting satisfaction and thrill of victory.

After a few rounds, it was already dinnertime. The three students stretched lazily, concluded an afternoon of consecutive defeats, and began deciding who would go to the cafeteria to get food.

They played a couple of intense psychological games until one of them finally sighed and accepted the red envelopes from his two roommates. He changed clothes, slipped into his slippers, and shuffled toward the nearest cafeteria.

"I'm going to nap for a bit. Lao Niu, you still playing?"

A student wearing glasses by the window replied, "One more round. A few friends have been waiting for me to hop on."

"Alright, wake me up when it's time to eat."

"Got it," Lao Niu responded briskly, checked the time, and then clicked on a compressed file. After extracting it, an old-fashioned battle platform appeared.

He logged in, created a room, set a password, and waited briefly.

At precisely 5:45 PM, two system messages popped up.

System:

Fire Sage has entered the room.

System: Daoist of Dissent has entered the room.

Lao Niu frowned slightly. Were they the only ones left—just the boss and Daoist of Dissent?

Glancing at his roommate, who was playing on the opposite bed, Lao Niu composed himself and quickly sent a message. A line of small text appeared in the chat window.

Niu Er Zhenren: Boss, orders?

Fire Sage: Remain on standby. No further instructions. Anything happening at the university?

Niu Er Zhenren: Students with cultivation techniques are still being monitored. Discussions about it are banned, but some of the videos we leaked are still circulating in private.

Fire Sage: Good. Proceed according to plan. No need to rush. We have plenty of time.

Daoist of Dissent: Boss, given the current situation, how do we continue gathering Fire Seeds?

Fire Sage: The organizations we contacted earlier are very interested in our plans. I've been in touch with one of their representatives. Combined with the ones that we've already acquired from the elders, we don’t have to worry about the Fire Seeds anymore.

A gleam flashed in the eyes of the student with glasses, and his breathing grew heavier.

Niu Er Zhenren: If we already have enough Fire Seeds, then what are we waiting for?

Fire Sage: An opportunity.

Daoist of Dissent: We need more preparation to ensure maximum spread in the shortest time. Don't underestimate the cyber police. They have the authority to control parts of the network.

Fire Sage: That's enough for now. Next meeting, 9:25 PM, three days from now.

Fire Sage: I'll send encrypted contact details to your email beforehand.

Fire Sage: If anyone wants to back out, just don't show up.

System: Fire Sage has left the room.

System: Daoist of Dissent has left the room.

Lao Niu exhaled slightly as he swiftly left the room. He then closed the battle platform, deleted its installation files and directory, and switched back to a game.

In a warmly furnished bedroom in the same city, the same operation was being done on another computer screen.

Knock, knock.

The young man in front of the screen jolted. He quickly kicked the power cord loose from the computer and breathed slowly.

Outside the bedroom, a female nagged, "Dinner's ready, Li Ping! As soon as you get off work, you just sit there and play your stupid games. When am I ever going to have grandkids?"

The young man sighed in relief. "Coming, Mom. How many times are you going to nag me in a day?"

"I wouldn't need to if you'd actually put effort into finding someone!"

He opened the bedroom door, the hallway light spilling in and illuminating the coat rack by the entrance. A police uniform and cap hung on it, the badge on the cap reflecting the light with a sharp glint.

***

A small courtyard in Mount Wudang.

As the sun lingered at dusk and weary birds returned home, Mu Wanxuan and Chi Wen got busy at the stove in the courtyard.

Meanwhile, while meditating outside, Wang Sheng received a message from Mou Yue, asking if there were Daoist arts that could be used to track someone.

The Fire Sage still hasn’t been captured?

Was the Special Investigation Unit the same one he remembered? They seemed a little less effective than expected.

After thinking about it for a moment, Wang Sheng gave Mou Yue a call.

"You still haven't caught the Fire Sage? Didn’t you conduct a city-wide search?"

Mou Yue sighed.

—He may have already left the city through some means. The search didn't find any trace of him, so we're at a complete standstill now. The captain is holding nine meetings a day and losing her temper ninety times faster.

"None of your high-tech methods worked either?"

—We went as far as using ultra-high-resolution satellites and mobilizing a large number of nearby officers. Even the research institute—sorry, that’s classified.

Mou Yue sounded quite helpless, rendering Wang Sheng speechless. "So, no progress at all?"

—Well, a little. We’ve captured the remaining sixteen elders and two core members, but the Fire Sage and the other two are still out there. We interrogated the core members in our custody, but they couldn’t give us any useful intel. The Fire Sage has set things up carefully, making sure his contact methods are constantly changing.

—We’ve also squeezed Wei Chiyu dry, who was practically the second-in-command of the Supernatural Revelation Club.

Mou Yue's voice was filled with exhaustion.

—The Fire Sage has vanished into thin air, and we still can't identify the other two. It's like staring into a dense fog.

Wasn't that still some progress? The upper ranks of the Supernatural Revelation Club were now down to just three.

Wang Sheng wasn’t surprised that the Fire Sage was proving difficult to catch. Even though they had never met or fought, he could sense that the man was no simple individual.

The name "Fire Sage" seemed to carry some deeper meaning.

—Daoist Master Wang, are there any Daoist arts that we can use to track someone?

Wang Sheng pondered for a moment. "As far as I know, there is a talismanic technique that uses Seeking Talismans, but I don't know any talisman experts here. You might want to check with the Daoists of Mount Mao or Mount Dragon Tiger."

Mou You suddenly perked up.

—Something like that actually exists? Alright, I'll ask them right away. Thank you!

"You're welc—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the call had already ended.

They seemed really desperate. Just a fraudster with a cultivator background alone had managed to tie down an elite investigative unit in that city for so long.

Fortunately, the cultivation world was largely stable at the moment. Most cultivators were practicing in seclusion, and the Yin-Yang Cult, after its recent exposure, had gone completely underground. Hence, the Special Investigation Unit had no other major cases on hand.

If the Fire Sage managed to escape or cause major incidents, the entire unit would likely have to answer for it.

Wang Sheng, however, had no intention of helping further. He had no real talent for tracking people, and staying in the mountains to cultivate was the proper path for him.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" Chi Wen asked from behind.

Wang Sheng put away his phone and smiled at her. "It's... nothing important."

"Oh, dinner's ready." Chi Wen timidly pointed toward the courtyard, where Mu Wanxuan had already finished preparing their meal.

Wang Sheng smiled, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked inside with the air of a senior brother.

Fortunately, his junior sister’s mood was improving day by day. If she had developed depression or something similar, he wouldn't have been able to explain it to their master.

Two days ago, Mu Wanxuan had begun helping their junior sister clear her meridians. Wang Sheng was supposed to assist with it, but Chi Wen was too shy to let him touch her. Wang Sheng didn't mind, though; it just meant less work for him.

Mu Wanxuan had also secretly discussed a related issue with Wang Sheng. She had discovered that Chi Wen's aptitude wasn't exceptional. Even with her meridians cleared, her talent in cultivation would only be average at best. She was worried that Chi Wen wouldn't be able to keep up with them in the future.

Still, average wasn't bad. With diligent practice, she might still be able to reach the Golden Core Realm and step onto the true path of immortality.

With their master practically cheating the system, Wang Sheng didn't think her potential would be an issue at all. He simply reassured his senior sister not to worry.

Dinner consisted of a few vegetarian dishes and three bowls of rice. It was more exquisite than what his junior sister had before coming up the mountain.

Chi Wen had probably been raised under strict etiquette from a young age. She ate in tiny bites, so slow that Wang Sheng wanted to remind her not to waste time on anything unrelated to cultivation.

Then again, he couldn't expect too much from her.

As they cleaned up the dishes, Chi Wen quietly asked, "Senior Sister, Senior Brother... when will my dad be back?"

"I'm not sure. He could return tomorrow or maybe in three to five months." Wang Sheng shook his head. "Master is attempting to break through to the Golden Core Realm, which is a major hurdle in cultivation."

"

Oh,

" Chi Wen responded softly, appearing to be deep in thought.

Wang Sheng asked, "What's on your mind? If something's bothering you, you can tell me or our senior sister."

Mu Wanxuan nodded gently in agreement. "

Mm!

"

Chi Wen bit her lip and looked up at Wang Sheng. "I want to learn quickly."

She had figured it out—their senior sister was the strongest, but she always listened to her senior brother. Wang Sheng was the true backbone of their little "family."

Chi Wen added, "I'm working off my sentence. I don't want to make things too difficult for my mom, and I don't want to affect her work. If possible, I want to learn as quickly as I can and join the Special Investigation Unit."

Wang Sheng couldn't help but chuckle. Their junior sister was determined, which was great. It justified the trouble that they had gone through to protect her.

Still, he had a feeling that if she went back, she'd cause more trouble than anything else. She might as well just stay on the mountain, cultivate properly, and refine her character for now.