Chapter 25: Peaceful Years and the Impending Plot

"That makes sense! However, this place cannot be exposed!"

Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor pondered. This location was far too close to the Prince Beijing's Estate.

Back then, for the sake of convenience during the day under the surveillance of the old King of Miao and the current King of Miao, the distance was at most a round trip that could be covered by nightfall—how far could it really be? Besides, being only in his early teens at the time with martial arts yet unformed, traveling a few dozen miles was already his absolute limit.

This was precisely the reason why, three years ago, the Heaven Gate had drawn the attention of the Miao King's men the moment it appeared.

"Bring the map!"

Xiong Da motioned to his subordinates.

As the chief steward of the Heaven Gate, there was almost zero conflict between the Heaven Gate and Prince Beijing's Estate, and the Prince Beijing's Estate rarely took any actions targeting the Heaven Gate.

Xiong Da evidently guessed something; even if it had no connection to Prince Beijing, the Heaven Gate must have reached some sort of agreement with him.

His subordinates brought over a map, and Xiong Da unfolded it, placing it before Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor:

"Please take a look, Master!"

"Where is this place?"

Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor gazed at a marked highest peak located to the north of Prince Beijing's Estate.

"This is White Horse Peak, three hundred miles away from here. Eighty miles further north lies the Northern Sea!"

"Rename White Horse Peak to Heaven Mountain. The Heaven Gate shall be established upon Heaven Mountain!"

Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor finalized the location for the Heaven Gate's headquarters, and shortly after, issued proclamations across the realm.

***

Meanwhile, Hidden Mist and the others had just returned to the Miao King's palace, reporting on the situation regarding the Heaven Gate to the Miao King.

Witnessing it with one's own eyes and the information that had been relayed beforehand still bore a significant gap.

"What kind of person is this Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor?"

The Miao King asked Hidden Mist.

"Arrogant and despotic, yet exceptionally cautious; his cultivation is unfathomable, his wisdom rivals an abyss, yet his actions display the utmost measure of restraint!"

Hidden Mist spoke words that seemed almost contradictory. These were not descriptions that should apply to a single individual, but rather to two, or perhaps even three or four people.

"The four of you were no match for him?"

Though he had already received word, the Miao King still wished to confirm it firsthand.

"It felt as though the other party was still holding back! Had he not shown mercy, I fear I would not have returned to see you, Royal Brother!"

Chixue Guming said with a solemn expression. Having encountered such a formidable figure for the first time in his life, Chixue Guming could not help but feel shaken.

"He looks very young? Even younger than your Royal Uncle?"

The Miao King tightly clenched his hands behind his back twice before finally relaxing his grip.

The appearance of such a young martial arts prodigy in Moirang—whether it was a blessing or a curse, remained to be seen.

However, this also cleared his Royal Uncle of suspicion, which was for the best!

"Indeed, Royal Brother! Originally, after seeing Wen Zai and Hidden Zai, I thought they were the supreme geniuses of this world. Who would have thought..."

Chixue Guming could not help but shake his head, recalling Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor's youth, which seemed excessive even for a young man.

"Hmm—"

The Miao King furrowed his brow, thinking of Haoqiong Guming. The strongest martial arts prodigy Haoqiong Guming had ever laid eyes on was none other than his own eldest brother.

"Report— Intel regarding the Heaven Gate has arrived!"

"Bring it up!"

At the command, the intelligence officer immediately handed the report to the Miao King. Unfolding it, the Miao King furrowed his brows once more!

"Luobi, take a look!"

Hidden Mist took the document and read:

"Choosing White Horse Peak as the site for the Heaven Gate? Could it be that the fellow intends to establish a sect whose heritage lasts a millennium?"

White Horse Peak was desolate and barely visited by humans, situated close to the Northern Sea. Even the larger tribes were unwilling to dwell in such a place.

The group examined the document and furrowed their brows deeply. The inability to comprehend an opponent's true intentions was the most unsettling feeling of all.

"Pay no more attention to the Heaven Gate; simply keep a close eye on their movements!"

The Miao King finally made the executive decision. "Furthermore, Luobi, you shall act as commander, leading the Miao forces to advance westward to suppress the rebellions. If the opportunity arises, expand the territory of Moirang several hundred miles further west!"

***

Time flowed like water. Since the rise of the Heaven Gate, the martial arts world of Moirang entered a prolonged period of peace.

Over a decade passed, and the Miao King was no longer as robust and vigorous as before, growing increasingly aged with each passing day.

Conversely, his methods and wisdom had grown ever more seasoned and ruthless.

During the opening years of this decade, he had commanded Luobi to campaign east and west, consolidating the internal factions within Moirang. In the subsequent years, he launched multiple invasions against the Central Plains.

The twins of destiny, Hidden Mist and Shi Yanwen, clashed repeatedly to a standstill. Their battles ran rivers of blood, accumulating a deep-seated hatred that not even the waters of three rivers and five lakes could wash clean. No one knew what grievances truly existed between Hidden Mist and Shi Yanwen to drive them into such a relentless, mortal struggle.

Most of those who knew the truth had already been silenced, leaving only Hidden Mist's confidants, the Wolf Lord and Wenhuang, privy to the matter.

As the younger brother of the Miao King, Chixue Guming had accompanied Hidden Mist on campaigns east and west over the years, never once making a move whenever they squared off against Shi Yanwen.

Consequently, in later years, he chose to live in seclusion atop Solitary Snow Thousand Peaks, ignoring the affairs of the pugilistic world and paying no heed to the imperial court of Moirang.

Yet, Solitary Snow Thousand Peaks was less than a hundred miles away from Heaven Mountain, the seat of the Heaven Gate.

Once the Heaven Gate achieved steady development, Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor embarked on a journey to tour the martial realm.

His footsteps traversed Moirang, the Central Plains, the Dao Realm, and the Feathered Realm.

Along with Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor's travels, the covert Commerce Hall of the Heaven Gate spread across all four realms.

As for the Sea Realm, the entrance at the Dragon's Saliva Mouth had been located after years of discreet inquiries, but apart from Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor himself—who was impervious to the environment of the Sea Realm—it was difficult for others to adapt to it.

In essence, land-based martial artists faced varying degrees of restriction upon entering the Sea Realm.

With the growth of the Commerce Hall and the selection of children with exceptional aptitude from the four realms for cultivation, the core and reserve strength of the Heaven Gate became increasingly abundant.

However, Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor did not station everyone within the Heaven Gate. Four-tenths of those from Moirang entered the military, three-tenths were left to develop freely in the wild, and three-tenths joined the Heaven Gate.

As a result, the Heaven Gate appeared not to have undergone massive expansion over the years; the influx of personnel roughly balanced out the attrition, with the only notable change being an increase in high-level experts.

As for the Central Plains, the Dao Realm, and the Feathered Realm, the majority of personnel were deployed into the Commerce Hall to establish taverns, escort agencies, and merchant houses, while a small fraction were left to wander freely.

Among them, the merchant houses handled cross-realm trade, and the escort agencies were occasionally invited to serve as protective escorts.

Naturally, the appropriate remuneration was never short, as many of the subordinates themselves were unaware that they belonged to the Commerce Hall of the Heaven Gate.

Those people merely felt that their employer possessed boundless capabilities, capable of resolving almost any difficulty. Coupled with the fact that neither the taverns nor the merchant houses lacked formidable strength of their own, hiring the escort agency served merely as an extra layer of insurance.

A decade later, having traveled extensively through the four realms, Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor returned to the Heaven Gate, quietly awaiting the unfolding of the grand chess game.

In those early years, Wenhuang utilized the Pearl-Illusion Tower to synthesize his lifelong learning before departing gracefully, leaving the tower behind to Baili Xiaoxiang. He engaged Baili Xiaoxiang in a ten-year game of chess, leaving behind a verse:

*White snow approaches the blade, blood flows like a rainbow; a hundred miles of desolation stand alone through a thousand autumns.*
*If you ask when the bright pearl shall be returned to its master, the night rain of Xiaoxiang entrusts the vessel of the soul.*

Subsequently, upon reading a volume of *Oddities of the Feathered Realm* delivered by agents arranged by Dragon-Cloud Dragon Emperor, Wenhuang embarked on the path of seeking out and testing the strategist who commands ten thousand armies without a single soldier—Cetian Feng.

Following that, he brought Fengdie and retreated into seclusion atop Divine Gu Peak.

As for young Canglang, upon coming of age, he spent half of each year in the Miao King's palace learning statecraft, and the other half studying at Prince Beijing's Estate.

Jingri Guming had remained honest and dutiful over the years, occasionally tutoring young Canglang and offering strategic counsel to the Miao King.

As the years drifted by, Haoqiong Guming grew increasingly cherishful of familial bonds within the royal clan.

几乎不是过年就是中秋会来北竞王府一趟，四人一起过个节日。(Skipped translation for accidental repetition in source, handled implicitly by natural flow) Almost every Lunar New Year or Mid-Autumn Festival, he would visit Prince Beijing's Estate, allowing the four of them to celebrate the festivals together.

And after all these years, Jingri Guming had broken through and established anew, retraining the Martial Codex. His cultivation of the three-attribute true qi had reached great completion, lacking only a single stroke of destiny to achieve the unification of the Three Prime Essences.