In the mid-morning of the new day, the city was full of activity. Mortals and cultivators alike walked along the streets, coming and going about their daily business.
Some met up with friends or masters, some went outside the city to meet rivals for a challenge, while others simply shopped or worked like any ordinary mortal.
Life went on like any other day.
Or at least… that's how it should have been.
At this time, across every sect square, city square, town, and even large village in the Azure River Province, the same thing happened. The spiritual screen appear above them.
The usual intro played on the screen.
"Hello, what's up, brothers and sisters? I am Wei Chen." He gave his usual two-finger salute at the screen.
"The Vagabond." The screen shifted to show Wei Chen gazing at the sword-like mountain, the iconic scenery near the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Since the Heavenly Sword Sect was a famous sect and a major power of the Azure River Province, people immediately turned to watch the screen above them.
"The Traveler." The scene changed to Wei Chen at the imposing gate of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
"And most importantly, the adventurer and seeker of truth!" This time, the screen showed Wei Chen greeting Jian Heng, who greeted him back. Both of them sat together in a small pavilion, with a sea of clouds as the background on the high sword peak.
The display then shifted to the same pavilion, but this time Wei Chen and Jian Heng were sitting together facing the camera.
"Welcome to my channel, brothers and sisters. Today is my second broadcast. The topic of this broadcast, we will touch upon a term that everyone aspires to, and one that every sect seeks. The Heaven Chosen." Wei Chen raised his hand, showing his index finger to signify the importance of this term.
"Look! It's starting again!" One cultivator near the square pointed at the screen.
"Hmm… this time it's at the Heavenly Sword Sect? But Heaven Chosen? Isn't that topic abit obscure?" Another cultivator commented.
One needs to know that in this world, the word 'Heaven Chosen' has been talked about for a long time. Some say that it exists, while some dismiss it as hearsay and nonsense.
The screen showed Wei Chen and Jian Heng sitting together in a more relaxed, casual setting. Tea steamed from the teapot on the table. Wei Chen took a sip, set his cup down, and Jian Heng did the same.
"Today is a little bit special. I'm here with a person of greatness that most of you already know." Wei Chen paused, turned toward Jian Heng, and gestured to him.
"This is the Vice Sect Leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Jian Heng, also known as the Indomitable Sword Saint." Wei Chen introduced him to the camera.
"Hello everyone." Jian Heng waved his hand toward the camera. This was something Wei Chen had explained beforehand, and Jian Heng had already agreed to it.
"Before we start, Vice Sect Leader, how did you get that name? When was the first time the title 'Indomitable Sword Saint' was spoken?" Wei Chen began with a light question.
Hearing this, Jian Heng chuckled.
"I don't remember exactly when it started, but… I recall it was roughly around the time I attacked the Gu clan and decimated their ancestral tomb."
"Ouch! The disrespect!" Wei Chen showed an expression of pain.
Within the Azure River Capital, on the roof of the highest building near the square, the Azure Sky Elder glared at the screen with gritted teeth.
His sharp eyes fixed on Wei Chen. If looks could kill, Wei Chen would have already died a hundred times over.
The full name of Azure Sky Elder was Gu Tianhe. The incident when his ancestral home was attacked by Jian Heng was something he would never forget.
If not for the fact that Jian Heng was too powerful, and the Heavenly Sword Sect too influential for his clan to risk offending, he would have taken revenge long ago.
And the aftermath of that event had cost him dearly, stripping away much of his vitality.
In fact, Azure Sky Elder and Jian Heng were of the same generation. Yet Jian Heng still looked like a man in his late twenties, while Gu Tianhe now appeared like a man in his fifties or sixties.
This was because Azure Sky Elder's dantian had been destroyed by Jian Heng. That was the price Jian Heng demanded in exchange for sparing him and his clan.
As a result, Gu Tianhe lost much of his vitality. If not for his clan's deep roots and vast resources, coupled with a mighty figure who intervened to prevent the clan's destruction, he would have already died of old age long ago.
After they used that trump card and the mighty figure from the upper realm intervened, the karmic bond between the clan and that figure was forever severed. Now the clan was only a shadow of its former self.
He had been thoroughly humiliated, and even if he could not accept it, in light of Jian Heng's prowess and the Heavenly Sword Sect's dominant power, he had no choice but to endure. Otherwise, the only path left would have been death.
But that tolerance applied only to Jian Heng, not to Wei Chen.
How dare a mere vagabond dig at his old wound!? There will be consequences for this!
"Someone!" Azure Sky Elder called out.
A moment later, a servant rushed over to the elder.
"My lord, what are your commands?" the servant asked.
The elder glared at Wei Chen on the screen, fury burning behind his eyes.
"Put a bounty on Wei Chen's head!"
The servant bowed. "The bounty will start at 100,000 spirit stones and—"
"No!" the elder cut him off. "Start at one million spirit stones. I want to see his dog's life end tonight!" the elder said through gritted teeth.
"It will be done, my lord." The servant bowed and quickly rushed off to carry out his master's bidding.
On the screen, Wei Chen continued.
"May I ask what started this conflict?" he asked.
Jian Heng smiled lightly, his eyes closing as he reminisced about his youthful days.
"It's nothing special, just a simple youthful quarrel," Jian Heng said, not going into detail.
Wei Chen turned toward the camera as if addressing the audience. "A simple youthful quarrel, and Vice Sect Leader Jian nearly annihilated a clan. I can only imagine what would happen to me if I pissed him off."
Jian Heng let out a dry laugh. With that barb, he knew he had understated the matter.
On board the Thousand Treasure Pavilion flying ark, in the master bedroom, Mo Xingyao laughed out loud as she watched the broadcast through the Spirit Net Jade.
"Hahahaha, this guy is such a joker!" she laughed, popping a dried fruit into her mouth and savoring the taste.
At that moment, a servant entered with a chef. On the servant's tray lay a large drumstick, grilled to a deep brown with crisp skin and tender meat.
"Young miss, the grilled Iron Beak Waterfowl drumstick with special sauce is ready," the chef announced politely.
"Oh! It's ready? Let me taste it!" Mo Xingyao waved at the servants, eager for the drumstick.
The moment the servant set the tray down, she did not hesitate; she snatched it and took a bite.
After tasting it, her face went into a thoughtful expression. "Ummm… it's close. Very close to what I had before, but I don't know what's missing," Mo Xingyao said.
She had asked her personal chef to reproduce the barbecue drumstick she tasted on Wei Chen's broadcast. She remembered the flavor: a hint of spice and an odd mix of sweetness and sourness, but she could not place the missing element.
The chef made a complicated face, puzzling over the young miss's critique. What was missing?
Seeing this, Yin Lan, Mo Xingyao's bodyguard, sighed. "Young miss, why not just ask Wei Chen for the recipe? I do not think the recipe for that drumstick is some guarded secret. He is a cultivator, not a mortal who would hoard food recipes."
"You are right, Sister Lan. It would be much easier to ask him," Mo Xingyao mused. "But that means I would owe him another favor. I want him to owe me more favors than I owe him."
"Fine," Mo Xingyao finally relented. "He and I are partners anyway. It is only a favor."
On the screen, Jian Heng began to go into detail, and the audience leaned in with rapt attention.
Since this was the first time they had the chance to hear directly about the cause of the incident where Jian Heng first made his name, everyone focused closely on the broadcast.
"It started when I was still a mortal," Jian Heng began.
"Back then, I was just the son of a farmer working for the Gu clan. I had a girl… a childhood friend who possessed the talent to become a cultivator, while I myself was a mortal with poor spiritual roots.
She was destined to enter the Heavenly Sword Sect, as she had both a strong spiritual root and talent in the sword path."
"What happened next?" Wei Chen asks.