Bìnhyang Town was one of the many small towns under the jurisdiction of Canglang City, both belonging to the Great Qi Kingdom.
At this moment, a cavalry troop was slowly entering the town. Its leader, clad in armor with a resolute face, was none other than Cao Gang, one of Canglang City's Five Wolf Guards.
The other person, however, was a young man with delicate features, dressed in a scholar's robe, his entire demeanor exuding the air of a scholar.
The young man's name was Su Zimo. He was the second young master of the Su family in Bìnhyang Town, and at just seventeen, he had already passed the imperial examinations with high marks, earning the title of *Juren* and becoming famous far and wide.
"Young Master Su is quite different from the scholars I've befriended in the past," Cao Gang said. "Although he appears delicate, his horsemanship is excellent, no worse than that of my own guards."
"You flatter me, Lord Cao," Su Zimo said with a smile. "My elder brother has always been in the horse trading business, and I've been around horses since I was young, so I have some basic skills. Besides, Chui Feng is very intelligent."
As he spoke, Su Zimo patted the magnificent steed beneath him.
The horse named Chui Feng seemed to understand Su Zimo's praise. It raised its head and snorted, a hint of intelligence in its eyes.
Just then, a commotion erupted nearby. Someone was heard shouting, "This is incredible! I heard that Shen family girl was chosen by an Immortal and is going to join an immortal sect!"
"The Shen family girl? Which Shen family?"
"It's Shen Mengqi, the one who was betrothed to Young Master Su."
The news spread rapidly. The people around them began to discuss it, and many looked at Su Zimo with strange expressions.
"Immortals?" Su Zimo murmured softly. His understanding of Immortals was still limited to vague, ethereal legends.
Beings whose power could summon wind and rain, burn the sky and boil the seas?
Without seeing it with his own eyes, Su Zimo didn't believe Immortals existed in this world.
Hearing the words "Immortal," Cao Gang's body trembled, and his expression became unusual. A flicker of apprehension flashed deep in his eyes, but Su Zimo, lost in thought with furrowed brows, didn't notice.
Just then, a streak of red light suddenly appeared in the sky. Its speed was astonishing; it had just swept past above Su Zimo and the others, then circled back, suddenly stopping mid-air.
Everyone instinctively tilted their heads back to look. They saw three figures, unsupported, standing in mid-air, as if an invisible force was holding them up.
Su Zimo's expression subtly changed.
Immortals!
Such methods were simply beyond the comprehension or reach of mortals.
"Divine Immortals have appeared..."
"May the Immortals grant us blessings!"
The dense crowd around them almost simultaneously fell to their knees on the ground, their faces filled with reverence, murmuring prayers.
Cao Gang's actions were also swift. He dismounted quickly, dropping to his knees, and loudly declared, "Cao Gang, a mortal from Canglang City, respectfully greets the Immortals!"
Cao Gang's actions startled Su Zimo.
Cao Gang, as one of the Five Wolf Guards, wielded immense power within hundreds of miles of Canglang City, yet even he knelt without hesitation upon seeing the Immortals.
In an instant, Su Zimo stood out like a crane among chickens; remaining mounted on his horse, he appeared extremely conspicuous amidst the densely kneeling crowd.
The pressure was immense!
Su Zimo was silent for a moment, then dismounted from Chui Feng and looked up.
In mid-air, the man in the center, clad in an azure long robe, had a cold expression. His narrow, elongated eyes looked down at the people below, and between his brows, an arrogant air that seemed to encompass all creation was revealed.
Beside the azure-robed man stood a man and a woman, both from Pingyang Town. The man was named Chu Dingyun, a notorious scoundrel and ruffian in the town, known for deceiving men and coercing women, committing endless evil deeds. Two years ago, he had been sent to prison by Su Zimo, but today, he was brought out by that azure-robed man.
Su Zimo frowned slightly. With Chu Dingyun's character, he also had a chance to enter an immortal sect? If Chu Dingyun were to become an Immortal, how many more people would suffer?
Su Zimo's gaze shifted, looking towards the young woman in mid-air.
The young woman was named Shen Mengqi. In the prime of her youth, her skin was as fair as snow, revealing an inherent gentle temperament.
Through Shen Mengqi's eyes, Su Zimo already knew her intentions.
Their past promise, in the face of the legendary Immortal Destiny, had become utterly fragile. Su Zimo had never imagined that their reunion would be such a sight.
One stood high above, the other in the mortal world.
Shen Mengqi was also looking at Su Zimo, at the man whom she had once deeply admired.
Once, in her heart, Su Zimo was omnipotent. At three, he began his studies; at seven, he mastered the Four Books and Five Classics; at twelve, he passed the imperial examination for *xiucai*; at seventeen, he passed for *juren*. Such a genius was unprecedented in the Great Qi Kingdom, and he was destined to become a person of extremely high status in the future.
Because of the obstruction from the Su family's eldest son, Su Zimo had never studied martial arts. But Shen Mengqi believed that if Su Zimo had studied martial arts, he could similarly have been enfeoffed as a king and appointed as a general.
But today, Shen Mengqi realized she was wrong.
All of Su Zimo's achievements, ultimately, belonged only to the mortal world, and in the eyes of Immortals, they were not worth mentioning.
With just one opportunity, she had already gained the qualification to look down on Su Zimo.
"Mortal, why do you not kneel!"
This questioning voice, like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, suddenly exploded in Su Zimo's ears, making him dizzy and disoriented, his limbs weak, almost collapsing to the ground.
Facing a legendary Immortal, kneeling on the ground was not entirely unacceptable. But the azure-robed man's almost bullying posture instead ignited a sense of indignation in Su Zimo's heart!
This indignation stemmed from the decisiveness in Shen Mengqi's eyes, from questioning the Immortals' choice of disciples, and also from Su Zimo's inherent pride.
Su Zimo took a deep breath, suppressing the suffocating feeling in his chest, and said loudly, "I possess official titles and honors; even before the Great Qi King, I need not kneel. Why should I kneel to you!"
You want me to kneel, then I won't!
The so-called official titles and honors were, of course, merely Su Zimo's excuse.
Under the oppressive aura of the azure-robed man, the surrounding mortals were silent as clams, not even daring to lift their heads. Yet Su Zimo, with his mortal body, confronted the Immortal, and his imposing aura showed no weakness whatsoever.
"Indeed, a foolish mortal."
The azure-robed man's lips curled slightly, his eyes cold and ruthless, as he said indifferently, "Since that is the case, all your official titles and honors, from today onwards... are worthless."
Although his tone was calm, no one questioned it.
The man in green robes continued, saying, “Any vassal state that dares to take this person in as an official will be an enemy of me, True Immortal Cang Lang of Bihe Palace!”
Upon hearing the words “Bihe Palace” and “True Immortal Cang Lang,” Cao, who had been kneeling on the ground, immediately showed a look of shock and quickly replied with a trembling voice: “True Immortal, rest assured, as long as he is within my Great Qi Kingdom, Su Zimo will be a commoner of the lowest class for his entire life!”
A commoner of the lowest class for his entire life!
With just a few words, Su Zimo’s fate was thus decided.
A flicker of unwillingness flashed in Shen Mengqi’s eyes, while that ruffian, Zhou Dingyun, looked elated.
Su Zimo appeared very calm, seemingly unaffected.
A long while later, Su Zimo finally gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Such cheap fame and status, what use is it?”
“Hm?”
True Immortal Cang Lang’s originally long, narrow eyes gradually narrowed into a slit, a cold glint flickering within them.
Su Zimo’s provocation stirred his killing intent!
Just then, Chui Feng, who had been standing beside Su Zimo, suddenly became agitated and restless. Its hooves scraped against the ground, the sound echoing ceaselessly.
Su Zimo remained outwardly calm, but his heart was startled.
Several times when he had encountered danger, Chui Feng had reacted this way.
“Another spiritual beast, hm, daring to be noisy in front of me!”
True Immortal Cang Lang let out a soft shout, extended his index finger, and lightly pointed at Chui Feng.
Before anyone could react, a ring of red light had already struck Chui Feng’s body.
Right before everyone’s eyes, a surge of scorching, intense flames suddenly erupted from within Chui Feng, engulfing its entire body in an instant.
Whoosh!
The flames were too immense, and threatened to engulf Su Zimo as well!
Although Su Zimo wasn’t as frail as an ordinary scholar, he had never witnessed such bizarre and miraculous methods, and was utterly stunned on the spot.
Seeing that Su Zimo was about to be swept into the inferno, Chui Feng let out a whimper and frantically galloped outwards.
The crowd scattered in terror. Chui Feng stumbled weakly to the ground after only a few steps, and in an instant, was incinerated into a pile of dust, leaving no trace of its bones!
The entire process lasted only a few breaths; such flames were absolutely not of this world!
One could imagine, if Chui Feng hadn’t galloped away in time, even if Su Zimo had touched the slightest bit of the flames, he would certainly not have escaped unharmed.
“What a fine spiritual warhorse, loyal to its master. What a pity.” Wolf Guard Cao Gang secretly lamented.
A gentle breeze swept past, Chui Feng’s ashes scattered in the air, lingering for a long time, as if bidding farewell to its master.
Su Zimo stared blankly ahead, his eyes reddened, looking utterly distraught, a sight that vaguely pained the onlookers.
A long while later.
Clarity returned to Su Zimo’s eyes. He let out a long breath, then raised his head again, and stared expressionlessly at True Immortal Cang Lang in mid-air, saying calmly, “If you do not kill me, you will surely regret it in the future.”
Upon hearing this, the surrounding people looked at Su Zimo as if they were looking at a dead man.
“How clever!” Only Lang Wei Cao Gang secretly praised in his heart: “True Immortal Cang Lang has already harbored killing intent; his recent move was almost certainly meant to kill this person. If not for these words, this person would likely find it hard to escape death. But having said these words, given this Immortal’s arrogance, he will absolutely not strike him again.”
Cao Gang’s thoughts had not yet dispersed when he heard True Immortal Cang Lang sneer: “Mortal, you are merely a commoner without a spirit root, hopeless to cultivate your entire life. If we speak of talent, you are not even as good as that beast from earlier! Are you even worthy of making me regret?”
Su Zimo did not retort further, silently picked up a bit of Chui Feng’s ashes from the ground, and turned to leave.
A hint of mockery flashed in True Immortal Cang Lang’s eyes as he said indifferently: “Though a lowly ant may aspire to the heavens, how can it ever touch the wings of a Sky Eagle?”
Seeing Su Zimo leave safely, Zhou Dingyun’s face showed resentment.
If not for this person, how could he have suffered so much in prison? Thinking of this, Zhou Dingyun’s gaze turned venomous, his expression was dark and unpredictable, and it was unclear what he was plotting.
Shen Mengqi watched Su Zimo’s lonely retreating figure and secretly sighed in her heart.
In less than half an hour, this man had lost everything he once possessed. Perhaps, only this pitiful pride remained.
But what good was that?
“Alas, this Second Young Master Su has lost his official status, become a commoner, no different from a useless person.”
“The two young masters of the Su family, one scholarly and one martial, had been on the rise in recent years. Who would have thought they would suffer such a blow? Fortunately, First Young Master Su is a Xiantian master.”
“What good is a Xiantian master? Lord Cao, the Lang Wei, is also a Xiantian master, and he still knelt in fear before the Immortal!”
“From what that Immortal said, Second Young Master Su doesn’t even have the qualifications to cultivate. He’s likely to waste away in sorrow and die later on.”
Su Zimo lowered his head, seemingly deaf to the discussions of those around him, and walked silently forward.
“Zimo, wait a moment.”
The voice was so familiar, but the address was a little strange. Before today, the woman behind him had always affectionately called him Brother Zimo.
Su Zimo kept walking, continuing forward.
Shen Mengqi caught up, a fine sheen of sweat on the tip of her nose. Her brows furrowed, she panted: “Zimo, you’ve read so many books you’ve become foolish! What was so important about kneeling just now?”
“It’s not important, it’s just that I didn’t want to,” Su Zimo said indifferently.
Su Zimo kept walking. Shen Mengqi was already angry, and hearing this, she became even more furious. She quickly took a few steps forward and blocked Su Zimo’s path.
“Su Zimo, snap out of it!”
Shen Mengqi stared into Su Zimo’s eyes and said loudly: “Don’t even think about revenge, it’s absolutely impossible. You’re seventeen, you’ve already missed the best age for martial arts training. And you have no spirit root, so you can’t cultivate at all. Even if you manage to reach the Houtian and Xiantian realms through martial arts later, that’s just mortal strength, unable to withstand a single blow from an Immortal!”
Su Zimo remained silent, merely looking at Shen Mengqi quietly.
Shen Mengqi couldn't meet Su Zimo's gaze. She lowered her head and said softly, "We did indeed have an agreement, and I'm grateful for your help to the Shen family over the years, but... that's all in the past now. Moreover, from now on, we are people of two different worlds."
Su Zimo smiled, a slight frown on his face. "Is your world so superior?"
Shen Mengqi said, "Chu Dingyun and I will be leaving Pingyang Town tomorrow with the True Person. I came today to say goodbye to you; I don't wish to argue about these meaningless things."
"Go then. I, Su, will not see you off. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
Su Zimo's interest waned. He walked past Shen Mengqi and continued straight ahead.
Just as they brushed shoulders, Shen Mengqi murmured softly, "Our romantic fate is over. With the immortal and mortal realms separated, I fear... we won't meet again."
Su Zimo's footsteps paused slightly, but in the end, he didn't utter a single word and simply walked away.