Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 289 The Dawn that will never come

Luo Mingyu approached Wu Long after the meal, and as usual he demonstrated various Weapon Intents to her, one after another, sometimes repeating an intent he already showed her in the past by her request.

Since this training started Luo Mingyu got a lot more accustomed and did not pale as soon as she perceived it, becoming more resilient to the threat of aggression in general.

She was constantly contemplating what she learned, and after the intense cultivation with Wu Long the last time, she made a small breakthrough in her understanding of Intent. 

Later in the evening, as Luo Mingyu went to her room to digest her new experiences and combine them with what she already knew, Wu Long stood on the balcony, gazing at the slightly gloomy town, the sunset making it look especially desolate when Gong Liwei and Gong Cui came up behind him.

"Um... I wanted to ask, were we not supposed to travel to the Azure Eagle Continent... to your sect? What are we doing in the Yen Kingdom?"

She asked as they were going along with the flow, but the training today made her think that the group was preparing for something, not to mention that if they wanted to go to the Azure Eagle Continent they would have to move to the opposite direction to the Ziwei Kingdom.

"Just making a temporary stop. Old Yen has some business with the Royal Family here, so we are passing by. Cao Xiang already arranged for the ship to await us to take us back to the Azure Eagle Continent"

"A ship? But we can only travel there from the Southern Sea..."

"This ship can navigate the Inner Sea's coastal line so we would have no problem getting there"

"Oh! A ship! I have never seen a ship... or the sea hehe"

Wu Long explained and Gong Liwei's eyes widened as Gong Cui became excited.

"So we really are just passing through..."

Gong Liwei nodded still slightly in shock at the resources this seemingly small and low-key group had.

"Umm... well we might have to raid a sect soon, but don't worry, you don't have to participate in the raid"

Wu Long then scratched his cheek as he might have 'slightly' downplayed the trip here and Gong Liwei's face first froze, and then started to show bewilderment.

"What do you mean attack a sect? As in, with this small group?"

"Yeah"

"This is madness"

"Hahaha"

Gong Liwei looked at Wu Long like at a madman as he laughed.

"Oh! Raiding a sect? Are they bad guys?"

"Yeah, really really bad guys"

Wu Long smiled at Gong Cui and she smiled in return, raising her cute fist.

"Then I am going to help you!"

"Cui'er!"

Gong Liwei looked at her younger sister in shock.

"What? He said they were bad guys"

"That's beyond the point... they are attacking A SECT!"

"But... didn't this guy attack the Wu Family before?"

"uh..."

Gong Liwei could not answer anything to that as she looked slightly lost, remembering that fact. The absurd notion of attacking a sect caused her to momentarily forget how absurd of an existence Wu Long was.

"Eh? I won an argument? Yaaaay!!!"

Gong Cui looked at her older sister with surprise, and as it dawned on her that her remark was able to make her older sister have nothing to respond with started jumping in joy as Gong Liwei covered her face with "I don't know anymore", realizing that she would not be able to persuade her younger sister after this.

The sisters went off to the others and Old Yen passed by them as he came to the balcony.

"The sect we are looking for here is more low-key than the Supreme Master Pavilion you told me about, but it is still possible to figure out with some digging. It is called the Dawn Concealing Sect, supposedly a small sized sect, and very closed-off, taking in disciples only by recommendations and very rarely"

He went off to gather intel right after the meal. There were still signs of fatigue from the intense training on his face but he did not show any dissatisfaction. On the contrary, he was happy since he knew that Wu Long made this stop to train mainly for him, even if he did train others as well.

"Dawn Concealing... hiding the preparation for the Dawn of the Lust Cultivators?

Heh, I guess they really are better than those fools at the Supreme Master Pavilion who started to expand as soon as they got a backer and make large movements. 

This sect decided to not gather attention and cultivate elites in small numbers, since the lower levels are pretty easy to fill up once the foundation of the sect is sturdy"

Wu Long nodded after receiving the report. It was the reason they were able to remain relatively unnoticed unlike the Supreme Master Pavilion which name resounded throughout the Azure Eagle Continent. It seemed that the people in this sect were not as vain, not pursuing immediate recognition and fame, and thus able to think strategically. However...

"No matter, they still have the same fate"

He then shook his head with a smile and Old Yen gulped as the idea of destroying an entire sect was still daunting for him.

"After we are done training on the way to the capital, and gather information about Nie You's Master, you will remain in the capital with Butler Bang while I take the others to this Dawn Concealing Sect"

Wu Long then turned to Old Yen and the latter nodded with determination in his eyes.

"Butler Bang will help you, but you will have to overcome your old nemesis by yourself, I told him to only help with the others and not interfere in your fight with the King"

Old Yen slightly shook at his words, as this was a show of consideration, as well as an act of kindness from Wu Long, to let him face his past on his own, and at the same time might be a test.

"I understand"

"Good"

He nodded and Wu Long smiled with a satisfied look as he went to join his ladies while Old Yen continued to look at the scenery that was gradually turning darker, steeling his resolve.

---

A few days passed in training. The Yen Kingdom was tiny compared to the Kingdoms of the Azure Eagle Continent, but very densely populated, boasting an even larger population than them, so while even if they moved extremely slowly, taking up time for training, they still reached the capital in a matter of days, staying there for some time as Old Yen gathered as much information about the Master as was available in the underground society of the Yen Kingdom.

"So?"

Wu Long looked at Old Yen who came back with a report.

"The Dawn Concealing Sect here is a branch of the one in the Lihai Island Kingdom, there also appears to be another branch in the Zulong Kingdom of the Cloud Piercing Continent.

But the man you are looking for is very likely to be in islands of the Eastern Sea since the main sect is the oldest of the three, going back very far in time. The youngest of the three sects is the one on this continent, though it is not as young as the Supreme Master Pavilion which was most likely the latest creation of that man."

"Hmm, quite ambitious, intending to spread roots in all three continents without anyone noticing. He very gradually and methodically wanted to create a dominant faction here... heh.

But... Zulong Kingdom, isn't it quite close to the Cloud Piercing Empire?"

Wu Long chuckled at the ambitious plans of the man known to him only as Nie You's Master. The fact that this surviving dreg of Lust Cultivation wanted to create an entire legacy of this path only for Wu Long to appear in the same fractured world was quite ironic to him. His attention then went to the name of the kingdom he only vaguely knew.

"Yes, it shares a border with it. But the entire continent including the Empire is mired in near-perpetual conflicts so it is quite suitable for them"

Old Yen nodded and Wu Long raised his eyebrows.

"Including the Empire?"

"Umm, yes, it is mostly skirmishes but there is a large-scale war happening almost every decade there. The Empire is able to keep a constant Imperial Dynasty but the kingdoms change rulers very often. The reason it is so unstable is that the Cloud Piercing Empire has not produced an expert above Core Formation Realm, and recently even their Mortal Transcendence Realm ancestor is gradually getting old..."

Old Yen nodded and Wu Long made a pondering expression as it was the first time he heard about the situation on the Cloud Piercing Continent in detail.

He always assumed that it was nearly the same for all three empires since they were all backed by some higher powers, but then when he thought about it a little more, coupled with what he learned from the Tree Spirit it suddenly made sense to him.

"Heh, I see. Good job"

Wu Long chuckled and after commending Old Yen for the job well done, went to help Luo Mingyu with the comprehension of her Dao Intent again.

--- 

The next day, the group departed to the Dawn Concealing Sect an excitement as well as slight nervousness passed through the group, since all of them would be faced with a challenge in this small country.

"Please leave everything to this old man and do not worry, Young Master"

"Have a safe trip, Boss"

Butler Bang and Old Yen sent them off, and went back into the city. They still had some preparations to make before they took action, mainly in order for the country to not descend into chaos when they remove the current ruler, since Old Yen did not plan to take over the crown, wishing to continue following Wu Long.

Wu Long and the ladies traveled to the west, arriving in a small town near the Dawn Concealing Sect's Spiritual Land two days later. Since they did not take their time as they did while traveling to the capital, this short period was enough to travel to the sect.