Beyond Magnetic Essence Valley at Cloudless Mountain,  Luo Chen descended upon a wisp of spirit cloud, concealing his form as he quietly observed the man sitting cross-legged in the valley below.1

"It's really Miao Wen," he murmured.0

Miao Wen was an Outer Hall steward of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, and once the administrator in charge of mundane affairs at Dahe Market's Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion. In that remote yet bustling market city, his cultivation might not have been the highest, but his position had been unparalleled. Even figures like Mi Shuhua or Zhou Qing, whose cultivation surpassed his, had shown him courtesy for the sake of his station.0

Yet now, the man who had once been meticulous in appearance and elegant in bearing looked utterly wretched. The matted hair, dirt-streaked face, and torn robes showed no trace of the sword cultivator's grace he once possessed. The golden cloud-patterned shoes on his feet were ripped apart, revealing blackened toes. The robe embroidered with the sect's insignia was torn here and...0