Wu Zhengfeng: Join the Freewind Sect, I'll Teach You Supreme Martial Arts

"Morning, Sister Jill!" "Good morning, Sister Jill!" The maids of Spirit Eagle Palace greeted her with bows, their faces full of admiration and respect.

"Oh, good morning, everyone." Jill Young grinned and nodded, strolling past the group of palace maids.

It had been three days since that big battle. In those three days, Spirit Eagle Palace was busy treating the wounded, dealing with prisoners, and repairing buildings—nonstop hustle everywhere. As an outsider, Jill Young didn’t want to interfere, so she wandered around Misty Peak. Wu Zhengfeng had assigned her senior maid, Yan Laihong, a woman in her forties, to accompany her closely and provide top-notch hospitality.

Spirit Eagle Palace basically had three main courtyards. The first one stretched from Heaven Gate to the Abyss—sort of the outer ring, smaller in scale, simple buildings, basic facilities. The second was past the Abyss, which was the main palace area: huge, well-equipped, and packed with all sorts of buildings, including the martial training grounds for regular disciples.

The third courtyard was up the mountain path, climbing vertically for about a thousand meters. This part looked like a real palace—a proper Spirit Eagle Palace, built on the old site of the previous Empress. The iconic building, Xianyang Hall, was here. From outside, it looked like a mountain fortress with layers and depth; inside, there were ancient caves and stone chambers left by past generations, pretty sizable too. The Tianshan Empress and senior maids lived here, and there were fancy training rooms—way more luxurious than the lower two courtyards.

The previous Empress had stockpiled a ridiculous amount of wealth. Xu Zhu barely used any of it, so Wu Zhengfeng had a solid foundation to start over—at least she didn’t squander it all.

Since there were no guest rooms, Wu Zhengfeng just let Jill Young crash in her own quarters. Everything—food, clothes, the works—was up to Empress standards. Basically, Wu Zhengfeng was off handling palace business, and until she got back, the maids were supposed to treat Jill Young like royalty.

While chatting, Jill Young learned that the middle-aged woman was named Yan Laihong—the first batch of maids Wu Zhengfeng brought up the mountain herself. She’d watched the new Spirit Eagle Palace get built from scratch. Out of all the palace maids, she was top tier, so Wu Zhengfeng had her personally take care of Jill Young.

She looked about forty, but was actually pushing fifty—and that "looks forty" was by modern standards (regular folks, not celebrities). In ancient times, she’d be considered practically ageless. Turns out, even basic Freewind Sect internal skills have some serious beauty benefits.

Honestly, it’s enough to make anyone jealous.

"Yan Laihong, Xiao Lian, Lan Xiang... all your names are flowers and plants, huh?" Jill Young asked, "Do you all have to change names when you join the mountain?"

"Not necessarily. Most of the women who come up here have suffered hardship and injustice down below. After receiving the Empress’s great favor, we cut ties with our past and start fresh, so we take new names." As they walked, Yan Laihong pointed to the courtyard below: "Tianshan Misty Peak really is a paradise for women in these chaotic times. If it weren’t for your timely arrival, who knows what disaster Spirit Eagle Palace would have faced at the hands of the Wuhuan wolves. I truly don’t know how to thank you enough!"

Jill Young didn’t bother being modest. She pointed to the palace below: "Even if I hadn’t shown up, Spirit Eagle Palace could’ve held out. That Abyss is no joke, and you can handle things pretty well." Earlier, Jill had learned that until Wu Zhengfeng appeared at Heaven Gate, nobody in Spirit Eagle Palace except Yan Laihong knew their Empress had been kidnapped.

Yan Laihong managed to keep this huge bad news under wraps, holding up morale. With the Abyss, her own reputation, and the palace’s food reserves, it wasn’t clear who would outlast whom in a siege. Just feeding those three elephants alone was no small feat.

"Miss, you flatter me. Compared to you, my meager skills aren’t worth mentioning." Yan Laihong was very respectful, sticking strictly to maid etiquette.

"But—" Jill Young shot her a look, eyes full of pressure. "You sent your main force out, and Wuhuan swooped right in. Shadowless snuck in and kidnapped your Empress. The funniest part? All it took was confusing the word 'island' with 'brain' to fool your whole security system!"

To Jill Young, the whole thing was absurd. After the battle, with nothing better to do, she’d asked around and learned that the code phrase "no brain, then die" actually meant something. Wuhuan was trying to unite the Eighteen Caves and Thirty-Six Islands, pushing the idea that caves and islands were one family. So they came up with a slogan: 'With cave, you live; without island, you die.' It meant only organization members could attend the rally—anyone not from the caves or islands was marked for death.

And 'islands open, the world is bright' was another slogan, meaning all the islands and caves joining forces would guarantee victory—kind of like 'Rise of Chu, Chen Sheng is King.' As for why 'island' got muddled into 'brain,' not even Iron Ba or William Bo could explain it. Maybe it was for secrecy, or maybe the messenger just had a lisp. By the end, the code turned into 'brain open wide,' which was just hilarious.

But it was exactly this nonsense that let Spirit Eagle Palace get blindsided right on their doorstep—almost wiped out.

"As an outsider, I don’t really have the right to say much. But Wuhuan had been plotting for ages, and nobody in Spirit Eagle Palace got wind of it." Jill Young’s tone was mild but carried a hint of sternness. "I think you all need to reflect on that."

"Yes, Miss, you’re absolutely right. I’ll be sure to report this to the Empress." The mountain was high and the air cold, but Yan Laihong was sweating a little—Jill Young’s scolding was no joke. After answering, she hesitated, then added, "Miss Jill, honestly, nobody in Spirit Eagle Palace—not even the Empress—has the knowledge or skill for this kind of thing. If needed, could you advise and assist the Empress? I know it’s a lot to ask, but…"

(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading!)

"Alright, alright, enough with the 'your servant' stuff—it sounds weird. Just call yourself 'I.'" Jill Young waved her hand. "If your Empress is cool with outside help, I don’t mind lending a hand. Not like I’ve got anything urgent to do right now."

Honestly, the top priority right now was finding Teacher Yang, but there was no clue where to start, so worrying wouldn’t help. Might as well rack up some Freewind Sect goodwill and reputation points—maybe score an unexpected windfall. Even one of their three legendary techniques would be a jackpot.

"Then... then I’ll thank you in advance, Miss!" Yan Laihong couldn’t help but laugh. "I can tell the Empress is really fond of you—she’d be thrilled to have your help." She’d been Wu Zhengfeng’s personal maid for over forty years, and although Wu Zhengfeng was a master and pretty old, she wasn’t one for mind games. Yan Laihong could see where things were headed.

"Alright then." Jill Young wrapped up the topic and pointed to the training ground below. "What kind of internal skills do the palace maids here practice?"

"The maids all practice the Freewind Mind Method."

"Freewind Mind Method?" Sounds like one of those useless techniques like Huashan Mind Method, but since it’s from the Freewind Sect—a total bug-tier school—it’s probably not bad. At least it’s better than the nonsense I got from the Vajra crew. "What kind of cultivation do they have?"

"Well…" This was technically a sect secret, but Yan Laihong hesitated only briefly before answering, "Most of the maids who fought the other day were junior level, with three to five years of cultivation. Those with ten years or more are intermediate, about a hundred in total. Senior maids with twenty years or more—including me—number seven. But most intermediate and senior maids aren’t in the palace right now."

"So, Spirit Eagle Palace has about four hundred people, with an average cultivation of maybe ten years—probably less. No idea how the old Nine Heavens Nine Divisions stacked up, but they were definitely stronger back then. When the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands attacked, plus Murong Fu and other bystanders, the defenders—just the Juntian Division from Nine Heavens Nine Divisions—held out for three months.

Back then, they lasted three months. This time, they barely held out for three days before Heaven Gate fell—huge difference. The Spirit Eagle Palace now might have the same name, but besides the overpowered sect leader, it’s lost all its old talent.

Oh well, that’s Wu Zhengfeng’s headache. I’d better focus on how to score some internal skills.

"By the way, can I get a look at your Freewind Mind Method manual? I’ve earned some merit and goodwill here—asking for a beginner’s manual isn’t too much, right? Or I could trade you something else—I know a pretty great body training technique."

"Uh…" Yan Laihong looked awkward. Internal skills manuals are always top secret in the martial world—remember how Kumochi tried trading Shaolin techniques for Six-Meridian Sword and ended up fighting? Yan Laihong didn’t freak out, which showed Jill Young’s high reputation.

Just then, a voice chimed in: "Freewind Mind Method is just a beginner’s technique—tops out at thirty years of cultivation, not good enough for you." Jill Young turned to see Wu Zhengfeng walking over. She’d regained ten years of power, but looked only seven years old, dressed in pure white, with a bit of the Tianshan Empress’s aura.

"Hey, you’re here!" Jill Young, used to it by now, scooped her up with one arm: "Still got that adorable little face!" She pinched Wu Zhengfeng’s cheek, and the Empress’s icy cool collapsed instantly—she started flailing and play-fighting with Jill, leaving Yan Laihong stunned.

"Alright, alright, I’ll stop. But from the way you’re talking, you want to hook me up with some high-level internal skills, huh?" Jill kept holding her like a parent with a kid.

Wu Zhengfeng didn’t bother arguing: "Do you have a sect?"

"Nope. Tang Family Internal Boxing is just boxing, not a sect."

"Have you ever formally apprenticed?"

"Apprenticed… I’m not sure it counts." Old Master Jinlun just wanted to pass on his skills, and Grandpa Tang was clear it didn’t count as master-disciple. Jill thought about it: "If you really add it up, I guess I have two teachers."

"Then it’s settled." The Empress looked at Jill Young expectantly, her voice crisp: "Can you join the Freewind Sect? If you do, I’ll teach you all the Freewind Sect martial arts—including my Supreme Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies Technique!"