The meet-and-greet for the new concubines wrapped up quickly. Each lady returned to her own quarters, and so the whole farce came to a temporary end. Jill Young got a front-row seat to a full-blown palace catfight, and frankly, she found it wildly entertaining. The concubines’ words were all silk on the outside, needles inside, laced with poison, and—if you listened closely—even a hint of crap. Simone handled it all with style, batting away every jab, and seemed to be having a blast. No doubt about it, the palace is a woman’s battlefield. All those daggers in the dark? Jill could only stand back, watch in awe, and keep her distance.
After the chaos, the three of them strolled back through the Imperial Garden. Simone sent away the other junior maids, leaving just the three of them to wander at their own pace.
"Honestly, only Simone could handle that mess. If I were in her shoes, I’d have no idea how to clap back." Jill Young scratched her head in frustration. "These little concubines have way too much free time, always scheming and plotting nonsense. The emperor hasn’t even started picking favorites, and they’re already out here sniping at each other. Talk about bored!"
"That’s just how palace rules work. If you want to win the emperor’s favor, you’ve got to play by the rules. But honestly, if you swapped places with Simone, it’d be a breeze for you." Joan grinned, lips curled. "You don’t care about the emperor’s attention, don’t crave riches, and don’t let rules hold you back. Who’s gonna mess with you? If anyone tries, you just smack them. And if they really push their luck, you could slap them clear across the palace. Who’d dare mess with you then? No way you’d ever feel stifled here."
"Ha! Joan, you really get me!" Jill Young threw an arm around Joan’s shoulder and gave her a hearty slap. "See, most of the time, civility can’t beat brute force. All those twists and turns? Nothing beats going straight for it!"
Simone chimed in, "From what I saw today, the whole harem seems clueless about our business. Looks like those assassins chasing us may have ties to the court, but their situation’s more complicated than it seems. I bet it’s all palace faction drama—their bosses just can’t get their hands into the inner palace."
Joan nodded, deep in thought. "Hidden in plain sight, right? Us, tucked away in the palace—works out perfectly. First, we dodge the assassins and get some breathing room. Second, the palace is the epicenter of all the royal drama, so we get the big picture. Third, with our connections here, it’s easier to run the Ensemble’s plans. Fourth, now that Western Xia’s gone, our sect’s Small No-Form Skill is lost too. The Western Xia royals were wiped out by Genghis Khan, and their trail’s gone cold. If there’s anywhere left with secret manuals, it’s either Kublai Khan’s study or the Song Dynasty’s royal treasury."
Simone nodded in agreement. "Why hunt for a needle in a haystack across the whole world when we can just start here? Even Shadow Ops hasn’t dug up secrets at this level yet."
Jill Young’s eyes lit up at the mention of a certain word: "Treasury?" She snapped her fingers, instantly fired up. "Of course! Even Shaolin’s got cool stuff lying around, so there’s no way Emperor Song doesn’t have some treasures stashed away! Some bandit leader I am—I didn’t even think of this angle. I really need to reflect on myself!"
Anyway, she couldn’t stand Emperor Song, so if there was loot to grab, she’d snatch it up with zero guilt.
"And besides all that, there's a fifth point."
"Wow, Joan, you really sound like a leader—you're even up to point five now!"
"Oh, stop it, don't try to jinx me." Joan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her look both girlish and commanding. "I've traveled far and wide, seen all sorts of wonders, and collected martial arts manuals from everywhere—by luck, by trade, by exchange, you name it. Especially the rare techniques—our sect can honestly claim to have outpaced any other in the land. But these scattered secret books, all so different, if we really want to fuse them into something useful, we'll need to think things through and work out the details."
"Makes sense," Jill nodded. "Before, we were just gobbling everything up. Now it's time to digest and absorb it all."
"You know, your words are rough, but that's exactly what I meant." Joan gave her a helpless smile and shook her head. "Right now, everything's falling into place, and our people are starting to mature. It's the perfect time for them to learn to stand on their own and try carrying the load. You have to know how important talent is—planning matters even more. Ten years to make a plan, a hundred years to raise a person. Even if they mess up a little, it's fine—let them go and do their thing. Meanwhile, we can finally catch a break, and you, Jill, are about to hit a breakthrough, so focus on building your foundation. Don't end up like me and lose control."
"Lose control and go off the rails, huh... If I ever started aging backwards like you did..." Jill squeezed her cheek, letting her imagination run wild. If she put herself in Joan's shoes, stranded in the snowy mountains... or if she swapped places with Joan... Jill shivered at the thought, then suddenly pumped her fist with determination. She'd just need a headband with 'Victory' written on it to complete the look. "Don't worry! I'll totally ace this breakthrough, no way I'm going to lose control!"
Joan couldn't help but laugh. "Haha, look at you being all silly. But with your solid foundation, breaking through shouldn't be a big deal. Come on, let's head back. Starting today, I'm going into full retreat mode—no more distractions. Simone, you're in charge of palace affairs now. Keep an eye on the empresses and don't let our tracks show."
"Yes, your servant will do her utmost."
"Alright. Jill, I'm leaving everything outside the palace in your hands. You can use the Myriad-Year Saint Talisman to keep in touch with the outside—makes things super convenient. Anything about sect business, resources, rewards and punishments, you don't need to check with me anymore."
"Got it. You focus on your retreat, I'll keep an eye on things." Jill took a couple steps, then turned back, puzzled. "Joan, why do you seem so different today? All these points, all this talk about talent and delegation... It's like your IQ just shot up or something! You suddenly have this big-picture vibe going on. Did you have some kind of epiphany or what?"
Simone's eyes flashed at the comment, quietly watching the sparring match as if she was trying to figure something out.
Joan, for her part, didn't look the least bit flustered. She just joked and laughed with Jill like always.
A breeze picked up, making Joan's hair flutter. The autumn air grew richer, the sky felt higher and cooler. Joan's eyes were as clear and bright as the sky itself, not a speck of dust in them. Her gaze followed the wind, looking far off toward the edge of the heavens. Beyond the strict palace walls, clouds drifted lazily across the horizon.
"I'm not a kid anymore. If I still couldn't see through things, or still couldn't let go, wouldn't that be pretty foolish?"
Simone listened to Joan's calm reply and raised her eyebrows just a little.
After that, Jill and the others settled into a life of seclusion, focusing on digesting and absorbing all the strange encounters and gains they'd collected. Counting it all up, they'd really gotten a lot from their journey.
Dragon Elephant Technique, Universal Ruo Technique, Supreme Eight Wildernesses, Purification Sutra, Nine Yin True Scripture, Northern Nether Divine Art, Ripple Step, Six Pulses Divine Sword—just the complete versions of top-tier martial arts alone were already a hefty pile. Plus, there were half-finished techniques and concepts like Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, Six Yang Nine Suns, Threefold Non-Phase, and the Wanderer's Legacy.
There were even more miscellaneous techniques. On Mystic Isle, they'd seen countless forms; and from the Tomb of Martial Arts, they'd dug up the Nine Heavens Nine Paths. The Shaolin Bodyguard Technique had merged into Jill's Iron Body, and its effect was on par with any top-tier skill.
Then there were the Dragon-Tiger Neidan Sutra, Three Peaks Combat Arts, and the Gynecological Saint's Hidden Manual. Strictly speaking, these weren't traditional martial arts, but they were just as effective. Top moves like Dragon-Subduing Palm, Void Fist, and Left-Right Interchange weren't acquired through secret manuals, but they still picked up plenty just by sparring. And soon, even techniques like Soul-Dissolving Palm and Solar Finger would be added to their arsenal. At this point, the Wanderers' martial arts vault was probably as rich as it had ever been—even rivaling the golden age of Mount Dreadpeak.
If you counted the stuff from other worlds—like the Bridal Robe Divine Art, Pity Flower Treasure Mirror, Moonlight Divine Art, and Supreme Sentiment Dao—the Wanderers' foundation and vision might even surpass the legendary trio of the old days. Even if Shaolin hadn't fallen and hauled out all their treasures, they'd still struggle to keep up.
If you think of martial arts as blades, they've already gathered a whole armory of legendary weapons. But no matter how many blades you have, you can only wield a few at once. No matter how many divine arts, you can only master one or two core techniques at a time. So, as much as they've gained on this journey, the actual boost in real combat power isn't as dramatic as you'd think.
Joan, Jill, and Simone have already set their martial paths. At this point, adding more skills at the same level is just for reference—it won't make a decisive difference.
So why not treat all these ‘legendary blades’ like raw materials—break them down, pick the best parts, toss the junk, and forge one brand-new, ultimate weapon? Like, Jill never got much use out of Iron Arm or Golden Steel Arm, but once she fused them into Iron Body, the results were on a whole other level.
And that’s exactly what Joan wants to do.
As a peerless master, having proven her inner strength, she's basically the perfect candidate for this job.
So every day, Joan secluded herself. Sometimes she practiced mysterious arts, sometimes she wrote out her ideas. Every night, you’d find her quietly reading by the window—no matter when you looked, there was always that calm silhouette behind the curtain. That kind of focus and drive was contagious, inspiring everyone around her. Jill couldn't help but admire her: maybe this was Joan's true everyday self. If she weren't so single-minded and brave, how else could she, as a woman, have surpassed Lord Zhou and reached the pinnacle first?
Jill, meanwhile, started working on what she could. She couldn’t outdo Joan in internal arts, so she focused on her own strengths—stuff Joan wasn’t as good at. Every day she studied the Purification Sutra, tried simplifying it with the Nine Yin Bone-Tempering, and built a step-by-step path toward the higher gates. She also poured energy into researching Iron Body, planning out its future development before her next breakthrough.
The Supreme Eight Wildernesses burned like a fierce fire, slowly refining all the energy stored in Jill’s meridians. Her skills rose steadily, like a boat riding the tide. It’s all about building up before breaking through—when the water’s high, the canal forms. Every day, Jill felt refreshed, and in just a few days, she’d made real progress. Even though she was stuck deep in the palace, it felt like she’d found the perfect place for a retreat.
—Of course, it only felt that way.
The reality was, on the fifth day of palace life, Jill burst into Joan’s room, both frustrated and annoyed. “Nope, nope, I can’t take this anymore!”
Joan put down her book, calmly slid her hands under the desk, and patiently asked, “Alright, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Jill’s face was a picture of exasperation. "I swear, I have no idea what’s going on in those ladies’ heads! It’s like they all took the wrong medicine—everyone’s fighting to be pig feed! And Emperor Song hasn’t even come back yet. Simone’s supposed to be a high-class consort, but now she’s in the thick of things too—actually, she seems to be enjoying it! The worst part is, they’re all treating me like the key to breaking through!"
"Treating you like the breakthrough point?" Joan’s eyes sparkled, as if she’d already seen this coming.
"Exactly! Every single one of them has something for me! In just a few days, I’ve had people ambush me in my room, trap me in the garden, and the worst—when I pretended to be up late with insomnia, trying to spy on the palace guards and check out the top experts, you know what happened? A little supervisor tried to stab, kill, and finish me off!"