Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 571 - 3: Yan Zhao Club

"You seem to be having quite a good time these days," Mo clucked in approval, making faces at Li Yan, "How long have you two been together?"

After sitting with them for a while, Lady Dan found an excuse to go into the kitchen, leaving Li Yan and Mo at the dining table alone.

"I moved out over a month ago. I come back occasionally."

"Tsk, tsk."

Mo shook his head, seemingly regretting something.

"Did you know Qin An is dead?"

Mo asked.

"I’ve heard rumors."

Li Yan picked up an orange and started peeling it, pulling strips of white pith in his hands.

"That was a fruit from the early Tang Dynasty era, not unlike an ancient Chinese mythological novel, coded Luo Jiazi Six."

Li Yan broke the whole orange in half, juice splattering everywhere.

"Qin An died due to a sudden outbreak of Sifan’s power, leaving nothing but ash. More than forty of his fellow Proxy Travelers were killed, none spared."

Li Yan’s eyes flickered as if he was recalling something.

"The entire fruit was riddled with holes, the ground covered with a pale hue of death, and the core of Yan Fu was also taken. If you ask me to describe the current state of Luo Jiazi Six,"

Mo stood up and took a half-segment of the orange from Li Yan’s hand.

Li Yan wasn’t one to meticulously peel off the pith when eating oranges, leaving large chunks of white pith attached to his orange, with the damaged segments revealing the trembling flesh within.

"It’s like this orange."

With a forceful squeeze and then opening his hand, the half-segment of orange immediately became all wrinkled.

"Wasting food."

Lady Dan brought a plate of watermelon to the table.

Mo shoved the wrinkled orange segment into his mouth without ceremony.

"That’s roughly what happened."

Mo smacked his lips, "Sifan made its second appearance last time, and you were a direct witness. The results were remarkable this time; it scared the daylights out of quite a few people."

"Our little commotion last time caused Feather, Jie, the two Masters to come out of seclusion. How could such a big mistake happen this time?"

Mo spread his hands, "All I know is that Lou Master’s death was extremely sudden. Within ten minutes of the incident, Human Master Zhao Jianzhong, Scale Master Zhu Jiuyin, Jie Master Zhan Yuejin, Ghost Master Su Ling arrived one after another at the ravaged Luo Jiazi Six, even capturing a suffering-level individual of Sifan. But that’s all, I’m not clear on the details either."

"Thanks for telling me all this. Did you want to see me for something?"

"Ah, yes, that’s right."

Mo picked up a piece of watermelon, "Zhu Jiuyin is organizing a grand funeral for Qin An, which he will personally oversee. Moreover, the Ten Masters of Scale, Jie, Human, Earth, Ghost jointly request a Yan Zhao Club meeting after the funeral. All Yan Fu Walkers of the Seven Palaces and above must attend, irrespective of their permanent residence in any fruit. The meeting is scheduled to be in Luoyang Longmen Town a month from now. Those who fail to arrive in time will have their representation in Yan Zhao Club revoked; their personal seals and all Yan Fu points frozen; all Yan Fu event progression halted; auction house privileges and any convenience maintained by Earth, Divine, and Heaven classes of Walkers frozen. To put it simply, aside from the ability to travel between fruits, it’s no different from being a Renegade."

Hearing this, Li Yan’s eyebrows twitched. He asked, "Does the Yan Zhao Club have that much power?"

"These things didn’t just fall from the sky."

Mo shrugged, "Actually, the whole setup, including using Yan Fu points as currency and holding online transactions and auctions, was initiated by Zhao Jianzhong and the first generation of Ten Masters. They spent decades perfecting it, with the goal of more efficiently nurturing new blood. Take personal insignias, for example. They are maintained by the abilities of the top three operatives of the Six Ministries: Emperor Jiang, Suan Ni, and Tiangou, plus Feather Lord Cao Yuanchao. They bring convenience to all Travelers."

Li Yan cracked a smile, "That doesn’t sound as secure as I thought."

"It is utterly foolish to criticize a system that has been operating smoothly for many years without understanding it," Mo laughed heartily, "Anyway, don’t be so pessimistic."

"I understand, I will attend on time."

No sooner had Li Yan spoken than he noticed Mo staring at him with a strange expression. Li Yan touched the back of his head, "I seem to be not a Proxy Traveler yet..."

Mo nodded subtly.

"Then why are you looking for me?"

Mo turned to Lady Dan, "I am here to invite and inform this holder of the Taishuai legacy, a Traveler of the Six Ministries, to attend the Lou Master’s funeral. Also, at this Yan Zhao Club, Taishuai will be reintegrated into the records of Yan Fu."

Ripples seemed to form in Lady Dan’s eyes.

Li Yan’s heart sank, but he remained silent.

"By the way, if you, Taishuai, do not plan to attend this Yan Zhao Club, the Ten Masters will no longer allow you to reside at Heaven Jiazi Nine. They will find ways to make you leave, trying to avoid violence as much as possible. Times have changed. No one is allowed to snore beside another’s bedside."

Lady Dan looked at Li Yan, and although they made eye contact for a while, neither said a word.

Lady Dan appeared hesitant, but did not keep Mo waiting too long. She nodded, "I promise you."

"Ah, good to hear you agree," replied Mo, with an exaggeratedly relieved expression.

Then he clapped his hands and stood up, "Then I’ll be on my way. See you at the Yan Zhao Club."

"Wait."

Li Yan stopped Mo.

"What is it?"

Mo asked, smiling.

Li Yan asked seriously, "Do Eight Extremes Walkers have the eligibility to attend Lou Master’s funeral?"

"If you wish to go, I don’t think anyone would kick you out."

Mo joked and laughed by himself for a while until the expression of the two before him grew serious, and then he stopped.

"Of course, you can. In fact, many Eight Extremes Walkers are inquiring about this Yan Zhao Club. There are rumors that due to the severe loss of Proxy Travelers, the top-level operatives are considering promoting some powerful Eight Extremes Walkers to join the Club against the usual rules. There are also whispers that the Ten Masters will release valuable internal exploration records, or even more direct benefits to the lower Travelers, to accelerate the advancement of new blood."

However, Mo suddenly grew solemn, "But as your guide, I must remind you that I scoff at the first half of those rumors. The Yan Zhao Club is not yet so desperate as to fill its gaps with Eight Extremes Walkers."

"In these years, it may seem that only a few cats and dogs have shown up because there has been no turmoil and too many people are unsatisfied with their legacy. They’re all aiming for the Jia Above, Absolute Top, and even the Great Extreme level Yan Fu trials. Should trouble arise, it would be another matter."

"For a long time, non-Proxy Travelers have been excluded from the Yan Zhao Club; it’s an unwritten rule. But what happens when the number of Proxy Travelers exceeds the number of seats in the Club? Hehe."

"Frankly speaking, the dissolution of the Lou faction will not lead to a decrease, but rather an increase in the number of Proxy Travelers. In the coming month, there will be a minimum of a two-digit number of Proxy Travelers! It’s highly likely that the number of Proxy Travelers will exceed the seating capacity of the Yan Zhao Club, and by then, even some of the weaker Proxy Travelers may be kicked out!"

Giving Li Yan some time to digest, Mo continued, "If you can’t even enter the Yan Zhao Club, you probably won’t meet any of the Ten Masters this time. Attending the funeral would hardly matter."