Chapter Twenty-Four: An Overview of the Nine Provinces

“Zhou Tian, this tournament is an extraordinary event; I’d like to go and see it… but… if you really don’t want me to go…” Tian Ling bit her lip as she spoke, trailing off before finishing her sentence. Yet Zhou Tian understood her meaning perfectly.

Zhou Tian really couldn’t fathom what was so appealing about fighting and killing. Wouldn’t it be better to live as a carefree idler, indulging in food and leisure every day? He gazed at Tian Ling’s anxious expression and felt a sense of helplessness. Tian Ling was simply too sensitive, constantly worried that she might make a misstep and give the Tianqin Empire an excuse to target the Haotian Sect.

He knew that if he insisted Tian Ling not go, she would most likely give up on the idea. After all, she had been married to him as a form of atonement, and she held little status within the Zhou family. If Zhou Tian truly forbade her from attending, she probably wouldn’t even be allowed to leave the Clover Garden.

Yet Zhou Tian was, after all, someone who had traversed from another world. His worldview was vastly different from this one. Now, Tian Ling was essentially his girlfriend, and how should a girlfriend be treated in the twenty-first century?

Of course, she should be cherished!

A smile appeared on his face. Reaching out, he gently pinched Tian Ling’s delicate cheek, savoring the soft, water-like touch, and said,

“Silly girl, if you want to go, then go. Don’t worry so much. Your happiness is my happiness…”

Tian Ling, too distracted to push away Zhou Tian’s wandering hand, looked up at him. Her crystal-clear eyes shone with a jewel-like brilliance.

A single tear slid down her cheek, and her large, bright eyes were clouded with mist. When she arrived at Haotian Sect, countless people had warned her to be cautious in speech and deed, to read the emperor’s mood, never to anger the royal family.

She didn’t understand why everyone had become so distant, even the sect leader who had raised her, whose eyes were now filled with cold indifference.

The pressure she felt was immense, so much so that she could barely bear it. Until this moment, in the glow of sunset, her future husband spoke these words:

“Your happiness is my happiness…”

So ordinary a phrase, yet she didn’t know why her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, as if the burdens she carried vanished in an instant, and she finally had someone to rely on.

Tian Ling stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Zhou Tian’s waist, and buried her head in his chest, silently sobbing.

Zhou Tian was still a bit bewildered, not understanding why the girl before him suddenly lost control of her emotions. Was it really because of the words “your happiness is my happiness”? This phrase was so irresponsible—if he’d said that to a woman in his previous life, she’d probably have rolled her eyes at him.

But feeling the girl’s sobs in his arms, Zhou Tian placed his hand gently on the back of her head, softly patting her as he said,

“No matter what happens, I’m here for you. You are my wife, and even if you want the stars in the sky, I’ll pluck them for you!”

Shamelessly stealing lines from Zhou Yi, Zhou Tian felt no guilt whatsoever.

……………

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Tian was already rolling around on his own bed, muttering indistinctly. If one listened closely, they might hear,

“Acting like a saint… acting like a sage… unable to say what I really want…”

Zhou Tian was now extremely regretful. How could he have missed the chance to kiss Tian Ling when she lost control of her emotions? Now he wouldn’t see her for days—such a loss!

“Ah… never mind…” Zhou Tian sat up from the bed. In the end, she would be his, sooner or later.

“Go and bring me information about the other continents’ factions. Just a general overview will do.”

He called toward the doorway, and though he looked a bit foolish, Zhou Tian knew there was always someone following him closely, protecting his safety. They wouldn’t enter his room without permission, but their cultivation was so high that a mere door couldn’t block their hearing.

“Yes!”

A hoarse voice responded from outside the door.

Just then, Zhou Tian seemed to remember something else and added,

“Make sure it’s on paper, not those jade slips!”

“Yes!”

In this world, information was usually stored on special jade slips, which could hold vast amounts of data but required spiritual energy to activate. Zhou Tian had no cultivation and couldn’t use the jade slips, so he could only read paper documents.

Moments later, a stack of paper books appeared on the desk out of thin air. Zhou Tian stepped forward and picked up the topmost volume. There was no title; he opened it, and the scent of fresh ink wafted out—the first page’s ink hadn’t fully dried yet, clearly copied by hand just for him.

“Such decadent capitalist living!”

Zhou Tian sighed quietly and began flipping through the books, engrossed in their contents.

Time passed, and before he knew it, two hours had gone by. Zhou Tian stood up from the desk and twisted his somewhat sore neck, the “crack crack” of joints sounding as he let out a comfortable groan.

Night had fallen outside. The round, jade-like moon cast a gentle glow, and Zhou Tian hadn’t expected to spend two hours reading—the records were so fascinating that he’d been drawn into their mysteries without realizing it.

The memories Zhou Tian had inherited were incomplete. Only the most deeply imprinted recollections remained, such as those of his father and the Zhou family. Anything he’d glanced at only briefly, or deemed unimportant, had faded away.

As for the Nine Provinces, he remembered nothing at all until today, when he finally filled in this missing piece of the puzzle.

This world was divided into nine provinces. He now resided in Futian Province, ruled by the Tianqin Empire. The other provinces were as follows:

Tianfo Province, dominated by Luotian Temple, a land of Buddhists—an earthly Buddhist kingdom!

Wudao Province, so named yet actually governed by the Dao Alliance, comprised of various independent cultivators.

Daluo Province, ruled by Daluo Academy—a single academy controlling an entire province, which greatly surprised Zhou Tian.

Niti Province, governed by an assassin organization called Light, renowned throughout the Nine Provinces for its skilled killers.

Ling Province, under the control of the Fool’s Fate Organization. The Fools had many operations: reading omens, predicting fate, feng shui, gathering and trading intelligence. The organization was filled with exceptionally clever people, yet they called themselves Fools—quite an interesting contradiction.

Treasure Province, dominated by the Treasure Pavilion, the largest merchant organization in the Nine Provinces. The resources traded daily were unimaginable.

Mechanics Province, ruled by the Nation of Devices. Though called a nation, its system was more akin to a parliamentary structure, reminiscent of Zhou Tian’s previous world. The province was governed by the Dao of Devices, with people strengthening themselves through various external tools—a bit like technology. Especially intriguing were the illustrations of mechas in the documents, which gave Zhou Tian a sense of traveling through worlds again. However, everything still depended on spiritual energy, merely adapted for new uses.

And finally, there was one more province—a truly peculiar place with no ruling power. It was called the Land Without a Master. The records didn’t delve deeply, simply describing it with four words: a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes.