Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

After deciding to leave the Liu Clan for training, the first major decision to make was where to go. There were four possible destinations, one in each cardinal direction. To the west there was Hiqui Sect, on and off enemy of Yutian Country for hundreds of years. Despite the tension between the two countries their relations were fine right now, so Liu Zhu wouldn't have any trouble crossing the border. Once he was across he'd have a chance to explore Hiqui Sect and spar with juniors from their many subordinate sects scattered throughout the country. Travelers like these weren't unusual, so Hiqui Sect had long since set up rules for travelling challengers and for people joining sects on a temporary basis. These rules may have seemed odd on the surface, but Hiqui Sect wasn't running a charity and did benefit from them. The challengers served as a whetstone for their juniors, while temporary sect members offered valuable manpower for almost no resources spent. Despite the training opportunities, this direction was ruled out immediately as Liu Zhu was a fervent patriot and held no fond feelings towards Hiqui Sect.

To the east was the heartland of Yutian Country, the capital. The capital was a massive city of over 400,000 people, more than 10% of the country's population, and it served as the economic, political, and cultural center of the country. Many movers and shakers wandered the streets there, and becoming acquainted with just one could be a great chance. Besides that all sorts of rare goods were sold there, and even if Liu Zhu lacked the money to purchase any it could serve as a chance to broaden his horizons. Still, going to the capital and the surrounding regions wouldn't give many opportunities to improve his cultivation. It's not that the capital had no chances like this, but they were destined for the Royal Family, not for a relatively poor and unimportant figure like Liu Zhu. This direction was ruled out after the west, as Liu Zhu was going on a journey for training opportunities, not for political ones.

This left the south and the north. To the south was Yutian Country's coastline, and the bustling ocean that lied beyond. The ocean stretched on for a great distance, and many islands, large and small, were scattered throughout it. To take advantage of the situation the countries in the region made a rule regarding most of the islands: If you can defend it, you can keep it. As a result the shipbuilding industry was huge throughout the region, and large amounts of people went out to sea, hoping to claim an island for themselves or find treasure while exploring. Of course with this came a wave of piracy, which the government was content to watch happen as long as it didn't reach too large a scale. In truth, some of the countries even hired pirates to target the others, which complicated the environment further. Liu Zhu was interested in heading to sea, as plenty of interesting tales of treasures found and strange creatures encountered abounded, but in the end decided against it. The investment to head out to sea was significant, and he'd have to purchase a ship and hire a crew, among other things. Besides draining his wallet, it would also make it more difficult to remain low-profile while travelling, and if he attracted attention then he'd just be asking for another assassination attempt.

In the end, Liu Zhu decided to head north. In the far north of the country were the Northern Wastes, an area around half the size of Yutian Country proper. It was a sparsely populated stretch of forests and grasslands populated with many powerful beasts, and the only entrance was through a city built around a mountain pass, Border City. The main occupants of the Northern Wastes were various scattered tribes, although they did set up some large cities. Due to the low population, large land area, and the vicious beast problem, the government had minimal involvement in the Northern Wastes, refraining from performing a census or collecting taxes. As a result the Northern Wastes were mainly self-governed, and cultivators looking for work had plenty of options, as tribes always needed more cultivators. There were also a large amount of criminals who fled to the area due to the minimal government presence, and as a result there was a similarly large amount of bounty hunters.

The Northern Wastes had plenty of opportunities for Liu Zhu to gain practical experience, and it was a vast land that Liu Zhu could explore without anyone getting in his way. He'd also blend in easily, as there were plenty of itinerant cultivators there. Besides that there were also many rare plants and animals in the Northern Wastes, which interested Liu Zhu, especially given his affinity with them.

Liu Zhu told Zhu Chao where he was planning to go, and so Zhu Chao quickly began arranging things. It was announced throughout the Liu Clan that Liu Zhu would be going into a session of closed-door cultivation that would last for up to a year, and that he wouldn't be seeing anyone in the meantime. No explanation for this was given, leaving everyone besides those who knew about the assassination attempt extremely confused. This was Liu Zhu's cover for leaving the Liu Clan, and hopefully the assassin would think Liu Zhu had panicked and decided to hide. The only people who knew the truth of the matter were Zhu Chao and Liu Zhu, and so their preparations were all done personally, and as secretively as possible.

Before Liu Zhu's departure he paid Dai He a visit, informing him of his departure and that he'd need to take care of things in Vermilion City for anywhere from six months to a year. Dai He was worried for Liu Zhu, but seemed fine with the responsibility, and told him he'd make sure everything was taken care of while Liu Zhu was away. With that matter taken care of Liu Zhu was relieved, and left with very little to do while Zhu Chao got everything ready.

After a few days of secretive preparation all the needed supplies were ready, including rough maps of the area and a safe route. Once Zhu Chao told Liu Zhu everything was ready he said goodbye, as he didn't plan to see Liu Zhu off. Liu Zhu stayed up all night after the preparations were made, leaving the estate around 3 AM and retrieving a horse that had been newly purchased and hidden a ways away. Along with the horse was a satchel full of supplies, which Liu Zhu hurriedly checked before mounting his horse and riding away into the darkness.