Chapter 341: Arrival of the Three Holy Lands
Such an unfavorable rumor would be a big blow to the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s reputation. They would not delay the Ranking Wars unless they had no other choice.
Liu Suifeng continued, “This matter is very strange. Up until now, there is still no reason given for it. Furthermore, even the outer disciple competition was delayed. This is very confusing.”
Xiao Chen pondered and said, “There is no need to bother. It is only delayed, not canceled. That’s right, how is Elder Sister Ruyue doing recently. I have not seen her around lately.”
Liu Suifeng hesitated for a while before finally saying, “Actually, she injured her Essence the last time she activated the strengthened Ancient Absolute Saber Formation. She will not be able to cultivate for half a year. Recently, she has been nourishing herself with Spiritual Herbs. Otherwise, the damage would be greater.”
A shocked expression appeared on Xiao Chen’s face. He had already felt something was wrong the last time. So, it was that serious. Xiao Chen naturally knew the seriousness of wasting half a year. He did not expect Liu Ruyue to make such a sacrifice for him.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Xiao Chen said with some blame in his tone. If he had known there would be such serious consequences earlier, Xiao Chen would not have accepted it.
Liu Suifeng smiled helplessly, “I wanted to, but my Sis did not allow me to. If I had told you, would you have accepted her kindness?”
Xiao Chen shook his head. He wanted to get up and look for Liu Ruyue but Liu Suifeng quickly stopped him. He said, “Don’t go, my Sis’s personality is very headstrong. Since she does not want you to know, you should just pretend that you don’t.”
Xiao Chen could only return to his seat. The two chatted for a while more before Liu Suifeng got up and took his leave.
Xiao Chen did not really care about the Ranking Wars being delayed. As long as it was not canceled, it would be fine. He was not in a rush to leave Qingyun Peak anyway.
However, the matter of Liu Ruyue wasting half a year of cultivation made Xiao Chen feel unsettled. If he was not able to see through her intentions at this time, he would be a fool.
Humans have seven emotions and six desires. No one can truly detach himself from them while they were in the mortal world. However, how could Xiao Chen pretend to take it easy?
——
It was now night. Xiao Chen stopped cultivating and leaped out of his courtyard. Once again, he came to a big tree outside Liu Ruyue’s courtyard.
The gorgeous moonlight shone on the ground. Liu Ruyue was in the yard, doing the same thing as she did in the past, practicing her Saber Technique.
Saber lights moved everywhere, a strong energy filled the place. After Liu Ruyue advanced to Martial King, her saber Qi had clearly become more refined than it was in the past.
When the saber Qi moved through the air, it was like the air was being sliced apart, creating a faint ripple.
“Hu chi!”
Without any warning, a strand of resplendent saber Qi suddenly flew at the big tree Xiao Chen was on. It moved a distance of five hundred meters in an instant.
“Ka ca!” The big thick tree was immediately sliced in half at the trunk, revealing Xiao Chen behind it.
Liu Ruyue quickly rushed over. When she saw it was Xiao Chen there, she exhaled in relief. Then, she sheathed her saber. She asked, “Ye Chen, why were you hiding behind this tree?”
Xiao Chen felt incredibly embarrassed. A blush immediately appeare on his delicate face. His normally calm self was now nowhere to be found.
Xiao Chen was suddenly discovered peeping on others. There was nothing more embarrassing than this.
Xiao Chen stood on the broken tree and stammered for a long time before saying, “That’s right. Why am I hiding behind this tree? How strange.”
Liu Ruyue looked at the embarrassed Xiao Chen and felt it was funny. She smiled and said, “Actually, this tree had a Heavenly Spiritual Energy. When standing on it, it would allow for one to calm themselves down. It is a good place for comprehending and breaking through bottlenecks. Ye Chen, you were comprehending a Martial Technique, right?”
Xiao Chen slowly calmed down and smiles, “Yes, that’s right. Ruyue, I did not expect you to know this secret. This tree is indeed very useful. I had nearly broken through my bottleneck.”
Liu Ruyue revealed a mischievous smile on her charming face. Then, she said in a serious manner, “In that case, I have to apologize to you. I should not have interrupted you earlier. I even destroyed this Spiritual Wood. I am really sorry.”
Liu Ruyue’s tone calmed Xiao Chen’s panicked emotional state down. He smiled faintly and said, “It’s not a problem. After the tree is broken, the Spiritual Energy will leak out. That is even better for breaking through the bottleneck. It’s just that this tree will be useless in the future.”
Liu Ruyue nodded and said, “Then you should stay up there and focus on comprehending. I will come and check on you tomorrow morning.”
Xiao Chen felt very embarrassed in his heart. This tree did not really have Spiritual Energy. If he were to stand here for the whole night, it would be difficult to bear, even if he did not have to move.
“Hu chi!”
Xiao Chen jumped off the broken tree and landed gently before Liu Ruyue. Liu Ruyue nodded as she smiled, “Young Hero Ye, why are you not continuing your comprehension?”
Xiao Chen smiled embarrassedly, “Ruyue, please don’t laugh at me.”
Liu Ruyue burst out in laughter regardless and said, “Alright, I’ll stop poking fun at you. Come in. What’s the matter?”
After they arrived at Liu Ruyue’s yard and took a seat, Xiao Chen told her about what Liu Suifeng told him about the Ranking Wars being delayed.
Liu Ruyue said in a soft voice, “I know about this matter. There is no special reason for this. A large amount of manpower is needed to organize something like the inner disciple Ranking Wars. Almost the entire sect would have to pitch in. The Heavenly Saber Pavilion has no way to deal with organizing two major events within a short period of time.”
Xiao Chen felt suspicious and asked, “Are you saying, there is another event, one that is grander than the inner disciple Ranking Wars? What is it?”
Liu Ruyue nodded, “This matter is supposed to be a secret for now. However, there is no problems telling you about it. Leng Liusu left her isolated training. She is now a peak Inferior Grade Martial King.”
Xiao Chen was stunned for a while before he reacted. Leng Liusu was only seventeen years old. Yet, her cultivation was now peak Inferior Grade Martial King realm. Aside from the word demonic, no other words were sufficient to describe her talent.
A cultivation realm that most people were unable to achieve in their lifetime was achieved by Leng Liusu at the age of seventeen. Furthermore, it was not early Inferior Grade Martial King, but peak Inferior Grade Martial King.
The earlier one entered the Martial King realm, the more they would accomplish in the future. This was a proven fact.
Back in the past, the Thunder Emperor became a Martial King at seventeen, a Martial Monarch at twenty, A Martial Sage at thirty after a struggle of life and death, and finally became a Martial Emperor at forty, ruling everything under the heavens.
There were many experts in history, each of them different from each other. However, they all had one common point: They all became Martial Kings before twenty.
If a cultivator was unable to break through to Martial King before 25, their future accomplishments would be limited to Martial King.
Back then, Murong Chong had told Xiao Chen some things about Leng Liusu, saying that she would shock the world when she came out of isolated training. It looks like he was right.
The bloodline passed down by the Saber Emperor was truly shocking.
Liu Ruyue continued, “The First Elder already sent someone to inform the Three Holy Lands. He wants to make use of this opportunity to get the Three Holy Lands to send someone to completely seal the spatial crack in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.”
The people from the Three Holy Lands will come?
Xiao Chen finally understood why they delayed the end-of-year inner disciple Ranking Wars. If the people from the Three Holy Lands really came, the inner disciple Ranking Wars would pale in comparison.
The Three Holy Lands were detached from the world. Legends of the Three Holy Lands could be found in every corner of the Tianwu Continent. In the eyes of the people, they were an untouchable myth.
The Three Holy Lands had existed since the time of the Ancient Era. They had survived tens of thousands of years, handing down their heritage through the ages. Their strength was unfathomable, they were the final hope of the Tianwu Continent.
There were already many known occurrences in history where the Three Holy Lands led the people to push back the Demon Race, helping humanity survive.
The arrival of the Three Holy Lands would definitely shock the entire Great Qin Nation. When that happened, all the noble clans and sects in the Great Qing Nation would have to come and pay their respects.
If any of the geniuses of the various powers were looked upon favorably by the people of the Three Holy Lands, they would have gained a great fortune for themselves. With a Holy Land looking after them, their statuses would rise.
For some unknown reason, the Three Holy Lands—Phoenix’s Passion Palace, Divine Martial Gate, and White Emperor City—gave Xiao Chen an instinctive sense of repulsion. Furthermore, he was an ascender, so he did not feel any awe for them. Hence, he was not very interested in them.
However, the chance to see the strength of the people from these Holy Lands interested Xiao Chen a little. He wanted to see what kind of strength the cultivators with inherited Holy Martial Spirits had.
After Xiao Chen thought for a while, he said, “The Three Holy Lands will come? If they come, which one? Phoenix’s Passion Palace, Divine Martial Gate, or White Emperor City?”
Liu Ruyue answered, “The likelihood of one of them coming is high. The Three Holy Lands have always been searching for geniuses in the continent. Leng Liusu’s talent is bound to attract them. As for which Holy Lands, I am not sure.”
After this topic ended, the two of them chatted for a long time. There were a few times Xiao Chen faltered and wanted to ask her about losing half a year of cultivation time. However, he managed to resist the impulse.
Since Liu Ruyue did not want to say it, Xiao Chen would simply bury this in his heart. It was sufficient that he knew about it.
The night sky gradually turned darker, Xiao Chen got up and took his leave, “I’m going back first. Regardless of the situation, I will obtain the first place in the Ranking Wars for Qingyun Peak.”
Liu Ruyue smiled gently and said, “I shall thank you in advance first, then. However, the next time you come looking for me, just come in directly. Although there are many trees here, not every one of them has Spiritual Energy.”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, “There is no more need, I already cleared my bottleneck. To me, the trees are no longer important.”
After Xiao Chen spoke, they exchanged glances and smiled gently. They understood each other without words.
To Xiao Chen, the tree was indeed no longer important. Liu Ruyue’s strike not only struck down a tree outside her courtyard, it had also smashed apart a wall in his heart.
Since I like her, I shall stand out boldly without suppressing my emotions. If I keep thinking about consequences, I will end up worrying.
There was no need to worry about whether he would see Liu Ruyue or not, whether he should leave Qingyun Peak or not. The person he liked was here, he would remember it in his heart. Regardless of how far apart they were, they just needed to know it in their hearts.
After Xiao Chen left Liu Ruyue’s courtyard, he felt like a large stone was lifted off his chest. He felt completely relaxed.
Although the two of them did not say it outright, there was a strange feeling, a silent tacit understanding; they both knew each other’s intentions.
As Xiao Chen slowly walked on the mountain path in the forest, he looked up at the moon. A faint smile appeared on his face.
—
In the following days, aside from working hard at cultivation, Xiao Chen would always make some time to come to Liu Ruyue’s courtyard at night.
The two talked about everything under the heavens, there was nothing they did not talk about; they merely enjoyed the conversations they had with each other.
However, the thing they talked the most frequently about was their understandings of the Martial Path. Liu Ruyue had accumulated a deep understanding of the Martial Path. She had the experience of breaking through to Martial King twice. She told Xiao Chen all the things he needed to take note of without missing anything.
