Chapter 244: The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Seven Nascent Soul stage elders of the Sword of Radiance Sect on receiving duties was a display of respect and strength.
Lin Feng smiled at the sight but did not move. He looked towards Xiao Budian who instantly understood what his master meant. Xiao Budian chuckled and poked the Black Dragon Jieyu with his toes.
Lin Feng, Xiao Yan, Tun Tun and Yue Hongyan removed themselves from the body of the Jieyu. Xiao Budian, steering the Black Dragon Jieyu by himself, proceeded alone towards the transparent staircase made of golden light.
Xiao Budian’s voice was not yet broken at this point in time and his childish voice remained still clear and charming. “I am Shi Tianhao of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, and I come forth on behalf of my master to give my greetings and respect to the elders of the Sword of Radiance Sect.”
The Jieyu did not say anything as its body roosted atop the golden staircase and let loose a deep howl. The dragon’s ferocity and feral dominance were on full display as its movements created ripples along the golden staircase as if it were a flowing river.
Individuals of the dragon race were born superior to humans. The Jieyu, which was a demonic lord and had already attained the Demon Soul, faced the seven Nascent Soul stage Grandmasters of the Sword of Radiance Sect with unwavering courage and fearlessness.
On the other side of the staircase, one of the Nascent Soul stage Grandmasters appeared a little unhappy while the scholar-looking Grandmaster beside him shook his head in disapproval.
He projected his voice to rest, “Do not be intimidated and lose our advantage.”
There was a certain measure of hostility from the Jieyu but, in fact, it withheld its powers. It had the ability to shatter the golden light staircase but did not do so.
“Purple Cloud Grandmaster, let’s not be viewed with condescension,” the only female Grandmaster voiced out as she tapped her foot lightly on the staircase and channelled her mana within.
The trembling staircase stabilized in an instant. The Jieyu’s eyes closed into a squint as it realized that it could no longer cause the golden staircase to move and shake no matter how much more force it injected.
The scene amused Lin Feng. “Cultivators of the Nascent Soul stage, I see. In that case, they are certainly stronger in terms of strength in mana than the Jieyu, which had only formed the Demon Soul in recent days. However, the strength of the Jieyu lies in its physical prowess – where the victor a real battle could be either party.”
One of the sentient features of the cultivators in the initial level of the Nascent Soul stage was their ability to understand some of the mysteries of space and void.
Cultivators at the middle level could begin to imbue the Nine Heavens Clear Air within themselves and focused on improving their mana strength and mastery while nurturing the Nascent Soul.
After that, cultivators whose Nascent Souls had reached the next level could begin to experiment with the Heaven and Earth Appearance Mantra. Once they had mastered the Heaven and Earth Appearance Mantra, they would have reached the final level of the Nascent Soul stage.
The female Nascent Soul Grandmaster was a cultivator that had begun her intake and nurturing of the Nine Heavens Clear Air.
Atop the Jieyu, Xiao Budian gave his greetings with a cheeky and mischievous smile. “I am Shi Tianhao of the Celestial Sect of Wonders and I hereby give my cordial greeting.”
As he opened his mouth, his voice furiously exuded spiritual energy and the majestic and unstoppable momentum whirled forward, turning many heads of even the Nascent Soul cultivators.
The middle-aged scholar-looking Grandmaster’s eyes sparkled as he pondered, “The Azure Clouds Grandmaster indeed did not overestimate them. This guy’s ability is indeed impressive. With the help of a magic treasure of the Nascent Soul stage, he could possibly take a Nascent Soul stage cultivator head-on.”
Xiao Budian was only in the initial level of the Aurous Core stage, and could not yet manipulate the natural spiritual energy of the world. If he could do so, the plentitude of his mana pool would have had been even more intimidating and powerful.
Upon reaching the middle level of the Aurous Core stage, just his mana pool alone could match that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
The Purple Cloud Grandmaster’s brows curled into a frown. “His possession of such an impressive mana pool without using the Great Chaos Primordial Water is indeed a rare sight. From what I have heard, Xiao Yan’s powers and abilities were as good as his, if not better. The Sword of Radiance Sect is indeed facing a tough problem this time.”
The display of dominance from their formation, which included the Azure Clouds Grandmaster and the seven others, was offset by just one person and a dragon.
Even so, the Jieyu was only in the infant stages of the Demonic Lord and had only recently formed the demon soul; it could not yet be considered a full-fledged being of the dragon race.
The Purple Cloud Grandmaster, the Azure Clouds Grandmaster and company were revered seniors in the Sword of Radiance Sect who bore executive positions. On the other hand, the Jieyu was only, put bluntly, Lin Feng’s mount!
Xiao Budian was just starting out in the Aurous Core stage. Bar the Grandmasters, there were still a great many Aurous Core foundational stage cultivators within the Sword of Radiance Sect.
However, forming the Aurous Core at such a young age and possessing enough combat ability to challenge a Nascent Soul Grandmaster showed undeniable talent. An individual with such potential was a rare occurrence – how many could there be elsewhere in the world, let alone the Sword of Radiance Sect?
The Purple Cloud Grandmaster heaved a sigh of envy but was also a little excited and eager to witness the development of such a prodigious kid. “I heard this kid is on par with the legendary prodigy Shi Tianyi of the Great Qin Empire’s Shi family. I wonder what the outcome would be if they faced each other off?”
In actual fact, the elders of the Sword of Radiance Sect were only fearful and impressed by Xiao Budian’s potential. Even though he could give the Nascent Soul Grandmasters some pressure, he was, undoubtedly, still no match for them.
Xiao Budian was only in his childhood days, and a dead prodigy would never be a true prodigy.
It was the same logic with Xiao Yan, who was the source of the Sword of Radiance Sect’s headaches in recent days.
Yet, as the Nascent Soul Grandmasters glanced at the calm and composed Lin Feng at the side, everyone sighed in resignation.
This man was the key.
With such a master protecting them, the average person had no chance to cripple Xiao Budian or Xiao Yan in their adolescent days.
The Red Cloud Grandmaster, the only female in the group, exchanged looks with the Purple Cloud Grandmaster as their moods dropped and their hearts sank.
Lin Feng personally accompanied Xiao Yan to settle the bill with the Sword of Radiance Sect. Everybody in the Sword of Radiance Sect had considered forcefully preventing them from leaving, perhaps at a bloody cost.
In the end, they could only sit on the mountain and wait for Lin Feng to come forward. Even if Lin Feng had the ability to challenge the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster of the Sword of Radiance Sect, there was only one path he could go if he came to the Sword of Radiance Sect.
With the help of Xingyun Peak’s geographical advantage, the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster was not afraid of other cultivators of equal standard as he could execute the Mountain Defence Spell Formation to its maximum effectiveness.
However, no one in the Sword of Radiance Sect was confident of facing Lin Feng alone.
On one hand, Lin Feng’s mastery was a mystery to all and outsiders had no idea what his background and history was.
On the other hand, Mount Yujing could break the time-space continuum. If the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster wanted to tap on their geographical advantages, Lin Feng could summon Mount Yujing with a single thought. If that happened, it would just be an offensive magic formation versus a mountain defense magic formation.
In other words, Lin Feng was not afraid to be deep into an enemy or foreign territory as he could offset any geographical disadvantages with a single thought and convert the scene to a neutral battleground.
He could even convert it to his own turf.
“A guest has arrived from a faraway land. Why don’t you come in and meet us, Master Lin.”
Suddenly, an illusory voice resembling that of smoke and clouds echoed from Xingyun Peak. The tone was one of indifference and simplicity but carried an undertone of piercing radiance.
Lin Feng smiled and replied, “You’re way too polite, Leader of the Sword of Radiance Sect.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, Lin Feng took Xiao Budian, Xiao Yan and company through the layers of misty clouds and landed on Xingyun Peak.
There was an array of intricate temples and buildings at the summit of the mountain. A middle-aged man clad in a white shirt stood at the entrance of the basilica.
Lin Feng’s expression was calm as he sized up this middle-aged man.
This man had the face of a crown jewel and long black hair like a storm. Lin Feng estimated his age to be around forty, give or take, but long strands of white hair extended from his temples.
There was an unassailable dignity and prestige in his eyes.
Even though they had never met, Lin Feng was sure that this middle-aged man was the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster of the Sword of Radiance and he had already attained the Immortal Soul.
This person did not seem to exude any special aura or pressure. Yet, just by standing there, he seemed to integrate with Heaven and Earth, and even then he seemed like he transcended the mortal world into the great beyond. Lin Feng watched him but he felt like he could not pinpoint the material position of his body.
This was the first time since reaching the Nascent Soul stage did Lin Feng experience this kind of feeling.
The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster was observing Lin Feng at the same time. What bothered him, however, was that despite his standard and his level he could not fathom Lin Feng’s level of mastery.
Lin Feng was definitely not a normal individual without any experience in practising mantra. Yet, upon reaching the level of the Immortal Soul, any magic item or spell for masking one’s mastery was completely ineffective.
“Master Lin’s intention of coming to Xingyun Peak is to follow through with the gamble?” The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster’s voice was serene but his speech was completely unmasked and sufficiently embodied the radiant essence of a sword cultivator.
At his level, masking anything was unnecessary. He could do as he liked and go as he pleased.
Lin Feng showed no weakness and replied with a faint smile, “I wonder what do you have in mind?”
The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster did not reply and just peered at Lin Feng. His gaze grew more piercing with each passing moment.
Lin Feng’s gaze was the opposite. The spark in his eyes gradually disappeared and became one of gloom. He matched the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster’s gaze but somehow instilled increasing wariness in the latter.
The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster understood Lin Feng’s intentions. The battle was bound to happen and Lin Feng would not put his disciple in a spot.
After a long moment, the radiance in the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster’s eyes, which resembled that of the tip of a sword, was slowly withdrawn and he nodded his head in approval. “If that’s the case, let our disciples compete with their skills.”
Lin Feng nodded his head lightly and replied, “Yes, I agree.”
All of a sudden, the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster’s direction of speech took a turn and he said, “However, the contents and stakes of the bet will affect other people.”
Lin Feng remained composed as the corner of his mouth curved into a grin. “Is he not here already?”
As he was speaking, immense waves of force and power spiralled forth from beyond the horizon – it was headed directly for Xingyun Peak.
The arriving party stopped just outside of Xingyun Peak. A shrill voice much alike rubbing metal plates could be heard, saying, “The Great Qin Empire’s Prince Chong Yun is here to visit. May I cordially invite the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster of the Sword of Radiance Sect to come and meet him?”
The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster waved his finger and the mass of mist and clouds dispersed, revealing a company of people.
The foremost person had a royal demeanor. He was not particularly handsome and had skin the color of charcoal, but he emanated an overbearing aura – one felt like he had dominion over all life.
He was cladded in an orange robe and his sleeves were embroidered with the Five-Claws True Dragon and not the Four-Claws Serpent. In comparison to the robe of the emperor, his robe had only four dragons and was orange in colour while the emperor’s had nine dragons and was bright yellow.
This was the trademark dressing of the Crown Prince of the Great Qin Empire.
His identity was clear as crystal – Prince Chong Yun of the Great Qin Empire had arrived.
