Just who in the mountain manor did not know about the White Ape King’s glorious past? They struggled to develop any interest, but they gradually realised something and widened their eyes after reading a few pages. Was it perhaps…
“I get it now!”
A young swordsman beamed with joy. He had not reached the innate realm yet, but he could be regarded as quite impressive given his age. Neither his experiences nor cultivation were sufficient to understand the White Ape Sword Classic, so he became more confused the more he looked at it, yet he could not stop looking at it either. During the past few days, he was approaching the verge of cultivation deviation. Now that he saw the Legend of the White Ape King, he suddenly felt like all of his questions had been answered. The answers were so simple that it made him wonder whether it was actually true or not, but the stability of his inner force proved everything.
“I see! I see!”
All of the swordsmen began understanding with him. This book was not about the White Ape King. It was clearly about the White Ape Sword Classic.
No, this definitely isn’t just the White Ape Sword Classic, but supreme swordsmanship!
The protectors of the left and the right glanced at each other, temporarily setting their desire to outdo each other aside. All that remained was amazement. Only they could see this book was not merely an annotated version of the White Ape Sword Classic. Behind the complicated and messy details was a whole different understanding of swordsmanship. If they extracted it, they could write a sword manual countless times simpler than the White Ape Sword Classic, yet also countless times greater. The highest realm of this swordsmanship had already surpassed the limits of this world, like a figment of imagination, well beyond arm’s reach.
“How’s the book?” Li Qingshan asked.
“It’s fantastic! It’s basically like rain after a long drought! Wise be the manor lord!”
“Sigh, if that brother of mine saw this book sooner, he wouldn’t have suffered cultivation deviation.”
“If we still don’t understand, then we’re either blind or just utter fools!”
Everyone was both amazed and strangely overjoyed. If their experiences over the past month was like a free lunch that had fallen into their laps, then the current situation was like an invisible hand breaking the lunch into bite-sized pieces and feeding it to them.
“The swordsmanship of the manor lord truly is profound and unfathomable!” the protector of the right said from the bottom of his heart.
“Yeah. Compared to you, the king, the White Ape King is like a clown.” The protector of the left refused to be outdone. Originally, the title of “king” belonged to the White Ape King. Now, he gave it to Li Qingshan without any hesitation as well.
Their eyes met, and neither of them refused to relent.
“I’ve given up on swordsmanship a long time ago. It’s just for beguiling children.” Li Qingshan confessed.
The two protectors refused to believe that, nor could they believe that. If swordsmanship like this was just for beguiling children, then what was their swordsmanship supposed to be? A fight between a dog and a cat?
“Look at how you gaze at each other in dismay. Aren’t you like children? The world is so vast, yet your view is so narrow.”
Li Qingshan rebuked them in a glorious manner. Gu Yanying opened her metal fan and used it to cover her smile. A guy who became so engrossed in lecturing children did not resemble an “adult”.
“Thank you for your guidance!” “We will definitely set aside our differences and devote ourselves to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape.”
The two protectors expressed their sincerity. At that moment, they did not merely let go of their disputes, but also their original sect and various other ties. Since they had already witnessed swordsmanship like that, there was nothing worth bickering about in the mortal world. Wielders of the sword had never lacked a heart of resolve.
“Calling this place the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape is no longer appropriate. Please issue a new name, my king!”
Li Qingshan was a little tempted, but after a moment of hesitation, a shadowy figure flashed through his head. He waved his hand. “Didn’t I tell you to broaden your horizons? It’s just a plaque, so why switch it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Li Qingshan stood up and raised both hands. “Very good. Answer me together, everyone. What’s our motto?”
“Everyone can learn! Martial arts for everyone!”
“Is this a good book?”
“It is!”
“Very good. Since it is a good book, you need to memorise it word for word. I will test you in the future. Anyone who can’t memorise it won’t be getting any new sword manuals!”
Li Qingshan revealed his true intentions. His eyes shone brightly like he was staring at a flock of sheep about to be butchered. Once the book spread across the world, he definitely would not be able to make this demand to all of his readers, but what could they do about the fact that they were in his territory?
“We will definitely abide by the king’s order.”
Everyone was overjoyed. Never did they think there would be a sword manual available to them, as well as a supreme master around to annotate it for them! Since when did something as great as this exist in the world?
As for memorising the book, none of them found it to be a big deal. The book was called a legend, but it was only a hundred pages, so a few tens of thousand words at most. Among all of the people who studied the sword in the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape, who was not sharp-minded? On top of that, apart from the glorious history of the White Ape King that would bore them to death, the book also contained an ingenious theory on martial arts. Even if no one asked them to, they would still try and memorise it.
However, very few people noticed the final sentence at the end of the book. “To be continued…”
Even if they noticed it, they would be filled with anticipation. None of them could imagine what it actually meant.
Gu Yanying developed a sliver of pity. That would be several dozen books after all—no, that probably was his conservative estimate. Once he really reached that point, it would probably be several million words or even more than that!
Thinking up to there, she could not help but smile, which made the hall fall silent. They were all stunned by that instant of beauty.
Gu Yanying immediately stopped smiling. Just like how beauties could lead to trouble, hopefully it would not lead to any more problems with the heavens. Even if it would not be enough to deal with them, it would be troublesome enough.
The two of them left the hall again. The snow that had gone on for several days had actually stopped. In the deep-blue sky, the stars gathered around a crescent moon. The moonlight gilded the snowy world with a layer of resplendent silver.
The weather varied with time, but it was relatively constant overall. Even the obscure will of the heavens could not create endless wind and snow.
Li Qingshan felt the power of belief in his Divine Talisman of Great Creation grow slightly. Only now could they be considered to have gained a footing in this world and overcome a difficult stage. His heart lightened up as well, which made him laugh aloud. His resonant laughter shook up the icicles on the roof, which made them fall. They were sharp like swords, and they accelerated due to gravity, making them deadly enough to pierce skulls.
With a wave of his hand, all of the icicles shattered into dust, glimmering in the air like silver powder and dispersing with the wind.
From this moment onwards, even if the will of the heavens created endless problems, it could not do anything to him!
His laughter gradually subsided. All Gu Yanying saw was Li Qingshan standing exactly where he was without budging, his brows furrowed as if he was contemplating something.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Since we already have something basic we can rely on, let’s continue to climb higher!” Li Qingshan gazed at the sky in high spirits.
“Of course.”
“Go back to the tower. I want to spend some time in secluded cultivation to refine these daemon cores!”
Li Qingshan opened his palm. The White Ape King’s daemon core glimmered, shining with a metallic colour.
“Will it work?” During this period, Gu Yanying had tried various kinds of pills and foods, but all of it ended in failure. This was a part of the restraints, or these invisible shackles would be far too easy to overcome.
“Perhaps, but they aren’t what matter!”
The shadowy figure appeared in Li Qingshan’s mind again. He was eager to see it reveal its true form.
