Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Countless were standing before the layers of palaces of Lihen Heaven.
Ye Wuchen was able to throw his weight around with his way of the sword and Yu Sheng had been unnervingly overpowering. They all made it up to the 33rd Layer of Heaven and everyone was eager to learn of how things ended up there, but they were unable to do anything but wait. Everyone, instead of the swordsmen of Lihen Heaven, was waiting eagerly. There were countless others who gathered below Lihen Heaven, including top-notch figures from all over Emperor Xia’s Realm.
That was the very first day of Year 10021 of Divine Prefecture Calendar. Ye Futian went to Lihen Heaven and was about to fight Wang Chuan. Xia Qingyuan the princess would have served as the witness, making the fight one that caused quite a stir. No one knew how Ye Futian and his people had been able to get to.
The powers of Ye Futian and Yu Sheng would definitely allow them to get to the 33rd Layer of Heaven. Will they be able to come back in one piece from the 33rd Layer of Heaven though?
“Look!” someone shouted in the crowd. Countless turned their eyes to the air. Terrifying light of calamity of the great path appeared. It got increasingly strong as the skies changed. Every single beam seemed like a sword of the great path.
“Divine calamity.” The minds of many shuddered. Someone actually made it to become a saint. Furthermore, it might have very possibly been one from the 33rd Layer of Heaven. They had originally thought that Ye Futian’s entourage would take some time despite being able to get to the 33rd Layer of Heaven. No one expected the fight to conclude so quickly.
“Is it Ye Futian or Wang Chuan?” someone seemed to be mumbling to themselves. They naturally thought of Ye Futian and Wang Chuan first when it came to making it through divine calamity.
“While Ye Futian is indeed formidable, his plane should still be quite a long way away to get that far. Wang Chuan, on the other hand, has been an upper-level archmage for years. He was already at the pinnacle of Sage Plane two years ago. He attacked with only one single stroke in that battle seven days ago. He was already half a saint by then,” someone said, and the other one who mumbled earlier did not say anything further. There was no doubt that if it were one between the two achieving sainthood, it would definitely be Wang Chuan.
“So Wang Chuan won then?” someone else asked. “He invited Ye Futian for a battle at Lihen Heaven so that he would defeat Ye Futian at the 33rd Layer of Heaven and have his way proven then?” Many thought so. That battle should have been won by Wang Chuan. He would not have been able to achieve sainthood otherwise. They were not the only ones who thought so. Most of the swordsmen of Lihen Heaven shared that opinion.
At that moment, Ye Futian stepped down from the 33rd Layer of Heaven. Everyone around watched them as they made it through the layers. When he passed by, Lu Cheng, Fengxiao and some others stared at Ye Futian coldly.
“No one below Saint Plane in Lihen Heaven is capable of beating you, eh?” Fengxiao said in a sarcastic manner. She thought that Brother Wang Chuan had defeated Ye Futian in that battle and became a saint afterward. Ye Futian, on the other hand, seemed to have asked to be humiliated with what he did. However, he saw those harsh words as nothing but jokes.
Ye Futian took one look at her. If what just happened at the 33rd Layer of Heaven had not happened, he might have actually replied. But, at that moment, he was not in the mood. That look he gave Fengxiao was a plain, uncaring one. He ignored her altogether and continued walking. There was no doubt that Fengxiao was exceptionally talented for being able to train at the 11th Layer of Heaven, and she was presumably a future candidate for sainthood. However, if she were to find out the truth, her mind would have been so rattled that her path to sainthood would have turned out much more difficult. But then, none of that had to do with Ye Futian.
The calamity of the great path ceased as they walked down. Wang Chuan was able to make it through the calamity of the great path at the 33rd Layer of Heaven. Many from Lihen Heaven smiled. Yet another saint was born in Lihen Heaven, and one who had been an incredibly renowned and high profile one.
Ye Futian and his people felt more like lonely guests. They came with great force and left Lihen Heaven in silence. That seemed to have made many swordsmen of Lihen Heaven cement their speculations.
When Ye Futian and his people appeared below Lihen Heaven, countless eyes stared at him. The Village Chief, Qin Zhuang, and the others were waiting below as well. It was only natural that they were aware of the discussion. Ye Futian emerged. The ones who were waiting said and asked nothing. After having fought that sacred battle outside the Holy Zhi Palace years ago, they knew too well to even assume that Ye Futian lost. The fact that Wang Chuan became a saint after the fight did not matter. It was just that something might have happened during the fight.
“Let’s go,” Ye Futian said to the Village Chief, who nodded and manned the sword. The entourage stepped onto the huge sword and flew away right there and then.
“What happened to that battle?” Countless watched the figures who left. So they just leave without saying anything? Judging from Ye Futian’s expression, did the fight end up shaking him so much that his state of mind became affected? He claimed that none below the saints of Lihen Heaven would be able to fight him. He lost, and it is no surprise that his mind is affected.
The discussions went on and someone claimed gleefully, “See, I told you. Wang Chuan would definitely win. The number one figure below the saints is now a saint.” There were always post-factum wise men around, regardless of day and age. But then again, it remained a fact that none of them knew what the truth of the battle was truly like.
Ye Futian left but the crowd remained unwilling to disperse. Someone continued to watch the sky until the divine calamity ceased altogether and Wang Chuan truly emerged a saint. It was only then that they reluctantly left.
The news of Ye Futian’s defeat began to spread everywhere. Countless talked about the battle as if they had been there themselves and witnessed the entire battle. Many saints emerged at the 33rd Layer of Heaven of Lihen Heaven after Wang Chuan attained sainthood. They all naturally knew of the outcome of the battle. Despite being saints, they still felt rather restless.
The Swordmaster of Lihen then looked at the saints and said, “I’ve been on pilgrimages throughout the realms and have fought several great battles, suffering several defeats as well.” Many looked up at the swordmaster and felt rather shaken deep down. The Swordmaster of Lihen, the number one swordsman of Emperor Xia’s Realm, had actually suffered several defeats out there.
“As cultivators of the great path, who in the world dares to claim that they shall never be defeated?” The Swordmaster of Lihen spoke calmly and then continued, “This battle shall be a lesson. Lihen Heaven is a place for learning swordsmanship, and that is all. This holy land is not the number one holy land of the sword.” The people of Emperor Xia’s Realm all claimed that he was the number one swordsman, yet that was in no way to say that he shall forever be undefeatable. The Swordmaster of Lihen finished. He turned around and left.
The saints felt rather shaken still. The state of mind of the swordmaster had been elevated to an even higher state. There was none in the world who was free of ego.
Cultivators were not exempt even if they were to become saints. As such, there had been cases of the Sword Saint of Liyang sending out swordsmen of Lihen Heaven to regain face lost for the holy land. If they were to continue to succumb, no one would be able to tell how things would end up in the future.
Wang Chuan seemed to have merged with his surroundings into a single entity at the moment. His aura was stable and conserved. He looked below Lihen Heaven and said, “We shall always remember the words of our teacher. Lihen Heaven claimed to be the number one holy land of the sword all the time, and today’s battle shall be a lesson.”
“Brother, what was Ye Futian actually like?” some swordsman below, who had been defeated by Yu Sheng before, asked. They were still unable to understand that as powerful as their brother had been, he nonetheless lost.
Wang Chuan turned his gaze far away. His expression was a fleeting one as he said, “You all once claimed that I was a plane of my own among the swordsmen of Lihen Heaven. However, from today’s battle, I shall tell you that below Saint Plane, Ye Futian is on a plane of his own, while all others are of other planes.” He then turned around and continued, “Despite having become a saint, I still need to train in silence for a period of time.”
The swordsmen below froze. They never expected Brother Wang Chuan would have such a high opinion of Ye Futian, so much so that he appraised Ye Futian with words that his elders had once appraised him with. Below Saint Plane, Ye Futian was a plane on his own, while others were of other planes.
…
There was no way Ye Futian would learn of Wang Chuan’s praise of him. He was riding the sword with the Village Chief after all. The wind blew on him as he stood quietly at the forefront of the huge sword. His clothes flapped about in the wind and his silver hair danced wildly. Despite having won the battle, he did not feel what he once felt after winning. He was steeped in deep thought instead. He recalled the scenario when he trained in the cottage back when his Third Brother and teacher were always the ones teaching him. There were countless cultivators in the world, and only people of an open mind would be able to make it as sages. Attaining sainthood had even stricter requirements on the state of mind. A lacking state of mind would have never been able to make such a breakthrough.
Despite the reasoning, the so-called flawless state of mind actually differed from one person to another. Some made all the way to become saints due to hate, some due to resentment, and some were so bigoted that their state of mind actually proved flawless. As long as one was able to maintain their state of mind until there were no openings to be found, such states would then prove flawless.
Wang Chuan’s plane was truly at the very edge of the pinnacle and he was really one step away. The battle with Ye Futian proved that his state of mind was indeed flawless, and then he made to become a saint.
Ye Futian’s teacher, Douzhan, protecting his principles with his life at the Battle of the Holy Zhi Palace. He was then able to break through the limits of his physical body, elevating his plane and making him a saint.
Everyone had things that they needed to hold fast to.
Ye Futian actually thought that the Swordmaster of Lihen was actually acting out against Ye Wuchen back there. However, the swordmaster never said anything. When they made it all the way through the 33rd Layer of Heaven, he had lent a sword to Wuchen and helped the young sage make it further. He did not know what the swordmaster was holding fast to, but that state of mind alone made Ye Futian felt rather ashamed of himself. It might have been time for him to quiet down and train for a period of time. He was not all that far from becoming a saint, after all.
Ye Wuchen walked towards Ye Futian quietly and cast his gaze far away. The swordmaster lent him a sword, and that shaken him considerably as well.
“The sword lent by the Swordmaster of Lihen is still with me,” Ye Wuchen said quietly.
“Yeah.” Ye Futian nodded. “The number one swordsman of Emperor Xia’s Realm is really above us.”
Ye Futian took one deep breath, and smiled all of a sudden, becoming able to let go. He then looked at Wuchen’s empty sleeve and said with a smile, “Wuchen, you’re now an upper-level archmage yourself. The path leading to sainthood is no longer all that far away. The swordmaster claimed that your mind of the sword is pure, so you’ll definitely be able to make it as a saint. After attaining sainthood and being baptized by the great path, emerging as a new being, your arm might actually be restored.”
Ye Wuchen took one look at his left sleeve and said, “It’s been years. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Yeah. We’ve been around for this many years in the blink of an eye, so much so that you’ve gotten used to it.” Ye Futian smiled, as did Ye Wuchen.
