Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Not everyone could understand what Jing Jiu and Jian Xilai meant by saying “It’s a pity”.
Zhao Layue could understand it slightly, and Liu Shisui could understand it completely. As such, the two of them had a blush on their faces before Zhuo Rusui did.
The Elder Sun had completely misunderstood them. His face turned pale because he thought the two swordsmen of the previous generation found a fault in their sect master’s Cultivation.
A moment later, the people outside the street began to understand what Jing Jiu and the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean meant.
“How old are you?” Jing Jiu asked Peng Lang.
It was an amiable voice the Green Mountain disciples had never heard before.
Peng Lang had no idea why the senior Immortal asked him such a question, but he didn’t dare not to answer it. After calculating with his fingers for a while, he said uncertainly, “Maybe one hundred and forty-five.”
Even if his date of birth was a few years off, it was not a big issue. Jing Jiu felt a bit relieved.
He and Bai Zao were trapped in the snowland at the time when this child was born, so he had no chance to meet him.
At the time when he was ascending, this child was not born yet; so it was not his fault to miss him out.
Jing Jiu looked at the disciples standing outside the street, his line of sight sweeping over Zhao Layue, Liu Shisui and Zhuo Rusui, and finally fixing on Ping Yongjia.
If Zhao Layue were a bit more aloof and didn’t spend first few years investigating his failure in ascension attempt, if Liu Shisui didn’t go to the West Ocean Sword Sect to become a mole but focused all his effort on Cultivation, if Zhuo Rusui were a bit more mature and spent more of his effort on the sword work rather than on bantering and complaining, they might have a chance of being his equal. However, as far as the talent was concerned, Ping Yongjia was the only one who was better than this child, Peng Lang.
He couldn’t help but sigh at the thought that this child was not a disciple of Green Mountain and it was truly a pity.
The most troublesome thing was that he had already become the sect master of the No-Mercy Sect and that Green Mountain could in no way snatch him from the No-Mercy Sect.
It was an utterly different issue in comparison to sending Liu Shisui to the One-Cottage House to become the house master someday.
It was quiet on the long street. The crowd understood what the expression in Jing Jiu’s eyes revealed and they heard his sigh.
Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui were mentally prepared though their faces were still a bit hot. Zhuo Rusui felt so ashamed that he yelled hysterically, “Are you two going to fight or what?”
…
…
Jing Jiu and Jian Xilai were preoccupied with Peng Lang at the moment, so they wouldn’t resume their fight soon.
Jing Jiu felt a bit better since there were many talented disciples at the Green Mountain Sect; at least Ping Yongjia was more talented than Peng Lang even though his temperament was a little too weak.
But Jian Xilai felt a lot more agitated. It was because the West Ocean Sword Sect had been destroyed and the Foggy Island was isolated from the outside world; who could he pass his sword work to?
He had arranged the matters after his death over the last three days. He reexamined the ten candidates he had chosen as his potential heir, but he decided none of them was suitable.
It happened that he met Peng Lang that day.
Unfortunately, he was a member of the No-Mercy Sect.
“Are you willing to inherit my sword work?”
The expression in his eyes was serene and attentive; everybody could sense his sincerity.
“No.”
Peng Lang refused the suggestion without a second thought.
Though their mountains were sealed off shortly after he joined the sect, he was fully aware that the West Ocean Sword Sect was the archenemy of the No-Mercy Sect, and that the former sect master had died at the hands of this person.
There was no need to think about it. He didn’t give it a second thought when he charged at Emperor Xiao and stood in front of the Elder Sun.
It was because he thought about nothing when he had achieved such a formidable level of the sword work. Jing Jiu and the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean even felt it a pity not to have him as their disciple.
Hearing his answer, Jian Xilai suddenly laughed out after a moment of silence, “You will see it.”
What would he see?
It was of course the true nature of his sword work.
Peng Lang understood what he meant and pressed, “But you don’t even have a sword.”
It was obvious that one couldn’t perform the sword work without a sword.
“I gave up the Twelve-Building Sword after I was defeated by you.”
Jian Xilai said to Jing Jiu, “I’d like to show you my new sword work today.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a faint and irresolute energy emerged from the rubble of the antique shop, heading toward Jing Jiu at an unimaginably fast speed.
The energy was so faint and colorless that it didn’t bring up any wind; but it was exceedingly sharp.
It was the sword will.
The sword will stemmed from an ancient tripod in the rubble.
A sword sound echoed on the long street.
A sword light appeared in front of Jing Jiu; it was extremely bright.
Jing Jiu backed up one mile.
A piece of his white cloth dropped off.
Another faint sword will emerged from inside a wall by the street.
This sword will didn’t come out from any tangible object but a crack between the bricks in the wall.
In the next moment, more and more sword wills came out from the cracks between stones, from the roof tiles, from underneath the eaves, and from everywhere.
It seemed that hundreds of sword wills appeared around Jing Jiu at the same time, the crisp sword sounds whirring in the ears.
Where did these sword wills come from?
Countless sword wills emerged from tangible objects as well as intangible lines, heading toward Jing Jiu one after the other.
For instance, they came out from the doors and the cracks on the doors, the wind and the flower petals twirling in the air.
What sort of Cultivation state was this?
A sword light would arise each time one of those sword wills met Jing Jiu’s sword will.
The countless sword lights looked like the lines drawn with a brightly colored pen, which obscured Jing Jiu’s face. All the onlookers could see intermittently was the white clothing with increasingly more cuts.
Jian Xilai said to Peng Lang, “Anything can be used as a sword, such as rainwater, glacier, and even a thread.”
Though Peng Lang had merely practiced the most basic sword work in the introductory manual of the No-Mercy Sect, his talent was truly extraordinary. As such, he could tell what the sword wills emerging from everywhere meant.
He was aware that the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean was demonstrating the sword work intended for him to learn. He didn’t want to watch it, but it was almost impossible for him to resist the temptation.
The group of Green Mountain was also paying a close attention to the street; they were worried about their Immortal Sect Master and were also fascinated with the Cultivation state Jian Xilai had demonstrated.
They grew even more grave when they discovered that Jian Xilai had enough leisure time to talk to Peng Lang in a light manner. Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui were the only two who remained calm.
“Tens of thousands of years ago, the founding grandmaster of the Green Mountain Sect had encountered the All in One Sword on the Sword Peak and comprehended the essence of the sword work; as a result, the Green Mountain Sect was created.”
Jian Xilai turned to Jing Jiu and continued, “The words ‘All in One Sword’ are written on the first page in the Sword Scripture of Green Mountain, meaning that everything can be used as a sword. Am I wrong?”
Hearing this, the Immortal Guangyuan had a terrible look as he thought of one possibility.
Zhao Layue glanced at Ping Yongjia once as she remembered that Jing Jiu had told her many years ago: It was sometimes a monkey, sometimes a flower, sometimes a mushroom, sometimes a stone, but more often than not it was a sword.
A sword could turn into anything in the world.
And everything in the world could be used as a sword.
The words the founding grandmaster of the Green Mountain Sect wrote on the first page in the Sword Scripture were the essence of the sword work of Green Mountain.
Who would expect Jian Xilai to have perceived the essence of the Green Mountain Sect?
Was it true?
…
…
Jing Jiu and Jian Xilai landed on the long street of Dayuan City. It was tranquil again in the sky, and the ocean of clouds that had been torn apart by the two sword lights coalesced together.
The scabs over the wounds would usually grow stronger than before, and so was the ocean of clouds, which had a visible bulge now.
A dark patch blocked the scorching summer sun amid the thickening white clouds, bringing a slightly chilly air and countless raindrops to Dayuan City.
The downpour had dumped on the city, on the green stone slabs and the rubble without any warning, turning the dust into mud with innumerable dents on them.
Everything in the world could be used as a sword. The lines formed by the raindrops were the best sources for sword wills.
A great many sword lights flashed around Jing Jiu before they disappeared abruptly.
The white cloth with numerous cuts dangled weakly on his body after it was drenched.
“You’re right; this is the All in One Sword passed down from our grandmasters.”
The voice of Jing Jiu drifted out from inside the raindrops and the sword lights.
Hearing this, the people were not convinced. Peng Lang opened his mouth slightly but was too shocked to utter a single word.
Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui had a grave expression on their faces now.
More than one thousand years ago, Nan Qü wished to become a disciple of the Immortal Daoyuan at the Green Mountain Sect but was refused and expelled. As a result, the revenge and hostility ensued.
Unexpectedly, his disciple, Jian Xilai, had figured out the ultimate essence of the sword work of the Green Mountain Sect by himself a thousand years later.
He was indeed a genius in the sword work. The title “Godly Swordsman of West Ocean” was truly fitting; and the “West Ocean” in the title should be left out.
If Nan Qü knew about this, he would be extremely pleased.
If Jian Xilai could defeat Jing Jiu by employing the essence of the sword work of the Green Mountain Sect, it would be a perfect victory.
It was then that the rainfall ceased.
It was not that the raindrops had all ceased dropping but remained on the same spots.
The downpour was not the same as water being poured down from buckets; the rainfall was consisted of countless raindrops. The magnitude of the rainfall was determined by the size and speed of the raindrops.
Some raindrops looked like beans, and some were in an irregular shape, resembling a flattened golden leaf.
Some raindrops had just left the clouds; and some were splashing in every direction after they fell onto the green stone slabs.
And some raindrops had brushed past Peng Lang’s tip of nose; some had submerged in the natural worm silk of the white cloth.
All the raindrops stopped.
They stopped on the spots.
Or in other words, they halted their movements.
The sword wills emerging from the rain lines and the cracks between the stone slabs had all disappeared. Everything had ceased moving.
The sword lights had gradually withered before they dissipated like the vanishing fireworks.
“But that is not my All in One Sword.”
Jing Jiu walked out.
All the fireworks disappeared.
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