Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The veins on Meng Qi’s forehead throbbed with rage. Feeling a strong urge to give the demoness a good thrashing, he repeatedly reminded himself that he shouldn’t take offense at the words of a mental patient. “Senior Brother Qi is still in her hands!”
Finally managing to calm his turbulent emotions, he paid no heed to her jab about the child. In a deep voice, he asked, “Miss Xiaosang, where’s Senior Brother Qi? Why would he encounter danger?”
Gu Xiaosang feigned a tearful hurt look. Pouting, she said, “Husband, the way you’re calling me makes us look like strangers. Don’t you usually call me your darling wife?”
“That’s hardly the point! No, you’re not just schizophrenic, you’re also delusional!”Meng Qi thought, feeling exasperated and helpless.
Just as he was about to question her again, her expression turned solemn. She tilted her head to look at him, appearing mischievous and adorable. “It’s not safe to talk now. Let’s find another opportunity to meet in the next few days. When it came to some things, you wouldn’t trust my—your wife’s—word for it. But if it’s your Senior Brother Qi, you wouldn’t doubt it anymore.”
Her expression took on a hint of sadness as she spoke.
“What do you mean ‘your Senior Brother Qi’…” mumbled Meng Qi in response, his mouth twitching. His voice trailed off without ending his question as he decided to drop the matter.
Displaying a sudden aptitude for acting and stagecraft, Gu Xiaosang wore a solemn expression as she approached him. In a hushed tone she advised, “You’d better stay indoors a few days. However you can’t stay here anymore. Head to Happycloud Heights as soon as possible.”
She brushed past him at her final syllable, pushed through the door and left, leaving only a faint and seemingly perpetual fragrance in her wake.
Meng Qi remained in a daze, mesmerized by the silhouette of the retreating Gu Xiaosang. When he woke up, all traces of her former presence were already gone.
It suddenly dawned on him that he had barely grasped the true strength of Gu Xiaosang. As ordinary and common as she appeared, her actions and movements were no different to that of any skillful warriors of the Nine Apertured Master. She simply didn’t have the natural grace and rhythm that harmonized the teachings of the Dharma and Logos of the Heaven and Earth, only finesse that hardly resembled that of Wang Siyuan and his peers. And yet this was precisely the reason she was so terrifying.
She had unsealed her Eight Apertures when he was barely a sapling in the disciplines of the martial arts world. Though he had developed smoothly through fortuitous encounters in his journey later on, she had not dawdled without improvements of her own either. In the series of the Celestial Court tasks, she had hunted and killed the Successors of the Mystic Fairy. Her encounters and gains at the remnants of the Ninth Heaven would barely be less fruitful than his. For as long has he attained the level of the Eighth Acupore through his remarkable talents, resources, toil and labor; surely she had not remained a mere practitioner of the martial art skills of a Nine Apertures. It would be nothing less of inconceivable should she not have exceeded the expectations of attaining the levels of the Heaven-Man Connection, the Oneness of Heaven and Men, or even the heights of one who had achieved the Half-Step before the Exterior.
It was bewildering as she had yet to display any shred of improvement of her levels. One might wonder if she had mastered the ability to mask her aura of Oneness of Heaven and Men?
He projected his spiritual senses to trace the trail of Gu Xiaosang, but it seemed that the trail had gone cold.
Just then, her silver-bells-like laughter rang next to his ears. “My husband, I’m very happy that you continued to dress this way. I’ve decided to forgive you for not being honest about what’s in your heart.”
Her voice came drifting through the air, shocking him. She had not gone far, and yet he had not detected the slightest trace of her!
When the meaning behind her words hit him, he glanced down at the black clothes he had been wearing as the significance finally sank in. He mumbled quietly, his face twitching, “You presume too much…”
Gu Xiaosang had been the one to design the dashing, warrior-like outfit for him.
Setting aside his emotions, he pondered over her last warning with a dreadful foreboding. “Senior Brother Qi is in danger. The ominous caution of staying indoors and make haste for Happycloud Heights… Could it be that someone is targeting me?”
“Or is it just a ruse or ploy by this devilish woman?”
“Well, I’ll have to go to Happycloud Heights anyway. There would be hardly any difference if I go now or later, especially without any discernible signs of evil intent…”
Meng Qi wouldn’t be prejudiced against a person’s opinion or thought just because of his or her character. He wouldn’t subjectively believe the warning to be a lie just because it came from Gu Xiaosang. He would carefully analyze the statement and decide the truth of it after weighing the pros and cons.
He pondered a moment before packing his belongings and his trusty blade, Heaven Inflicted Pain. He left a few taels of silver on the table of his room before he swiftly left the inn, heading towards the banks of Lake Yue.
Despite the word “Heights” in the nomenclature of Happycloud Heights, the manor of the Eastsea Sword Village was not on the outskirts of the city. It sat close to Lake Yue and Misty Rain Mountain at the North-West corner of Ying City. Unlike most cities, Lake Yue the Misty Rain Mountain were enclosed within the boundaries of Ying City, adding to the remarkably enormous length and breadth of the city. Word from the Six Fan School was the landscape was included within the confines of the city walls for the purpose of their natural energies and properties which would bolster the protection barrier of the city.
Happycloud Heights was surrounded by mountains on one side and water on the other. It was also heavily guarded. Compared to ordinary gardens or parks, it appeared somewhat boorish.
Ignoring the fact that it was late into the night, Meng Qi pulled on the knocker to knock on the door.
In just a short while, he heard the small door next to the main entrance creak open. An old servant dressed in a dark blue robe popped his head through the door. “Young master, is there something urgent that you’re visiting our Happycloud Heights at this hour?”
Taking in Meng Qi’s extraordinary temperament, he didn’t dare to raise his voice and made a polite question instead.
“I’m Su Meng. I was invited here.” Meng Qi took out the invitation.
The old servant took a look at the invitation and a wide smile instantly lit up his face. “So it’s you, Young Master Su. I’ll report your arrival to the Heightslord immediately.”
He led Meng Qi into the reception hall and quickly stepped inside to make his report. He returned shortly with a bright smile. “Young Master Su, it so happens that our Young Master isn’t practicing his Kung Fu. He invites you to join him in the Sky-surging Sword Qi Hall.”
“He Jiu is quite polite…” Meng Qi nodded and followed the old servant out of the building and through a rock garden with a pool, all the way to a hall seemingly cast out of black iron.
He felt Sword Qi assaulting his senses the second he entered the hall. It was as if this place stored tens of thousands of swords but when he took a closer look, there was nothing here. There were only pillars and walls made out of steel, as well as ordinary tables and chairs.
In the seat of honor was someone sitting upright. He looked about 24 or 25 years old and was tall and large. He had straight eyebrows and deep eyes. His looks couldn’t be considered outstanding but when he sat there with a faint smile, he exuded a strong aura of heroism. It was as if nothing in the world could stand in his way and no enemy could frighten him.
If his aura were just a little bit stronger, it would make him look mad. If it were just a little bit weaker, it would be unnoticeable. The intensity of his aura was just right.
He Jiu, like Gu Xiaosang, appeared like an ordinary Nine Apertures master to Meng Qi’s senses. However, if he closed his eyes and ears, used his Standing Still heart sutras integrated with his Enter Imperceptibility, he would sense only a mass of Sword Qi from He Jiu. The mass of energy inhaled and expelled the frighteningly sharp Sword Qi indefinitely.
He Jiu wore a white robe with a simple bandage wrapped around his neck.
“Heightslord He, are you injured?” Meng Qi asked curiously, after greeting him with a salute.
He Jiu was the junior heightslord of the Eastsea Sword Village. His father, He Ba, acted as regent for the position. His grandfather, He Qi, had long given up worldly affairs.
He Jiu burst out in laughter and replied unconcerned, “Wolf King visited yesterday and struck me with his claw. I returned the favor with three strikes of my sword.”
“Wolf King sure made his way over here quick,” Meng Qi said, feeling emotional. His detour to Maoling had cost him the wonderful opportunity to meet Wolf King.
He Jiu pointed at one of the chairs and indicated Meng Qi sit. He said, as if speaking of a common affair, “It’s true he made his way here quickly but he still fell short of my expectations. He could only give me a few slight injuries.”
“After suffering three of my strikes, I’m afraid he’s stuck in Ying City for recovery.”
It was the simple and matter-of-fact way in which He Jiu narrated his story that made him exude the aura of the top warrior on the ranking list.
“I see.” Meng Qi’s interest was piqued. He decided to take this opportunity to keep Wolf King here in the River East forever.
He would go in for the kill while his opponent was ill!
He Jiu didn’t boast of his achievement. After giving a brief description, he smiled and said, “Most people find it burdensome to stay in the Happycloud Heights and would love nothing more than to come only on the last day, yet you came here so openly. I’ve got a newfound respect for you, Killing Blade. You really deserve your title.”
“Staying here can save me quite a bit of money.” Meng Qi looked at him with a serious, no-nonsense look.
The corner of He Jiu’s mouth twitched, somewhat ruining his air of uninhibited boldness. He laughed, patting the table. “Honest and frank!”
“I was planning to have a spar with you but having it so early will just ruin my anticipation for the Party of Happycloud,” he said honestly. “So I hope you’ll stay on guard during these few days and keep your condition at its optimum level.”
“So it’s true that there will be challenges during the Party of Happycloud…” Meng Qi nodded, looking thoughtful.
They began discussing martial arts. When the topic came to the changes in movements and the operating of genuine Qi, both became incredibly happy with one another and felt the other party deserved their reputation.
He Jiu arranged for Meng Qi to stay in the Unmelted Snow Tower. The tower was close enough to the river that he could see the reflection of the moon on the water—heaven and earth, two different worlds.
Meng Qi examined the door and windows before laying down on the bed. He began practicing his Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture.
The more time passed, the more Meng Qi found the Peerless Godly Kung Fu to be extraordinary. Whether in bladesmanship, sword art, or his newly learned palmsmashing art, he felt as if he had studied them from many years and had gained a solid foundation. He had considered his genuine Qi to be ample, if limited in progress, but there was a new layer of refinement and strength to it.
His understanding of his Heaven Blade, Matchless Celestial Saber, as well as enlightened Aperture Kung Fu like the Immortal Pressing Art, had gradually deepened as well. They were taking a turn for the better, with inexplicable changes happening to them.
Of course, the most important thing was that scripture enabled him to cultivate the skill at twice the speed.
The chaos and disorder concentrated into a certain tranquility, separating him from the heaven and earth outside. It was as if he was being enveloped in warm water. It was incredibly comfortable.
When he was done practicing the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, he sat cross-legged and activated his Eight Nine Mysteries.
Like the downward flowing of a river, the genuine Qi of his Eight Nine Mysteries suddenly broke through a certain obstacle after an indefinite amount of time.
Thud!
He had enlightened his Qianyin, or external genitalia, an Aperture acupoint and also promoted his Eight Nine Mysteries into its current realm. His skin glowed faint gold. He felt like there was an endless supply of vital energy in him, energizing his entire body. Even his Heaven Inflicted Pain felt much lighter.
Considering the progress in his cultivation, he would be able to start focusing solely on the Eight Nine Mysteries after his Golden Bell Shield broke through the Nine Apertures.
He exhaled. The addition of Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture had greatly pushed up the day he thought he would break through. When Meng Qi opened his eyes, they were deep. The depths of his pupils seemed to be constantly changing, glittering in magnificent colors.
After spending a day at Happycloud Heights, Wang Zai personally visited Meng Qi and took him to the venue. The long-awaited Ying City martial arts demonstration had begun.
This time, he wasn’t a participant but a guest judge. In other words, he would be sitting with the seniors and former legends.
