Chapter 718: The Master
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Huang Yanchen threaded her way through the crowd and stopped at a mansion in the center of Shentai City. She walked to the front gate.
The mansion was rather imposing.
Its front gate was flanked by savage beasts. They were heavily built up Thunderbolt Lions with glaringly bright golden fur.
The two Thunderbolt Lions were accompanied by six armored guards who stood in a line to keep watch. Judging from their overwhelming aura, they were top masters.
“Greetings, Lord Yanchen.”
The guards obviously knew who she was as they all bowed to her in deference.
Two of them went to open the gate for her.
“Anyone who can live in the center of Shentai City must be a super big shot.”
Zhang Ruochen carefully observed the six guards from a far distance, only to find that their armors were all tenth level Genuine Martial Arms that belonged to the Law Enforcement Hall of the Martial Market School.
Moreover, they were all Monks in the Fish-Dragon Realm, top masters cherry-picked from the Law Enforcement Hall.
“With Monks in the Fish-Dragon Realm as his guards, the one living in the mansion has to be a Half-Saint or even a Saint.”
Zhang Ruochen’s mouth twitched a bit as he considered who might live in the mansion.
He came out from his concealment and walked to the front gate.
“ROAR!”
The Thunderbolt Lions opened their eyes and glared at Zhang Ruochen in open hostility.
Golden Qi seethed from their bodies in waves.
The six guards also saw Zhang Ruochen walking toward them. They recognized that he was a Saint’s disciple from the Yin and Yang Sect based on his robes and quickly shouted at the Thunderbolt Lions to calm them down.
After all, they were in the Yin and Yang Sect’s sphere of influence and should be polite to their Saint’s disciples.
Of the six guards, the strongest Monk looked to be around 40 years old; his ears were as big as a leaf fan. With a long spear in hand, he took two steps forward and cupped his hands. “May I know who you are?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly and showed them the Suzerain token to tell them who he was. “I’m Lin Yue, from the Yin and Yang Sect. I have come here to visit Predecessor Sword Saint Xuanji.”
The six guards were a bit shocked at the name.
After all, Lin Yue was the Yin and Yang Sect’s conqueror and one of the most influential figures at the Sword Technique Conference. He was not someone to be trifled with.
“Oh! You are the sword genius from the Yin and Yang Sect.”
Deference was written all over their faces.
The strongest Monk was caught in a dilemma. “Although Sword Saint Xuanji lives in the mansion, he is often away from home. Even we rarely see him. We don’t know whether he is at home now or not.”
Obviously, they thought Lin Yue was still too young to be qualified for Sword Saint Xuanji’s reception, even though he was celebrated among the younger generation of Monks.
“Master actually lives in the mansion.”
Zhang Ruochen was elated. “You can just report that I’m here. If the Sword Saint refuses to see me, I will take my leave.”
The six guards were at a loss when Feng Han walked out the front gate.
Feng Han was Sword Saint Xuanji’s fourth disciple. He was tall and slim with the look of a 25-year-old, but his complexion was sickly and ashen.
“Swoosh!”
At the sight of Feng Han, the six guards went down on their knees to salute him. Together they said, “Greetings, Half-Saint Feng Han.”
Zhang Ruochen had heard the name “Feng Han” before, but this was his first time seeing him in person. He said to himself, “He is the Fourth Elder Brother, Feng Han. The Third Elder Brother once told me that he is highly gifted in the Tao of the sword, even the best among all the Elder Brothers.”
Somehow, Zhang Ruochen felt vaguely that Feng Han came across as dangerous, so familiar and yet so strange at the same time.
Compared to the other three Elder brothers—Saint Qing Xiao, Zhu Hongtao and Wan Ke, the Fourth Elder Brother was imbued with a hidden aura of gloom and evil.
Wearing a sick look, Feng Han raised a hand, beckoning them to stand up.
“Cough.”
He gave a small cough and said in a hoarse voice, “Lin Yue, Master knows you have arrived at the front gate to visit him and has asked me to accompany you in, please!”
Zhang Ruochen gave Feng Han a salute and followed him into the mansion.
The mansion covered a land of about 10 hectares, neither large nor small.
The mansion was quiet and tranquil and there were only a few people around.
In the center of the mansion was a lotus pond veiled in thick mist. Sword Saint Xuanji was sitting by the pool fishing with a cyan bamboo pole in hand.
“I have brought Lin Yue. Master, is there anything else I need to do?” Feng Han asked bending over.
Sword Saint Xuanji smiled and waved his hand. “Feng Han, you may take your leave. I want to talk to Lin Yue in private.”
Feng Han was slightly surprised. He turned to look at Lin Yue in bewilderment.
He was curious about why the Master would receive a Monk in the Fish-Dragon Realm in person.
Feng Han shook his head and left.
Zhang Ruochen could barely hold back his inner excitement. As soon as Feng Han was out of sight, he immediately saluted to his Master.
In an attempt to probe into his cultivation, Sword Saint Xuanji lifted the bamboo pole. The fishing line was drawn swiftly from the water’s surface. It turned into a silver light and landed at Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
Zhang Ruochen was jolted into releasing his Divine Body Shield and running the holy Qi all throughout his body to strike a palm back.
“Swish, swish!”
The fishing line was soft, but wrapped in a layer of holy Qi, it became sharp and turned into sword Qi in nine waves, one after another.
It went through the palm power and began to wind around Zhang Ruochen’s legs, hands, waist and other parts of his body seamlessly.
For a sword saint, anything, even grass or wood could become his weapon and play out immeasurable power.
With his cultivation, Sword Saint Xuanji could split a city in half with a leaf. If he employed all his force.
He was using the fishing line as a sword. His sword technique was so superb that Zhang Ruochen was caught off guard.
Zhang Ruochen tried to step back, only to find his body entangled and his way of escape blocked.
Sword Saint Xuanji saw that Zhang Ruochen was bound and smiled faintly. “The sword can be hard or soft. Only a sword that is both hard and soft is an invincible sword.”
Sword Saint Xuanji interpreted the essence of Sword Two as a combination of “hardness” and “softness” and therefore paid more attention to sword movement.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. He reached his hand out and a meter long sword appeared in each hand. He shouted, “Sword Two.”
The two swords moved in the air to form a domain of sword Qi that extended outwards. Hundreds of spinning streaks of sword Qi turned into a black-and-white vortex that circled around the fishing line.
“Break!”
Zhang Ruochen flew up high and struck the line. It gave off a ding sound.
The fishing line missed its target and became a jumble.
Zhang Ruochen lunged forward to break away from the fishing line and appeared behind Sword Saint Xuanji.
The swords in Zhang Ruochen’s hands instantly turned into holy Qi and dispersed.
He went down on his one knee and said, “Greetings, Master.”
Sword Saint Xuanji squinted his eyes and nodded his approval. “Good. Pretty good. You have already reached the second level of Sword Two. Ruochen, you have really lived up to my expectations.”
A Monk in the Fish-Dragon Realm had the potential to become a sword saint only if he could cultivate to the tenth realm—the Completion of Sword One.
It was apparent that Zhang Ruochen was more brilliant than anyone else. How could Sword Saint Xuanji not be delighted when his disciple was improving by leaps and bounds?
Sword Saint Xuanji gave a loud chuckle of delight and reached his hands out in the air. Zhang Ruochen’s body was suddenly straightened by an invisible force.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “I have a question. Master, how do you recognize me?”
Sword Saint Xuanji stared at him. “You need to practice the Change of 36 Forms further. You can deceive everyone else, except me.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. He was displaying his little trick before an expert.
After all, the martial technique had been taught by his Master. No one else could see the flaws, but his Master could.
The Sword Saint rose and began to pace back and forth with his hands behind back. “With your current prowess, you might be recognized by the seasoned Monks at the Sword Technique Conference. For the next few days, stay here, and I will help you refine your Change of 36 Forms to perfection.”
“You know I’m going to participate in the Sword Technique Conference?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Sword Saint Xuanji replied with his eyes wide-open, “With your current cultivation in Tao of the sword, it will be easy for you to enter the top ten even if you can’t make it into the top three. If you missed this amazing opportunity to compete with the world’s best sword masters and geniuses, I would die of anger.”
“I am a Sword Saint and of course, I don’t want to lose face. If you can rise to prominence at the conference, it will be a great comfort for me. It will improve my mental outlook, which will increase my chances of defeating the Nine Serenity Sword Saint by at least ten percent.”
Sword Saint Xuanji and the Nine Serenity Sword Saint were neck and neck in terms of cultivation. It was hard to tell who was stronger.
Their mental state on the day of the battle would have a great impact on their performance.
The better mental the state, the greater the chances of winning.
At the thought of the upcoming life or death battle, Zhang Ruochen grew worried. “Master, you have already done enough for me. You don’t have to risk fighting the Nine Serenity Sword Saint. What if something happens…?”
Sword Saint Xuanji stopped him with a wave of the hand. He appeared very calm. “Actually, when I issued the letter challenging the Nine Serenity Sword Saint it was not exactly for you.”
“My cultivation has reached a tipping point and cultivation alone can not help me to break past this point.”
“Only a battle of life or death with an equal rival can spur my full potential so that I can break through to the realm I want.”
“Nine Serenity might be in the same situation as me. He is also using this battle to get over the bottleneck. It explains why he accepted the letter of challenge even though he didn’t kill you.”
“For him, it’s a rare opportunity.”