Chapter 772: The Meeting with the Master
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Half-Saint Zixia, lord of the Longevity Institution on Zixia Sacred Mountain, was also Lin Yue’s nominal master.
After the Kunlun Heir’s Banquet, Lin Yue became as famous as Gai Tianjiao in the Yin and Yang Sect. Both of them were now Yin and Yang Sect superstars, with quite promising futures.
Although Half-Saint Zixia was only a nominal master to Lin Yue, he also shared benefites with Lin Yue, which made many other Half-Saints in the Yin and Yang Sect feel jealous.
Zixia was so happy to see Zhang Ruochen that he did not hide his admiration at all. He said, “Lin Yue, you did really well during the banquet. You defeated the Demonic Sect masters and earned respect for the Yin and Yang Sect. Your contribution will be rewarded. Now, please follow me to Tai Qing Palace. The master wants to see you.”
Though Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation was only at the Eighth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm, his spiritual power had reached the Half-Saint Realm, which put him on equal footing with Half-Saint Zixia.
For this reason, insteading of acting like his master, Zixia treated Zhang Ruochen as an equal.
“The master wants to see me?” Zhang Ruochen was a little surprised.
“Yes, he does.”
Zixia smiled. “As far as I know, Patriarch Taiyi thinks you have great potential. He will be present as well, but you don’t need to be nervous. Just answer the master’s questions honestly.”
Zhang Ruochen thanked Zixia and returned to the Yin and Yang Sect with him.
They went to the the Tai Qing Palace.
Ning Xuandao, master of the Yin and Yang Sect, stood side-by-side with the Moon-Burier Sword Saint in the center of the palace, discussing something secret.
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint frowned, and his face became sullen. He said his worries aloud. “My lord, Patriarch Taiyi brought news from the Seven Ancient Gods Mountains, saying that the Heaven Sword has behaved abnormally again. The tip was pointing towards the Deceased God Cemetery. This is the third change this month.”
“Since ancient times, the Heaven Sword and the Earth Sword have been suppressing the destiny of the Yin and Yang Sect. If these two swords do not move, it means we will enjoy a prosperous time and have no threats from our enemies.”
“If the Earth Sword moves, it signifies that a disaster will come and some important man in the Sect will fall.”
“If the Heaven Sword moves, it means that the disaster will be quite severe and it will have a negative impact on the whole Sect.”
“The Heaven Sword has moved three times in a month, indicating that we will have a catastrophe soon.”
Ning Xuandao, who wore a Taoist robe and held a bronz hossu, looked quite sullen. He looked in the direction of the Deceased God Cemetery and said, “The appearance of the Void Sword illustrates that something unusual occurred in the Deceased God Cemetery.”
Moon-Burier Sword Saint said, “I’ve sent disciples, Xiao Yun and Situ Xiao, to the cemetery. If something has happened, they will inform the authorities at once.”
“Whew!”
A bright dot quickly came towards them from afar. It rushed into Tai Qing Palace and fell on the Moon-Burier Sword Saint’s palm.
It was a Signal Flare.
Words showed themselves on it one-by-one.
After reading them, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint’s face became gloomy.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ning Xuandao.
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint put away the Signal Flare and said, “Xiao Yun and Situ Xiao found Monks from the Immortal Vampires at the Deceased God Cemetery.”
“I can’t believe they went to the Deceased God Cemetery.”
Ning Xuandao snorted before saying, “During the fight with the Immortal Vampires, our Yin and Yang Sect contributed a lot. They must have been holding a grudge towards us since then. They have evil intentions against us.”
“This is quite serious. The Yin and Yang Sect should be placed on full alert from now on.”
Then, Ning Xuandao sent his order by using the power of Divine Soul, which transmitted sound waves to the Three Palaces and 72 Compounds.
A moment later, a disciple came in. He saluted Ning Xuandao and then said, “Master, Lin Yue and Half-Saint Zixia are waiting outside the palace.”
“Let them in.”
With a slight movement, Ning Xuandao appeared at the highest place in the palace, sitting on a chair carved out of a Holy Stone.
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint did not leave. Instead, he sat down at Ning Xuandao’s left hand.
Zhang Ruochen, following Half-Saint Zixia, entered the palace. They did not stop until they were in the center of the main hall.
Half-Saint Zixia then waited on the right side of the main hall.
Zhang Ruochen bowed. He said, “Your disciple, Lin Yue, has come to pay his respects to the master and the sword saint.”
“Lin Yue, you’re now the Spiritual Half-Saint. You do not need to bow to us.”
The expression on Ning Xuandao’s face seemed soft. He carefully scanned Zhang Ruochen and nodded. “No wonder you’re a genius in Tao of the sword, you have an extraordinary temperament. I see why the patriarch of the Divine Dragon and Half-Human Clan came to see me a few days ago. He wanted to match you with a girl.”
After thinking quickly, Zhang Ruochen knew the reason, but he felt bitter in his heart.
After the Kunlun Heir’s Banquet, everyone knew Lin Yue was fond of Commandery Princess Yanchen from East Region Saint Mansions. Therefore, Ning Xuandao changed the topic. He then said, “Your actions at the banquest were quite excellent. The sword saint and I have been watching you for a long time.”
“Over the years, the Demonic Sect won all the battles with other Suzerains except for the one with the Ministry of War. However, this time, you defeated them, and they must be quite embarrassed.”
“However, there is something I don’t understand. Why did you give up, when your cultivation was high enough to win you a seat as an Heir?”
Zhang Ruochen had already expected that Ning Xuandao would ask this question, therefore, he replied with the same answer which he had told Saint Lady.
Since the banquet was over and nothing could be changed, Ning Xuandao did not ask further. But he became more serious and said, “So, how about inheritance of the Void Sword and the Thousand-Bone Empress?”
Even though Zhang Ruochen was standing in front of the Master of the Yin and Yang Sect and the Moon-Burier Sword Saint, he stayed calm and relaxed.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “Actually, this sword was a gift from Half-Saint Yuanlong.”
Ning Xuandao and the Moon-Burier Sword Saint both went momentarily blank. They were obviously stunned.
They knew who Half-Saint Yuanlong was, but what they did not understand was why he had given the Void Sword, an extremely precious treasure, to Lin Yue?
In fact, Half-Saint Zixia was the most surprised, because he did know why Half-Saint Yuanlong had given this sword to Lin Yue.
Still in shock, Zixia asked again, “Do you mean that the broken sword Half-Saint Yuanlong gave to you is actually the legendary ‘Void Sword’ that once belonged to the Thousand-Bone Empress?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “At first, I thought it was a broken sword as well, but I later found out that it was the Void Sword.”
Half-Saint Zixia began laughing so hard that he started to cry.
He wanted to tell Yuanlong the news right away. He wondered if the old man would get frustrated after he learned the truth about the sword.
After Ning Xuandao and Moon-Burier Sword Saint learned the whole story from Zixia, they looked at each other with an odd expression.
Half-Saint Yuanlong had given the Void Sword to a junior. If he found out the truth, he would be frustrated for several days, even though he was in the Heart State of Half-Sainthood right now.
After that, Ning Xuandao asked Zhang Ruochen some more questions, and he answered them fluently and flawlessly.
“Only less than a month is left until Sep 9th, on which day you will represent the Yin and Yang Sect in the Sword Technique Conference. No one will be your match, except for one person,” Ning Xuandao said seriously.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Is is Shao Lin from the Four Symbols Sect?”
Ning Xuandao nodded and said, “His talent in Tao of the sword is as excellent as yours. Now that he has become an Heir of Kunlun’s Field and drunk the Holy Spring Water, his cultivation is probably more powerful than a second level Half-Saint. You have no chance of winning if you compete with him.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “I will do whatever I must to never let the Four Symbols Sect take control of the Sword Pavilion.”
According to Qi Hong’s memory, Zhang Ruochen knew that there was a secret agreement between the Four Symbols Sect and the Demonic Sect. They were setting a trap at the Sword Technique Conference to seize control of the Sword Pavilion.
Ning Xuandao felt assured and said, “It’s so good for you to have such determination. The Suzerain will fully support you. If you need anything, just tell me straightaway, and I will make it happen as long as it’s reasonable.”
Zhang Ruochen replied immediately, “I want to see the wordless sword manual.”
The wordless sword manual was the number one holy book of Tao of the sword. Who would not want to see it?
But the Moon-Burier Sword Saint frowned. He said, “Lin Yue, you have great talent in Tao of the sword, however, your cultivation is not high enough. The wordless sword manual is extremely hard to understand. You know, even many Saints are unable to perceive anything valuable from it.
“Since you don’t have much time, you should focus on how to improve your cultivation properly.
“To be frank, you couldn’t compete with Shao Lin with the cultivation of the Eighth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm even if your Sword Two had reached the Completion.”
“However, if you could reach the Ninth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm before the Sword Technique Conference, and at the same time, refine a drop of divine blood by the power of gods during the sacrificial ceremony, then you might have a chance to defeat Shao Lin.”
Obviously, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint provided the best suggestion, according to his understanding and calculation.
As long as everything went well, Lin Yue would have a chance to defeat Shao Lin.
However, Zhang Ruochen had his own throughts. He must achieve the Completion of Sword Two before the Sword Technique Conference.
This was what Sword Saint Xuanjin expected of him.
If he could do it, Sword Saint Xuanji would be relieved and in a good mood before his final battle with Nine Serenity Sword Saint.
As a result, Sword Saint Xuanji would have a better chance of winning.
He had less than a month. His only chance was to study the wordless sword manual and reach the Completion of Sword Two.
Zhang Ruochen said firmly, “This is my only request. I hope that the master and the sword saint will give me this opportunity.”