A thunderous roar, like a clap of thunder from the heavens, shook the entire Qingliang Mountain, causing it to tremble violently. The protective array of the Qingliang Sect, known as the "Lingbo," was a top-tier formation that Zhao Jingyu had discovered centuries ago in a southern ruin. Yet, even this formidable array could not withstand the peerless figure descending from the sky. Underneath the overwhelming sword aura that filled the air, Lin Wanhua merely took a step and shattered the mountain's protective barrier. She then plunged downwards, landing directly before the magnificent Ancestral Hall.
Instantly, the Qingliang Sect erupted into chaos. Figures flashed from all over the mountain, both high and low. The Sect Master, Zhao Suiguang, and the Deputy Sect Master, Zhao Guangyi, were all present. Even Zhao Jingyu, who had just intended to retreat and recuperate from his injuries, hurried over from the back mountain. A group of people looked up at the white-robed woman standing before the Ancestral Hall with grave expressions.
The woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Clad in snow-white robes, a sword in hand, her delicate face was devoid of any expression.
"..."
Zhao Jingyu dared not underestimate her. He could sense the woman's immense sword intent, unlike anything he had ever encountered in his life. If his assessment was correct, she was at the pinnacle of the twelfth realm, a sword cultivator. Few people in this world fit such a description: a woman, young and beautiful, at the peak of the twelfth realm, and a sword cultivator. There were only two such individuals: Lin Wanhua, the mistress of Fusu Great Wall, and Su Qingjiu, the mountain lord of Changming Mountain.
"May I ask..."
Zhao Jingyu cupped his fists and asked, "Is this immortal coming from Fusu Great Wall?"
"Mhm."
Lin Wanhua replied calmly, "I am Lin Wanhua."
At once, Zhao Suiguang, Zhao Chuqin, and the others looked on in horror. That name was widely known throughout the human race – the guardian of Fusu Great Wall, the foremost sword of the northern human frontier. Anyone involved in the martial world would have heard of her. What made Lin Wanhua truly terrifying was not just her cultivation realm, but her profound understanding of the sword. Her swordsmanship and sword intent were both at their apex. This female Sword Immortal's talent in the way of the sword was so extraordinary, surpassing even those born with innate sword seeds. The only thing holding her back was her youth. If she were to continue guarding Fusu Great Wall, absorbing the sword intent of the world, it would only be a matter of time before she broke through to the thirteenth realm, becoming a Sword Immortal.
"This old man..."
Zhao Jingyu's eyes twitched violently. Why had he been encountering so many formidable individuals recently? That eleventh realm sword cultivator, Zhuo Zhi, was already ridiculously powerful. And the person who had slapped him in the dead of night was even more unfathomable. Now, Lin Wanhua had arrived and shattered their protective barrier with a single kick. It seemed the Qingliang Sect had been experiencing a streak of bad luck lately!
He bowed respectfully, cupping his fists, "Greetings, Great Sword Immortal Lin of Fusu Great Wall!"
A true man knows when to bend and when to stand firm. In his youth, Zhao Jingyu had crawled through the crotch of a Nascent Soul realm rogue cultivator just to find a master and seek the path to the Dao. What was this momentary humiliation in comparison? Showing respect to a peak twelfth realm Sword Immortal was perfectly acceptable. More importantly, he couldn't defeat her. Even at his peak, his flimsy thirteenth realm would be no match for Lin Wanhua. Now, injured by the flying sword of the White-Robed Master of Xueyu Tianchi, his thirteenth realm was even more precarious. How could he dare to be disrespectful in front of Lin Wanhua?
Lin Wanhua remained silent.
Zhao Jingyu furrowed his brow and again cupped his fists respectfully, "May I ask, Sword Immortal Lin, what brings you to Qingliang Sect?"
"I have come to take someone away."
"Ah?!"
Zhao Jingyu was startled, "Take whom away?"
"Among you..."
Lin Wanhua raised her hand and pointed at the crowd, saying, "Who is Zhao Chuqin? Come out."
"Ah?!"
From within the crowd, Zhao Chuqin shivered and slowly stepped forward, "It is I, Zhao Chuqin. May I ask Sword Immortal Lin for your instructions?"
"You are Zhao Chuqin?"
Lin Wanhua's lips curved slightly as she said, "I heard you disguised yourself as a shepherd and went to Xueyu Tianchi, intending to abduct a young girl named Tong Yu to be your cultivation cauldron for evil arts. Is that true?"
"I..."
Zhao Chuqin's face was slick with sweat. "Sword Immortal Lin, please see clearly. I merely... merely felt that the girl had good innate potential and wished to guide her towards the Heavenly Dao... I truly had no intention of harming her. Even if she grew up and became my Dao companion, I would never treat her poorly..."
"To be your Dao companion? You think you're worthy?"
Lin Wanhua's slender willow-leaf eyebrows rose, her fury evident. "Tong Yu is the only personal disciple I, Lin Wanhua, have taken in over a hundred years! You dare to try and use her as a cauldron?!"
"Ah?!"
Zhao Chuqin was terrified. He could no longer maintain his status as an Elder of the sect. He immediately knelt and kowtowed repeatedly to Lin Wanhua, "Sword Immortal Lin... Sword Immortal Lin... Zhao Chuqin was momentarily foolish. I implore Sword Immortal Lin to quell her anger. This humble one will never dare again, never dare again..."
As he spoke, Zhao Chuqin glanced back at their ancestor, Zhao Jingyu, "Ancestor, Ancestor... please say a word for me?!"
Zhao Jingyu's heart burned with suppressed anger. This foolish wretch! You must bear your own consequences! Why drag me into this? You fear Lin Wanhua, but do I not? However, as the Ancestor of Qingliang Sect and a thirteenth realm cultivator, and with Zhao Chuqin begging so desperately, it would be improper for him to remain silent.
Thus, Zhao Jingyu once again respectfully cupped his fists, "Sword Immortal Lin, Zhao Chuqin's actions were indeed inappropriate. However, I implore Sword Immortal Lin to quell her anger. Although Zhao Chuqin had wicked thoughts, he ultimately did not commit a grave error. Our Qingliang Sect is willing to pay a certain price for his transgression. How about... I, in the name of the Ancestor of Qingliang Sect, offer 200 Jinzi coins to Tong Yu to aid her in forging her sword. What do you say?"
"Hm?"
Lin Wanhua's beautiful eyes narrowed. She said calmly, "The cultivation needs of my disciple are my responsibility. Although Fusu Great Wall is poor, we do not require the assistance of your Qingliang Sect. Today, I will take Zhao Chuqin to Xueyu Tianchi. How he is dealt with will depend on Tong Yu's wishes. If Tong Yu wishes him dead, he dies. If she wishes him to live, he lives."
"Ancestor, Ancestor!!!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chuqin's skin crawled. He immediately knelt and began kowtowing to Lin Wanhua.
"Less nonsense."
Lin Wanhua raised her hand and pointed. A strand of potent sword intent enveloped Zhao Chuqin's body, and she lifted him into the air. The most powerful elder of the dignified Qingliang Sect was thus taken away by Lin Wanhua in plain sight of the sect's leaders.
"Sword Immortal Lin!"
Zhao Jingyu gritted his teeth and cupped his fists towards the sky, "Please, for the sake of this old man's face, spare Zhao Chuqin's life. Our Qingliang Sect will severely punish him in the future and make him reflect on his mistakes!"
Lin Wanhua said nothing, and with Zhao Chuqin, she flew away from Qingliang Mountain.
For a moment, countless disciples on the Chenglu Platform of Qingliang Sect sighed in unison. The Qingliang Sect had suffered too much in recent days. Ever since their Ancestor had shattered the sword heart of the eleventh realm cultivator Zhuo Zhi, troubles had seemed to be ceaseless, and they were all major troubles!
...
Night.
At the summit villa of Xueyu Tianchi.
On the mountainside, a newly constructed pavilion was set up with tables and chairs. Lin Zhao, Zhuo Zhi, Tong Yu, and Chen Ben were having dinner. The dinner at the summit villa was nothing extraordinary: a few vegetarian dishes, plus braised rabbit. The rabbit was caught by Chen Ben when he went down the mountain to practice his boxing. He had killed it with a single punch, completely smashing its skull.
Lin Zhao held his rice bowl and quickly ate. One benefit of playing the game was that it not only satisfied hunger but also accelerated stamina recovery for a period after eating. This allowed him to draw more of the military talismans. As everyone was eating, two figures descended from the sky. One of them directly crashed outside the pavilion – it was Zhao Chuqin and Lin Wanhua.
"Master!"
Tong Yu immediately put down her chopsticks and leaped to Lin Wanhua's side.
"Mhm."
Lin Wanhua dotingly rubbed the young girl's head. She was extremely fond of this disciple. Not only was she intelligent, but her sword talent was also extraordinary. Most importantly, she was beautiful, just like herself. Lin Wanhua, a twelfth realm Sword Immortal of such beauty, would be inconsistent if her disciple were ugly.
"Want to eat together?" Lin Zhao asked.
"Okay."
Lin Wanhua did not refuse; she hadn't eaten dinner yet.
So, Lin Zhao fetched a bowl and chopsticks for Lin Wanhua and had her sit with Tong Yu to eat. As Lin Wanhua picked up her chopsticks, she glanced at Zhao Chuqin outside and said, "Kneel properly. We'll talk after we finish eating."
"Yes, yes..."
Zhao Chuqin lowered his head repeatedly and knelt on the ground, not daring to speak.
Lin Zhao glanced at him and understood immediately, saying nothing.
As Lin Wanhua ate, she glanced at Zhuo Zhi. Zhuo Zhi was now only at the tenth realm, no longer as sharp as before. Lin Wanhua smiled slightly, "It's alright. A damaged state of mind is also an important step in seeking the Dao and ascending. Back then, your master also shattered my natal flying sword, and I almost fell in realm, yet I still recovered."
"Ah?"
Zhuo Zhi was surprised and turned to look at Lin Zhao. You have such glorious deeds? You even managed to defeat Lin Wanhua? Amazing!
Lin Zhao kept his head down, shoveling rice, and mumbled, "Miss Lin, you really are something. Don't bring up such old matters."
Lin Wanhua chuckled lightly and began to eat daintily.
Dongcang served a bowl of wild boar rib soup. After everyone finished eating and had some soup, they wiped their mouths. It was time to get down to business.
...
Lin Wanhua kicked out with her foot, sending Zhao Chuqin flying through the air. He slammed into a rock face dozens of meters away, spitting up blood. A twelfth realm Sword Immortal's kick was incredibly heavy. After all, Sword Cultivators were different from ordinary cultivators; their physical bodies were extremely robust, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to withstand such immense sword intent and aura. It could be said that even without using sword techniques, a Sword Cultivator's physical strength was equivalent to about half of a martial artist of the same realm. This was the strength of a Sword Cultivator.
"Tong Yu."
Lin Wanhua smiled calmly. "I've brought Zhao Chuqin to you. I investigated his state of mind when I arrived. This person intended to abduct you from Xueyu Tianchi and use you as his cultivation cauldron for evil arts. Therefore, Master has brought him back to you. Zhao Chuqin's life and death are in your hands. Do you wish to end him with a single sword?"
Tong Yu frowned. Although she had experienced the blood feud of her parents, she was still a young girl. It was somewhat difficult for her to take a life with her own hands.
"Master."
Tong Yu took Lin Wanhua's hand and said, "Is there a way to make him not die, but wish he were dead?"
"Understood."
Lin Wanhua smiled. "Make him fall back to the Middle Five Realms?"
Zhuo Zhi said, "Directly to Nascent Soul? It's not like we can make him fall back to the Star River with me; that would be too easy for him."
Tong Yu nodded. "Sister Zhuo Zhi is right!"
"Understood."
Lin Wanhua raised her hand and pointed. A wisp of sword energy from her fingertip flew out at a speed imperceptible to everyone. The next moment, Zhao Chuqin spat up blood and directly fell back to the ninth realm, the Nascent Soul realm.
"Scram. Go back to Qingliang Sect and vomit blood. Don't dirty our Xueyu Tianchi," Lin Zhao said with a frown.
"Thank you... Thank you..."
Zhao Chuqin repeatedly expressed his gratitude, then used a wisp of chaotic spiritual energy to fly away.
...
Lin Wanhua sat in the pavilion, guiding and correcting some of Tong Yu's sword cultivation. Lin Zhao, Zhuo Zhi, and Dongcang watched from afar. It was better not to be too close when she was teaching swordsmanship. After a full half-hour, Lin Wanhua stood up, her teaching concluded. What she had taught was enough for Tong Yu to cultivate for a while.
"Miss Lin, are you leaving?" Lin Zhao stood up and asked.
"Mhm."
Lin Wanhua smiled. "I've already finished teaching."
"Is that so..."
Lin Zhao rubbed his hands, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Well, it's not easy for you to come all this way. How about... you come to my residence? I have something I need your help with..."
"Ah?!"
Lin Wanhua's cheeks suddenly flushed. What should she do? She wasn't prepared at all. She hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded, "Then... let's go?"
...
Zhuo Zhi, Dongcang, and Chu Yu, who had just arrived, all squinted as they watched Lin Wanhua and Lin Zhao's retreating figures, along with Tong Yu. Everyone's heart felt a mix of complex emotions.