The evening fell, the residual glow of the sunset like blood.
Lin Zhao sat at the edge of the bamboo forest in Tianran Ju, gazing at the red clouds in the sky. He was already starting to miss the little wine he had brought back to Changming Mountain. When the little wine was by his side, he felt remarkably secure. Now that she was gone, he felt a sense of emptiness. Just then, a violent tremor suddenly emanated from the second Yun Jian Lake, and strands of radiant light began to burst forth from the entire lake.
Here it comes, the second flying sword, Hao Ran has reached level 3!
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations, your flying sword [Hao Ran] (Immortal Grade) has been upgraded to level 3 and has successfully awakened the divine ability [Fang Cun]!
…
"Fang Cun?!"
He slightly stiffened, and quickly opened the flying sword panel. Indeed, the flying sword divine abilities had now expanded to three. The third skill button was glowing brightly. Upon activating it, the divine ability's characteristics floated before his eyes—
[Fang Cun]: Creates a small world belonging to oneself, isolating one or more units within the small world. All of the user's attributes +30%, all of the opponent's attributes -30%, lasting for 30 seconds, with a cooldown of 30 minutes.
…
This divine ability greatly shocked Lin Zhao. The Han Niu Sword was truly worthy of its name. No wonder even Mr. Qin, such a refined gentleman, would say that this sword tip would definitely be much stronger than Ming Yue as a flying sword. Indeed, although both flying swords were of Immortal Grade, their strength was definitely not on the same level. This third divine ability was undoubtedly allowing Lin Zhao, a "sword cultivator of the lower five realms," to gain some of the abilities of the upper five realms prematurely!
Creating a small world, enveloping the opponent, and excluding unnecessary people or objects, while also increasing one's own attributes by 30% and decreasing the opponent's attributes by 30%—what did this mean? Didn't it mean that he could "freely choose targets" amidst thousands of soldiers? Whoever he wanted to kill, he could simply envelop them with the small world, draw his sword, and kill them. Moreover, it could encompass not just one opponent, but even multiple, which was even more astonishing. In certain situations, it could achieve very clever effects, forcibly removing multiple opponents from the battlefield. Such skills often had unexpected advantages.
"Hoo…"
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and summoned the flying sword Hao Ran with a raised finger. The flying sword circled around his fingertips, its tip radiating a dense Confucian Dao true meaning. This sword tip gifted by his mentor had an immense divine ability, and these divine abilities came from Confucianism, from Mr. Qin. Especially this Fang Cun divine ability, to house a method that only those in the upper five realms could possess within a sword tip, perhaps only a Confucian Sage could have bestowed it.
He gently touched the sword's edge, filled with emotion. He missed his mentor and wished he could have dinner with Mr. Qin again, wished he could hand a string of dried fish to his mentor's windowsill again, wished he could see his mentor holding a book, standing by the window under the moonlight. These were now impossible. His mentor was gone, leaving only this sword tip to accompany him.
"Mentor…"
Lin Zhao pursed his lips, stored Hao Ran back into the Yun Jian Lake, looked up at the sky, and murmured, "Although I don't know what the future holds, Lin Zhao will definitely strive not to disappoint Mentor."
Behind him, the sound of footsteps came rustling.
Dong Cang, dressed in an apricot-yellow long dress, appeared graceful. She stood cautiously in the bamboo forest and said softly, "Young Master, it's time for dinner. Lord Shang Zhi, Chu Yu, and Mu Zha are already here."
"Oh."
Lin Zhao nodded and smiled, then went to eat.
The rule of Shan Dian Bie Yuan was that everyone ate together. They dined in the living room on the first floor of Tianran Ju. Although Xue Yu Tian Chi was currently short of troops, supplies, and provisions, they had considerable wealth. Especially Lin Zhao, who had over 5,000 Jin Zi coins in his possession. Among all the sects in the world, probably less than 5% could afford 5,000 Jin Zi coins!
At the dinner table, the members of Shan Dian Bie Yuan arrived one by one.
Shang Zhi, Mu Zha, Chu Yu, Tong Yu, Chen Ben. Xiang Ji and Xu Sheng were in charge of military affairs, so they were not included in Shan Dian Bie Yuan. Moreover, these two did not need to temper their fist intent in Shan Dian Bie Yuan; the aura of battle in the Xue Yu Legion was stronger and more suitable for their training.
"There are fewer people…"
Lin Zhao took a bowl of winter melon and pork rib soup from Dong Cang and smiled, "Chu Yu, where is Wang Yue?"
"She's practicing her fist at North Mountain."
Chu Yu smiled slightly, "Wang Yue, this child… her heart is too straightforward. Her hatred for the matter involving her parents is immense, and it cannot be resolved in a short time. So she still prefers to be alone."
"I see…"
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "Tong Yu, have you and Wang Yue developed some sort of acquaintance?"
"Mm."
Tong Yu nodded and smiled, "We are considered friends now. We will practice our fists and swords together in the future. Wang Yue and I have already agreed that in the future, we will roam the martial world with our fists and swords, exclusively fighting bad guys."
Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle, "Good, that's good."
He began to eat, but in his heart, he still felt some concern. Wang Yue's hatred was even more intense than Tong Yu's was back then. It was probably more than just the matter of her parents being framed and murdered. As the so-called "Mountain Master" of Shan Dian Bie Yuan, he had to understand the state of mind of every member of Shan Dian Bie Yuan. This was also a form of self-cultivation for him.
Currently, everyone in Shan Dian Bie Yuan was doing well. Shang Zhi had returned to the eleventh realm, and her sword heart and state of mind were even more stable. Once she completely refined the twelfth-realm demon core, her strength would undoubtedly surpass her past. Mu Zha's fist techniques were very solid, and he was prudent. Breaking through to the Rebirth Realm was still a distant prospect, so there was nothing to worry about. Chu Yu, after Lin Zhao's previous guidance, was practicing her fists and swords even more diligently. Breaking through to the upper five realms was only a matter of time. Chen Ben possessed innate divine strength and was guided by Mu Zha in his fist techniques, cultivating smoothly in Shan Dian Bie Yuan. Tong Yu was personally instructed by Lin Wanhua and had made rapid progress in the path of sword cultivation.
The only one to worry about, in fact, was Wang Yue, who had just joined Shan Dian Bie Yuan. Her state of mind was greatly unsettled!
…
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways to cultivate. Dong Cang busied herself with clearing the dishes and tidying up the entire Shan Dian Bie Yuan. Lin Zhao, using a bamboo skewer to pick his teeth, descended the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, he saw Tang Guangjun, a disheveled man with his arms crossed, tempering his sword intent. Upon seeing Lin Zhao descending from Shan Dian Bie Yuan, he immediately stood up and respectfully cupped his fists, "Mountain Master, are you out for a walk after dinner?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao glanced at him, "Have you eaten?"
"Yes, I have. Thank you for your concern, Mountain Master."
"Good, continue with your business."
"Yes!"
Watching Lin Zhao's receding back, Tang Guangjun felt helpless. As a gatekeeper, what else could he do? He continued to guard the gate, and there was nothing else to do.
…
North Mountain of Xue Yu Tian Chi. In the past, Shen Xingchen and Leng Yan had stood here overlooking the northern demon army tents. On a cliff, Wang Yue's lonely and slender figure stood there. She was now Chu Yu's disciple, and Chu Yu would not treat her poorly. Her food and clothing were quite exquisite. However, despite wearing a cyan long dress, Wang Yue still appeared incredibly thin. She had suffered too much these past few days.
"Mountain Master…"
Wang Yue, who was tempering her fist intent, turned around and saw Lin Zhao walking towards her with one hand behind his back. In her pupils, this man, who was originally a stranger, exuded an elegant aura. Although he was a sword cultivator, he had a scholarly air. Wang Yue, born into a scholarly family, naturally felt good about Lin Zhao, the Mountain Master, or at least, she did not dislike him.
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, sat down at the cliff, and took out a packet of spiced beef from his embrace, tossing it over. "You haven't eaten dinner yet, have something first."
"Ah?"
Wang Yue was slightly stunned, a hint of shyness appearing on her pretty face. The Mountain Master was too thoughtful.
"Martial artists consume the most energy when practicing their fists."
Seeing her stunned, Lin Zhao smiled, "To be honest, I was also a martial artist before. A peak eighth-realm martial artist. I was very strong back then, capable of drawing my sword and randomly hacking at a thirteenth-realm great demon."
"Pfft…"
Wang Yue couldn't help but chuckle. However, she had already learned the Mountain Master's true identity from Chu Yu. And having read the annals of the Great Shang Dynasty, she naturally knew the saying, "Lin Baiyi of Xue Yu Tian Chi, who in the world doesn't know him?" The Battle of Xue Yu Tian Chi occupied nearly fifty out of the few hundred articles in the annals of the Great Shang Dynasty. Therefore, the Mountain Master was not bragging at all. A peak-realm martial artist randomly drawing his sword and hacking at a thirteenth-realm great demon was true, and he had even killed that great demon.
"Thank you, Mountain Master."
The girl sat down cross-legged beside Lin Zhao. While eating the beef, she looked with Lin Zhao towards the north under the night sky. She couldn't see very far, and neither could Lin Zhao.
"Having hatred in your heart is a good thing, but if the hatred is too heavy, it suppresses your state of mind, and that's not a good thing."
Lin Zhao looked into the distance, frowned, and said, "Do you understand what I mean?"
"Mountain Master, I…"
Wang Yue gritted her silver teeth and said, "Actually, an ant like Wang Yue, born in the mud and grass, does not deserve the Mountain Master's concern. Although I am fortunate to be Chu Yu's disciple, Wang Yue knows clearly that I am not worthy, I truly am not worthy…"
"Why are you not worthy?"
Lin Zhao turned to look at her and said, "Is there something you cannot tell me?"
"I…"
Wang Yue gritted her teeth, and pearl-like tears rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head, "I don't want to mention it, and even… just now, I had the thought of jumping off this cliff and leaving this filthy and dirty world."
"…"
Lin Zhao frowned, "There's no need."
Wang Yue held the beef, sat in the moonlight, and just looked at him, tears streaming down her face.
She needed to pour out her heart, she needed someone to know her suffering, otherwise, she couldn't bear it alone. But she was unwilling to say it out loud; it was a deadlock.
Lin Zhao looked at Wang Yue's tear-streaked face, afraid that she would really jump off impulsively. Her cultivation realm was not high, and if she jumped, she would surely be shattered to pieces.
Thus, Lin Zhao stood up, and Hao Ran from the Yun Jian Lake flew out with a "swish," creating a small world around Lin Zhao. Instantly, Wang Yue trembled, and everything around her seemed to disappear. At the same time, Lin Zhao's heart also tensed. Ineffably, he seemed to be able to see some of Wang Yue's memories and state of mind.
When he narrowed his eyes, he saw a scene from the past: a young lady from a scholarly family, being held down on the embroidered bed in her boudoir by a group of government officials from Furong Prefecture, with dozens of officers taking turns to insult her.