"A trivial matter."
The man in the green shirt, Zhang Shou, smiled and said, "Bring it here. Elder Yan is going to the lower realm to escort my junior brother. Just in time, my junior brother's third Vein Sword Lake has awakened. I'll send the sword tip over on the way."
"That is indeed good news."
Yan Beichen floated up, flicked his palm, and a fiery red sword tip drifted over.
The man in the green shirt held it in his palm, probing it with his sword intent. He frowned and said, "If I remember correctly, when this sword tip was used to refine the demon core of Man Yuan, the demonic energy within was extremely potent. Moreover, a wisp of Man Yuan's soul was attached to the sword tip. Will this leave any karma? After all, Man Yuan was raised like a biological son by the demon ancestor. He was born with overwhelming demonic energy. If there's still a wisp of demonic soul in the sword tip, and Man Yuan's soul retaliates against my junior brother, we might be doing more harm than good."
"Don't worry."
Yan Beichen chuckled, "Lin Zhao at least called me Brother Yan. Since he called me that, I'll do everything a big brother should. The demonic soul and essence in this sword tip have been completely refined. There will be no more Man Yuan, the great demon, in this world. Can I, Yan Beichen, who can cleave Man Yuan's physical body, not cleave a wisp of his demonic soul?"
"That's what you say."
The man in the green shirt grinned and said, "But Xiao Yan, you fell to the thirteenth realm when you refined this sword tip. It's not that I don't trust you, but you know that you and I are close in our Great Dao."
"Oh?"
Yan Beichen was taken aback. "You cultivate the martial path's killing sword heart, and I cultivate the flawless sword heart. How are they close?"
"Perhaps because of the name."
The man in the green shirt pointed at Yan Beichen and smiled, "Because the characters 'Bei Chen' have a deep connection with me. Although I am the Saint of War, I have been lingering here for an unknown number of years. But in these years, countless times in my dreams, I recall my other identity, recall 'The south wind knows my intentions, blowing dreams to the western continent,' recall many past events, many old friends."
"..."
Yan Beichen was confused by his words and paid him no mind. He said, "Then do you want to refine this sword tip again and check if there are any residual demonic souls of Man Yuan?"
"Yes."
The man in the green shirt gently closed his five fingers, and streams of pure sword intent surged towards the sword tip, immediately beginning the refinement. He chuckled as he said, "I trust you. This sword tip absolutely cannot retain any of Man Yuan's demonic souls. You, Yan Beichen of the thirteenth realm, have this capability. I am only concerned about residual karma. Therefore, not only Man Yuan, but I will also erase everything related to Man Yuan from the sword tip, including his father, mother, step-parents, and the karma of his eighteenth generation ancestors, all refined, leaving my junior brother with a pure sword tip and the foundation of the fire dao."
Yan Beichen rolled his eyes. Honestly, the person before him was not only a natural sword immortal but also a natural annoyance. If his bones weren't hard enough and his swordsmanship wasn't high enough, he would have been killed countless times in a place like the upper realm.
...
Emerald Mountain, Scarlet Cloud Sect.
"Ah?!"
Young Chen Changsheng cried out in alarm, thrown by his recently recognized "master," Liu Yu, towards the ferocious demon fox. In mid-air, Chen Changsheng saw the demon fox open its monstrous maw, poised to bite him in half. Just as Chen Changsheng's tears streamed down, thinking he would never see his mother again, a gentle sword intent enveloped his body, pushing him away. Immediately after, the young sword cultivator brother who had given him steamed buns that morning appeared, and with a fierce sword strike, he slashed at the third-realm demon fox.
"Aowoo..."
The demon fox wailed as it was struck by the sword. It was only a third-realm demon, and of low level at that. How could it withstand the blade of Lin Zhao, a Grand Swordmaster of the third rotation? After one strike, his flying sword, Mingyue, along with three immortal swords, pierced the demon's body, completely dismembering it.
"You!"
Liu Yu exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with dread. "You're not the one Master invited up the mountain..."
"Good memory."
Lin Zhao turned and smiled, throwing out a cage of sword energy that directly trapped Liu Yu. Then, Lin Zhao summoned his flying sword, Hao Ran, instantly opening a small world that enveloped Liu Yu. His entire body surged with sword intent, and he unleashed his ultimate move, "One Sword to Slay an Immortal." It didn't matter; using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken was fine. Lin Zhao hated people like Liu Yu the most.
"Young hero!"
Liu Yu looked at the chilling sword intent with horror in his heart. "Our Scarlet Cloud Sect has treated you with such courtesy, yet you intend to kill me, an inner disciple of the Scarlet Cloud Sect?!"
The next moment, the sword light of "One Sword to Slay an Immortal" flashed, instantly reducing Liu Yu's health bar by 62%. Following that, five immortal swords and twelve Great Desolate Ancient Swords flew out in unison, turning into streams of light that pierced Liu Yu's chest. He was merely a sixth-realm sword cultivator. How could he withstand Lin Zhao's fierce assault? In the next moment, Liu Yu fell to his knees, turning into a corpse.
Lin Zhao frowned. So what if they treated him with courtesy? Did that mean he couldn't kill you?!
The principles of the world weren't like that. One couldn't say that just because a bad person gave you some benefits, you should remain silent when they commit evil. The principles of the world were never like that. What did it mean to be soft-mouthed from receiving favors and short-handed from receiving gifts? Lin Zhao felt it shouldn't be like that. This matter was fundamentally about separating issues. Friendship was one thing, and good and evil were another. Lin Zhao killed Liu Yu because of his evil deeds, but because of their friendship... well, the Scarlet Cloud Sect had indeed treated him well, so he left Liu Yu with a whole corpse.
In this way, who could say that Lin Zhao didn't abide by the rules of the martial world?
...
"Chen Changsheng, is it?"
Lin Zhao looked at the young boy.
"Yes..."
The young boy was wide-eyed, terrified by what he had just witnessed. The inner disciple Liu Yu of the Scarlet Cloud Sect was already a mountain deity in his eyes, and this person who had effortlessly killed him was clearly even more powerful!
"If you don't want to die, come with me."
Lin Zhao leaped onto his flying sword, Hong Ye, and grabbed the boy's shoulder. "Let's go down the mountain."
"Yes, young hero..."
The matter of Liu Yu's death would certainly not be kept quiet, as he was the direct disciple of an ancestor. Therefore, Lin Zhao was quick. After bringing Chen Changsheng down the mountain, he rushed into the Sword God Pavilion, spent one hundred Golden Mullet coins to buy the immortal sword Han Lu, and after storing the immortal sword in his bag, he took Chen Changsheng and flew down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, a wild donkey rushed out of the woods, shaking its head at Lin Zhao.
"Brother Donkey?!"
Lin Zhao was overjoyed. He hugged the donkey's head. This donkey was truly spirited and lovable. So, leading the donkey, he said to Chen Changsheng, "You have two choices. The first is to leave with your mother immediately and get as far away from here as possible. You will inevitably be implicated in Liu Yu's death, and the Scarlet Cloud Sect will not let this matter go. The second is to secretly have your mother stay elsewhere, and then you will accompany me on a journey through the martial world until we find a safe place to settle. Otherwise, you have a high probability of being hunted down and killed by the Scarlet Cloud Sect."
The young boy hesitated. He couldn't bear to leave his mother, but he was also unwilling to be killed by the mountain deities of the Scarlet Cloud Sect who didn't distinguish between good and evil. In the end, he chose the first option, leaving his mother with a hunter's family at the foot of the mountain. Lin Zhao helped by giving them a considerable amount of copper coins. Afterward, the two left Emerald Mountain, not taking the main road, but following a small path eastward.
In the evening, they lodged at a roadside inn.
After eating something, Chen Changsheng was clearly exhausted and fell asleep, snoring loudly. Lin Zhao sat by the inn's window. In the game, he basically didn't need rest; his stamina was abundant. As night fell, it began to rain. At first, the raindrops were small, but later they were as large as soybeans, falling in torrents.
"Hmm?!"
He suddenly had a thought and noticed several figures entering the inn through the rain. Two elders in red robes and three young people in purple robes. If it was the Scarlet Cloud Sect, it would be two Golden Core elders and three seventh-realm enforcers!
This is not good...
Lin Zhao frowned, reached out, and flicked a raindrop from outside the window, "snap," and it landed on Chen Changsheng's face. He said sternly, "Don't make a sound. They've chased us. Prepare to escape."
"Ah?!"
The young boy had never experienced such a situation and was at a loss.
The next second, streaks of water dripped horizontally and seeped into the room door, then transformed into rain swords that shot towards Lin Zhao. A Golden Core elder had already made his move. Lin Zhao raised his hand and used the immortal sword Guoke to shatter all these rain swords, grabbed Chen Changsheng's body, and threw him out the window. The flying sword Hong Ye followed, supporting Chen Changsheng's lower body.
"You court death!"
A Golden Core elder holding lightning fiercely unleashed a lightning spell towards Lin Zhao, roaring, "Our Scarlet Cloud Sect has treated you well, yet you killed our disciple! Do not blame us for being impolite!"
Lin Zhao met the attack with a sword strike, Qian Kun Yi Zhi, shattering the opponent's lightning spell while his health bar plummeted by over 30,000. In an instant, two 본명 (natal) flying swords arrived in the air, the killing moves of two seventh-realm enforcers. Lin Zhao, without thinking, leaped backward and rushed out of the window. He stepped onto the flying sword Hong Ye in mid-air, grabbed the falling Chen Changsheng's shoulder with his left hand, lifted him, and rushed into the rain-soaked jungle.
In the sky, two consecutive sword lights flashed. The sword cultivators of the Scarlet Cloud Sect were in pursuit. Escaping by flying sword was very risky. It was better to escape through the forest, relying on the speed advantage of the flying sword Hong Ye.
However, the world was filled with pouring rain, and both Lin Zhao and Chen Changsheng suffered greatly.
...
Late at night, a mountain-top villa.
Golden Confucian text suddenly swirled in the sky, condensing into clouds. When Su Qingjiu, Zuo Zhi, Lin Wanhua, and others looked up, a ripple of light spread from the clouds. Immediately, an old gentleman descended from the upper realm, breaking through the void. It was Lin Zhao's teacher's teacher, dressed in a gray long gown, with a wine gourd hanging from his waist.
"Old sir!"
Lin Xingchu bowed respectfully.
"No need for ceremony, nor need to worry."
The old gentleman smiled, "Xiao Zhao is in another world, and he is doing very well."
Su Qingjiu chuckled, "Leng Yan has already told us, but everyone is still worried."
"It's nothing."
The old gentleman glanced at the nearby lotus pond and walked over immediately. He looked down at the pond, and after a moment, he raised his hand and sucked. With a "snap," a stone that resembled a pebble fell into his palm. It was the Stone of Destiny that Lin Zhao had lost.