“Also, I ask Shibo to look after Senior Sister and the spirit beasts during the trial. If they encounter danger…” Before Qing Feng could finish, Dao Lord Zisu had already formed a hand seal: “Since I’ve agreed to you, I will naturally ensure their safety.” Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow: “You care so much about the authority of the Law Enforcement Hall?”
“I had no intention of contending for it, but Dragon Yang Peak’s methods are despicable.” A cold glint flickered in Qing Feng’s eyes as he recalled the various schemes before the trial.
The Black Dog was almost poisoned to death, and Senior Sister’s constitution was deliberately interfered with. Every single incident touched his reverse scale. He could tolerate suffering losses himself, but he would absolutely not let his opponents off lightly.
Dao Lord Zisu suddenly smiled, and a Demon-Imprisoning Talisman Seal appeared in her palm: “Those several Nascent Soul demonic beasts have long been prepared for you to practice with. When your spirit dog makes its move, they will ‘accidentally’ break free from their restraints.” Beast shadows roared within the talisman seal, but they could never break through the three feet of azure light.
“This position was originally set up for you,” the Dao Lord said, startling him. “The Sect Leader and your Master discussed it for half a month and finally decided to transfer the authority under the guise of a competition. Those clowns from Dragon Yang Peak are merely whetstones.”
Qing Feng was astonished: “Then my dealings with Dragon Yang Peak all this time…”
“The harder they work, the more legitimate your ascent to power will appear,” Dao Lord Zisu tapped her fingertip lightly, and a trial map appeared in the void. “Cultivation techniques can be replicated a thousand times, so what’s the harm in letting the two factions compete for them? The truly important real power of the Law Enforcement Hall should have been handed over to a trustworthy person long ago.”
Qin Yue suddenly realized: “So Qing Feng is…”
“It should be so.” Dao Lord Zisu suddenly cut her off. “However, there are other arrangements now; such mundane affairs would hinder your cultivation.” She gently waved her wide sleeve, sweeping up the fallen petals. “How can Zhijian Peak Disciples be constrained by paperwork?”
Qing Feng and Qin Yue exchanged glances, both feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness.
The Law Enforcement Hall, which Dragon Yang Peak cherished as a treasure, was seen as a hindrance to cultivation in the eyes of Zhijian Peak.
Qing Feng gazed at the scattered petals, sighing inwardly. No wonder they said Zhijian Peak cultivators were arrogant; they even found authority bothersome.
Icicles hanging from the eaves of Heaven Sword Peak’s main hall refracted cold light, as Disciples hurried through, clutching jade slips.
Even the Chief Disciple in charge of Heaven Sword Peak was, in their eyes, merely a chore-doing attendant.
“Becoming a Bixi Disciple grants Sect protection, and I heard there are thirty mid-grade spirit stones monthly?” Qin Yue stroked the jade pendant at her waist.
Dao Lord Zisu’s wide sleeve gently lifted, and the table was instantly piled with glowing jade boxes: “Why concern yourselves with such paltry resources? From now on, all your expenses will be drawn from my name.”
“Shibo’s generosity is overwhelming; Disciple is humbled,” Qing Feng stroked the hilt of his sword. His Shibo’s generosity made him both grateful and uneasy. The Beast Taming Sect had always emphasized equivalent exchange; such unprovoked favoritism made him feel as if he had thorns in his back.
“Of the Beast Taming Sect’s thousand-year legacy, truly capable sword wielders number no more than five,” Dao Lord Zisu’s fingertip condensed a three-inch sword light, illuminating her eyes with shimmering starlight. “A sword wielder must sever karma and cut off worldly affairs. From today onwards, you only need to do two things,”
Before she finished speaking, a thunderous roar came from the distant sea of clouds.
Qing Feng looked thoughtfully in the direction of his Master’s residence, but saw that Dao Lord Zisu had already summoned her natal spirit sword: “As for the Sect Leader, I will explain myself.”
…
Mu Zhengting, who was engrossed in the zither music, felt his fingertips tremble slightly, and a zither string suddenly snapped.
He caressed the erhu made from thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood, and suddenly detected an abnormal fluctuation from the Sect-protecting array. This usually composed Sect Leader of the Beast Taming Sect narrowed his eyes, feeling as if an invisible sword hung over his head.
“Break!”
A clear phoenix cry erupted in the Bixi illusion, and the Autumn Water Sword in Qin Yue’s hand pulsed with cold light.
As the cold light flashed, the sword tip had already pierced the giant bear’s throat, and the two-zhang-tall demonic beast crashed to the ground.
Her spiritual energy suddenly boiled, and her black hair moved without wind, actually breaking through the Foundation Establishment shackles during the life-and-death struggle.
“Senior Sister chose an exquisite timing for this breakthrough,” Qing Feng chuckled, twirling his sword, his wooden sword currently entwined with Dao Lord Zisu’s sword qi.
After seven hundred sword challenges over three years, he had long since discerned the three parts of restraint hidden within his Shibo’s sword intent.
Amidst the surging clouds, a three-zhang spiritual tide coiled like golden scales, and a faint phantom of a phoenix even appeared in mid-air. Dao Lord Zisu gently stroked her long beard: “Since the Beast Taming Sect was established a thousand years ago, those who could form a Nascent Soul at the age of twenty number no more than ten. Qin girl is now only sixteen, and should be considered the foremost.”
Ordinary cultivators at most caused qi refining ripples when breaking through, and even among prodigies, being able to gather a ten-foot vortex was already rare.
Qing Feng straightened his back upon hearing this: “That’s natural!” His wooden sword jingled at his waist as his sleeves fluttered.
The Dao Lord’s gaze suddenly deepened: “As for you, little rascal, Deputy Head would like to see how many layers of ripples you can stir up when you break through.”
Half a month ago, he still regarded this child as an ordinary junior, but who would have thought that in the Sword Discussion Pavilion, he would hear words like “the Way of the Sword is like a surging river; a thousand li of sword light is not as good as an inch of sharpness,” and even the shocking wild claim of “to cut down the heavens, one must first cut down one’s own obsession.”
Although mostly nascent theories, they struck him, who had been immersed in the Way of the Sword for three hundred years, like the sound of evening drums and morning bells.
Qing Feng rubbed the tip of his nose, chuckling: “Disciple is dull; I’m afraid I can’t even stir up qi refining ripples.”
Suddenly, an unusual movement came from the eastern mountain wall. Shen Ti quickly stepped forward: “A Heaven-grade inheritance actually fell into Dragon Yang Peak’s hands?” Then he turned to Zisu and cupped his hands: “Why not ask Martial Brother Qing Feng to display his Fortune-Intercepting Secret Art again?”
“Nonsense!” Zisu’s wide sleeves suddenly vibrated, stirring up pine needles everywhere: “A sword heart should be as clear as a bright moon; how can it imitate a street thug stealing others’ opportunities? I punish you to transcribe the ‘Scripture of Purity and Tranquility’ a hundred times.”
Qing Feng bowed appropriately: “Shibo’s lesson is right, but recently, I have been repeatedly troubled by Dragon Yang Peak…” Before he finished speaking, he saw the Dao Lord already forming a sword incantation. Shen Ti was dumbfounded. His own suggestion was reprimanded just now, so why did it become a righteous act when someone else said it?
Watching his Master and Martial Brother Qing Feng ride the clouds away, Shen Ti Touching the back of my head and mumbling to myself: “The ‘Three Essentials of Speech’ Martial Brother Qing Feng taught me yesterday, could it be specifically to counter Master?” The jade token at his waist flickered, reflecting the young man’s face full of confusion and sudden realization.
As moonlight spilled over the bluestone steps, Dao Lord Zisu heavily tapped her teacup on the table: “The principle I just explained yesterday, let Master see how much you’ve comprehended?”
Seeing the young man stammering, the Dao Lord suddenly conjured two illusory figures. In the left illusion, a blue-robed youth answered with his head held high: “I want to gather all the wealth in the world and possess peerless beauties!” Before he finished speaking, he was slapped by his illusory father and fell from the cloud platform.
In the right scene, a plain-robed youth bowed: “I wish to attain the Dao of immortality and guard the true feelings in my heart.”
The illusory father smiled and handed over a gilded food box, in which the spirit bird’s wing roots glowed with an amber luster.
Dao Lord Zisu’s wide sleeves unfurled, dispersing the illusion, and the sound of sword cries rippled ninefold through the sea of clouds: “It’s a waste that you’ve cultivated with me for thirty years, yet haven’t comprehended Master’s Dao heart. The three-foot azure blade in your hand is the only answer to questioning the heavens.”
The clouds suddenly tore open, and thousands of starlight condensed into a golden sword bridge spanning the sky.
As Qing Feng stepped onto this path to heaven constructed purely from sword intent, the aura around him began to undergo a mysterious transformation.
With each golden lotus blooming beneath his feet, the Dongxuan Realm’s enlightenment of “observing heaven and earth as palm lines” surged into his heart.
