n

n

nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nLiu Shisui practiced sword work with Gu Han, but he wasn’t qualified to enter Liangwang Peak, so he stayed by the Sword Washing Stream to practice.

nJing Jiu knew about that place, but he hadn’t even stepped out of his cave manor, so he hadn’t yet gone there.

nUp the stream from the Sword Washing Stream, the waterway became wider until one came to the end of it, and right in front of it stood a smooth cliff wall that was about one thousand feet high.

nPure, clean water, fell slowly from the cliff wall, swaying back and forth when passing countless sword caves, truly a wonderful sight to behold.

nRound rocks were lined up in the middle of the stream, half-submerged in the stream and separated at ten-feet intervals; the rocks were wet, slippery, and hard to stand on.

nA dozen or so disciples were practicing their sword work on these rocks.

nThe will of swords was awe-inspiring; once in a while, an air-piercing sound could be heard, with glinting white light appearing and disappearing instantly; these was the flying swords that manifested from time to time.

nThe flying swords flew deep into the cliffs and came back, and the disciples showed placid confidence in their expressions.

nSometimes the flying swords fell from the air, more than ten feet away from the cliff wall and down into the water, and the disciple who had to jump into the water to retrieve it looked awkward and embarrassed.

nSome disciples watched these scenes from further away with admiration.

nTheir colleagues could already make their swords fly thirty or forty feet into the cliff, reaching the State of Perfect Preservation, and yet some of them couldn’t even get a sword from the Sword Peak.

nJing Jiu saw Liu Shisui standing on one of those rocks and walked over.

nSeeing him walk toward that direction, the disciples were amazed and began talking immediately.

nIt mirrored perfectly the scene from when he walked out of the small courtyard at the South Pine Pavilion for the first time.

nLiu Shisui retrieved his sword and saw the visible sword hole on the cliff wall, feeling satisfied with his own progress; then he saw Jing Jiu.

nHe was surprised and excited to see him, but soon felt quite uneasy; he couldn’t talk, so he shook his head to motion Jing Jiu to go back, that he would find him later.

nToo late.

nGu Han had already noticed the commotion behind him and turned around toward Jing Jiu, saying coldly, “Is there a problem?”

nA dozen eyes focused on Jing Jiu.

nJing Jiu gazed at him and didn’t speak.

nWhile the intention in Jing Jiu’s eyes wasn’t noticed by everyone, they knew full well that the feeling was there.

n–Why would I be here if there weren’t a problem?

nYour question is meaningless.

nThe atmosphere by the stream was suddenly full of tension.

nUnexpectedly, Gu Han didn’t get angry, but asked, “What business do you have here?”

n“None that concerns you,” Jing Jiu replied.

nThere was an uproar by the stream; the practicing disciples or the instructors were all considerably shocked by that.

nA regular disciple dared talk to Brother Gu Han of Liangwang Peak like that!

nJing Jiu didn’t intend to embarrass Gu Han, and he didn’t quite understand what the shocking expressions in their eyes meant.

nHe merely answered Gu Han’s question.

nWhat he was about to do indeed had nothing to do with Gu.

nBut he didn’t realize what his answer meant to these listeners.

nLiu Shisui was extremely nervous, running away from the stream.

nHe wanted to explain on Jing Jiu’s behalf, but was stopped by Gu Han.

n“It has been half a year now, and your state hasn’t progressed an inch; you can’t even see the shadow of the Sword Fruit”.

n“I have heard that you want to use Senior Master Mo’s sword. Do you think you have the qualification,” asked Gu Han, looking at Jing Jiu, emotionless.

n“Yes.” Jing Jiu said.

n…

n…

nIt was quiet by the stream.

n“Ha Ha,” someone couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

nThey all wanted to see how Jing Jiu was going to deal with Gu’s reproach, but instead he used a simple word to end the conversation.

nHe didn’t even give it a thought when he said “yes”.

n“Depending on the pills, you could never step on the path toward heaven, so you’d better give up,” said Gu dryly, with a depressed look on his face.

nThis time the answer didn’t come from Jing Jiu, but from a mild but authoritative voice.

n“The paths toward heaven are many; who can decide which path is the correct one?”

nThe crowd formed a path to the speaker; Gu Han bowed slightly.

nThe speaker was Grandmaster Mei Li of Qingrong, whose face was like a plum in cold snow: beautiful but not aggressively so, giving people a chilling but pleasant feeling.

n“No matter who brings you in, the Cultivation is up to you; how Jing Jiu chooses to cultivate has indeed nothing to do with you. You shouldn’t discipline him,” said she, looking at Gu Han.

n“I don’t care about his fate; it’s his mouth that I take issue with,” Gu Han retorted, remaining emotionless.

nThe crowd was split in half, and from the middle of the crowd appeared Sister Yushan and the youth Yuan from Lelang County, who had brought Master Lin Wuzhi with them.

n“Brother Gu, Jing Jiu is a disciple in my class, so the person who disciplines him is me, not you,” said Lin Wuzhi, looking at Gu Han with a smile.

nGu Han took a deep breath, sending a gaze toward Jing Jiu before turning around and walking away.

n“You should decide for yourself which path to take.”

nThis statement was not for Jing Jiu’s benefit, but for Liu Shisui; its meaning was clear enough.

nIf Liu didn’t follow him, and instead chose to stay with Jing Jiu, then he would never have another chance to walk on Liangwang Peak.

nLiu Shisui glanced at Jing Jiu once, then turned to look behind him, seeing Gu’s figure a long distance away; his small face was full of hesitation and struggle.

nJing Jiu turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

nWatching his back profile, Grandmaster Mei Li of Qingrong showed a hint of appreciation.

n“Jing Jiu, you have to try harder to get the sword first,” she said after him as a reminder.

nJing Jiu didn’t turn his head around, and didn’t slow down his steps either.

n“Oh…Okay.”

n…

n…

nWatching Jing Jiu’s back profile disappear at a curve section of the stream, Grandmaster Mei Li narrowed her eyes, thinking about something.

nLin Wuzhi walked to her side and asked with a smile, “Senior Master Mei, is the Qingrong Peak also interested in Jing Jiu?”

nMaster Mei Li looked at him and said, “If he is the disciple that the Sect Master wants, then we won’t even try, of course.”

n“Senior Master Mo wants to find out if there is any hope for Jing Jiu,” Lin Wuzhi said.

nMaster Mei Li sneered, “Then you don’t need to think about it; as long as Jing Jiu can inherit the sword, he must come to our Qingrong Peak; just look at his looks, if he doesn’t come to our place, where else can he go?”

nThe two of them gazed at each other before parting.

nAs far as the Green Mountain Sect was concerned, the Inherited Sword Competition was exceptionally important for the inheritance of each peak.

nIf they could get a truly outstanding disciple, it would be a few decades, perhaps several hundred years before another swordsman of unparalleled power could break through the State of Oceans.

nIf you missed this outstanding disciple, then it meant that you had handed over this unparalleled swordsman to the other peaks.

nObviously, Jing Jiu was an abnormal disciple; who didn’t want to pay attention to him? If he was finally proven to be useless, then that was it, but the Inherited Sword Competition would happen in half a year, and if he didn’t do well this time, there would be another chance at next competition. Who would want to give up hope beforehand?

nThe reason why Gu Han behaved that way was that Liangwang Peak didn’t need the inheritance; they were not short on talent either.

n…

n…

nJing Jiu knew exactly why Mei Li of Qingrong Peak and Li Wuzhi came to his rescue, and he didn’t care.

nHe didn’t even know himself which peak he wanted to go to.

nBack in his cave manor, he opened his hand and looked at that light-blue colored tablet, sitting silently for awhile.

nThis tablet was called the Xuanji pill, something that could help the disciples at the State of Perfect Preservation stabilize the Sword Pill, making it was very precious.

nYesterday Sister Yushan told him about the Inherited Sword Competition, so he thought Shisui might need it, and so he took the trip today, but then the unexpected incident happened.

nThinking of the gaze from Gu Han before he left, Jing Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly, a slight smile forming on his handsome face as he said to himself, “Kind of interesting.”

nAs far as Jing Jiu was concerned, boredom was a rare emotion, as well as the emotion of interest.

nGu Han observed him carefully before he left and checked him out using his Piercing Discernment.

nHe did so in a dominating and aggressive way, like an authoritative figure looking down on his subject, without any reason and justice.

nJing Jiu hadn’t experienced this situation in a long time.

nHe wasn’t used to it anymore and felt unpleased.

nIf it happened in his time, what would he have done, after encountering this incident and feeling displeased?

nJing Jiu recalled carefully.

nIf displeased, of course kill him with a swing of the sword.

nOf course, he couldn’t do it now.

nGu Han’s wrongdoing doesn’t deserve the death penalty.

nHe isn’t a violent person.

nBut the most important thing is to kill your opponent with a sword…

nFirst of all, you need a sword.

nHe doesn’t have a sword.

nWithout a sword, he naturally can’t participate in the Inherited Sword Competition.

nIt looks like he really needs a sword now.

nThe bracelet on his wrist vibrated a little.

n“I can’t use you.”

n“Besides, I promise Little Mo.”

n…

n…

nNeed a sword.

nThe sword was on the Sword Peak.

nSo Jing Jiu went to the Sword Peak.

n