“What?” Hua Lun quickly stopped surveying the surroundings doubting that he had heard wrong.

How could he just leave? Perhaps the Outsky Strange Stone that we value so much does not have the same appeal to him? Or is this why they say he personifies nobility and integrity?

Of course, he had no idea that the cunning chap standing across from him had already “sucked” away the essence, the fragmented Gist of Trueness, from the stone. Though what remained still had some worth, it was no longer valuable to Meng Qi.

Meng Qi replied with a serious face, “I had some urgent matters at hand before I met you at the abandoned temple. Now that your problem is solved, I shouldn’t linger.”

Meng Qi then handed the Outsky Strange Stone back to Hua Lun.

After taking back the stone, Hua Lun realized that the stone truly was not what Meng Qi coveted, and expressed his admiration, “Childe Meng, of all the people that I have met, only you could truly be called a ‘swordsman’, for you value friendship over personal gain. Not to mention that you helped out a stranger who was stranded in the middle of nowhere and had many enemies to face. Yet after risking your life for me, you choose to quietly walk away without expecting a reward. I sincerely appreciate and admire your character.”

“Think nothing of it, please call me the red scarfed pioneer… ” Meng Qi could not help thinking upon hearing the familiar words “quietly walking away without expecting a reward”. Then he thought, “Childe Hua, you’re too kind with your praise.”

Hua Lun bowed deeply and added, “Thank you Childe for your help in procuring the stone for our denomination, I will not forget that I owe you one. If one day, you are in need of help from our denomination or me personally, just say the word.”

Meng Qi guiltlessly accepted his offer, but mused for a second and said, “If the Luo Denomination believes that this Outsky Strange Stone may have some hidden elements concealed within, then others would think the same. Hence, you should be extra alert, for other masters would be sure to come for it.”

“Vigilance alone would not be enough, for the Luo Denomination is discreet and secretive with a ferociousness to match, not to mention the extensive number of skilled masters.” Hua Lun sighed with his face all twisted, “Unless the Elders from our denomination could step forward and assume command.”

To send a skilled master of the exterior level to garrison the stone was not difficult to the Luo Denomination as no one could stop the “Three Mountains and Four Waters”.

Meng Qi had been waiting for these exact words, he replied smilingly, “The Luo Denomination is a member of the Nine Evil Paths, and everyone from the respected schools knows that. The Zhen Yi School might be a little frightened if the Sanskrit Dharmaraja, Oracle and other powers, the Zhen Wu Sect however, is not. If they found out the skilled masters from the Luo denomination were on their way here, they’d definitely be willing to kill in the name of ridding evil. By then, they’d set up traps to lure the masters and teach the Luo Denomination a lesson. Yet this may enhance the relationship between your denomination and the Zhen Wu Sect. With their reinforcements, they’d no longer be afraid of vengeance from the Luo Denomination.”

When the opportunity arises, he would definitely set a trap to lure Gu Xiaosang.

“You have a point.” Hua Lun replied after some thought, but then frowned, “The battle is in three days, but I have no confidence in defeating Huang Yun.”

Meng Qi provided some words of comfort, saying, “Don’t worry about it, the Kung Fu inside the Outsky Strange Stone is enough for you to slowly digest for a few years, don’t bite off more than you can chew. If there comes a time when the Mount Qin Sword Sect ‘loses’ the stone, you could ask them for compensation.”

Giving it to the Zhen Yi School is another choice, but this would break the competition arrangement made by the two schools.

Hua Lun nodded in agreement and no longer worried, “I was being a bit too greedy. If I follow your advice, the Mount Qin Sword Sect would not easily ‘lose’ the stone out of respect. In the incident that they did ‘lose’ it, I would personally request an explanation from them.”

“So enough with the doubts, just enjoy the battle with Huang Yun and give it all you have.” Meng Qi encouraged.

If Hua Lun could shed his baggage so as to eliminate his weakness from the inside, he might have a fighting chance against Huang Yun, who himself was full of uncertainty as he had failed with his schemes.

I’m not going to force things here. If the chance to enmesh Gu Xiaosang presents itself, then great. If not, it doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to get in too deep.

Hua Lun thanked Meng Qi again and added, “I’m not going to waste anymore of your time Childe, for I’ve already taken up too much.”

Meng Qi applied some pressure on his feet and flew onto the boat, then laughed, “We shall meet again Childe Hua, but don’t forget to pay the boatman.”

As the boat drifted with the downward current of the river, Meng Qi stood on the bow, looking at the waves and recalling the events of tonight. He was extremely at ease and full of pride, so he recited loudly,

“A young swordsman befriends Jianghu heroes from all walks of life. They are all brave, wear their hearts on their sleeves, welcome death with open arms. Their word is gold… ”

As Hua Lun watched Meng Qi sail away from the dock, he heard the ode and muttered to himself, “They are all brave, wear their hearts on their sleeves, and welcome death with open arms. Their word is gold… ”

A sudden heroic and bold feeling surged from within, he could help blurting out a praise, “Childe Meng is a true swordsman!”

…

The cold moon hung high up in the sky and its light reflected on the surface of the river as waves rippled, which was beautiful beyond measure.

A round of sonnet later, Meng Qi was appreciating the gorgeous setting before him, when he heard the sound of a flute playing. The music was sad like it was lamenting something, and each note drove straight in the heart.

Meng Qi turned his head to see, to his astonishment, a small boat steered out of the darkness. A girl in white was standing on the bow, her features were delicate and her white robes fluttered with the wind like it was dancing. She was holding a jade flute and her pink lips were on the reed. The melodious sound travelled into the distance as if telling people her lament and affection.

The current setting made people feel that an angel had dawned on us, soft as water, pretty as a painting.

But Meng Qi’s expression suddenly turned pale, he extended his right hand to grab hold of the blade handle. He then ripped open his bag and drew out the Red Sun Evil Blade. He wielded the Ice Palace Sword with his left hand and got into stance to attack. Meanwhile, he also activated the dark gold glow to protect his body. Meng Qi now looked like that the Vajra had dawned on him, no longer giving off the sense of being from another realm, but looked ferocious and strong.

“Damn, the picture changed again!” Luckily nobody saw him! Meng Qi converged his Energy, Qi, Spirit and Will and said in a calm voice, “Miss Xiaosang, it’s been a while, how have you been?”

The girl wearing white robes was actually the Holy Maid of Luo Denomination, Gu Xiaosang, ranked 4th on the Ranking List of Young Masters!

Since she had been there all along, why didn’t she make a move?

Having thought about the fact that his strength now was much improved and that he was on a boat in the river, Meng Qi was sure that he could at least escape if the situation called for it.

Gu Xiaosang’s pink lips moved away from the flute and glanced at Meng Qi bitterly, “My dearest hubby, you didn’t think to see me after arriving here, so how fine could I be?”

“Hubby… each time I see her, my title changes, next time would I be called her child’s daddy?” Meng Qi’s face twitched, “Crazy people are hard to understand!”

Before Meng Qi could answer, Gu Xiaosang sighed and added, “After I found out that the Talent-accruing School and Mount Qin Sword Sect have procured the Outsky Strange Stone, which had the blood of the Thunder God concealed within; Not only did I send out my subordinates, but personally came to help obtain the stone and give it to you, but I didn’t expect you to be here too. Since you’ve been intent on getting the stone on your own, I backed off. However, what I don’t understand is why you, hubby, left in such a rush without even seeing me?”

“Though she never revealed herself during the ordeal, even Huang Yun and others had no clued that the Holy Maid of Luo Denomination was hidden in the background, however, the fact the she came to preside the situation meant that the Outsky Strange Stone was of great importance to her. Perhaps the stone had something to do with the relic of the Ninth Heaven. But the fact that she just watched me obtain the Thunder God impartation and did not instruct her men to do anything was very abnormal… ” These questions flipped through Meng Qi’s mind.

Could it be that only the one with the Thunder God’s mark could receive the impartation? And that Gu Xiaosang only wanted to grab the Outsky Strange Stone to “give” it to me at an opportune time?

This would also explain her unwillingness to act and her weird greeting… Perhaps the way to open the Ninth Heaven ruins required the descendant of the Thunder God, who was the head of the Gods under the Heaven Sovereign, or even to reach a certain level, or learn a certain move…

Meng Qi was now more convinced but he kept up his vigilance because anything mishap in front of Gu Xiaosang might land himself in grave danger. He was even ready to burst into attack at any moment to buy some time and jump in the water to escape.

“Does the way to open the Ninth Heaven ruins require the descendant of the Thunder God?” Meng Qi asked directly.

The corner of Gu Xiaosang’s lips twitched upwards, revealing her shallow dimples. Her smile was like a deceiving devil, “There is only one drop of Thunder God’s blood in the Outsky Strange Stone. As for the fragmented Gist of Trueness, there might not be one complete move. It’s only fitting that Kung Fu of the Dharmakaya level would not be easy to procure.”

She neither denied nor admitted Meng Qi’s question, instead, she changed the subject.

“Kung Fu of the Dharmakaya level?” Meng Qi only suspected as such before, but upon hearing Gu Xiaosang tell him directly, he was still shocked.

“Hubby, do you not know about the ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’?” Gu Xiaosang asked with a smile.

“There are so many mystical arts of the Dharmakaya level on the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms’ Exchange List, I haven’t got the time to go through them one by one!” Meng Qi shook his head and answered, “No, I don’t.”

“‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’ is the supreme art of the legendary Thunder God, whose power is unrivalled. Even during the Myths times, it would rank up there with the best.” Gu Xiaosang inserted the flute in her hips and explained, “Especially the last move of the ninth chapter, Extreme Retaliation, which is the heaven splitting counter attack when pushed to the extremes. This move is on par with the Imperial Scripts of Heaven or The Buddha’s Palm, and hence rightfully earned a place in the supreme arts.”

“However, the Thunder God was born from nature’s energy, and lived until the ancient Myths times. His strength and power was drawn from nature’s energy. Even when he stripped everything to its core and came up with the ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’, they were still just movements. Without the cultivation methods, even though you’ve grasped the movements, its power would still not be realized. So that is why the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms listed the ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’ with the other supreme arts of the Dharmakaya level.”

Meng Qi did not say anything, but thought to himself, “The move ‘Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky’ I had grasped earlier should be a move from the ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’.”

Gu Xiaosang sighed and added, “In fact, the real Thunder God’s impartation had long been obtained by people from the medieval times. An unnamed person discovered the Thunder Pool and the Thunder God’s body and the complete ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’. He used them to forge a frightening thunder blade, the only Peerless Godly Weapon forged after The Myths times.

“He was inspired by the ‘Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights’ and formed his own supreme art. His nickname was the Overlord, fighting against whole sects and aristocratic families on his own. Those who were with him survived, those against, were oppressed for life.

“Shame though, he was eventually stitched-up by the head of the Wang family from River East, who himself had reached Dharmakaya. He used sexual seduction and gathered all the Dharmakaya level masters and ambushed him.

“The Overload knew about the trap, but for the woman, he went alone anyway. The battle had killed all but a few Dharmakaya level masters from the medieval times. The Overlord had left the only blade named ‘Extinctive Blade of Overlord’ to that woman.

“Hubby, if one day I were strapped, would you risk your life for me like the Overload?”

Meng Qi was still immersed in the story, thinking about the Overlord’s heroic battle, but was suddenly woken by Gu Xiaosang’s words, making his mouth twitch. “What a stupid question!”

“So, in order to get the complete Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights, apart from exchanging for it from the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms, you would have to find the ‘Extinctive Blade of Overlord’?” Meng Qi asked in a low voice.

Even the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms had written the words ‘incomplete’ next to it!

Gu Xiaosang replied with a smile, “The girl that the Overlord was infatuated with was the ‘Xuan Nv’ of the Sect of the Plain Lady. So naturally the Extinctive Blade of Overlord is in the Sect of the Plain Lady.”

The Sect of the Plain Lady, one of the Nine Evil Paths! Meng Qi squinted, “Is she trying to use me?”