Longzang

Chapter 393 A stranger is like jade

"You're asking for it!" The man stomped on him hard and even ground him a few times. Wei Yuan didn't feel humiliated, just a little ashamed.

Seeing that Wei Yuan remained unmoved, a light blue immortal sword was plunged into the ground close to Wei Yuan's face, and the sword energy cut off several strands of Wei Yuan's hair.

Wei Yuan wasn't afraid; he simply said, "Why don't we have a proper talk first?"

"What's there to talk about with a defeated opponent?"

Wei Yuan tried to turn around, but the foot pressing down on him tightened its grip, pinning him to the ground and warning, "Don't turn around!"

Wei Yuan said, "You are not a member of the Xu family."

The man said, "What does it matter whether I'm a member of the Xu family or not? Besides, how do you know I'm not? I really am!"

"Impossible, the Xu family's swordsmanship is far superior to yours."

The man's breathing quickened, and he said in a cold voice, "Since you are so eager to die, then I will grant your wish!"

The immortal sword was drawn and thrust towards Wei Yuan's back. The sword pierced Wei Yuan's back without difficulty, but stopped just before it touched his ribs.

However, at that moment, Wei Yuan's body suddenly flattened by half, then he moved sideways close to the ground to avoid the immortal sword, and then sprang up instantly!

Standing behind Wei Yuan was a woman in white, with sword-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and three shimmering star marks at the corners of her eyes. Apart from that, she wore no other adornments. She was clearly not expecting Wei Yuan to escape in this way, and in her shock, she saw Wei Yuan crash into her!
This impact was like the earth shifting and Mount Buzhou collapsing.

The two were too close, and the woman didn't have time to draw her sword. Suddenly, a fairy holding a sword appeared above her head, with countless blue ribbons hanging from the sword. They fell on her and pulled her backward. She was completely detached from worldly affairs. Wei Yuan rammed into her with all his might, but he couldn't even touch her!

However, at that moment, a tall warrior and a scholar appeared expressionlessly, standing side by side, and transformed into a wall.

She crashed hard into the wall, and then saw Wei Yuan's tall figure flying towards her like a mountain!
The entire main peak seemed to move.

The warriors and scholars vanished quietly, just as they had come quietly, leaving without taking away a single cloud.

The sword-wielding fairy in the air flickered in and out of focus, her hands seemingly trembling.

Wei Yuan helped the woman sit down slowly in the chair and smiled, "Please sit down and calm down."

The woman bit her lower lip tightly, frowned, and glanced at Wei Yuan. In that instant, she was so beautiful that one wanted to capture it in a painting.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, one hand gripping Wei Yuan's sleeve tightly. If she hadn't been pulled back, she feared she would have collapsed into the chair. Her divine form had almost crumbled, demonstrating the force of the impact.

Wei Yuan sat down in front of her, picked up his teacup and took a sip, then waited for her to recover.

The woman slowly straightened her body, but swayed again after only halfway, forcing her to slow down. After a moment, she caught her breath and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "Despicable!"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "I already said it's a life-or-death battle, so you're bound to lose. Since it's a life-or-death battle, any means are acceptable."

"Is that so? I shouldn't have held back just now; I should have killed you with one strike!"

"Your initial sneak attack wasn't exactly honorable, was it?"

The woman had recovered somewhat and regained her composure. She said, "I just want to see just how capable you are, given your arrogant words."

How did I spout such nonsense?

"Didn't you say that the Xu family's Dharma images are all trash?"

Wei Yuan nodded: "I said those words, but you're not a member of the Xu family, so what does it have to do with you?"

"I'm not standing up for them, I just want to see just how capable this guy is, daring to disregard all laws and regulations."

Before Wei Yuan could defend himself, she said, "No need to explain. Your disdain for the Xu family is the same as your disdain for the Dharma of the World."

Wei Yuan sighed and said, "Now that you've tested my abilities, let's call it a day, shall we?"

She said coldly, "You only managed to steal a win by taking advantage of my kindness. Do you really think you're my match?"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "Since you think you're so powerful, then don't use your sword. Fight hand-to-hand, and I'll give you a handicap."

Her breathing quickened with anger, her chest heaving, and she instinctively bit her lip again, but she managed to control herself and said as calmly as possible, "We swordsmen live by our swords; as long as the sword is there, we live; if the sword dies, we die! How could we possibly abandon our swords?"

Wei Yuan scoffed, "After all that talk, you can't fight without a sword? I'll say it again: if you're so capable, then fight me hand-to-hand, and I'll give you a leg. If you're not, then get out of here and don't ever show your face in front of me again!"

The woman's anger surged, and she stood up abruptly, declaring, "I am a sword cultivator!"

She immediately realized her mistake, gritted her teeth, and said, "The way of the sword lies in purity and extremes! No matter how weak my physical body is, it is enough to kill you."

"If you're so capable, let's fight hand-to-hand."

"I'll let you have three sword strikes..."

"If you're so capable, let's fight hand-to-hand."

"If I lose, I'll give it to you..."

"If you're so capable, let's fight hand-to-hand."

No matter what she said after that, Wei Yuan just repeated the same sentence, and remained remarkably calm, slowly sipping his tea and speaking slowly.

In the end, all the words "hand-to-hand combat" echoed in the woman's ears, making her so angry that her vision blurred.

Unable to bear it any longer, she gritted her teeth and said, "Next time I come, I will definitely take your dog's life and show no mercy!" The sword-wielding fairy reappeared, and the woman leaped onto the flying sword, soaring into the sky.

Wei Yuan put down his teacup and sighed, "He has no manners at all. He's probably from some fourth-grade sect."

Just then, a point of starlight suddenly bloomed before him, dazzling and brilliant. From within the starlight came her voice, filled with gritted teeth: "Sword Palace, Shangguan Qianmo!"

After confirming that the woman had left, Wei Yuan went to the Hall of Merit to exchange for all the information on the Sword Palace, and then carefully reviewed it.

Wei Yuan actually had a rather favorable impression of the Sword Palace. During the Great Curse of Karma, only one Immortal Lord from the Sword Palace intervened remotely. Therefore, after discovering that the woman was indeed a descendant of the Sword Palace, Wei Yuan did not kill her, but merely teased her a little.

Now that we know her name, it's natural to check her information to know her better than to have any other purpose.

Wei Yuan quickly found Shangguan Qianmo's name. The entry read: "Shangguan Qianmo possesses an innate formless sword body. His Dao foundation is 'Flowers Blooming on the Road,' one of the Seven Swords of the Palace Guardian. He achieved his Dharma form after fifteen years. His sword is extremely pure and formless, leaving no trace and making it difficult to defend against. He is gentle and indifferent, and does not contend with the world."

Wei Yuan didn't believe the assessment of her as gentle and indifferent. Based on their brief interaction, this girl had a rather volatile temper; how could she be indifferent?

Shangguan Qianmo's appearance served as a wake-up call for Wei Yuan; his words had clearly had unforeseen consequences. He figured Shangguan Qianmo wasn't the only one who disliked him lately. The strange little monk from a few days ago might have been there for the same reason.

After reviewing the Sword Palace's information, Wei Yuan casually exchanged for information on several other immortal sects and top-ranked grotto-heavens, wanting to prepare for any eventuality and see which ones might come looking for trouble.

The next day was the day when the fourth batch of Dao Foundation students attempted to forge their Dao Foundation. Wei Yuan was busy all day, working from early morning until late at night, and finally got this group of people settled.

This time, forty out of the five hundred members of the Cui family successfully forged their Dao foundations, and most of them chose the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword, in all three colors. There's no way around it; the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword's appearance is simply too appealing. If you only look at its brightness and ignore its spiritual energy, people would believe it's a celestial sword.

Of the two hundred people in the realm, thirty successfully forged their foundations, offering a variety of choices. Besides the Immortal Sword Pseudo-Sun, three others achieved the Innate Life-Giving Water, which Sun Yu treasured immensely. When choosing a foundation, cultivators in the realm generally don't consider its appearance, but rather which foundation makes it easier to find employment.

Of the eight hundred Dao soldiers, one hundred and thirty achieved the Dao Foundation stage in one go. Although the vast majority cultivated flying swords, the most proficient among them was eleven. Flying swords may seem unremarkable, but when paired with specialized spears, they are particularly suitable for battle and combat, even surpassing the Immortal Sword Pseudo-Sun by a considerable margin. In terms of combat power alone, they are approaching the Earth-rank Dao Foundation stage. With this, Wei Yuan could be considered to have given the Taichu Palace a satisfactory explanation.

Wei Yuan ordered his men to expedite the production of a batch of flying swords and spears specifically for Dao soldiers, so that they could be brought back to the Taichu Palace once they were finished.

Two days later, the flying boat from the Cui family arrived to pick them up.

Wei Yuan then found Cui Yu and said, "I'll go back to the Cui family with you; we can take this boat."

Having just solidified his foundation, Cui Yu felt somewhat guilty upon hearing this and hesitated, saying, "I really have no confidence."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "As long as you don't restrict magic weapons, that shouldn't be too difficult for you, right? If you're not confident, I'll go and scold him for you until he agrees."

Cui Yu glared at Wei Yuan and said, "We don't need you to challenge us!"

But he immediately changed the subject, whispering, "His strength might not be inferior to Xiaoyu's. Are you really confident?"

Wei Yuan leaned close to his ear and whispered, "We'll do it like this, like this... and like this again..."

Cui Yu was startled and said, "Isn't this... cruel?"

"When a lion hunts a rabbit, it must use its full strength."

Cui Yu hesitated for a moment, but then agreed.

Wei Yuan briefly explained the matter of the realm, then took a small squad of warriors and boarded the flying boat back to the Cui family with Cui Yu.

The capital of the State of Zhao, in the Anxi Commandery.

The old lady stood in front of a small tree, intently pruning its branches. An old servant hurried over and said, "Grandmother, the flying boat that went to Qingming has returned. This time, Young Master Yu and Military Governor Wei have also returned together."

The old lady paused slightly in her pruning knife, then continued trimming a slightly damaged leaf. With each stroke, she lifted a tiny, almost invisible thread. It looked like this one leaf alone would take her several days to prune.

The old servant continued, "Young Master Yu did not give prior notice this time, nor did the clan have any special matters to summon him back. Qingming just fought another battle with the mountain people a few days ago, so military affairs should be very busy at the moment."

The old lady said slowly, "Just say what you have to say."

The old servant said, "This old servant believes that Young Master Tianlin's attempt to subdue Young Master Yu last time has angered Military Governor Wei. Their sudden return this time must be because they are prepared to take action against Young Master Tianlin."

How will they make their move?

The old servant said, "Wei Yuan has officially begun to cultivate his invincible power, and coincidentally, Young Master Tian Lin is also secretly cultivating his invincible power. If Wei Yuan challenges Young Master Tian Lin in public, I'm afraid Young Master Tian Lin will have no choice but to accept the challenge."

The old lady paused in her work and said, "Are you worried that Tianlin will lose?"

The old servant hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have already examined Wei Yuan, and his cultivation is now vastly different from before. Forgive my bluntness, but I'm afraid Young Master Tianlin... will surely be defeated, and it will likely affect his Dao heart."

The old lady was somewhat surprised, "Wei Yuan is already this strong?"

"It will only be stronger than this old servant estimated."

The old lady remained silent for a moment before resuming her pruning, saying, "Let the younger generation fight over their own affairs."

The old servant was somewhat surprised and said, "What if Wei Yuan really goes to challenge Young Master Tianlin? Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

The old lady said slowly, "Those who can achieve great things cannot be measured solely by their cultivation level; leveraging external forces is also very important. You all favor Tianlin, showing him favoritism in various ways, and even condoning his plundering of resources from other branches. In fact, Yu'er was able to get Wei Yuan to travel thousands of miles to the Cui family to stand up for him. Isn't that a skill? Perhaps you have all underestimated Yu'er's abilities."

Let this matter be; the elders shouldn't interfere. Our family is so large; we can't always be harmonious. Those who want to rise in rank always have to fight. No matter how they fight, only those who stand the last are truly talented.

With a snap, the old lady shaved off the leaves she had been trimming for so long and tossed them to the ground.

(End of this chapter)