What a lucky world!

Chapter 278 The Person in the Pavilion

Qingping Mountain is no more than 300 zhang high. Because one side of it looks like it was carved by an axe, resembling a mountain screen, it is called Qingping.

Zhang Mu left his horse at Zhenyuan Escort Agency and walked alone onto the mountain path.

Qingping Mountain is a shortcut from the local area to the prefectural city, but due to the warning from Zhenyuan Escort Agency, the mountain path is deserted at this time.

Gripping the Yinhu Sword tightly, Zhang Mu strode up the mountain.

After walking for about half an hour, Zhang Mu suddenly heard a soft voice call out, "Young friend, stop."

Zhang Mu was startled and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a person standing in a pavilion that was originally meant for people to rest in beside the mountain path.

The man was about forty years old, dressed in a scholar's blue robe, with a sword hanging at his waist. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, so he must have been very handsome when he was young. However, his appearance seemed somewhat familiar.

What shocked Zhang Mu was that, with his skills, he hadn't noticed the person even though they were only a dozen feet apart.

He felt as if this person had blended into Qingping Mountain, becoming one with every blade of grass and tree around him. If the person hadn't called out to him, he probably wouldn't have even noticed him as he walked past.

Grandmaster?

Zhang Mu secretly compared himself to his teacher and felt that even his cheap teacher couldn't achieve the same harmony with nature.

Zhang Mu stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Senior."

The person in the pavilion looked Zhang Mu up and down, his gaze lingering on the Yinhu Sword in Zhang Mu's hand for a moment, and said softly, "The Fourteen Classics are at their peak, and he is not even twenty years old, yet he has already reached the cultivation level of the Gathering Gallbladder Realm."

"Whose son are you?"

Zhang Mu hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands again and said, "May I ask your honorable name, senior?"

"Hmph." The person in the pavilion snorted and stopped talking. Instead, he pointed a finger at Zhang Mu.

In an instant, Zhang Mu became highly alert. With a clang, he drew his Yin Hu sword. Instantly, a sword hum rang out, and a sword aura, like a swimming dragon, directly dispersed the attack from the person in the pavilion.

"The Song-Treading Sword Technique!" The person in the pavilion raised an eyebrow. "Are you Old Man Qin's disciple?"

Hearing the other party's tone, Zhang Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief. Judging from the tone, the other party didn't seem to have any major grudge against his cheap master.

Just as he was about to sheathe his sword and return the greeting, the other party said calmly, "So you're a bandit!"

After saying that, the other party pointed at him again, as if a flying sword had been released from his hand and shot towards his vital point.

Zhang Mu frowned and used the Song of the Steps Sword Technique again to clash head-on with the flying sword formed by his inner energy. At this time, with the support of the Tiger Tiger Sword, Zhang Mu's combat power had reached the peak of the Gathering Gallbladder Realm, but he only managed to block the flying sword. His entire arm was extremely numb.

Then, at that moment, Zhang Mu suddenly released the Yin Hu Sword, and a flash of silver light appeared in the weapon box at his waist. The Bright Silver Dragon Spear shot out like a streak of silver light.

Zhang Mu gripped the spear with his left hand, and his inner energy erupted instantly. In a flash, a dragon seemed to coil around the silver spear, and a dragon's roar arose, causing the surrounding temperature to drop rapidly!
The spear thrust forward, as if a cold dragon were roaring in.

The cold dragon kills spring!
Zhang Mu naturally didn't expect this move to cause any harm to the person in the pavilion. However, judging from the other party's tone, he seemed to be in cahoots with the imperial court. He hoped that this move would make the other party imagine that he had a relationship with the Demon Suppression Division's Spear Immortal, thus giving him a chance to survive.

As Zhang Mu had predicted, when the Cold Dragon Kills Spring was unleashed, the person in the pavilion was clearly stunned for a moment.

He didn't make a move, but just watched Zhang Mu's Bright Silver Dragon Spear thrust towards him. However, when they were less than three steps apart, Zhang Mu suddenly felt as if his spear had struck an invisible wall, and he couldn't get any closer.

The next moment, the person in the pavilion stretched out his hand, pinched the tip of the Bright Silver Dragon Spear between two fingers, and with a slight flick of his wrist, Zhang Mu immediately felt a great force coming from the spear, making it impossible for him to hold it.

Immediately afterwards, the man in the pavilion took the Bright Silver Dragon Spear from his hand and examined it closely.

"Young man, where did you learn this marksmanship from?" the man in the pavilion asked casually.

Zhang Mu controlled his trembling hands and said, "It was taught to me by an old man passing by."

Upon hearing this, the person in the pavilion looked up at Zhang Mu and chuckled. "The Spear Immortal, Ren Binghan, is fifty-five years old this year, a burly and robust man who shows no signs of aging!"

“If this person has a disciple he takes a liking to, he will definitely keep him by his side, or at the very least bring him into the Demon Suppression Division. He would not just casually pass on his knowledge.”

"You think you can fool me?"

After saying that, the person in the pavilion gently stroked the gun barrel and said, "Although your move is very similar to Ren Qiangxian's Nine Transformations of the Cold Dragon, there are still some differences."

"It must be the Frostbite Spear Technique from the Frozen Valley..."

Although the words were a question, the tone was one of affirmation.

"Without the setup from the previous move, this attack would be significantly less powerful. What? Is this all you've got?"

As Zhang Mu listened to the other person's eloquent speech, he felt for the first time that someone had seen through him. After a moment of silence, Zhang Mu sighed softly, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior has keen insight."

"By sheer chance, I obtained this incomplete technique from an ancient book."

"Looks like I've made a fool of myself!"

The person in the pavilion nodded, his tone softening slightly: "To be able to master the incomplete technique to such a degree, at your age, you are truly one of the most outstanding talents in the world."

"But... what is your relationship with the Righteous Alliance?"

Zhang Mu looked at the other party and, seeing that the other party had no more malice, replied, "This junior went to Lanling City to participate in the Ye family's sword-testing competition. On the way, I met Senior Qin Fengge. He... took a liking to my comprehension and thus passed on the Treading Song Sword Technique to me."

Zhang Muyin left Zhuge Nanxian's affairs here to avoid needlessly causing her trouble.

"The Ye family of Lanling, the Sword Testing Tournament?" The person in the pavilion pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That makes sense."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Mu and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Zhang Mu quickly replied, "I have a good friend who has some connections with the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Hearing that a powerful demon has appeared in this area, cutting off the agency's trade routes, he asked me to come and exorcise the demon."

Upon hearing this, the person in the pavilion said calmly, "There is indeed a demon in the mountains, at the mid-stage of the Sun Devouring Realm. I originally intended to capture it casually and use it as a training opponent for my sons, but since you are so keen on exorcising the demon, then I'll leave it to you!"

After saying that, he casually tossed the gleaming silver dragon spear back to Zhang Mu.

Zhang Mu took the Bright Silver Dragon Spear and was about to put it back into his weapon box when he suddenly heard the man in the pavilion ask, "Boy, what is your name?"

Zhang Mu was about to say "Wei Wuyou" when he changed his mind and cupped his hands, saying, "This junior is Zhang Mu, courtesy name Muzhi..."

"Hmm!" The person in the pavilion nodded, looked Zhang Mu up and down again, and asked, "Are you married?"

Zhang Mu was genuinely stunned for a moment before replying, "I am not engaged!"

"Is there a woman you fancy?"

Zhang Mu looked at the person in the pavilion with a puzzled expression, but did not answer.

The person in the pavilion seemed to realize that his question was somewhat redundant. He waved his hand, took a step back, and instantly seemed to merge into the void, disappearing from Zhang Mu's sight.

As Zhang Mu watched the person disappear, a hint of suspicion arose in his heart. After pausing for a moment, Zhang Mu let out a long breath and picked up the Yin Hu Sword from the ground.

Let's get rid of that great demon quickly and leave this awful place as soon as possible!
Zhang Mu walked back up the mountain, but little did he know that not long after he left, the figure of the middle-aged scholar reappeared in the pavilion.

He gazed in the direction Zhang Mu had left, his fingers constantly calculating as if he were working on something, but in the end he sighed softly, his expression somewhat complicated.

(End of this chapter)