Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 66 A Sword Emerges from the Immortal Mountain
Mu Feng laughed and said, "Haha, Immortal Zhang is too modest. His Majesty has already sent people to harvest the remaining Immortal... Spirit Wheat and have it planted. If it can be planted on the land of the Great Xiao Kingdom in the future, it will be a good thing for the country and the people. However, such actions have not been approved by Immortal Zhang and are somewhat inappropriate. I hope Immortal Zhang will forgive me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengdao pondered for a moment before saying, "To be honest, the reason I don't distribute wheat seeds to the people is not because I'm unwilling, but because I can't."

He glanced at Mu Feng's puzzled expression and explained, "Since spirit wheat is 'spirit' wheat, it needs spiritual energy to grow. However, the spiritual energy here is scarce, almost non-existent, so even if you plant those wheat seeds, they will not survive."

"This……"

Mu Feng never expected that his plan to cultivate good relations with the so-called "immortals," which the Emperor had repeatedly instructed him to do before he came, including using the wheat seed incident to create connections, would fail before it even began...

"Immortal Wheat" actually needs "spiritual energy" to survive!?

Mu Feng humbly inquired, "May I ask Immortal Zhang, what is 'spiritual energy'?"

“So-called spiritual energy is the essence of heaven and earth, which can give birth to all things and destroy all things. It is all-encompassing and omnipotent.” Zhang Chengdao recalled the contents of the cultivation manual and said, “However, for this world, spiritual energy is too scarce, almost non-existent. Therefore, it is difficult for beings that rely on spiritual energy to create and reproduce to survive.”

Mu Feng asked again, "Then may I ask Immortal Zhang, how can this 'spiritual energy' be increased?"

Zhang Chengdao replied: "The spiritual energy of heaven and earth nurtures spiritual plants and herbs, which in turn nourish the earth with spiritual energy. From then on, all plants, insects, fish, birds and beasts benefit from this, and life continues endlessly."

The manual also mentions the spiritual energy revival technique. Although it sounds simple and is not difficult to operate, the natural revival of spiritual energy takes tens of millions of years. In any case, judging from the lifespan of this grandmaster, he probably won't live to see it.

After Zhang Chengdao finished speaking, he glanced at the increasingly high sun and took the initiative to ask, "Isn't Mu Wuzhi here to determine my rank? But I am an outsider and don't understand the rules. I don't know how to evaluate me. Perhaps we should have a contest?"

As he spoke, he channeled his spiritual power, and two extremely simple stone swords floated up from the table in the courtyard one after the other. Then, with a whoosh, they rushed behind Zhang Chengdao, their tips pointing directly at Mu Feng, looking ready to strike.

It's the art of sword control!
The "Elementary Foundation Building Book" contains an introductory explanation of sword control techniques, while the "Intermediate Foundation Building Book" records a complete set of "Sky-Piercing Sword Techniques".

The Breaking Void Sword Technique has eight main moves, with countless variations. The user can wield up to five spirit swords, each with its own moves, and the five swords each have their own moves, making it extremely flexible.

Furthermore, since it is named "Breaking Through the Void," as the name suggests, this sword technique, when unleashed with the sword, possesses the power to pierce through the void, like the light of dawn. If one can cultivate it to the Core Formation or Nascent Soul stages, one can even shatter mountains and sever rivers with a single sword strike, its power astonishing.

Zhang Chengdao only learned it after practicing diligently for many days away from his apprentices, but unfortunately he never had the chance to show off his skills.

Even now, he slightly curled the corners of his lips.

It normally takes at least several days to refine a spirit sword. If you are refining an extraordinary spirit sword, it is common for it to take ten or eight years to complete the process.

However, Zhang Chengdao has a huge advantage: he can equip two swords on his personal panel—one on the left and one on the right, each with a weapon slot!
Once a weapon is equipped in the weapon slot, no matter what kind of sword it is, it is essentially refined, and you can immediately reach a state of perfect harmony!

and so……

It was perfectly reasonable for the two stone swords to be hanging behind him at this moment...

Meanwhile, Mu Feng was stunned.

He knew, of course, that the so-called "immortals" must have something special about them; otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have attached such importance to the cultivation of spiritual wheat after eating it, and would have even spent a lot of money to build a greenhouse in the palace just to grow spiritual wheat.

But he never imagined that there really were such masters in the world who could retrieve objects from a distance and wield swords in mid-air without having any internal energy at all!

Even though they had never fought before, Mu Feng dared not be careless!
To compete with such a master...

Winning is impossible, and losing...

As a military commissioner, a second-rank official of the imperial court, wouldn't he lose face if he suffered a humiliating defeat?
"Ahem," Mu Feng coughed lightly, becoming even more polite, "Immortal Zhang is overthinking it. How could I trouble you to spar with me? According to custom, a second-grade Grandmaster's full-force strike might be enough to shake a mountain, and a first-grade Grandmaster would probably be even more powerful... Immortal Zhang only needs to show me a few moves so that I can have a better understanding and make an assessment. What do you think, Immortal Zhang?" Mu Feng's words were actually somewhat exaggerated.

The so-called "shaking the mountain" is nothing more than using true energy to shatter rocks and cause a slight earthquake. If ten or so horses were running, the resulting tremors would probably be much greater.

But Zhang Chengdao had no idea; all he heard was the other person asking if he was willing to show off his skills, without having to fight...

Zhang Chengdao was more than willing!

Despite his advanced cultivation level of Foundation Establishment Level 6, his ability to ride the wind, and his mastery of sword control, he has virtually no offensive capabilities!
At least his cheap apprentice learned three sword techniques. He himself found it too troublesome and didn't even learn those three sword techniques. The only move he knew was the Sky-Piercing Sword Technique, which he hadn't actually used in a real fight. Even if he could win, people would probably see that he wasn't proficient enough—how could he maintain his dignity as the invincible old master then!

"In that case..."

Zhang Chengdao rose with the wind, flying higher and higher until he stood on the clouds, where everyone could only see his proud and independent figure.

His clothes fluttered and his long robes danced in the wind; he truly was a celestial being!

Then, a loud shout reverberated through the mountains, echoing and reverberating:

"I've made a fool of myself—"

As Zhang Chengdao finished speaking, a sword light descended from the clouds and struck the foot of the mountain.

In the blink of an eye, the earth and rocks crumbled, and the ground trembled. A deep ravine, five or six feet wide and bottomless, was split open in the ground, far beyond human capability!

Even more outrageous was that the gale generated by the two sword blades blew the crowd of people from the Martial Arts Commissioner's Office who were watching from a distance away away, sending them flying several meters away. If these people had not been protected by their true qi, they would probably have broken their bones!

Then, the surrounding mountains shook, and many rocks tumbled down the mountainside with a rumble. Some of the nearby peaks even collapsed.

As the saying goes, "Heaven trembles and mountains are shaken, a single sword emerges from the immortal mountain!"

While everyone was stunned, Chang Ping'an suddenly clapped his hands and shouted, "Draw your sword... that's how it should be!"

Immediately afterwards, the spiritual energy from the mountains gathered around him, forming a huge vortex that continuously rushed into his body.

Chang Ping'an subconsciously closed his eyes, stood in the courtyard, and began to cultivate while standing.

He felt that the obstacles he usually struggled to overcome no longer existed at this moment. It seemed that heaven and earth were urging him forward. Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, and terrifying lightning surged continuously in the clouds.

Zhang Chengdao had already landed back on the ground, brought up Chang Ping'an's character panel in the character list, and stared in shock at the words that kept flashing after the "Realm" line—

[Qi Refining Level 3]

[Qi Refining Level 4]

Qi Refining Level 5

……

Is this really my same goofy apprentice?!
(End of this chapter)