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

Chapter 72 Immortal
Since it was Murong Ruyan who caught the squirrel, the task of taking care of it was assigned to her.

This squirrel is incredibly intelligent; it is exceptionally good at observing human behavior and imitating it.

For example, when everyone was eating, it picked up two small twigs and, imitating everyone else, clumsily used its four-fingered paws to hold the twigs, trying to pick up food from its plate.

But its claws are obviously not as good as human fingers; it really can't "pinch" them up, so it can only use small twigs to poke at the peach pieces and mushrooms to eat.

Of course, there are also its own dried mushrooms and pine cones. When eating these two things, it finally gave up using chopsticks and instead stood on both feet, holding them with its front paws and then gnawing on them with its teeth.

Ansha Hexiang really likes squirrels, but squirrels and raccoon dogs are always fighting—and the latter can't even beat the squirrels! So she has to give up on getting close to the squirrels and appease the raccoon dogs first.

Don't let the squirrel's small size fool you; for some reason, it has an incredibly strong tail swing that can even crack rocks!
Therefore, every time, the little fox would be swatted away by the squirrel's tail, sometimes even being flung and rolled several times on the ground, before finally whimpering and going to Murong Ruyan to complain.

Zhang Chengdao was always amazed by what he saw.

What an incredibly strong squirrel!

One could even say that the squirrel's tail attack method could one day be developed into a supernatural power!
For two consecutive days, Zhang Chengdao did not participate in the martial arts tournament. It wasn't until the fifth day, when the competition began on the main stage, that Zhang Chengdao took a stone sword, stepped on it, and rode it, appearing from the clouds above the Sword Forging Manor before the start of the competition.

The Sword Wiping Garden was bustling with activity, with more people crowding in than at the previous Wind and Cloud Tournament and Dragon and Tiger Tournament. Many people had nowhere to sit and could only stand to watch the matches, craning their necks in anticipation.

The Grand Tournament differs from the more visually appealing Wind and Cloud Tournament and the Dragon and Tiger Tournament, which are more about winning by a single point. Because there is a peerless sword as the prize, the participants will not hold back even if they do not fight to the death. Therefore, this is the most exciting competition and the one that can give onlookers the most enlightenment.

If you're lucky, you might even encounter a battle between fourth-rank or third-rank Venerables, which would be a rare and precious moment!

"It is said that the first match is between Ye Chengyu, the eighth young master of the Ye family in Jiangnan, and Liu Zhanhai, the overlord of the Liu family in Mobei. This is something you absolutely cannot miss!"

Among the crowd, spectators were chattering amongst themselves.

"The Ye family of Jiangnan? Which Ye family?"

"Which other Ye family could it be? It's the Ye family that's known as the richest in the world!"

"Ye Chengyu doesn't look very old, how can he possibly defeat Liu Zhanhai?"

"Exactly! There's a full twelve-year age gap between them. Isn't Liu Zhanhai just bullying them?!"

"Hmph! Isn't this how the championship has always been? Do you expect me to argue with my enemy about who's older or who's been training longer when it comes to a real fight?"

"That's true! Alas, I think this young master is in for a tough time!"

"It's really a disadvantage to draw Liu Zhanhai in the first round, but it's also just bad luck, so I can't blame anyone!"

As everyone was arguing, a black dot suddenly appeared on the horizon. The dot grew closer and bigger until it reached the clouds above the Sword Wiping Garden. Only then did everyone realize with shock that it was actually a human figure!

"what is that!?"

"A shooting star in broad daylight? No...no! It's a person! It's a person!"

In the Sword Wiping Garden, everyone stopped talking at some point, because they were all stunned by the sudden appearance of the "celestial being"!

Zhang Chengdao leisurely flew on his sword to the terrace outside the tower closest to the dueling platform. He slowly walked onto the terrace, and then the stone sword that was originally under his feet spun in mid-air and returned to Zhang Chengdao's hand, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Chengdao, who had just put the stone sword back into his backpack, was unaware that the martial artists below were stunned. Instead, he politely but coldly clasped his hands in greeting to Wan Qi Boyan and Bai Henshui, who were already seated in the tower, and said, "I apologize for disturbing you two."

Wanqi Boyan and Bai Henshui, who were also seeing Zhang Chengdao fly on his sword for the first time, had not yet had time to lose their astonishment.

Upon seeing Zhang Chengdao greet them, the two quickly and respectfully cupped their hands in greeting. Wanqi Boyan replied dryly, "Immortal Zhang, you are too kind!" Bai Henshui added, "Your presence is already an honor to our Sword Forging Manor; there is no need for us to trouble you!"

Zhang Chengdao did not answer, but nodded to the two of them, and then went back to the terrace to look at the dueling platform in the middle of Laishui Lake.

Murong Ruyan accompanied Chang Ping'an as they waited in the main hall where the martial artists who had registered for the competition were resting. Xu Ying had to stay in the mountains to look after the Anche siblings and Xu Wen, so only Zhang Chengdao came today.

It wasn't until Zhang Chengdao walked under the eaves of the tower and concealed himself that everyone in the Sword Wiping Garden seemed to suddenly awaken and began to inquire about what had just happened.

"Could this be a celestial being from heaven?"

"Nonsense! There are no immortals in this world! Perhaps it's just that Master Wanqi has become a Grandmaster?"

"Even a grandmaster couldn't do that!"

"That……"

"He's an immortal!"

One of the local martial artists, speaking with a heavy accent, said, "That must be the legendary Immortal White Stone!"

"The White Stone Immortal?"

Who is this "White Stone Immortal"?

"Legend has it that there is a hundred-year-old immortal in Baishi Mountain, who was cultivated by a grandmaster of the previous dynasty. His hair is as white as winter snow, and his face is like that of a child..."

"The White Stone Immortal can turn stones into gold, summon wind and rain, and ride the clouds and mist. His magical power is boundless, even capable of summoning divine thunder from the heavens! He also often bestows 'immortal food' upon mortals, which makes them immune to all poisons and grants them immortality!"

"Hahaha, how could there be gods in this world? You must be having a fit!"

"Didn't you just see the immortals walking on the clouds?"

"This... perhaps it's borrowing the power of internal energy... it's a form of lightness skill!"

"Even a grandmaster can't walk on clouds. You're the one who's delusional, aren't you?"

……

Amidst the ongoing debate in the crowd, the sound of several gongs finally drew everyone's attention to the dueling platform.

"...Initially, the sages established martial arts, discovered the method of cultivating true qi, and spread it to the people of the world, which led to the emergence of heroes and the rise of many powerful figures..."

"...Today, the former master of our Sword Forging Manor has been fortunate enough to break through to the Grandmaster realm, which is a great event for the martial arts world. Therefore, we extend our invitation to all martial artists in the world..."

"...Thanks to the presence of heroes from all walks of life, who have gathered here, we are able to meet today, a gathering of talents to exchange skills and prove the way of martial arts..."

Wan Qizhongqiu rambled on for quite a while before finally announcing the names of the performers for the first event—

"In the first match of the tournament, Ye Chengyu of the Ye family from Jiangnan and Liu Zhanhai of the Liu family from Mobei will face off. As the saying goes, true skill is revealed in fists and feet, and righteousness is shown in swords and sabers. I urge you both to stop here and not spoil the harmony..."

"Clang—clang clang—"

After Wanqi Zhongqiu finished speaking and left the arena, several gongs sounded, and the first match of the tournament began.

(End of this chapter)