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

Chapter 79 The sword comes
Mu Feng has been famous for a long time.

Fifteen years ago, he was already a second-rank grandmaster, famous throughout the world.

Although he has not reached the Grandmaster level in the past fifteen years, and may not be able to break through in the future, before Wanqi Boyan broke through to the Grandmaster level, there were only four Grandmasters and one Great Grandmaster in Xiao Kingdom. Mu Feng's status as a Martial Arts Grandmaster is still very high.

The Grandmaster of Xiao Kingdom was the former emperor's tutor. Many years ago, after breaking through to the Grandmaster level, he retired from the court and stopped concerning himself with worldly affairs.

Of the four masters, he and Fu Baozhihou of the Imperial Treasure Bureau were officials of the court. The other two were Xuan Yangzi, the old leader of the Jade Void Sect, and Liu Zhenyue, the lord of Liu Family Manor.

In comparison, the Southern Chu Kingdom is stronger than the Xiao Kingdom in terms of "high-end combat power". For example, two of the four universally recognized grandmasters are in the Southern Chu Kingdom, and both are close ministers of the emperor.

In addition, there are three grandmasters in the entire Southern Chu Kingdom, two of whom also hold important positions in the imperial court, suppressing the martial arts forces and making it difficult for folk martial arts to flourish. They even have to rely on names such as "academies," "chambers of commerce," and "escort agencies" to establish themselves.

The only Grandmaster who does not hold a position in the imperial court is Ye Lingying, the former patriarch of the Ye family, the richest family in Jiangnan. He is already in his eighties and has one foot in the grave. Apart from the legendary Grandmaster who has been out of the public eye for a long time and is over 120 years old, Ye Lingying is the oldest person above the Grandmaster level.

Furthermore, the difference between Grandmasters and Grandmasters is not as significant as the difference between other realms.

Most of the time, it's just a difference in physical tempering and true qi cultivation. Of course, there are also some differences in temperament and enlightenment, but they are not completely tied to combat power.

Like Ye Lingying, the patriarch of the Ye family, because he has lived long enough and has profound cultivation, he probably wouldn't be at a disadvantage if he fought against those grandmasters in the court. In fact, if they fought to the death, it would be hard to say who would win.

Besides the Xiao and Chu states, the three small states of Xizhou, Jinsha, and Bohai each had a Grandmaster, which enabled them to live peacefully and avoid being annexed by the Xiao and Southern Chu states. However, these states were also small and had harsh environments, so conquering them would be of little use and would require a lot of effort to govern, so it was better to leave them alone.

In other words, there are only fourteen known Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters in the world, and Mu Feng is one of them. How could he not be confident?

Moreover, when I visited the White Stone Immortal Sect before, the so-called White Stone Immortal was indeed powerful, but apart from standing in the clouds, the sword moves he used were quite ordinary.

The cleavage on the ground, though it might demonstrate the White Stone Immortal's cultivation and power, was still within the scope of Mu Feng's understanding.

Besides... if you can't beat your master, can you not beat your disciple?
The mark reported by the Division of Administration, which I personally witnessed, was far inferior to that of my master, Immortal White Stone. If I were wielding a divine weapon, it wouldn't be impossible for me to do the same...

So this disciple's cultivation level is probably mediocre, since he can't even fly!
This is a good opportunity to investigate the true nature of the White Stone Immortal Sect, to understand what "immortal path" is, and ideally, to find out why they can have such terrifying power without cultivating true qi.

With this in mind, Mu Feng even nodded kindly to Chang Ping'an: "Young brother, don't worry, we'll stop here!"

He only wanted to test the strength of the White Stone Immortal Sect, not to make enemies. Therefore, he had already decided that if Chang Ping'an was not strong enough, he would pretend to test his skills and settle for a draw. He couldn't very well offend the White Stone Immortal who was specially created to be a "super first-grade" immortal.

Chang Ping'an hesitated at first, but when he glanced back at his expressionless master on the tower terrace, he gritted his teeth and accepted Mu Feng's challenge: "Please enlighten me, senior."

Mu Feng didn't mince words. The moment Chang Ping'an agreed, he praised him with a "good." Then, true energy flowed around his body, gathering into a gale that made the oilcloths on all the sheds in the Sword Wiping Garden flap loudly. The wind was so strong that it was almost impossible to open one's eyes.

Everyone stared intently at the dueling platform—a second-grade grandmaster making a move was a rare and precious opportunity. If one could gain even a glimpse of the Dao, a breakthrough might be within reach!

A crimson aura emanated from Mu Feng's body, and despite it being springtime with a frosty breeze, the heat emanating from the aura caused people to break out in a cold sweat, and even distorted the air on the dueling platform.

Seeing this, Chang Ping'an immediately became alert. He dared not be careless and used the branch again. He casually tossed the branch into his Qiankun bag at his waist, then shouted loudly—

"Here comes the sword!"

Beside the dueling platform, the broadsword behind a woman in scarlet robes suddenly began to tremble.

The woman drew her sword, and the next moment, the sword flew straight up onto the dueling platform, stopping just in front of Chang Ping'an.

"Telekinesis!?" "Whose sword is that?"

"Who is that female knight-errant?"

This scene sparked a great deal of discussion among the crowd, with some well-informed individuals replying, "That seems to be a disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect as well. I saw her traveling with Immortal Chang before..."

It turned out that the woman in scarlet was none other than Murong Ruyan, who had always accompanied Chang Ping'an to every competition!

Because the Qiankun bag given to him by his master was of limited size and could not hold Chang Ping'an's broadsword, Chang Ping'an would entrust the sword to Murong Ruyan for safekeeping before each duel.

Faced with a challenge from Grandmaster Mu Feng, he dared not be careless and naturally had to use the spirit sword given to him by his master.

Having learned some sword control techniques, although he couldn't yet use them to attack, he could still easily swing the sword over and perform a "sword grabbing from a distance".

and also……

"My disciple, when you learn the art of sword control or use a sword in the future, remember to shout 'Sword, come!'"

My master's inexplicable words are still ringing in my ears. Although I don't understand why, I know that listening to my master is always the right thing to do!
Seeing Chang Ping'an's actions, not only was Mu Feng stunned, but all the martial artists below the stage were also taken aback.

"Cultivating immortality...is it that powerful?"

Someone murmured, the voice was not loud, but in the silent Sword Wiping Garden at this time, it was particularly penetrating, especially since everyone was a martial artist, and who did not have keen hearing?
"Yes, if one could fly and teleport, and command one's natal sword so readily, such an ethereal sight..."

Many people agreed. If the word "handsome" existed in this era, the exclamations from the audience would probably have been things like "Holy crap, so handsome!"—a simple, uncultured statement that would have won over the world.

At the same time, without anyone noticing, Mu Feng swallowed hard, his confidence suddenly weakening.

This kid...

He must be much weaker than his master, right?

Just rambling a few words.

From today onwards, I will no longer respond to readers' misinterpretations; interpret it however you like.

I admit that my writing skills are limited and my penmanship is inadequate. After all, only a few people are born with literary talent. I am just an ordinary online writer. This is my first book written on Qidian's male-oriented platform. There are indeed many shortcomings, so please forgive me, dear readers.

Furthermore, I have clearly stated in the tags that this is a story about infrastructure development, meaning it is about the sect that the main characters build from scratch and the stories they create. Neither the sect rules nor the buildings, nor the cultivation levels of the main characters, can be achieved overnight. It would be somewhat absurd to build a sect today and then propose perfect sect rules comparable to modern laws tomorrow.

Therefore, it is a work about a group of protagonists who grow and develop, and no one is morally perfect or without flaws, which is normal. I myself have a lot of bad habits.

Finally, of course, some nitpickers will say, "Don't you know what the market likes? You deserve to fail at writing this kind of stuff. The market loves mindless, feel-good stories, loves showing off, loves being superior."

My response to this is: Who asked you?

If you don't like it, just leave. There are so many books in the bookstore that are better than mine to choose from. Why do you have to lecture the author on how to write a book that you don't like?
And my dear readers have all been very kind. Aside from saying my writing is bad, they haven't criticized my settings or the overall plot. I'm very grateful. Of course, my writing skills are indeed poor. Thank you all for your understanding. _(:з」∠)_
Regarding the plot and characters who develop their own growth...

I'll write, I'll write, I'll write! I'll make you mad! Just keep writing!

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(End of this chapter)