Chapter 167: The True Chongxu Sword Qi
Chapter 167: The True Chongxu Sword Qi
“It was so chaotic. Killing and fighting were everywhere, with hardly any order at all. If it’s like this outside Qiao Mountain, it must be even more chaotic inside the Yellow Emperor’s Tomb. It’s too dangerous. A tender little flower like me is too easily crushed. I should be careful and wait for the Long-Legged Lady to arrive so we can enter together. That would be safer and also increase our chances of getting treasures.”
Although Ye Rong hadn’t received any Flying Sword Message yet, he had a feeling that the Long-Legged Lady would definitely come.
Near Qiao Mountain, right within his line of sight, there were over ten fights and clashes taking place. Some were caused by minor disputes, while others were between old enemies with deep-seated hatred. A raw, bloody aura hung in the air.
“Yijian Kurong, you actually made it to Qiao Mountain too. It seems heaven wants you dead!”
Ye Rong was startled and spotted over a dozen people rushing toward him, gradually surrounding him. Leading them was a pale-faced scholar who looked familiar, but Ye Rong couldn’t recall his name right away.
“Let’s see where you run this time!”
“Who are you? Have we met before?”
Haoshou Qiongjing was so furious that the blood rushed to his face. Yijian Kurong’s casual remark had a powerful impact. The other guy had completely forgotten about him, didn’t remember he even existed. That kind of disregard hurt more than any insult or curse.
“Oh, I remember now. You’re that guy Dream Butterfly killed instantly, right?”
Pfft! Haoshou Qiongjing, who hadn’t even caught his breath yet, was hit hard again. The one thing he never wanted to face was dragged out once more. Back then, he could only take the beating without fighting back, and it nearly made him spit out blood.
Ye Rong grew more alert, observing his surroundings and looking for an escape route. Once he recognized the other party as that pale-faced scholar from Misty Rain Tower who died at the hands of the Long-Legged Lady, he knew there was no peaceful way out. The group in front looked fierce and aggressive—clearly not here for tea and chat.
“Die! Yijian Kurong, today you must die by my writing brush!”
Haoshou Qiongjing screeched, and the massive lake brush appeared in his hand once again. This was the unique treasure of the Confucian School—not that they lacked sword techniques for killing enemies, but this Chief Confucian scholar from Lingnan Academy happened to excel at attacking with his brush, turning ink strokes into spell attacks.
…
“Look, there’s another fight over there!”
“They seem like experts. The mana fluctuations are intense!”
“That’s Haoshou Qiongjing, the third-in-command of Misty Rain Tower, ranked 77th on the Heavenly Ranking!”
Actually, aside from the top thirty super experts on the Heavenly Ranking, most Heavenly Ranking experts weren’t widely known among ordinary players. At most, they had some reputation and recognition within their local areas.
But Misty Rain Tower was one of the larger player organizations. Its first and second-in-command were both super experts ranked in the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking, which also boosted Haoshou Qiongjing’s fame considerably.
“Tsk tsk, experts are flying around everywhere. This is the seventh Heavenly Ranking expert not from the Shushan Sword Alliance to appear today, right?”
“Wonder who his opponent is. Probably in for a rough time—definitely heading back to the Resurrection Point!”
The surrounding players were excitedly discussing, and many passersby simply stopped to watch from a distance.
Battles between Heavenly Ranking experts were quite rare. The earlier fights didn’t feature any major figures worth mentioning.
“Blue Chariot, what do you think? I heard that Haoshou Qiongjing is the Chief Confucian scholar of Lingnan Academy, which is a fairly large academy in the south.”
“Hmph! Any ranking beyond the top fifty on the Heavenly Ranking is completely useless. The rankings change all day long and aren’t worth a glance! These Confucian schools and academies—how could they compare to our Emei? Even if they all united, they’d be nothing but ants in front of Emei!”
Two high-ranking members of the Shushan Sword Alliance were seated on a floating battleship, each holding a glass of fine wine as they observed the distant fight.
The surface of the floating battleship bore a large cyan-and-purple double-sword emblem. The ship could hold hundreds of people at once, making it a rare large vessel. It was unclear what grade or tier it was, but there were four other floating battleships of a slightly smaller model deployed above the entrance to the Yellow Emperor’s Tomb—a clear display of the Shushan Sword Alliance’s wealth and power.
These two high-ranking members had contrasting appearances: one was rough-looking, bold and straightforward; the other was delicate and refined, but cunning and deep.
“Reporting to Department Head Blue, Swordmaster Envoy Xiao, we’ve gathered information on the person fighting Haoshou Qiongjing. His name is Yijian Kurong, the Tianshu Hall Chief Disciple of Qingcheng. He founded a player organization called the Green Emperor Alliance, which currently holds some influence in the Qingcheng area.”
A player with extremely swift swordlight landed on the floating battleship, took a few steps forward, and reported the intel the Shushan Sword Alliance had collected in just a short time.
These two individuals turned out to be one of the nine department heads of the Shushan Sword Alliance and one of the alliance’s sixteen Swordmaster Envoys—both absolute high-ranking figures, part of the innermost circle.
Blue Chariot, head of the Chariot Division. Xiao Xiangzi, Swordmaster Envoy of the Nitian Division.
The position of Swordmaster Envoy was established some time after the Shushan Sword Alliance was officially founded, aimed at recruiting those with extraordinary strength or significant backing who hadn’t managed to establish their own divisions.
Basically, each of the nine divisions had one Swordmaster Envoy, while the stronger ones had two. The Nitian Division, ranked first among the nine, had three Swordmaster Envoys. Altogether, there were sixteen Swordmaster Envoys, each with the power to speak and vote during the Shushan Sword Alliance’s internal meetings.
Thus, the Nitian Division, including Ni Shui Han himself as the First Core Member, held four seats, further expanding their influence within the Sword Alliance.
“Yijian Kurong, it’s him?”
Blue Chariot murmured thoughtfully, slowly pondering something.
“What, Blue, you know this guy?”
Xiao Xiangzi asked with a smile. Yet no matter how he tried to appear friendly, it always gave off a sly, calculating vibe.
“We met once before. Didn’t expect him to develop so well.”
“Tianshu Hall Chief Disciple of Qingcheng—that’s a somewhat noteworthy status.”
Xiao Xiangzi nodded slightly. In their eyes, that so-called Green Emperor Alliance was naturally insignificant. The only thing worth noting was his sect identity.
Although Qingcheng couldn’t compare to Emei, when it came to the absolute top-tier combat power, Qingcheng didn’t fall behind at all; in fact, it might even have the upper hand—
Blissful Child, and the two Supreme Elders Tiandu and Minghe—these three were superpower experts who could ascend to the Immortal Realm at any time. Even on Mount Emei, no equivalents of such massive, enormous figures could be found.
However, Emei’s advantage lay in its abundant resources: Dao Scrolls, Flying Swords, Magic Treasures, as well as a large number of Second-Generation Elders and overpowered Third-Generation Disciples whose strength surpassed that of ordinary second-generation elders. With such people, Emei disciples almost never missed any super treasure locations and always managed to gain ample benefits.
“Seems I should have Yi Dao get in touch with Yijian Kurong again when there’s time. Although Qingcheng is weak, those few big shots can’t be ignored. If he can secure his position as Chief Disciple, he might be useful later in the game.”
Blue Chariot silently contemplated. While the identity of a department head seemed glorious to others, the Chariot Division was at the bottom among the nine divisions of the Shushan Sword Alliance, so his days were quite tough.
…
“When mulberry leaves fall, they turn yellow and wither!”
Haoshou Qiongjing splashed ink with a flourish, and a line of poetry was completed instantly. The characters, bold and vigorous, were filled with noble righteousness and emitted a strong radiance.
“So fast at casting spells! Confucian School disciples’ attacks are really unique—continuous and endless!”
Ye Rong was in a foul mood. That so-called pale-faced scholar Haoshou Qiongjing was relentlessly pursuing him, treating him as an enemy. If he had the guts, he should go seek revenge on the Long-Legged Lady.
Too scared to go after a woman for revenge, he came after me instead. Does he think I’m an easy target?
That’s just intolerable! Ye Rong decided to teach him a good lesson, to let him know that some people shouldn’t be provoked. Plus, it could help boost his own Heavenly Ranking position.
In Jiuyu Pavilion’s ranking system, battles between players were a major scoring factor, especially fights involving Heavenly Ranking players. Ye Rong had been knocked off the rankings recently precisely because he’d had too few fights with others.
If he could kill Haoshou Qiongjing, ranked 77th, without a doubt, he would return to the Heavenly Ranking!
“Damn Kung Fu Panda! Right before I came, my Chongxu True Scripture improved again. Perfect timing to use this pale-faced kid as a whetstone!”
After using the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier to block the first wave of attacks, Ye Rong began his counterattack.
The opponent’s ink-splashing writing was fast, but his Chongxu Sword Qi was even faster. Without even drawing his Flying Sword, he raised his hand and released a sword qi.
Clang! Clatter!
In Ye Rong’s hand, a single Chongxu Sword Qi was no different from a Flying Sword’s Sword Light—in fact, it was even more unpredictable. Though it dissipated after shattering three glowing characters, with a flick of his index finger, another sword qi appeared.
“So satisfying! So this is the true face of Chongxu Sword Qi. What I had before was just child’s play. Without the matching Dao Scrolls, the Chongxu True Scripture’s power wasn’t fully realized. Even if I continued cultivating, it would only be an ordinary Dao Scroll!”
Ye Rong had grasped the essence of Chongxu Sword Qi—agile, twisting, and flexible, pushing deceptive swordplay to its limit.
Haoshou Qiongjing felt sword qi shooting at him from all directions. His aggressive ink-splashing assault turned increasingly cautious and constrained. Half his energy went into defense, not daring to attack with full force anymore.
Each sword qi moved unpredictably, like a soaring eagle or a fleeting shadow, making it impossible to anticipate. This forced him to expend a great deal of effort on defense.
Even when he destroyed one not-so-strong sword qi, that annoying Yijian Kurong just lifted a finger, and another one appeared, keeping him completely flustered and overwhelmed.