First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 2738 - Yang Lingxiao
Chapter 2738 – Yang Lingxiao
“We’ll lose face even if we win!”
When the people following the man in dark blue robes heard that, they sank into silence. None of them argued.
Because the man in dark green was Wen Zhong!
He was an unparalleled figure from Bluebird Palace, but for the sake of striving for greater heights, he’d paid an enormous sum to leave the Blue Peak Continent.
By a stroke of fate, Wen Zhong won the recognition of a sword cultivator from the Heart-Tempering Sword House, where he was admitted as an honorary disciple.
Wen Zhong had soared to prominence ever since.
Over ten thousand years following his initial departure, Wen Zhong had returned to the Blue Peak Continent.
He even brought with him two prominent experts of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, Liu Shangchuan and Liang Shan.
This development caused a massive stir in Bluebird Palace. Wen Zhong was now the center of attention.
When Wen Zhong left, he was just a Divine Wandering Realm legacy disciple of Bluebird Palace. Now, ten thousand years later, he’d returned as a Silent Realm honorary disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House!
Moreover, he was accompanied by two prominent experts of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, as well as one of its inner sect disciples.
This change was enormous. Who wouldn’t have been astonished?
Even the oldest, loftiest experts of Bluebird Palace could no longer remain seated. They’d arranged for private meetings with Wen Zhong, exchanging pleasantries and practically scrambling to offer him their treasures. They were the very picture of eagerness.
The leader of Bluebird Palace was originally Wen Zhong’s master, but when they reunited, the sect leader no longer dared to call himself Wen Zhong’s teacher!
Instead, he said with the utmost sincerity that amongst cultivators, strength meant seniority. Wen Zhong had done so well for himself that none in Bluebird Palace were worthy of being his master!
All of this made it obvious just how transcendent a position Wen Zhong now occupied in his sect of origin.
That wasn’t the end of it, either. After returning to the Blue Peak Continent, Wen Zhong, Liu Shangchuan, Liang Shan, and that inner sect disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House visited Fire Dragon Temple and the Yu Family.
Both top factions were initially overcome with terror. They assumed that Wen Zhong was using his connection to the Heart-Tempering Sword House to assert his dominance over them.
When they learned that Wen Zhong wanted them to cooperate with him and the three members of the Heart-Tempering Sword House to accomplish something big, Fire Dragon Temple and the Yu Family relaxed.
Wen Zhong’s name could now influence three of the Blue Peak Continent’s top factions, and he was famous throughout the continent, his name spoken far and wide.
Were it just a matter of prestige, it’d be one thing, but… the most astonishing thing about Wen Zhong was his strength!
Not long ago, he’d challenged Immeasurable Realm old monsters from Bluebird Palace, Fire Dragon Temple, and the Yu Family to a spar.
In the end, he won all three matches. Easily, too!
It was all the more shocking because he was only in the Silent Realm, the third realm of the Eternal Dao.
Following this feat, the people of the Blue Peak Continent saw Wen Zhong as a true, heaven-defying figure, an incomparably dazzling genius.
When they really thought about it, though, they realized that for all his strength, Wen Zhong was still just an honorary disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House. Rumor had it that he’d yet to truly gain admission to the sect.
This was unquestionably unbelievable. Just thinking about it was enough to fill one’s heart with astonishment.
Just how high was the threshold of the Heart-Tempering Sword House if even a heaven-defying figure like Wen Zhong couldn’t gain admission except as a mere honorary disciple?
Just how incredible were the true disciples of the Heart-Tempering Sword House?
When asked, Wen Zhong said something that broke the hearts of the cultivators of the Blue Peak Continent.
“By the standards of the other continents, I’m nothing special. Otherwise, how could I still be just an honorary disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House?”
He spoke modestly, as if simply stating a fact, but anyone with half a brain could realize the implications. The Blue Peak Continent’s cultivation world was too weak!
It couldn’t even begin to compare to the rest of the Eternal Heavens Domain.
A figure unparalleled in the Blue Peak Continent was, at most, fit to be the honorary disciple of a top faction!
Suddenly, a young man in a feather coat said, “What’s with all that talk of bullying the weak or feeling ashamed even if you lose? You think you’re something special, huh? Junior Apprentice Brother Wen, don’t get a swelled head! The Heart-Tempering Sword House is strong, but our strength doesn’t give you the right to be arrogant.”
The young man stood at the very forefront of his army of Eternals, walking side by side with Wen Zhong.
When Wen Zhong heard that, he instinctively pulled back, increasing the distance between them. He dared not draw closer, nor did he dare walk at the front of the pack any longer.
When the young man in the feather coat rebuked him, he lowered his head and said softly, “You’re right to chastise me, Senior Apprentice Brother!”
The others were accustomed to such things because that was Yang Lingxiao, an inner-sect disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House!
Wen Zhong was just an honorary disciple. His position was inferior to even outer sect disciples; he wasn’t remotely comparable to Yan Lingxiao.
“But the Blue Peak Continent really is pathetic. It’s strange, too. It’s one of the thirty-three continents of the Eternal Heavens Domain, but its world of cultivation and Laws of Heaven’s Will seem far too fragmented.” Yang Lingxiao crossed his arms, hands hidden in his sleeves, and gazed into the dome of heaven. “Otherwise, how could a continent this size lack even a single Heavenly Monarch-level faction? Even the cultivators of the Blue Peak Continent have inferior foundations. It sure is strange!”
His brow furrowed, as if confused about how this situation had arisen.
He’d accompanied his seniors, exploring numerous continents and taking in their differences and disparities.
But it was the Blue Peak Continent that confused him the most.
If it were just a matter of lacking Heavenly Monarchs, he wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but it went beyond that. Its entire world of cultivation was like a barren field, unable to give rise to healthy seedlings.
Someone of Wen Zhong’s aptitude was commonplace in the Heaven-Tempering Sword House’s continent of origin, not even worthy of the title “genius.”
Yet here, he was a rare, unparalleled figure!
Yang Lingxiao couldn’t help but suspect that something had gone deeply wrong with the Blue Peak Continent’s source. Otherwise, it should never have been so barren.
It really was the sticks of the Eternal Heavens Domain.
Wen Zhong had no answers to Yang Lingxiao’s questions. The Blue Peak Continent had always been this way. If he hadn’t left ten thousand years ago to explore other continents, he would never have known how lacking it really was!
This discovery had astonished Wen Zhong. It hurt, too.
It was as if he’d been born in a swamp. He’d assumed the whole world was like that, only to one day discover that a vast world of mountains and clean waters lay beyond the swamp…
It was as if someone accustomed to the darkness had suddenly seen the light. It didn’t delight him. On the contrary, it filled him with terror and unease!
Had he never left the Blue Peak Continent… he might never have realized what he was missing.
Now, he’d returned, but his horizons and mentality were completely different from before. Even when he faced the seniors of Bluebird Palace, all he felt was pity and grief.
As if he stood over a well, gazing down at the frogs inside.
“It’s a pity that Senior Apprentice Brother Liu and Senior Apprentice Brother Liang aren’t here. If they were, they might well be able to give me some answers,” sighed Yang Lingxiao.
The senior apprentice brothers he spoke of were naturally Liu Shangchuan and Liang Shan.
Liu Shangchuan had died in the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm. Su Yi had used Jiang Wuchen’s calligraphy to destroy him.
Liang Shan had been waiting for him on the River of Destiny, but Mountain Lord Wu Qing of Heavenquench Mountain had since led him away.
Liang Shan was Wen Zhong’s honorary master.
“Don’t worry, Senior Apprentice Brother. Once we’ve captured Qin Suqing, Su Xuanjun, and Pu Xuan, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out just what happened in the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm,” Wen Zhong said comfortingly.
Yang Lingxiao said icily, “Do I need an honorary disciple like you to comfort me?”
Wen Zhong stiffened. He was inwardly furious, but he maintained an awed, reverent expression.
When the others saw this, they silently averted their gazes, not daring to interject.
But all of them were displeased. Wen Zhong was a fellow citizen of the Blue Peak Continent. Moreover, Yang Lingxiao was only in the Divine Wandering Realm, yet he dared insult and chastise the Silent Realm Wen Zhong to his face. It was simply outrageous!
But no one dared to say anything.
On the way here, a grand elder of Bluebird Palace revealed that despite his Divine Wandering Realm cultivation, Yang Lingxiao was significantly stronger than the Silent Realm Wen Zhong.
This revelation left the old-timers of the Blue Peak Continent feeling deeply conflicted.
Wen Zhong could defeat the Immeasurable Realm Dao Lords of the Blue Peak Continent, and Yang Lingxiao could defeat Wen Zhong.
Didn’t that mean that the Divine Wandering Realm Yang Lingxiao could defeat the Immeasurable Realm Dao Lords of the Blue Peak Continent with ease?
In that case, how strong were the higher-level experts of the Heart-Tempering Sword House!
They recognized the disparity, and they knew they couldn’t compete!
“Is that the capital of the Great Qin Empire?” Yang Lingxiao asked suddenly.
“It is indeed!” Wen Zhong nodded.
The outline of a sprawling city had come into view in the distance, so vast that there was no end to it in sight.
“Remember this: a sword cultivator’s weapon only kills those it should. It is not for slaughtering innocent ants,” said Yang Lingxiao. “When we reach the city, I’ll lead the charge, while you fight our enemies. Perform badly, and don’t blame me for refusing to acknowledge an honorary disciple like you any further.”
Wen Zhong’s eyes narrowed, but then, he smiled. “Rest assured, Senior Apprentice Brother. I absolutely won’t bring shame on the sect, nor will I dirty my sword!”
Yang Lingxiao glanced at him, then nodded imperceptibly.
Before long, the group arrived before the gates, standing in the air just ten thousand feet away.
The sky was overcast. Dense, leaden clouds hung in the air.
“When I visited three days ago, the city was bustling with human traffic, with noise and traffic on every corner. It was quite a lively scene,” High Elder Lu Yun of Fire Dragon Palace said with a laugh. “But now, the place is all but abandoned, and dark clouds hang overhead. Barely a soul remains.”
His voice was dripping with mockery.
Indeed, from their vantage point, they could tell that the capital of the Great Qin Empire was all but empty.
Suddenly, a short, fat old man in yellow robes laughed and pointed. “Look, everyone! There are two people standing on the eastern gates. How gutsy!”
The top of the towering, majestic city wall was all but empty. That made the two figures who remained extraordinarily eye-catching.
One was a handsome, elegant man in white. His long robes and hair fluttered in the wind, and he carried a sheathed longsword on his back. He had an extraordinary bearing.
The other leaned back in a wicker chair, holding a jug of wine as he gazed into the leaden clouds overhead. It seemed he was awaiting the coming storm.
These were, of course, none other than Su Yi and Pu Xuan.
