While Wu Yu waited, Shen Xingyu appeared before him again, with her purple robes clinging tightly to her diva-like figure. She smiled, her eyes hungrily roaming over Wu Yu. "My dear little brother, you really surprised your big sister. Today's performance gave me a real shock. You look even more like an ultimate genius than you did the last time."
"For that, I have to thank Sister Shen for your help, guidance, and nurturing." Wu Yu could not help but feel gratitude towards this woman. If not for her, he would still be struggling for his life in Zhang Futu's sinister shadow.
"Just a small matter for me." Shen Xingyu smiled sweetly, her dimples winking cutely. Her features were considered quite breathtaking.
Wu Yu was a little nervous. He did not know how the Galaxy Sword Sage would see his battle.
Almost as though reading Wu Yu's mind, Shen Xingyu smiled slightly. "As for him, he seems to find it acceptable, and is willing to continue observation. But I think that you must pull out an even better performance next time, or it will be hard to sustain his interest."
Wu Yu was taken aback. Who would have thought that the Galaxy Sword Sage's expectations would be so high? He had just begun to gain a little confidence in himself, only to be kept on his toes again. He started to think about what he could have done better.
"Actually, I think your performance was fairly astounding. It's just this guy who is quite unfathomable. Best not to worry about him, and just focus on doing right by yourself," Shen Xingyu said softly into Wu Yu's ear.
Wu Yu nodded, saying, "That aside, I will endeavor to do better the next time I come."
Any words said now were just hot air that might only earn the displeasure of the strange Galaxy Sword Sage.
"Alright, use your time well. You're now rank 100 on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals. Go forth and acquit yourself." Shen Xingyu waved him off. She herself returned to the sky, but not before pausing to deliver a parting shot.
"No one interfere with Wu Yu. Let him decide his path by himself."
Many were just preparing themselves to come and get to know Wu Yu. Many were disciples of the four major sword ranks who had come from the Clear Sky of Shushan. Hearing Shen Xingyu's words, which were practically the Galaxy Sword Sage's words, all of them were brought to a halt.
"Heard that? The Galaxy Sword Sage is not very satisfied with his performance!"
"It's going to be good. Let's see how much this Wu Yu can continue to strut. In truth, if not for the Galaxy Sword Sage's favor, he would be nothing at all!"
Faced with these sentiments, Wu Yu could only laugh bitterly. He understood that the path of cultivation would always be plagued with judgment. The only thing that decided everything was still his own actions and abilities.
If he was strong, then none of what they said mattered.
But Wu Yu could not seem to fathom the Galaxy Sword Sage. The one who had drastically changed Wu Yu's own fate - what was he actually thinking?
Till date, Wu Yu's only impression of him was a winking star up in the sky.
He broke away from the crowd, meeting up with Nangong Wei. She did not speak, but looked at Wu Yu with shining eyes.
"Big Brother, you basically brought about a miracle. To you, today's performance must have exceeded full marks!" Afraid that he might be dispirited, Nangong Wei hurriedly gave him some encouragement.
"Long roads and heavy struggles. This is just the beginning." Wu Yu only had to think of how long the road to immortalhood was to calm himself down. It made him realize that the most important thing was to always take things one step at a time.
"I should continue to refine my Jindan and train my dao techniques. But I don't have a lot of merits with me now. I must use the remaining sparingly, and I can't afford to go to the Spiritual Sword Palace either. I can't always be cultivating on the road, and I can't go to other sword palaces, on fear of being chased out...."
Just as he was worrying about this, Zhang Futu suddenly appeared nearby. He had actually been watching this battle from start to finish.
At this moment, Zhang Futu walked up with a sober and slightly frustrated expression. He said, "Wu Yu, congratulations to you. Your performance today surpassed my expectations. Perhaps only now do I truly realize that you are not someone who I can control. I underestimated you before. My apologies...."
This was a personal conversation, and Wu Yu still considered this person an enemy. Therefore, he said, "It's too late for an apology. Just stay away from me in the future."
Zhang Futu winced and said, "No problem. I just came to say that I'm moving on from this. From now on, just forget that this Zhang Futu ever existed. I'll not dare to appear before you again."
He was very solemn and a little listless, his defeated expression tinged with worry.
"You must be worried that when I climb in the future, I will remember this grudge and come to bully you with my status!" Wu Yu said.
Although Zhang Futu had not done much to him before, those thoughts had crossed his mind before. To Wu Yu, that had been hard to forgive. After coming to Shushan, Zhang Futu had indeed been too frightening of a shadow.
"Indeed.... And now I have no other choice but to beg for your grace. After all, when that time comes, I will only be an insignificant character in your life," Zhang Futu said.
Wu Yu had initially thought of killing him as soon as possible. But here at Shushan, killing somebody - especially a Huang sword rank disciple - was no easy feat. Besides, he was not Zhang Futu's match right now. He still remembered this grudge, but he would set it aside for now as he pursued his own future.
Zhang Futu's plea had not moved him, but he still said, "Good that you know. If you covet things that do not belong to you, you must pay the price. As for what I decide in the future, perhaps you will not even be in my considerations. And I will not be bothered to look for you."
"Many thanks." Zhang Futu bowed, then silently left Wu Yu. Seeing his retreating figure, he looked haggard, and it seemed like Wu Yu's performance today had indeed put fear and respect into his heart.
Even though he was at the sixth tier of the Jindan Dao Realm, and a Huang sword rank disciple. He was still higher than Wu Yu in terms of ability and status.
Nangong Wei said, "Big Brother, that person was asking for it. When you surpass him in strength, you still have to teach him a lesson to vent your anger!"
"Mm." Wu Yu nodded.
"But today he must have been intimidated by you to become so craven. I think he will avoid you in the future." Nangong Wei giggled.
Hearing her words, Wu Yu suddenly thought of a solution to one of his problems. He said, "Since Zhang Futu is playing nice now, and we have nowhere to go, then let's return to Futu Hall. There, I have Kilovolt Peak, and that is the only place where I can cultivate in peace."
Every disciple of the Common Sword Domain had their own territory. The rest was either public territory or prohibited areas, or areas like the Demons' Abyss. If Wu Yu wanted to concentrate and cultivate, the Demons' Abyss was not a conducive environment - it posed a definite threat. Besides, the spiritual qi was dark there, and not suitable for refining Jindan. Nor was it a suitable environment for training sword dao.
It seemed like returning to Kilovolt Peak was the best option.
Wu Yu knew his own status. He was only being watched by the Galaxy Sword Sage, but this did not mean that his position was higher than that of Huang sword rank disciples. He knew that he was still just an ordinary dan disciple.
"Alright, then let's go to Futu Hall. I'm not afraid of that Zhang Futu!" Nangong Wei nodded. At the Spiritual Sword Palace, they had to pay 10 merits each month, and it was a painful price.
And now they had no time to go and earn merits.
After the two agreed, they returned to Futu Hall on Wu Yu's sword. Wu Yu's speed was much faster now, and he was much bolder in his path. He took much less time. He soon reached the snowy expanses of the Futu Mountain Range, the only place which could be considered his territory.
He had spent a mere month at Kilovolt Peak in his year at Shushan, and many places were still unfamiliar to him.
News of Wu Yu's return had spread through Futu Hall, although many only dared to watch him from afar. Amongst them were Zhou Xuan, Wang Fu, and Zhi Ying. Although the three of them were considered talents at Futu Hall, they did not dare to approach Wu Yu. They could only watch him from a distance with admiring eyes. Of course, there was deep-seated envy and hatred within their admiration.
Wu Yu could not be bothered with them. After returning to Kilovolt Peak, he began to absorb spiritual qi within the wooden hut on the tallest snowy mountain. He refined his Jindan and occasionally worked on his sword cultivation dao techniques. He made progress on both fronts, occasionally interacting with Nangong Wei. The day passed just like that.
Although his rate of improvement was not exceptionally fast, Wu Yu was not anxious.
If one was in a hurry, it was difficult to enjoy steaming tofu. Cultivation was much the same.
Night time. The sky was blanketed in stars, and a crescent moon hung in the sky.
On the snowy ground, the snow gleamed white, reflecting the glimmer of starlight. A moving sight.
Wu Yu and Nangong Wei were taking a break. They stood on the snowy ground, looking up at the galaxy with a full heart.
"This is so beautiful." Nangong Wei was hopping with happiness.
"I wonder if Master, Senior Sister, and the other disciples at the Heavenly Sword Sect are well…." It had been more than a year, and Wu Yu was missing home a little.
"With Master and the rest helping, Big Sister should be comfortably holding the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom. I just wonder if Big Sister has met someone dear to her heart. Other princesses at her age would have long been married....
"I must definitely reach immortalhood before Big Sister grows old and dies. Only then can I help her to live on. Otherwise, it will all be for naught.”
To Wu Yu, death was a frightening prospect. Whenever he considered that all his thoughts, his will, and everything he knew would vanish, he would be seized by a sense of dread.
Perhaps every mortal would know this agonizing fear.
And exactly because of this fear, he had to persevere on his journey of cultivation.
"I wonder what year it is in the celestial heavens."
The stars in the skies watched over them like heavenly beings.
Suddenly, he sensed someone behind. Wu Yu turned to see Zhang Futu standing on the roof of the wooden house. Illuminated by starlight, his face was extremely sinister.
Wu Yu was shocked.
"What are you doing here!?" Nangong Wei hated him intensely, and was immediately on edge when she saw him.
Zhang Futu gave a menacing laugh and pointed around him. "I've spent more than half a year setting a Minor Sealing Print Formation here. After the print formation triggers, it will prevent any information from reaching the outside world for four hours, unless you can break the Minor Sealing Print Formation. I've done all this for this day. For you, the fish... to take the bait."