Chapter 157: Public Enemy of Men
The Qianduan Peak disciples quickly helped Zhong Xuan up and applied Golden Salve on him. After they picked him up, they quickly left, fleeing rapidly.
At this time, there were another three warships coming from the horizon. The words on the banners of the ship were ‘Liu’ (刘), ‘Yue’ (岳), and ‘Feng’ (风).
“The people of Wanren Peak, Beichen Peak, and Gangyu Peak are all here. What a coincidence, the true inheritors of the three peaks were also Leng Liusu’s pursuers. I wonder what kind of reaction they would have.” Some people below laughed as they spoke.
Damn it! There is almost an army here, Xiao Chen felt a big headache coming on, he finally understood the saying from Confucius: ‘The reason why women could not be offended was because the consequences are truly unbearable.’
“How many pursuers does this woman has? It’s never ending.”
When Liu Ruyue saw Xiao Chen’s frustrated expression, she smiled faintly, “If you were the Young Master of Heaven Saber Pavilion, the men might chase after you too.”
Xiao Chen felt speechless as he said, “This joke's not funny. By the way, Elder Sister Ruyue, doesn’t such an innately beautiful woman like you have a few pursuers too? If there are some then they would be useful to help me out of this situation.”
There were no expressions on Liu Ruyue’s face as she said without a care, “If I had such mindless pursuers, I would have killed them with one strike of a saber. I won’t be able to provide you with such a person.”
The three warships slowly descended and soon, someone told them of the matters that had just occurred. The true inheritors of the three peaks took a glance at Xiao Chen. However, they were all afraid of Liu Ruyue and did not come over.
Soon, many cultivators walked over from the bottom of the peak and rushed up to the platform. The huge platform was soon filled with people. Seems like the lecture of this Martial Emperor was a great attraction to all these cultivators.
When Liu Suifeng and the rest saw Xiao Chen, they quickly rushed over. However, Liu Suifeng merely greet Xiao Chen before rushing off to the place where the Jade Maiden Peak disciples were.
Liu Ruyue snorted coldly, “Hopeless!”
“Bo!” Just as this moment, a spatial fluctuation appeared in the surroundings. There was a visible ripple spreading out in the air; this was the sign of a Martial Monarch arriving.
When a cultivator reached Martial Monarch, they would obtain an initial grasp of spatial laws. Travelling thousands of kilometers in a breath was not considered difficult for them.
After improving further, they would be able to condense their own laws and become Sages, having a lifespan of a thousand years. However, there was no news of any Martial Sages appearing in the Great Qin Nation for the past thousand years.
Suddenly, the ripples turned rhythmical. A small spatial crack appeared on the tall platform in Ascending Heaven Platform; an old man appeared from nowhere.
The old man’s face was full of wrinkles and there was a heavy sense of lethargy coming from him. However, his eyes were as bright as stars; they seem deep and distant, as though they contained a limitless universe.
A strong aura instantly spread throughout the entire mountain peak. Everyone could feel a huge pressure pressing on them. The noisy Heaven Ascending Platform immediately turned quiet.
Xiao Chen looked at the cultivator on the platform and was astonished. This was likely to be a peak Martial Monarch, who was just one step shy of becoming a Sage. If the old man’s lifespan could last long enough, it would be possible for him to advance.
“It has been a long time since I last came out, I’m not sure if I will have anymore opportunities to in future. Alright, that's enough nonsense from me, I shall speak of some of my experiences. However, remember, everyone has their own style, do not simply follow another person blindly. You should understand your own situation well and do not bite off more than you can chew.”
The old man’s somewhat hoarse voice reached everyone’s ears. His voice was not loud but it seem to be directly imprinted in their minds, resulting in his words not being easily forgotten.
“Back when I was young, I was full of hopes and dreams. I carried my beloved saber and came to Heavenly Saber Pavilion. I wanted to become the world’s most powerful saber user. I wanted to learn a Saber Technique that was unblockable, the fastest Saber Technique in the world…
“When I started to become old, I realized how laughable and foolish I was in the past. I finally understood the concept of biting off more than one can chew, and trying to leap to the heavens in one step. By the time I understood that, I had already wasted tens of years…”
“Everyone thinks the saber is the most tyrannical, the most valiant. However, they are not aware that every saber has their own feelings and character; be it gentle as water, or elegant and unconstrained, or straightforward and blunt. Likewise, every saber user has their own personalities…
“I remember in the past, I met a few ridiculously talented geniuses. The saber that accompanied me for many years was broken into half. I switched between several sabers and trained bitterly for many years but I was still unable to match those geniuses.
“Some people were born blessed by the heavens. Everyone will eventually run into such people. Regardless of the situation, a saber can be replaced but the heart of the saber user should not be shaken…”
The old man spoke very slowly, the contents of his lecture was very different from what Xian Chen expected it to be. He originally thought he would be expounding on a very powerful Martial Technique. Who knew that he would only be talking about the experiences and comprehensions of a old man.
His speech was extremely plain, he did not speak of any classics or discuss any profound theory. The old man only spoke of every difficulty he had experienced at every cultivation realm he been through.
The ordinary experience accompanied with the ordinary manner of speaking of the old man did not result in any sudden improvements or enlightenment.
However, everyone present had obtained some comprehensions. This was because the experiences the old man spoke of were experienced by the cultivators of varying cultivation realms. They were able to obtain an answer to many of the difficulties they were facing from the old man’s words.
When the old man spoke of the difficulties and setbacks he faced when he was a Martial Grand Master, Xiao Chen listened very carefully. Afterwards, he compared it to his current situations; many of the problems he faced were suddenly resolved.
Furthermore, when he spoke of the Martial Saint realm, it provided Xiao Chen with a guide, allowing him to be able to make his path smoother.
The old man not only spoke of his own experiences, he even spoke of some of his unique understandings towards Saber Techniques. Each explanation would be accompanied by his personal experience, using his real experiences as a case study.
There were no gaps in what he said, everyone present could understand it easily. Xiao Chen could not help but admire this old man; this was a true grand master
He did not speak of anything fake, or pretended to know anything; he did not speak of profound yet empty theories or unnecessarily complicated concepts. For nobody would be able to understand such words and would only raise more questions.
“The talent of a person dictates how fast he is able to progress. However, a person’s perseverance determines how far would he be able to walk. One cannot give up as a result of lack of talent, looking down on themselves. Determination is the more important factor.”
After the old man said this, he left quietly without a trace. His voice was still reverberating in everyone’s ears. This resulted in no one realizing the old man had left.
After a long time, everyone snapped back to reality and realized the old man had already left. The platform started to go back to its previously noisy state. they all formed small groups of twos or threes and headed down the peak. As they went down, they discussed what they had learned.
Shao Yang said excitedly, “As long as I have perseverance, I can become a Martial Emperor one day.”
Earlier, when the old man was speaking of his past experiences, he spoke of meeting a strong cultivator who focused on cultivating the body. He was extremely strong, comparable to that of a Martial Emperor. Thus, Shao Yang was extremely encouraged by this.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and kept quiet. He agreed with the last thing the old man said. If one had great talent but no perseverance, he would not go far on the path of cultivation.
Liu Ruyue looked into the distance and saw Liu Suifeng filled with a smiling expression as he accompanied Chu Xinyun. She shook her head and said, “As for today’s plan to pick the Ice Crystal Flowers, leave it to Ye Chen and Suifeng. Shao Yang and Xiao Meng don’t have to go.
“I spoke to Suifeng in the morning already. Just wait for him to be ready and you can go.”
Shao Yang shook his head and said, “Elder Sister Ruyue, My heart is lit on fire. Please let me go as well!”
“Burning your head!” Liu Ruyue used her saber handle to rap the stout Shao Yang’s head. “You think you are some expert after listening to some words of advice? Cool yourself off first before you speak of this again.”
Shao Yang shut his mouth immediately after feeling the pain, he stopped speaking of being lit on fire or anything like that. He followed Liu Ruyue down to the foot of the mountain. Xiao Chen did not leave with them, he stood there waiting for Liu Suifeng.
After a while, Liu Suifeng headed over to Xiao Chen. To Xiao Chen’s surprise, the number one beauty of Jade Maiden Peak, Chu Xinyun, followed along as well.
Xiao Chen frowned, What is he doing? This brat was too reckless and rash, bringing a girl along when they were about to do some work.
Liu Suifeng walked over quickly, his handsome face was covered in smiles. He made introductions for Xiao Chen, “This is Jade Maiden Peak’s Miss Xinyun. She will be coming with us to Evil Wind Valley this time.”
“Hello, I am Chu Xinyun. Liu Suifeng frequently mentions you to me,” Chu Xinyun took the initiative to greet Xiao Chen with a faint smile.
The unforgettable beauty of Chu Xinyun would normally cause one to feel stifled when they stood close to her. However, Xiao Chen had seen many pretty girls before and still had some immunity to it.
Xiao Chen’s expression did not change, he only smiled and said, “I wonder what business does Miss Chu have following us?”
Before Chu Xinyun could answer, Liu Suifeng rushed to answer, “Aside from being a cultivator, Xinyun is also an alchemist. Although she is able to obtain some herbs in the sect, it would cost too many contribution points. Thus, she would gather most of them by herself.”
Chu Xinyun nodded and acknowledged Liu Suifeng’s answer. Xiao Chennn felt speechless, seeing the behavior of the two of them, he was sure Liu Suifeng had not even held her hand before.”
Never mind, as long as we can obtain the Ice Crystal Flower. I hope there will not be any unexpected accidents, Xiao Chen thought helplessly in his heart.
The three of them started to make their way down the mountain. Along the way, Liu Suifeng was enthusiastically speaking, commenting on all sorts of topics. Occasionally, Chu Xinyun would smile, making her look extremely pretty. This resulted in Liu Suifeng feeling very content and satisfied.
Xiao Chen shook his head quietly, he could not do anything about this. After the three of them descended the mountain, they did not immediately leave Lingyun Mountain Range. Instead, they went to Heaven Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Beast Workshop.
It was quite a distance to Evil Wind Valley. Although the three of them were not slow, they did not wish to waste their Essence on travelling. Thus, they intended to rent a few fast horses for the journey.
Using the inner sect disciple identity token, the three of them could rent the lowest grade horse for free. If they wished to rent a Spirit Beast to ride, they would have to pay extra.
There were all sorts of Spirit Beasts reared in the Spirit Beast Workshop. If you had enough Spirit Stones, one would even be able to rent a high ranked Spirit Beast to help them in fights.
However, the three of them were only able to look at them, it was very expensive to rent them. Although Xiao Chen was not lacking in wealth, he could not simply reveal it.