Chapter 70 - Mysterious Old Man
The cultivation of Chu Yun and Xiao Leng had vastly improved after consuming the petals of the Golden Lily. Despite that, their hearts still shivered after being exposed to this terrifying aura, as if countless sabers had penetrated their bodies, causing them to tremble.
After a while, the terrifying aura finally vanished, returning a calm state to the area. Chu Yun and Xiao Leng simultaneously let out sighs of relief.
The two immediately glanced toward the inner cave as they collected their thoughts. At that moment, Qin Nan walked out slowly.
Even though Qin Nan’s cultivation was still at the seventh-layer Body Tempering Realm, it seemed like his aura had completely disappeared, as if he had turned into an ordinary person.
Both Chu Yun and Xiao Leng, as members of the top ten geniuses, were quite knowledgeable. They knew the ordinary aura from Qin Nan did not mean he had lost his power, but rather that it indicated the breakthrough, or level up, that he had just experienced.
Chu Yun was the first to speak, “Junior Brother Qin Nan, could it be that you have surpassed the Perfection Stage of One with the Saber? Did you manage to reach the legendary Arcane Realm?”
Xiao Leng, who was standing beside her, was stunned hearing the words.
Regarding the realms of the Martial World, the realm above One with the Weapon was called the Arcane Realm.
Rumors said that once a person had reached the Arcane Realm, it would bring incredible power, granting the person the ability to kill stronger opponents with ease.
Did Qin Nan reach the Arcane Realm just by consuming a petal of the Golden Lily?
“Nope.” Qin Nan shook his head and smilingly said, “It’s not that easy to reach the Arcane Realm; you guys are overestimating my progress.”
After hearing these words, Chu Yun and Xiao Leng exchanged gazes; they both felt suspicious.
If Qin Nan did not reach the Arcane Realm, how could he emit such a terrifying aura?
They could only assume that Qin Nan was not willing to reveal too many of his secrets.
The fact was that Chu Yun and Xiao Leng had misunderstood. Qin Nan did not reach the Arcane Realm. After raising his comprehension by consuming the petal of Golden Lily and unleashing the Divine Battle Spirit, he managed to visualize the Martial Skills himself in his mind to reveal the secrets of the abilities; he had only achieved a half-arcane state, still a distance away from reaching the Arcane Realm.
In other words, Qin Nan had reached a barrier; if he were able to break through this barrier, he would then achieve the Arcane Realm.
Chu Yun shook her head and decided not to pursue the question; she switched the topic as she asked in a soft tone, “Junior Brother Qin Nan, where should we go now? There are only ten days left until the conclusion of the Trials of Versatility.”
After hearing these words, Qin Nan straightened his face.
Now that his cultivation had reached the seventh-layer Body Tempering Realm, together with his half-arcane state, he had the strength to slay cultivators of the ninth-layer Body Tempering Realm. Apart from the super geniuses like Huang Long and Ling Zixiao, or those with a cultivation base of tenth-layer Body Tempering Realm, Qin Nan was able to eliminate anyone.
Since he was strong enough now, it was time to search for the Blue Dragon Badges.
Previously after killing Gloomy Rage Childe, he had obtained two Blue Dragon Badges, which meant Qin Nan now possessed a total of three Blue Dragon Badges.
These three Blue Dragon Badges provided him with a great chance to achieve the top ten ranks, but it was nowhere enough to reach the top three spots.
After a brief moment of thinking, Qin Nan said in a low tone, “Now is the time to find those Blue Dragon Badges; I’ve got a piece of a map on me. If we can find the other four pieces, the twenty Blue Dragon Badges would be ours…”
“You have a map?” Chu Yun was slightly surprised, before she frowned her eyebrows and said, “The Island of Versatility is a thousand miles big. How are we going to locate the remaining four pieces? Besides that, they might have already been taken by the others.”
Xiao Leng nodded his head in agreement; it was quite difficult to collect all five pieces of the map.
Qin Nan did realize the problem, but there was no better way at the moment to find the other four pieces of the map.
However, all of a sudden, a cold voice was heard, “Who among you three is Qin Nan?”
At that instant, Qin Nan, Chu Yun, and Xiao Leng changed their expressions; they instantly gathered their might and prepared for a battle.
Qin Nan was slightly surprised too; with his current cultivation, even Ling Zixiao would not be able to approach without him noticing.
The three turned around at the same time and looked in the direction of the voice.
At the entrance of the cave stood an old man. He was wearing a ragged robe made of cloth; wrinkles like blade scars could be seen on his face due to his age, giving him an icy aura.
At that instant, the three were staggered; they did not expect to find an old man on the Island of Versatility.
The Island of Versatility was used exclusively as a training ground for the disciples of the Mystic Spirit Sect; the Transportation Portal was the only way to get here, unless one’s cultivation had surpassed the Martial Emperor Realm, which allowed the person to penetrate the Poison Mist around the Island of Versatility and reach the island safely.
Upon having this thought, the three’s expressions changed again. Did that mean this old man’s cultivation had surpassed the Martial Emperor Realm?
Qin Nan took a deep breath; using his Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit, he could tell that this old man was no ordinary person. His strength was on par with Old Shan’s.
Qin Nan forced himself to restrain his doubts and brought his fists together, “Elderly mister, I’m Qin Nan. Is there any problem?”
“Come away with me.” The mysterious old man said calmly, “As for your two friends, they can wait here.”
Xiao Leng and Chu Yun glanced toward Qin Nan immediately; what does this powerful, mysterious old man want from Qin Nan?
Qin Nan was slightly stunned, before shaking his head while saying, “Elderly Mister, forgive my impoliteness. I have never met you before, and I have no clue where you came from, so I will not follow you.”
Xiao Leng and Chu Yun were shocked; they never thought Qin Nan dared to reject facing such a powerful presence.
The mysterious old man squinted his eyes; at that instant, the atmosphere in the surroundings condensed, as an imperious pressure was unleashed.
Xiao Leng and Chu Yun’s faces were twisted; Being exposed to such pressure, they felt like they had turned into ants, which could be trampled to death at any time.
Qin Nan’s body turned tense due to the pressure. Even his flowing blood began to condense; despite that, his expression remained unchanged.
He clearly knew that if the old man were here to kill him, he would have done it before, killing all three of them in a single blow. However, the old man did not do so, which indicated he was here for some other reasons; thus, he would not kill them easily.
This was why Qin Nan would ask the old man for his identity.
The mysterious old man remained stationary for a while, before withdrawing his aura and saying in a calm tone, “You’re smart, but it’s wiser if you don’t reject me next time; those who rejected me are all dead. Besides that, I know you have Junior Brother Shan’s badge on you.”
After hearing the words, Qin Nan hesitated momentarily, before an astonished expression appeared on his face.
Junior Brother Shan’s badge?
This mysterious old man is calling Old Shan—the great elder—his Junior Brother? Does that mean this old man is Old Shan’s Senior Brother?
The great elder’s Senior Brother, how powerful could this man be?