AGM 521 – Courage and Spirit
Fourteen sword strikes! Everyone on that mountain was stunned—who was this man exactly? He'd actually comprehended a total of fourteen sword strikes in a mere span of five days? Not only that, his cultivation level wasn't even that strong, either.
Currently, Ye Lingshuang was totally speechless. As she stared at Qin Wentian's silhouette, her mouth twitched before she glared at Little Rascal in her arms. Little Rascal's eyes were wide open as he stared ahead, before whining in a baby-voice, "Awe..some..!"
"Awesome, your head." Ye Lingshuang rapped Little Rascal on its head, causing Little Rascal to glare at her unhappily.
"What are you looking at? Do you want to fight, huh?" Ye Lingshuang snorted.
"You...are...bully...me..." Little Rascal stared fiercely at Ye Lingshuang, causing her to laugh in a pleased manner. How dare this little demon display such an attitude, she had to teach it a lesson. However soon after, her pleased expression instantly vanished as her face turned red. Little Rascal was staring haughtily at her, while using its paws to punch at her breasts.
"YOU...!" Ye Lingshuang cried. The spectators turned their attention to her, but Ye Lingshuang's reaction speed was extremely fast, and she hurriedly hugged Little Rascal closer, not wanting to let the others witness such an embarrassing scene.
"Junior Sister, what's wrong?" Liu Yun curiously glanced at Ye Lingshuang as he inquired.
"Nothing." Ye Lingshuang's cheeks were tinged with red as she shook her head repeatedly. Right now, her dislike for Qin Wentian grew even stronger—what exactly had he been teaching this heart-meltingly adorable puppy for it to become so lecherous?
Liu Yun hummed suspiciously, as he directed his stare at Ye Lingshuang's bosom. He could only see Little Rascal squeezing himself out, looking right back at him with wide innocent eyes.
"What are you looking at?" Ye Lingshuang raged. Liu Yun instantly shivered and hurriedly shifted his eyes away, pretending as though nothing had happened. He then added in a low voice, "Junior Brother Qin is truly awesome, to think that he actually comprehended up till the fourteenth sword strike."
Ye Lingshuang gritted her teeth when she heard Liu Yun's words. Apparently, these two kindred spirits were truly birds of a feather.
"Junior Brother Qin is indeed awesome. However, I don't think he'll be able to comprehend the fifteenth sword strike. In our Battle Sword Sect, no one has ever succeeded in solving the puzzle of the fifteenth sword strike before breaking through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm." In that moment, Lin Shuai suddenly spoke. Ye Lingshuang didn't reply but she shifted her gaze back towards Qin Wentian.
It was then that yet another mountain rampart appeared before Qin Wentian. The picture depicted a bevy of ancient demons howling and shrieking madly, their aura sweeping over the heavens and earth, devouring everything, and causing total annihilation. There were evil dragons and malicious phoenixes among these demons, their presence a calamity for the entire populace in this world. However in that instant, a sword swept outwards. Situated in the center, the sword landed, utterly obliterating each and every one of the demonic fiends.
The evil dragons howled madly, but under the pressure from the sword, they all turned to dust. The massive, single-eyed bear demon froze under the sword-light, before its body was lacerated into fragments so fine they were invisible to the naked eye.
Qin Wentian's heart pounded rapidly. The might of this sword strike was simply too overwhelming.
When the sword landed, everything was obliterated. This time around, he couldn't find any traces of fused Mandates in the sword strike. What he saw was pure destruction.
"Is this an evolution of fused Mandates?" Qin Wentian mused to himself while sighing in his heart. He was completely clueless, and he couldn't see through the mysteries of this sword strike at all.
In the previous fourteen sword strikes, he could see traces of Mandates within them. However, he was drawing a blank for this particular sword strike.
"Maybe this is the true outcome after the Mandates undergo a perfect fusion, creating a brand new energy in the process. The magnitude of this power is truly terrifying," Qin Wentian murmured to himself as a hint of stubbornness could be seen flashing through his eyes. He wanted to solve this puzzle, he wanted to comprehend this sword strike.
Closing his eyes, he entered a state where he set aside everything from his thoughts. In his dreamscape, only that particular sword strike remained.
For the purpose of comprehending this sword, Qin Wentian didn't rest for seven days. After a week, he finally opened his eyes, smiling bitterly while shaking his head. He still couldn't figure it out.
Qin Wentian had an extremely determined personality, however that didn't mean that he was stupid. He had no way to see through the fifteenth sword strike, hence, there was no way for him to gain any insights and comprehend it. His cultivation base was still far from enough—for now, at least.
Since that was the case, he could only choose to give up for the time being.
Turning, Qin Wentian calmly proceeded back. His expression was as serene as ever, having had no idea he'd broken two great records. Although his cultivation base hadn't increased, he now had a much clearer view of the pathway he was going to walk on in the future.
Li Hanyou was still trying to comprehend the ninth sword strike. Right now, the shadow of a smile appeared on her face. This sword strike was profound indeed, she had finally comprehended this strike.
However at this moment, a silhouette appeared in front her. Li Hanyou turned her gaze over, only to see Qin Wentian coming down from the mountain path. She then laughed coldly, "Why? You can't comprehend any more sword strikes?"
Qin Wentian nodded his head lightly, but didn't say anything else. The countenance of this woman had an inborn arrogance to it. She must be from an extraordinary background, though this had nothing to do with him.
Li Hanyou ignored Qin Wentian, stretching her palms out and placing them upon the mountain rampart with a satisfied smile on her face. After that, she took a step forward, indicating that she too, had comprehended the tenth sword strike.
Qin Wentian merely shook his head before leaving the mountainous stairs-like pathway to the grass hut. A look of puzzlement appeared on his face when he noticed so many silhouettes standing in the air, all with their gazes fixed on him.
His silhouette flickered as he reappeared at Lin Shuai's side. "Senior Brother, what's going on?"
"You broke two consecutive records in one go, and you didn't know about it?" Lin Shuai laughed. Qin Wentian froze for an instant before a wry smile appeared on his face. Apparently, his speed in comprehending the sword strikes was too quick, which had resulted in all this commotion.
"Here, take back this little lecher." Ye Lingshuang tossed Little Rascal over to Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian looked at Ye Lingshuang, puzzled by her reactions, only to see her glaring fiercely at him. "Good acting skills, you do look pretty innocent. But to be able to nurture this adorable fellow into such a lecherous mutt, you yourself must be the biggest lecher of all."
Qin Wentian's face was filled with black lines as he stared at Little Rascal. What had Little Rascal done exactly in order to attract so much hatred from Ye Lingshuang?
"Haha, Junior Brother Qin. Don't mind Junior Sister Ye, she's always so direct. We should interact more next time, and besides, I hear that this is your first time here in the eastern part of the Royal Sacred Region? As a responsible Senior Brother, I'll bring you around to many fun places in the future." Liu Yun flashed a 'you-know-I-know' look at Qin Wentian as he continued, "The little fairies of the Waning Moon Tower are all truly spectacular. This Senior Brother will definitely take good care of you, hahaha."
Ye Lingshuang glared fiercely at Liu Yun, and Qin Wentian could only laugh awkwardly to try to diffuse the situation. However, right at this moment, a voice boomed thunderously from afar, "You naughty fellow, are you trying to mislead your junior brother?"
As the sound of the voice faded, an old man appeared in the air. This person had a smile on his face and projected a gentle and amicable aura. He stared at Qin Wentian as he smiled, "Little fellow, I'm the master of Liu Yun. Are you interested in becoming my disciple?"
"How can any of your disciples achieve great things in the future? Boy, follow me instead." Another black-robed figure appeared. This person projected an imposing presence without enmity, despite exuding a fearsome aura.
"The experts on your mountain are as common as clouds, why are you snatching people from me? Why not follow me instead?" Yet another expert appeared, startling the astonished crowd. After this, a total of five to six experts appeared. These were all elder-level characters of the Battle Sword Sect and all of them wished for Qin Wentian to be their disciple. Such a scene caused many to sigh in envy. Such preferential treatment was truly rarely seen.
"Hanyou is the disciple of this Sovereign, and has already achieved comprehension of the tenth sword strike. Since you could comprehend fourteen sword strikes in a mere five days, your comprehension abilities must be heaven-defying. Although your cultivation base is lacking, following this Sovereign will enable you to catch up to your peers. If your performance is outstanding, this seat will even personally coach you myself."
From afar, a misty voice drifted over, greatly shocking the others in the area. Even those elder-level characters could only smile bitterly in resignation. The Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign actually wanted Qin Wentian to be her disciple. She must have come here to observe her disciple Li Hanyou's progress.
The Plum Mountain Sovereign was a female, yet the tone of her voice was brimming over with power. Although Qin Wentian had never interacted with her before, he could tell she was an extraordinary character just from the fact that when her words sounded out, the entire mountain was doused with silence. No one else dared to speak.
Li Hanyou's silhouette flickered, disappearing from the mountainous pathway. Her expression changed, wasn't this voice the voice of her master? Her master actually wanted him to join her?
Turning her gaze over, her eyes flashed with a strange glow as she stared at Qin Wentian. Back then she had acted on her own desire to join the Plum Mountains, and because of her outstanding performance, she was eventually selected as a personal disciple.
"Junior Brother, she's the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign." Liu Yun's flippant tone was completely gone and was now filled with solemnity, a silent reminder for him to be respectful in his reply. From this, one could see how imposing the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign was.
Qin Wentian stared in the direction of the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign as he stated, "Senior, thanks for the kind offer. But, this Junior has yet to decide."
As the sound of his voice faded, intense shock painted the faces of everyone in the crowd. They had never imagined that Qin Wentian would reject the Sword Sovereign.
This person was indeed someone of their Battle Sword Sect—he was full of personality. To think he'd actually reject an invitation from the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign.
Li Hanyou's eyes gleamed with a cold sharpness, feeling extremely indignant in her heart. She'd put in so much effort before she was selected to join the Plum Mountain. And from there, she slowly climbed up to the ranks of a personal disciple. Yet today, the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign herself was issuing an invitation, and she was actually rejected? She was rejected!
A towering might enveloped the entire area. Evidently, even the Sword Sovereign herself had never expected Qin Wentian would reject her.
"Excellent, excellent." Her voice boomed out, shaking the entire space in this area with its power. "It's a good thing to have personality, but you would do better to weigh your own importance more thoroughly. Farewell."
As the sound of that voice faded, the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign vanished completely. It was already considered extremely tough to make a Sword Sovereign take note and personally invite you, but after issuing that invitation and being rejected in public? With the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign's pride, she was obviously exceptionally unhappy. However with her status, she naturally wouldn't make things difficult for Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian's countenance was as calm as ever. First impressions counted for a lot. When the Sword Sovereign issued the invitation, her tone was filled with endless arrogance despite its power. Naturally, she had the right to be arrogant, she was the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign after all.
Yet, Qin Wentian didn't like the tone she'd used when she was inviting him.
Since he didn't like it, he chose to reject her. There was nothing strange about his choice, this was just him following his heart.
Currently, Ye Lingshuang also looked at Qin Wentian in a different light. Not everyone would have such courage and spirit to reject the Plum Mountain Sword Sovereign's invitation.
Lin Shuai had a smile on his face, his eyes flickering with hints of admiration. However, a sudden notion appeared in his mind. The Ancestor pointed Qin Wentian out to them, yet he didn't personally issue an invitation, but instead chose to do so by using the disciple selection event? Could it be that the Ancestor had also been rejected by Qin Wentian as well?
However this notion disappeared instantly in a flash—he didn't dare to think too much about it!
