Chapter 196: Number Two in the World

“The peak of martial arts, Entering the Dao and Transcending Mortality? That sounds so mystical, how do you know?”

Li Qingqiu asked curiously while sitting in a chair; he didn’t doubt Shen Yue’s words, he was simply curious.

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Shen Yue’s nature was not reckless; if he dared to say such things, he certainly had a basis for it.

Hearing Shen Yue’s words, Chu Jing’s expression changed. Not knowing what he thought of, his expression became complex.

Shen Yue replied: “The Entered Realm experts of the world can more or less sense it. It’s just that most experts think their state of mind isn’t calm enough, so they don’t take it seriously. But my state of mind is stable; I had heart palpitations for no reason. After thinking it over, this is the only possible reason. Moreover, I asked Su Xiling, and she has the same feeling.”

Chu Jing spoke up: “I have it too, I just didn’t take it to heart before…”

Waves of shock surged in his heart. He had lived for nearly two hundred years and had never seen an expert who had entered the Dao, even when the former martial arts myth appeared out of nowhere, it hadn’t given him such a feeling.

Later, he learned that the martial arts myth was likely a Cultivator, which made him look down on martial arts even more.

Hearing Shen Yue say today that someone had reached the legendary state of Entering the Dao, how could he not be shocked?

Could it be that martial arts had a foundation beyond his imagination?

Li Qingqiu asked curiously: “After Entering the Dao, how do they compare to you?”

Shen Yue replied: “Compared to me now, it’s hard to say, but they are definitely stronger than I was before I began cultivating. For the current Martial Forest to have such a Genius is truly remarkable. Sect Leader, I didn’t come to find you to have you eliminate him; I think you should recruit him.”

Li Qingqiu remained noncommittal and continued to ask: “In your impression, who in this world is most likely to enter the Dao?”

Shen Yue pondered: “Most people older than me should be dead by now. I have encountered three peerless Geniuses who might have the hope of Entering the Dao. One is Immortal Master Bai Yan of Fengxia Mountain; when I met him, he was only sixteen and had already entered the realm, but he was very low-key, and Fengxia Mountain did not let him travel the Jianghu. The second is Yandao Sect of Tianxuan Mountain; he should be just over forty this year. I’ve only heard of his reputation as a Genius from others.”

“The one most likely to enter the Dao should be Murong Zhilong of the Murong Clan. This person’s martial arts talent is extremely high. Before I encountered the Qingxiao Sect, I considered him number two in the world.”

Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow and asked: “Murong Clan? Where did they spring from?”

Chu Jing interjected: “The Murong Clan is one of the ancient Aristocratic Families. However, when Emperor Gaozu established the dynasty, he sent people to slaughter them. I personally led the team; it seems we didn’t kill them all.”

Shen Yue glanced at Chu Jing and said: “Correct. The Murong Clan is hidden deep in the mountains. I stumbled upon them by chance and was a guest at their manor. At that time, Murong Zhilong was only in his early twenties and was already the strongest in the Family’s history. Back then, he already had the strength to kill a Mysterious Duke of the same period. However, his grandfather wouldn’t let him enter the world; the Murong Clan intended to wait out the Great Li Dynasty and come out when the next dynasty arrived.”

Hearing this, Chu Jing was very indignant, but he knew Shen Yue was indeed qualified to make such an evaluation.

“The world really has no shortage of Geniuses and experts,” Li Qingqiu sighed.

Shen Yue nodded and said: “The world is too vast; peerless Geniuses will always be born. In my view, if these people have such high talent in martial arts, they likely would be the same on the path of cultivation.”

Li Qingqiu did not refute this. Some martial arts Geniuses had no talent for cultivation because they weren’t truly martial arts Geniuses to begin with; it was just their elders who considered them so.

“Someone has already gone to Tianxuan Mountain, so should we send more people to visit Fengxia Mountain and the Murong Clan?” Li Qingqiu asked.

Shen Yue smiled and said: “When I reach the seventh layer, I will be responsible for finding the Murong Clan. As for Fengxia Mountain, you can arrange for someone else to go.”

“Alright.”

Li Qingqiu agreed. Although he was in the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, he did not look down on the world because of it.

Li Qingqiu was very interested in a Genius who could surpass Shen Yue in martial arts.

Shen Yue was an example; even after switching to the path of cultivation, he was among the top tier within the School.

Having some rare free time, Li Qingqiu asked Shen Yue to sit down and tell him stories about Immortal Master Bai Yan, Yandao Sect, and Murong Zhilong.

Li Qingqiu always felt that whether a person’s story was exciting had nothing to do with their strength, so he would occasionally listen to the stories of those influential figures in the Martial Forest.

Shen Yue did not refuse. After sitting down, he began telling stories from his youth.

As he listened, Li Qingqiu felt something was off.

This old fellow was taking the opportunity to show off again… On a snow-covered slope, Mo Jiuhong was half-kneeling on the ground, his left hand supporting his broken right arm. He gritted his teeth and looked up at the white-robed figure above.

Yandao Sect held a longsword, looking down at Mo Jiuhong. His handsome face was filled with an indifferent expression. His white hair was neatly combed, as if he hadn’t experienced a battle at all, and not a single snowflake clung to him.

“How is it possible… I have a cultivation of the Nourishing Origin Realm Fourth Layer, yet I actually lost to a martial artist…”

Mo Jiuhong’s heart was filled with shock and anger. Since he began cultivating, no martial artist had ever been able to hurt him.

Yet the person before him had not only seen through his disguise but also easily defeated him, making it hard for him to accept reality.

Recalling the previous battle, he felt a lingering fear; he couldn’t even see how Yandao Sect had drawn his sword.

“The Qi in your body is not internal Qi; your Qi is stronger than ordinary internal Qi. You should be a Cultivator. Are you from the Qingxiao Sect?”

Yandao Sect asked, his tone devoid of emotional fluctuations, as if he were speaking of an insignificant trifle.

Mo Jiuhong was in a bind. If he revealed the Qingxiao Sect, it would be a stain on the sect’s reputation. If he didn’t, he feared he might die here.

Just as he was hesitating, Yandao Sect turned around, his back to him, and said: “You may leave.”

Mo Jiuhong was stunned and surprised; he hadn’t expected Yandao Sect to let him go just like that.

“Aren’t you going to ask about my purpose?” Mo Jiuhong couldn’t help but ask.

“No matter what your purpose is, it is a fact that you came to Tianxuan Mountain. Since the Qingxiao Sect wants to understand Tianxuan Mountain, then take the news back. Tianxuan Mountain has no intention of being enemies with the Qingxiao Sect, so I will not kill you. If you insist on flattening Tianxuan Mountain, then the next time we face each other, I will not show mercy.”

Yandao Sect’s tone was calm. With his back to Mo Jiuhong, he continued practicing his sword.

As he swung his sword, the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth surged toward him, making Mo Jiuhong feel immense pressure.

Mo Jiuhong stood up, took a deep breath, and then raised his hands in a salute to Yandao Sect, saying: “The Qingxiao Sect has no intention of dealing with Tianxuan Mountain. It’s just that Tianxuan Mountain has closed its gates, and I personally wanted to find out what you are doing. After all, too many demons and evils have appeared in recent years.”

Yandao Sect did not reply again, focusing on his sword practice.

Mo Jiuhong turned and left, quickly disappearing into the vast white snow… As the year came to an end, a large number of Disciples returned from their experiences, making the Qingxiao Sect lively. The liveliest place was the Experience Hall.

At the beginning of each month, the Experience Hall would post the Mission Ranking and dao affinity leaderboard for the top hundred from the previous month.

The Mission Ranking was based on the number of completed missions, and the dao affinity leaderboard was the amount of dao affinity earned within the Experience Hall.

Since the Experience Hall established the two rankings, many Disciples had become famous, which also led more Disciples to go down the mountain for experience and missions.

Zhang Ping squeezed into the Experience Hall. Looking at the sea of people in the large courtyard, he was secretly alarmed.

Why were there so many people?

Soon, he discovered that most of the Disciples here were just there to watch the excitement. In the center of the large courtyard stood two wooden screens with the rankings posted on them.

Zhang Ping noticed that someone had completed five missions in a single breath last month, and thirty-five missions for the entire year. He felt it was ridiculous.

Was it faked?

Traveling down the mountain also takes time. Even without eating or drinking, it would be impossible to do so many missions.

Zhang Ping noted down the name of this Disciple.

Ning Shu!

“This is the power of an Aristocratic Family. He only needs to accept the missions and have his Family members help him complete them.”

A voice came from behind. Zhang Ping turned his head and felt his scalp tingle.

Bai Ninger, who possessed the 【Lucky One】 destiny, appeared behind him, looking at him with a smile.

In the past, Zhang Ping would have smiled back, but now, he felt Bai Ninger was very eerie, and even her smile felt unsettling.

“Doesn’t the School crack down on this kind of behavior?”

Zhang Ping asked in a low voice, his tone full of confusion.

Bai Ninger asked in return: “Why crack down on it? Were the missions not completed? Or was the dao affinity embezzled?”

Zhang Ping silent.

He could only look at the dao affinity leaderboard. The number one on the dao affinity leaderboard was not Ning Shu.

Yang Dong, with seven hundred and sixty-two dao affinity points last month, and nine thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven for the whole year.

What an exaggerated amount of dao affinity!

“The dao affinity leaderboard has more weight. After all, missions of different difficulties grant different amounts of dao affinity. Aristocratic Families can only help Disciples complete low-level missions; truly dangerous missions require strength,” Bai Ninger said with a smile.

Yang Dong, one of the top ten in the first Dharma Battle Assembly, a Genius Disciple of the Spirit Control Hall.

He held the top spot, and no one would question it.

Bai Ninger took a step forward, put her arm around Zhang Ping’s shoulder, and smiled: “Junior Brother Zhang, I’ve formed a team to complete a major mission. Do you want to come along? The mission reward is very generous. Maybe it can get us all onto the Monthly Dao Affinity Ranking.”

Zhang Ping asked warily: “What mission reward is so generous? If it’s too dangerous, I wouldn’t dare go.”

He was not only afraid of danger but also afraid of being hexed again and inexplicably taking damage for Bai Ninger.

Bai Ninger whispered: “A mission to capture an Auspicious Omen. I took this mission as soon as it came out. I have connections and learned the news in advance, specifically waiting for it to appear.”

“What kind of connections are so powerful?” Zhang Ping asked in surprise. He was truly shocked.

Did Bai Ninger’s influence reach that far?

“Don’t worry about where they came from. Just say whether you’re going or not. There’s a True Disciple with a fifth-layer cultivation in the team,” Bai Ninger glared at Zhang Ping and said irritably.

Zhang Ping hesitated. He looked around and then pulled Bai Ninger to a corner, asking in a low voice: “If the Law Enforcement Hall finds out, will there be trouble?”

“The Law Enforcement Hall?”

Bai Ninger laughed. If they really investigated and it led to the Sect Leader, let’s see how the Law Enforcement Hall Disciples would explain themselves!

However, she wouldn’t say that out loud. She cursed in a low voice: “Why are you acting like a woman? If you’re not going, then forget it. I only invited you because I felt we had an affinity. Many people want to join but can’t. If you go, you won’t need to fight; just help block the Auspicious Omen when the time comes.”

She raised her right hand and said mysteriously: “If the mission is completed, your dao affinity will be at least this much!”

She spread her five fingers, making Zhang Ping’s eyes widen.