Chapter 205: Epiphany on the Spot

After talking with Yuan Li for an hour, Yandao Sect’s heart was filled with emotion.

Tianxuan Mountain could never surpass the Qingxiao Sect!

After hearing about Yuan Li’s past, he admired Li Qingqiu even more.

Zhao Zhen was entrusted to Li Qingqiu by the former Crown Prince. At that time, Zhao Zhi was causing chaos in the world. He asked himself, and Tianxuan Mountain would not have dared to take him in. The truth was indeed so; after the Crown Prince died, Zhao Zhen’s mother and his Junior Brother, Elder of Sword Cultivation, did not offer to raise Zhao Zhen, only bringing it up after Zhao Zhi died.

This was Li Qingqiu’s sense of responsibility.

Yuan Li and his brother’s parents were killed, and they were placed under house arrest as slaves by a Martial Forest School. It was Li Qingqiu who rescued them. At that time, there weren’t many people in the Qingxiao Sect. Yuan Li’s Aptitude showed that the heavens favored the Qingxiao Sect.

Tianxuan Mountain claimed to be a Holy Land, but it had been many years since they went down the mountain to help those in distress.

Yandao Sect had also wanted to go down the mountain, but his Master forbade it, saying he should focus more on practicing martial arts to strengthen Tianxuan Mountain. But since he didn’t go down, and other members didn’t go down either, the chivalrous heart of Tianxuan Mountain was likely long gone.

However, there were others who surprised Yandao Sect.

Afterward, Li Qingqiu brought Cloud Color to visit him. Cloud Color was quite displeased with him, feeling that by spreading the news to the Martial Forest after defeating the Qingxiao Sect Disciples, he was offending the Qingxiao Sect.

When Yandao Sect learned of this, he couldn’t help but frown. When he defeated Li Yang and Yang Dong, no outsiders were present, meaning the news must have been spread by someone from Tianxuan Mountain.

His Junior Brothers claimed to be afraid of the Qingxiao Sect suppressing them, yet they secretly sent people to spread such news?

Yandao Sect frowned, the feeling of being deceived making him unhappy.

Li Qingqiu was secretly delighted; bringing Cloud Color along was indeed the right choice.

He had noticed before that Cloud Color’s personality was somewhat rigid; she disliked lying and found it hard to hide her emotions.

Before coming up the mountain, she had been taciturn while with Bo Zhao and the others, perhaps for fear that speaking would harm the harmony, so she chose to remain silent.

“I was unaware of this matter. I apologize to you on behalf of Tianxuan Mountain,” Yandao Sect said seriously. As he spoke, he stood up and bowed to the two of them.

Just as he bowed, his arm was held up by Li Qingqiu’s hand.

“If one’s skills are inferior, should one be afraid of others talking about it? There is no such logic. Cloud Color, do not be rude to Yandao Sect. We will all be on the same side from now on; do not dwell on the past.”

Yandao Sect looked up and saw Li Qingqiu saying this to Cloud Color.

Hearing this, Cloud Color immediately apologized to Yandao Sect.

Yandao Sect could be certain that this was not a play directed by Li Qingqiu himself, because he could feel Cloud Color’s sharpness and her heartfelt respect for Li Qingqiu.

No, it was probably more than just respect.

“Senior Yandao Sect, how about I spar with you?” Cloud Color looked at Yandao Sect and said seriously, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

Yandao Sect had been challenged more than once. He himself enjoyed martial arts competitions, but no one in Tianxuan Mountain dared to challenge him.

Thus, he readily agreed, and the two sparred in the courtyard.

He controlled his Internal Qi to the same level as Cloud Color’s Origin Qi. Although the two could not be generalized, he could only seek fairness in this way.

After they began, Yandao Sect gradually realized something was wrong.

It was as if Cloud Color knew him very well; she could always avoid his Moves and even anticipate his attack directions in advance, allowing her to respond to his faster Moves with slower speed.

Wait!

Could it be that this girl was also a one-in-a-million Genius?

Yandao Sect glanced at Li Qingqiu again. Seeing Li Qingqiu’s smiling face, he felt malice for the first time, and an uncontrollable sense of shock surged in his heart.

Aren’t there too many Peerless Geniuses in the Qingxiao Sect?

…The news that the Tianxuan Mountain Sect Master was defeated by the Sword God and had joined the Qingxiao Sect spread rapidly throughout the Martial Forest.

When the Sword God and Yandao Sect sparred, there were other Martial Forest people from various Schools present. Coupled with the fact that Yandao Sect had already arrived at the Qingxiao Sect, the news could not be hidden at all.

Now, the voices praising Yandao Sect disappeared, replaced by insults. Those people felt that Yandao Sect was unworthy of the name of Tianxuan Mountain.

The outside world was in turmoil, but it could no longer affect Yandao Sect.

Tiangong Hall took only one month to build the Martial Ancestor Pavilion and the Martial Arts Field. News about the Martial Ancestor had also spread, but the response was not significant. At least on Qingxiao Mountain, not many Disciples were willing to practice martial arts.

However, among the Utility Disciples, Named Disciples, and Outer Sect Disciples, this news caused a great stir.

Yandao Sect was someone who could defeat Li Yang and Yang Dong. Even if his martial path could not compare to the immortal path, it could still allow one to reach a level of ability surpassing the first four layers of the Nourishing Origin Realm. This was very attractive to Disciples with low Aptitude… After the storm caused by Tianxuan Mountain temporarily subsided, Li Qingqiu’s life returned to peace.

He did not go to see Yandao Sect every day, still spending the vast majority of his time on his own cultivation.

It was worth mentioning that the Auspicious Omen, the Five-Colored Deer, caused quite a stir within the Qingxiao Sect. Bai Ninger let the Five-Colored Deer roam freely on Qingxiao Mountain, attracting many Disciples to go and observe it.

No one dared to steal the Five-Colored Deer. Not only were there many Disciples on Qingxiao Mountain, but there were also many Disciples patrolling at the foot of Qingxiao Mountain.

Since the Tree Demon Clone attacked the Qingxiao Sect, Li Qingqiu had increased the number of patrols.

Even in peaceful times, more than five hundred Disciples took turns patrolling Qingxiao Mountain and Ziyang Peak. At first, many Hall Masters felt the number was too high, but after seeing that most of the patrolling Disciples were Outer Sect Disciples, they no longer had any objections.

Near Qingxiao Mountain, there was no need for very strong Disciples to patrol, as long as someone could pass on news.

So Li Qingqiu established squads of twenty people, with each squad led by at least one Disciple at the Nourishing Origin Realm, Third Layer or higher.

The Martial Ancestor branch was newly established and did not have many Disciples. After all, the Qingxiao Sect had not been established for very long, and even those Disciples interested in the Martial Ancestor path were not yet ready to give up on pursuing immortal cultivation.

To them, the Martial Ancestor path was a way out, but not the path they wanted to take right now.

The usually idle Yandao Sect began to wander around the Qingxiao Sect. The more he learned about the Qingxiao Sect, the more he marveled, and his loyalty to Li Qingqiu and the Qingxiao Sect grew rapidly.

One day, Shen Yue invited Yandao Sect to visit the Sword Sect.

Yandao Sect had a very good impression of Shen Yue, so he agreed.

As soon as he arrived at the Sword Sect, many gazes fell upon him. His image and temperament were truly eye-catching.

“Who is that person? With white hair, he’s so handsome!”

“I know, he’s the Sect Master of Tianxuan Mountain, Yandao Sect!”

“It’s him? It’s said he’s even more powerful than the top ten Disciples.”

“I heard it wasn’t easy for Elder Shen to win against him.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. If Elder Shen hears you, he’ll definitely increase your training tasks.”

The Sword Sect Disciples whispered among themselves, all full of interest in Yandao Sect.

Yang Lin and the other four, who were close to Ji Ya, watched from a distance, equally curious about how high Yandao Sect’s martial arts were.

Yang Lin whispered to her four companions, “See, there are more and more experts in the School. Stop pestering Ji Ya and let him Cultivate properly, lest he be surpassed by more and more people and make the Sect Leader dissatisfied.”

A male Disciple said aggrievedly, “It’s not that we want to pester him. Besides, when he comes to us, we can’t exactly drive him away, can we?”

“It’s because you always have this or that difficulty or grievance, so he can’t stop worrying about you,” Yang Lin glared at him and said crossly.

Just then.

“Senior Yandao Sect, I am Sword Solitary. I would like to spar with you in swordsmanship. What do you think?”

As soon as these words were spoken, hundreds of Sword Sect Disciples turned around together. They saw the fifteen-year-old Sword Solitary stepping toward Yandao Sect.

Sword Solitary was wearing black brocade clothes for sword practice, his black hair tied high behind his head, with two long strands of hair fluttering by his ears in the wind, and a sword at his waist.

His face was very handsome, and with his cool temperament, he was very popular with the female Disciples. On ordinary days, many female Disciples tried to please him, but unfortunately, they were all coldly rejected by him.

Yandao Sect glanced over, his eyes narrowing involuntarily.

At first glance, he felt that Sword Solitary was a Peerless Genius.

There is a kind of Genius that no one will question once they appear.

Sword Solitary was that kind of radiant Genius.

Shen Yue smiled and said, “If it’s only a competition of sword Moves, be careful not to lose to him.”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t said anything, but once he did, Yandao Sect decided to only use sword Moves to deal with Sword Solitary.

“Fine, then let the other Disciples watch the sword together and see if they can gain any insights.”

Yandao Sect responded and then walked toward Sword Solitary.

Hearing this, the Sword Sect Disciples made way, clearing an open space for them to spar.

“Senior, then I’ll make the first Move!”

After Sword Solitary finished speaking, he drew his sword and quickly approached Yandao Sect.

Yandao Sect did not deliberately look down on him just because he was young; he also drew his sword to meet him.

The two quickly clashed, their swords striking each other, and they gained a general understanding of each other’s swordsmanship.

What Sword Solitary felt was unfathomable and unshakable.

Yandao Sect, however, discovered that at such a young age, Sword Intent was already brewing within him. It was truly not simple.

Their figures crossed as they rapidly competed in swordsmanship.

Sword Solitary’s sword Moves were very fast, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that Yandao Sect was deliberately guiding him.

No one expected Sword Solitary to win against Yandao Sect, and Sword Solitary himself didn’t think so either. He had requested a spar with Yandao Sect simply because he wanted to feel Yandao Sect’s swordsmanship.

After a hundred Moves.

The tip of Yandao Sect’s sword rested before Sword Solitary’s throat. Sword Solitary froze instantly. He looked at Yandao Sect, stunned for a moment, then sheathed his sword and raised his hand to bow to Yandao Sect.

“Not bad. Your talent in the Dao of the sword is the strongest I have ever seen in my life. You might not necessarily be unable to surpass the Sword God,” Yandao Sect praised. As he spoke, he glanced at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue was not angry, merely stroking his beard as he watched the scene.

Yandao Sect withdrew his gaze. Just as he sheathed his sword, he found Sword Solitary frozen in place.

Sword Solitary had already closed his eyes; he had actually begun to reflect on Yandao Sect’s swordsmanship.

“I didn’t expect him to be a Sword Maniac as well.”

Yandao Sect thought happily. A Sword Solitary like this would be qualified to be his opponent in the future.

Just as he was about to turn toward Shen Yue, his footsteps stopped. His gaze became serious as he locked onto Sword Solitary again.

Shen Yue appeared beside him as if teleporting, staring closely at Sword Solitary, and whispered, “Good boy, entering an Epiphany state just like that?”

The two could clearly feel the Sword Intent within Sword Solitary’s body rapidly strengthening.

Yandao Sect felt it was absurd. How did another such incredible Genius pop up?

Moreover, the Peerless Geniuses of the Qingxiao Sect manifested in different ways, each with their own characteristics. This was simply ridiculous.