Chapter 157: Chapter 157 Insights on Swordsmanship

“Actually, it’s quite simple.”

Pei Luoshu chuckled, “Just think about it, and you’ll realize that Pure Yang Palace is the great sect of the current Martial Dao, not to mention an ancient and supreme Immortal Home, possessing a resident saint of the First Rank.

“Numerous forces that have wanted to curry favor with Pure Yang Palace but couldn’t find any means are countless, and among them are forces with strength comparable to or even more formidable than that of Chang Xing Sect.”

“Humph, brother, you’re saying I’m dumb!” Pei Luoling first glared at Pei Luoshu, then after a moment of contemplation, her eyes lit up, and she laughed, “There was no chance before, but now there is one because of Chang Xing Sect, so is that why they’re closing the mountain to avoid these forces?”

“If they don’t close the mountain, Chang Xing Sect will have to face the suppression from various forces.” Pei Luoshu looked toward the entrance of Chang Xing Sect and said, “This sect is going to have a hard time in the future.”

…

As for Chang Xing Sect closing their mountain, Zhou Heng had a different thought on his side.

“To protect themselves.” Zhou Heng stood with his hands behind his back, and said lightly, “This time I have humiliated Chang Xing Sect severely enough to say that I’ve made them all lose face, and I’ve even killed one of their Sixth Rank Innates, which will definitely attract a great deal of enmity.

“If Chang Xing Sect doesn’t close their mountain and continues to let their disciples go out freely, it’s inevitable that some will come after me seeking revenge, using both open and covert attacks, but that will only result in more deaths by my hand, and the enmity between me and Chang Xing Sect will only grow deeper.

“For Chang Xing Sect, there’s not the slightest benefit to this, and there’s even the possibility of losing many disciples’ lives, or they might even put an end to their own lineage.”

Put an end to their own lineage? What does that mean?

That means the sect is annihilated!

Once the sect is destroyed, the lineage naturally ends.

“Junior Uncle is making sense,” Jiang Taihe nodded, agreeing completely with Zhou Heng’s reasoning.

“But this is just what I think, who knows if Wan Fengchun sees it the same way.” Zhou Heng smiled, then mounted his horse and said, “I still have some matters to handle, so I’ll leave the aftermath here for you to deal with.”

He had already noticed the eyes of the onlookers, filled with frenzy and astonishment, and it wouldn’t have been odd if these people rushed over the next moment to surround him with questions and touches.

Zhou Heng had seen this situation several times back on Earth.

Leaving was the best plan.

After all, there was someone waiting for him.

“Eh?” Jiang Taihe was startled upon hearing this and watched, confused, as Zhou Heng rode away, “What’s happening?”

The next instant, he saw the horse under Zhou Heng burst into crimson flames, don a golden silk armor, and become incredibly magnificent; its speed also quickened drastically, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Then, the crowd reacted, and many people rushed toward Zhou Heng, attempting to stop him to ask some questions, but Zhou Heng’s horse was simply too fast to catch up with.

As a result, these people had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, hastily giving up on chasing Zhou Heng and heading back the way they came.

Then, they all swarmed around Jiang Taihe.

…

After leaving Chang Xing Sect’s entrance, Zhou Heng dispelled the flames from his chestnut-red horse, stopping the effect of the Red Lotus horse gear.

To avoid shocking the public.

Yet even so, the chestnut-red horse’s speed remained extremely fast.

This was the effect of having consumed the Linju Pill.

Now, in terms of speed alone, the chestnut-red horse was on par with an ordinary Seventh Rank Warrior, and its body was exceptionally strong, even its “height” had increased significantly.

It indeed was worthy of the “Linju” title now.

If an Eighth Rank Warrior dared to block the chestnut-red horse head-on with bare hands now, they would be struck with bone-breaking force, suffering severe injuries on the spot.

Passing along a small forest path, Zhou Heng felt a sudden impulse, pulled on the reins, and brought the chestnut-red horse to a stop.

Shortly after, Cheng Jianjian arrived, stepping from treetop to treetop as if she were a butterfly dancing through the forest, gliding forward until finally, with a turn in mid-air, she landed lightly before Zhou Heng.

“Junior Uncle, are you unharmed?” She wore a light smile, still dressed in her moon-white Taoist robe, her countenance elegant and pure, stunningly ethereal.

“I always feel a bit unaccustomed to being called Junior Uncle by you.” Zhou Heng dismounted, leading the horse by the reins, and walked side by side with Cheng Jianjian, saying with a laugh, “Did Miss Cheng also come to enjoy the spectacle?”

“I just happened to be passing by, so I came to take a look, and also to see if Junior Uncle needed any help.” Cheng Jianjian’s lips carried a smile as she sized up Zhou Heng, “It seems that Junior Uncle has grown taller than before.”

“Ah? Really?” Zhou Heng was slightly startled upon hearing this.

But considering his recent advancement in inner strength, refining his body further and approaching a level close to a complete transformation, it was normal that he had grown a bit taller.

“`

“You’ve grown taller, and your martial arts have greatly improved,” Cheng Jianjian remarked with some astonishment as she looked at Zhou Heng, smiling lightly, “When we first met, I said you had the hope of reaching the Middle Third Rank, yet in just a few months, you’ve already peaked at Eighth Rank.”

“Circumstances led to it, with many opportunities along the way,” Zhou Heng replied with a smile, “However, I’ve recently hit a bottleneck and have been planning to spar with some experts to sharpen my martial arts.”

“Coincidentally, I have the same intention,” Cheng Jianjian chuckled, “I’ve been taking on assignments frequently and have been overwhelmingly busy. Now that I finally have some time to spare, I’m planning to travel around seeking sword experts to spar with.

“Once my swordsmanship advances further, I’ll head to Zhongzhou to challenge Fang Wen and test my sword against the number one on the people’s list, to try out his three Immortal Home sword techniques!”

In her words, the corners of her lips slightly curled up, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. It was a longing for the challenge of sparring with strong opponents and also the joy of possibly advancing further in her cultivation realm.

“Are you devoted to swordsmanship, Miss Cheng?” Zhou Heng inquired.

“Not exactly,” Cheng Jianjian gently shook her head, smiling, “Swordsmanship simply suits my martial arts the best. Dedication to swordsmanship and a singular focus on the Sword Dao is indeed respectable, but life is beautiful, and pursuing happiness is also what I seek. Life isn’t just about the Sword Dao. Um, junior uncle, do you happen to have any sweets?”

“I bought some osmanthus candy on the road earlier, and it hasn’t been opened yet.” Zhou Heng took out a small packet of candy from his qiankun silk pouch and tossed it to Cheng Jianjian, chuckling, “Consider it a small gift from your junior uncle.”

“Then I thank you, junior uncle.” Cheng Jianjian accepted the candy and took out a small booklet, handing it to Zhou Heng with a smile, “This is my gift to my junior uncle in return.”

“White Rainbow Sword Technique?” Zhou Heng saw the name written in fine script on the cover of the booklet. After briefly flipping through it and noticing the mnemonics and drawings of the moves, he understood it was a Seventh Rank sword technique. Looking at Cheng Jianjian with surprise, he asked, “Did you create this sword technique?”

“Yes,” Cheng Jianjian nodded lightly, continuing, “Junior uncle, it seems you’ve already stepped half into the threshold of Seventh Rank but still lack the core will to construct the inner world.

“Sparring to refine one’s martial arts is indeed a good method, but it is also necessary to understand how to integrate what one has learned by refining their martial arts and how to consolidate various gains into a set of martial arts containing one’s martial path will.

“In addition to the mnemonics and drawings, this ‘White Rainbow Sword Technique’ also includes some of my experience in refining martial arts and embodying will. Maybe you can take some reference from it.”

“…You’re actually willing to give me this?” Zhou Heng looked at the girl beside him in shock.

This was no ordinary Seventh Rank sword technique; it was Cheng Jianjian’s painstakingly refined martial arts insights that could guide one to break through from Eighth Rank and step onto the level of Seventh Rank.

To a martial artist stuck at the peak of Eighth Rank, it was an invaluable treasure.

However, normally, almost no one would share their own unique martial arts created for breaking through to Seventh Rank.

Because such martial arts also contain the creator’s martial path will and aspects of their inner world’s features, if understood thoroughly by others, one could discern some of the creator’s weaknesses.

Before truly stepping into Sixth Rank and achieving Innate status, these weaknesses are unavoidable and can only be rectified once the Qi returns to the Innate and the outer scenery merges, allowing for adjustments in the inner world, thus erasing these flaws.

For Cheng Jianjian to so generously share the White Rainbow Sword Technique was genuinely surprising to Zhou Heng; he even worried if the girl was being too trusting.

“You should take it back,” Zhou Heng pushed the booklet on the White Rainbow Sword Technique back to her and shook his head, “This martial art is too important for you. If it comes into someone else’s hands, or if I harbor bad intentions, you would suffer a significant loss.”

“Junior uncle, you needn’t worry; just this sword technique alone can’t harm me,” Cheng Jianjian’s slender hand pressed onto Zhou Heng’s hand, pushing the booklet back to him with a smile,

“I once witnessed a spellbinding sword move from our sect’s Divine Weapon that enlightened me with an Absolute Fourth Rank sword technique; the construction of my inner world is centered on it.

“Therefore, even though the White Rainbow Sword Technique is a product of refining my martial arts and embodying my will, it cannot influence my inner world or reveal my weaknesses.

“You can rest assured and contemplate it, junior uncle. If you are worried about the martial art falling into the wrong hands, you can burn it after you are done.”

Since Cheng Jianjian had already spoken to such an extent, Zhou Heng no longer refused and accepted the booklet, sincerely saying, “Thank you.”

“And thank you for the osmanthus candy,” Cheng Jianjian opened the wrapper, savored a piece of candy, closed her eyes in enjoyment, and smiled with a nod, “It’s very sweet.”

…

After traveling together for some time, Cheng Jianjian and Zhou Heng parted ways.

She was heading to Jiabeifu to seek a sword expert for sparring, while Zhou Heng planned to first settle in Huangtong Mansion City for quiet cultivation, contemplating the White Rainbow Sword Technique and organizing the martial arts he had recently acquired.

—Jiabeifu and Huangtong Mansion are both located in Pingzhou, but they’re quite far apart, roughly about three thousand miles, with different directions, allowing only for a short portion of the journey to be together.

As Zhou Heng walked the road, he felt he had concentrated so much on the affairs of the Chang Xing Sect recently that he might have forgotten something.

It wasn’t until he browsed through his qiankun silk pouch that he finally remembered: it had been a while since he last wore the mask of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

Without wearing it, he was unable to receive any messages.

Considering the time, the Five Emperors Inner Seat should have already arranged his second task.

He just hadn’t checked yet.

“What is the task?”

Zhou Heng found a secluded spot with no one around, donned the “Ziwei” mask, and then saw the mission information.

“Mission location: Huangtong Mansion City…”