CH 273

“Definitely!” said Wang Zhuo with staunch assurance.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Do you have paper and a brush on you?”

Wang Zhuo immediately took both from his bag of holding and handed them over.

With a few sweeping strokes of the brush, Su Yi wrote a letter and sealed it. He then placed the snail-shell-shaped whistle to his lips and blew.

Weng!

A bizarre rhythm rang out, passing through the curtain and rain and reaching into the skies above.

Mere moments later, a Swiftlight Sparrow shot toward them. Its feathers were a faint gray, and it looked like a small hawk. Its eyes were jade-green, and its sharp claws were bright red.

Su Yi tossed it the note he’d just written, and the bird grabbed it, then disappeared back into the sky in a flash.

Su Yi turned to look at Wang Zhuo. “You can leave.”

It seemed Wang Zhuo found this hard to believe. “Young Lord Su, are you sure you want to let me go?”

All Su Yi said in response was, “You’d best consider your next steps.”

He then carried his umbrella off into the distance.

The rain gradually faded, and mist permeated the mountains. Before long, there was no trace of Su Yi.

Wang Zhuo watched in a daze. Only after Su Yi disappeared did he dare believe he’d escaped calamity. He couldn’t help but mock himself, “So what if I’m one of the Great Zhou’s Ten Great Xiantian Martial Ancestors? Compared to a true cultivator, I’m just an ant struggling for power in the mundane world…”

With a long sigh, the highest authority figure of Skywalk Academy rose, turned, and left. He cut a desolate figure…

……

The night was dark as ink.

Atop a solitary mountain, a bonfire blazed. A gaunt elder with unkempt hair and a disheveled beard sat beside the flames, holding an ancient scroll. He used the firelight to read in silence, and he seemed perfectly at ease.

A fat middle-aged man in Buddhist robes lay not far away. His head was bald and shiny, and he was currently sprawled out in a pile of straw, fast asleep. His snores boomed like thunder.

A vast, upright pine grew off to the side, and an old-fashioned, inflexible-looking man in dark robes sat cross-legged beneath it. His eyes were gently shut; he seemed perfectly calm too.

Over by the cliffside, there was a man in white robes. He looked young, and he held a crisp, golden-brown roast chicken still dripping with grease. As he ate, the grease got all over his face. From the look of him, he was enjoying himself immensely.

Suddenly, a Swiftlight Sparrow streaked through the distant night skies and landed before them.

The busily-eating young man in white stretched out his hand and pointed to the gaunt elder beside the bonfire.

“Go find him,” he said, but his mouth was full, and his words were indistinct.

Whoosh!

The Swiftlight Sparrow landed on the old man’s shoulders.

The old man put away his scroll in mild frustration. He took a round, clear bronze mirror from his sleeves, formed a few quick hand seals, and tapped gently on the Swiftlight Sparrow.

Kcch!

The bird trembled, and a colorful, luminous mist fired from its jade-green eyes, reflecting on the clear surface of the bronze mirror. Instantly, a scene appeared there.

It was the recent battle at Dragonbridge Station!

“They’ve started fighting so quickly?” exclaimed the gaunt elder.

Before long, he saw Su Yi slay the zither-wielding woman in black from a distance. The old man was visibly stunned. He muttered, “What terrifying sword arts!”

He was one of the seven elders of the Ten Directions Pavilion dispersed throughout the Great Zhou. He was naturally well aware that the zither-wielding woman was a Xiantian Martial Ancestor of the Great Qin.

Her name was Huang Duanyu, and she was known as the “Zither-Sword Master.” She was adept at both swordsmanship and her instrument. In the Great Zhou, her power was sufficient to make her a king or minister.

Yet a Xiantian Martial Ancestor of her level had just been cleaved in two! The sight was so bloody that even the gaunt elder couldn’t help but gasp.

“Let me see.” The white-robed youth approached, still carrying the half-eaten chicken. His intelligent eyes stared at the image reflected in the mirror, his face bright with curiosity.

Shortly after, he saw Tie Kong and the eighteen Grandmasters’ Six Harmonies Qi Gathering Formation. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “This formation is quite impressive. The Violent Ape Tie Kong’s power has doubled at the very least; he’s strong enough to contend with Wang Zhuo himself.”

But almost as soon as he said this, the white-robed young man was stunned. He stared in a daze, roasted chicken in hand, looking utterly shaken.

The elder was staring intently at the mirror too.

Just like before, Su Yi used just one slash to slay Tie Kong and destroy his combat formation, leaving a massive scar in the earth!

“Is that really something a second-level Grandmaster can achieve?” came a strange shout. They weren’t sure when, but the snoring fat monk had made his way over too. When he saw Tie Kong’s death, his meaty cheeks jiggled with utter shock.

The white-robed youth muttered, “That sword isn’t simple!”

“Yes,” said the gaunt elder, “but Su Yi’s foundations are much scarier!”

All of them looked at each other; they could see the shock written on each others’ faces.

They were elders of the Ten Directions Pavilion, but this was their first time witnessing Su Yi in battle. Yes, they’d long since used various methods to learn about Su Yi’s background and abilities.

But now that they’d seen this bloody, one-sided suppression with their own eyes, they could no longer remain calm.

The gaunt elder pondered out loud, “It seems we must re-evaluate Su Yi’s combat strength once more.”

The young man in white sighed, “I suddenly feel quite sorry for planning to try to seize Su Yi’s good fortune….”

The fat monk suddenly swiped the remaining half of the roasted chicken and took a big bite. His cheeks bounced and shook as he said, “Incredible! If you told me this kid hasn’t been possessed by some old monster, I wouldn’t believe it, not even if you beat me to death!”

As they spoke, the dark-robed man sitting beneath the pine tree walked over, his stern face filled with displeasure. “Don’t make such a fuss! How unbecoming!”

He said this, then furrowed his brow; he just saw Wang Zhuo kill the short, gaunt formations expert and the eighteen Grandmasters. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “The Qingxuan King actually admitted defeat?”

The withered elder had a complicated look on his face as he sighed, “He was trying to save his own life. It’s understandable; his opponent is simply too terrifying”

When they saw all the strangeness that unfolded after Su Yi killed the black civet, all four Ten Directions Pavilion elders’ expressions changed.

“That black civet’s body housed a yao soul!?”

“That yao soul’s origins can’t possibly be simple.”

“Alas, we couldn’t hear their conversation….”

This was because they were seeing what the Swiftlight Sparrows had seen from thousands of feet above. They saw images, but they couldn’t hear any sounds.

As a result, the four of them had no idea that that wisp of soul was a soul avatar split off from a Spirit Dao cultivator who called herself the Pomegranate Flame Monarch.

Even so, this strange and shocking scene left all four of them stunned.

It was then that the images vanished.

The gaunt elder put away the bronze mirror, then glanced at his three companions. “Tell me, do you think we should publicize the details of their battle?”

The severe, dark-robed man was the first to respond. “If we do, we’ll irrevocably offend Su Yi. After all, it’s highly likely that his enemies would exploit such information.”

The white-robed youth couldn't help but remind them, “Don’t forget: we’re already selling information about Su Yi’s whereabouts. In his shoes, I would definitely hate the Ten Directions Pavilion already.”

The fat monk rubbed his bald head. He couldn’t help but complain, “I just don’t know what Boss was thinking. Why did she insist on getting mixed up in this? She’s simply obsessed with money!”

The others fell silent.

There were seven elders of the Ten Directions Pavilion in the Great Zhou. The grand elder led the others, wielding absolute authority. What she said, went. The others called her “Boss.”

The grand elder was good every way, except for one major flaw: she was obsessed with earning money.

This was what led to them tracking Su Yi and selling his whereabouts as “top-secret information.”

The white-robed youth muttered, “Even if Boss knew the details of this battle, I’m not sure she’d regret using Su Yi’s whereabouts to earn money.”

The other three said in unison, “There’s no way she’d regret it!”

All of them knew far too well that, so long as there was money to be made, there was nothing the boss dared not do.

It was then that they heard yet another figure streaking over from the distant night skies—

“Ee? It’s carrying a note.” The white-robed youth accepted the paper from the Swiftlight Sparrow’s beak, then opened it.

Everyone gathered around to look.

On it was a message: “Want to sell my whereabouts to turn a profit? Go right ahead—but you have to give me ninety percent. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing up to settle the score.

“Also: you shouldn't speak of what is improper, nor should you see it. Next time, if I discover Swiftlight Sparrows spying on my battles, I’ll cut them down without mercy.”

The note was signed “Su Yi.”

The characters were free and unrestrained, with strong lines and sharp hooks. The ink bled through the page. The note looked like a series of fierce, sweeping sword strokes.

“He…. He actually dares threaten us?” sputtered the young man in white.

The heavyset middle-aged man sighed. “See? I told you. This Young Lord Su is obviously displeased with our Ten Directions Pavilion.”

The man in dark robes immediately got the crux of the matter. “But he isn't restricting us from revealing his whereabouts.”

“But…. How could Boss possibly agree to give up ninety percent of the profits?” The withered elder shook his head.

The dark-robed man made the final call. “Let’s let the Boss decide how to handle this herself.”

“That works too.” The other three straightforwardly agreed. They certainly didn’t want to offend a tough customer like Su Yi, especially since they suspected he’d been possessed. What if he really did come knocking on their door to settle the score?

Before long, a Swiftlight Sparrow took the note back and soared into the skies.

Time slipped by.

Shortly before dawn, when the darkness was just beginning to recede, the gaunt elder received a response from the grand elder.

On it was just one sentence: “Do as he says.”

When they saw this, the four of them were stunned. Since when was the boss willing to cough up ‘meat’ that was already in her mouth?

The fat monk scratched his head. “This isn’t Boss’s style.”

The young man in white guessed gleefully, as if delighting in her misfortune, “I’m sure she’s afraid of Su Yi setting his sights on her too…. Boss might be strong, but Su Yi might well have been possessed by some old monster. Who wouldn’t be afraid of him?”

The severe, dark-robed man furrowed his brow. “Boss has surely sensed something; that’s why she made this decision.”

“What’s the point of pondering all that? The matter at hand is responding to Su Yi as quickly as possible. I don’t know about you guys, but I certainly don’t want someone so obviously dangerous setting his sights on me….” urged the fat monk.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

When the other three heard this, all of them nodded.

Before long, a Swiftlight Sparrow carrying their response soared into the skies.