EP.23 Why are you here again...? (3)
Why are you here again...? (3)
The residence of Ouyang Qian trembles due to the aura of the Sword Venerable. Elder Li immediately unfolds his aura to envelop the residence.
It is rough and fierce. The aura of a swordsman without a sword is so sharp.
‘They say a dragon grows larger with age, and this is exactly the case...’
A drop of sweat rolled down Elder Li’s chin.
The aura that barely leaked out from the Sword Venerable’s agitated emotions was this intense.
One of the three great masters under heaven.
The Sword Venerable was clearly proving that this title was not a mere reputation.
“You are crossing the line, Gulong.”
“You know better what my words mean, senior.”
A master’s vision is broad. If Elder Li, a master of his level, were to use all his aura, he could oversee half of the estate.
He couldn’t grasp every move of the head of the family or the Sword Venerable, but he could understand the actions of others.
The presence of a person is more evident to a martial artist.
That’s why Elder Li knew.
“You must have known long ago, so why are you pretending not to?”
Elder Li thought of Weixuea.
She is a girl with an incomparably beautiful face, but to Elder Li’s eyes, it wasn’t so.
There is nothing.
Weixuea doesn’t give off any presence that a person should have.
Awe, or fear.
These two contradictory words come to mind when he sees Weixuea.
She has none of the things a human should have. Instead, something else fills the void inside her.
Is it light or darkness? At Elder Li’s level, he couldn’t see that far.
But if it were the Sword Venerable, could he not see it either?
“What is the true nature of that child, senior?”
“My granddaughter is human, Gulong!”
The Sword Venerable slammed his hand on the table.
The table cracked and collapsed, and in that instant, the Sword Venerable’s aura exploded.
Elder Li, who had enveloped the residence with his aura to protect it, felt a great shock.
But he didn’t show it.
Elder Li swallowed the boiling blood and continued.
“If you find Yixian, do you think you can fill that child with something else?”
Yixian is an old man known as a divine physician, but can he really do such a thing?
A shallow presence that one wouldn’t notice even if it approached from behind, even when facing the Dark King, the former leader of the Night Assassins, it wasn’t this shallow.
But the strange thing was that Weixuea’s insides were filled with something else.
It was fundamentally different from the innate true qi or the aura that fills the dantian, which every human should have.
Elder Li felt an incomprehensible infinity inside Weixuea’s body.
‘What exactly is that...’
Ignorance in a human is fear. Elder Li definitely felt fear towards Weixuea.
What could be inside that small child? He was curious but didn’t want to know.
His instinct told him that it shouldn’t be opened.
“Is it because of this that you are now hiding, senior? Afraid others might see?”
How would other martial artists see Weixuea? If they saw her like Elder Li?
There are probably few martial artists in the Central Plains who can see such things in Weixuea.
But if they do, like Elder Li, and see Weixuea’s secret?
How would they judge the unknown they see in that small child?
Of course, from the Sword Venerable’s expression, it doesn’t seem to be solely for that reason, but he probably won’t ask any further.
A chilling sensation runs down his back.
It feels as if dozens of invisible sword tips around him are staring at Elder Li.
The Sword Venerable’s hands are empty.
But these swords are undoubtedly the Sword Venerable’s.
Is this the Heart Sword, the highest realm a swordsman can reach?
Elder Li, not a swordsman, couldn’t tell.
“If you ask more, I will cut you down without hesitation.”
“Gulong, the reason you are still alive is also thanks to that, so don’t be disappointed.”
“I don’t know what you are thinking, senior, or why you are keeping that child. I’m not curious.”
He doesn’t care what others think. His life is already full with the path he must take.
That was Elder Li’s mindset.
“If it were the old you, you wouldn’t have worried.”
In Elder Li’s eyes, the Sword Venerable seemed unstable.
The sword of the Sword Venerable, which he thought would never rust, felt dulled by the influence of the mind.
A pillar of the righteous sect, the sky of the righteous sect, the Sword Venerable was called and deserved to be called such.
Elder Li once held reverence for the sky contained in that small body.
But what about now?
Cracks were appearing in that once high sky. Elder Li looked at the Sword Venerable and said,
“If you say the child is human, I will think so. If you decide to keep her, so be it. It’s not a matter of my will, but just...”
Elder Li stood up, leaving the broken table behind.
To fulfill the head of the family’s request, Elder Li had to head to the Nangong family estate immediately.
“Don’t regret the path you have chosen, senior. It will be the most miserable thing. You know it best.”
After Elder Li left the residence, the Sword Venerable’s aura disappeared.
The Sword Venerable, who had withdrawn his sharp aura, wiped his face.
‘Is that child really human?’
The words of Elder Li echoed in his ears. Is she really human? He knew his granddaughter was definitely human.
The Demon Realm.
The place where the Sword Venerable brought Weixuea. The Sword Venerable erased the memory of that time.
From the moment he first met the child. The moment her adorable mouth contained him, the moment they walked hand in hand in the field.
All those moments told the Sword Venerable that Weixuea was human.
Even if Weixuea carries something and is destined to be at the center of the bloodshed that will come to the world.
He will cut that destiny with his sword. For that, he has honed his sword, and the Sword Venerable swore to his sword.
No matter what Weixuea is, no matter what the bloodshed is.
The Sword Venerable could burn the insignificant life he had left without hesitation for his granddaughter.
Then, the Sword Venerable carefully gathered the pieces of the table he had broken.
“I’m sorry...”
Despite the years that have passed since her birth, the Sword Venerable still felt he lacked cultivation, unable to control his emotions.
What if Weixuea is not human?
The parts she lacks as a human can be filled.
If necessary, he would even offer his own life.
The Sword Venerable was prepared for that.
A few hours later.
How long has it been since we got in the carriage? My buttocks are starting to ache.
Looking outside, the sun has already set. It’s time to rest soon, as we will soon be on a forest path.
The carriage soon stopped, and preparations for camping began. It was a good area for camping, with a nearby stream.
Maybe because I’ve been sitting for so long, my body feels stiff.
Wuyan, with a sullen face, suddenly said he would practice and disappeared with his sword.
He said he would be back before the watch, so he’ll do it on his own.
The servants started preparing the meal, and I stood on a nearby field.
How much longer until Sichuan?
It will probably take a few more days. As always, this vast land takes a long time to traverse.
It wasn’t for nothing that the Martial Alliance tried to tame a flying demon in the past.
Of course, it ultimately failed, like the Green Horned Dog.
In the end, the Martial Alliance concluded that taming demons was impossible.
‘...But the Heavenly Demon was different.’
Ironically, what the Martial Alliance couldn’t do in years of research, the Heavenly Demon could.
The Heavenly Demon tamed demons.
Just by breathing, demons would bow their heads.
Even the massive demons that could swallow a family estate in one bite were as gentle as lambs to the Heavenly Demon.
On the day the Heavenly Demon erased the Huashan Sect from the Central Plains, he appeared riding a massive demon in the sky.
Can demons really be tamed?
“Is a human really capable of such a thing?”
Just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat.
I need to stop thinking about it. First, I need to focus on the tasks at hand.
I wrapped my aura around my body to clear my mind. Despite repeated practice, my limited inner strength hasn’t improved much in the short time.
It seems it will take a while for my Guxian Huolun Gong, which is still at the second level, to reach the third level.
Physically, it’s also an issue, but the most urgent problem is my lack of inner strength.
I felt this during my sparring with Jueye.
I can’t do what I need to because of my insufficient inner strength.
This is a matter of life and death in real combat.
I stepped forward with my left foot and extended my fist forward.
Bang!
A sound of air breaking comes from the quick punch.
I feel my inner strength draining from my dantian with just one punch.
I grit my teeth and continue with the next move.
From my arm to my leg, then from my leg back to my arm. Due to my inflexible body, I can’t naturally transition to the desired movements.
Meanwhile, my aura must move fluidly.
Ultimately, martial arts are about the sensations the body remembers.
The realm of a martial artist is not easily given to the unprepared.
Just keep practicing.
After repeating the same movements a few times, my lower abdomen already aches.
This means my inner strength is depleted.
“Huff...”
I exhaled the last bit of aura like leftover residue.
Despite a short practice session, my body is already drenched in sweat. My lack of inner strength continues to hold me back.
Thoughts of the Mada Xitian Gong kept running through my mind.
This is the fastest and easiest method.
If