Chapter 196: Second Under Heaven
“Reaching the extreme of the Martial Path and entering the Dao to shed one’s mortality? That sounds awfully mystical. How did you know?”
Li Qingqiu sat on a chair and asked out of curiosity.
He did not doubt Shen Yue’s words; he was simply curious.
Shen Yue was not a rash person.
Since he dared to say such things, he must have had a basis.
Upon hearing Shen Yue’s words, Chu Jing’s expression changed.
As if he had thought of something, his expression became complicated.
Shen Yue replied, “Entry-Realm experts across the world can more or less sense it. It’s just that most experts think it’s because their state of mind isn’t calm enough, so they don’t take it seriously. But my state of mind is stable. For no reason at all, I developed palpitations. After thinking it over repeatedly, this was the only explanation. I also asked Su Xiling—she had the same feeling.”
Chu Jing spoke up, “I had it too. I just didn’t take it seriously before…”
Inside his heart, stormy waves surged.
He had lived nearly two hundred years and had never seen a Dao-Entering expert.
Even when the Martial Legend of the past had emerged meteoricly, he had never felt anything like this.
Later, he learned that the so-called Martial Legend was very likely an immortal cultivator, which made him look down on martial arts even more.
Now, hearing Shen Yue say that someone had reached the legendary Dao-Entering realm, how could he not be shocked?
Could it be that the Martial Path possessed foundations far beyond his imagination?
Li Qingqiu asked curiously, “After entering the Dao, how would they compare to you?”
Shen Yue replied, “Compared to my current self, it’s hard to say. But they would definitely be stronger than I was before cultivating immortality. For such a genius to appear in the current martial world is truly remarkable. Sect Master, I didn’t come to ask you to eliminate him. I think you should try to win him over.”
Li Qingqiu neither agreed nor disagreed and continued asking, “In your impression, who in this world is most likely to enter the Dao?”
Shen Yue pondered and said, “Those older than me should mostly be dead by now. I did encounter three supreme geniuses who might have hope of entering the Dao. First is True Person Bai Yan of Fengxia Mountain. When I met him, he was only sixteen and already in the Entry Realm. However, he was very low-key, and Fengxia Mountain didn’t let him roam the martial world. Second is Yan Daozong of Tianxuan Mountain. He should only be a little over forty this year. I only heard of his genius reputation from others.”
“The one most likely to enter the Dao should be Murong Zhilong of the Murong Family. This person’s martial talent was extremely high. Before encountering the Clear Sky Sect, I believed he was Second Under Heaven.”
Li Qingqiu raised his brows and asked, “The Murong Family? Where did that come from?”
Chu Jing took over, “The Murong Family was one of the ancient families. When the Imperial Ancestor Emperor established the dynasty, he sent people to wipe them out. I personally led the team. It seems we didn’t kill them all.”
Shen Yue glanced at Chu Jing and said, “That’s right. The Murong Family hid deep in the mountains. I accidentally wandered in and stayed as a guest at their manor. At the 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 Xuan Gong of the same generation. However, his grandfather didn’t allow him to enter the world. The Murong Family planned to endure through the Great Li Dynasty and reemerge when the next dynasty arrived.”
Hearing this, Chu Jing felt unconvinced, but he knew Shen Yue indeed had the qualifications to make such an evaluation.
“There really are quite a few geniuses and experts in this world,” Li Qingqiu sighed.
Shen Yue nodded and said, “The world is too vast. Peerless geniuses will always be born. In my view, those people who have extremely high talent in the Martial Path are very likely to be the same on the path of immortal cultivation.”
Li Qingqiu did not refute this.
Some martial geniuses lacked talent in immortal cultivation only because they weren’t truly martial geniuses to begin with—just people their elders believed to be geniuses.
“Someone has already gone to Tianxuan Mountain. Should we send people to Fengxia Mountain and the Murong Family as well?” Li Qingqiu asked.
Shen Yue smiled and said, “Once I reach the Seventh Layer, I’ll personally go look for the Murong Family. As for Fengxia Mountain, you can arrange for someone else.”
“Alright.”
Li Qingqiu agreed.
Although he was at the Spirit Perception Realm, he did not look down on the world because of it.
A genius who could surpass Shen Yue on the Martial Path was someone Li Qingqiu found very interesting.
Shen Yue himself was the best example—despite switching to immortal cultivation, he was still among the top figures within the sect.
Since he had rare free time, Li Qingqiu asked Shen Yue to sit down and tell him stories about True Person Bai Yan, Yan Daozong, and Murong Zhilong.
Li Qingqiu had always believed that whether a person’s story was exciting had nothing to do with strength, so he occasionally enjoyed listening to tales of famous figures in the martial world.
Shen Yue did not refuse.
After sitting down, he began recounting things from his younger days.
As Li Qingqiu listened, he gradually felt something was off.
This old fellow was using the opportunity to show off again.
……
On a snow-covered mountain slope, Mo Jiuhong was half-kneeling on the ground, his left hand supporting his already broken right arm.
Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the white-robed figure above him.
Yan Daozong held a longsword and looked down at Mo Jiuhong.
His handsome face was filled with indifference.
His white hair was neatly tied, as if he had never experienced a battle, not even stained by a single flake of snow.
“How is this possible… I’m at the Fourth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, yet I lost to a martial artist…”
Mo Jiuhong’s heart was filled with shock and fury.
Ever since he began cultivating immortality, no martial artist had ever injured him.
Yet the man before him not only saw through his disguise but defeated him with ease, making it hard for him to accept reality.
Recalling the earlier battle, fear welled up in his heart.
He hadn’t even been able to see how Yan Daozong drew his sword.
“The qi within your body isn’t Inner Energy. Your qi is stronger than ordinary Inner Energy. You should be an immortal cultivator. Are you from the Clear Sky Sect?”
Yan Daozong asked calmly, his tone devoid of emotion, as if he were speaking of something insignificant.
Mo Jiuhong hesitated.
If he revealed the Clear Sky Sect, it would tarnish the sect’s reputation.
If he didn’t, he feared he would die here.
Just as he was hesitating, Yan Daozong turned around, his back facing him, and said, “You may go.”
Mo Jiuhong froze, surprised that Yan Daozong would let him off so easily.
“You’re not going to ask about my purpose?” Mo Jiuhong couldn’t help asking.
“No matter what your purpose was, the fact remains that you came to Tianxuan Mountain. Since the Clear Sky Sect wants to understand Tianxuan Mountain, then take the information back. Tianxuan Mountain has no intention of becoming enemies with the Clear Sky Sect, so I won’t kill you. If you insist on leveling Tianxuan Mountain, then the next time we meet, I won’t show mercy.”
Yan Daozong’s tone remained calm.
With his back to Mo Jiuhong, he continued practicing his sword.
As he swung his sword, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth surged toward him, causing Mo Jiuhong to feel immense pressure.
Mo Jiuhong stood up, took a deep breath, and raised his hand in salute toward Yan Daozong.
“The Clear Sky Sect has no intention of targeting Tianxuan Mountain. It’s just that Tianxuan Mountain has kept its gates tightly shut. I personally wanted to find out what you were doing, especially since so many evil entities have appeared in recent years.”
Yan Daozong did not respond, focusing solely on his sword practice.
Mo Jiuhong turned and left, quickly disappearing into the vast snowy expanse.
……
As the year’s end approached, a large number of tempering disciples returned, making the Clear Sky Sect lively once more.
The liveliest place of all was the Tempering Hall.
At the beginning of each month, the Tempering Hall posted the previous month’s Task Ranking and the top hundred of the Dao Fate Ranking.
The Task Ranking was based on the number of completed tasks, while the Dao Fate Ranking was based on how much Dao Fate was earned in the Tempering Hall.
Since the establishment of these two rankings, many disciples had risen to fame, encouraging even more disciples to go down the mountain to temper themselves and carry out tasks.
Zhang Ping squeezed into the Tempering Hall and was secretly alarmed by the sea of people in the courtyard.
Why were there so many people?
He soon realized that most of them were there just to watch the excitement.
In the center of the courtyard stood two wooden screens, with ranking lists pasted on them.
Zhang Ping saw that someone had completed five tasks in a single month and thirty-five tasks over the entire year.
He felt it was absurd.
Were they cheating?
Even traveling took time.
Without eating or drinking, it wouldn’t be possible to complete so many tasks.
Zhang Ping memorized that disciple’s name.
Ning Shu!
“This is the power of an aristocratic family. He just needs to accept the tasks and have his clan members help him complete them.”
A voice came from behind.
Zhang Ping turned around, and his scalp immediately went numb.
Bai Ning’er, who possessed the Lucky One fate trait, appeared behind him, smiling warmly at him.
In the past, Zhang Ping would have smiled back.
But now, he found Bai Ning’er unsettling.
Even that smile made him feel creeped out.
“Doesn’t the sect suppress this kind of behavior?” Zhang Ping asked softly, his tone full of confusion.
Bai Ning’er asked in return, “Why suppress it? Were the tasks not completed? Or was Dao Fate embezzled?”
Zhang Ping fell silent.
He could only shift his gaze to the Dao Fate Ranking.
The first place was not Ning Shu.
Yang Dong—seven hundred sixty-two Dao Fate last month, and nine thousand eight hundred ninety-seven for the entire year.
An outrageous amount of Dao Fate!
“The Dao Fate Ranking has more real value. After all, tasks of different difficulty grant different amounts of Dao Fate. Aristocratic families can only help with low-tier tasks. Truly dangerous tasks require real strength,” Bai Ning’er said with a smile.
Yang Dong—one of the Top Ten of the first Grand Dao Tournament, a genius disciple of the Free Spirit Hall.
No one would question him occupying the top spot.
Bai Ning’er stepped forward, draped an arm around Zhang Ping’s shoulder, and smiled.
“Junior Brother Zhang, I’ve put together a team to complete a major task. Do you want to join us? The task rewards are very generous. We might even make the Dao Fate Monthly Ranking together.”
Zhang Ping asked warily, “What kind of task has such generous rewards? If it’s too dangerous, I don’t dare go.”
He wasn’t just afraid of danger—he was also afraid of getting possessed again and inexplicably blocking attacks for Bai Ning’er.
Bai Ning’er lowered his voice.
“A task to capture an auspicious sign. I took it the moment it came out. I have connections—I found out in advance and waited specifically for it.”
“What kind of connections are that powerful?” Zhang Ping asked in shock.
He was genuinely stunned.
Bai Ning’er’s reach was that long?
“Where they came from is none of your business. Just tell me if you’re coming or not. There’s a True Transmission Disciple at the Fifth Layer in the team,” Bai Ning’er glared at Zhang Ping impatiently.
Zhang Ping hesitated.
He looked around, then pulled Bai Ning’er into a corner and asked in a low voice, “What if the Enforcement Hall finds out? Will there be trouble?”
“The Enforcement Hall?”
Bai Ning’er laughed.
If they really investigated, they’d end up at the Sect Master’s head—let’s see how the Enforcement Hall disciples would explain themselves then!
Of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud.
He cursed softly, “Why are you acting like a woman? Forget it if you’re not going. I only brought you because you caught my eye. So many people want to join but can’t. If you come, you won’t need to fight—just help block the auspicious sign when the time comes.”
He raised his right hand mysteriously and said, “If we complete the task, your Dao Fate will be at least this much!”
He spread his five fingers, causing Zhang Ping’s eyes to widen.