Chapter 205: Immediate Enlightenment
After speaking with Yuan Li for an hour, Yan Daozong felt his heart filled with emotion.
Tianxuan Mountain absolutely could not surpass the Clear Sky Sect!
After hearing of Yuan Li’s past, his admiration for Li Qingqiu deepened even further.
Zhao Zhen had once been entrusted to Li Qingqiu by the former Crown Prince.
At that time, Zhao Zhi had brought chaos to the world.
Yan Daozong asked himself honestly—Tianxuan Mountain would never have dared accept such a burden.
The facts proved this as well.
After the Crown Prince died, neither Zhao Zhen’s mother nor his junior brother Hua Daozang proposed raising Zhao Zhen.
It was only after Zhao Zhi died that they finally brought the matter up.
This was Li Qingqiu’s sense of responsibility.
Yuan Li and his brothers’ parents had been killed, and they themselves had been placed under house arrest by martial sects and treated as servants.
It was Li Qingqiu who rescued them.
At that time, the Clear Sky Sect did not have many members.
Yuan Li’s talent showed that Heaven favored the Clear Sky Sect.
Tianxuan Mountain styled itself a holy land, yet it had already been many years since it descended the mountain to aid those suffering.
Yan Daozong had once wanted to descend the mountain as well, but his master forbade it, saying that he should instead focus his attention on practicing martial arts and strengthening Tianxuan Mountain.
If he did not descend, then neither would the other disciples.
The chivalrous heart of Tianxuan Mountain was probably long gone.
However, there were still others who shocked Yan Daozong.
After that, Li Qingqiu brought Yun Cai to visit him.
Yun Cai was rather displeased with him, believing that after he defeated Clear Sky Sect disciples, spreading the news to the martial world was an affront to the Clear Sky Sect.
Upon learning of this, Yan Daozong could not help but frown.
When he defeated Li Yang and Yang Dong, there had been no outsiders present.
That meant the news must have been spread by someone from Tianxuan Mountain.
His junior brother spoke of fearing retaliation from the Clear Sky Sect, yet secretly sent people to spread such news?
Yan Daozong frowned, the feeling of being deceived making him deeply displeased.
Li Qingqiu, on the other hand, was secretly delighted.
Bringing Yun Cai along had indeed been the right decision.
He had previously noticed that Yun Cai’s temperament was somewhat rigid.
She disliked lying, and her emotions were difficult to conceal.
Before ascending the mountain, she had stayed with Bo Zhao and the others, taciturn and reserved—perhaps afraid that speaking would hurt harmony, so she chose silence instead.
“I was unaware of this matter. I apologize to you on behalf of Tianxuan Mountain.” Yan Daozong said seriously.
As he spoke, he stood up and bowed deeply toward Li Qingqiu and Yun Cai.
He had just bent down when Li Qingqiu reached out and supported his arm.
“Being inferior in skill yet afraid of others talking about it? There is no such reasoning. Yun Cai, do not be rude to Daozong. From now on, we are all on the same side. Do not dwell on the past.”
Yan Daozong lifted his head and saw Li Qingqiu looking at Yun Cai as he said this.
Hearing that, Yun Cai immediately apologized to Yan Daozong.
Yan Daozong could be certain that this was not some performance staged by Li Qingqiu, because he could sense Yun Cai’s sharp edge, as well as her sincere respect toward Li Qingqiu.
No, perhaps it was not just respect.
“Senior Daozong, I would like to spar with you. What do you think?” Yun Cai looked at Yan Daozong and said earnestly, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
Yan Daozong had been challenged more than once already.
He himself enjoyed martial contests, but within Tianxuan Mountain, no one dared challenge him.
Thus, he gladly agreed, and the two sparred within the courtyard.
He controlled his inner energy to the same level as Yun Cai’s vital energy.
Although the two could not truly be equated, this was the only way he could seek fairness.
After exchanging moves, Yan Daozong gradually realized something was wrong.
Yun Cai seemed extremely familiar with him, always able to evade his moves, even predicting his attack directions in advance, allowing her to counter his faster techniques with slower movements.
Wait!
Could this woman also be a once-in-ten-thousand genius?
Yan Daozong glanced again at Li Qingqiu.
Looking at Li Qingqiu’s smiling face, he felt malice for the first time, along with an uncontrollable surge of shock.
Were there not too many peerless geniuses in the Clear Sky Sect?
……
The news that the Sect Master of Tianxuan Mountain had been defeated by the Sword God and subsequently joined the Clear Sky Sect spread rapidly throughout the martial world.
When the Sword God sparred with Yan Daozong, there had been martial artists from other sects present.
Coupled with the fact that Yan Daozong had already arrived at the Clear Sky Sect, the news could not be concealed at all.
At once, the voices praising Yan Daozong disappeared, replaced by curses.
Those people felt that Yan Daozong had betrayed the name of Tianxuan Mountain.
The external clamor no longer affected Yan Daozong.
The Heavenly Works Hall used only one month to construct the Martial Sect pavilion and the martial training grounds.
News regarding the Martial Sect had already spread, but the response was not great.
At the very least, on Clear Sky Mountain, not many disciples were willing to practice martial arts.
Instead, among the menial disciples, registered disciples, and outer disciples, the news caused a significant stir.
Yan Daozong 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 capabilities surpassing the first four layers of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
This was extremely attractive to disciples with low aptitude.
……
After the turmoil caused by Tianxuan Mountain temporarily subsided, Li Qingqiu’s days returned to tranquility.
He did not go looking for Yan Daozong every day.
Most of his time was still devoted to his own cultivation.
It was worth mentioning that the auspicious five-colored deer caused quite a stir within the Clear Sky Sect.
Bai Ning’er released the five-colored deer to roam Clear Sky Mountain, drawing many disciples to observe it.
No one dared steal the five-colored deer.
Not only were there many disciples on Clear Sky Mountain, but there were also large numbers of disciples patrolling below the mountain.
Ever since the Tree Demon’s clone attacked the Clear Sky Sect, Li Qingqiu had increased the number of patrols.
Even during peaceful times, over five hundred disciples rotated patrol duties on Clear Sky Mountain and Ziyang Peak.
Initially, many Hall Masters felt the number was excessive, but after seeing that most of the patrol disciples were outer disciples, they no longer objected.
Near Clear Sky Mountain, there was no need for overly strong disciples to patrol—so long as someone could relay information, it was enough.
Thus, Li Qingqiu established formations: twenty people per squad, with each squad led by at least one disciple at the third layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm or higher.
The Martial Sect had just been established and did not have many disciples.
After all, the Clear Sky Sect had not been founded for very long.
Even those disciples interested in the Martial Sect had not yet abandoned their pursuit of immortal cultivation.
To them, the Martial Sect was a path, but not one to walk right now.
With ample free time, Yan Daozong began to wander around the Clear Sky Sect.
The more he learned about it, the more he marveled.
His loyalty toward Li Qingqiu and the Clear Sky Sect also grew rapidly.
On this day, Shen Yue invited Yan Daozong to visit the Sword Sect.
Yan Daozong had a very good impression of Shen Yue, so he agreed.
Upon arriving at the Sword Sect, many gazes immediately fell upon him.
His image and bearing were simply too eye-catching.
“Who is that person? White hair, and so handsome!”
“I know him.
He’s the Sect Master of Tianxuan Mountain—Yan Daozong!”
“It’s him? I heard he’s even stronger than the top ten disciples.”
“I heard Elder Shen didn’t defeat him easily.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. If Elder Shen hears this, he’ll definitely increase your cultivation tasks.”
The Sword Sect disciples whispered among themselves, all filled with interest in Yan Daozong.
From afar, Yang Lin and the other four, who were close to Ji Ya, also looked on curiously, wondering how high Yan Daozong’s martial prowess truly was.
Yang Lin spoke softly to her four companions, “See? There are more and more experts within the sect. Stop clinging to Ji Ya and let him cultivate properly, or else he’ll be surpassed by more and more people and draw the Sect Master’s displeasure.”
A male disciple said aggrievedly, “It’s not like we want to cling to him. Besides, when he comes to us, we can’t exactly drive him away, can we?”
“It’s because you all have this or that difficulty and dissatisfaction that he can’t put his mind at ease,” Yang Lin glared at him and said irritably.
At that moment.
“Senior Yan Daozong, I am Sword Solitary. I would like to spar sword techniques with you. What do you think?”
As soon as these words fell, over a hundred Sword Sect disciples turned around together.
They saw the fifteen-year-old Sword Solitary stepping toward Yan Daozong.
Sword Solitary wore black brocade clothes for sword practice.
His black hair was tied high behind his head, with two long strands drifting by his ears in the wind.
A sword hung at his waist.
His features were extremely handsome, and combined with his cold demeanor, he was very popular among female disciples.
Many female disciples usually tried to curry favor with him, but all were rejected mercilessly.
Yan Daozong glanced over, his eyes narrowing slightly.
With just one look, he sensed that Sword Solitary was a peerless genius.
There were some geniuses whose mere appearance left no room for doubt.
Sword Solitary was precisely that kind of dazzling genius.
Shen Yue smiled and said, “If you only compare sword moves, be careful not to lose to him.”
It would have been fine if he had not said that.
Once he did, Yan Daozong decided to use only sword techniques against Sword Solitary.
“Alright. Then let the other disciples observe the sword as well and see if they can gain any insights.”
Yan Daozong responded, then walked toward Sword Solitary.
Hearing this, the Sword Sect disciples all moved aside, clearing an open space for them to spar.
“Senior, then I’ll make the first move!”
After speaking, Sword Solitary directly drew his sword and rapidly closed in on Yan Daozong.
Yan Daozong did not deliberately underestimate him just because he was young.
He likewise drew his sword and met him head-on.
The two quickly collided.
As their swords clashed, they gained a general understanding of each other’s swordsmanship.
What Sword Solitary felt was unfathomable depth, something unshakable.
Yan Daozong, however, discovered that despite his young age, Sword Solitary already had sword intent brewing within his body.
It was truly remarkable.
Their figures interwove as they rapidly exchanged sword techniques.
Sword Solitary’s sword moves were very fast, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that Yan Daozong was deliberately feeding him moves.
No one expected Sword Solitary to defeat Yan Daozong, and Sword Solitary himself did not think so either.
He had requested the spar simply to experience Yan Daozong’s swordsmanship.
After a hundred moves.
Yan Daozong’s sword tip rested at Sword Solitary’s throat.
Sword Solitary froze for a moment, looked at Yan Daozong in a daze, then sheathed his sword and raised his hand to salute him.
“Not bad.
Your sword dao aptitude is the strongest I have seen in my life.
You may not be unable to surpass the Sword God,” Yan Daozong praised.
As he spoke, he glanced at Shen Yue.
Shen Yue was not angered, merely stroking his beard as he watched the scene.
Yan Daozong withdrew his gaze.
Just as he sheathed his sword, he discovered that Sword Solitary remained standing in place.
Sword Solitary had already closed his eyes, beginning to savor Yan Daozong’s swordsmanship.
“So he’s a sword fanatic as well.”
Yan Daozong thought with delight.
Such a Sword Solitary would be qualified to become his opponent in the future.
Just as he prepared to turn and walk toward Shen Yue, his steps halted.
His expression turned serious as he locked onto Sword Solitary once more.
Shen Yue appeared beside him as if he had teleported, staring intently at Sword Solitary as he said in a low voice, “Good kid—he entered an enlightenment state just like that?”
Both of them could clearly feel the sword intent within Sword Solitary rapidly strengthening.
Yan Daozong felt it was absurd.
How could yet another unbelievable genius appear?
Moreover, the peerless geniuses of the Clear Sky Sect manifested in different aspects, each with their own traits.
This was simply outrageous.