Chapter 121: The Martial World Has Always Had Its Righteous Souls, Generation After Generation

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Seven spirit stones were placed in Leng Xuan’s palm and examined one by one.

His heart had risen to his throat. It pounded loudly in his chest, yet he had no idea what he should do. He was so nervous that sweat broke out across his forehead.

Fang Junmei drew the spiritual energy from the stones and guided it into Leng Xuan’s body. Although the energy entered him, it was entirely propelled by Fang Junmei. Judging from its speed, it had not accelerated in the slightest. In other words, Leng Xuan’s body was incapable of absorbing spiritual energy.

“You do not possess a spiritual root. You cannot cultivate.”

With a faint sigh, Fang Junmei put the spirit stones away.

At those words, Leng Xuan’s face instantly went pale, as though struck by lightning.

“Grand-Uncle, you are so powerful. You must be able to think of a way. Please, take me onto the path of cultivation!”

Leng Xuan fell to his knees once more and began to plead. It was all he could do.

“If there is no affinity, then there is no affinity. Begging will not help.”

Fang Junmei hardened his heart and spoke sternly.

Leng Xuan ignored him. Not only did he refuse to stop, he pleaded even more desperately.

Seeing this, Fang Junmei’s gaze gradually turned cold.

“Boy, do not forget your own goal merely because you have met me and witnessed the power I possess. Think back to the time Cao Fu tormented you. Think of that flame of hope for the future burning in your heart!”

His voice suddenly rose into a shout.

“I will give you the time it takes to finish a cup of tea. Stay here and think carefully. If, after that time, you still have not understood, I will leave at once and never concern myself with your affairs again.”

With that, Fang Junmei strode away.

Only Leng Xuan remained kneeling there, his expression complicated.

…

After leaving the cemetery, Fang Junmei followed the stone steps up the mountain. He temporarily set Leng Xuan’s affairs aside and devoted himself to sensing every blade of grass and leaf at the summit, as well as the familiar paths.

He walked neither quickly nor slowly, just as he had in the past.

Scenes from bygone days flashed through his mind. The person he missed most was naturally the Old Man with the Sword on His Back.

Before he realized it, he had arrived in front of the house where the old man had once lived. The original house was gone, replaced by a new one.

Fang Junmei stopped and looked in a certain direction, as if he could see the old man leaning against the doorway, smiling at him with extraordinary warmth and kindness.

“…Master, I have come back.”

Fang Junmei’s gaze was hazy as he murmured, “I caught up with time and kept pace with the passing years. I did it… I will do even better. Carrying your dream with me, I will go and see a vaster world!”

The wind sighed softly past.

It seemed almost like a response to him.

Knock, knock—

Footsteps came from behind. They belonged to Leng Xuan, and they were now much calmer and steadier.

“Grand-Uncle, I understand now. I will restore Sword North Mountain City to its former glory, guide it back onto the proper path, and atone for the sins committed by our ancestors.”

After walking up behind Fang Junmei, Leng Xuan spoke in a low voice.

Fang Junmei turned to look at him. Leng Xuan had washed his face and changed into clean clothes. He was rather handsome, and the angular contours of his face bore a faint resemblance to Leng Qianqiu in his younger days. There was no longer any hesitation or pleading in his eyes.

Fang Junmei gave a slight nod.

“What are your plans?”

“There are still several of my hidden agents on the mountain,” Leng Xuan replied. “Some of our people from Sword North Mountain City are also scattered throughout the martial world. Once word is spread, they should return. I will need to borrow your reputation for a time, Grand-Uncle. As for what comes afterward, we will have to proceed gradually.”

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Fang Junmei nodded.

“Tell outsiders that I am your senior apprentice-brother. I will stay in the mountain city for a while, help deter the petty villains, and instruct you in martial arts.”

“Thank you, Grand-Uncle!”

Leng Xuan was overjoyed and hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

…

From that point onward, matters became much simpler.

That very day, Leng Xuan gathered the former members of the city and spread the word that Cao Fu and his elite forces had been slain by his returning senior apprentice-brother, and that Sword North Mountain City was being rebuilt.

When the news spread, the martial world was shaken.

Cao Fu had been one of the few foremost experts in the martial world. Nearly every orthodox and unorthodox sect had feared that, driven by his ambitions, he would annihilate the other schools and absorb them into his own power. Upon hearing the news, they were naturally half convinced and half doubtful, and dispatched spies to investigate.

The former people of the mountain city had already planned to conceal their identities and live out the rest of their days in obscurity. After hearing the news, they too were skeptical at first. Once their inquiries confirmed that it was true, they returned in great joy.

With the addition of newly recruited personnel, the revived Sword North Mountain City finally began to flourish.

The several grandsons and descendants of Leng Qianqiu had all changed their ways. They no longer engaged in criminal dealings, and thus enjoyed a fair reputation and some renown for chivalry throughout the martial world. They had already become part of the orthodox side.

The orthodox sects came to offer their congratulations.

Three months later, another piece of news rocked the martial world.

Several of the most infamous unorthodox sects had been completely wiped out. Corpses lay strewn across the ground.

As soon as Leng Xuan received the news, he went to see Fang Junmei.

…

Within the small courtyard, Fang Junmei repeatedly thrust his sword at the empty air. His expression was calm, and every movement was so precise that there was not the slightest deviation.

Not far away, the white horse Lightning lay sprawled on the ground, drinking from a large wine jar prepared specially for him. His expression was one of utter boredom.

Apart from them, there was no one else.

When Leng Xuan entered, he saw Fang Junmei striking at empty space with his sword. He had witnessed this many times before, yet had never been able to understand what Fang Junmei was cultivating. Did immortals truly cultivate in this fashion? Whenever he asked Fang Junmei, the latter merely smiled without answering.

After a while, Leng Xuan wisely stopped asking.

“Grand-Uncle, you are already a man beyond the mundane world. Why involve yourself in so much killing? Leave it to me.”

After stepping forward, Leng Xuan saluted and spoke with some helplessness.

Fang Junmei seemed to know what he was referring to. Without stopping his sword thrusts into the empty air, he said, “If we destroy them one day later, they will commit one more day’s worth of evil. If I can win two or three decades of peace for this martial world, then I will have done at least a little for the common people here.”

“And what happens after two or three decades?” Leng Xuan asked. “You will eventually leave, Grand-Uncle, while the martial world will never lack ambitious warlords and tyrants.”

“That will be your concern. Every generation of the martial world sees wicked winds rise, but every generation also possesses an upright spirit!”

Fang Junmei spoke with solemn conviction.

Leng Xuan was startled. He answered respectfully, and a surge of heroic ambition suddenly rose within his heart.

After speaking a few more words, he took his leave.

…

From then on, Fang Junmei settled in the newly reborn Sword North Mountain City. Most of his time was spent comprehending the Way of Spatial Distortion. Occasionally, he instructed Leng Xuan in martial arts, but otherwise he saw no outsiders.

Leng Xuan’s aptitude for martial arts was merely above average. Yet with Fang Junmei’s guidance, together with the obsolete internal energy Fang Junmei had cultivated in his youth and passed on to him, Leng Xuan became one of the martial world’s notable experts in a short time—powerful enough to intimidate the wicked.

During his leisure, Fang Junmei traveled once more to the great grasslands to inquire about A Daili’s whereabouts.

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The great grasslands remained engulfed in constant warfare, with tribes rising and falling without end. Moreover, the grassland people valued martial prowess and looked down upon scholarship, possessing no habit of recording events. In the end, Fang Junmei found no news of A Daili. There was no news of Ba Guo’er either, and he returned in dejection.

Calculating the time, he realized that several years still remained before the secret realm would open. Fang Junmei therefore stayed in Sword North Mountain City and continued his cultivation.

The path of cultivation was dull and monotonous, but human affairs were complicated, varied, and colorful.

As he grew older, Leng Xuan naturally married. His wife was the daughter of a prominent household from an orthodox sect. Over the next two or three years, they had two children, a boy and a girl.

Leng Xuan had never forgotten his dream of cultivation. Since he himself could not cultivate, he placed his hopes in his children.

Not long after they were born, he sent them to Fang Junmei so that he could determine whether they possessed spiritual roots.

Unfortunately, his wish was once again denied. Neither child possessed the aptitude for cultivation. After suffering this great disappointment, Leng Xuan finally abandoned the hope.

Fang Junmei, however, was very fond of the two children. He bestowed upon each of them a piece of spirit-communing jade to protect them from harm.

…

One day, within the small courtyard, Fang Junmei stopped thrusting his sword into empty space. He looked toward Lightning, who seemed to have grown somewhat fatter, and asked, “Lightning, I can now strike the exact same point in empty space with every thrust. Why can I still not stir ripples in space?”

“Obviously because your strength is insufficient!”

Lightning’s voice was full of disdain.

“You have only completed the first step. You still have a long way to go. Next, you must make the force contained in that sword thrust powerful enough to stir spatial ripples. From this point onward, you can end your practice of stabbing at empty space. Either devote yourself to raising your cultivation realm, find a way to improve your control and application of magical power, or change to a stronger sword and increase the might of that thrust.”

Fang Junmei nodded slightly. He had only recently reached the late Floating-Dust stage, and it was practically impossible to advance again in a short time. He also possessed no stronger sword.

That left only improving his control over magical power.

“Do you have any good ideas?” Fang Junmei asked Lightning.

At those words, the long-absent look of haughty pride returned to Lightning’s eyes.

“Of course I do. But what price are you willing to pay for it?”

Fang Junmei smiled.

“What do you want?”

“How long do you intend to remain in this mortal world?” Lightning asked. “I am still waiting for you to find a way to remove the Heart-Linking Parasite. Are you planning to drag this matter out forever so that I will have to keep working for you?”

His voice was displeased and resentful.

Fang Junmei gave a bitter smile. After calculating the time, he said, “In another year, I intend to return to the sect. Once I am back, I will inquire about a solution. Believe it or not, that is up to you.”

Lightning snorted gloomily.

“How do you circulate the sword essence energy within your body?” Lightning asked.

Fang Junmei thought for a moment.

“In the beginning, I released it like a river, guiding it to pour out from my body. But my master taught me that I could control it more finely, like a spiral or a needle point. I have been practicing ever since.”

“Not enough!”

Lightning said, “That alone is insufficient to draw out its full power.”

“What should I do?”

“Among my people, there is an auxiliary art for rapidly activating the power of one’s bloodline. It is called the Blood-Release Detonation Secret Art. You may be able to adapt it for your sword essence energy. If you succeed, its power might increase by several tenths. If you fail and get injured, do not blame me.”

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