"The disciples of this generation are not bad at all. Yet, there are quite a few who can inherit the mantle of the Cang Sheng Dao and continue the sect's lineage. This is due to Junior Martial Nephew Han’s capable management—"
A woman’s voice echoed within the Grand Hall of the School Palace. It was like a silver bell, cold and majestic.
Han Fang sat respectfully. As a peak Divine Realm expert, a third-generation disciple holding supreme authority within the Cang Sheng Dao Palace, he now resembled a mouse before a cat. His expression was deferential, solemn, and utterly composed.
Hearing these words, he immediately bowed slightly in gratitude, “Martial Aunt overpraises me!”
Though he addressed her as Martial Aunt, besides himself, there was no one else in the hall.
No one knew where that woman’s voice originated from.
“It is your merit; why be modest? You, Han Fang, have always been arrogant. When did you start imitating those Confucian scholars and turning into a meek gentleman?”
Another female voice suddenly sounded, laced with mockery.
Han Fang’s expression remained placid, completely unconcerned; he simply ignored it.
The original, steady female voice continued, “Though you have managed the Cang Sheng Dao Palace well, your personal cultivation lags somewhat. Your lifespan is already less than four hundred years. If you cannot achieve a breakthrough soon, I fear even the Profound Fate Golden Tome will struggle to sustain your life. This branch of Senior Martial Brother Li now has only you left; do not let his legacy end. In three years, I will have Junior Martial Brother Lin take over the administration of the Cang Sheng Dao Palace from you—”
Only then did Han Fang show a trace of shame, though his eyes also held a hint of relief.
He was lucky enough to encounter Shi Ruolan before the spirit tide struck. This girl’s aptitude was perfect to inherit his teachings.
It was only when he heard the last sentence that Han Fang frowned again: “The elites of Cang Sheng Dao are all in the Outer Domains. Yet, the Cloud Realm is the foundation. Martial Aunt, could you perhaps grant a little more time? The spirit tide is about to rise, and great chaos is imminent. Han Fang is truly uneasy. This is also a barrier to my Dao Heart—”
“Hmm? You overestimate yourself too much. Do you really think the Cang Sheng Vault will collapse without you, Han Fang?”
A cold snort followed, though the voice said this, it did not press further. Instead, the tone shifted, carrying a hint of displeasure, “Is Zong Shou always like this? Utterly lazy! He possesses supreme talent, yet he is so cavalier. If this continues, how can he inherit my elder sister’s mantle? Junior Martial Nephew Han Fang, how exactly did you ** him?”
Cold sweat beaded on Han Fang’s face. He looked ahead at the illusory cloud light, within which the situation of Zong Shou and the others was displayed. Zong Yuan and Ruo Shui, along with several accompanying guards, were fighting desperately. Only Zong Shou sat leisurely on the altar, where he had been for several days, without even lifting a finger. Yet, he effortlessly claimed the top spot in combat achievements every time.
Summoning all elite disciples back to clear the Boundary River this time was precisely to give the Cang Sheng disciples a chance to showcase their skills before these two Martial Aunts.
The result was that the most crucial person on the observation list—the one they had focused on for seven full days—had not personally made a move. How could this not cause anger?
Even Han Fang ground his teeth in irritation. In front of these two Martial Aunts, he truly did not know what to say.
Cold sweat drenched his face, but fortunately, Han Fang was already adept, to the point of perfection, at shifting blame.
“It is because the Venerable One instructed that we should not interfere too much with the Junior Martial Brother. Furthermore, on the Profound Fate Golden Tome, Junior Martial Brother Zong’s rank is now higher than mine, Han Fang—”
“Wei Xu?”
Another light snort, showing no significant dissatisfaction, “That fellow brought this child under my Senior Sister’s tutelage; he is quite filial.”
Han Fang suddenly felt a sharp pain of suppressed laughter in his belly, thinking about how regretful Junior Martial Brother Wei Xu must be right now.
The woman’s voice continued, “Are you certain that the great snow in the Cloud Realm a few days ago was related to him? On the day the Dharma convergence occurred, you saw the unity of light and darkness, something impossible to look upon or perceive?”
“Precisely! This disciple dares not speak falsely!”
Han Fang nodded, and the entire Grand Hall fell silent for a moment.
After a brief pause, the slightly soft voice sounded again, chuckling lightly, “This Zong Shou has been observed for seven days with no result. However, Zong Yuan and Ruo Shui have exceptional talent. Their future achievements might not be inferior to yours. And my own disciple is also good. Staying by his side, she will inevitably be led astray by him—”
In the last two sentences, a hint of maternal affection emerged.
“Hmm? This brat is actually a descendant of the Lu family, combining the Flame of Burning Sky with the power of Thunder—a formidable composite Dharma Art!”
Han Fang watched closely and realized that Zong Shou and the others were now surrounded by a beast tide.
Black flames were spreading outwards. Pulsating purple lightning continuously pulverized the spirit beasts into dust.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; the fellow had finally taken action.
Although this was a Dharma Art and not his most practiced Sword Dao, the might of this composite Dharma Art was enough to satisfy the reports to these two Martial Aunts.
After observing for a few more moments, as the beast tide was largely annihilated by the composite Dharma Art Zong Shou casually named ‘Thunderous Thousand Splendors,’ a ninth-rank Lion-Tiger Beast appeared. Immediately, a silvery, bell-like chuckle rang out in the hall.
Han Fang couldn't help but feel that there was a hint of schadenfreude in that laugh.
Thinking it was his own illusion, Han Fang tested the waters: “Junior Martial Brother Zong’s Sword Dao can contend with the ninth rank, but ultimately, it is still a notch below. I fear he may not be a match for this Lion-Tiger Beast. Should we offer assistance?”
“Just watch! The path of cultivation also requires self-awareness. Acting without restraint, provoking a strong enemy when knowing one is weaker, will one day lead to a great loss—”
The steady female voice spoke next, yet, like the previous voice, it seemed to carry a subtle undertone of amusement.
“It’s good for him to suffer a little setback first! I also want to see what abilities this Sword Dao genius, praised by both you and Wei Xu, truly possesses!”
Han Fang remained silent. Although he knew it wasn't Zong Shou who was provoking the strong enemy, Han Fang wasn't foolish enough to defend Zong Shou.
Watching Junior Martial Brother Zong suffer misfortune actually brought him a measure of satisfaction.
The next instant, however, both female voices simultaneously let out an exclamation of surprise. Han Fang’s expression stiffened, and the hairs on his body stood on end.
He looked intently into the illusory cloud mirror and saw that Zong Shou’s aura had suddenly transformed.
A pressure stemming from the fundamental layer permeated outwards. Not only did the ninth-rank Lion-Tiger Beast retreat a step in fear, but even Han Fang, watching across several spatial-temporal rifts through the cloud mirror, was jolted in surprise.
In that instant, the scene before him vanished completely, replaced by utter darkness.
Forty-one thousandths of a breath later, a blinding white light erupted. Even with his robust cultivation, Han Fang dared not look directly and momentarily closed his eyes. The entire Grand Hall of the School Palace fell into dead silence.
After a moment, the steady female voice let out a soft sigh: “Immeasurable Light and Endless Darkness—so that is it! No wonder there was the great snow in the Cloud Realm, no wonder the northern walls of those Buddhist temples collapsed. In this world, someone has actually forged a brand new path of Dao—”
“Immeasurable Light, Endless Darkness?”
Han Fang started, murmuring the words softly. As the sound left his lips, he felt a surge of violent movement within the core of heaven and earth, the origin of the world, as if in response.
He straightened his back, continuing to fix his gaze on the cloud illusion before him, waiting for the white light to fade.
※ ※ ※ ※
Silently, all sounds were swallowed.
As Zong Shou guided that spiritual sword to cleave down from above the ninth-rank Lion-Tiger Beast, he first felt a slight stiffness in his right hand, then, in one-thousandth of a breath, completely engulfed whatever—be it a golden shield or a purple-gold divine ability—was below.
Then, with no further obstruction, the blade struck fiercely into the body of the Lion-Tiger Beast, which was straining to evade. Darkness spread, almost soundlessly devouring the vast quantity of flesh and blood, refining it into pure essence that flooded the sword.
When it could absorb no more, Zong Shou’s sword formula shifted again.
The Dharma Idol reflected on the sword’s body also changed, switching from dark to light, releasing all the absorbed essence in one go. With another fierce strike!
“Primal White Sword!”
Innumerable white lights, boundless spiritual energy, erupted, completely filling the nearly collapsing space!
This time, the sound of the sword meeting flesh rang out once more.
“Boom!”
A deafening reverberation filled the entire Boundary River. When the white light receded, the vision of everyone present returned, and they froze instantly.
The ninth-rank Lion-Tiger Beast had completely vanished. Only shattered pieces of flesh and blood scattered everywhere. Both the flesh and bones had been pulverized into dust by those two strikes!
Zhao Yanran drew a sharp breath.
This was the might of the Black and White Dual Cavern Dharma Idol? Even a ninth-rank Lion-Tiger Beast could not withstand two strikes?
The White Tiger bloodline meant its bones were like refined steel, yet they were directly shaken apart! Just how terrifying must the power of these two strikes be?
Zong Shou’s Dharma Idol had just achieved initial success, yet he possessed such divine ability. The two small black and white orbs and numerous star points mapped onto his Nascent Soul were truly monstrous things—
Zong Yuan and the others also glanced at Zong Shou with astonishment, though they were somewhat accustomed to it, unlike Zhao Yanran’s shock.
After the two strikes, the sword in Zong Shou’s hand began to disintegrate, unable to withstand the impact of the primal energy of the flesh and blood, turning into fragments of metallic sand.
His True Form of the Dharma Body could no longer be maintained. These mere two strikes had nearly drained all his soul power.
His expression grew even more solemn. After retreating his Nascent Soul into his physical body, he grasped a spare seventh-rank spiritual sword. His Primal Unity Soul Sword suddenly flew out, merging with the spiritual sword in his hand, emanating a cool, clear radiance.
He watched the mass of spiritual mist ahead with tense vigilance.
But only a few breaths later, another spirit beast, possessing the aura of a ninth rank and a pair of massive bat wings, slowly emerged.
At the very same moment, a woman’s figure suddenly materialized in the void, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief as she rubbed them.
“Saint King?”
Did I misread? Or is there a flaw in the Heavenly Dao? There is no way that fellow could be linked to the Saint Monarch among Kings—