The Broken Sword, this was indeed a blade of loyalty. Feng Zikang stroked the blade lightly, a soft sigh escaping his lips.

"But you don't need to worry too much," Master Wule said with a wry smile. "This sword is named 'Sky-Swallower,' capable of devouring various Dharma artifacts to grow stronger. As long as it consumes enough artifacts, one day it will surely reconstruct its sword spirit and reform its body. Then, displaying that power to cleave heaven and earth might not be impossible after all."

As he spoke, his tone held an ambiguity of joy and sorrow. Feng Zikang was a junior he favored, and obtaining a powerful Dharma artifact was naturally a good thing. Yet, the ancient Sky-Swallower Sword was also tied to the bitter memories of his own youth, making his emotions tangled and his intent unclear.

Master Wule let out a long sigh. "This matter is a shame that has plagued the orthodox paths of the Central Plains for three hundred years, and it’s rarely spoken of. Most crucially, even in the end, no one ever knew the identities of that man and woman. No one could recall what the woman’s name was, what she looked like."

"As for that man..." Master Wule recalled the maniacal killer. His Zen heart wavered, his hands trembling slightly. "My only impression is a long scar across his arm."

"As for his name,"

Master Wule shook his head again. "I only know that when the woman sent word, she referred to him as Young Master Yiwu. Who this Young Master Yiwu truly was, no one ever knew."

"Young Master Yiwu!"

Feng Zikang’s heart jolted sharply, as if the name were deeply familiar, even causing his divine sense to fluctuate. Yet, he could not, for the life of him, recall where he had heard it before!

Master Wule, of course, did not notice Feng Zikang's reaction. Having finally clarified the matter of the ancient Sky-Swallower Sword, he felt a weight lifted from his mind. He took his leave from Feng Zikang, stating he would return to White Horse Temple the next day.

With the southern and western monstrous forces currently invading, the Great Tang had already dispatched a large army for suppression. Figures from the Three Teachings and Nine Schools of thought also needed to arrange assistance, and his return was precisely to mobilize personnel from White Horse Temple.

Feng Zikang escorted him out, but the name circled endlessly in his thoughts.

He clapped his hands, summoning Huo Zhongguang. "Senior Brother Huo, the Ten Directions Demonic Path Reincarnation Scroll is richly documented. Have you ever heard the name Young Master Yiwu?"

Huo Zhongguang scratched his head, pondering for a long time, finding nothing. He could only sigh and shake his head. "Junior Brother, the Ten Directions Demonic Path Reincarnation Scroll mainly details various divine abilities and rare mineral resources. It records very few personal figures."

"Mm!" Feng Zikang nodded. Hearing him mention rare materials reminded him of something else. "That time I asked about your origins, when you mentioned obtaining the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn, the Sky Serpent Fang was something you acquired when circling back to Eastern Ridge in the East Sea. Along with it were some rare items. They are stored where you reside; I haven't retrieved them these past few days, I almost forgot! Let’s go get them tomorrow. I am about to enter Foundation Establishment, and they might be useful then."

Since he couldn't recall the name right away, there was no need to rush. Feng Zikang brought this up with Huo Zhongguang.

Huo Zhongguang slapped his forehead and laughed, "Indeed! I had forgotten about that."

The Sky Serpent Blood Thorn was refined from the fang of a Sky Serpent, and the Ten Directions Demonic Path Reincarnation Scroll did contain records of it. However, the material was difficult to obtain. Fortunately, the scroll also recorded several hidden treasure locations. Huo Zhongguang calculated carefully; some locations had long since become established sects, and it was likely those good things had been discovered long ago. But the return path through the Eastern Ridge Mountains was extremely desolate, so he tried his luck there. He indeed found a Sky Serpent Fang and some precious minerals.

After returning to Mount Longhu, Huo Zhongguang refined the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn, feeling it immensely potent, which gave him the courage to attempt assassinating Feng Zikang and entering the Demonic Realm through the Blood Sacrifice method.

Who knew that man's plans are often thwarted by fate? Feng Zikang did not die, and Huo Zhongguang was subsequently besieged by four great masters. He was forced to use the technique of Primordial Spirit Manifestation, sacrificing his flesh and blood, which seemingly succeeded. Who knew that in the end, he was once again schemed against by Feng Zikang.

The Sky Serpent Blood Thorn was the object used to wound Feng Zikang. Now, Feng Zikang held his life and death in his hands; bringing it up would naturally be best avoided. It was only when Feng Zikang remembered it that Huo Zhongguang agreed.

The next day, Feng Zikang arrived at the Ancient Battlefield of Songling. Huo Zhongguang’s matter was not widely publicized among the Military School; it was handled quietly. The person guarding the ancient battlefield had been replaced.

Feng Zikang flew over from a distance and saw a circle of people gathered at the entrance to the ancient battlefield, engaged in a heated argument. Feng Zikang frowned slightly, feeling a bit displeased.

He only wanted to stealthily retrieve his items and leave; such clamor was troublesome.

"Why can't we outer disciples enter the ancient battlefield?"

He heard a clear, crisp female voice sharply contradicting the officiating disciple guarding the ancient battlefield. In the surrounding crowd, there was a chorus of jeers. None of the other outer disciples offered her support.

"Little sister, this is the long-standing rule. If you don't have Spirit Stones, you had better leave quickly and stop wasting everyone's time!" someone heckled.

"What rule is that!"

The girl turned back angrily, glaring at the outer disciples who were heckling her. "The Ancient Battlefield of Songling is a place for cultivation. It should be accessible to both inner and outer disciples. It is the likes of you who encourage such corrupt practices, otherwise, why would it be like this!"

The officiating disciple rolled his eyes and spoke in a deliberately saccharine tone, "Junior Sister, the way you speak is wrong. When Senior Brother Huo was here, this was the rule. Are you accusing him of being wrong for accepting Spirit Stones? Outer disciples are numerous, their quality uneven. If they are allowed to enter and exit freely without management, what kind of place will this ancient battlefield become?"

"In short, if you don't have Spirit Stones, you naturally don't have the Evil-Warding Jade Token. Retreat quickly!"

The girl bit her lip, stubbornly blocking the entrance, refusing to leave. This angered the other outer disciples. They began to curse incessantly.

Most of these outer disciples were martial artists whose language was crude and quite vile. This girl had never heard such things; she was furious. She turned and slapped the face of one disciple whose foul language was the most egregious.

This action stirred up a hornet's nest. The girl was new and unfamiliar with the others. At first, people felt some pity for her, but she had been entangled here for a long time, unwilling to pay the Spirit Stones to enter the ancient battlefield. This had exhausted the patience of the outer disciples standing behind her. Seeing her strike out now, they became even more enraged. They disregarded any polite notion of 'the strong not fighting the weak' or 'men shouldn't fight women'; several rushed forward to surround and beat her.

A few other outer disciples verbally tried to mediate, but none stepped up to break up the fight.

The officiating disciple simply folded his arms over his chest and sneered toward the sky.

Who knew this girl was actually formidable? She fought several of them alone, showing no sign of being at a disadvantage. She wore a string of golden bell locks on her wrist, which occasionally chimed strangely, causing those outer disciples to stumble and lose their footing. Then, with a few kicks, she sent them flying.

"Oh," Feng Zikang observed after a cursory glance. "She actually has the cultivation of the second layer of Qi Induction." He recalled his own entry into the sect to cultivate Yin Qi over a year ago; it felt like a lifetime ago.

That little golden bell lock was merely a low-grade Dharma Artifact. Its grade was low, and its function was poor; the only thing worth mentioning was perhaps its frequent use.

This girl must be an outer disciple selected from a cultivation family or a minor sect, practicing in an orderly fashion. It was unclear why she wasn't assigned to the inner sect, ending up in the predicament of mixing with the common outer disciples.

The officiating disciple’s eyes suddenly lit up, revealing a flicker of greed.

Dharma artifacts were something Feng Zikang disdained, but for this novice officiating disciple who had seen little of the world, it was vastly different. He had mixed in Mount Longhu for decades and had never seen such a rare item! For such a good thing to be occupied by an outer disciple—wasn't that a gross waste of heavenly treasure?

His eyes darted around, and he shouted loudly, "Stop, all of you! What place is this, allowing you to run wild here? The ancient battlefield is closed to outer disciples today. All of you, leave now!"

The outer disciples were unexpectedly caught in the crossfire. They all sighed but dared not argue, dispersing one by one. Those who had been beaten, seeing the girl’s strength, dared not provoke further and slunk away, helping each other up.

But the girl would not relent. "Senior Brother, what rule is this now? There is no one inside the ancient battlefield right now. Why can't we enter to cultivate?"

Her forehead glistened with fine sweat, her chest heaving, clearly exhausted from the recent fight. However, having defeated everyone, her spirit was high, and her tone now was even less polite.

The officiating disciple had expected her temperament would not allow her to simply leave. Seeing her persistence, he chuckled sinisterly.

"Little Junior Sister, it's not impossible for you to enter,"

His tone was flippant, his smile not reaching his eyes. The girl grew wary and stepped back. "Senior Brother, what do you mean? I... I am not that kind of frivolous woman. If you dare to tease me, I will report you to my Master!"

She had come from the mortal world, and proud of her beauty, she assumed men harbored ill intentions toward her. The officiating disciple let out a snort and mockingly said, "Just a mortal frame of flesh and bone, yet you act as if it's precious. Who would care for you?"

He spoke with disdain. "Hand over that golden bell lock, and I will permit you to enter a few times. I won't even ask for your Spirit Stones. How about that?"

This was clearly fraud. A Dharma Artifact, no matter how poor, was worth some Spirit Stones. He wanted to seize it for free, purely bullying someone new.

The girl naturally refused and continued to clamor for him to produce the Evil-Warding Jade Token, threatening to report him to his Master. The officiating disciple grew increasingly annoyed. There was only one instructor for dozens of outer disciples, placing him at a comparable social standing. This woman was ungrateful, and in his anger, he raised his hand, sending a transparent palm down, grasping the girl by her hair and tossing her far away.

"Innate One Qi Great Capture!" Feng Zikang recognized this Military School divine ability. It seemed the disciple replacing Huo Zhongguang as guardian was not weak in cultivation, but he was too greedy; this likely meant he had little future.

The girl knew she was outmatched, glared fiercely a few times, then turned and left. Feng Zikang breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, all those people were gone. He descended his sword light and landed before the small stone hut.

The officiating disciple had just turned back when he heard movement behind him. Extremely impatient, he waved his hand and shouted loudly, "The ancient battlefield is closed today, leave immediately!"

"Oh?" Feng Zikang chuckled lightly. "Do you mean even I cannot enter?"

The officiating disciple recognized the familiar voice, startled, and quickly turned around. Upon seeing Feng Zikang, he was terrified to the point his soul nearly fled his body.

"It—it’s Junior Brother Feng! My apologies, my apologies. I was just agitated by that group of outer disciples disturbing me. Please forgive my offense, forgive me..."

Feng Zikang's status was now sky-high. He was not only the direct successor of the Little Bamboo Forest lineage but also the rising star of the orthodox world that shook the realm. Yesterday’s incident at the Hall of Punishment had spread throughout the entire Military School of Mount Longhu.

The Sect Master, the Head of the Mohist School, the Abbot of White Horse Temple, and the Elder of the Farming School had all come forward to vouch for him, resulting in the Law Enforcement Elder, Sun Rushan, losing his position and entering solitary meditation—what immense prestige! Not to mention later when his Master's external incarnation appeared and severely wounded the Elder of the Vertical and Horizontal School, who was also at the Core Condensation stage, with a single spear thrust. This—how could Feng Zikang be someone one could afford to offend?

The officiating disciple hastily plastered on a smile, apologizing repeatedly.

"Don't be afraid," Feng Zikang said with a smile. "I have come here only to retrieve some things that were stored with Senior Brother Huo. You need not mind."

"Some things?"

The officiating disciple found this strange. He had thoroughly searched every inch of this stone hut. He had long heard that Huo Zhongguang had hoarded many Spirit Stones and hoped he might have forgotten some in the room. Yet, it was completely empty; there was nothing to be found. Where were these things?

Feng Zikang smiled faintly, stepped into the stone hut, drew a circle on the ground, and tapped it lightly. A dark light flashed, and a storage compartment actually popped out. This type of compartment was inconvenient to carry around and was where cultivators placed things in their residences.

The officiating disciple stared, dumbfounded, realizing that the place he walked past every day held such a hidden mechanism.

Feng Zikang reached in and swept all the rare minerals into his storage satchel. There were also quite a few Spirit Stones among them. He didn't seem to care, grabbing a handful and stuffing them toward the officiating disciple.

"Thank you for your trouble. Consider this a small token; I hope you don't find it too little."

"How dare I, how dare I not!" The officiating disciple was overjoyed. He had only just begun accumulating wealth and had never seen such a generous display of Spirit Stones. He immediately considered Junior Brother Feng a good person, protesting verbally but unwilling to let go of the stones.

"If Junior Brother Feng has any requests in the future, just command me!" he vowed, patting his chest.

Feng Zikang smiled faintly, took his leave, and flew away on his sword. Not long after he departed, he heard someone calling him from far below on the ground.

He felt very curious, looked down, and saw it was that girl, running along, trailing behind the light of his sword, waving and shouting to him from a distance.

Although the girl’s cultivation was low, her nature was stubborn, and Feng Zikang felt a slight displeasure, intending to ignore her. But the girl was completely undeterred, running wildly to catch up. She was gasping for breath but still refused to stop.

Feng Zikang felt that being followed by a persistent woman shouting loudly after him was hardly a pleasant situation. Helpless, he descended his sword light and landed in front of the girl.

"Who are you? Why are you calling me all over the mountain?"

His presence now was extraordinary; divine light flickered between his eyes. He deliberately released his pressure. How could the girl withstand it? Already breathless and pale from running, this pressure made her limbs weak. She lost her balance and collapsed to the ground with a thud. If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to Zhou Xiong, for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!