the venerable swordsman
He didn’t know how long it took, but Ye Xuan’s eyes slowly opened. Seemingly feeling something, he sat up abruptly and thought unbelievingly, “Have I reached the Qi varying realm?”
The Qi varying realm!
Because at this moment, he felt that there was Qi flowing in his body, no, that was not the Qi flowing, that was the Sword Qi! Not only that, but he also felt a small silver sword suspended in the Elixir Field at the abdomen in his body.
At this time, the mysterious woman’s voice suddenly sounded. “You have achieved the Qi varying realm.”
“I really have achieved the Qi varying realm!”
Ye Xuan clenched his fists, his whole body was shaking slightly, but it was not because of anger, it was because of excitement. He, at this moment, seemed to have seen a beam of light in the dark abyss. Seeing hope in a hopeless situation, how could he not be excited?
The most important thing was that he definitely could have the chance to achieve the Qi harnessing realm, and then he could take his sister to Cangmu College in the imperial capital to seek medical advice.
“What are you excited about!”
The mysterious woman said all of a sudden, “It’s just the beginning.”
Ye Xuan smiled awkwardly. “Just laugh at me, predecessor.”
The mysterious woman said, “Taking the sword as your Elixir Field makes up for your defect of you not having an Elixir Field, but there are also some negative aspects. The swords are divided into the common sword, the spiritual sword, the bright sword, the genuine sword, the heavenly sword, the Tao sword, and the immortal sword. The sword in your body was once at the level of the genuine sword, but after a thousand and two hundred years of erosion, its original ‘genuineness’ had dissipated. Not only had the ‘genuineness’ dissipated, but even the ‘brightness’ in the heart of the sword has also disappeared. It is now only a spiritual sword.”
Speaking of this, the mysterious woman paused slightly and then said, “The soul of a sword is bound to vanish one day. Once it disappears and the sword is broken, you will be the first to die!”
Ye Xuan’s expression froze.
The mysterious woman said, “You have two solutions. The first solution is to constantly look for a new spiritual sword to consume. After consuming it, the sword’s spiritual Qi will not only enhance yourself but also supply the spiritual strength of the sword in your body. The second solution is to search for a new sword to replace the sword in your body. The better the sword, the better your Elixir Field will be and naturally, your strength will be better. Of course, you are obviously a poor wretch, I’m afraid you don’t even have a common sword!”
Ye Xuan seemed to think of something. He hurriedly asked, “Are there three swords at the top of the tower? What’s the level of those three swords?”
The mysterious woman said indifferently, “No level.”
Ye Xuan, “…”
The mysterious woman spoke again, “Boy, I advise you not to make yourself paranoid. If it were not for the existence of the three swords, your world would have become a deadly place a long time ago. You don’t need to worry about the sword thing. The sword in your body should be able to last for about a year. Right now, the pressing matter for you at this moment is to practice the sword.”
“Practicing the sword!”
Ye Xuan instantly asked, “How should I practice?”
“To kill!”, the mysterious woman said.
Ye Xuan, “…”
The mysterious woman said, “The sword is a sharp tool designed for killing. Only by killing can you really understand its beauty. Of course, you need to practice your speed and strength at the beginning. Use the sword incantation that I have taught you to rouse the sword within your body!”
Ye Xuan was stunned for a bit, then his eyes slowly closed. Almost immediately, his palms spread out, a sword light flashed in his palm, followed by a sword suspended in his palm.
It was the silver Ling Xiao sword in his body!
Ye Xuan was stunned, “Predecessor, this, this sword can be called out?”
The mysterious woman said, “Yes, but you’d better not use this sword for fighting because once the sword is destroyed, you will die. You are still short of an opponent, I will find you one!”
As the woman’s voice fell, in front of Ye Xuan, an illusory shadow showed up.
The mysterious woman said, “The shadow in front of you is at the level of the Qi varying realm which is the same with you. Let’s get started!”
Just when the mysterious woman’s voice fell, the illusory shadow in front of Ye Xuan disappeared!
Ye Xuan’s pupils suddenly shrank because his opponent’s speed was very fast. On instinct, he dodged sideways. However, the sword seemed to know that he was going to dodge, because it suddenly changed its posture at the moment he did.
When Ye Xuan’s feet just landed, that sword directly stabbed on his chest!
His blood spilled out!
Ye Xuan startled, then said, “Predecessor, aren’t we practicing the sword? Why do it for real? Besides, predecessor, you did not teach me any sword skills or sword moves!”
The mysterious woman’s voice suddenly cooled down. “Practicing the sword? The most powerful killing moves of the sword can never be learned by practicing, but by killing. The virtual shadow in front of you is your enemy and your teacher. If you are smart, he will teach you basic swordsmanship. Injury is your best teacher, understand? As for the sword skills and sword moves, don’t worry, it is more important to lay a good foundation first!”
Ye Xuan pondered for a moment. Finally, he nodded. “Understood.”
After that, his right foot slammed the ground and his whole body rushed forward.
In the tower, Ye Xuan got more and more injuries, but his courage mounted.
Fighting?
He, Ye Xuan, was never afraid of fighting. He used to be the Heir Apparent of the Ye’s Manor. For the interests of the Ye’s, he often represented the Ye’s Manor to join all kinds of life or death battles. This was why he could resist the great elder even though he was only in the self striving realm.
He achieved this realm not by cultivating, but by killing.
Gradually, Ye Xuan began to learn the sword moves of the shadow. Not only that, every time he got injured, he would understand why he was injured and how he could not get injured again!
Therefore, after three days of hard struggling, Ye Xuan’s injuries gradually began to decrease.
Of course, he didn’t learn any sword moves yet. But he learned when to draw the sword, when not to draw, when to block, when to dodge… However, these were at the expense of his blood.
This kind of sparring was cruel but it was the most effective.
Two more days had passed.
Now, Ye Xuan was able to fight back little by little. When he started to fight back, he found that the defensive ability of this shadow in front of him was not just good, but overwhelmingly better than his previous defense.
For him, the defense of this shadow was simply airtight, no matter how he attacked, the opposite side could perfectly resolve it. Of course, this was a good thing for him, because this shadow was equivalent to teaching him how to defend.
Time passed slowly in the tower, Ye Xuan forgot all about eating and sleeping, and just kept practicing with the shadow. During this time, his strength and speed, as well as his reaction ability, were much better than before.
This discovery made Ye Xuan ecstatic, and he cultivated more and more crazily.
Outside, the Ye’s Manor.
Ye Ku walked into the great elder’s room with an excited smile. “Great elder, I have researched into the previous Nanshan event. Although the killer I sent failed to kill Ye Xuan, the survivors of the Li Family saw with their own eyes that Ye Xuan’s Elixir Field was broken!”
Upon hearing this, the great elder opened his eyes abruptly, “Are you sure?”
Ye Ku nodded, “It’s absolutely true. I went to ask the survivors in person and they said that Ye Xuan’s Elixir Field was indeed destroyed.”
“There is a God that wants to destroy him, that Ye Xuan, haha…” In the room, the great elder sneered incessantly.
“The Elixir Field was broken!”
“If a person does not have the Elixir Field, he is nothing but a rough-neck. One can only be called a warrior if he has an Elixir Field.”
“Ye Xuan’s Elixir Field is damaged such that he can be said to have become a disabled person. Even if he has a quite good fighting strength, he only has brute force, because only after mastering Qi, can one be considered strong.”
After a while, the great elder said hardheartedly, “Ye Ku, call all the people together to eradicate him so as to get rid of potential troubles in the future!”
The elder named Ye Ku shook his head, “No!”
The great elder looked at that Ye Ku, and the latter said, “Great elder, after all, Ye Xuan has made a lot of contributions to the Ye Family, killing him now will make many people in the Ye’s Manor feel disillusioned. Plus that Ye Lang has just become the Heir Apparent and has a life and death appointment with him. If you slay him at this time, what will outsiders think? They must all think that it’s us who have done this. Not only outsiders, if it is spread out, I’m afraid that the Li Family will also use this thing to make a fuss!”
The great elder’s eyebrows wrinkled slightly. “In your opinion, what should we do?”
Ye Ku smiled, “Doesn’t Ye Lang have a life and death appointment with him? If Ye Lang kills him at that time, it will be perfectly justifiable. Thus, no one will gossip. Also, Ye Lang can build his prestige and can even distinguish himself in Qing City. Not only that, but when they come to the life and death platform, even if the patriarch is out of his secluded meditation, he can’t say anything about this, can he?”
The great elder thought for a moment and then nodded. “It’s also alright, anyway, his Elixir Field is broken, so he is not a threat.”
Speaking of this, his eyes flashed with a chill. “However, during this period, don’t let him live too comfortably. Give out my order, from now on, stop the monthly supply of money and meals to Ye Xuan and his sister. Cancel all his preferential treatments and privileges as the previous Heir Apparent. He won’t be allowed to step into the Martial Arts Attic of the Ye Family, or even leave the Ye’s Manor without authorization. In addition, his sister’s medicated meals are to stop altogether. Hmph, it’s not known how many Dan pills and medicinal materials his sister has spent on her cold over these years. If it were not for the fact that she was somewhat useful, an old fellow like me should have driven her out of the Ye’s Manor long ago!”
Ye Ku smiled a little, “Now that his Elixir Field is crushed, it is no exaggeration to say that he is a useless man.”
The great elder nodded and said, “Ye Lang just woke up. If he needs anything, the Ye Family should make every effort to satisfy him. What’s more, he can go to the Martial Arts Attic at any time and he can watch everything inside.”
Ye Ku nodded, “Understood. Right, that Ye Ling is not young anymore. Or, we can marry her to a servant of the Manor?”
The great elder sluggishly closed his eyes. “It is up to you!”
…
Inside the Prison World Tower.
Ye Xuan lay on the ground and gasped wildly. He had sword wounds all over his body. But fortunately, after he had reached the Qi varying realm, he could use the spiritual Qi to treat these wounds, yet the pain was inevitable. Although he suffered some pain, he really had gained too much in the past few days.
His original fighting capacity was not bad, and he was one of the top among the younger generation of the Qing City. Now after a few days of training, his fighting capacity reached a higher level!
“How do you feel?” The mysterious woman’s voice suddenly sounded.
Ye Xuan grinned and said, “I feel pretty good.”
The mysterious woman said, “This is just the beginning. Your road in the future will get tougher. Needless to say, going the way of the Tao of the martial arts is just like walking close to the abyss, and the Tao of the Sword can be even more difficult. You don’t have the Elixir Field so you have to take the unusual road so you will bear much more suffering in the upcoming days.”
Ye Xuan’s eyes gradually closed up. “Suffering, I do not fear suffering.”
He grew up in the Ye Family together with his sister, what kind of hardships had he not borne? He had no background, but he could still become the Heir Apparent, which was all due to his desperate fighting. Moreover, now he had the chance to reach the Qi harnessing realm, so his sister’s illness had hope. Even if he were to bear all the suffering in the world, he would be willing to do it.
After a short break, Ye Xuan left the Prison World Tower.
He did not cultivate to the extent of fasting, thus eating was still necessary.
Soon after Ye Xuan had returned the room, Ye Ling walked in. Ye Ling went to Ye Xuan’s front and lowered her head. She handed Ye Xuan two white flour buns, and whispered, “Brother, eat…”
Ye Xuan’s brow wrinkled. “What’s wrong? Look up.”
Ye Ling raised her little head, and Ye Xuan’s face suddenly changed. On the right cheek of Ye Ling, there was a red palm print!
“What’s going on!” Ye Xuan’s eyes instantly cooled down.
Ye Ling shook her little head. “No, no, I accidentally got this bruise!”
Ye Xuan pulled Ye Ling toward him. “To tell you the truth, your brother is not dead yet. I can help you with that.”
Ye Ling’s tears poured out immediately. She wiped the tears on her cheeks. “Brother, the kitchen didn’t send meals to us today so I went to the kitchen myself. Manager Wang from the kitchen gave me leftovers. How can I eat such food? The food was already spoiled and there were maggots in it. I was unbearably indignant so I complained to him. He said that brother, you were not the Heir Apparent anymore, so you and I could only eat such food. Then he, he said, if I wanted to have a meal, I had to sleep with him for one night… I scolded him, so he beat me.”
Ye Xuan’s face was ice-cold, his fists clenched, and his nails pierced deeply into his palm. “Once a man falls into disgrace, he is no better than a dog!”
After that, he took Ye Ling’s hand, walked out of the room and went straight to the kitchen of Ye’s Manor.