In the city of Wudi located by the East Sea, outside the city walls, a sword hovered in midair. It had remained there for quite some time, so long that the martial artists who initially gasped in awe at the sight of a sword flying from a thousand miles away gradually lost their patience and interest. Some bored martial artists began entertaining themselves by setting up gambling pools, betting on how many days the sword would remain suspended. Those who placed their bets early mostly lost large sums of silver. Within the city, some claimed the flying sword was a challenge letter from the sword god Tao Hua, Deng Tai’a, who would soon ride a donkey into the city. Others insisted it was a newly mastered sword technique from Song Nianqing of the Eastern Yue Sword Pond. Still others swore on their honor that the ancestor of the Wu family sword grave was about to emerge from retreat, seeking to restore honor to the Wu family’s withered blades. Those who came for the spectacle ultimately just waited for the excitement to unfold, but since the sword made no commotion, the thunderous expectations led to little rain, and people gradually grew accustomed to the sword hovering outside the city. Only the mischievous children born and raised in Wudi City occasionally climbed onto the outer city walls, using slingshots to shoot at the sword. During this time, a swordsman who desperately wanted to make a name for himself leapt onto the blade, striking many clumsy sword poses, but was met with countless scornful glances. Embarrassed, he reluctantly jumped down and left the city in shame. Almost no one noticed an old man with snow-white eyebrows who had arrived in the city. After entering, he kept a low profile, occasionally visiting a wall embedded with countless weapons from around the world, standing there quietly for a while before returning. Each day, a famous sword disappeared from the wall, but since the number of renowned swords and weapons was too numerous to count, no one paid much attention. For example, when Song Nianqing once brought twelve swords to challenge Wang Xianzhi, aside from the six that shattered, the remaining six were stuck into the wall according to the old rule of Wudi City that losers must leave their weapons behind. These swords had remained there for many years, yet one of them had quietly vanished yesterday.
The old man with eyebrows reaching his knees and a single arm once again stood beneath the wall, gazing at an abandoned sword lodged high up. He smacked his lips, appearing somewhat envious. While others might crave beauty, delicacies, or fine wine, he was peculiarly unique. The wall was undoubtedly dominated by famous swords, nearly covering half its surface, which was no surprise, as swords had always been the most flourishing weapons in martial arts. The old man extended two fingers, pinching a strand of his snowy eyebrow, already resolved to take the newly admired sword down with him that night. Suddenly, he uttered a sound of surprise, turning his head to see a dustless, sword-carrying Taoist priest watching him in return.
The old man with long eyebrows asked, “A young Daoist from Longhu Mountain, why do you possess the relic of Master Lü, which should have been hanging at the Wudang Dangeng Horn?”
The young Daoist priest, wearing plain robes, countered, “Why did the senior stop his sword outside the city upon entering?”
The old man chuckled, “This old man’s final sword technique seeks perfection before I dare challenge the strongest hand of this century. I was nearly ready to enter the city, but unexpectedly, that Wang fellow actually left the city for the first time ever, leaving me hanging. No matter, I shall wait for his return. Who are you?”
The Daoist priest calmly replied, “This humble Daoist is Qi Xianxia from Longhu Mountain.”
The old man murmured, “I’ve heard of you. They call you the Young Master Lü of the martial world.”
Qi Xianxia, who had been traveling the martial world since leaving Wudang, asked, “Has the City Lord Wang gone to intercept the useless monk from the Western Regions? May I ask, Senior, who are you?”
The old man smiled, “What useless monk? That’s Liu Songtao from Zhulu Mountain. As for my name, it’s not important. You only need to know that there remains a sword in this world capable of turning Wang Xianzhi into the true second strongest under heaven.”
Qi Xianxia smiled faintly.
The old man released his long eyebrow, “Although you are a Daoist, you are also a swordsman. If one day I lose, you will take up the next strike. It doesn’t matter if it’s ten or twenty years later, just don’t let it be too long, not until Wang Xianzhi ascends.”
Qi Xianxia bowed gently and then turned to leave.
※※※
Liu Ya had never been so flustered and disoriented, like a drowned dog. His fifty years of cultivation into the Heavens’ Phenomenon had vanished in less than half an incense stick’s time. After confirming that the opponent had not pursued him, he still fled more than ten miles before stopping. He had never imagined that he would one day become a bird startled by the mere sound of a bowstring. Advancing in martial arts becomes increasingly difficult the further one goes, harder than climbing the heavens via a narrow path. Those who make it halfway through a hundred-mile journey have already achieved much. The threshold from the third to the second level is a major barrier. Even those privileged with secret manuals, renowned masters, and potent elixirs are mostly blocked at this stage. Martial arts demand extreme hardship, requiring both innate talent and unyielding perseverance. After attaining the second level and becoming a minor grandmaster in the general sense, one immediately encounters an even higher threshold—one so daunting that many gifted individuals with wavering determination give up in despair. Liu Ya had seen too many young talents with natural advantages who failed to find the entrance, wasting their years until old age. The climb to the pinnacle of the first level’s four stages is even more arduous. Aware of how difficult the path is, Liu Ya felt immense pain and regret at his fall from the brink of ascension.
Consumed by hatred, Liu Ya slumped to the ground, his hands digging into the earth, fingers curling like hooks, carving furrows in the soil. Gradually, his turbulent mind calmed. He drew a small, ancient sandalwood box from his sleeve and opened it carefully. Inside lay a small pill—no fragrant aroma wafted from it, only a foul stench. Yet Liu Ya solemnly extended his fingers toward it. This unassuming pill was said to be derived from half a formula for an elixir obtained by the First Emperor of Qin when he sailed the seas seeking immortality. Secret Daoist texts whispered, “If one cannot obtain the elixir of Daoism, one might as well remain a terrestrial immortal.” Meaning that with this pill, one could ascend to heaven, without the need to become a land-bound immortal. Liu Ya, of course, knew the pill in the box lacked such miraculous power, but it could help him stabilize his current level and seize the slim chance of returning to the Heavens’ Phenomenon. Suddenly, he withdrew his fingers, closed the box, stood up, and scanned his surroundings. Still uneasy, he swept in an arc, ensuring no one was within two miles. Only then did he sit cross-legged, swallow the pill, and close his eyes, gradually entering a state described as “lying still like a corpse while dragons appear, silent as the abyss yet thunderous within.”
“Hehe.”
Two soft syllables rang suddenly in Liu Ya’s ears, like an actual thunderclap.
※※※
Wang Xianzhi never rushed. He was a man of slow, deliberate actions. Yet in this martial world filled with too many clever people and countless shortcuts, his steady, grounded approach made him an oddity. Since taking control of Wudi City, his cultivation had steadily increased. He was never the youngest second-level expert of his time, nor did he break through levels as effortlessly as Li Chungan, who advanced rapidly after reaching the first level. Wang Xianzhi had never made any spectacular leaps across cultivation boundaries. Compared to the generation of martial prodigies who chased the Four Grandmasters, Wang could only be described as a late bloomer. However, after achieving the Diamond Body, he gradually became unbeatable among those at the same level. No one expected that the tall young man who once could only watch battles from the sidelines would mature so late yet so profoundly. Especially when he broke the supposedly indestructible sword “Mumu Niu” with his bare hands, Wang Xianzhi truly reached the pinnacle of martial arts. Since then, even as people came to call him the Old Freak of Wudi, Wang Xianzhi remained undefeated. This quiet, solitary old man stood alone atop the Wudi City tower, coldly overlooking the martial world. Deng Tai’a, who rode a donkey backward while holding a peach branch, challenged him and lost. Cao Changqing, who troubled the emperor of the Zhao dynasty, also challenged him and lost. Eventually, few dared to climb the tower with the intent of defeating the old monster; many were content just to reach the top. If they were fortunate enough to meet the old man and gain some martial insights, that was an unexpected bonus. Wang Xianzhi disliked this kind of martial world.
The City Lord of Wudi, waiting for the little girl’s second strike, raised an eyebrow—whether in surprise or anger, no one could tell.
That sword strike caused a ripple in Wang Xianzhi’s otherwise tranquil heart.
The heavens opened with a sword!
A brilliant, radiant scene unfolded.
A pillar of heavenly light crashed down.
When another pillar rose, the heavenly gate would truly open.
Jiang Ni, her face pale, stood with her hands stacked on her sword, inch by inch pushing the great sword Liang Long Que into the earth.
To block Wang Xianzhi’s advance, this woman had forcibly opened the heavenly gate. Clearly, this gate was meant for Wang Xianzhi, as if she had taken it upon herself to send the invincible City Lord of Wudi City on his way.
Blood seeped from Jiang Ni’s lips, yet she continued to push the sword into the ground, desperately pulling the other heavenly pillar down.
Few in the world knew the truth: she had once been a woman who thought she would die from the pain of carrying books up a mountain. She had been a timid woman too afraid of hardship to train in swordsmanship. She had been a woman content with reading books and earning a few copper coins.
She had never dreamed of flying swords, restoring a fallen kingdom, or opening the heavenly gate. Such distant dreams were never things she believed she could achieve.
She had only wanted to sneak in one day when he wasn’t looking and kill him with a single sword strike. Then her life would be complete.
Wang Xianzhi still did not stop her from making that strike.
“If I, Wang Xianzhi, do not wish to cross the heavenly gate, what does it matter if it opens?”
At that moment, Wang Xianzhi suddenly slid back a step, assuming a defensive stance.
A figure burst through the radiant light of the heavenly gate, throwing a single punch at Wang Xianzhi.
Wang Xianzhi slid backward a full three hundred zhang.
As the second heavenly pillar was about to rise and support the heavens, it vanished into mist, and the heavenly gate closed.
Jiang Ni didn’t even have time to spit out a mouthful of blood, her eyes fixed on that figure.
The figure vanished again, rushing straight toward Wang Xianzhi.
Another simple, straightforward punch.
Although Wang Xianzhi still stood upright, he was forced back seven hundred zhang!
Never before in the world had anyone made Wang Xianzhi, who could slay immortals, retreat a thousand zhang.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage