In the height of summer, mountain breezes remained slightly cool. Along the winding path, Meng Qi made his way downhill and soon left behind the Sword-Washing Pavilion. Outside, Gao Lan awaited him.
Gao Lan nodded and solemnly said, “Seven Chi Sword—it uses the sword as a metaphor for a person, corresponding to the following ‘I’ and ‘self’ in Dao De Jing. In Dao De Jing, ‘I’ refers to the physical self, the external self, while ‘self’ refers to the inner self, the true self. These two meanings are entirely different. In ancient times, Nan Hua Heavenly Venerable even proposed the idea of ‘I lost myself.'”
“I know that already…” Meng Qi glanced at him.
“Haha.” Gao Lan chuckled dryly, “I’m just trying to make small talk. Honestly, what’s there to fear about sitting through a death trial? As long as you survive it, you can still get married. A determined woman fears a persistent man; as long as you’re willing to put in the effort and work patiently…”
Meng Qi looked sideways at him, “Let’s go. Let’s have a drink.”
“Good, let’s drink until we forget our worries.” Gao Lan clapped his hands together.
Outside the gate of the Sword-Washing Pavilion, a small market town had naturally formed. Gao Lan and Meng Qi did not head to the elegant private rooms of a tavern but instead each carried a jar of “Zuixian” wine. They sat on the ground beneath a half-person-high wall at the edge of the town, their backs leaning against broken walls, gazing at wild grass and the blue sky. They ate pig feet and beef they had just bought while silently drinking together.
They drank in a strangely quiet atmosphere for a while, until Gao Lan once again tried to make conversation. He took a large gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, “Third Brother, don’t say I didn’t teach you anything. Once you’ve set your heart on something, you must persist relentlessly, cling tightly, and fight fiercely…”
Meng Qi was about to stop him from continuing on this topic when he suddenly changed the subject, half-proud and half-sentimental, saying, “Back then, she hadn’t yet developed a Bodhi heart and compassion, focusing solely on Buddhism. Eventually, she even truly shaved her head and became a nun. But in the end, wasn’t she still won over by me? We ended up together.”
He wore a face of self-satisfaction, but suddenly his expression changed, and his tone turned sorrowful: “If she had truly remained a nun, she might still be alive today. It was my fault, all my fault!”
Gao Lan poured himself another drink, pounding the ground, and shouted loudly, “Anyone who had ill intentions toward her, I crushed one by one. Back then, Changle was soaked in blood for seven days, filled only with cries. But, but she still couldn’t be saved…”
He seemed to have the urge to cry out loud again.
“Matters in this world are never absolute. Who knows, maybe at the level of the Jade Emperor and others like him, true resurrection might be possible?” Meng Qi’s face twitched slightly.
It was supposed to be Gao Lan accompanying him in drinking to relieve his sadness, but now it had turned into him comforting Gao Lan instead. Was he going to end up singing loudly to cry out his sorrow next?
“Exactly!” Gao Lan slapped his thigh and continued, “I’ve always despised those people. They pretend to be noble families and royal dependents, but in reality, they secretly collude with sects, scheming and scheming. Back then, it was truly good to kill them all, clearing the air!”
“Therefore, I envy you guys from Nanjin. The noble families and sects are balanced there, so no one becomes a dog to others!”
Meng Qi was a wandering cultivator without bias toward sects or noble families. Regarding Gao Lan’s outburst, he could only drink and nod along without expressing his own views.
“Now I’ve also taken that step forward. Sooner or later, I’ll seek justice and turn them all upside down!” Gao Lan stood up holding the wine jar, pointing at the gradually rising bright moon, and shouted angrily with two fingers together.
So he really had become a Law-body cultivator… Meng Qi had already drunk quite a bit of “Zuixian,” his head feeling slightly dizzy, but it didn’t hinder his thinking or his ability to extract important information from Gao Lan’s words.
“Big Brother, as the saying goes, when Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon someone, it must first test their will and weary their bones. You could also be said to have gained fortune from misfortune,” Meng Qi remarked emotionally.
Gao Lan burst into loud laughter, full of self-satisfaction: “Exactly! Now, in this world, there are very few people worthy of my attention!”
“Are you referring to those few experts on the Heavenly List?” Meng Qi asked with interest, eager to hear how Gao Lan would evaluate those ten Law-body cultivators.
Gao Lan patted the wine jar and said, “Them? Hey, Gourdo wields the Heaven’s Punishment Axe and has Daman’s help, yet he still can’t completely suppress Chonghe and Lu Da. How can he be considered the number one on the Heavenly List?”
He was really going to talk about Law-body cultivators while drinking… Meng Qi wiped cold sweat from his brow and imitated Liu Huangshu by asking, “What about Senior Chonghe? He has been famous for more than two hundred years. Who knows how far he has advanced on the Law-body path?”
“Chonghe? He hasn’t broken through yet and is already old, nearing the end of his life. He’s just a pile of bones in a grave!” Gao Lan waved his hand dismissively.
“What about the Shaolin Abbot Kong Wen, the divine monk? He is the only one today who has the record of killing or subduing Law-body experts.” Meng Qi dutifully played his role as the straight man.
However, Meng Qi was also feeling the effects of the wine, excitedly curious. It was rare to have the opportunity to hear a fellow cultivator evaluate Law-body experts. How could he not be filled with curiosity?
Gao Lan clicked his tongue and said, “Han Guang’s life and death are still unknown. Perhaps he fled after being wounded, while Kong Wen likely suffered serious injuries as well and has long since lost his former glory. That’s why he hasn’t come out to fight for a long time. Would I ever bully the weak and the disabled?”
Is the Abbot Kong Wen’s strength no longer what it was? Meng Qi was stunned. Suddenly, he recalled Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan’s account of Qi Xia’s incident. It seemed the rumors might not be false?
Before Meng Qi could recover his thoughts, Gao Lan continued his critique: “Lu Da…”
He paused, his expression gradually turning cold, half in lament and half in coldness: “One day, sooner or later, I will have a life-or-death battle with Lu Da.”
“Monarch?” Although Meng Qi was already feeling drunk, he keenly noticed that Gao Lan had changed his way of referring to himself.
Instinctively raising his head, he saw a pair of cold, merciless eyes.
Gao Lan threw the wine jar aside, stood with his hands behind his back, exuding a calm and imposing presence. His previously disheveled hair became mysteriously smooth, and his beard and mustache fell out strand by strand, revealing a handsome face.
Judging solely from his appearance, he looked to be in his early thirties, with sharp features, arched eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips that hinted at a cold-hearted nature. Combined with his emotionless gaze and mature, restrained demeanor, he exuded immense pressure.
Meng Qi had always thought his current looks were quite decent, but compared to Gao Lan, he seemed to fall just a bit short. Moreover, Gao Lan’s appearance was different from Wang Siyuan’s delicate beauty—there wasn’t a trace of effeminacy.
“No wonder the Gao Clan of Changle is known for its exceptional beauty…” A thought suddenly crossed Meng Qi’s mind.
The Gao Clan of Changle, aside from its reputation in martial arts, was most notable for its outstanding beauty and violent temperaments.
Gao Lan coldly stared at Meng Qi, making him instinctively feel danger, his tailbone tingling, cold sweat running down his back, and even his soul seemed to slow down. Numerous illusions flickered through his mind, as if Gao Lan would strike at any moment and crush him!
How come he feels so different all of a sudden? Could it be another case of dual personalities? The Mad King, the Mad King… Indeed, only names can be wrongly given, but not the nicknames… Holding the wine jar, Meng Qi’s mind involuntarily churned with countless thoughts.
“Dare you, with your abilities, actually dare to become sworn brothers with me?” Gao Lan spoke with a mix of coldness and mockery. Then, pressing his hand on the iron bar, he turned and left, as if deeming someone who hadn’t even reached the Outward Manifestation realm unworthy of his effort.
The sensation of being slowly flayed by his gaze gradually faded. Meng Qi gazed at the spot where Gao Lan disappeared, momentarily lost in thought.
…
In the capital city, within a room of a small blue building that served as the headquarters of the Six Ministries.
“Breaking news just came in—the peerless swordswoman has entered a death retreat. This issue’s list of human rankings must be revised and re-released.” A man dressed in a dark red officer’s uniform rushed into the room holding a slip of paper, the azure official seal hanging at his waist.
“Entered a death retreat?”
“Truly emulating her master!”
The officers inside all expressed their sentiments, then proceeded to update the human rankings.
—Those entering a death retreat either directly become Outward Manifestation or perish, thus automatically being removed from the list.
They worked efficiently and soon completed the new human rankings, posting them inside the room for passersby to check and correct errors.
The officer who rushed in carefully examined the list, feeling that the changes were significant:
“Name: Tie Sheng.”
“Kung Fu: Nine Apertures, already infinitely close to opening the third eye. The source of his martial arts is unknown. He can create minor supernatural phenomena, generating a soundless and lightless black curtain within a one-zhang radius. He is also skilled at affecting the senses, disrupting judgment, creating illusions, and excels in agility, speed, and killing intent. Additionally, he possesses a secret skill that allows him to transform into a killing sword, comparable to ‘Sword Without Self.'”
“Feats: Countless hunts and kills of martial artists below the level of Half-Step Outward Manifestation from the grasslands, repelled the Half-Step Outward Manifestation bandit leader ‘Eagle King’ twice, after heading south, hunted down the then twenty-first-ranked ‘Fire-Eyed Mara,’ fought against ‘Wild Blade’ Su Meng at Xingyun Manor, result unknown.”
“Rank: First.”
“Nickname: Wolf King.”
“Identity: A wandering martial artist from the grasslands.”
The officer furrowed his brows, feeling that the description of Wolf King’s martial arts was unusually detailed.
He continued to read:
“Name: Su Meng, formerly known as Zhen Ding.”
“Kung Fu: Eight or nine Apertures. Initially practiced Golden Bell Cover, and now seemingly switched to a similar protective hard skill, hence his exceptional strength. Primarily wields a right-handed blade, supplemented by a left-handed sword. Although his sword techniques lack a complete system, he is adept at life-or-death combat. He has mastered the true essence of the first and second forms of Ananda’s Breaking Precepts Blade, capable of performing them consecutively without triggering blood essence.
With the help of his precious weapon, he can manifest thunder-like Outward Manifestation blade techniques. When exerting his full strength, he can unleash a strike nearly equivalent to an Outward Manifestation level attack. Additionally, he has achieved mastery in the blade path, reaching a level of profound skill and transformation, becoming a grandmaster. He also possesses the ability to summon heavenly thunder.
Feats: Killed ‘White-Headed Vulture’ Anguo Xie; at the martial arts arena in Yedu County, narrowly defeated ‘Righteous Sword’ Wang Zai by half a move; at Dongyang Villa, forced ‘Calculating Immortal’ Wang Siyuan to retreat and defend with his sword; on the streets of Changchuan, Jiangzhou, barely overcame ‘Five Emperors’ Blade’ Qingyu; after traveling thousands of miles, encountered an ambush by Demon Shadow Cold Palm, Flame Human Demon, and Soul-Stealing Xiao at a shrine beside Longyan Mountain Road, defeating all three single-handedly—details of the battle unknown; at Xingyun Manor, engaged in combat with the Wolf King, outcome unknown.
Rank: Second.
Nicknames: “Wild Blade,” “Fierce Vajra,” “Thunder Blade Wild Monk.”
Identity: A former Shaolin disciple who was expelled, now a wandering martial artist.
The officer exhaled deeply: “Hmph, the new number one and two on the human rankings…”
…
The bright moon hung high, casting down a clear glow. The night stretched vast and wide, filled with indescribable peace and tranquility.
It seemed as though Meng Qi was the only person in the entire world.
Feeling the night breeze gently brush against him, Meng Qi gradually regained his composure and suddenly let out a soft laugh.
After finishing his laugh, he pushed aside the wine jar, leisurely stood up, his left hand gripping the hilt of his blade. His gaze turned to the distance, then he flicked the dust off his black tight-fitting outfit and began walking forward.
Northward, to kill the Wolf King!
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