Rising Fame, White Clad Startling Swan

The mountains rose and fell, and the breeze stirred the forest into faint green waves.

Beside a mountain stream, Fang Hanyu leaned against a large boulder while Zhou Xue treated his wounds. Zhou Xingshi stood some distance away, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

"Two hours have passed. Why hasn't he caught up yet? Nothing could have happened to him, right?"

Zhou Xingshi could not help turning back to ask. His life was tied to Fang Wang's, and what he feared most was Fang Wang coming to harm.

As Zhou Xue bandaged Fang Hanyu's wounds, she calmly said, "Don't worry. He isn't dead."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have my ways of knowing, just as I knew this kid wasn't dead before."

Zhou Xue's answer left Zhou Xingshi stunned. Thinking carefully, Zhou Xue had been certain Fang Hanyu was alive even before they found him.

Could it be that this woman had done something to Fang Wang and Fang Hanyu?

Although Fang Wang seemed stronger in Zhou Xingshi's eyes, he felt Zhou Xue was more dangerous and even more unfathomable.

After a while, Zhou Xue stood and looked down at Fang Hanyu. "Your body is ruined. I have a way to let you undergo nirvana and be reborn, perhaps even surpass what you were before. But you will have to endure immense suffering. Are you willing?"

At those words, Fang Hanyu immediately raised his head and gritted his teeth. "I am! I don't want to be a cripple for the rest of my life! No matter how great the pain, I won't fear it!"

"Good. When Fang Wang returns, I'll take you somewhere and treat you there."

After saying that, Zhou Xue walked to the stream, crouched down, and began washing her hands.

Zhou Xingshi was secretly curious. Fang Hanyu was wounded to such a state—could he truly still undergo nirvana and be reborn?

He became even more curious about Zhou Xue's origins. Clearly, she had possessed a deep Immortal Cultivation background even before entering the Taiyuan Sect.

After that, the three of them waited in the mountain ravine for Fang Wang's return.

About half an hour later, they finally heard a whistling sound tearing through the air. Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi immediately turned to look, then both let out sighs of relief and smiled.

The one arriving was Fang Wang.

Fang Wang rode in on a Flying Sword, Qing Jun Sword in hand. Blood stained its blade, while his white robes had already been dyed red with blood. Blood-colored cloth bags hung all around his waist; they were all Storage Bags.

He looked utterly miserable, but Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi were not worried. As long as he could still ride a sword, it meant he would not die.

Fang Wang landed, and the Flying Sword slipped into his Storage Bag. Zhou Xingshi quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

For some reason, Fang Wang found this somewhat awkward. Shouldn't Zhou Xue have been the first to come over and show concern for him?

Why was a man the first one to care about him?

"I'm fine. I'm not injured, but my spiritual energy is nearly exhausted," Fang Wang answered.

Even the Mysterious Sun Scripture at Great Perfection was nearly drained after more than two hours of intense battle. After all, every one of his opponents had been a cultivator.

Zhou Xingshi nodded, then stepped aside.

Zhou Xue came over, examined his body, and asked with a smile, "How strong was Li Hongshuang? Fighting him should have broadened your horizons, no?"

Seeing Fang Wang return safely filled her with pride. After all, she had taught Fang Wang his cultivation art, so she already regarded him as her disciple in her heart.

Having cultivated for less than a year yet escaped alive from the foremost genius of Green Cicada Valley—such a record was absolutely fierce!

"He was very strong. He truly broadened my horizons," Fang Wang said with a nod.

Zhou Xingshi was secretly shocked. As a child of an Aristocratic Clan, he knew Li Hongshuang better. Li Hongshuang was not even from the same generation as them. Fang Wang had only been Spirit Molding for so long, yet Li Hongshuang, a monstrous talent who had cultivated much longer, still could not defeat him. This made Zhou Xingshi admire Fang Wang even more.

Zhou Xue checked him over once more and finally relaxed after confirming that he had not been poisoned.

"By the way, is there any way to keep a head from decaying? I'm waiting to take it back to the Taiyuan Sect and earn contribution points," Fang Wang suddenly asked, removing a cloth bundle from his waist.

Zhou Xue frowned. "At a life-or-death moment, you still had the mind to care about such things? Weren't you afraid Li Hongshuang would catch up?"

"I wasn't."

"Apart from Li Hongshuang, none of the Green Cicada Valley disciples in this area were particularly outstanding. They were all little lackeys beneath Li Hongshuang. Green Cicada Valley probably intended to cultivate a force for him. What use are the heads of little lackeys? Throw them away."

Zhou Xue waved her hand. Only then did she realize that Fang Wang was merely seventeen. A youth's temperament was bound to retain some immaturity.

"What a coincidence. It's Li Hongshuang's head."

Fang Wang raised his brows as he spoke, his face calm while inwardly feeling utterly exhilarated.

"What?"

Zhou Xue froze, while Zhou Xingshi also turned toward Fang Wang, his eyes widening.

With a flick of Fang Wang's right hand, Li Hongshuang's head fell out. Its neck happened to face the ground, leaving it standing upright. Its eyes were wide open, and its deathly unwilling expression sent chills down one's spine.

"It really is Li Hongshuang... You..."

After seeing Li Hongshuang's face clearly, Zhou Xue looked up at Fang Wang, unable to conceal the astonishment in her eyes.

Zhou Xingshi looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Li Hongshuang had led several hundred Green Cicada Valley disciples, yet Fang Wang had still beheaded him alone?

How was that possible!

Even after seeing Li Hongshuang's face clearly, Zhou Xingshi still found it unbelievable.

"You fought him. How strong was he? Did he use his Life-Bound Treasure Spirit? His Life-Bound Treasure Spirit was a great banner..." Zhou Xue asked with a frown.

Fang Wang rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Of course he did. Did you think I killed some impostor? Killing him was no easy matter. I fought with nearly all my strength."

Zhou Xue drew a deep breath and said no more. She crouched down, took out a small medicine bottle from her Storage Bag, and sprinkled medicinal powder over Li Hongshuang's head.

Fang Wang turned toward Fang Hanyu in the distance and asked, "Han Yu, I avenged you. Along the way, I killed no fewer than three hundred Green Cicada Valley cultivators. What do you think? Your brother did right by you, didn't he?"

Fang Hanyu did not know what to say. Earlier, he had already learned how strong Li Hongshuang was. Such a powerful existence had actually been slain by Fang Wang. Gratitude felt overly sentimental, while praise seemed pale and feeble. He could only nod faintly.

Seeing Zhou Xue, Zhou Xingshi, and Fang Hanyu all fall silent, Fang Wang could not help pursing his lips.

Their reaction was not big enough!

Shouldn't they be crying out in shock, calling it terrifying beyond belief?

"Oh, right. Before I left, I burned Li Hongshuang's body. He shouldn't be able to revive, should he? Cultivators can possess bodies, after all. I'm worried there might be methods like borrowing a corpse to return the soul," Fang Wang immediately asked when Zhou Xue rose.

As he spoke, he crouched down and wrapped up his spoils again.

Zhou Xue answered, "His head is with you. If his body was truly burned clean, then he definitely cannot be reborn."

The True Mysterious Sun Fire of the Mysterious Sun Scripture...

Zhou Xue sighed inwardly. Once entangled by True Mysterious Sun Fire, one would surely leave behind neither corpse nor bones.

Never had she expected that Green Cicada Valley's future valley master would die just like that...

She suddenly felt that Fang Wang's existence would bring enormous changes to the future. Coupled with the fact that she had been reborn, the future would surely be forged by them.

Afterward, Fang Wang bathed in the river. Once he changed into clean robes, they continued onward. Zhou Xue said she would take them somewhere with a considerable opportunity, and while there, she would treat Fang Hanyu's injuries.

The atmosphere on the road afterward was rather subtle.

Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi kept glancing at Fang Wang without saying anything, and it was beginning to get unbearable for him.

Little did he know that, though the two appeared calm, the raging waves within their hearts had never settled.

Zhou Xue sighed inwardly that because of her, a monstrous genius who had never appeared in her previous life had burst into existence.

Zhou Xingshi was simply numb. They had undergone Spirit Molding on the same day—how could the gap between them be so vast?

Inside an inn, Gu Li and three fellow disciples sat around a table drinking tea. Every table on the first floor was occupied.

"There really are a lot of people. The Jihao Sect's inheritance has spread completely. That's good too—the more people there are, the easier it will be for us to complete the rescue mission," Zhou Bo remarked.

They were all disciples of the Third Vein and had formed a team to come here.

After Fang Wang politely declined Gu Li, she still did not feel at ease. Thus, she followed Zhou Bo and the other two, who had been forming a team at the time.

She wore a bamboo hat and yellow robes, looking much like a wandering female martial heroine. With her head slightly lowered, no one could see her face.

Just then, a plainly dressed man rushed inside and shouted, "Something huge has happened! Something huge has happened! Li Hongshuang, a Personal Disciple of Green Cicada Valley and reputedly the most talented among its current generation of disciples, has been killed by a Taiyuan Sect disciple!"

The entire inn erupted in uproar.

The diners here were no ordinary mortals. They were all cultivators, most of them Rogue Cultivators, though some might have been disciples of the Nine Great Sects disguised as Rogue Cultivators.

"Li Hongshuang was at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Sculpting Realm! Even many Personal Disciples of the Taiyuan Sect might not have been his match. And killing him is the same as declaring war on Green Cicada Valley!"

"Li Hongshuang is dead? This has become a major incident."

"Tsk, tsk. Behind Li Hongshuang stood not only Green Cicada Valley, but also the Li Family. A thousand years ago, the dynasty ruling this land was founded by their Li Family."

"Hmph. Dead is dead. He was merely a Demonic Cultivator."

The Rogue Cultivators in the inn discussed the matter heatedly. Then someone asked the man delivering the news, "Waiter, who exactly killed Li Hongshuang? Do you have any more information?"

It turned out that the man spreading the news was an inn waiter. With his hands on his hips, he chuckled. "I do indeed. It is said that the Taiyuan Sect disciple who killed Li Hongshuang used the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art. Do you know where the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art came from?"

At once, someone stood up and said, "I know. It is the ultimate art of Yang Yuanzi, peak master of the Taiyuan Sect's Third Vein. A hundred years ago, he relied on this Sword Formula to force his way into Green Cicada Valley and retreat unscathed. Could it have been Yang Yuanzi who acted? The Startling Swan Divine Sword Art has always been mastered by Yang Yuanzi alone. I've never heard of any Taiyuan Sect disciple proficient in it. "

"You're half right and half wrong. The one who killed Li Hongshuang did indeed use the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art, but he was very young and definitely not Yang Yuanzi. According to the surviving Green Cicada Valley disciples, that man wore white robes and had cultivated the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art to the level of thirty-two swords. He must be an unknown genius of the Taiyuan Sect. Those Green Cicada Valley disciples now call him White Clad Startling Swan, and Green Cicada Valley has already dispatched great cultivators of the Spirit Pill Realm to track down White Clad Startling Swan's whereabouts."

The waiter shook his head, and his words stirred another round of heated discussion among the Rogue Cultivators in the inn.

Zhou Bo turned back and asked quietly, "White Clad Startling Swan? Who in the Third Vein received this inheritance?"

He had been in the Third Vein for over ten years, yet he had never heard of anyone receiving Yang Yuanzi's true teachings. Even Li Yu, the Senior Disciple, had failed to obtain the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art.

The other two Third Vein disciples shook their heads. Gu Li said nothing, but for some reason, a person suddenly came to her mind.

Could it be him?

Impossible...

How long had he even been Spirit Molding?