A Sword Sect Disciple Slain with One Thrust

A stream of upright, restrained, and pure inner qi—the unique inner qi of the Huashan Heart Method.

Ning Zhongze could not see through the first stream of inner qi that resembled Sword Qi, though she had her suspicions. Later, after asking Ji Shu and having them confirmed, she looked at Ji Shu as though she were looking at an immortal!

It was already extraordinary enough for one person's Dantian to hold two utterly different kinds of "qi" without descending into madness.

Yet this "Sword Qi" was actually a "new Sword Qi" born from containing more than forty different kinds of Sword Qi!

This Sword Qi was terrifying beyond measure.

If it erupted, Ning Zhongze reckoned she absolutely would not be able to block it!

How could this not leave her delighted, shaken, and horrified? Then a blazing fire ignited in her heart. She thought of Mount Hua's future—with Ji Shu here, Mount Hua would surely flourish and rise to greatness!

Thus.

Whatever Ji Shu said.

Ning Zhongze had every reason to listen carefully.

Ji Shu said that, for the time being, he did not wish to pay respects to his senior brothers.

Ning Zhongze agreed and said:

"Once your heart method has achieved something, I'll take you to Mount Song to witness the grand occasion of the Five Peaks Alliance."

"Yes, Martial Mother."

Ning Zhongze left.

Yue Lingshan did not.

Instead, she continued following Ji Shu with great enthusiasm as she practiced the Jade Maiden Swordplay.

Ji Shu now wore a blue robe and a hair crown. His bearing had changed drastically, and he was no different from an ancient person.

Anyone unfamiliar with him would never take him for a Player.

Even ordinary Players, after spending years in this martial world and acquiring the flavor of ancient people, still carried traces of being Players about them. But Ji Shu? His temperament had transformed utterly. He was completely different from ordinary Players!

He remained beneath the Old Sophora Tree, using one mind for two purposes. On one hand, he contemplated the many sword arts and began fusing them into one. On the other, he continued guiding Yue Lingshan in her sword practice.

His peerless, transcendent comprehension.

Gave him the foundation to use one mind for two purposes.

And with his supreme Inner Strength Talent, he did not even need to deliberately focus on the circulation of his heart method. The heart method would circulate on its own, drawing in Qi Mechanism and refining it into his Dantian, strengthening his inner strength cultivation!

He simply stood there.

And his cultivation rose like the tide, increasing at a tremendous pace.

A brief moment's work was worth another person's month of bitter cultivation!

Yue Lingshan was green with envy, but she could only envy him.

She turned her envy and jealousy into motivation, practicing swordsmanship madly from morning until night. Aside from eating with Ji Shu midway through, she spent all her time diligently training with the sword.

With a "master" like Ji Shu, whose Sword Qi generated itself, offering guidance at her side.

Yue Lingshan's Speed of Progress in swordsmanship was astonishingly fast.

It was like an underachiever copying the answers of a top student during an exam. How could the speed not be fast? How could the efficiency not be high?

Several days passed like this.

This day.

Ji Shu was taking a nap in a recliner.

Yue Lingshan suddenly ran over and woke him in a panic.

Ji Shu glanced sideways.

"Master Yue, what happened?"

"Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Tang Ying'e of the Mount Song Sect have brought Sword Sect disciples Feng Buping, Cong Buqi, and Cheng Buyou up the mountain to seize the position of Mount Hua Sect leader!"

Yue Lingshan was anxious and furious.

"They're bullying us with their numbers and forcing my father to step down. My father refused, and they began fighting. It looks like he's about to lose. Mother told me to find you, so I hurried over. Ji Shu, do you have a way? If we don't think of something soon, I'm afraid something terrible will happen to my father and mother."

"Sword Sect's Cong Buqi and Feng Buping? Mount Song Sect's Ding Mian and Lu Bai?"

Ji Shu sprang up with a light flip.

He reached out, grabbed the treasured sword beside him, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes. "Take me there."

He had not been idle these past few days either.

He had learned six relatively common techniques from Yue Lingshan and Master Yue, including Mount Hua lightness skills and grappling techniques.

Now, his Lightness Skill was quite accomplished, and his grappling was skillful.

These lightness skills and grappling techniques had reached perfection in but a moment, generating inner qi on their own.

The inner qi they produced was swallowed by Righteous Qi, giving that Righteous Qi the traits of lightness and viciousness, making it ever more strange and unpredictable!

Moreover, because of this, the Sword Qi had naturally opened the meridians in his feet, allowing it to support Ji Shu's Lightness Skill!

By rights, Sword Qi was incomparably sharp, capable of slicing gold and severing jade. Yet Ji Shu's Sword Qi, within his Dantian, had been tamed as meekly as a lamb. In fragile places such as his meridians and organs, it would only strengthen them, never harm them.

At that moment, with Yue Lingshan showing the way.

Ji Shu seized Yue Lingshan's hand. As his Lightness Skill circulated, both the inner qi and Sword Qi in his Dantian flooded into the meridians of his feet, making him as swift as a phantom sweeping past! In a few whooshes, they were already hundreds of meters away.

Players on the road who saw them could not make out Ji Shu's face at all. They only saw two blurred figures whoosh past them, leaving them utterly stunned, envious, awed, and yearning!

They were like that.

Yue Lingshan was also so excited that a flush spread across her cheeks!

She knew Ji Shu learned Lightness Skill and movement techniques quickly, and that his attainments in both had soon surpassed hers!

But she had never imagined his Lightness Skill and movement techniques would be fast to such a terrifying extent!

Countless words rose in her heart.

But she worried for her parents, so she merely pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Very soon.

Guided by Yue Lingshan, Ji Shu arrived at the entrance of a hall in the rear courtyard.

He looked inside.

The hall was already in chaos, but it was clear that there were two sharply divided groups.

One group had twelve or thirteen people. Most wore red, while three wore gray robes. Every one of them possessed an imposing presence and exceptional looks.

The other group was led by a middle-aged man and Ning Zhongze. Most of them wore blue robes, and among them was Lu Dayou, whom Ji Shu knew.

Several bloody corpses lay sprawled between the two groups.

When Ji Shu and Yue Lingshan arrived, the two groups were still hacking at each other, both sides seemingly red-eyed with slaughter.

Clang!

A trembling sword thrust toward Ning Zhongze. From the side, someone else unleashed the Three Immortals Swordplay. Both treasured swords used the Three Immortals Swordplay, their tips aimed straight at Ning Zhongze's vital points.

Ning Zhongze was just about to perish like fallen fragrance and shattered jade.

Amid Yue Lingshan's shriek.

Ji Shu had no time to think. Releasing Yue Lingshan, he spun on his feet and leaped into the air, the treasured sword in his hand already drawn.

Righteous Qi Sword!

A sword came from the west, its Sword Qi vast and majestic, carrying an indomitable, all-conquering aura.

With a turn of Ji Shu's wrist, the sword reached one man's back in an instant, faster than the eye could follow, and thrust straight into the center of his back.

The other man roared, "Cheng Buyou, watch your back!"

Cheng Buyou was broad and brawny, his face covered in heavy flesh. He was holding his sword, about to kill Ning Zhongze, when he heard his companion Cong Buqi's roar. His eyelids twitched, and he instinctively turned around, using Mount Hua Swordplay to protect himself—but it was too late. A flash of sword light passed before his eyes.

Pfft!

Cheng Buyou's vision blurred. Then he saw a jet of blood shoot out from his throat. It was so fast that he did not feel pain at first. Only when agonizing pain crashed into his mind did he belatedly realize that someone had pierced his throat.

Terror-stricken, he instinctively tried to cover his throat, but blood still gushed through the gaps between his fingers. With difficulty, he turned toward Cong Buqi, Ding Mian, and the others, wanting to cry, "Save me!"