Zuo Lengchan

"Junior Sister, how could I not know what you said?"

Yue Buqun sighed.

"I am also deeply grateful to Ji Shu. Several times, in a moment of impulse, I wanted to disregard everything and teach him the Purple Cloud Divine Skill. But I have witnessed too many changes in human nature. So many relatives and friends turned against each other over profit, becoming bitter enemies. Even Lao De Nuo—haven't you and I treated him well enough all these years? Yet, to curry favor with Zuo Lengchan, he actually contacted assassins all along the way, intending to wipe us out!"

"Then how long do you intend to assess Ji Shu?"

Ning Zhongze said, "We cannot make a genius like him wait too long. His progress is far too rapid. If we drag this out, I fear unforeseen changes may arise."

"Junior Sister is right. Once the Five Peaks Alliance Assembly is over, there will be an outcome."

Mount Song.

Back courtyard.

A stern-looking man was listening to Ding Mian's report.

After a long while.

He said in a low voice:

"The Shadow Assassins were top talents whom our Mount Song Sect painstakingly won over over many years. All these years, they marched south and campaigned north for us, resolving many matters that were inconvenient for us to handle openly. And now you are telling me that they are all dead?!"

Ding Mian drew a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the stormy waves in his heart.

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, Lao De Nuo is dead as well."

"Lao De Nuo is dead too?!"

The senior brother sect leader was none other than Zuo Lengchan, leader of the Mount Song Sect.

Upon hearing this, he flew into a rage.

"How did he die?!"

"According to reports from our spies, Lao De Nuo's body was buried outside that ruined temple. Judging by Yue Buqun and the others' movements, Lao De Nuo likely died not long after the Shadow Assassins were killed. Moreover, Lao De Nuo's wound was most likely self-inflicted!"

"Lao De Nuo stayed on Mount Hua for so many years without incident. Even if Yue Buqun discovered Lao De Nuo's secret, given that hypocrite Yue Buqun's temperament, he should have continued to endure in silence. How could he suddenly erupt?!"

Zuo Lengchan could not make sense of it no matter how he pondered.

"It should have been because of Ji Shu!"

At the mention of Ji Shu, Ding Mian could not help but feel a sharp pain in his wrist. He would never dare forget the agony of having his wrist severed for the rest of his life.

"Ji Shu of the Mount Hua Sect must have been the confidence Yue Buqun relied upon to dare kill Lao De Nuo!"

He hated Ji Shu to the extreme.

This time, he had been the chief strategist behind contacting Lao De Nuo and the Shadow Assassins to plot the deaths of Ji Shu, Yue Buqun, and the others. Unfortunately, all their efforts had come to naught!

"Ji Shu."

Zuo Lengchan narrowed his eyes slightly. He sat imposingly in the sect leader's seat, his right hand unconsciously tapping the table beside him with a steady thud, thud, thud.

"Was he truly that formidable?"

"Extremely formidable."

Ding Mian said solemnly, "Senior Brother Sect Leader, this fiend's swordsmanship is divine, and his internal cultivation is equally exceptional. Even if I joined forces with Junior Brother Lu and the others, I fear we would be unable to withstand his sword!"

"He was that valiant?!"

Zuo Lengchan was moved. "Why did none of you tell me earlier?!"

"We thought we would try once more to see whether we could poison Ji Shu to death or shoot him dead. But now it seems that plan will not work either."

Bang!

Zuo Lengchan slammed his palm onto the table and rose in fury.

"From now on, you must have my approval before acting in such matters! I did not approve, yet you made the decision on your own, causing our Mount Song Sect grievous losses. Who will bear responsibility for this?!"

Gritting his teeth, Ding Mian dropped to his knees. "Senior Brother Sect Leader, I will bear the responsibility!"

"You will bear it with your life?"

Zuo Lengchan snorted and sat back down. "Rise. We are martial brothers; there is no need to be so formal. But this matter will be forgiven only once. There will not be a next time."

"Yes, Senior Brother Sect Leader."

Ding Mian let out a breath of relief.

"Tell me properly about this Ji Shu."

"Yes."

Ding Mian began recounting Ji Shu's deeds in detail.

He was extraordinarily thorough.

He even knew many things that the Inner Sect disciples of Mount Hua did not.

The reason was simple.

There had been a spy within Mount Hua: Lao De Nuo.

After Lao De Nuo learned of Ji Shu's skills and capabilities, he had been deeply shocked and greatly regretted not getting rid of Ji Shu sooner. Thus, he secretly began gathering information about Ji Shu's past deeds.

Through players, Lu Dayou, Shi Daizi, Yue Lingshan, and others, he learned of every move Ji Shu had made within the Mount Hua Sect. He had even managed to uncover some of Ji Shu's deeds in the Blue Star world.

For that very reason.

Lao De Nuo basically knew everything Ji Shu had done and said in the Mount Hua Sect.

And after Ding Mian finished recounting Ji Shu's deeds.

Zuo Lengchan's expression remained grim as he stared at Ding Mian with deep, unfathomable eyes.

"Do you take me for a fool?!"

"...Senior Brother Sect Leader, when Lao De Nuo first reported Ji Shu's situation to me, I too suspected he was taking me for a fool. I even flew into a rage over it! But afterward, our spies investigated from many angles, and every single thing Lao De Nuo said was absolutely true, without the slightest fabrication!"

Ding Mian was practically ready to swear to the heavens.

"..."

Zuo Lengchan was uncertain and suspicious. After a long silence, he said:

"Could such a prodigy truly exist in this world?!"

"I also find it unimaginable."

Ding Mian said gravely:

"It was precisely because I understood how terrifying Ji Shu was that I could not wait to use Lao De Nuo and the Shadow Assassins to launch a surprise attack, poison him, and shoot him dead! Otherwise, with the Shadow Assassins' abilities and Lao De Nuo serving as an inside man, why would we have needed poisonous mist and a rain of arrows? We could have charged straight in and beaten Yue Buqun and the others to the ground!"

"You did the right thing."

Zuo Lengchan nodded in approval.

"If it were me, upon learning of such a terrifying opponent and enemy, I too would toss and turn sleeplessly, wishing to kill him as swiftly as possible! But what you should never have done was wait until now to tell me!"

"Senior Brother Sect Leader..."

"Enough."

Zuo Lengchan said:

"This matter ends here. What we should discuss now is how to get rid of Ji Shu!"

He rose to his full height and walked to the window. Looking at the perilous peaks and the boundless forests outside, he drew a deep breath.

"If Ji Shu truly is a heaven-defying genius, then he cannot be allowed to remain alive! And the sooner, the better. He must be killed at once, lest after another half month his strength rises another level, making him even harder to kill!"

"Senior Brother Sect Leader is absolutely right!"

Ding Mian was overjoyed. When it came to killing intent toward Ji Shu, he ranked first within the Mount Song Sect. Hearing Zuo Lengchan's words, he immediately said, "Senior Brother Sect Leader, whatever you need me to do, just give the order."

"Mm. You shall do this, this, and this..."

Ji Shu did not know that it was because Ding Mian and the others hated and feared him that they had resorted to poison and a rain of arrows.

Naturally, he also did not know that Yue Buqun, Yue Lingshan, and the others had suffered misfortune after being implicated by him.

At that moment, he was practicing swordsmanship in a room at Xiumei Inn in Luoyang.

"Thousand Leaf Sword Technique!"

On the first run-through, his movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water. Sword shadows filled the sky, seeming like a thousand leaves scattering down, dazzling the eye beyond measure.

On the second run-through, Sword Qi bristled coldly, like ten thousand blossoms falling upon the mortal world—beautiful beyond words.

On the third run-through...

A full nine times.

Ji Shu finished the technique.

He let out a long breath.

A white stream of air curled back and forth from his mouth and nose before finally returning through his seven orifices.

He had mastered another superior sword technique. It was not the least bit inferior to Five Peaks Swordplay, and among group attack sword techniques, it stood at the very pinnacle.