Even in Zhang Qingyuan's previous life, an era where the extraordinary did not reveal itself, the name of a wandering hero could spread throughout an entire region.
Let alone in this immortal cultivation world?
Living in this world of cultivation,
one would always hear of some genius youth appearing somewhere, accomplishing some earth-shaking feat, or of some family producing another cultivation genius who had reached some lofty realm at a certain age.
Even among the few Cultivation Family alliances in their tiny River Pond Town, there was talk of Junior Geniuses.
It was just that compared to those figures of wind and cloud who truly roamed the Cultivation World, the gap was glaringly obvious.
At this moment, in the eyes of these guards,
Senior Zhang Qingyuan, whose strength stood completely above the clan leaders of several families, had to be one of those lofty genius figures spoken of only in legends.
Not to mention the reactions of those behind him.
At this time,
the battle in the clearing was already drawing to a close in the span of a few moments.
From the Monkey King Demon Ape fleeing after losing an arm, to the monkey pack rushing forward to cover its retreat, then Zhang Qingyuan unleashing the Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles in a bloody slaughter of the pack,
everything had taken no more than a moment.
Yet in that brief moment,
the situation of the Demon Monkey Pack had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
When hundreds of Monkey Demons had besieged him, sacrificing over two-thirds of their companions until corpses piled up like mountains across the ground, yet failed to touch even a single hair on Zhang Qingyuan's head,
faced with such a despairing enemy,
even the fiercest and most violent Demonic Beasts could no longer hold on.
One Monkey Demon after another became bloody, stiff corpses upon the ground,
and the morale of the Demon Monkey Pack continued to plummet,
until a certain moment,
when one of the remaining third of the Demon Monkey Pack seemed to have been frightened senseless by the cruel battle and shrieked as it fled madly,
fear began to spread rapidly through the pack.
Then,
the crazed monkey pack
collapsed in an instant.
The battered remnants lucky enough to survive screamed in terror as they fled toward the mountain forest behind them,
not even daring to turn their heads for a single glance backward.
They scattered in all directions, fleeing and leaping into the forest like headless flies.
A brutal slaughter
ultimately ended with the Demon Monkey Pack suffering grievous losses, collapsing, and fleeing.
Yet this
did not bring Zhang Qingyuan the slightest joy or excitement.
Zhang Qingyuan's sword flashed like lightning, tearing through the air as it effortlessly severed the head of the last Monkey Demon charging at him. The surrounding monkey pack had already fled in a thunderous rush, and not a single living monkey remained around him.
The battle had suddenly stopped.
This
left Zhang Qingyuan, who had been gaining insights into the Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles amid the fight,
so frustrated he nearly coughed up blood!
At this moment,
he was at the crucial point where the Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles and his Cloud Water Art were beginning to resonate with one another!
The battle had abruptly come to a halt.
The hearty and uninhibited slaughter had suddenly stagnated, and with it, the rate at which his swordsmanship proficiency rose had abruptly stopped as well.
That feeling
was like reaching the very brink of a peak,
only to suddenly stop short!
The sword styles that had been rapidly breaking through and improving
were forcibly halted where they stood!
"Bastards, don't run!"
Zhang Qingyuan's face turned green.
It was like having an epiphany interrupted halfway through. Such a perfect opportunity to break through, improve, and raise his proficiency had vanished in an instant—
how could he possibly endure that?!
Zhang Qingyuan transformed into lightning. A streak of Sword Light drifted through the air and cut across the high altitude, and with several leaps, he instantly slew several fleeing Monkey Demons!
However,
Zhang Qingyuan's strike not only failed to stop the remaining Monkey Demons from fleeing,
it instead made the Monkey Demons, already steeped in fear, flee even faster.
In merely a few breaths,
the remaining Monkey Demons burrowed into the deep forest beyond the darkness like headless flies, leaving behind not the slightest trace!
"Damn it!"
The abrupt halt in his progress
left Zhang Qingyuan so depressed that he nearly coughed up blood.
And at this time,
the monkey pack's sudden collapse
also pulled Zhang Qingyuan out of the insights he had gained from the earlier slaughter. The mysterious feeling of resonating with his swordsmanship was gone.
Regret.
What a regret!
Such a good opportunity—
Huff, huff, huff!
After taking several deep breaths,
he only then barely managed to suppress the restless urge to plunge into the forest.
After such a delay, both the Monkey King Demon Ape and the remnants of the monkey pack had long since vanished without a trace. Other than monkey corpses scattered across the ground, nothing else remained.
Though he was extremely displeased,
Zhang Qingyuan did not lose his mind and chase after them.
The incident in Azure Mountain Town had been his first mission after leaving home. He had lacked experience, so it was understandable that he had ended up in danger.
But after going through such a near-death experience,
if he still failed to learn his lesson,
then chasing a defeated enemy into danger again this time would make him nothing more than a fool.
Although his insight had been interrupted,
at least this actual battle had improved him greatly. That alone made it worthwhile.
Standing in the clearing,
Zhang Qingyuan took the time to glance at the Data Panel in his mind.
Cultivation Method: Water Origin Art: (fourth layer: 220/10000 (+7)) Martial Skill: Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles: (Great Accomplishment: 214/1000 (+178)) Cloud Smoke Steps: (Minor accomplishment: 16/100 (+5))
The Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles had surged by nearly two hundred points,
while his Cloud Smoke Steps, Water Origin Art, and the like had all improved as well.
This gave Zhang Qingyuan's wounded heart a small measure of comfort.
Fortunately,
the harvest and improvement from this time
were comparable to two or three months of Zhang Qingyuan's previous hard work.
Moreover,
although his insight had been interrupted,
Zhang Qingyuan After All remembered that earlier feeling. Once he returned and carefully reflected upon it and honed it, even if he could not find that feeling again, he could at least raise the proficiency of the Cloud Water Thirteen Sword Styles by another small stretch.
It seemed that,
although he had failed to achieve its full effect,
his gains were still considerable.
Thinking of this,
the gloom in Zhang Qingyuan's heart only then eased slightly,
though he remained full of resentment toward those damned Demon Monkey Packs.
"Senior Zhang truly lives up to being a disciple of the Upper Sect. Your Dao arts are exquisite; with every gesture, you slaughtered these Monkey Demons until they lay scattered in all directions, as though your divine might could cover the world!"
The battle settled.
At some point, Patriarch Zheng had walked to Zhang Qingyuan's side and smiled as he flattered him,
lowering his posture with an exceedingly humble expression.
But Zhang Qingyuan did not fall for that act.
He waved his hand,
his expression calm.
"Patriarch Zheng, I recall that the mission you described to the Cloud Water Sect involved one Monkey King at the Fifth Layer of the Spirit Essence Realm and twenty or thirty Low-level Demon Monkeys. Now, that Monkey King's strength is probably close to the peak of the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Essence Realm, while the number of Low-level Demon Monkeys has exceeded a hundred. How is this merely a small discrepancy from what you described? When you posted the mission at the Cloud Water Sect, surely you did not conceal something?"
PS:
Didn't feel like writing,
Laziness drove me to despair,
I got featured this afternoon, but Father Stockpile officially declared his death yesterday.
Before you continue