Nalan Ming burst out laughing.
He suddenly realized that the Old Daoist was still just as he had been all those years ago. At the very least, he wouldn't lie to him.
He immediately clasped his hands and said, "Come spring, the Mystic Heaven Sect will also send elders with their disciples to the Kunlun Sword Sect. When the time comes, make sure your precious disciple goes easy on them!"
Then he turned to Wang Ruowang with a smile. "Junior Brother, let's go take a look at the Tianshan Sword Sect on the North Slope!"
Wang Ruowang clasped his hands toward the Old Daoist. "Thank you for showing mercy, Daoist Brother!"
With that, he and Nalan Ming transformed into a breeze and swept out through the mountain gate.
Though they were riding the wind, he whispered, "Grand Elder, could it be that you can't break that sword?"
Nalan Ming shook his head and sighed. "To be honest, I can't think of anyone who could break it, either."
Wang Ruowang shivered at those words and fell silent.
Nalan Ming continued, "That old man's a madman. There are probably few in the world who can match him... Still, even he miscalculates sometimes."
Wang Ruowang asked, "What do you mean?"
"What do you think of the disciple he took in?"
Nalan Ming gave a cold laugh. "A heaven-defying master, yet he took on a disciple who's only at the Foundation Establishment Realm and has barely started learning the sword."
Wang Ruowang nodded, thoughtful.
He smiled faintly. "Looks like the Kunlun Sword Sect will be lively come spring!"
Only after the two men had vanished into the snowstorm did the Old Daoist sigh and say, "Junior Sister, those two fellows came for the Divine Sword, just like you. I expect they'll be looking for you."
Dongfang Nishang gave a soft "Oh," then asked, "Is there really a Divine Sword?"
"Isn't your junior sister a Divine Sword herself?"
The Old Daoist smiled. "Wouldn't breaking that sword of mine be as easy as turning over your hand?"
Then he added, "Nalan Ming of the Mystic Heaven Sect has cultivated Myriad Swords Unification. If you fight him, be careful."
Dongfang Nishang was instantly taken aback.
She murmured to herself, "Do you think he'll turn his sword on me?"
The Old Daoist didn't answer. Instead, he lowered his head and asked Wang Xian, "Did you see my sword clearly?"
Wang Xian shook his head. "Master's sword was too fast... I only seem to have grasped the principle behind it."
"That's not bad!"
The Old Daoist headed toward the main hall, chatting with Wang Xian as he walked.
"That old man is the Grand Elder of the Tianshan Xuantian Sect. When he strikes with his sword, it splits into three, or even more, just like it says in the Dao Scripture."
Wang Xian nodded. "Is it 'The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things'?"
"Exactly!"
The Old Daoist shook his head and continued, "Sometimes, when you really want to kill someone, you don't need Myriad Swords Unification. You only need to unleash one supreme sword strike."
Wang Xian smiled. "Like you did, Master, with One Sword No Trace?"
At that, the Old Daoist suddenly laughed.
Still laughing, he corrected him. "That old bastard Nalan has a decent grasp of Myriad Swords Unification, but if you can't even use One Sword No Trace, how can you talk about ten thousand swords?"
Wang Xian nodded with all his might.
The Old Daoist continued, "When masters meet, they give it everything they've got. Just like before: if your eyes can't see clearly, close them and look with your heart!"
Wang Xian grinned. "That makes sense."
The twenty-sixth day of the New Year.
After waking up that morning, Wang Xian sat at the table copying the Dao Scripture. He saw a note his master had left there: "I'm going down the mountain to buy New Year's supplies. I'll be back before dark."
As he ground the ink, Wang Xian pondered.
The New Year was just around the corner. When would his senior sister return to the mountain?
Every day, he listened to his master ramble on and wondered whether the senior sister he'd never met would practice the sword with him when she came back.
After copying the Dao Scripture for an hour, he spent another hour practicing the footwork his martial aunt had taught him.
Wang Xian tried to find the ethereal feeling of Treading Snow Without a Trace, only to realize he'd been getting ahead of himself.
Just as he toppled out of the air and face-planted into the snow, he caught sight of a flash of bright red.
His heart gave a thump.
Oh no. Had Master gone down the mountain without activating the mountain gate formation? Why were two women here today?
Looking up, he saw two figures, one red and one white, slowly approaching along the mountain path.
One moment they were halfway up the mountain; the next, they were right in front of him.
Nangong Feiyan, dressed all in white and looking like an immortal banished from heaven, stared at Wang Xian, who was sprawled in the snow, lost in thought. She couldn't help but pause.
She asked instinctively, "Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
Wang Xian got to his feet and asked warily, "Are you in the wrong place? The Sword Sect is on the North Slope!"
Nangong Zhilan, dressed in red, couldn't help smiling. "Little fellow, where's the Old Daoist?"
"Who are you? Master went down the mountain to buy New Year's supplies!"
Hearing that they'd come to see his master, Wang Xian immediately thought of the two old men from yesterday and his martial uncle from the Sword Sect.
"Oh, are you Gold Old Man's disciple?"
Nangong Feiyan smiled faintly and walked toward the main hall.
As she went, she replied, "My surname is Nangong. I'm from the East Sea... This is my junior sister. We'll wait here for your master to return!"
The two women entered the main hall without waiting for Wang Xian to show them in.
Nangong Zhilan lit a fire, poured snowmelt into the kettle, and set about brewing spirit tea herself.
The sword marks Wang Xian had left on the table had already been wiped away by the Old Daoist.
All Nangong Feiyan saw was a pool of ink that hadn't dried, along with a stack of Dao Scripture pages Wang Xian had copied.
She glanced at them and sighed softly. "Junior Sister, there seems to be a trace of Sword Qi between the lines."
Nangong Zhilan turned to look and smiled faintly. "If Gold Old Man didn't have that kind of ability, it wouldn't be worth Senior Sister coming all this way."
Seeing that the two women were ignoring him, Wang Xian lost all interest in entertaining the guests.
He still hadn't finished his practice for the day.
He took out his wooden sword and began hacking wildly at the snowflakes falling through the air.
A flurry of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" rang out from the wooden sword in the cold wind.
"Senior Sister, look! Gold Old Man took in a boy at the Foundation Establishment Realm... He's even practicing his sword in the snowstorm. Oh, and that's a wooden sword. What a strange sight!"
Nangong Zhilan's voice sounded a little weak. "I really can't understand that eccentric old man!"
Nangong Feiyan was even more astonished.
Though the Cloud-Rising Taoist Temple on Kunlun's Southern Slope wasn't one of the Four Great Sects, it stood apart from the mortal world.
She couldn't understand why the Old Daoist had taken on a disciple so pitifully weak.
The Cloud-Rising Taoist Temple was no less renowned than the Kunlun Sword Sect. It was only because the Old Daoist was famous for his strange temper and never agreed to take disciples that it seemed so remote and desolate. But surely he didn't need to hurry and find some boy just to make up the numbers?
Was he trying to keep the incense burning?
At the thought, she smiled faintly. "Why bother with him? We only need to remember why we came here!"
Nangong Zhilan smiled. "If the Old Daoist knew we'd come for the Divine Sword, I wonder if he'd be so scared he wouldn't dare return to the mountain."
"You're too late!"
"Whoosh!" He swung his sword, missing the snowflake drifting through the wind by a hair...
Wang Xian was so frustrated he howled, "The two old men who came yesterday have already left!"
"Why?"
Nangong Zhilan was startled. "What two old men? What did they take with them?"
Wang Xian shook his head and swung his sword again.
He replied coldly, "They came here to demand the Divine Sword... After fighting my master, they went north to the Kunlun Sword Sect to look for my martial uncle."
Before you continue