Only after Lou Zhizheng had left and Senior Sister An told him about the past did Ling Yunpo learn that Purple Cloud Peak and Green Snail Peak had an old grudge between them.
More precisely, Elder Minghua, the master of Purple Cloud Peak, had an old grudge against his master, Su Jian.
Apparently, his master had once been a ruthless figure with a fearsome reputation. When he flew into a rage, even the Sect Master had to yield three points to him. And he showed no mercy in duels.
When he challenged others, he never held back, and almost always ended the fight by chopping through his opponent's Destiny Sword Artifact.
Such merciless conduct naturally made enemies. Many Sword Immortals had their senior brothers, senior sisters, junior brothers, or junior sisters suffer a severe loss in cultivation after Su Jian broke their Destiny Sword Artifacts, so they came to his door with swords in hand to avenge them.
Then he killed them.
He challenged people and broke their swords; when challenged, he simply killed them. And so True Lord Qisha's fearsome reputation spread throughout Shushan. He was even called "Shushan's Number One Sword."
Well, if you could kill every other Sword Immortal, you were Shushan's Number One Sword. Perfectly reasonable.
On top of that, many Shushan Sword Immortals were arrogant by nature. Most didn't believe the fearsome stories when they heard them, and went to test him with swords in hand. They tested him, and vanished. For a time, Shushan nearly suffered a talent drought, forcing the Sect Master to revise the sect rules:
All duels had to be approved in advance by the Discipline Hall. A sword talisman had to be issued before a duel could take place. Private sword duels were forbidden! Violators would be charged with a grave offense!
Since approval was required, there was now a review process.
Whenever the person being challenged was Su Jian, they simply delayed the approval and secretly reported it to the Sect Master.
The Sect Master would hurry to find an opportunity to assign the challenger a sect mission, sending them away from the mountain.
Through this combination of dragging out the process and effectively exiling people, they had managed to gradually extinguish the hatred for Su Jian throughout Shushan.
Later, when Su Jian left the mountain to bring back An Zhisu, he was ambushed by an elder of the Demon Sect's Asura Path and gravely wounded, hovering between life and death. Upon returning to Green Snail Peak, he hurriedly went into seclusion.
Once the fearsome man was no longer coming out, the Sect Master began recalling those who had been sent away, a batch at a time.
All of them held grudges against Su Jian. Though they had calmed down during their time away and no longer wanted to challenge Su Jian and get themselves killed, they made no secret of their dislike for Green Snail Peak.
And so Green Snail Peak's circumstances grew worse and worse.
Hearing all this, Ling Yunpo could only laugh helplessly.
Well, so it turned out his master, who was locked away in deathly seclusion, had made enemies left and right!
"As for Elder Minghua, Su Jian once broke his Destiny Sword Artifact in a duel, severely damaging his cultivation. He only stopped constantly thinking about revenge after replacing it with a better flying sword, but the grudge remained."
An Zhisu tucked a strand of hair that had fallen beside her cheek behind her ear, then continued:
"If my guess is right, Purple Cloud Peak has its eye on your flying sword."
"They do have a good eye." Ling Yunpo spoke earnestly. "I've already confirmed it. This sword is none other than the ancient Jie Sect's Qingping Sword. It's undoubtedly a Tenth-Order Immortal Sword."
"Then that explains it." An Zhisu didn't ask how he had confirmed it. She merely sighed. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until after you went to the Sword Pool to choose a sword before coming to cause trouble."
"Junior Brother, don't worry. We can ignore this duel challenge. I'll find enough spirit stones to pay the fine."
"No, Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo quickly shook his head. "You can't keep a thief at bay for a thousand days. Nor can you guard against one for a thousand days."
"If we turn down this challenge by paying the spirit-stone fine, what if Purple Cloud Peak finds someone else to challenge me? How could Green Snail Peak possibly have enough spirit stones to keep paying?"
"That's true." An Zhisu's brows remained knitted. "But, Junior Brother, do you know that Purple Cloud Peak has a secret technique called 'Purple Qi Crowning the Summit'?"
"By accepting three years of stagnation, during which their cultivation cannot advance at all, they can temporarily raise their strength by one whole stage."
She continued, her face full of worry:
"Once our Shushan Sword Immortals reach the Marrow Cleansing Stage, they can cultivate the method of 'Nourish Sword with Body.'"
"They can keep their flying swords inside their bodies and nourish them with their blood and qi, improving their quality."
"In battle, they can also achieve 'man and sword as one,' greatly increasing their flying sword's impact and lethality."
"If Lou Zhizheng uses that secret technique before the duel and forcibly enters the Marrow Cleansing Stage, your chances of winning will be next to nothing."
"Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo spoke with fervent resolve. "Others might hesitate before a challenge across a whole stage, but I, Ling Yunpo, fear no such thing!"
[Unyielding Persona, synchronization +1.]
"A so-called Sword Immortal must sever the bonds of life and death to have any hope of attaining the Great Dao! If I have to retreat and protect myself from some clown who plays dirty, what will I do when I face the three calamities and nine tribulations in the future?"
He spoke with righteous conviction, and heard the Kunlun Mirror say flatly:
[Unyielding Persona, synchronization +1.]
"Junior Brother." An Zhisu bit her lower lip, her eyes shimmering with tears.
She understood the principle: strike down one opponent and you'll keep a hundred at bay. She had come through the same thing herself!
But this time, the one facing a challenge across a whole stage wasn't her. It was her stubborn, straight-shooting junior brother!
How could she stand by and watch him go to his death?
"Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo gently wiped the tears from her cheek, then smiled resolutely. "If you're really worried about me, teach me more swordsmanship."
As for how to defeat a Marrow Cleansing Stage Sword Immortal, he would go ask the Kunlun Ziwei Sect Master himself. Hmph.
Along with his spoken words of self-sacrifice, Ling Yunpo's face showed just the right expression of someone ready to face death and stake everything in one desperate gamble. An Zhisu couldn't help choking up again.
"Junior Brother..."
Seeing this innocent Senior Sister An utterly taken in by Ling Yunpo's fake unyielding persona—and even moved to tears—the Kunlun Mirror inexplicably grew a little angry.
It quietly opened a small gap in Mirror Flower Water Moon once more.
As it weakened the aura of his unyielding persona, it also allowed his true nature to show through.
Hmph. It would remove the mental suggestion too!
An Zhisu: ?
What was that? Had Junior Brother suddenly seemed like a different person just now?
Before, Ling Yunpo had seemed like a steadfast young man who would risk his life even knowing he was heading into a mountain of blades and a sea of fire.
But just now, though it lasted only for an instant, his aura had seemed...
Cunning and calculating? Confident and composed? Not the least bit flustered?
Hmm. Could it be that Junior Brother had already come up with a plan, but couldn't tell her?
Oh, honestly, Junior Brother Ling, why couldn't he discuss his plans with her?
Thinking of this, An Zhisu felt a little puzzled.
But she was, after all, extremely gentle and protective toward her own people. Since her junior brother wasn't willing to say it outright, she certainly wouldn't deliberately expose him. She wiped away her tears, nodded, and smiled brightly:
"Mm, I'll teach you!"
"Whether it's the Dual-Hand Sword Control Technique or any other swordsmanship, I'll teach you everything I know!"
Watching the two of them share such a close bond as siblings, the Kunlun Mirror sank into deep thought.
It had only felt sorry for An Zhisu, so pitiably deceived, and quietly lifted Ling Yunpo's persona disguise to let her see a little of his true nature.
How had that somehow made An Zhisu like him even more?
Before you continue