The Former Sect Master, Yun Shan

"What was that Dou Technique just now?"

Yun Yun nestled in Zi Mo's arms and asked curiously.

"That wasn't a Dou Technique. It was my sword."

Although Yun Zimo still held a grudge against Yun Yun for using her strength to bully him, he nevertheless spoke softly.

"This is the greatest thing I gained from traveling for five years."

He raised his palm and traced a circle in the air. Thirty-six miniature swords flashed into existence, then vanished. Once again, Yun Yun felt as if there were nowhere she could escape.

During his five years of traveling, Yun Zimo had witnessed countless acts of treachery and cruelty. He had burned with anger, yet felt powerless to do anything about it. So he established a mercenary group, and while relentlessly hunting down those he considered evil, he finally comprehended that sword.

"One sword?"

Yun Yun was puzzled. She had clearly seen thirty-six streaks of swordlight seal off her retreat, and the final strike had forced her to use the power of a Dou Emperor. Otherwise, she might even have been injured.

"There's only one sword. I use my soul power to control the remnants of sword energy, splitting them into thirty-six streaks of swordlight to build up power for that one strike. And since I can only split it into thirty-six swords at most, combining them barely reaches the level of a Dou Emperor. On top of that, charging it takes too long. You could say that, for now, this sword is practically useless."

Zi Mo shook his head helplessly. Three breaths of charging might sound quick, but in the eyes of a true expert, one breath was enough to kill you a hundred times over.

"That's how self-created Dou Techniques are. My teacher said it took him a full twenty years to perfect the one he created back then. It was only a middle-grade Profound-tier Dou Technique, and even now, hardly anyone has mastered it."

Yun Yun offered this reassurance, then seemed to think of something. Her eyes widened as she looked at Yun Zimo in delight.

"We can ask my teacher! Didn't he create a Dou Technique himself back then?"

"Th-that wouldn't be right, would it? The former sect master has been in seclusion for years. It wouldn't be very proper to disturb him..."

Yun Zimo was still hesitant. He had already troubled the former sect master several times over his own affairs. Wouldn't it be wrong to disturb the old man's cultivation again over such a small matter?

"My teacher has reached the bottleneck right in front of him. Without some kind of opportunity, he could be stuck there for decades. He's in the rear mountains now, tending flowers and watering them when he has nothing else to do. Maybe one day he'll just suddenly break through."

Yun Yun casually revealed the former sect master Yun Shan's situation, then grabbed Zi Mo and flew toward the rear mountains.

"Hey, sis..."

The rear mountains of Misty Cloud Sect.

A small temple stood amid the woods. A little fenced yard surrounded it, with a tiny flowerbed just a few square feet in size. A huge banyan tree, wide enough for several people to wrap their arms around, swayed in the breeze in the yard. Beneath it, a white-robed, middle-aged man sat quietly with his eyes closed. His white robes stirred, and a few loose strands of hair drifted in the wind, giving him an almost immortal air.

"Teacher, teacher..."

Yun Yun tiptoed into the yard, then carefully knelt on the cushion in front of Yun Shan and called to him in a soft voice.

"Yun'er, instead of handling the sect's affairs, what brings you to see your teacher today?"

Yun Shan did not open his eyes. His warm, resonant voice drifted out, but just one sentence was enough to make Yun Yun's expression fall.

"Every time I see you, the first thing you ask is about the sect!"

"Hahaha..."

Yun Shan chuckled and slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at his disciple with affection.

"While you hold a position, you must fulfill its duties. That was what you taught me. You're already in seclusion, so stop worrying about all that."

"Fine, fine. I promise I won't ask next time. I'm sure Yun'er can manage the sect well."

Yun Yun heard Yun Shan readily agree and thought, How many times have you promised that there wouldn't be a next time...

"Zi Mo, since you're here, why are you hiding behind me?"

Yun Shan beckoned gently, and Yun Zimo, who had been hiding off to the side, was drawn over to him.

"Zi Mo pays his respects to the former sect master."

Given that Yun Shan was of the same generation as his father, and for certain reasons he dared not dwell on, Yun Zimo still offered a respectful bow, as propriety demanded.

Yun Shan watched Yun Zimo with an unreadable smile, then gently raised a hand to support him.

"Whoa!"

Yun Zimo felt his body suddenly grow heavy. He hurriedly circulated his Dou Qi to resist the immense pressure coming from Yun Shan's hand.

In an instant, Yun Shan helped Yun Zimo to his feet. A hint of approval flashed in his eyes, and he pointed, making another cushion appear.

"Sit."

Yun Yun and Zi Mo knelt before Yun Shan. Zi Mo was clearly ill at ease, though, and kept sneaking glances around, as if wondering about something.

"This doesn't look like a place for secluded cultivation,"

Yun Shan said with a soft laugh, as if he had guessed what Zi Mo was thinking.

"Are you imagining that secluded cultivation means a secret chamber guarded by two disciples, with no one else allowed near?"

Yun Zimo flushed with embarrassment. He cursed those ridiculous storybooks for misleading him, then gave an awkward smile and didn't dare answer.

Seeing Zi Mo like this, Yun Shan found him rather amusing. Even the restlessness he felt over being unable to break through eased a little.

Intent on testing them, Yun Shan called over a tea set and brewed tea for them himself. As the tea's fragrance curled through the air, he asked questions from time to time. Zi Mo answered each one fluently, and some of his answers even surpassed Yun Shan's expectations.

The two went back and forth, while Yun Yun sat quietly beside them, her gaze gentle and full of warmth.

"It seems you've grown quite a bit during these five years of travel..."

Yun Shan nodded with a smile. The boy had finally matured a little and no longer clung to that laughable black-and-white view of the world.

"All right, just tell me what you came for. Yun'er, stop giving me those looks."

Yun Shan spoke calmly. Clearly, Yun Yun's little gestures had not escaped him.

"Zi Mo created a sword technique of his own, but it has some serious flaws. We wanted to ask you to give him some pointers."

Yun Yun sat up straight and gazed at Yun Shan with bright, fluttering eyes.

When Yun Yun said it outright, Yun Zimo also looked at Yun Shan with hopeful anticipation.

Yun Shan was speechless. He had thought it was something serious. The two of them had been so hesitant that he'd thought Zi Mo was finally going to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage...

"Come on, let this old man broaden his horizons too. Let's see what astonishing Dou Technique the genius of this generation has come up with."

Hearing Yun Shan agree, Zi Mo quickly stood and bowed respectfully. Then he quieted his mind, gathered the energy throughout his body, and thrust out the strongest sword of his own making.

"What an overwhelming aura!"

"What a strange way to execute it!"

Yun Shan narrowed his eyes in surprise. In his eyes, the move was full of flaws, but among Dou Wangs, it could be called invincible! Of course, that was assuming they gave him three breaths to prepare.

Zi Mo withdrew his aura, and the light returned to his eyes. He looked at Yun Shan, who was deep in thought, feeling anxious.

After a long while, Yun Shan shifted slightly. In the next instant, he formed a sword shape with his fingers. A fiercely sharp sword intent, compressed to the utmost, shot from his fingertip, split through the clouds, and smashed a small hill outside the Imperial Capital.

"Who's there?!"

Several powerful auras shot into the sky. Yun Shan merely released his own aura, and the Dou Emperors and Dou Wangs promptly fell silent and vanished. Only one aura, almost equal in strength to his, hesitated before heading straight for Misty Cloud Mountain.

Yun Zimo furrowed his brow. The move Yun Shan had demonstrated had strayed from the original sword intent, but it had still grown out of that one sword.

"Let the sword follow your heart. Absolute calm alone isn't enough to master the sword. You must ask what's here."

Yun Shan pointed at Yun Zimo's chest, then said no more. Leaving Yun Yun and the thoughtful Zi Mo behind, he disappeared before them.

"Old Man Jia, looks like you haven't made much progress all these years!"

The amused voice reached the ears of the figure speeding through the sky. The ocher-colored streak of light came to an abrupt halt. The linen-robed old man gazed up at the white-robed figure in the air and couldn't help smiling.

"Looks like you've come halfway out of seclusion, you old hermit..."

Feeling that Yun Shan's aura was just a little stronger than his own, the linen-robed Elder Jia replied with familiar ease.

"What? The mountains are peaceful, but you've stopped cultivating?"

Elder Jia looked at his old friend's clear, gentle face and asked with a teasing smile.

"No. I only made it halfway after all these years. There's no point in continuing to cultivate. The younger generation is formidable; teaching the next generation is more worthwhile."

Yun Shan stretched lazily, without a trace of dignity, and replied carelessly.

Yun Shan's attitude surprised Elder Jia. He knew how obsessed the old man was with breaking through to Dou Zong. Back then, to provoke him, Yun Shan had even gone all the way to the Tagor Desert to challenge Queen Medusa. Naturally, the current Queen Medusa had taught him what it meant to say that a Dou Emperor had only two realms.

One was the Dou Emperor, and the other was Medusa...