The Old Sect Master Yun Shan

"What was that Dou Technique just now?"

Yun Yun asked curiously, nestled in the arms of Yun Zimo.

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

Although Yun Zimo still harbored a grudge over how Yun Yun had used her superior strength to bully him, he still spoke softly.

"This is the greatest harvest from my five years of traveling."

He drew a circle in the air with his palm, and thirty-six miniature swords flashed and vanished. A sense of inescapable doom once again descended upon Yun Yun.

During his five years of travel, Yun Zimo had grown accustomed to deceit and ruthlessness. Feeling both angry and powerless, he had established a mercenary group, and in the process of hunting down what he deemed evil, he finally realized that sword.

"A single sword?"

Yun Yun was somewhat puzzled. She had clearly seen thirty-six sword lights cutting off her retreat, and that final strike had forced her to use her full Dou Emperor strength, or she might have been injured.

"It is only one sword. I simply use my soul power to control the sword energy remnants, splitting them into thirty-six sword lights to build momentum for that one strike. It is precisely because I can only manifest thirty-six swords at most—and only by merging them can I barely reach the level of a Dou Emperor—that, combined with the long charge time, this sword is quite useless for now."

Zimo shook his head helplessly. While three seconds of charging might sound fast, in the eyes of a true expert, one second is enough to kill you a hundred times over.

"Self-created Dou Techniques are all like that. Teacher said it took him a full twenty years to perfect his own, and that technique was only Xuan-tier Intermediate. Even now, very few have managed to master it."

Yun Yun comforted him, then, as if thinking of something, she blinked and looked at Yun Zimo with pleasant surprise.

"We can ask Teacher! Didn't he create his own Dou Technique back in the day?"

"This... is that really appropriate? The Old Sect Master has been in seclusion for many years; disturbing him is always a bit..."

Yun Zimo was still hesitant. He had already troubled the Old Sect Master several times because of his own affairs; to disturb the old man's quiet cultivation for such a trivial matter, wouldn't that be...

"Teacher's cultivation has reached a bottleneck. Without some sort of opportunity, he could be stuck for decades. He's just in the back mountain now, tending to flowers and watering plants. Who knows? He might have a breakthrough any day now."

Yun Yun casually spilled the beans on Yun Shan's situation, grabbed Zimo, and flew off toward the back mountain.

"Hey, Sister..."

Back Mountain of Yunlan Sect.

A small Taoist temple sat nestled among the mountain forests. A fenced courtyard surrounded the temple, containing a small flower bed only a few inches wide. A massive banyan tree, wide enough for several people to embrace, swayed in the breeze within the yard. Beneath the tree, a middle-aged man in white robes sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. His white clothes stirred slightly, and a few stray locks of hair drifted in the wind, giving him a rather ethereal, immortal appearance.

"Teacher, Teacher..."

Yun Yun tiptoed into the courtyard, quietly knelt on the cushion before Yun Shan, and called out softly and cautiously.

"Yun'er, you aren't in the sect handling worldly affairs; what brings you to your teacher's side today?"

Yun Shan did not open his eyes, his gentle and resonant voice drifting out. Yet, this single sentence caused Yun Yun's face to fall.

"Every time I see you, your first sentence is always about the sect!"

"Hahaha..."

Yun Shan laughed and slowly blinked, his eyes filled with affection as he looked at his disciple.

"To be in a position is to fulfill its duties; that is what you taught me. Since you are already in quiet cultivation, you should stop worrying about these things."

"Fine, fine, fine. Your teacher will certainly not ask next time. I believe Yun'er will surely manage the sect well."

Seeing Yun Shan agree so readily, Yun Yun thought to herself, how many times have you said 'certainly next time' already...

"Zimo, since you're here, why are you still hiding?"

Yun Shan beckoned gently, and Yun Zimo, who had been hiding to the side, was drawn forward by an invisible force until he landed before him.

"Zimo pays his respects to the Old Sect Master."

Regarding this Sect Master who was of the same generation as his own father—and for other reasons he dared not dwell upon—it was only right and proper that he offer a solemn salute.

Yun Shan stared at Yun Zimo with a half-smile and gently raised a hand to support him.

"Whoa!"

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

In an instant, Yun Shan lifted Yun Zimo up, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes as he pointed to a spot where another cushion appeared.

"Sit."

Yun Yun and Zimo knelt before Yun Shan, though Zimo was clearly somewhat restrained, occasionally glancing around and wondering what to do.

"It doesn't look like a place for quiet cultivation,"

Yun Shan seemed to see through Zimo's thoughts and said with a light laugh.

"Are you thinking that quiet cultivation should be in a secret chamber, guarded by two disciples, with no one allowed to approach?"

Yun Zimo's face flushed with embarrassment. He cursed those wretched novels for deceiving him and smiled awkwardly, not daring to answer.

Seeing Zimo's expression, Yun Shan found it quite interesting, and his heart, which had been feeling somewhat restless due to his inability to break through, calmed down a little.

Intending to test them, Yun Shan reached out to summon tea sets and brewed tea for the two of them himself. As the fragrance of the tea swirled, Yun Shan asked questions from time to time, and Zimo answered them fluently, some even exceeding Yun Shan's expectations.

The two engaged in a back-and-forth, while Yun Yun, kneeling quietly to the side, watched with soft, tender eyes.

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

Yun Shan nodded with a smile. This boy had finally matured a little and was no longer clinging to those ridiculous, black-and-white notions.

"Alright, if there is something to say, just say it directly. Yun Yun, stop with the winking."

Yun Shan spoke indifferently; clearly, the small movements Yun Yun was making on the side had not escaped his notice.

"It is just that Zimo has created a sword technique of his own, but it has significant flaws. I wanted to ask you to help provide some guidance."

Yun Yun sat up straight, her eyes blinking as she gazed at Yun Shan.

Seeing that Yun Yun had spoken directly, Yun Zimo also looked at Yun Shan with eyes full of anticipation.

Yun Shan was speechless. He had thought it was some major matter, and seeing the two of them acting so coy, he had even assumed that Zimo was finally going to ask for his blessing to marry...

"Come then, let this old man have a look and see what kind of earth-shattering Dou Technique this generation's prodigy has created."

Hearing Yun Shan's agreement, Zimo hurriedly stood up and bowed solemnly. He then quickly calmed his mind, mobilized the aura throughout his body, and thrust out the strongest sword strike he possessed.

"Such a powerful momentum!"

"What a bizarre way of execution!"

Yun Shan narrowed his eyes in surprise. Although in his eyes this move was riddled with holes, at the Dou King realm, it could be called invincible! Provided, of course, that one could be granted three breaths of time.

Zimo withdrew his momentum, the brilliance returning to his eyes. He looked at the contemplative Yun Shan, feeling nervous in his heart.

After a long while, Yun Shan's figure shifted slightly. In the next instant, he curled his fingers into a sword shape, and a fiercely sharp sword intent, compressed to the extreme, shot out from his fingertips, tearing through the clouds and shattering a small hill outside the Imperial Capital.

"Who goes there!"

Several powerful auras soared into the sky. Yun Shan merely released his own aura, and those few Dou Emperors and Dou Kings immediately vanished. Only one aura, which was almost on par with his own, hesitated for a moment before heading straight for Misty Cloud Mountain.

Yun Zimo frowned deeply. Although the move Yun Shan had demonstrated had deviated from the original sword intent, it was ultimately derived from that very strike.

"The sword follows the heart. You cannot master the sword by relying solely on absolute calmness; you must ask this here."

Yun Shan pointed to Yun Zimo's chest, then said nothing more. Leaving Yun Yun and the deep-in-thought Zimo behind, his figure vanished before them.

"Old man Jia, it seems you haven't made much progress after all these years!"

A light chuckle reached the ears of the speeding figure. The earthy-yellow stream of light suddenly halted. The old man in the hempen robe looked on with leisurely eyes, and upon seeing the white-robed figure in mid-air, he could not help but smile.

"It seems you, this old fellow who has been cultivating in seclusion, have finally taken half a step out..."

Feeling that Yun Shan's aura was slightly higher than his own, the hempen-robed Elder Jia responded with great familiarity.

"What? Is the mountain life too leisurely, or have you stopped your cultivation?"

Elder Jia looked at his old friend's gentle, jade-like, and clean face, speaking in a half-joking manner.

"No more. After all these years, I have only managed half a step; continuing to cultivate is useless. The younger generation is formidable, so it is more practical to teach the juniors instead."

Yun Shan stretched lazily, completely unconcerned as he replied.

Yun Shan's attitude caught Elder Jia by surprise. He knew full well how strong this old man's obsession with breaking through to the Dou Ancestor realm was. Back then, to stimulate himself, he had even run off to the Tagor Desert to challenge Queen Medusa. Of course, the result was that the current Queen Medusa made him understand that there are actually only two realms of Dou Emperor.

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