Duan Lang

Mount Tianshan in the dead of night stood like a colossal pillar between heaven and earth.

Though darkness had already shrouded the entire mountain, Mount Tianshan was destined not to be peaceful tonight.

Ao Feng, the eldest young master of Sword Worship Villa, had stormed World Society alone with his master, Sword Demon, and abducted World Society's leader, Xiong Ba. The news seemed to have sprouted wings, spreading throughout the martial world within a single day.

World Society was now in complete chaos. Though Qin Shuang was Xiong Ba's first disciple, he lacked experience. Xiong Ba's sudden disappearance had thrown him into a panic, and by the time he recovered enough to try sealing off the news, it was already too late.

With certain people deliberately spreading it, the news of Xiong Ba's disappearance could no longer be concealed.

And at this moment, the most important matter was no longer the rumors circulating through the martial world. As long as Xiong Ba could be found, everything would not be too terrible.

Every martial artist in World Society had been dispatched to search the entirety of Mount Tianshan.

Li Chenfeng became a phantom in the night, passing over the heads of World Society disciples who were conducting their search as he headed toward World Society's headquarters.

Under Li Chenfeng's coercion, Xiong Ba had written down the cultivation methods for his Three Absolutes Divine Skill and Three-Part Return-to-Origin Qi. However, Li Chenfeng could not yet confirm whether those manuals were genuine, so he had come to verify them personally.

As for Xiong Ba himself, he was still unable to move. Li Chenfeng had hidden him in a cave and had even set up some cover at its entrance.

After all, Xiong Ba currently had virtually no ability to resist. He himself did not wish to be found at such a time.

Not even if those who found him were members of World Society. In Xiong Ba's heart, he trusted no one but himself!

"Huh?" A World Society member carrying a torch made a puzzled sound as he looked up into the darkness overhead.

"What is it?" someone beside him asked.

"It seemed like a bird just flew over my head."

The member who had spoken also raised his head to look. Other than the pitch-black night sky, he saw no trace of any bird.

"Enough, stop imagining things! The leader has gone missing, and the hall master has given a death order. We must find news of the leader as quickly as possible! Move!"

"Ah, yes, I understand." The torch-bearing member answered repeatedly and hurried after the group.

Li Chenfeng naturally knew nothing of what had happened here. After evading more than a dozen search parties from World Society, he arrived at the quarters where the society's servants lived.

In one courtyard, Li Chenfeng suddenly spotted a disciple practicing martial arts. The boy looked only around ten years old, his face still childish, yet there was a trace of heroic spirit gathered between his brows. Holding a wooden stick as a sword, he practiced the most basic thrusting technique. Though his small body was already trembling somewhat, his face remained filled with determination.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Duan Lang, you're still practicing your swordsmanship? Trash like you would still be a servant disciple even if you practiced yourself to death!"

A voice rang out from the side. Two disciples of roughly the same age emerged from a room, apparently intending to relieve themselves. When they saw Duan Lang practicing his sword, they could not help mocking him.

"Haha, that's not right. You should know that he's the son of Duan Shuai, the Southern Qilin Sword Chief. He's working so hard to become the leader's disciple!"

"Him? He's nothing but trash. So what if his father was the Southern Qilin Sword Chief? Didn't he still die without rhyme or reason? And now this fool wants to rise to the top and become someone like Young Master Feng? What a dream!"

"Enough, enough. Don't waste words on trash. I still want to go back to sleep. Besides, things aren't peaceful in the society right now. Today, I secretly saw..."

The two whispered as they walked toward a distant corner of the wall, then began urinating.

Young Duan Lang silently listened to their mockery. The hand gripping his wooden stick trembled continuously, clearly trying his utmost to suppress the fury in his heart.

He, Duan Lang, had been strictly disciplined by his father since childhood, but he had never suffered such humiliation.

His father, Duan Shuai, the Southern Qilin Sword Chief, had always been the idol Duan Lang worshipped in his heart.

Yet after coming to World Society, he had become a servant responsible for tending horses. Meanwhile, Nie Feng, who had arrived with him, had been directly accepted by Xiong Ba as his third disciple and became the "Young Master Feng" everyone spoke of. It had nearly shattered Duan Lang's proud heart!

Over these years, it was not only that servant disciples his own age bullied him. More importantly, even Xiong Ba had never once given him a proper look. His identity as the son of the Southern Qilin Sword Chief had instead become something Xiong Ba used to show off before others.

At first, whenever these servant disciples mocked him, Duan Lang would strike out and teach them a lesson. With Nie Feng occasionally helping him, he could maintain the upper hand among the servant disciples.

But over the past two years, as Nie Feng constantly entered seclusion to cultivate the Wind God Leg divine skill taught by Xiong Ba, the chances for the two to meet became fewer and fewer.

And Duan Lang himself did not want to keep relying on Nie Feng.

He chose to endure most of their mockery. Yet during this time, he trained even harder, always hoping his efforts would earn Xiong Ba's attention, allowing him to be accepted as a disciple and taught divine skills.

But all of it seemed like flowers in a mirror and the moon in water, forever out of reach!

After finishing, the two disciples staggered back toward their room. As they passed Duan Lang, they let out another mocking laugh.

Duan Lang's sword-practicing hand paused once more. A trace of bitterness appeared on his face. He shook his head, drove away the distracting thoughts in his mind, and continued practicing.

On the roof, Li Chenfeng quietly watched the small figure below.

"Duan Lang... Although he has suffered considerable humiliation at this point, his nature remains kind, and he possesses a stubborn refusal to admit defeat. He is not a bad prospect for martial arts!"

However, because of Li Chenfeng's interference, the secret of the Duan Clan martial arts that Duan Shuai had left behind had been taken by Li Chenfeng. As a result, Duan Lang had spent the past two years cultivating only the most basic internal cultivation methods, while his sword techniques were merely the basic moves his father had taught him before. Thus, his current strength was quite different from the original story.

Whoosh...!

Li Chenfeng's figure flickered. He became like a feather, drifting lightly down before Duan Lang.

"Who?"

Duan Lang was greatly startled. He thrust the wooden stick in his hand straight at the suddenly appearing figure, only to see the other man casually raise a hand and press it lightly upon his shoulder. Not only did this prevent his attack from being unleashed, it rendered his entire body unable to move.

"Who are you?" Duan Lang asked, his voice carrying a hint of shock.

"Who am I? That isn't important. But I would like to know who you are," Li Chenfeng's calm voice sounded beside Duan Lang's ear.

Duan Lang looked at the man before him without answering.

"Heh. The son of Duan Shuai, the Southern Qilin Sword Chief, has become a lowly servant of World Society, left to suffer humiliation from others. Are you truly willing to accept that?" Li Chenfeng asked as he looked at Duan Lang with pity in his eyes.