Suppress Jiangnan

Baling Prefecture.

It was the season in March when warmth had only just returned, yet the chill still lingered. The mountains were emerald green, their peaks dark as painted brows.

One of Great Jing's foremost sword sects, the Hengshan Sword Sect, stood proudly in Baling.

Today, the Hengshan disciples had neglected their morning practice, all gathering at the mountain gate to look out.

Even Mo Taichong, the usually stern Punishment Elder, was not urging the disciples on. Instead, his face was full of worry.

"Senior Brother, is that Guo Bei Swordsman coming today?"

Among Hengshan's many elders, the most renowned were Punishment Elder Mo Taichong, Sword Lecture Elder Cheng Taikang, and Scripture Elder Lu Taiqiu. Together, they were known as the Hengshan Three Swords.

Lu Taiqiu was already past sixty, his hair entirely silver. Yet his complexion was rosy and unwrinkled. Dressed in a dark blue robe, he would certainly have been taken for an immortal in the mundane world.

"Junior Brother Mo, don't worry. The Sect Master's Illusion Sword Lightness Skill is unrivaled under heaven. Even if he cannot defeat the Guo Bei Swordsman, he will have no trouble protecting himself." Lu Taiqiu looked expectant as he waited here with Mo Taichong under the Sect Master's orders to receive their guest.

But this guest was no honored visitor. He could even be called an unwelcome one.

Two years ago, in Jingxing Year 4 of Great Jing, a young swordsman had burst onto the martial scene and swiftly risen to fame.

In his first battle, he challenged the Yanshan Eighteen Water Strongholds one after another. None of the eighteen vicious stronghold chiefs could withstand a single strike of his sword.

After that,

he challenged the Lingnan Blade King.

Blade against blade, he severed one of the Lingnan Blade King's arms.

The Lingnan Blade King was a renowned hero of the realm. From then on, the young swordsman's name became widely known.

When those he fought asked for his name, the young swordsman claimed to have come from Guo Bei County. Thus, the martial world called him the Guo Bei Swordsman.

Afterward, he challenged Fist Suppressor of Jingchu Teng Tong, meeting all one hundred and eight fists head-on and shattering the meridians in Teng Tong's arms.

He fought the Great River Dragon King aboard a ship. His lightness skill of skimming duckweed and treading water left others far behind. Fortunately for the Dragon King, he held the advantage on the water and leaped into the river to flee when he saw things turning bad.

He then defeated the Bayu Sword Immortal with swordsmanship, suppressed the Jiangyou Divine Palm with sheer strength, and blew apart the Bamin Insect Demon, who was famed for his poison arts...

After that, he challenged eighteen masters across Jiangnan without suffering a single defeat.

Only Vajra Chan Master, known as the strongest in terms of brute strength below the Grandmaster realm, possessed the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and an impenetrable body. When he tested strength against the Guo Bei Swordsman, neither emerged victorious.

After news of that battle spread, the Guo Bei Swordsman's name shook Jiangnan, and he was called the Guo Bei Sword Saint.

The number of people he challenged then grew ever smaller. They had to be truly formidable—at the very least, half-step Innate Realm experts who had opened the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and could circulate the Minor Circulation.

Last month, Luo Pengyun, known in the martial world as the Lingnan Great Hero, was renowned for his martial arts. He was also the court-appointed Eight Prefectures Chief Constable, specifically responsible for mediating matters within the martial world.

Luo Pengyun declared that he would compete with the Guo Bei Sword Saint. He even sent out invitations and invited many fellow practitioners and friends.

Yet before the day of their decisive battle arrived, the Guo Bei Sword Saint came to his door. His swift sword was peerless and unmatched, pinning the Great Hero to death in his own home. He left behind four words: "Deceiving the world, falsely claiming to be a great hero," turning him into a laughingstock.

From then on, his fame rose another level, and ordinary masters no longer dared challenge him lightly. Some senior figures who knew their reputations exceeded their abilities suddenly began traveling far and wide, refusing to give the Guo Bei Sword Saint any chance to challenge them.

Yet his reputation also suffered considerably. Many clamored that the Guo Bei Swordsman did not understand the rules. Since they had agreed on a date for their match, why had he gone to Luo Pengyun's door in private?

"That day, the Lingnan Great Hero happened to have diarrhea, which was why the Guo Bei Swordsman managed to take advantage of him. Such petty conduct—his victory was dishonorable!"

The Lingnan Great Hero had countless righteous friends. They flattered one another and carried one another's sedan chairs, happily making a living in the martial world. Then some inexperienced brat came along, ignorant of the rules, and simply overturned the table and smashed their rice bowls.

The younger generation was left utterly bewildered by their bluster, but the true martial sects saw things clearly. So long as Grandmasters did not emerge, the Guo Bei Sword Saint was unquestionably among the greatest experts in the realm.

Ten days ago,

the Guo Bei Sword Saint had headed straight for Hengshan.

The entire Hengshan Sect was on edge. The Hengshan Three Swords knew their own limits and understood whom he had come for.

The former Hengshan Sect Master, the Thousand Illusions Senluo Sword, Mo Wentian.

"He's here! He's here!"

Suddenly, someone came sprinting up from the mountain path, shouting excitedly. It was a Hengshan disciple skilled in lightness skill, assigned to keep watch and report from the foot of the mountain.

Behind him, a blue figure followed like a shadow.

Neither fast nor slow, neither hurried nor flustered.

When they looked closer, they found that he was a tall, slender young man.

He looked no older than twenty or so. His features were ordinary rather than handsome, but his face was like warm jade and his bearing like a verdant pine. Vigorous youthfulness seemed to rush toward them.

Most striking were his eyes, clear as water and deep as an abyss.

Zhou Yi.

The famed "Guo Bei Sword Saint" of Jiangnan—and indeed, all of Great Jing!

Over the past two years, this young man had risen swiftly to fame and was said to have no equal among his generation.

Some idle people had compiled a ranking of Great Jing's younger generation of masters. After discovering that the Guo Bei Sword Saint ranked first, they found that no one dared rank second.

It was not that the martial world lacked successors, but that the gap was simply too vast. Those ranked second feared he would come knocking and all demanded to be removed from the list.

Afterward, Zhou Yi was excluded from the young masters' ranking and placed alongside the older generation of experts.

The older generation could date back a hundred years. No one knew whether some old monsters were dead or alive. Between the demonic sect leader who had been invincible throughout the realm a century ago and the Blade God who had dominated mountains and rivers with his blade fifty years ago, who was stronger?

There was simply no way to rank them. Either might have broken through to become an Innate Grandmaster. Who dared discuss them behind their backs?

That Zhou Yi could be compared to such figures was already an immense affirmation of him.

Against such a formidable opponent,

how could the Hengshan Sect not be afraid?

Mo Taichong had a violent temper. Though he knew the other man had come with ill intent, he had no choice but to calm himself and offer a smiling salute.

"Is this the Guo Bei Sword Saint?"

Zhou Yi smiled faintly and cupped his fists. "I am merely twenty years old and unworthy of the title Sword Saint. The Hengshan Three Swords are renowned throughout Jiangnan. You are naturally my seniors."

"Unworthy, unworthy. The three of us merely relied on our years to endure until we gained a little empty fame. There is no order in learning; the accomplished are the teachers. This old man has lived sixty-seven years in vain, yet I still must call you Little Senior."

Lu Taiqiu was genuinely warm. The older he grew, the younger he seemed, like an old child. He often teased the Hengshan disciples.

If his understanding of the scriptures had not been so thorough that no one in Hengshan could rival him, he would have long since been driven from his post as Scripture Elder.

Mo Taichong's expression stiffened. He glared at Lu Taiqiu. This fellow truly was unreliable. He could not understand why their Sect Master had sent this old man to receive the guest.

The Hengshan Sword Sect had been passed down for eight hundred years. In a few more generations, it would become a millennium-old sect. Even if it could not compare with Martial Shaolin, it was still renowned throughout the martial world. How could they admit inferiority before a young man the moment they met?

Yet Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed. As expected of a sect with centuries of inheritance. This old man's spirit is clearly complete, and he is even stronger than I am.

Over the past two years, he had traversed the Sixteen Prefectures of Jiangnan and challenged twenty-eight masters. All along the way, he was either fighting or traveling to fight.

He had slept rough and eaten whatever he could find, risking his life in deadly battles.

Outsiders saw only Zhou Yi's undefeated record and regarded him as a great hero among heroes. How could they know the dangers he had faced?

Take Vajra Chan Master, for instance. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit had all reached completion, and he cultivated the renowned Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill.

When Zhou Yi had tested himself against him, he relied on draining his Origin to restore his strength, barely managing to remain undefeated. Moreover, he had sensed that the old Chan master possessed a secret spiritual attack technique that he had not used. Otherwise, defeat would have been inevitable.

The Buddhist Sect's eminent monks devoted themselves wholeheartedly to attaining the Arhat Body and had long disdained victory and defeat.

After that battle, Zhou Yi's state of mind advanced tremendously.

In his subsequent matches, he rarely dealt killing blows, instead stopping once the point had been made.

Except for a certain Great Hero who publicly deceived the world while secretly committing every kind of evil.

Since he had come to Zhou Yi's door seeking death, Zhou Yi would not show mercy.