Something Is Wrong with This Mountain

Inside the Divine Eagle Guard's Forbidden Army Camp.

The middle-aged scholar lay on his side upon a couch, propping up his head with one hand while holding a scroll in the other, reading it intently.

Before him, a young man knelt on both knees, his forehead pressed to the ground, not daring to raise his head.

Blood seeped across the floor.

After a long while, the middle-aged scholar finally asked in an indifferent tone, "What did His Majesty say?"

The young man lifted his head. He was none other than Qi Daojie, the young master of the Qi Family, yet he was utterly different from before.

He wore coarse clothes, his hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in dust.

"His Majesty has ordered this disciple into the Death Camp of the Western Frontier. Only after earning one hundred thousand merits may I leave the camp."

"Since the Imperial Decree has been issued, then go. What business do you have coming to me?" The middle-aged scholar's tone remained even, as though it had nothing to do with him.

Qi Daojie's face turned ashen. One hundred thousand merits were enough to be granted the rank of Third-Rank General and command one hundred thousand soldiers.

Killing one enemy counted as one merit. Killing a Profound Martial Low Rank soldier counted as ten merits, while killing a Profound Martial Middle Rank soldier counted as one hundred.

Though skirmishes still occasionally broke out along the border, how many years would it take to amass one hundred thousand merits?

He had come here to beg for help. If his master were willing to speak on his behalf, His Majesty would surely show him some consideration. But upon hearing his master's words, he could not even bring himself to utter his plea.

His master, Qin Wuya, was a Sword Saint of his generation. His sword heart was lucid and clear; he was like his sword—once drawn, it never regretted. Since those words had left his mouth, he would never change his mind because of Qi Daojie.

Qi Daojie knocked his head against the ground again. With tears in his voice, he said, "This disciple caused a great disaster and forced Master to leave the mountain to make up for my mistakes. Even ten thousand deaths could not absolve my guilt. Once I depart for the frontier, I do not know when I may return. In the future, I will no longer be able to serve at your side and repay your kindness. Therefore, I came before leaving to bid farewell to Master. I beg you to take care of yourself and not worry over this disciple."

Qin Wuya said calmly, "Go."

Qi Daojie knocked his head heavily against the ground three more times, then walked out of the camp tent in a daze. Outside, he lifted his head toward North Spring Mountain. He had never imagined that he, a Grandmaster's disciple with a boundless future—someone who might even become a Grandmaster himself—would end up like this because of one incident. Every shred of hatred in his heart was carved onto Gu Yuanqing.

The tragic part was that Gu Yuanqing was living well in the mountains, sheltered by a Grandmaster behind him.

Meanwhile, Qi Daojie had been stripped of everything and sent to the frontier, while his own master had to remain below the mountain for the other man, cleaning up the consequences of what Qi Daojie had done.

"Young Master Qi, time to go."

A squad of soldiers stepped forward, carrying shackles, chains, and fetters.

Qi Daojie drew a deep breath, brought his hands together, and extended them forward.

Only after Qi Daojie had gone far away did the middle-aged scholar step outside. With his hands clasped behind his back, he watched the direction in which his disciple had departed, his expression calm and unreadable.

Then, abruptly, he turned to look eastward, a sharp gleam bursting from his eyes.

"Have you finally come?"

He reached toward the camp tent from afar. True force swept up the long sword inside and sent it flying into his hand. In an instant, the scholarly air about him faded, and a surge of Sword Intent shot into the heavens.

Every soldier nearby felt their hearts skip a beat. The immense pressure crushed down upon them until they could scarcely breathe.

Qin Wuya leaped into the air, gliding dozens of zhang like a great bird. He lightly tapped a treetop, then soared onward once more.

"Is this a Grandmaster?"

Zhang Zhuo murmured to himself. In that instant, he had felt as though all the True Qi in his body and even his consciousness had frozen solid, leaving him unable to move at all.

At the same time, around North Spring Mountain, cultivators above the Profound Martial High Rank all raised their heads and looked toward Hongyan Mountain. Countless birds erupted from there into flight, soon followed by every bird nearby. The beasts in the mountains also seemed to sense a natural predator and fled in every direction.

An old man in hempen robes put down his wine jug and rose to his feet, smiling. "A Grandmaster... he has finally come."

The other cultivators reacted a little slower, but the inexplicable palpitations made their hearts race. Seeing the birds filling the sky and the fleeing beasts, they knew something must have happened.

"A Grandmaster! A Grandmaster is about to make a move!"

Someone shouted, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Come on, let's go take a look! A battle between Grandmasters is something one might not see in decades. Don't miss it!"

Countless people of the martial world hurried toward Dangling Goose Mountain.

Within North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing was jolted awake from his cultivation. This aura vastly surpassed the peak of the Profound Martial Ninth Layer. The newcomer's identity needed no explanation.

"Have you finally come?"

With a wave of his hand, the Kunwu Sword flew from inside the house into his grasp. He sprang up, vaulted over the courtyard wall, and reached the Scenery Pavilion in several strides.

Of the two old servants, the old man had also noticed something amiss. He gestured rapidly at Feng Tao.

The middle-aged woman stared blankly for a long while before finally understanding. She nodded repeatedly, signaling that she would not leave the house.

The two elderly men atop Hongyan Mountain Waterfall had already leaped down from the summit. The short old man went to meet Qin Wuya, while the other headed straight for North Spring Mountain.

Qin Wuya had already spotted them both. His expression tightened slightly, and with a shift in his Movement Technique, he pursued the old man who intended to ascend North Spring Mountain.

"Qin Wuya, I am your opponent!"

The short old man gave a shrill laugh. His heavy sword was already in his hand, and riding the momentum of his plunge from the mountain, he slashed down through the air at Qin Wuya.

Heaven and man converged, Vital Energy gathered, and the sword strike stretched twenty zhang at once. Its Qi locked onto Qin Wuya, enveloping the ten-zhang area before him.

The flowers, grass, and trees within that range all bent to the ground. In that instant, even the earth itself seemed to sink by a fraction.

Qin Wuya came to an abrupt halt.

"Chu Wusheng, the Sword Demon of the Heavenly Fiend Sect!"

"Haha, I never thought you would still remember this old man!" The short old man withdrew his sword momentum, drifting lightly to the ground as though that peerless strike from moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.

This was a Grandmaster—both cultivation and skill perfected to the utmost!

"Rather than spending your old age in the Heavenly Fiend Sect, you dared trespass into the Forbidden Ground of Great Gan. It seems you have truly lived long enough." Qin Wuya's tone was indifferent.

Chu Wusheng was smiling as he prepared to answer when he suddenly turned toward North Spring Mountain and roared, "Jiang the Hunchback, what are you doing? I'm holding Qin Wuya back for you, so why aren't you going up the mountain?"

The hunchbacked old man stopped at the edge of North Spring Mountain. He looked up the mountain, his expression shifting between light and dark.

Grandmasters could sense heaven and man, and their hearts could stir with foreboding. Just as he had been about to dart up North Spring Mountain, his heart had pounded violently, as though the moment he stepped inside, a calamity that would bury him beneath the heavens would descend!

He turned toward Chu Wusheng and said hoarsely, "There is something wrong with this mountain. If I go up, I may die!"

Chu Wusheng flew into a rage. "You old bastard, if you're afraid of death, why did you send word to me?"

Qin Wuya also recognized the other man: Jiang Hongguang, Old Man Tianzhu of Star Sea Valley. This old fellow was still alive?

These two were both Grandmasters of the previous generation. Their names had not been heard for decades. By rights, they should have already passed the two-hundred-year limit, yet they had unexpectedly appeared here today.

Jiang Hongguang's expression was grave as he shook his head. "This is different. Even when I faced Mu Shengxue last time, I never felt anything like this."

"What?" Chu Wusheng's expression changed as well.

Mu Shengxue—the Number One Person of the Great Gan Dynasty fifty years ago, the sect master of the Blood Shadow Sect—had stood only half a step away from surpassing Grandmaster.

Back then, the Imperial Court and the sects had gathered nine Grandmasters to join forces in besieging Blood Shadow Island, all to kill Mu Shengxue alone.

The previous time both sides had cooperated with such unity had been two hundred years ago, when they destroyed the Crimson Dragon Cult!