The Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber comprised four forms: Azure Dragon Form, White Tiger Form, Vermilion Bird Form, and Black Tortoise Form.
Lu Guan had already gained initial mastery, grasping its opening move, Azure Dragon Form.
Yet he vaguely sensed that the four forms of this martial art were not simply independent moves.
White Tiger Form, for instance, required him to perfect Azure Dragon Form before he could master it.
But the martial art contained no record of moves linking the four forms, as though something had deliberately been held back.
Lu Guan had suspected then that this Gang Condensation Realm saber art was not so simple.
Once he perfected all four forms, perhaps he would discover something different.
[Year one: With saber in hand, you performed the Azure Dragon Form you already knew by heart, shaping it with Gang Qi. Its might exceeded that of your True Qi Realm days dozens of times over.] [Year ten: Azure Dragon Form reached perfection. With it as your foundation, you successfully mastered White Tiger Form.] [The White Tiger, foremost among all beasts, bore white fur with dark markings, sawlike fangs and hooked claws. Perched upon stone, it roared into the wind, its might ruling the mountains and wilds.] [It governed autumn's slaughter and presided over righteousness and integrity; through it, weapons gained their stern ferocity.] [You raised your saber, a majestic White Tiger crouching behind you. Its entire body was condensed from Gang Qi, black markings flowing across its fur, its eyes like lamps.] [Year twenty-five: White Tiger Form reached perfection, bringing the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber to minor accomplishment. With White Tiger Form as your foundation, you successfully mastered Vermilion Bird Form.] [The Vermilion Bird, foremost among all birds, resembled a phoenix, with vermilion feathers, a crimson crest, scarlet eyes, and a flaming tail. Its wingbeats kindled flames, and its flight always trailed streaming light.] [It governed summer's growth and presided over rites and letters; through it, civilization shone resplendent.] [You closed your eyes tightly, your saber moving with your intent. The Vermilion Bird spread its wings, its feathers rustling.] [Its entire body was crimson, flames burning upon wings condensed from Gang Qi. With every beat of its wings, the air warped and twisted from the heat.] [Year fifty-two: Vermilion Bird Form reached perfection, bringing the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber to major accomplishment. With Vermilion Bird Form as your foundation, you successfully mastered Black Tortoise Form.] [The Black Tortoise united tortoise and snake, with dark armor and black scales. It crouched in shadow and coiled in darkness, guarding the depths and governing water, perceiving while still, transforming while hidden.] [It governed winter's concealment and presided over wisdom and strategy; through it, all things returned to their roots.] [You held your saber motionless, yet left no openings. The Black Tortoise guarded you from behind, its shell like a mountain, its serpentine tail coiled.] [Year seventy-one: Black Tortoise Form reached perfection. The Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber reached perfection.] [You believed the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber did not end here, and that something further should lie within it.] [Year one hundred: You gained nothing and could not help wondering whether your guess had been wrong.] [Year one hundred and fifty-two: You still refused to give up, but years of failure had long since exhausted you in body and mind. You sat in darkness, no saber in your hand, no light before you. You began to doubt yourself. You even considered giving up.] [Year two hundred and one: After more than a hundred years, you finally glimpsed a thread of hope amid despair.] [Azure Dragon governed spring, White Tiger governed autumn, Vermilion Bird governed summer, and Black Tortoise governed winter. Spring, summer, autumn, winter-the cycle of the four seasons. What were the Four Symbols when united?] [You successfully discovered the profundity hidden deep within the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber.] [As it turned out, the martial art known as the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber was merely the prerequisite for a single incomplete move.] [Four Symbols united, one saber of the Celestial Person.] [Its name was: Celestial Person One Saber Slash.] Inner Landscape · Divine Ability · Celestial Person One Saber Slash (Initial mastery) [Remaining Cultivation: Thirty-nine years]
"Heh, heh..."
On the ground, Lu Guan spat bloody froth and let out a chilling laugh.
A torrent of information flooded his mind, sending him into another daze. His expression twisted, looking agonized.
At the sight, Yuan Guanshan could not help revealing an expression of utter enjoyment.
"Yes, just like that... that very expression."
The boy's wretched state was reflected in its clouded eyes, like an old cat toying with a mouse in its paw.
"No matter how great a genius you are, this is how you look when facing death."
Holding another's life and death in a single thought-that was the very reason it kept growing stronger.
"This ends here... die!"
Yuan Guanshan's expression turned cold. It immediately mobilized the forces of heaven and earth, pressing them viciously down upon Lu Guan.
This was the might of the Inner Landscape Realm.
The forces of heaven and earth closed in from every direction. The air grew unbearably heavy, as though the entire sky were falling.
"Until you ascend to this realm, you will never understand a cultivator's strength..."
Yet before it could finish speaking, the old ape's expression abruptly froze.
What... what's happening?
Why-why could it no longer mobilize even a trace of the forces of heaven and earth?!
Then it wheeled around.
At the end of the street, two figures slowly approached.
Walking in front was a man wearing a black bamboo hat, fitted black clothes, and a cloak draped over his shoulders.
Behind him followed a petite young woman wearing an ill-fitting, oversized black robe. It was Yu Qianqian.
Yuan Guanshan automatically disregarded the young girl, whose presence was merely at the Qi and Blood Realm, and fixed its savage eyes upon the other person.
The man stopped and raised a hand to remove his hat, revealing an ordinary face.
He was in his forties, with plain features and nothing distinctive about his brows or eyes.
Yet a gold token hung at his waist, inscribed with the words [Demon-Slaying Envoys].
Yuan Guanshan's pupils contracted sharply, deep wariness flashing in its eyes.
The Demon-Slaying Envoys were another of Great Li's instruments of force.
Unlike the Demon Suppression Bureau, the Demon-Slaying Envoys were fewer in number and higher in realm. Even the lowest-ranking bronze-token Demon-Slaying Envoys were Gang Condensation Realm martial artists.
And this man before it, with a gold token at his waist, was none other than a Gold-Token Demon-Slaying Envoys!
Even among those in the Inner Landscape Realm, he was by no means an ordinary figure.
"Are you certain you want to act?" Yuan Guanshan stared fixedly at the newcomer, its voice tight. "Think carefully. Can You Province, as it is now, withstand the wrath of my Fruitless Cave?"
Its words remained defiant, but its body had already leaned slightly backward. The moment it confirmed the other party intended to strike, it would flee.
The old ape knew exactly how much it weighed.
It had only advanced to the Inner Landscape Realm at the very limit of its lifespan. Bullying martial artists of lower realms was naturally effortless.
But against experts of the same realm, it was practically at the bottom.
It was not even a match for Sun Ying, let alone a Gold-Token Demon-Slaying Envoys who was stronger still.
What terrifying cultivation did it take to silently seal off all the forces of heaven and earth here?
"Uncle Chen, that's the Lu Guan I mentioned in my letter," Yu Qianqian said beside him.
Her voice was somewhat urgent, her gaze passing over Chen Jingchou's shoulder to settle on Lu Guan, on the ground in the distance.
The boy was covered in blood, his face deathly pale, yet a strange smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
Her heart instantly tightened.
Damn it... was Lu Guan beaten senseless?
At her words, Chen Jingchou nodded silently.
He raised his eyes toward the ape demon before him, a trace of disdain flashing through them.
It was at the very bottom of the Inner Landscape Realm, and injured besides.
If he could not kill it with one saber strike, he would be unworthy of his status as a Gold-Token Demon-Slaying Envoys.
"The Demon-Slaying Envoys accept no threats!"
His fingers shifted, settling on the saber hilt at his waist.
But just then, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Beside the old ape, the boy who had been lying on the ground stood up.