Hearing Duan Langcai's words, the two were startled.
He had even called the senior Grandpa. Clearly, the senior was not putting on an act, and they immediately felt a little envious and jealous of Duan Langcai.
"Since the senior's reputation wasn't undeserved, why were you injured and left so dejected?" the woman surnamed Fang asked in confusion.
Admiration flashed in Duan Langcai's eyes. "Grandpa was already a long-established figure when my sect master was still young. But some years ago, he was gravely wounded in the Forbidden Zone of Life and lost all his cultivation. That was why he concealed his identity and came to the Youzhou Continent to recuperate. His injuries have now healed, and within a few days, he'll be able to return to his peak cultivation."
At this, Duan Langcai sighed. "I only demonstrated the Ghost Shadow Sword once and told Grandpa its principles, and he pointed out six mistakes. He said that if those six mistakes could be corrected, the Ghost Shadow Sword would definitely reach Heaven Grade, perhaps even surpass it and reach Spirit Grade. Naturally, I begged him, but he told me to comprehend it for myself. If I could comprehend it, would I still be in this state?"
The young man surnamed Lü sneered. "You believed him just because he said so? I can point out six mistakes for you too."
"If you insult my grandpa again, Lü, I, Duan Langcai, will kill you even if it means offending the Golden Yang Sect!" Duan Langcai shot the young man surnamed Lü a fierce glare.
The young man curled his lip. "Am I wrong?"
"Wrong?" Duan Langcai scoffed. "If you'd seen how terrifying the Ghost Shadow Sword was when Grandpa used it, you wouldn't be saying that."
The woman surnamed Fang was shocked. "The senior knows the Ghost Shadow Sword too? Isn't it a secret technique the Sword Attendant Sect never teaches outsiders?"
Duan Langcai smiled bitterly. "Isn't it? But what Grandpa used really was the Ghost Shadow Sword. He suppressed his cultivation to the Essence Condensation Stage Sixth Layer, and a single sword strike left me like this. I'm certain that the Ghost Shadow Sword Grandpa used was definitely Heaven Grade, perhaps even Spirit Grade!"
"What?" The woman surnamed Fang and the young man surnamed Lü turned pale with shock.
A Heaven Grade Ghost Shadow Sword? In that case, the Ghost Shadow Sword Duan Langcai had cultivated really wasn't the true Ghost Shadow Sword. The young man surnamed Lü looked at Duan Langcai with some glee at his misfortune, then said hopefully, "I wonder if the senior knows the Golden Yang Fist!"
Duan Langcai sneered. "That's my grandpa. Even my sect master at the Sword Attendant Sect has to respectfully address him as Senior Martial Uncle when they meet. Why would he know your Golden Yang Sect's Golden Yang Fist?"
"What's so great about that?" The young man surnamed Lü curled his lip.
The woman surnamed Fang looked at Duan Langcai oddly and asked, "What will you do, then?"
Duan Langcai shook his head and sighed. "Once I return and report to my sect master, I'll go into seclusion and devote myself to cultivation. I have to comprehend the Heaven Grade Ghost Shadow Sword. Grandpa said that if fate allows, we'll meet again. I have a feeling we'll see each other again sooner or later."
After the three left, Yang Zhen poked his head out of the cave. Seeing that they were long gone, he finally came out, relieved.
"I've struck it rich this time!" Yang Zhen said to himself gleefully.
Not only had he raised the Ancient Scripture of Shangyuan to Spirit Grade, he had also obtained the Spirit-Cleansing Marrow. Although he hadn't gotten the Red Candle Fruit, he had actually tricked someone into giving him a technique like the Ghost Shadow Sword.
In high spirits, Yang Zhen hummed a tune all the way back to the Shangyuan Sect.
Before he had time to rest, Yang Zhen received a message that the sect master wanted to see him and that he was to go to the main hall immediately.
Yang Zhen suspected nothing. He knew that the sect master probably wanted to see him because he had learned that Senior Sister had cultivated the Heaven Grade martial skill Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword. After all, with the sect master's strength, he could easily sense the fluctuations of a Heaven Grade martial skill's power on Changyue Peak.
When Yang Zhen arrived at the main hall, the crowd inside gave him a fright. Once he spotted a familiar figure among them, his heart skipped a beat, and he turned to leave.
"Yang Zhen, since you're here, come in!" Sect Master Lu Chenghui's voice rang through the hall, and everyone turned to look at Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen turned around sheepishly, scratched his head, said "oh," and walked back into the hall.
"It's you!" Duan Langcai exclaimed, pointing at Yang Zhen as though he had seen a ghost.
"You're Yang Zhen? A disciple of the Shangyuan Sect?"
Yang Zhen grinned and greeted Duan Langcai. "You're here too? What a coincidence."
Coincidence, my ass!
Duan Langcai let out a strange howl and spat out a mouthful of blood. He dropped to his knees before a middle-aged man with a thud and wailed, "Sect Master, you have to stand up for Langcai!"
His shout startled everyone. They all stared at Duan Langcai, dumbfounded and bewildered.
Lu Chenghui looked at Duan Langcai oddly and asked in surprise, "Nephew Lu, what's the matter? Why did you cough up blood as soon as you saw one of my disciples?"
His... his disciple?
Duan Langcai stared blankly at Yang Zhen, his face full of confusion.
Yang Zhen really was a disciple of the Shangyuan Sect. Had he actually called an ordinary Shangyuan Sect disciple Grandpa so many times?
At the thought, Duan Langcai immediately began to wail. A burst of terrifying black light suddenly erupted from the longsword in his hand, and he charged at Yang Zhen in a towering rage.
"I'll kill you!"
Fierce in appearance but weak at heart, his eyes bloodshot, Duan Langcai charged at Yang Zhen like a madman. The black light from his longsword blazed as he rushed forward like thunder.
Yang Zhen hurriedly ducked behind True Person Changyue and poked his head out. "Master, is this man crazy? Why does he try to kill someone the moment he sees them?"
True Person Changyue snorted coldly and casually waved her hand. A vast force slammed into Duan Langcai, knocking him back with a boom.
Duan Langcai fell beside the middle-aged man and spat out another mouthful of blood. Clutching the man's leg, he wailed incessantly, "Sect Master, it was him, it was him, it was him!"
"Our hero... Little Nezha?" Yang Zhen blinked and answered seriously.
Pfft!
Duan Langcai spat out another mouthful of blood, which sprayed like a fountain over a large patch of the floor.
"Langcai, calm your mind!" the middle-aged man shouted sternly. Frowning, he stared at Yang Zhen. "What exactly happened?"
Duan Langcai took a deep breath, pointed at Yang Zhen, and said, "He... he pretended to be my grandpa!"
Pfft!
Liu Ruoning, standing beside True Person Changyue, burst out laughing when she heard that.
On the Shangyuan Sect's side, quite a few disciples joined in, looking at Duan Langcai with odd expressions.
Everyone on the Sword Attendant Sect's side, however, looked at one another, bewildered. How had Senior Brother Duan gained a grandpa out of thin air after being away for a while?
"Pretended to be your grandpa?" The middle-aged man was none other than Wan Quan, the sect master of the Sword Attendant Sect!
Wan Quan pulled Duan Langcai to his feet. "What exactly happened? Didn't you say he was a senior expert?"
Duan Langcai slowly recounted everything that had happened in the cave. The entire main hall fell silent, and everyone stared at Yang Zhen as though he were a Celestial Person.
Awful! He's simply too awful.
How did we never notice before that Yang Zhen was this awful? But... it's really so funny!
Someone burst out laughing, and a succession of snickers followed. All the Shangyuan Sect disciples exploded with laughter.
Even Liu Ruoning, usually so dignified and quiet, was laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up. She gave Yang Zhen an exasperated thump.
True Person Changyue pursed her lips, wanting to laugh but too embarrassed to do so. Her shoulders shook as she held it in.
"Outrageous! Outrageous!" Wan Quan's face turned livid. A terrifying wave of force erupted from him with a boom, sweeping through the hall in the blink of an eye. He pointed at Lu Chenghui and shouted, "Lu Chenghui, you've heard what happened. If you can't give my Sword Attendant Sect an explanation today, our sect will fight you to the death!"
(End of chapter)