Dual Cultivation

By the time the people there realized that the middle-aged man from the Golden Altar Sect was dead, Su Yang was already on his way back to the Profound Blossom Sect.

"S-S-Sect elder!"

The disciples trembled in shock as they slowly stepped away from the headless corpse, their expression filled with disbelief.

They couldn’t believe that their sect elder, who was at the Heavenly Spirit Realm, would die so easily. Even if his opponent was a Sword Master, he shouldn’t have been defeated with such ease. It was almost like all of his time spent cultivating to the Heavenly Spirit Realm was in vain.

"T-That madman actually killed someone whilst in Snowfall City!"

"During one of its biggest events, no less!"

"There are very few Sword Masters in this world, much less one at his caliber. It won’t take long for the Xie Family to find him!"

Exactly one minute after Su Yang had killed the middle-aged man from the Golden Altar Sect, over ten guards arrived at the scene.

"What happened here?"

The guards immediately restricted everyone’s movements there, only allowing them to leave after they answer a few questions.

"Someone wearing a mask appeared out of nowhere and killed that middle-aged man over there..."

"Who are you guys?" The guards asked the disciples.

"G-Golden Altar Sect. T-The man who died was our sect elder," said one of the disciples, his voice still shaking.

"The Golden Altar Sect?"

The guards were surprised, as they did not expect such a powerful force to be involved in this, much less as the victim.

"Do you know why you guys were attacked? Any idea who the masked man was?"

The disciples quickly shook their heads.

"The masked man was a Sword Master," said one of the observers.

"What? So the Sword Intent just now did not come from the sect elder but the murder instead?"

The guards thought it was the sect elder at first due to the sword that was still in his grasp, but alas, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

After speaking to everybody there and gathering enough information, the guards released everybody there and returned to their own headquarters to relay all of the information to their superiors.

"A Sword Master had committed manslaughter in the middle of the city?"

The superiors almost couldn’t believe the news when they first heard it. Why would a Sword Master risk offending the Xie Family? Even if he hid his identity with a mask, it would only delay his punishment for so long before the Xie Family finds him.

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Somewhere at the center of Snowfall City, one of Xie Family’s many residences, many experts that have renowned statures and powerful backgrounds from around the Eastern Continent were gathered in one large room, where a meeting was being held with the Xie Family.

"Did you all sense that Sword Intent just now?"

One of the experts there suddenly asked out loud.

"Only an oblivious fool would not have felt such a powerful Sword Intent!"

"I have fought a few Sword Masters in my life, yet I have never felt such a sharp Sword Intent before..."

"I also know many Sword Masters myself. However, the Sword Intent just now belonged to none of them..."

Since the meeting had just ended, the experts in the room began speaking about the Sword Intent that appeared just a few moments later.

As the topic of this mysterious Sword Master became increasingly popular with the experts, a middle-aged man with sharp features and a black robe around his body spoke out loud, "What are your thoughts on this topic, Senior Zhong?"

Divine Sword Master Zhong, who was casually sitting there, turned to look at the middle-aged man who just spoke.

"To tell you the truth, Lord Xie, I have never felt such powerful Sword Intent until today, too. It’s simply too sharp and clean. It was almost like I was sensing a real sword," he said.

The people in the room looked at him with surprised expressions, even the middle-aged man addressed as Lord Xie, who was clearly the head of the Xie Family.

"Are you telling me that you, who is recognized as the Divine Sword Master, one of the strongest Sword Masters in this world, feel inferior to whoever used Sword Intent in my city just now?" Lord Xie looked at Senior Zhong with slightly wide eyes.

"If I could meet this Sword Master right now, I would definitely request for some guidance regarding the sword." Senior Zhong spoke in a sincere voice.

The room instantly turned silent, as nobody there had expected Senior Zhong to be this upfront and honest, even wishing for guidance from this unknown Sword Master.

The feeling of wanting to meet this Sword Master appeared in these experts’ heart.

Suddenly, the figure sitting beside Lord Xie mumbled, "This Sword Intent... I have felt it somewhere before..."

"Are you certain about that, my daughter? Can you try to remember where you have felt this Sword Intent before?" Lord Xie turned to ask his daughter, Xie Xingfang.

Xie Xingfang nodded and closed her eyes, scrambling her head trying to remember where she has felt the Sword Intent before.

A few moments later, Xie Xingfang’s eyes opened, and her eyes flickered with a dazzling light.

"Senior brother Xiao!"

Lord Xie looked at Xie Xingfang with a frown.

"Senior brother Xiao? Who is that?" he wasted no time asking her, especially after realizing that she was speaking of a man.

"He... He’s the reason that I am where I am today..." Xie Xingfang’s gaze flickered with a profound emotion when she spoke of this senior brother Xiao.

After separating with Su Yang at the Thunder Valley, Xie Xingfang has cultivated the Immortal-grade technique that he had given her earnestly, and it’d greatly affected her cultivation since then.

However, this is something only Xie Xingfang knew, since she did not tell anybody about her encounter with Su Yang, nor about the Immortal-grade technique he’d gifted her — not even to her own family.

"I cannot understand anything from that, can you elaborate on it?" he asked her again.

"Although I cannot go into the details, my growth for the past few months wouldn’t have been possible if I did not meet him..." she said with a smile.

"..." Lord Xie narrowed his eyes on her mysterious smile, his gaze filled with suspicion and a hint of surprise, as he’d never witnessed his daughter act like this before.