Lord Shadow

Right now, the arrival of this many martial artists each one is more prominent than the other remind people of the famous Wulin Competition.

The orthodox sect either send their promising figure but most of the prominent figures actually come to the mountain by their own will, lured by the prospect of seeing the famous Flowing Sword Arts.

On the heterodox sect, there is a much simpler reason that they come. Most of them surely did not come to just trade pointers with Xi Feng.

For the Vulture Peak and Sun Devouring Sect they come to washed away their shame and take revenge for their Elders death.

The Thirty-Seven Cave Sect also sent their people over so that the heterodox sect could held their heads high.

They sent three of their Cave Master. All of them is dressed in black robe and they have this aura of darkness and gloominess around them.

Then there is also the Poison Valley who sent their Poison Maidens. The Poison Maidens all looked beautiful and enchanting.

They even tried to provoke Sword Monarch to attack them. If one said Zhu Yao is not affected that would be a lie. After all, his teacher was poisoned by the Poison Valley

Then there is also one of the most mysterious heterodox sect Dark Heart Temple.

If the orthodox martial arts world has the Temple of Xi in Yong, then the heterodox sect has the Dark Heart temple in Zhou.

The Temple of Xi might have closed their gates but not the Dark Heart temple. Dark heart temple is said to be established by an exiled monk of the Temple of Xi.

The Dark heart temple also seek Oneness with the One Source but unlike Temple of Xi they focused more on the destructive part of human’s emotions to fuel their search for Oneness

They sent one of their most famous member Asura Monk Xu You.

Right now, it would not be exaggerated to say that all of these heroes and villains gathering below the foot of the mountain might one day become the grandmaster that will fight in the Wulin Competition.

They all waited. Night turns to day and day turns to night and before they knew it spring have arrived.

The cold wind has lessened as the chirping of the birds of spring could be heard crying out.

Winter is ending and spring is coming and as the many martial artists opened their eyes that morning, they strapped their weapon to their side and their back and went out of their tent

All the large city near the Five Element Mountain, people are coming out from their house and celebrate the New Year with sounds of firecracker.

Some burn incense for their ancestors and their Gods. The royal family of Silhae went to their ancestor tomb to pray as their citizens once again pray for a peaceful world.

Prosperity seems to be everlasting yet to those who sees the dark storm in the distance, they know it is only ephemeral and very fragile

In the martial arts world right now, there is a storm. A storm that will involve the Imperial power, the freedom of those martial artist that seek their path of martial arts, and even long lost arts of immortality.

As he two camps beneath the mountain climb the mountain they first saw the Crippled Devil.

He was just standing there; his eyes could chill one bones with just one gaze.

He is standing with one leg while his other leg is latched onto his cane.

Zhu Yao stepped forward from the orthodox sect and from the heterodox sect it is Elder Wen Zhong from Vulture Peak

Zhu Yao and Wen Zhong both cupped their hands as a sign of respect. Then Zhu Yao asked

‘Winter has passed and spring has come. Can we climb the mountain now or do we need to fight you?’ The Crippled Devil look at them and he laughed.

‘He had changed his mind and said you do not need to do any test. You all could climb the mountain. Be careful and don’t kill each other before you reach the top’ He laughed and then the Crippled Devil fly above them climbing up the mountain with apparent ease.

He even looks like he is flying. This shocked the people watching him

Gust of wind rises up as the snow on the mountain clouded their sight.

Wen Zhong seeing this could not help but be shocked. He used to fight the Three Devils of Han but at that time, he did not seem to be this powerful.

Did he become even stronger?

From that gust of wind, and the apparent ease of the Crippled Devil traveling through the mountain rocky terrain with only one feet, he could sense that the Crippled Devil is approaching the border of reaching the grandmaster level.

‘Could it be Xi Feng is that powerful?’ he thought silently in his heart.

Even Zhu Yao was shocked.

The speed and the ease that the Crippled Devil shows them in climbing the mountain would be unthinkable to may of the people here.

If the Crippled Devil really have bad intention, he might have bene able to kill anyone he wanted when they were waiting under the foot of the mountain.

To many of the people here, the estimation of Xi Feng strength rises up again.

They all thought the same thing. Could mastering the Flowing Sword Arts really elevated one strength that drastically that one could subdue one that is nearing the border of grandmaster level?

Some of them even envy Xi Feng luck. Some of them is even thinking of trying to search for Old Dragon Li and try to see the manual.

When Crippled Devil said that “He had changed his mind and said you do not need to do any test” they all thought that the “he” he referred to was Xi Feng, when in fact the “he” refereed to Azief.

They misunderstand his words as they begin climbing the mountain while maintaining a safe distance with each other

On top of the mountain, from the edges of the mountaintop, with the winds of spring coursing wildly, a man watches the happening at the foot of mountain.

The wind flapping his dark long robe, sitting on his wheelchair, Azief smiles as he looks from above as the people on the foot of the mountains begins their journey climbing the mountains

From his vantage point, they look like ants climbing a molehill. On his lap is a sword. Azief rarely uses a sword. He could even use a branch of a tree stick to fight people.

But there are things that only a sword could do. After all, the cutting feeling of a sword differs from the cutting feeling of a branch of a stick.

He taps his finger on the sword and he smiles. He could feel the sword wanting to kill.

‘The sword is just a sword’ he reminded himself. It is not the sword that wanted to kill. It is his heart that wanted to kill.

It is not his sword that wanted to cut. It is he that wanted to cut. He looks at the sky and he could feel that the seal in his belly button is slowly unraveling.

‘Only a little bit more’

Then he smiles and said

‘Today, we, pair of master and disciple will shock the world. Are you ready? Because nothing will be the same after this’ he said.

And then someone behind Azief replies

‘All my teaching is thanks to master guidance. How would I not be unwilling?’ Saying that is none other than Xi Feng. Azief smiles and nodded

Xi Feng was standing behind his master pushing his wheelchair around. He too looks at the expansive vast scenery in front of him

He looks different from a year ago. His eyes are full of determination and the aura around him

He knows that today in this battle his teacher would reveal himself. He looks at his teacher smiling.

He also unconsciously smiles. Xi Feng is not an idiot. He knows that his teacher is not really an expert who lost his memory.

After all, for someone who lost his memory he appeared unusually calm and he is no rush to find his memories

His teacher also knows to many things, from what Xi Feng surmised from the way his master been asking him about stuff, it is more like his teacher is not from around here.

And the fact that his teacher swordsmanship is truly godly, he had a preposterous idea of where his teacher descended down.

But Xi Feng was not the only one that notices something.

Azief also notices that Xi Feng did not really truly believe he is a martial expert who forgotten his memory.

In the beginning, Xi Feng believed him but after spending time with each other this long, how could Xi Feng not realized his teacher is just faking his memory loss.

But Xi Feng pretended that the lie is the truth, so Azief also pretended that the lie is the truth. Since Xi Feng won’t ask, he won’t tell

Xi Feng has long treated Azief like his own father and Azief treated him as his son. The matter of his memory might be a lie, but this bond that they both had forged together is not a lie.

Azief then said.

‘You are lucky’ Azief said. Xi Feng only nodded, like he was embarrassed of the fact that he was lucky. But Azief smiles

‘Are you embarrassed that you accidentally understand the twelve moves of the Flowing Sword Arts by luck’

Xi Feng did not say anything but his silence speaks volume.

Azief shakes his head and then said gently

‘Luck is also a skill’

Xi Feng only nodded

‘I hope you could use your new understanding of the Flowing Swords Arts to establish yourself’ Xi Feng nodded. Azief then continued

‘In that crowd of people, they would not be satisfied unless you die. I don’t know what the plans of those who schemed against you, but I could think of two ways how this scheme could unravel. They might want to kill you or get you for themselves. You might not know it yourself but you might have known something you should not or you possessed something that is of interest to them. Whatever the case, since we have dangled such a bait in front of them, they would surely make their moves’

Xi Feng nodded. He too had noticed that someone is scheming against him since that List of Swordsman was updated

No one from the Bureau of the Martial Arts Alliance came to confirm with him whether he kills them.

It is true he spreads the word it was him that killed the Elders to keep the secret of his master whereabouts but even so, in normal procedure they would sent at least an inspector to verify the news

Xi Feng have even prepared to craft a lie to protect his master. The fact they didn’t and immediately updated the ranking, make him felt that he is being plotted against.

And this plotter might have something to do with the massacre of his martial arts school. Azief notices the frown on his disciple face when he turned his face.

He shakes his head and then he asks Xi Feng

‘Xi Feng, did I teach you how to break open a scheme?’ Azief suddenly ask

‘No, you did not, master’ Azief then smiles and touch his sword. Then he declared

‘Just cut them apart’ And he laughed carefreely.

***

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