Chapter 647 - 422: Return and Respect
Therefore, when the little Daoist guarding the gate of Qingyang Palace slowly descended with his sword, cautiously observing the situation on the ground, he suddenly felt a strong wind rushing towards his back!
"Not good! Someone’s launching a surprise attack!"
The little Daoist immediately reacted, hurriedly driving the flying sword under him to accelerate away without looking back while controlling two other flying swords originally defending below to circle back for an attack.
This method of response could be considered quite reasonable, but the problem was that it was a bit late. The insidious Demon General had already reached within a zhang of his back. As long as the Demon General’s burst speed wasn’t particularly slow, the little Daoist wouldn’t avoid suffering a heavy hit or even multiple strikes at this moment! The specific consequences were hard to predict!
In an instant, the surprise attack, escape, and counterattack happened almost simultaneously, and amidst the dust that hadn’t yet settled, fierce combat erupted! All results were settled within one or two seconds!
The little Daoist only felt a terrifying gust of wind coming from his back suddenly sweep in and then dissipate, accompanied by his hurried counterattack with two flying swords, a sensing of the enemy being pulverized to pieces transmitted through his spiritual artifact.
"Is my swordsmanship actually this powerful???"
For a moment, the little Daoist was in a daze because he had only intended to fend off the surprise attack by forcing the enemy to retreat through offense, but unexpectedly, the enemy didn’t retreat; instead, his two flying swords smashed the foe to fragments, exceeding his expectations by far.
"No... no... this demon, I couldn’t have chopped into pieces with flying swords before. His body is as hard as refined iron, impossible to be casually reduced to dregs by me... Someone helped me!"
This bizarre situation forced the little Daoist to carefully look back. His gaze swept where his flying swords had passed, and in the now clearer air, the Demon General that ambushed him had turned into a large patch of fine ice crystals scattering to the ground, perfectly matching his earlier perception of the enemy being smashed to pieces.
But obviously, his flying swords didn’t have freezing capabilities. The enemy suddenly transforming into such a fragmented state could only be because he was frozen into a solid ice block before the attack, then shattered by his flying swords, meaning this Demon General was already dead before his counterattack.
"Who assisted me just now? But in Celestial Essence City, I haven’t heard of anyone skilled in Ice Cold Skill..."
The little Daoist couldn’t help but fall into deep confusion, but at this moment, still on the battlefield, he didn’t dwell on it much, quickly collecting his thoughts to find the next target worthy of action.
Simultaneously, on this vast battlefield outside Celestial Essence City, bizarre occurrences similar to what the little Daoist from Qingyang Palace encountered happened from time to time.
Many Daoist innate and postnatal disciples suddenly found their enemies turning into rigid ice lumps or scattering into skyfuls of ice crystals during intense battle, greatly reducing their peril.
The person responsible for these occurrences was naturally Wang Zhifan.
Wang Zhifan now had quite a bit of understanding of the powers in the Demon Realm, knowing that those below Demon Venerable, including various Demon Generals of differing strengths, were almost trivial to him. Just a little use of ice-origin power could quickly resolve them, so he took the most cost-effective approach.
Of course, not all of his actions remained low-key. He himself actively engaged on the battlefield, openly eliminating at least a thousand ordinary demons and at least ten Demon Generals before many locals to ensure Celestial Essence City knew of his contribution.
Thus, as the battle swiftly moved towards its conclusion with his involvement, a Sound Transmission Flying Sword appearing in front of him was hardly unexpected.
"Honored Warrior, I am Qingyangzi. Please hasten to Qingyang Palace for a discussion!"
The one sending the message was his old acquaintance, Qingyang Daoist, the master of Qingyang Palace. However, what caught Wang Zhifan’s attention was that this Daoist referred to him as "Honored Warrior," which suggested that news in this world spread faster than he expected.
"How did Qingyangzi find out about my title so quickly? Is there some mode of spreading news unknown to me?"
With some doubts, Wang Zhifan activated his Wind and Thunder Heaven-Treading Skill, heading towards Qingyang Palace in the central area of Celestial Essence City. Midway, when nearing the Cyan Light Array of the city, the array automatically opened a gap to let him in, demonstrating Qingyangzi’s significant influence over Celestial Essence City.
This time, upon reaching Qingyang Palace, the faces he saw were somewhat unfamiliar. Besides the familiar middle-aged Daoist Qingyangzi, there was a middle-aged, chubby Daoist with a longsword on his back and an elderly Daoist with white hair holding a fly-whisk. Including the seemingly ordinary Qingyangzi, all three revealed their ultra-innate nature.
The trio showed considerable respect upon Wang Zhifan’s arrival, greeting him with cupped hands, even though they appeared at least a generation older than him, they acted with great solemnity in his presence.
"Honored Warrior, I am Zhenxuzi, head of Zhenxu Hall, one of the guardians of Celestial Essence City..."
"I am Huayangzi, greetings Honored Warrior! I am the head of Huayang Palace, responsible for the security affairs of Celestial Essence City, located not far north of Qingyang Palace..."
"I am Qingyangzi, greetings Honored Warrior! Honored Warrior, why do you show such an expression?"
For a moment, Wang Zhifan was a bit perplexed by the unexpected grand welcome from the three Daoist ultra-innate figures. He didn’t anticipate that his possession of the Honored Warrior title would significantly elevate his status, making him somewhat uneasy.
"Please, Taoist Leaders, do not humble this poor Daoist! Just call me Fanyun, and let’s discuss matters directly!"
Feeling puzzled, Wang Zhifan chose to get straight to the point, as he wasn’t good at small talk and didn’t understand the social etiquette of this world.
"Haha! Honored Warrior truly embodies the free spirit of an ancient Daoist cultivator!"
Zhenxuzi, the white-haired Daoist with a fly-whisk, laughed, nodding in acknowledgment while complimenting Wang Zhifan.
Instead, Huayangzi, the chubby middle-aged Daoist with a longsword, noticed his helplessness and continued:
"It seems that Fanyun doesn’t realize how rare the Honored Warrior title conferred by the Master is. The term ’Honored Warrior’ is not just a special title, but it signifies that you are the foremost martial artist of the present time!
Though we of the Daoist sect also practice martial arts, it’s merely supplementary. Few have stepped into the innate stage in martial arts!
Even among those who prioritize martial arts, it has been a century since anyone reached the ultra-innate in martial arts, let alone someone like you, who has reached the pinnacle, easily defeating two Demon Venerables!
Therefore, our respect for you isn’t just for your astonishing cultivation but also for your contributions to martial arts!
Martial arts, ultimately, has been glorified in our Daoist sect..."
After Huayangzi’s explanation, Wang Zhifan’s confusion was partially resolved.
It turned out that the Daoist sects in this world indeed had some obsession with martial arts and always wanted to elevate this underappreciated aspect.
However, for various reasons, even the Daoist sect, which valued martial arts the most among the three major traditions, had little achievement on this path.
Until Wang Zhifan came, quickly killing two Demon Venerables with martial cultivation and being granted the Honored Warrior title by the revered Sage, thus heralding a new Chapter for martial arts.
This marked that from now on, martial arts had its iconic figure, and the emergence of a powerful ultra-innate martial artist also proved that this path was no less than Dao, Buddhism, or Confucianism.
More importantly, Wang Zhifan was a member of the Daoist sect, accomplishing what others within the sect had not, which is why the three ultra-innate Daoists showed him such high respect.
"Oh, I see why there’s an entire floor in the Celestial Essence Book Pavilion devoted to martial arts cultivation techniques; you all harbor such aspirations..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhifan suddenly realized that his mark left in this world might be beyond his expectations.