Chapter 72
"You're being rude. Young Master Wen and I have been... since we were young."
"You've seen each other?"
At Yang Jian's leisurely gaze, as if he knew everything, Xi Xichang shut her mouth firmly without realizing it.
"Just as a chick thinks the first person it sees after breaking out of its egg is its mother, you can't see the first person you meet as your destiny. That's not something to be judged hastily."
Yang Jian turned his gaze to Jiang Ziya, who had a sullen face.
"Of course, it doesn't mean that the destiny is right next to you. It's just that it's the words of a senior who has already started a family, so you should take it to heart."
"Thank you for your advice."
Xi Xichang affirmed roughly. No matter what he said, since this marriage would proceed, there was no need to argue any more.
But Jiang Ziya felt his stomach twist for some reason.
"A master once told me."
Xi Xichang stopped her steps at Jiang Ziya's words.
"I hate the people of the prestigious righteous path. They climb the stairs according to a set procedure. I get sick of seeing people who live as if they are stuck in a mold."
Jiang Ziya glanced at Xi Xichang and said briefly.
"So I also hate living like a person of the righteous path."
He didn't know why Li Hachan's one word came to mind now.
"We've arrived at Sanhe."
Since the atmosphere between Xi Xichang and Jiang Ziya was unusual, Yang Jian was the first to quickly say that he had found the village in front of them.
In any case, for him, the journey to the Tang Clan would not be so boring thanks to the quarrel between these two.
* * *
Jiang Ziya, Xi Xichang, and Yang Jian, who had arrived at Sanhe in Sichuan Province, went to a tavern to relieve the fatigue of their journey and unpacked their luggage.
The three of them took their own rooms, unpacked their luggage, and decided to meet on the first floor of the tavern.
Since Jiang Ziya had no luggage in the first place, he quickly unpacked his luggage and went downstairs.
"Hasn't she come down yet?"
Jiang Ziya, who had found Yang Jian, who was waiting for Xi Xichang while drinking tea, naturally sat down next to him.
"You're here?"
"Yes, what are you thinking of having for your meal?"
"Let's order when that Miss Xi comes down."
At Yang Jian's words, Jiang Ziya leaned back in his chair and looked around the tavern.
"What are you thinking about so much?"
Jiang Ziya, as if he had gotten tired of looking around, asked Yang Jian, who was thinking about something without a word.
"Hmm, it's about you. Where is your sect?"
"My sect?"
Jiang Ziya tilted his head. It was a problem he had never thought about until now.
No, it was more correct to say that he didn't know his own sect.
"Is it something difficult to talk about?"
"Well, it's not that. It's just that I don't know my own sect."
"You don't know your sect? Are you saying you've practiced martial arts on your own like me?"
"No. I have masters."
"Huh?"
Seeing that he said 'masters', it seemed that he had more than one master.
"Hmm... I see."
He was a very interesting friend. Above all, he liked his free-spirited personality, and he also liked that he did not show off his skills even though he had them.
If he were a person of the righteous path, would he be a talent that he would want to finish with his own hands?
"Then what is the martial art you have learned?"
Jiang Ziya could not easily answer this either.
Cook Li's Nine Palaces Divine Steps.
The Taoist Lingbao's Nine Gates True Scripture.
The Tongtian Cult Master's Manifest Demon True Art.
But the Tongtian Cult Master, looking at his martial arts, had denied that it was a complete Manifest Demon True Art.
Then what was his own martial art now?
There was a time when Jiang Ziya was also lost in such a thought.
At that time, Hongjun, who had heard his worries, had said a word briefly.
Since he had come to handle three completely different divine arts...
"Three Strategies."
"Three Strategies?"
Although Yang Jian could not say that he knew all the divine arts in the world, the martial art called 'Three Strategies' was something that even he had heard for the first time.
Yang Jian, recalling once again that the world was wide, erased a trace of doubt.
"Hmm... you said you were on your way to the Tang Clan, right?"
"Yes."
"Is it your first time?"
"It's also my first time in the martial world. I've never been out of the Kunlun Mountains since I was born."
"Haha, I see."
Yang Jian nodded his head and then said to Jiang Ziya with a serious expression.
"If you go to the Tang Clan, take some time and be sure to visit the Ten Thousand Sword World Discussion Sword Peak, which is built in Chengdu. If you visit Chengdu and don't see it, you can't be called a martial artist."
"Ten Thousand Sword World Discussion Sword Peak?"
"It is said to be the place where the Ten Thousand Sword Master created the Ten Thousand Sword Adjustment and discussed the sword with the people of the world, leaving his understanding."
"If it's the Ten Thousand Sword Adjustment, are you talking about the one that is said to be the number one sword in the world?"
"Number one in the world?"
Yang Jian waved his hand as if it were absurd.
"In reality, where is the number one in the world? Although I am also called one of the Twelve Honored Ones of the world, I don't know if there is anyone among those Twelve Honored Ones who can be called the number one in the world."
"But the martial arts of Senior Yang that I saw were so strong. I don't know how strong the others are, but I think there are not many people with martial arts of Senior Yang's level."
Yang Jian, who had read the sincerity in Jiang Ziya's expression, burst out laughing.
"Haha... hey, I've only met two of those who are said to be the Twelve Honored Ones like me. But how can I discuss the high and low of their martial arts?"
"If you say two people..."
"The leader of the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest and a giant of the world, one of the Four Unrivaled Swords, the One-Eyed Dragon, and one of the Three Demons with the most powerful authority in the world, the Unchanging Demonic Path, are the two."
"Ah...!"
"Among them, the One-Eyed Dragon is my sworn brother, so I have never competed with him, and as for the Unchanging Demonic Path, although we competed for only three moves, since it was difficult to see the contest, we acknowledged each other's skills and yielded."
"Three moves..."
The fact that they had yielded to each other meant that it was difficult to determine the high and low of the two's skills.
"Since my sworn brother, the One-Eyed Dragon, is also not a person whose depth of martial arts is inferior to mine, it means that there are already two people in the world who are my equal or higher. Is that all? As there is a song that says the four masters are the best among the Twelve Honored Ones, if you add those four masters, it means that about half of them are my equal or higher."
"So..."
"Haha, what's with that expression? Meeting them is something that happens only a few times in a lifetime. In that sense, the fact that you and I have met can be said to be the guidance of heaven."
'Well, it's not that much...'
Although Jiang Ziya was not very surprised, he did not want to hurt Yang Jian's feelings by saying it out loud.
"Anyway, be sure to stop by. I'm also planning to stay in Chengdu and to stop by there once."
"Yes. I'll do as you say. But can I find the understanding of the Ten Thousand Sword Master, which many people in the world have not been able to find?"
"Well... in fact, it is said that the Ten Thousand Sword Master put his sword art in a single book, but since it did not appear even after making a fuss for a while..."
"Hahaha."
How could he say that the sword manual was in Xi Xichang's hands? And that half of it had already been completely burned...
"While you deny that the Ten Thousand Sword Master is the number one in the world, what is the reason you want to see that place?"
"Curiosity."
"Curiosity?"
"If a martial artist does not feel curiosity about a powerful martial art, how can he be called a martial artist?"
"Hmm..."
"It is said that the Ten Thousand Sword Master ascended to heaven after leaving the incantation. Although I don't know if that's accurate, since he flew into the sky on a sword, it must be an ascension."
"I see, then the Ten Thousand Sword Master must have ascended to heaven."
"So they say."
"That's a pity. If I had known the method, I would have had someone to teach it to."
"Haha, is that so?"
"You were out first."
Xi Xichang, who had come down late, found Jiang Ziya and Yang Jian.
"Welcome, I was so hungry I was about to starve to death."
Jiang Ziya exaggeratedly patted his stomach. Xi Xichang, who had heard the words of Yang Jian and Jiang Ziya, ordered food from the waiter.
"Let's rest enough here today and leave tomorrow morning."
"Let's do that. Are you alright with that, Senior Huang?"
"It doesn't matter to me."
Now that the plan was made, all that was left was to wait for the food.
While chatting about this and that, Xi Xichang happened to hear the conversation of two martial artists who were sitting not far away.
"Hey, have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"They say the Thunderclap Sect has burned down. And that in one night."
"What? Is that possible?"
"I don't know. I only heard the rumor... they say that the bodies of the intruders were all crushed, so their identities could not be confirmed."
Xi Xichang, who had heard the conversation of the two martial artists, had a strange expression.
"Why that expression?"
"Because it seems strange."
"What's so strange?"
"Didn't they just say that the Thunderclap Sect had collapsed?"
At Xi Xichang's question, Jiang Ziya glanced at Yang Jian for a moment and then answered.
"So they say."
"It's impossible. But... if that's true, a storm of blood might blow not only in Hunan but also in Guangdong."
"A storm of blood?"
At the words 'a storm of blood', Yang Jian's eyes shone sharply.
"The Thunderclap Sect is, without a doubt, the largest sect in the world in Hunan. And below it, the demonic cult of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains of Guangdong is located."
"So?"
"So? The reason the demonic cult cannot easily show its power is solely because it is afraid of the Thunderclap Sect. If they were to fight with all their might against the Thunderclap Sect, their next opponent would surely be Wudang, Shaolin, and the Martial Arts Alliance. No matter how much it is the demonic cult, it is unlikely that they would take such a risk."
In fact, the Thunderclap Sect, in terms of its character, was a strange sect that was closer to the evil path rather than being completely of the righteous path.
That was why the Thunderclap Sect of Hunan was a huge symbol that encompassed the entire martial world of Hunan, including both righteousness and evil.
"If there is someone who threatens the Thunderclap Sect, it would be good to see it as having prepared to fight the entire martial world of Hunan. That's not all. Including the Twin Swords of Guankou, one of the absolute masters, and numerous masters..."
"That's amazing."
It was not easy for the righteous path and the evil path to have such a bond.
This was because in the long history, righteousness and evil had been eager to eat each other.
"If the Thunderclap Sect were to collapse, the sects of Hunan would surely launch a retaliatory attack, no matter who the target was."
"No way..."
"If the Twin Swords of Guankou were to make up their mind... it's a fully possible thing."
Jiang Ziya stroked his chin and was lost in thought. He hadn't felt it well because he was by his side.
But if it was Yang Jian's one word, it meant that the wide world might be filled with the smell of blood.
"But the question is, how could such a powerful sect, without any rumor..."
"Because of the demonic cult."
Yang Jian, who had been silent, broke his silence.
"The demonic cult, the Thunderclap Sect...?"
Xi Xichang had an expression of incomprehension.
If the demonic cult had launched a full-scale attack on the Thunderclap Sect, it was unlikely that the rumor would not have spread.
"The demonic cult members, who covered the sky in black, flocked to the Thunderclap Sect. The Gentle Saber Master of the Thunderclap Sect died, and the demonic cult also suffered numerous casualties."
"Even the Gentle Saber Master..."
If it was the Gentle Saber Master, he was a representative saber demon of the Thunderclap Sect and one of the representative masters of Hunan.
"As expected, the demonic cult is true to its name. After an attack of just one night, they left no trace."
Yang Jian nodded his head lightly. His eyes became distant, as if he were recalling a memory of the past.
"But with the Twin Swords of Guankou there, how could..."
"I was out of my mind. Screams were echoing from all sides, and I was flustered by the cries of my family and the frantic shouts."
Xi Xichang realized that Yang Jian was talking as if he had been at the scene.
And she also realized that it was a remarkable coincidence that he was being pursued by the demonic cult.
"You were at the Thunderclap Sect."
"Haha... you guessed it right."
Yang Jian grinned and received the food that the waiter had brought.
"My friend, the Gentle Saber Master, competed with the Taiyi Divine Demon, the demonic cult leader, in that chaos."
(End of Chapter)