Chapter 478: Four Kingdoms Dao Discussion |
Over the past year, Su Hongzhen's sword had maintained the same style it had from the very first day he held it.
Simple, unadorned, direct.
Yet exceptionally efficient.
Su Hongzhen's sword was far more lethal than it appeared.
So lethal that it defied comprehension.
Because every strike he delivered was the optimal solution he could choose when fighting an opponent.
It was precisely for this reason that Zhou Jinyun, whose cultivation realm was a full major level above Su Hongzhen's, found him extremely troublesome to deal with.
No matter how she dodged, she couldn't evade him.
She could only clash head-on with him.
The now fifteen-year-old girl, who had grown even more graceful and elegant compared to a year ago, gently bit her teeth as a flicker of surprise passed through her eyes.
Although Zhou Jinyun had lost count of how many times she had sparred with Su Hongzhen to date, every single bout saw him making greater progress than the last.
Little Su was still just an Energy Channeling Realm cultivator.
If he reached the Martial Spring Realm, then...
Zhou Jinyun shook that thought from her head.
Then, she began to activate her Martial Spring.
True qi erupted from the Martial Spring, almost condensing into a tangible form, before exploding through her meridians.
A shockwave of qi blasted outward, knocking Su Hongzhen back over ten feet.
Then, Zhou Jinyun sent another palm strike through the air, slamming true qi toward Su Hongzhen, who had not yet fully regained his balance.
The boy's figure completely lost its footing, and he landed with a thud on the ground in the courtyard.
Little Su didn't rush to get up from the ground. Instead, he lifted his head and flashed a bright, unreserved smile toward Zhou Jinyun:
"I lost again, Immortal Master Zhou."
"..."
Zhou Jinyun said nothing, but her gaze drifted slightly to the side.
In truth, Zhou Jinyun had just used less than ten percent of her power. Moreover, she had merely activated the Martial Spring to drive her true qi, without any additional enhancements.
The gap between a Martial Spring Realm cultivator and an Energy Channeling Realm cultivator was already immense.
And this was Zhou Jinyun, the chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower, a prodigy destined for ascension, who could conservatively rank among the top five Martial Spring Realm cultivators across the entire Chenping Continent.
A Martial Spring Realm cultivator of her caliber could crush even ordinary Martial Spring Realm cultivators just as easily as she bullied Energy Channeling Realm ones.
Before Su Hongzhen reached the Martial Spring Realm, facing Zhou Jinyun when she activated her Martial Spring meant he had absolutely zero chance of winning.
But if their cultivation realms were equal, the situation would be completely reversed.
"How long have we known each other, and you're still calling her Immortal Master Zhou?"
Chen Yan, who had been sitting by the side of the courtyard all along, teased:
"Besides, Little Su, you've already begun treading the immortal path long ago. Even if you don't call Little Zhou 'Senior Sister Zhou,' you should at least address her as 'Fellow Daoist,' right?"
"I've always addressed her as Immortal Master Zhou ever since I met her. Over this past year and more, I've gotten used to it."
Su Hongzhen stood up from the ground. He first twirled the Xun-Li Sword in his hand, then pressed the blade between his sleeves to wipe the dust off before sheathing it back into its scabbard:
"What does Immortal Master Zhou think? How should I address you?"
He then turned his gaze to Zhou Jinyun, who stood across from him.
"Just follow your habits."
Zhou Jinyun replied.
Su Hongzhen let out a chuckle, then brushed the dust off his clothes:
"Well then, I'll go practice my swordsmanship."
Chen Yan simply shook his head gently and said calmly:
"Let's stop for today."
Upon hearing this, both Su Hongzhen and Zhou Jinyun immediately turned serious.
They both knew all too well what it meant when Chen Yan told Su Hongzhen to stop.
The last time this happened was when Chen Yan sent them to capture that Martial Spring Realm cultivator on the list.
This meant...
"I've intercepted information from the Stationed Envoy Residence in Luzhou."
Chen Yan said:
"In two days, the Daoist Hall's manager disciple of Illusion Time Tower, Wei Yiming, will personally arrive at the capital of Lu Kingdom to participate in the Four Kingdoms Dao Discussion. That will be your best chance to capture him."
The Four Kingdoms referred to the four secular dynasties adjacent to Mirage Palace.
Because of their proximity to Mirage Palace, the cultivation worlds in these four countries were relatively more developed.
Cultivation sects flourished, and there were many cultivation families and rogue cultivators.
And the name Wei Yiming also appeared on the list that Zhou Jinyun had obtained from Fang Yuan.
This man was the Daoist Hall's manager disciple of Illusion Time Tower, a direct subordinate of Illusion Time Tower's Daoist Hall elder, Zheng Song.
As for Zheng Song, he was the Elder Zheng who had sent Protector Huang to Jiangdu Prefecture back then.
So, among the list currently obtained, Wei Yiming was the most valuable of all the Martial Spring Realm cultivators.
Because it was very likely that through Wei Yiming, they could uncover more useful information.
Chen Yan's spiritual sense had already completely covered Luzhou and several surrounding prefectures.
When the Four Kingdoms Dao Discussion officially began, all of Mirage Palace's stationed manager disciples within Lu Kingdom would need to be present on site.
...
Lu Kingdom, Dongzuo City.
This was the capital of Lu Kingdom.
A sixteen-year-old youth in a plain white robe walked through the city's streets, followed by two slightly younger gray-robed youths, a boy and a girl.
Su Hongzhen turned his head to look at the crowded throng on the street.
Most of them were gaunt and sallow, dressed in rags, and many emanated a sour, rancid smell.
Though the street was wide, the road itself was terribly old. The original bluestone pavement had been almost ground into powder from trampling.
This city was far too ancient.
Lu Kingdom, this ancient nation that had stood for tens of thousands of years, was essentially just a puppet of Mirage Palace.
Everything felt lifeless.
This was also one of the reasons why the cultivation world of Chenping Continent was so opposed to cultivators meddling in mundane affairs.
But, as mentioned before, Mirage Palace had not violated the unwritten rules of Chenping Continent's cultivation world.
Because whether it was Lu Kingdom, Anlong Kingdom, or the other two secular dynasties, they had all willingly submitted to Mirage Palace.
The relationship between Kongshan Sect and Qingque Kingdom was the same.
It was just that, with Mirage Palace as a cautionary example, Kongshan Sect was far more careful in how it treated secular dynasties.
And precisely because of this, Qingque Kingdom was, overall, more like a normal secular dynasty.
Even though it was also not insignificantly influenced by the cultivation world.
Lu Kingdom was the oldest among the four secular dynasties surrounding Mirage Palace.