Chapter 1013.1: She's Here - Part 1 |
Other people's sword dao attainments might have been not worth mentioning before the current Chen Chao, but the Sword Sect's Sect Master before him, though unable to defeat the Demon Emperor, could still be called the number one person in sword dao over the past thousand years. As for whether Yu Xiyi and the others would surpass him in the future, that was a matter for later.
At least for now, the Sword Sect's Sect Master's understanding of sword dao was a supreme treasure that every sword cultivator in the world would fight over.
But the Sword Sect's Sect Master had not shown it to anyone else. Instead, he had given it to a martial artist who had absolutely nothing to do with sword cultivators. Such broad-mindedness was already beyond comparison with others.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master said indifferently, "It is not the only copy. I have already decided to record this sword dao understanding and leave it in the Sword Sect. Any Sword Sect disciple, regardless of cultivation realm, may study it."
Having lived for more than a hundred years and served as the Sword Sect's Sect Master for several decades, the Sword Sect's Sect Master had only now understood this principle. He had asked for too much from the world, yet had left nothing behind for it.
So before leaving the Sword Sect for Ying Prefecture, the Sword Sect's Sect Master had constantly been thinking about what he could do for the Sword Sect.
Only after returning did he finally make up his mind.
"There should not be only I alone to step into this realm in sword dao. After losing to the Demon Emperor again this time, will the sword cultivators under heaven be mocked, with people saying that the strongest sword user still could not compare to the one most skilled with the saber?"
The Sword Sect's Sect Master glanced at Yu Xiyi and Chen Chao, then smiled calmly. "Perhaps I will never be able to surpass the Demon Emperor in this lifetime, but if one day there are several Fuyun sword immortals at the heights of sword dao, and they all draw their swords together when facing a similar situation, would that not make people afraid?"
The Sword Sect's Sect Master smiled, not taking it too seriously.
A moment later, the number one swordsman in the world finally asked, "Your injuries are so severe. Are you confident you can recover?"
He had examined Chen Chao's meridians and circulated through his body once. There was probably no second person in the world who understood more clearly than the Sword Sect's Sect Master just how serious Chen Chao's injuries currently were.
Only because Chen Chao had already stepped into the Fuyun realm was he barely able to hold on. Otherwise, he would already have died and his dao dissipated.
But the injuries had already damaged his foundation. How to repair it remained a major problem.
At the very least, the Sword Sect's Sect Master had no confidence.
Chen Chao smiled and said, "I'll take it one step at a time. Heaven never cuts off every path. There's nothing worth worrying about."
The Sword Sect's Sect Master sighed emotionally. "At such a young age, you had already reached this step. Your path of cultivation should originally have been smooth and boundless, yet it ended up like this. If there is no way to save it, no matter what, wouldn't you feel some regret?"
Hearing this, Chen Chao said nothing, merely shaking his head. No matter what, this battle had been his to face. He had already thought about the possible outcomes long ago, so he truly did not feel regret. Even if, after this battle, his martial path was destined never to reach the summit, it was still the same.
"Whether it is me, Wuyang, or His Majesty, we can all barely be counted as cultivators of the same generation. In the past, we were all admired by others, yet in the end, none of us managed to kill that lord of the Demon Domain. Now His Majesty's whereabouts are unknown, Wuyang is already dead, and as for me, though I still have some possibility of moving forward, I will most likely still fall short of the Demon Emperor. This matter can only depend on whether you young people can accomplish it. If you no longer have the possibility, then it will have to depend on Yun Jianyue."
The Sword Sect's Sect Master sighed deeply, then finally shook his head.
Yu Xiyi had initially been listening with great interest, but by the end, he realized that the Sect Master had not mentioned his name at all. The young great sword immortal widened his eyes and looked toward the Sword Sect's Sect Master, gritting his teeth as if considering whether he should simply stop suppressing his cultivation realm and go out to properly exchange swords with him.
While Yu Xiyi was still pondering this matter, Chen Chao took the initiative to speak. "Sect Master, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the Sword Sect for a period of time."
The Sword Sect's Sect Master nodded and did not object. It had never been easy for outsiders to stay in the Sword Sect, but the young martial artist before him could not really be considered an outsider.
With him currently on the mountain, it could be said that this was the best place for Chen Chao to stay.
But very soon, the usually somewhat old-fashioned Sword Sect's Sect Master suddenly joked, "You may stay, but you absolutely cannot spot a few suitable martial seedlings and take them away from me."
After all, the prestige of the young martial artist before him had already reached its peak. Forget martial artists, even among sword cultivators, countless people admired Chen Chao immensely.
Chen Chao smiled in response, "That's hard to say. If they insist on following me, I won't be able to stop them."
Yu Xiyi said nothing, only rolling his eyes.
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