"My disciple... was he brave?"
Xu Xian paused for a moment, facing the white-haired elder with a piercing gaze. He spoke each word with deliberate weight:
"He fought until his strength was spent, never once fearing death."
The old man looked deeply at Xu Xian, then took a long, heavy breath. With a slight nod, he tucked the storage bag into his waistband.
He turned around.
He gripped his hammer.
He picked up a piece of iron.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He swung the heavy hammer, strike after strike, pounding the glowing red metal.
The ring of the hammer echoed.
Sparks flew in every direction.
From beginning to end, the old master forger did not say another word.
Xu Xian watched his back, his heart filled with an indescribable complexity. He shook his head softly and stepped out of the blacksmith shop.
At the entrance.
Zhang Yang, who had been waiting for a long time, hurried forward and asked anxiously, "Brother Xian, how did it go?"
Xu Xian lowered his eyes, let out a sigh, and shook his head.
"Let's go."
Listening to the hammer strikes growing louder and more forceful, Zhang Yang quickly trotted to Xu Xian's side to walk with him.
"Master Ruan didn't lose his temper with you, did he?"
Xu Xian gave Zhang Yang a strange look and asked instead, "You seem to be very afraid of him?"
Zhang Yang stole a glance behind them and whispered, "What a thing to say. Who on Zhujian Peak isn't afraid of that old man? Even our Peak Master acts like a grandson in front of him."
"Is it really that bad?"
As they moved further away from the forging workshop, Zhang Yang straightened his back a bit and spoke louder.
"You don't understand. Everyone on Zhujian Peak knows that Elder Ruan has three 'greats'."
"Hmm?"
Zhang Yang raised a fist, extending his thumb, then his index and middle fingers in sequence. "Great strength, great fame, and a great temper."
"We're all terrified of him. Besides, Elder Ruan wasn't originally a disciple of our Wendao Peak; he joined the Wendao Sword Sect later. He's one of the few Guest Elders in our sect."
"A Guest Elder?" Xu Xian repeated softly, hearing the term for the first time.
"Yeah, a Guest Elder. It means the sect invited him from the outside as an honored guest. I heard the sect only has three Guest Elders in total, and Elder Ruan is one of them."
Xu Xian's interest was piqued, and he followed up, "What about the other two?"
Zhang Yang said, "One is the gravekeeper of Burial Sword Peak. The other... no one knows, and no one has seen them. But I've heard that one likes to fish. If you see someone fishing on a riverbank somewhere in these mountains, that might be them. Those two are said to be at an even higher realm than Elder Ruan—they're both great cultivators of the tribulation transcendence stage..."
Xu Xian became lost in thought.
Zhang Yang continued his chatter, still feeling a lingering fear. "Honestly, I was afraid you were going to get beaten by him just now."
Xu Xian looked back at the workshop. The sound of hammering still reached his ears. Frowning, he said, "He seemed fine. The old man's emotions were quite stable."
Zhang Yang said solemnly, "The more stable he seems, the bigger the deal. After all, Senior Brother Ruan Zhong was Elder Ruan's only descendant—both his disciple and his grandson. Senior Brother Ruan Zhong's death was a massive blow to him. I haven't seen him leave the workshop in two months. We haven't dared to hang around here lately. Look, we've been here this long and haven't seen a single soul, right?"
Xu Xian was surprised and quickly asked, "You're saying Ruan Zhong was his grandson?"
Zhang Yang stared at him. "Brother Xian, you've got to be kidding. You've been in the sect for five years. How do you not know anything?"
Xu Xian pursed his lips. "I focused entirely on my cultivation. Where would I learn such things?"
Four years in a dream, foundation establishment in ten months, drawing the sword in four months, and two months of wandering. The things he was most familiar with regarding the Wendao Sword Sect were probably its various rules and regulations.
After all.
Even though the Wendao Sect General Regulations was five hundred pages long, he could recite it word for word.
"True," Zhang Yang conceded. "I guess that's why, out of our group, everyone else is just at foundation establishment while you're already at core formation."
"Speaking of which, Elder Ruan is quite pitiful. His dao companion died in battle for the sect. His two sons and daughters-in-law also died in battle for the sect. And now, even his only grandson has died in battle."
"Sigh... in the entire Burial Sword Peak, the members of the Ruan family are all lying in there. Although Elder Ruan is a Guest Elder, the Ruan family's devotion to the Wendao Sword Sect is truly beyond reproach..."
Xu Xian was quietly shaken.
The entire family had died in battle, leaving only one old man; six lonely graves were raised, with no descendants left behind.
The Ruan family was truly a line of loyal martyrs.
Those four words seemed to ring in his ears again.
Heavy.
Profound.
'My disciple... was he brave?'
"Sigh—"
Xu Xian let out a breath, gazing at the green mountains.
"The world is not at peace!"
After bidding farewell to Zhang Yang, Xu Xian returned to the mountains.
His mood was inexplicably heavy.
Cultivation? Why cultivate? Should one even cultivate?
It seemed his original intent had changed. He no longer felt any resistance toward cultivation; instead, he was exceptionally determined.
He wanted to cultivate.
And he wanted to do it properly.
Sitting cross-legged in his room, he summoned the little book spirit.
He was going to build the Sword Tower.
"Master has reached core formation and has ample spirit stones. You only need to find some materials to build the Sword Tower."
Xu Xian asked, "What materials are still missing?"
Shuer said, "Master need only summon the manual to find out."
"How do I summon it?"
"Circulate your qi and focus your mind. Call out from the depths of your heart, and the White Jade Capital will manifest."
Xu Xian quickly sat cross-legged with his hands on his knees. He gathered his qi and focused his spirit, following Shuer's instructions.
Exhale... whew!
Inhale... hiss!
Exhale...
His sword body reacted, and the sword embryo grew restless.
A spiritual light flickered across his body like a thin layer of mist. Countless threads of spiritual light surged from his body, converging at a point before his eyes.
Finally, they transformed into a book.
It was both familiar and strange.
He had seen it in his dreams.
Shuer, the little book spirit, had been born from this very book.
The book hovered before Xu Xian, resembling a holographic projection.
Five large characters were written on the cover.
[Heavenly White Jade Capital]
The calligraphy was identical to the 'Heaven Beyond the Sword' inscription on the Sword Gate of the Sword Mound.
Xu Xian reached out to touch it. It felt like a stone falling into water, sending out ripples. With a gentle flick of his finger, the book slowly opened to a page.
The upper half of the page was a painting depicting a Sword Tower with twelve levels.
It was exactly as he had seen in his dream.
However, this tower was colorless, consisting only of ethereal lines.
The lower half of the page contained lines of text.
[First Floor of the White Jade Capital]
[Construction Requirements: acquired sword body, core formation sword embryo.]
[Construction Materials: spirit stones (various), Ten-thousand-year Heaven-Connecting Divine Wood (ten feet), Ten-thousand-year Innate Bitter Bamboo (one segment), Blazing Red Jade (one piece).]
[Current Progress: 0%]
As he read the words in the book, information about the three materials flashed through Xu Xian's mind.
Heaven-Connecting Divine Wood—an immortal-grade plant.
Innate Bitter Bamboo—an immortal-grade plant.
Blazing Red Jade—a rare immortal-grade metal.
These three materials could be described as world-class rarities. While they might not be as rare as the Nine-Turn Spirit Lotus he had consumed, their prices were equally staggering.
More importantly, he feared that even with money, they might be impossible to buy.
Xu Xian instinctively furrowed his brows. His meditation was interrupted, and the book vanished without a trace.
With a bitter expression, he murmured, "It seems this Sword Tower won't be easy to build!"
Shuer comforted him, "One floor for each realm, one sword for each realm. Though it is not easy to build, the value is well worth the cost!"
Xu Xian did not argue, simply calculating in his mind.
"I'll go ask at the Merchant Hall."
Taking advantage of the time before dark, he left his small courtyard and set off for Falling Cloud Peak, where the headquarters of the Merchant Hall was located.
Rate on N.U.
