Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 532 - 175 Sword Sect (2/2)
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Under the vast skies, the number of lads who fancied swinging a sword was the highest, perhaps because swords and sabers were convenient to conceal and carried a dashing air when slung over one's back, adding a touch of vitality.
Which young hero of the Jianghu, aged sixteen or seventeen, did not dream of displaying great martial prowess to win the heart of a maiden?
If one were to wield an axe instead, what would that look like?
Perhaps it was because several swordsmen in the past century had been too dazzling, leaving no room in the eyes of those who followed for any other kind of weapon. The old immortals in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau used to say that the stars in the sky are still there during the day.
But with the fierce sun shining overhead during the day, lighting up heaven and earth, the faint glow of the stars can hardly be seen, let alone with several suns present. If you can't see it, how can you recognize it?
In the previous century, Kong Taoist wielded peach blossoms as his sword, reaching the pinnacle as soon as he descended the mountain, shattering ten miles of red candles with a flick of his wrist, and there was the swordsman of Heavenly Mountain who honored a promise to rush a thousand miles to aid, slaying his way in and out through a crowd of ten thousand soldiers.
There was a drunken swordsman who staggered up a mountain and chopped it to construct a pavilion, just to enjoy the night breeze and ease himself.
There was also a scholar who berated heaven and earth as a dog, and after composing a spell to summon rain and slay the dragon in front of the Dragon King Temple, lasting three hundred and seventy-one characters, he took up his sword to slay a flood dragon when the rain failed to fall for three days.
Fifteen years ago, Pei Yue, Pei Danding, displayed his swordsmanship in front of the palace, with his Sword Qi soaring to skies, and the Former Emperor personally endorsed him with a "holy" title, dubbing him the Sword Saint—yet Pei Danding refused the honor, hanging the sword by the eaves before leaving.
The swordsmanship of this Sword Saint might not have been the strongest in Jianghu, not even making the top three, and after a count on one's fingers, barely ranked within the top ten; but because of this incident, the prestige of swordsmen was raised to the crest of waves, and the rangers and sons of nobility in Heaven Capital City took pride in wearing swords at their waists.
In those years, many disciples flocked to join Sword Sects, and the Elders responsible for recruiting students nearly wept with joy, as they had never taken in so many disciples of such good aptitude in their lives.
Xie Shan was one such hothead who submitted himself to a Sword Sect.
However, his talent was plainly not great, perhaps even awful; no one in the Sword Sect was willing to teach him martial arts or swordsmanship. It was probably out of sheer exasperation that they assigned him a Master, albeit a crippled one, missing a hand and a leg.
Without even a hand, and limping when he walked, what could he possibly do?
Xie Shan sat blankly in a corner one afternoon, deep in thought for a long while, feeling that he should never have listened to that old man who rambled about Jianghu. He regretted even more that he got carried away and told his parents he wanted to make his way in Jianghu.
At home, at worst he would have just been unable to practice swordsmanship, but now, not only could he not practice it, his fantasies about the Sword Sect were completely destroyed by that stinking old man, leaving no remains.
Looking at the vast expanse of snowy Heavenly Mountain in the distance, he thought it looked peculiarly like the tender lotus root slices made at home, equally tender, making saliva surge to his mouth at the very thought of biting down into one.
The saliva indeed appeared, and Xie Shan swallowed it fiercely, making a conspicuous gulping sound in the stillness of the mountain.
The strange old man beside him cast a glance at the boy.
Thinking the youngster had reached the age of fiery vigor and was struggling too much with restraint here, the old man shuddered at the thought of what actions the boy might take, and silently shuffled his buttocks aside, to preserve his own dignity in his late years.
Yet his eyes trailed off in the direction of the young man's gaze, landing upon the pale snowy peak.
A sudden thought crossed his mind, reminiscing about the misty rain of Jiangnan entering Gusu, the seductive scenes of boats and brothels, where red quilts flipped over unveiling alluring waves, and he too swallowed a mouthful of saliva, with a face full of righteousness, he exclaimed:
"So grand, so white…"
Xie Shan felt that the crippled old man finally said something sensible, thinking of the lotus root slices at home, he too showed his approval with a nod:
"Yes, so white indeed."
The wind blew by, and the piercing cold almost froze their saliva solid. Shivering, they tightened their clothes around them, wrapping themselves up securely, sitting like two black bears atop Heavenly Mountain.
This place is Heavenly Mountain.
Amidst the vast clouds and mist.
In Great Qin, there are numerous Sword Sects within the martial world, and among them, Heavenly Mountain is foremost in opening sects and accepting disciples. Any wanderer in Jianghu knows that Heavenly Mountain Swordsmen transfer the icy solitude of the mountain snow into their swords, not seeking sword momentum or practicing sword moves, but capturing the highest realm of intent to confront their foes.
A true disciple of Heavenly Mountain, even with just a wooden stick in hand, or making a casual stab or slash, is considered top-notch swordsmanship in Jianghu, striking awe and fear into others' hearts, revealing their sharpness and brilliance.
In recent years, however, Heavenly Mountain had seen no significant revelations, and the title of leader of the Sword Dao began to shift to Qingfeng Edge, originally of the Hidden Sect.
It is often said that each holy place in Jianghu must possess tales that match its reputation to attract wave upon wave of newcomers. Like the former leader of Sword Dao, the Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect had the Yin Yang Sword Pool with rippling, crystal-clear waters.
It was no less spectacular than the famous scenery renowned throughout the world.
But should anyone dare to step into it, they would be sliced to the bone by that very Sword Pool, leaving not even a scrap of their skeleton behind.
People in Jianghu say that the pool, in fact, contains not a drop of water but is an expanse of Sword Qi. However, most people do not believe this; they climb Heavenly Mountain just to view the Map of Myriad Mountains and Rivers.
Drafted with sharp strokes, each stroke emanated sword qi, embodying Great Qin's vast landscape, famous mountains and rivers totaling one hundred and eight; others claim it represents the Thirty-six Heavenly Caves and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands recorded in Taoist scriptures. Ultimately, each mountain exudes the sword qi of a mountain, and each body of water the fierce sharpness of water.
If one could grasp even a hint of this essence, they might establish a name for themselves in Jianghu.
Alas, each year, despite the price paid by many to ascend the mountain and observe, true enlightenment is rare. Yet plenty of people enter vertically and are carried out horizontally, coughing up fresh blood, unable to stain even the snow at their feet, as the cold wind quickly turns it to ice crumbs.
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Xie Shan had swept through countless times over the years.
No matter how he tried to persuade them, those sword-bearing men would still walk forward resolutely, only to collapse with a loud cry in the end. Xie Shan had no choice but to drag them out and carry them down the mountain, cursing all the way.
Although he thought these people were so foolish that even the donkeys from his hometown wouldn't bother to kick them, he still understood in his heart.
After all, in Jianghu, the only holy relic of swordsmanship that could be compared to the Map of Myriad Mountains and Rivers of Heavenly Mountain was the Qingfeng Edge at the foot of Myriad Swords Peak outside the sect. Staring at the lotus slice-like Great Snow Mountain, Xie Shan wondered, how tall was that Qingfeng Edge far away? Was Myriad Swords Peak even more towering and solitary compared to Qingfeng Edge?
Outside Qingfeng Edge, Myriad Swords Peak.
Lin Qiaofu sat on a rock at the summit. A book lay on her knees, but right now she wasn't reading — she was simply staring blankly at a cloud outside.
The mountain truly wasn't high. To gaze at the sugar-coated haw-like cloud, she had to lift her head a bit more. Staring too long would make her neck sore, but if she moved and then looked up again, that sugar-coated haw would have been savagely bitten by the heavens, losing its original shape.
Unlike Qingfeng Edge, where ten thousand mists and clouds rolled like a sea beneath her feet.
With the height of Myriad Swords Peak, even an elderly man past his seventies could easily climb up and down. It couldn't compare to the grandeur of the ancestral home of Taoist Sects that swallowed dragons and tigers with its Qi, let alone the Heavenly Mountain in the Northern Region that threatened to flood Jianghu with melting snow.
But in the eyes of swordsmen, this mountain was boundlessly high, probably only an inch or two shorter than heaven, and exactly how many parts of an inch that was, well, that required some careful consideration.
The mountain was named Myriad Swords, but there were at most a hundred or so swords on it.
The most famous was the Three Fools Sword placed at the highest peak, used by the Sword Saint a hundred years ago. Some lamented that if the Sword Saint could have held on a little longer, he might have witnessed the grand era when the Taoists wielded peach blossoms and the supreme swordsmen walked the Northern Frontier.
But fate had its limits, and even when alive, as high above others as he was higher than Myriad Swords Peak, when his time came, he too had to leave this world and close his eyes.
However, some said that the Sword Saint's title wasn't bestowed by the Emperor. Out of all the Sword Qi in the world, he alone claimed eight 'dou' of it, with another half 'dou' locked within that Spiritual God Sword, Three Fools.
It was precisely because of the Sword Saint's weapon dissolution and returning to ruination that Jianghu of Great Qin in the next hundred years could see so many swordsmen, a multitude of dragons crossing the river, far more spectacular than one mountain standing alone in majesty.
These matters didn't concern Lin Qiaofu much.
She merely liked to read books and didn't like swords, not one bit.
But she liked Uncle Gong Yu, who brought her sweets, and Uncle Xuan, who liked to pamper her, and also Sect Leader Zhu Ling, so staying at Qingfeng Edge felt as comfortable as home. Few people came to Qingfeng Edge, making it a good place for reading. With her senior sisters' company, she never felt lonely.
On the mountain, she could watch the stars and clouds, and at the foot of the mountain, there were books. At the base of the mountain, there was a clear stream where, despite the shallow water, a type of fat fish named 'Da Qing crucian carp' thrived; perfect for making soup. Fried in oil before being boiled, the soup turned white as milk and was extremely delicious.
However, since she had read that crucian carp tofu soup was particularly nourishing and could increase milk production, she blushed and since then hadn't drunk fish soup again, opting only to roast fish. Yet, she never quite managed to roast it well, not as good as the amiable and smiling scholar from three years ago.
Thinking of that delicious roasted fish, the young girl couldn't help but salivate. But recalling the charred food she had made, she swallowed back her saliva.
Perhaps it was precisely because what she had made was such a dismal failure that she couldn't forget about the taste from three years ago.
With a sigh, her gaze fell onto the book on her lap.
The book was so thick that it seemed it could send a grown man to a place like Reviving Spring Hall to lie down for a few days. Upon close inspection, it wasn't some remarkable martial arts manual or a record of anecdotes, but rather a dictionary-like book.
It contained obscure characters and unknown origins — dry and dull, but she read on with great enthusiasm.
After having read through the most difficult and sleep-inducing books in the Book Pavilion of Qingfeng Edge three times, she could only resort to these pedantic dictionaries to satisfy her cravings.
Flipping a page, she saw an ancient method for writing the character 'knife,' which listed the origins of the character, and noted at the bottom that despite its simplicity, there were seven or eight ways to write it.
Lin Qiaofu felt whoever had written this note must have had a hard life to write such things. Turning another page, she suddenly thought of Jianghu's new Sword and Saber List; it should be updated by now. She wondered how many would rise and how many would fall.
The Sword and Saber List didn't rank by cultivation but by accomplishment, and unparalleled masters were not allowed on the list.
It was probably out of fear of angering some hot-tempered Grandmaster and being cursed and having their homes demolished that the elderly judges preferred to avoid conflict.
Thinking of the serious and helpless expressions she had seen on those old men's faces, the young girl couldn't help but laugh out loud, still feeling that no matter what, Elder Murong must undoubtedly be a first-rate expert in this world.
At that moment, two Qi Mechanisms shot through the distant sky like swords. Lin Qiaofu looked up and immediately saw Gong Yu in white, followed by the green-clothed Swordsman beside her.
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.
The Swordsman was handsome, with the smile of someone easygoing and approachable.
Lin Qiaofu's eyes widened, and she intended to get up to greet the newcomers.
But having just thought about that flavor, the 'flavor' in her mind hadn't cleared yet. Seeing the person who was linked to that memory, she inadvertently blurted out what she had been fixating on in her heart:
"Roasted fish!"
PS: Offering up the second update of the day...
