Chapter 248: A Startling Dream in the Garden (Seventeen)

Several people arrived at the scene and indeed saw a cloud cavalryman wildly waving his weapon. After they jointly subdued him, he finally managed to regain some of his senses from the chaos.

He struggled to recall, saying he had originally just come to Dan Ding Si to clear away the evil things, but in a daze it was as if he had dreamed. In the dream his weapon spoke, belittling the ostentation of his moves while also saying it would point out his martial arts.

He relaxed his body and let the weapon direct him, and indeed felt his martial arts truly improving greatly. But the weapon considered his aptitude dull, saying it would take on another disciple to spread its skill… Only then did he realize that standing beside him was the General's top disciple—Yan Qing.

In a bewildered frenzy he attacked Yan Qing, but the result was that even after Yan Qing went easy on him he was still easily killed in an instant. He saw Yan Qing speaking to his own sword, while the weapon in his hand fell silent.

——

Demon Slayer

This Suiyang actually went ahead and actively chose a disciple, tsk……

Wind Pillar Busichuan Shimi crossed his arms, letting out an annoyed cold snort.

Among the several Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, except the Stone Pillar, the rest of their Pillars were originally evenly matched in strength, but since the Mist Pillar Shitou Wuyilang gained some insight from that sword of Jingliu, their swordsmanship has greatly improved; even if he joins forces with the Serpent Pillar, he is still no match for them.

The biggest difference among those Pillars lies in talent—although anyone who can become a Pillar already has talent surpassing ordinary people, Wuyilang reached the Pillar level from an ordinary person in just two months, his talent undoubtedly stands out among the Pillars. Now seeing Suiyang being treated differently because of his talent, he feels irritated as if pricked by a needle.

"Don't worry about it, Busichuan Shimi." The Serpent Pillar beside him noticed Busichuan Shimi's resentment and comforted him, "Choosing disciples based on talent is just the teacher's way of slacking off. Besides…… Suiyang might not be a good teacher."

"Oh? How did you figure that out?" Busichuan Shimi curiously looked at the Serpent Pillar sitting in the tree.

"Anyone who wants lasting power must obtain it through long practice and tempering; the cloud cavalryman possessed by Suiyang lent his body to Suiyang, gaining strength only briefly, but once Suiyang leaves, the strength vanishes—his daring to challenge Yan Qing ultimately stems from Suiyang making him lose the 'real feel' of becoming stronger."

"To master a ten‑year sword technique in a single breath, obviously the mind knows it but the limbs do not; how to adapt in combat leaves a blind spot. Whether this crash‑course method suits Yan Qing I'm not sure, but it definitely does not suit the cloud cavalryman whose sword foundations are weaker."

The Serpent Pillar's words resonated with him; as a Pillar he too had taken in stepsons, trying to pass on the complete form to them. He had tried to have stepsons who had just grasped the breathing method memorize the full sequence of moves in a few days, but the result…… their execution of the first form was completely off, lacking even one or two tenths of his power.

Later, he also began to emphasize basic training for the Demon Slayer Corps members, but this is undoubtedly an extremely long process.

"This Suiyang has lived who knows how many years, perhaps possessing some genuine talent, but to educate disciples he relies on possession for instant mastery, trying to have them grasp his lifetime of learning in the shortest time…… The result is self‑evident, surely a failure."

Speaking, the Serpent Pillar sitting in the tree gave a teasing laugh: "Even if it possesses Yan Qing now…… I'm curious how Suiyang's sword technique is employed, and how it compares to that of Jingliu's sword technique."

——

Everyone pursued along the way and on the road discovered a sword hovering in mid‑air.

Su Shang recognized it as Yan Qing's flying sword; his flying sword is a famed artifact of Gong Zao Si, resonating with its owner. The sword's appearance here, Su Shang guessed, meant he had encountered some danger.

"I have a guess, I don't know whether I should speak of it."

"It's better not to speak of ill‑omened things!" Seeing Guainaifen's solemn expression, Su Shang also felt uneasy.

"Judging from what just happened to that cloud cavalryman elder, the danger is probably not Yan Qing, but……"

"…Us?" Xing guessed her meaning.

Guainaifen covered her chest, nodding with lingering fear.

Yan Qing is the General's disciple and a top‑rank swordsman in the cloud cavalry army; with Suiyang possessing him, it's hard to say they're going to put out a fire rather than to throw away their lives.

But the most crucial thing now is to rescue Yan Qing before the situation worsens; everyone followed the flying sword to the ford, and when heading to the Dragon‑Prayer Altar, Su Shang suddenly stopped, feeling that rashly charging ahead would be improper.

"Su Shang, are you scared? But this time Suiyang is not like those previous few; he looks like he'll pull off some nasty tricks, and I'm scared too."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Su Shang blushed and retorted, "My mother started teaching me swordplay as soon as I could walk. Although I'm not the General's beloved disciple, to falter in battle would hardly be a disgrace to the cloud cavalry's name and our family's sword."

Yet as she spoke the girl lowered her head: "Actually, I really do still have a hint of fear. I'm afraid that if the possessing Suiyang's ferocity erupts, I won't be able to protect you all."

——

The Funeral of Frieren

I think maybe we should play it safe and go find the General?" Xiutaerke recalled Yan Qing's flying sword that moves at will, killing foes without needing to lift a hand, and when dueling Jingliu, those fiends couldn't even get close.

He wasn't looking down on Su Shang, but the fact is she and Yan Qing have a considerable gap; moreover, no one knows what realm the possessed Yan Qing has reached.

"Don't rush, Xing's still here—what strong foe hasn't Xing beaten? Just Yan Qing——"

"Lord Zan Yin, you'd better not be so certain."

Zan Yin was about to give Xing a big boast when Filien timely interrupted his spell. The girl narrowed her eyes and said solemnly: "After Yan Qing has been tempered by Jingliu, Ren, and Dengheng, his swordsmanship is already different from before; given his talent…… I think we should stay cautious."

"Filien, are you being too cautious? Do you remember when she protected Kafuka? Xing clearly beat Yan Qing in a one‑on‑one fight."

"That's because Kafuka was a potential threat, so Yan Qing had to divert energy to always guard against her word‑spirit technique." Filien leaned on her chin, recalling: "I remember…… Kafuka also admitted frankly that if Xing hadn't shown up, she and Ren would have been seized by Yan Qing and thrown into the Dark Prison."

"But this time is different from before: first, Yan Qing possessed will surely become stronger; second, aside from Xing, Su Shang poses no threat to him; as for Guainaifen and Huo Huo…… the two of them can only cheer from the sidelines."