Chapter 42: 42. Chapter Forty-Two

42. Chapter Forty-Two

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! The mountain gate of the Tianxing Sect is one hundred and eight thousand miles away from Guangkai Town; it is hard to imagine someone traveling such a long distance just to assassinate him, a Qi Refining disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect. And heaven is my witness, this is his first time leaving the island—what kind of enemies could he possibly have!

A thousand thoughts flooded his mind. Zhao Kuo might indeed lack experience, but no one who can enter the Beihai Sword Sect is a fool. Whether the person who fired the cold arrow came from the Tianxing Sect or not, they were clearly ill-intentioned. Moreover, the fact that they could approach without him noticing meant their cultivation was clearly above his own. The most urgent priority was to dodge first.

Thus, while forming a Sword seal with his fingers, he reached out to pull Atian. Unexpectedly, this pull didn't budge her at all.

Zhao Kuo was greatly alarmed, "Miss Bai! You first come with me...!"

"He has left," Atian answered calmly. Her left hand gently brushed away the boy's hand gripping her right arm, and with both hands, she grasped the arrow that was still crackling with energy, snapping it cleanly and tossing it to the ground.

Watching the Tianxing Sect's signature magical artifact look as fragile as a withered branch in the young girl's hands, Zhao Kuo felt as if he were dreaming.

"Is the Immortal Elder injured?" Completely unaware of how shocking her actions were, Atian turned her head to ask him.

"Oh... no, no, no," Zhao Kuo shook his head like a rattle, "Are you sure he has already left?"

"Left," Atian nodded, "He ran away very fast."

To flee a thousand miles after a single failed strike—it was indeed the style of the Tianxing Sect.

Zhao Kuo felt a bit panicked. Disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect are required to go down the mountain for training once they reach a certain age. Considering his young age and low cultivation, this task, which had almost no difficulty, was assigned to him. Who would have thought an assassin suspected to be from the Tianxing Sect would appear and completely disrupt his pace? Furthermore, this child-bride of the Senior Brother, who looked like a mortal without any cultivation no matter how one observed her, had not only caught the Soul-Chasing Arrow with her bare hands but could also determine the whereabouts of a cultivator, which truly shocked him.

However, Zhao Kuo was a man after all, and he prided himself on being a Sword Cultivator; he couldn't show cowardice in front of a young mortal girl. He managed to grit his teeth and maintain a calm expression, though after the "beauty saving the hero" scene that had just occurred, his image as an expert from the outside world was likely ruined.

Bending down to pick up the arrow broken into two pieces, he carefully examined the residual magical power fluctuations on it, gaining a rough estimate of the enemy's strength—late-stage Qi Refining. This judgment made him heave a great sigh of relief. Although the enemy was a level or two higher than him, Sword Cultivators were known for their fierce attacks, which was enough to make up for this gap in cultivation. If they were to face each other directly, he wouldn't necessarily be in such a sorry state as he was just now.

It was just that he was not alone; he was accompanied by Bai Tian, and even though she had just performed an astonishing feat, it did not change the fact that she was a mortal.

Thinking of this, he stood up and looked at Atian, gritting his teeth, "Miss Bai, we must leave quickly before he returns. I will explain the other matters to you on the way..."

"Immortal Elder Zhao," Atian interrupted him, patting the boy's shoulder in a soothing manner, "Do not be afraid."

Looking at the big eyes of the other party, which were filled with the message "You are so weak, it must be hard for you in the Beihai Sword Sect," Zhao Kuo almost caused the Qi circulating in his body to go astray.

Yet he had to admit that for the move Atian had just pulled off, he himself would absolutely not have been able to do it.

Was Senior Brother Bai Xinli really meeting this child-bride because he was afraid that "the cooked duck would fly away"? He suddenly began to doubt this.

However, even with so many questions in his heart, now was not the right time to investigate. Since they had encountered unexpected danger, Zhao Kuo could no longer worry about the rule that "a Sword Cultivator's sword must not be touched by outsiders." He directly abandoned the ridiculous large basket, pulled Atian onto his heavy Sword that was already hovering in the air, and changed a hand seal; the long sword rose from the ground and shot straight into the clouds.

This was Atian's first time experiencing sword flight. Even though she was usually calm, she was scared into grabbing the boy's shoulders in front of her. Watching the heavy sword beneath her feet move further and further away from the ground, she actually felt a sense of dizziness. It was also at this moment that she gained a real sense that the person in front of her was truly an "Immortal Elder" possessing divine means.

Although this "Immortal Elder" wasn't very good at fighting.

"It is inevitable to feel some discomfort during your first sword flight. If you feel anything wrong, Miss, you must tell me in time." Even though he didn't think Atian, with her heaven-defying physique capable of snapping magical artifacts with her bare hands, would be unable to handle a mere sword flight, Zhao Kuo still reminded her dutifully.

Just kidding, if this girl couldn't cultivate, then he would have to go to the back mountain to grow vegetables.

Atian's body naturally wouldn't have any discomfort; her attention remained on the experience just now, "Was that just now an enemy of the Immortal Elder?"

Hearing this, Zhao Kuo revealed a slightly bitter smile, "Perhaps, though I didn't know I had such an enemy before."

Seeing Atian show a curious expression, he pulled himself together and continued, "Since you have a connection with my Immortal Sect, and I don't know if there will be other dangers on this journey, I will tell you about it."

"The person who ambushed us just now should be a disciple of the Tianxing Sect. The arrow you caught is called the Soul-Chasing Arrow, which is their signature magical artifact. The Tianxing Sect's techniques have always been known for concealment and speed. It's just that we only saw one arrow, so it's unknown if someone else was impersonating them," Zhao Kuo said, "It's just that the Tianxing Sect and my Beihai Sword Sect have no past grievances or recent grudges; I really can't think of any reason for them to come and assassinate me."

"Perhaps they just don't like the look of you. The magistrate's daughter and Scholar Lü's daughter are the same; they are always fighting back and forth." So said the female demon king who had been running rampant in Guangkai Town for many years.

Zhao Kuo did not know the inside story, but hearing this, his heart stirred. The Tianxing Sect is located at the southern end of the Yuanguang Continent, right in the territory of the Fangxian Way, one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, and has always followed the lead of the Fangxian Way. As for the relationships between the Four Great Immortal Sects, even Zhao Kuo, whose Sword Heart was about to change into that of a "Liar," couldn't bring himself to lie to Atian and tell her they were as close as family with the other three great immortal sects.

The Yuanguang Continent is only so big, and there are only so many people who can cultivate. They bump into each other every few days, so no matter how good their tempers are, friction is inevitable, not to mention that the ability of Sword Cultivators to offend people is as outstanding as their attack power. Among the many fellow practitioners, the one the Beihai Sword Sect offended the most was the Fangxian Daoist Sect.

The reasons for the feud between the Beihai Sword Sect and the Fangxian Daoist Sect are complex. Aside from the Sword Cultivators' sharp tongues that beg for a beating, there is the inevitable competition between top forces and the struggle between Dharma Cultivators and Sword Cultivators that has been entangled since ancient times. So many contradictions gathered together created a troublesome situation where one side felt the other was unreasonable and sharp-tongued, while the other side felt the other was hypocritical and dark.

However, compared to Dharma Cultivators who can cast a wide net, the cultivation qualifications for Sword Cultivators are more demanding. This also means that the number of people in the Beihai Sword Sect is completely insufficient compared to the Fangxian Daoist Sect, which occupies the entire southern continent alone, and they have no advantage when it comes to verbal sparring.

Fortunately, there is another sect in the north that is even more at odds with the Fangxian Daoist Sect, and that is the Taixuan Sect, which is also listed among the Four Great Immortal Sects.

If the Beihai Sword Sect and the Fangxian Daoist Sect represent an external contradiction, then the Taixuan Sect and the Fangxian Daoist Sect represent an internal contradiction, and one that is even more irreconcilable.

Fundamentally, these two immortal sects share the same origin and were one family in ancient times, but they took completely different paths in their subsequent development.

The Fangxian Daoist Sect practices the art of the Cinnabar Cauldron, specializing in refining pills, and even developed a method of using one's own body as a furnace to refine the Five Gods. As for the Taixuan Sect, they call themselves the Talisman Sect and are famous for their talisman arts. Both sides view the other as evil, polluting the Way of the founding masters. If one were to count the grievances between the two sects, one could probably write a magnificent chronicle.

Against this background, it was only natural for the Beihai Sword Sect and the Taixuan Sect to band together to resist the Fangxian Daoist Sect; the enemy of an enemy is a friend, after all.

Having grown up in Guangkai Town since childhood, Atian naturally didn't understand what the struggle between Dharma Cultivators and Sword Cultivators was, nor could she understand the difference between the Danding Sect and the Talisman Sect, but she had her own way of understanding.

"I understand," she nodded seriously, "In other words, Miss Bei and Miss Fang both want to be the town's beauty. Miss Fang is the magistrate's daughter, so her family has power. Miss Bei is the scholar's daughter and has read many books. However, reading many books ultimately cannot defeat those with power in the family, so Miss Bei united with the wealthy merchant's daughter, Miss Xuan, to jointly resist Miss Fang, who uses her influence to pressure others."

After finishing, she even sighed, "You guys don't have it easy either."

Zhao Kuo didn't understand why the complex relationships of the cultivation world turned into a village palace drama in Atian's mouth, but upon closer thought, it didn't seem to have any flaws. He could only open his mouth, and after a long time, he squeezed out, "... What 'you guys,' it should be 'us'."

Atian thought about how she was going to attend the Ascension Ceremony held by their people, and it would indeed be very ungracious to distance herself, so she quickly nodded to show her remedy.

However, even if Atian understood why Zhao Kuo would suspect the Fangxian Daoist Sect, it did not mean that this puzzle was solved.

As a big shot of a generation, it is hard to imagine the Fangxian Daoist Sect ordering its underlings to assassinate a nobody like Zhao Kuo. Even if they really did that, they wouldn't send someone whose cultivation wasn't much higher to test him and then just give up.

But he could probably understand the other party's feelings about running away immediately; after all, seeing a mortal catch a magical artifact with bare hands, he was also quite scared.

Can't figure it out, can't figure it out, no matter how he thinks about it, he can't figure it out.

Zhao Kuo frowned, feeling that his train of thought had hit a dead end. However, this appearance in the eyes of others was naturally because he was worried about being assassinated.