Chapter 97: 97. Chapter 97

97. Chapter 97

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A thousand thoughts surged through his mind. Zhao Kuo might indeed lack experience, but no one who could enter the Beihai Sword Sect was a fool. Regardless of whether the person shooting cold arrows came from the Tianxing Sect, they were clearly ill-intentioned. Moreover, since the other party could strike without him noticing anything, their cultivation was obviously above his own. The most urgent priority was to evade first.

Thus, while forming a Sword seal, he reached out to pull Bai Tian. Unexpectedly, this pull did not move her at all.

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

"He has left," Atian replied calmly. Her left hand gently brushed away the hand the youth had on her right arm, and with both hands, she gripped the arrow that was still crackling with energy, snapping it cleanly and tossing it to the ground.

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

"Immortal Elder, are you 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-drum, "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 were required to descend the mountain for training once they reached a certain age. Considering his young age and low cultivation, this task with almost no difficulty had been assigned to him. Who would have thought an assassin suspected to be from the Tianxing Sect would appear and disrupt his plans entirely? Furthermore, this "child bride" of his Senior Brother, who looked like a mortal without any cultivation no matter how one observed her, had not only caught a Soul-Chasing Arrow with her bare hands but could also track a cultivator's movements. This truly gave him a great shock.

However, Zhao Kuo was a man after all, and he prided himself on being a Sword Cultivator; he could not 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 unsalvageable.

He bent down to pick up the arrow that had been snapped in two, carefully examining the residual Dharma power fluctuations on it, and formed a rough estimate of the enemy's strength—late-stage Qi Refining. This judgment made him breathe a huge sigh of relief. Although the enemy was a level or two higher than him, Sword Cultivators were known for their fierce attacks, which were enough to compensate for this gap in cultivation. If they were to face each other head-on, he might not end up in such a sorry state as he had this time.

It was just that he was not alone; he was accompanied by Bai Tian, and even if 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 other matters to you on the way..."

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

Looking at the large eyes of the other party, which were filled with the message "You are so weak, life in the Beihai Sword Sect must be hard for you," Zhao Kuo nearly had his internal Qi go haywire.

Yet, he had to admit that the move Atian had just pulled off was something he absolutely could not have done himself.

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

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

This was Atian's first time experiencing sword flight. Even though she was usually calm, she was frightened into grabbing the youth's shoulders in front of her. Watching the heavy sword beneath her feet move further and further from the ground, she actually felt dizzy. It was only at this moment that she had a real sense that the person before her was truly an "Immortal Elder" with divine means.

Although this "Immortal Elder" was not very good at fighting.

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

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

Atian's body naturally felt no discomfort; her attention remained on the previous experience, "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 reveal a curious expression, he gathered his spirits 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 a Soul-Chasing Arrow, which is their signature Dharma treasure. 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 each other." So said the female devil king who had run rampant in Guangkai Town for many years.

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

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

The reasons for the feud between the Beihai Sword Sect and the Fangxian Dao were complex. Aside from the Sword Cultivators' sharp, offensive tongues, there was the inevitable competition between top-tier forces and the struggle between Dharma Cultivators and Sword Cultivators that had been entangled since ancient times. So many contradictions gathered together, creating 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 could cast a wide net, the cultivation qualifications for Sword Cultivators were even more demanding. This also meant that the number of people in the Beihai Sword Sect was completely insufficient compared to the Fangxian Dao, which occupied the entire southern continent alone, and they had no advantage when it came to verbal sparring.

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

If the Beihai Sword Sect and the Fangxian Dao were an external conflict, then the Taixuan Sect and the Fangxian Dao were an internal conflict, and an even more irreconcilable one at that.

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

The Fangxian Dao cultivated the art of the Danding (Cauldron), specializing in refining pills, and even developed a method of using one's own body as a cauldron to refine the Five Gods. As for the Taixuan Sect, they called themselves the Talisman Sect, famous for their art of talismans and incantations. Both sides viewed the other as evil heretics who had defiled the Dao Lineage of their ancestors. If one were to count the grievances between the two sects, one could probably write a magnificent chronicle.

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

Atian, who grew up in Guangkai Town, 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 earnestly, "That is to say, Miss Bei and Miss Fang both want to be the 'Town Flower.' Miss Fang is the magistrate's daughter and has power at home, while Miss Bei is the scholar's daughter and reads many books. However, reading many books ultimately can't beat having power at home, so Miss Bei united with Miss Xuan, the wealthy merchant's daughter, to jointly resist Miss Fang, who uses her influence to bully others."

After finishing, she 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 rural palace drama in Atian's mouth, but upon closer thought, it didn't seem wrong. He could only open his mouth, and after a long while, he squeezed out, "... What 'you guys,' we should say 'us'."

Atian thought about how she was just about to attend the Ascension Ceremony they were holding, and it would be very ungracious to distance herself, so she quickly nodded to show her correction.

However, even if Atian understood why Zhao Kuo would suspect the Fangxian Dao, it didn't mean the mystery was solved.

As a big shot of a generation, it was hard to imagine the Fangxian Dao would order 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 just test him and then call it a day.

But regarding the act of turning around and running, he could probably understand the other party's feelings. After all, seeing a mortal catch a Dharma treasure with bare hands, he was also quite frightened.

He couldn't figure it out, couldn't figure it out, no matter how he thought about it.

Zhao Kuo's brows furrowed, feeling his train of thought had hit a dead end. However, this appearance in the eyes of others was naturally due to worrying about being assassinated.

"Immortal Elder, do not be afraid," Atian said gently, not forgetting to roll up her sleeve to reveal her fair arm and pat the thin layer of muscle on it, "For that kind of weakling, I can take on ten of them by myself."