Chapter 205: 198 Appearing After Much Anticipation

Hearing someone praise him from behind, Tang Zhao hurriedly turned around. He saw a person with white hair and a white beard, his complexion ruddy; he truly possessed the appearance of a crane-haired, youthful-faced old immortal.

Stunned for a moment, Tang Zhao hurriedly bowed and said, "So it is Elder Zhang."

He still remembered that this person seemed to be an Elder of the Kun Yu Sword Sect, a high-ranking figure of great prestige in the local Kun Yu Sword Sect, and a distinguished guest seated at the main platform. Since he was a Sword Sect Elder, he was at least a Sword Guest, and perhaps even a Sword Hero; with his strength, reputation, and seniority all being high, Tang Zhao was naturally polite and attentive.

Besides him, several other distinguished guests also left their seats to chat with the young people, but this Elder Zhang had come down the earliest, even beating Tang Zhao's old acquaintance Wang Fei—that is, the Snow Mountain Prince—to strike up a conversation; he was clearly being sufficiently enthusiastic and friendly.

It was just that while both had the heart to chat, the other party was not a Talisman Sword Master and could not praise Tang Zhao's lecture on the right points; furthermore, they were truly strangers with no topics to discuss, so they could only exchange pleasantries back and forth. Finally, this Elder Zhang Shousong chatted for a few sentences, gave Tang Zhao a jade tablet, and said, "After the Talisman Assembly ends, you may come to visit my Kun Yu Sword Clan. We have many young people like you in our Kun Yu Sword Clan; you will surely share common interests."

Tang Zhao thanked the other party and, in turn, handed him a business card for the White Jade Flourishing Shop.

At this moment, his former companion Wang Fei finally approached.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Prince..."

The Snow Mountain Prince grabbed him and said, "Don't be so formal. Just call me... let's just stick with Wang Fei."

Tang Zhao knew this was not his real name; the Snow Mountain Prince was of the Great Jin royal family, so he naturally had the surname Yuan, and there might be a "Fei" character in his name, but it was likely not the full name. However, even if Tang Zhao truly knew his formal name on the jade records, calling him by his given name would be too rude, and using a title would be too distant, so he simply called him Wang Fei to seem intimate, and smiled, "You are clearly a Prince, why do you act like a Princess?"

Wang Fei laughed, pulled Tang Zhao to the side, and said, "How has the journey been? Did Long Yuan give you any trouble?" Tang Zhao said, "Thanks to the Prince... Brother Wang, no one gave me any trouble. How about you? Was your journey safe?"

Wang Fei said, "Am I not standing here safe and sound? Naturally, it was peaceful." He moved his lips slightly, his Internal Energy forming a line, and transmitted his voice: "We have already joined forces with Long Yuan. After the Talisman Assembly, we will thoroughly sweep through Kunlun and completely eradicate that sinister force creating the Fierce Traces."

Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he thought of the "Turtle Bandits" again, but he did not say it out loud; instead, he also transmitted his voice to ask, "Then what about the Talisman Assembly? Will it be chaotic?"

Wang Fei said, "I originally had the resolve to lure the snake out of its hole, preferring to be bait at the assembly to draw the enemy out. But Long Yuan refused. They are determined to ensure the safety of the Talisman Assembly and have staked everything on it. Of course, some things don't happen just because they want them to. Everyone still wants peace under heaven. Since we have formed an alliance, we have no choice but to send forces to help them maintain order. With both sides joining hands, our strength should be sufficient. But one cannot be too careful. You pay attention; if you see signs of chaos, come toward me. The forces around me are formidable."

Tang Zhao said, "If something really happens, you will be the one bearing the brunt. You should come toward me instead. You know, I have a trump card for escaping; as the saying goes, 'as long as the green hills remain...'"

Wang Fei laughed, "When the time comes, it's hard to say who will be able to rely on whom. Don't rely too much on that teleportation treasure. At our level, who doesn't have a device for fleeing far away? Yet there are also Dharma Artifacts and Art Tools specifically designed to restrain space. Perhaps when the time comes, everyone's teleportation trump cards will fail simultaneously; that would truly be having no path to heaven and no door to the earth."

Tang Zhao looked solemn; although this was a jinx, it was the truth. Rune Formulas were ever-changing; it wasn't as if he were invincible just because he had a simple Exile Art Tool.

Wang Fei added, "Although Long Yuan says that those present have been screened and are reliable, with no spies mixed in, I still feel uneasy. Brother Tang is sharp and has an extraordinary eye; if you discover any suspicious characters, you must tell me. Also..."

He smiled, "The Snow Mountain model I ordered must be delivered quickly; remember to add amphibious capabilities for me. A Da Xue Shan model that can capture tigers on the mountain and slay dragons in the sea! If it is truly good, I don't mind forming a fleet."

After Wang Fei left, Tang Zhao's just-relaxed mood became heavy again. Actually, Wang Fei hadn't brought any bad news; according to what he said, the situation should be fine. But Tang Zhao still felt palpitations—he didn't know if it was because he had heard too many stories, but the better the situation looked, the more it felt like it was about to overturn.

Coupled with Wang Fei's reminder that spatial techniques could also be restrained, he couldn't help but think carefully—if space were truly restrained and he couldn't use Exile, what moves would he use to escape a desperate situation?

The Shuttle he had just obtained?

Or perhaps...

As for Wang Fei telling him to keep an eye out for suspicious people, that was just talk; there was no real hope there. Even if Tang Zhao wasn't stupid, he was young and lacked experience; he couldn't be called sharp-eyed at all, at most he had sharp Glasses. If he were able to spot who was suspicious, they would have been captured by Long Yuan long ago. As for flaws that Long Yuan couldn't see, he wouldn't be able to see them either.

After dealing with the remaining distinguished guests with such a heavy heart and finishing his meal, there was a lunch break in the middle.

After the lunch break, several young people went up to the lecture platform first, and finally, it was the Libationer's turn.

This time, the Libationer finally did not break his promise; he appeared after much anticipation.

A tall and thin middle-aged man walked slowly onto the stage; what caught one's eye immediately was his empty half-sleeve and his pale complexion, as if he had not yet recovered from a serious illness.

It stood to reason that as the most prestigious teacher on the lecture platform, his appearance should have been highly anticipated by everyone. But this time, not only were there no cheers, but the applause was also sparse. For one, this Mr. Tuo had no prestige to begin with and no supporters to build momentum; for another, he appeared too late, no longer in the good morning hours when everyone was full of energy. Even if the ordinary Disciples did not know he had repeatedly changed the time and was untrustworthy, they had already exhausted much of their enthusiasm earlier and had little left for him.

Furthermore, his image was not excellent; his features were scholarly, but his spirit was listless and sickly, which did not add any points for him.

Instead, many in the crowd thought: Why does this Libationer look like he's about to die?

Tang Zhao looked up and down at this Libationer with whom he had a grudge, his mood very complicated. On one hand, he still remembered how the other party had ambushed him with a crocodile and nearly finished him off in the Maze City. Of course, he had later counter-killed and likely severely wounded his opponent, but this back-and-forth did not mean they were even; rather, it had forged a new feud. If there was an opportunity, both sides would still have to settle things.

On the other hand, his Senior Brother held this person in high regard. Without knowing about the grudge between them, he had vowed to learn from the new Libationer, even saying that the topic he was going to lecture on would surely be earth-shattering.

Just how earth-shattering could it be?

He should bring out some real goods for everyone to see. Hopefully, it wasn't just some deceptive trick.

The Libationer got on stage, suddenly coughed, and said, "Apologies, my health is not very good. I can only sit down." After saying this, he pulled out a chair, sat down, and rested his hands naturally on the stage.

This action seemed to show weakness, but with that simple movement, the surroundings became even quieter, and everyone's gaze gathered on his face. Being in the spotlight, he did not show nervousness, either openly or covertly, like the few young people; instead, he was quite calm and natural.

His first sentence was: "Is there anyone who knows me?"

The crowd was silent. Tang Zhao did know him, but the answer he would give was certainly not what Zhu Yang meant by his question.

"It seems no one knows me. That is correct, because I, Zhu Yang, am merely a humble Talisman Sword Master."

"In this world, where are there any famous Talisman Sword Masters? Only Sword Smiths can be famous, can be successful, and can have a future." He said with a relaxed expression, "Then let me ask the young people of this generation, who intends to become a Sword Smith in the future?"

The crowd looked at each other; answering was not right, and not answering was not right either. If they didn't answer, it seemed impolite to the Libationer; if they did answer—there didn't seem to be anything to answer.

If you aren't going to be a Sword Smith, why did you come to study Rune Formulas?

Zhu Yang also seemed to realize he had asked a rhetorical question and said, "Alright. Then let me ask another question: is there anyone who intends not to be a Sword Smith?"

The scene went cold, and immediately after, one person raised their hand high, as if standing out from the crowd.

It was naturally Jiang Shenyi!

When Zhu Yang saw him, his pale complexion actually regained some color, and he revealed a trace of a sincere smile, saying, "Good, I know. Is it only you?" Seeing that others did not speak, he said, "Then, why does everyone want to be a Sword Smith? Come, this young man, you say, why do you want to be a Sword Smith?"

He was asking Tang Zhao, his expression relaxed and casual, as if he had pointed at Tang Zhao simply because he was closest to him.

Tang Zhao stared at him, trying his best not to reveal any extra hostility, and instead said honestly, "Because I intend to be a Sword Guest. I want to forge my own sword."

Zhu Yang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and the others also looked at him in surprise.

It wasn't that it was strange for a Sword Smith to moonlight as a Sword Guest, but that doing so would cause distraction. To be a Sword Guest, one had to spend a large amount of time practicing martial arts, cultivating Mysterious Techniques, and learning sword moves; and youth was the best time for learning martial arts, which could not be missed. Therefore, Talisman Sword Masters who intended to be Sword Guests would push their Rune Formula courses to the back, and only learn enough to be useful, without studying them deeply, and their achievements would not be very high.

For example, Yun Xiyan, as the daughter of the Feitian Cave Sect Leader, only because she became a Sword Student, her Rune Formula studies were a complete mess, even resulting in a zero score.

But Tang Zhao had a solid full score; he was already very young, and coming from a small force, having such ability was already inconceivable. As a result, Long Yuan said he was proficient in both literature and martial arts—was that actually not Alie? He was also practicing martial arts, striving to become a Sword Guest?

This genius couldn't be too excessive, could he?

After Zhu Yang's expression changed, he suddenly laughed loudly and said, "Well said, there could be nothing better said. A young person with excellent natural talent should, of course, first be a Talisman Sword Master, then a Sword Smith, and finally become a Sword Guest. This is called the one path to the pinnacle since ancient times. If you don't become a Sword Smith, how can you achieve fame and success? If you don't become a Sword Guest, how can you transcend the mundane? Everyone, is this what you all think?"

"I see some people shaking their heads. No? But you all said you wanted to be Sword Smiths, so why is that not right? I know, everyone wants to be a Sword Smith, but not everyone wants to be a Sword Guest, right?"

He suddenly raised his eyebrows and said, "You are lying! How can there be anyone who doesn't want to be a Sword Guest? There are only those who want to but cannot. Some families even let their excellent descendants be Sword Guests, and the lesser ones try to be Sword Smiths. Could there really be anyone who only wants to be a Sword Smith?"

"I will just ask one thing: if you only become a Sword Smith, what future is there?"