Chapter 271: 262 Thunder Bird

In a place as quiet as a paradise beyond the world, a roar suddenly shattered the tranquility.

Before the pavilion, a middle-aged man who looked to be about forty had a ferocious expression and roared loudly:

"Come out, tell Xue Xianyun to come out! Ask him, now that I've arrived, why doesn't he come out to welcome me? Does he look down on an old friend? I want to see what kind of character he's turned into after these dozen years or so!"

In the pavilion, the young White Jade Disciple who had just been operating the Juicing Art Tool glanced at the Steaming Point Tool that had been smashed onto the ground and sighed slightly: Such a fine Art Tool, what a pity.

Although he didn't have to pay for it if it broke, the shop's benefits meant that this batch of gourmet Art Tools would not be recycled, and the young disciples on duty for these two days could each choose some to take away. He had been considering whether to take the juicer, the oven, or the steamer, and now he had one fewer option.

As for the ferocious-looking, ill-intentioned guest exuding a hostile aura, he was not afraid.

Honestly—he had seen plenty of them.

Ever since the news of the Sword Casting Conference was released, Jichun City had become overcrowded, packed with participants and onlookers, with the latter being the most numerous. Relatively speaking, there were not many onlookers here at Runcao Ferry; most were well-known participants holding invitations. But this place was still not just for friends; besides the old acquaintances of the Manor Master and a few disciples, a portion were "worthy figures" from various places who had come to show their support out of courtesy, and another portion were simply ill-intentioned guests.

Yes, Zhuoyu Villa had truly sent some invitations to these ill-intentioned guests.

For example, those "creditors" that Xue Xianyun had accumulated.

Last time Tang Zhao and the others went to the Talisman Conference, they obtained a list of dangerous creditors. They were lucky that at the venue they only encountered Zhu Yang, an abnormal special case; after all, Xue Xianyun's creditors were all getting on in years and couldn't possibly pay constant attention to a young man's Talisman Conference.

However, this time was different; this time, Xue Xianyun himself was famous far and wide.

Originally, the matter of the traitor at Zhuoyu Villa had become a joke through the mouths of those with ulterior motives, but then news spread that he might succeed in Sword Casting. This kind of "suppressing before elevating" caused people's moods to fluctuate, which could be described as pleasing to friends and painful to enemies. Many who had even forgotten the grudges of yesteryear couldn't sit still and came one after another to spy.

Yet, Zhuoyu Villa could have ignored them. As long as they didn't send them invitations, they couldn't openly come up the mountain; at most, they could use various means to piggyback on others' quotas, and even if some slipped through the net, the numbers could be controlled.

However, this was because Xue Xianyun let them come.

Having fought for so many years, regardless of whether the old grudges were big or small, they were still obsessed with them today. Since Xue Xianyun had good news, what would be the point if he didn't let them come to the scene to feel sour and hateful? He should just call them all up, watch Xue Xianyun become a Sword Master, and it would be most satisfying if they were gnashing their teeth in helplessness.

As disciples, Tang Zhao and the others should have stopped the old man's willfulness, as this increased the difficulty of the defense for the Sword Casting Conference. However, after Shi Chunqing defected, Xue Xianyun was depressed and nearly collapsed; even the Sword Casting was just him forcing himself to keep his spirits up, focusing his attention to escape the troubles of reality. In fact, there were never a shortage of troubles, and he would have to face them after the Sword Casting, so how could his disciples bear to deprive the old man of his small, real happiness? They would rather everyone work a little harder to let the old man be as happy as possible.

Therefore, quite a few unfriendly names were mixed into the list.

Unsurprisingly, after Runcao Ferry was put into use, there were ill-intentioned guests every day.

As the saying goes, when there are a hundred people, there are all kinds. Xue Xianyun's enemies were of all kinds. It could be said that most were not people of deep scheming. Xue Xianyun himself had no deep schemes, and his enemies from his youth were not rational or mature either, otherwise how would the conflicts have started? After getting on in years, some had polished their character, while others were just like Xue Xianyun, as naive and innocent as in their youth, with the added trait of relying on their age to act arrogantly.

When selecting the list, Xue Yeyu made the decision and specifically picked some shallow and irritable ones. Firstly, these people couldn't plot conspiracies and their capacity for harm was limited; secondly—if it were those deep-thinking types who didn't show their emotions, seeing the Sword Casting succeed without being stimulated, unable to be dumbfounded or devastated, Xue Xianyun would inevitably not feel satisfied enough.

But being too shallow was not a good thing either; some people couldn't even wait until they got up the mountain. They started finding faults and acting up at the foot of the mountain.

Like this ill-intentioned guest, finding faults and acting like a hooligan at the gate happened every few days. The young disciple was actually used to it.

Let's follow the procedure.

The young disciple stepped forward, maintaining a forced, insincere smile, and said: "This honored guest, please calm your impatience. Once the time comes, there will be vehicles on the mountain to pick you up, why be in such a hurry to go up?"

The man cursed: "Go up the mountain my ass! If Xue Xianyun doesn't come down, I wouldn't go up even if he carried me in an eight-bearer sedan chair."

The young disciple said politely: "You're overthinking it. With your honorable appearance, who would be willing to carry you in an eight-bearer sedan chair?"

The man was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage: "You uneducated little beast, let me teach you a lesson on Xue Xianyun's behalf—" As he spoke, he reached out to grab the disciple—

His arm was halfway extended when he suddenly felt a tingling sensation.

Crackle...

The sound of lightning leaping echoed in his ears.

Immediately after, the man's body went numb, his hair and body hair stood straight up one by one, and then he began to drift upward.

What's going on? What's going on?

The man was likely floating in the air without an Art Tool for the first time; paralyzed, he couldn't even look up to see what was happening, only vaguely feeling a patch of Thunder Light covering his head.

Everyone except him saw it.

Above his head, an ice-blue giant bird was hovering, its wings spread, every feather covered in ghostly blue Thunder Light.

Lightning was originally one of the few violent forces in the world, yet this giant bird's temperament was cold, even tranquil. The feathers condensed from Thunder Light were like cyan-blue ice crystals, and they seemed to flow slightly like water; not a single feather was out of control, they were all part of the giant bird, and the giant bird was more like a spirit of lightning.

It didn't even attack the ill-intentioned guest; it just approached him, like a FeilaiPeak hanging above his head, and the dissipated lightning power paralyzed him and made him "electromagnetically levitate."

Seeing this person had no power to resist, a handsome young man stood up on the back of the Thunder Bird.

"It's Brother Jiang." Yun Xiyan exclaimed, "He has improved again. Before, his wings weren't as agile as this bird; at a glance, one could tell it was just an Art Tool, but now it's like a living creature. Within a few months, it seems his realm is different too."

So it wasn't just her who had made rapid progress in the past six months.

Lady Hua Rong nodded, and even that old woman praised: "This young man is extraordinary."

Jiang Shenyi stood up, floated into the air using electromagnetic force, and stared at the man: "What's wrong with this one again?"

The man glared at him, but his tongue was paralyzed and he couldn't speak for a moment. The young disciple beside him said: "This guest didn't have time to do anything, he just smashed a Steaming Point Tool steamer."

Jiang Shenyi said: "That's fine. How much does a steamer cost?"

The young disciple said: "One hundred taels."

Jiang Shenyi said in surprise: "So cheap? I haven't been to the shop for a few days, have Art Tools dropped in price so much? Isn't this like Chinese cabbage now?"

The young disciple said: "Yes, Senior Brother Tang said that the ultimate destination of Art Tools is to become like cabbage."

Jiang Shenyi laughed: "As expected of him. Then that's that. Compensation of one hundred taels... plus a ten-fold fine." Without waiting for the other party to speak, he reached out and took the Pouch Art Tool tucked into the other's belt and threw it to the young disciple.

The disciple opened it, took out a pile of gold and silver, and stuffed it back; he really didn't take any extra. Jiang Shenyi nodded with satisfaction and said: "Logically speaking, you were invited by my master, so you count as a proper guest. The old history between you and my master should be resolved by you older generation; I won't interfere. But since courtesy demands reciprocity, you were rude first, so we cannot be considered impolite. Since you haven't committed a crime, please leave. The Sword Casting Conference does not welcome you." After saying this, he took out a wooden plaque with the words "One Thousand Li" written in large characters on it.

"Exile, One Thousand Li."

A flash of light, and the ill-intentioned guest disappeared.

After finishing this small matter, Jiang Shenyi floated from the Thunder Bird to the ground and put on a polite and standard smile. He would never have made this smile half a month ago, but today he was already used to it, which shows that nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it. He cupped his hands in a circle and said: "Honored guests, welcome to Jiugao Mountain. I am Jiang Shenyi, a True Jade Disciple of Zhuoyu Villa."

He fluently delivered a welcome speech and added: "Although Zhuoyu Villa is small and our manpower is limited, every one of us tries our best to ensure that guests feel at home. Now I will take you all to the Sword Casting Conference venue."

He didn't call everyone out, but went into the pavilions one by one.

Yun Xiyan watched curiously; every time he went in, a large white bubble would emerge from the pavilion, naturally floating around the Thunder Bird just like the person before. Before long, the Thunder Bird was surrounded by floating white balls, slowly rotating like a string of Pearl necklaces.

Finally, he came to the pavilion where Yun Xiyan and the others were.

Seeing him come in, Yun Xiyan jumped up and said: "Brother Jiang, do you still remember me?"

Jiang Shenyi said in surprise: "Sister Yun? You came so early? Ah, and Lady Hua."

He was very surprised that there were two acquaintances in one pavilion. One had to know that although Zhuoyu Villa had invited many friends, they were mostly people who had friendships with Xue Xianyun. Other senior brothers and sisters also had friends, but he didn't have many acquaintances; even counting acquaintances like Lady Hua, whom he had only met once, it was hard to count more than a few. Sometimes when he went to receive guests, he wouldn't see a single acquaintance; it was just fulfilling the duty of a Host. Opportunities to meet peers he was somewhat familiar with like Yun Xiyan were very rare.

This was the first time he had seen the old woman in this pavilion; seeing her appearance was kind and her temperament elegant, and she did not seem like someone looking for trouble, and being an elderly person, he bowed and said, "How should I address you, old lady?"

The old woman laughed and said, "This old woman's surname is Xun. I am not a lady, so there is no need to address me as such."

Jiang Shenyi was startled, realizing the old woman did not have her hair coiled like a married woman, nor did she have it hanging down like an unmarried young girl, but instead wore a very simple single bun for a woman who had reached the age of marriage, clearly indicating she was unmarried, and he said, "Then... Heroine Xun?"

The old woman laughed out loud and said, "Not bad, truly a good child."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Heroine Xun, Yun Xiyan smiled and said, "How is it, besides me, has anyone else from that group at the Talisman Conference arrived yet?"

Jiang Shenyi smiled and said, "We sent letters to them all, and most replied that they would come. However, Sister Yun is the first to arrive. To be honest, the martial arts world pays more attention to the Sword Casting Conference. Once they hear of sword casting, they all scramble to come, whereas the Talisman Sword Masters have little interest; even Huagu Tower here in Yunzhou hasn't sent anyone yet."

Yun Xiyan smiled and said, "Them? They won't be able to come. I picked them off on my way here."