Chapter 654 - Unrivaled in the World, A Friend’s Grave in the Cold Earth - Part 2

The Vice-Leader crouched slightly, hand tightening around his sword. His stance was solid and aggressive, like a predator coiled and ready to strike.

It was clear he came from a real martial lineage. This was no street-brawling bandit.

Li Yuan looked at the man’s sword grip and felt a faint flicker of recognition. Something about it tugged at an old memory.

“In front of me, and you still dare to daydream?” the Vice-Leader barked with a laugh. Then he lunged forward.

His sword came roaring out like a hurricane. He didn’t just charge. He pounced, like a tiger descending on prey, his blade slicing the air with lethal force.

The wind howled. He hadn’t even reached Li Yuan yet, but the killing intent rolled in like a crashing wave.

This man had definitely killed before. Many times.

Li Yuan blinked back into focus just as the strike came in. He slid effortlessly to the side, one smooth step, and avoided what was meant to be a finishing blow. His own sword flicked up in response, and with a crisp

ding

, the opponent’s blade was knocked from his grip, spinning through the air before clattering to the ground.

It looked effortless, unreal, and as natural as breathing. And yet that ease...had just defeated Skyscale Mountain’s second-in-command.

Earlier, the silence had been stunned. Now, it was charged with disbelief—taut with the kind of awe that bordered on fear.

Someone even cried out, “Impossible!”

The Vice-Leader stared at his hand in disbelief. His grip had split open, the skin around the hilt torn and bleeding. That single casual strike from Li Yuan had carried that much force.

“You... You...” He fumbled for words. Then, without warning, he snapped his head up, spun around, dashed across the ground to retrieve his fallen sword, and charged back again like a storm. “One more round!”

Li Yuan calmly lowered his sword and lifted two fingers in response.

The bearded man came in like a gale. His sword raged like a hurricane, strike after strike stacking on top of each other, compressing the air itself until it howled.

This was the power that had crushed enemies on the battlefield.

This was the force that once made foes flee at the mere sight of him.

They called him the

Soaring Golden Roc

and the Vice-Leader of Skyscale Mountain had earned that name.

Even among the rebels, it was said that their commander’s strength lay in leadership and strategy. But in pure martial might, no one outranked the Golden Roc, Guo Xi.

And yet now...the rebel fighters, the rescued children, everyone watched in disbelief, eyes wide, hearts pounding.

What they were witnessing wasn’t just impressive. It was surreal. It shook them to their core, like watching a story from myth unfold right before their eyes.

The boy didn’t take a single step back. His expression remained calm as ever. He simply raised his right hand, pressing two fingers together. And with that, he casually deflected every strike from Guo Xi, whose blade came down like a torrential storm.

The sword flashes came in layers, as if trying to bury him beneath a mountain. But no matter how fierce or fast the strikes, they never got past those two fingers.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Guo Xi attacked with all his might, but it felt like an ant trying to topple a tree.

At last, exhausted and breathless, Guo Xi leaned on his sword, staring at the boy.

From the crowd, a green-robed girl burst out, rushing to his side.

“Father!” she cried, reaching out to steady him. “Are you all right?”

Then she lifted her gaze to the boy.

His eyes were calm, his face still carrying a quiet smile. Before, Guo Qin had thought he simply had a peaceful temperament. Now, looking again, she realized this wasn’t peace. This was depth. An unfathomable depth.

“No way...” Guo Xi muttered. “This isn’t possible...”

He suddenly looked up at Li Yuan, his voice rising with disbelief. “There’s no one in the world who could be this strong.”

Li Yuan looked back at him. Their exchange had already answered a few questions in his mind.

He now understood why the man’s sword style had felt so familiar from the start. It was a modified version of the Xie Clan’s sword art.

The original Xie style emphasized speed, swift strikes and rapid footwork. At lower levels, it was extremely effective.

But this bearded warrior had clearly reworked the sword. He’d smoothed out many of its flaws. Even the one fatal weakness, the draw speed, had been fixed.

In the original, the moment of drawing the sword was too slow.

Only...someone had once watched him practice his draw every single day.

Someone who used to chat with him about the art of the blade, about skill, about the flaws in the Xie Clan's style. In fact, it was that same someone who had first pointed those flaws out.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“What is your connection to Xie Yu?” Li Yuan asked.

“Xie Yu?” Guo Xi froze for a moment, then shook his head. “Never heard of him.”

But almost instantly, he straightened up, eyeing Li Yuan warily. “Who are you, really? With your level of strength, there’s no way you were captured and thrown into that prison cart.”

As his words fell, the surrounding rebels tensed. Hands went to weapons.

In their eyes, numbers meant strength.

After all, in this era, tales of a lone warrior defeating armies had long since become legend, if not outright myth.

Even if this youth turned out to be an enemy, he wouldn't escape Skyscale Mountain alive.

But Li Yuan only looked at Guo Xi.

“You might not know the origin of your sword style, but I can tell you this. It’s definitely linked to Xie Yu. And I’m connected to her, too. This time, my original plan was to get close to the Emperor and assassinate that worthless tyrant. Unfortunately, your people pulled me out before I could act.”

He spoke with total ease, like he was sharing tea-time gossip. With kids watching from the sidelines, this kind of dramatic flair came almost too naturally to him.

As expected, his words had an immediate effect. Faces in the crowd softened, some with guilt, others with admiration. But no matter the look, all of them now held a mix of respect and fear.

Except Guo Xi. He wasn’t quite so easily convinced. He simply said, “Is your name really Li Yu?”

“It is.”

“Strange,” Guo Xi said. “I’ve never heard of you in all the jianghu.”

Li Yuan said nothing, just looked at him.

Guo Xi suddenly straightened. “Please, this way. Let’s talk inside.”

Then he turned and barked out a couple of orders. “Little Qin! Make some tea! Biaozi, go fetch the boss!”

The green-robed girl and a towering brute from the crowd immediately sprang into action and ran off.

Li Yuan glanced over at the children who had come with him and said, “They came here with me.”

Guo Xi replied, “Our rebel army was founded to overthrow that dog of an emperor. These children are victims of his regime. Naturally, we consider them kin. We’ll treat them as our own.”

Li Yuan smiled and waved at Xiao Zhen and Xiao Hu.

The two kids stared at him wide-eyed, practically glowing with admiration.

“Big Bro! Big Bro!” Xiao Hu shouted, barely able to contain himself. “Can I learn martial arts from you?”

Xiao Zhen just looked at him with shining eyes, hope written all over her face.

Li Yuan nodded without hesitation.

Guo Xi’s expression twitched slightly. He didn’t comment, but in his heart he found it baffling, martial arts weren’t something you just handed out. Since when did masters take disciples with a nod and a smile?

The two of them entered a nearby room and sat down for tea.

As Guo Xi observed Li Yuan more closely, he was struck by the boy’s composure. Calm, collected, more like an old master than a youth. If this world still had legends of ancient monsters returning in disguise, Guo Xi would’ve half believed this was one of them.

Still, he didn’t ask Li Yuan’s age. Judging by appearance, he couldn’t be more than 20. As for the claim of being

nine

, clearly a story cooked up to sneak into the cart.

After a while, their conversation deepened, and Guo Xi’s guard visibly eased.

He had a nose for the stink of imperial lackeys. It was something you could smell through stone walls.

Li Yuan had none of it.

And more importantly, the youth’s strength was undeniable. Guo Xi figured he must be one of those hidden martial families, someone raised in seclusion, fed on justice and fire, stepping into the world now to strike down evil.

At last, Guo Xi bowed his head slightly.

“Young Hero Li, you mentioned that Xie Yu might be connected to my swordsmanship. That’s something I’m quite curious about. My own school is Skygale Sect. It’s not some great martial clan, been around just over 70 years, but we do have a founding ancestor. I never learned her real name. We just called her the Red-Clad Sword Immortal. Could she be the Xie Yu you speak of?”

“Do you have a portrait?” Li Yuan asked.

“In the ancestral shrine. Many of our fighters here in Skyscale Mountain train in Skygale Sect’s style.”

“Then would you mind showing me?”

“You honor me, Young Hero.”

Not long after, they arrived at a modest ancestral shrine nestled within the mountain.

The plaque over the entrance read

Skygale Sect Ancestral Hall

.

Inside, six portraits lined the walls.

Four hung to the sides, three men and one woman.

Two more faced directly forward, the highest place of honor. Both were women.

The lower portrait was of a woman in yellow.

But the larger one above it, framed higher and more prominent, depicted a stunning beauty in red.

She wore her sword at her back. Her long black hair fell like a waterfall. Her cheeks had dimples, like a playful spirit, but her eyes were cold and distant. Even painted on parchment, her beauty was chilling, dignified, and ethereal.

She was like a goddess descending with snow from the clouds, lofty and untouchable.

Li Yuan stared blankly at the portrait of the woman. After a moment, he asked quietly, “Where is your sect’s founding ancestor now?”

Guo Xi caught the look in his eyes and blurted out, “Young Hero...you knew our ancestor?”

Li Yuan replied, “There’s a copy of this same portrait in my own family home. That’s how I recognized her. Her name was Xie Yu.”

“Xie Yu... So our ancestor’s name was Xie Yu?” Guo Xi repeated softly. Then he added, “Her tomb lies deep within this very mountain.”

She was here... Now it all makes sense...

Li Yuan finally understood why he’d never found Xie Yu.

This mountain range was roughly between Harmony Province and Ocean Province. But back then, he had been searching downstream along the Eternal Rest River. How could he have possibly found her?

As for how news of her had surfaced in Hidden River Province.. he could only guess Xie Yu had left clues there herself.

She had wanted him to find traces of her, but not to find her.

So you really hated me that much. Even in death, you didn’t want to see me again?

A shadow passed over Li Yuan’s expression. His voice turned quiet. “Master Guo, may I visit her grave?”

Guo Xi saw the grief written across his face and believed him even more deeply now. Clearly, this mysterious young man had a significant connection to the Skygale Sect.

Just then, a steady-paced man in scholar’s robes approached from the distance. His features were calm, his bearing composed.

This was the leader of the Skyscale Mountain rebels, Yang Jiang.

He, too, was a disciple of the Skygale Sect. After a brief conversation among the three of them, he pieced together the situation and personally joined Guo Xi in leading Li Yuan into the mountains.

The mountain path was long and winding.

Amidst green hills and flowing streams, a solitary grave stood on a cold ridge, carved with the words,

Tomb of the Red-Clad Sword Immortal, Founder of the Skygale Sect.

Li Yuan stood in front of the grave for a long time before finally stepping aside to pick some wildflowers. He knelt and placed them before the tombstone, saying nothing.

Yang Jiang and Guo Xi exchanged a glance. They didn’t understand how this young man could be so heartbroken. There was a quiet sorrow in him, deeper than words.

After some time, Yang Jiang spoke gently. “Brother Li, it’s getting late. Shall we head back down the mountain?”

“Please allow me to stay a few nights. I would like to keep vigil for her.” Li Yuan replied.

The two men paused, surprised by the request, but then both nodded. It wasn’t unreasonable.

They turned to leave, but after a few steps, they both looked back.

The boy was still sitting there before the grave, his eyes distant and filled with emotions too complex to name. He stared at the weather-worn tombstone, now standing in the mountain wind for decades, as if silently speaking with it.

“Young Hero Li, I’ll have Miss Guo bring you meals while you’re here,” Yang Jiang said.

As he spoke, he gave Guo Xi a meaningful glance.

Guo Qin was considered something of a beauty among the rebels of Skyscale Mountain. She was unmarried, and if she could form a match with someone as mysterious and powerful as this young hero, well, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

Guo Xi chuckled and scratched his head. He opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, then finally blurted out awkwardly, “Ahem,. err... Young Hero Li, my daughter’s 18 this year...”