Chapter 383. Playing a Zither Before an Ox (2)

Although the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance had complicated internal affairs, they still maintained frequent public interactions. That was especially true for the renowned disciples.

"How dare you rise up against the leader of the Five Mountain Sword Sects?!" Fang Zhesan roared, his face flushed with anger. At the same time, a gust of wind shot from his outstretched palm.

"Hmph!"

The First Bud Sword of the Mount Song Sect, Guo Cai, snorted and responded in kind.

"The leader of the Five Mountain Sword Sects? How can a sect that maintains its power through connections and bribes, not its skills, be the leader?"

"W-what did you just say?!"

"Moreover, how dare a loser who can't even hold a sword in the first place speak out of turn?!"

Shing!

Guo Cai's sword shot forward, slicing the air.

"This brat dares!"

While Guo Cai’s personality left much to be desired, Fang Zhesan wasn’t much better.

Disciple and master alike, he was among the Righteous Faction’s most arrogant. But like his master, his talent and skills were undeniable.

Woosh!

Fang Zhesan dodged Guo Cai's flashy stab. He wasn't able to dodge it easily, however. He had to unleash the Five Ways Plum Blossom Steps with full force.

As proof, the sword wind from Guo Cai’s attack grazed past and sliced the hem of his sleeve.

"Die!!"

Fang Zhesan took the opening and unleashed the Falling Blossoms Chasing Shadows Palm.

"Ugh!"

Guo Cai quickly pulled back and raised his sword, the palm aimed at his chest landing against the flat of the blade.

Ring!

The sword and palm collided, creating a shockwave.

It wasn't strong enough to affect the surroundings, just as expected in a clash between Transcendents, not Harmony Realm Masters.

Mount Song Sect!

Mount Hua Sect!

Fang Zhesan and Guo Cai's faces were twisted with rage.

The contempt they had for each other thickened the air.

"Little Mount Tai! It's not too late even now!"

Zhang Hong's sword dug into the side of Gao Canzheng, the little sect master of the Mount Tai Sect.

"No! It's too late!"

Gao Canzheng dropped his sword downward and angled it, knocking Zhang Hong’s blade to the side.

Clang!

Zhang Hong's sword was pushed up by Gao Canzheng's sword and went up to the side.

"It's because it's too late that we've come to this point!"

Gao Canzheng's sword pressed forward again. His eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Zhang Hong blocked every strike with precision.

"Ugh!"

Though he defended himself well, the situation wasn’t in his favor. Gao Canzheng, as expected from the next Sect Master of Mount Tai, was deeply familiar with the Twelve Momentums of Mount Tai.

Every time they collided, Zhang Hong felt his qi reserves being depleted little by little.

Zhang Hong didn't have as great of qi reserves as Zhou Xuchuan, nor was he a skilled fighter on par with his opponents.

Although he was considered an elite in the

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, Gao Canzheng was no ordinary martial artist. He was a few years older than him and his skills were exceptionally outstanding, befitting the next Sect Master of the Mount Tai Sect.

"Especially because of that damned junior brother of yours!"

Gao Canzheng let out a roar of anger.

About four years ago, the Seven Swords War had erupted over the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic.

The Three Mountain Sword Sects Alliance had also participated as one of the main forces.

If one only looked at the results, it had been a victory for the Righteous Faction

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. However, for Gao Canzheng, it was a source of pain that he never wanted to think about again.

So the Little Mount Tai had provoked the Flower Scattering Palm and fell into danger?

Oh, is this the story of the Three No-Response Disciples of the Three Mountain Sword Sects Alliance?

The Three No Response Disciples?

Well... you know. They're such stupid pieces of trash you just don't have a response.

Ha, seriously. This is why those children from the prestigious sects just aren't it.

Hey, hey, what are you saying? Isn't the Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan different?

As expected of the Mount Hua Sect! They truly are worthy of being the leader of the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance!

Hey, youngster, have you heard? That the Plum Blossom Order Sword...

As Zhou Xuchuan's fame grew, Gao Canzheng's past mistakes resurfaced, especially the things he had said opposing the Plum Blossom Sword.

So many people at that time had witnessed it, and his fellow disciple brothers and sisters weren't kind to him. So, instead of being able to recover his reputation, it only continued to fall day by day. Eventually, as his position within the sect grew weaker, Gao Canzheng could no longer endure and fiercely hated Zhou Xuchuan, believing that he was the cause of everything. The problem was, the one he hated had already climbed too far beyond his reach.

"Everything! It's all your fault!"

The blood vessels in Gao Canzheng’s eyes burst. The whites had turned fully red with blood.

"MOUNT! HUA! SECT!"

The Little Mount Tai shouted each word with hatred.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Zhang Xuen attacked Gao Canzheng from the side.

"Ugh!"

Gao Canzheng quickly stepped back. However, his reaction was too late and his arm was cut with a

squelch.

"Zhang Xuen... you bitch!"

Gao Canzheng glared at her while quickly pressing his acupoints to stop the bleeding.

"You're not even apologizing for your wrongdoing, but instead trying to shift the blame to someone else... you really are the worst."

"Shut up!"

Gao Canzheng shouted at Zhang Hong and Zhang Xuen.

"I, I! Because of you!"

Clang!

"Isn't it because of you that we've come to this point!"

The Mount Heng Sect's Sword Flower An Aiyuan threatened Qiu Feng.

The Mount Heng Sect's signature technique, the Blossom Severing Petal Scattering Sword Technique, as its name suggested, was a sword meant to sever the Mount Hua Sect's sword techniques.

At the same time that the female disciple from the Mount Hua Sect was excommunicated, she sublimated the blossoming flower of hatred into her martial arts.

In other words, it was a sword among swords, built entirely to thoroughly destroy the Mount Hua Sect's martial arts.

It had been designed so that it could respond to any of Mount Hua's sword forms.

Ugh!

This was the reason why Qiu Feng was pushed back despite having a higher cultivation level than An Ayeon.

His prized Fourteen Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom wasn't working.

"No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't escape the shadow of the Mount Hua Sect! We were always treated like we were second to them!"

Guo Cai. Gao Canzheng. An Aiyuan.

All three of them were treated worse as time went on.

What they feared most was Zhou Xuchuan remembering the trouble they had caused before he became the Plum Blossom Order Sword.

If the Sword God, now one of the Six Empyrean Overlords, decided to mention how much they had irritated him, they knew it would be the end for them.

In the midst of their jealousy, inferiority complex, and fear, the Dark Heavens Association had approached them and proposed betrayal.

"Do you know how that feels?"

Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew. Swords clashed.

The hatred that Dark Heaven had stirred up gaped open.

"I asked if you knew how that feels?!"

The sword in Chaoyi Shitai's hand burned with rage.

"Cough!"

At the height of her emotions, blood suddenly poured from her mouth.

"Qi deviation!" Liu Zhengmu muttered in surprise, seeing Chaoyi Shitaii.

"This isn't good."

Shen Yulian frowned.

"I will kill all... the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect!"

One of Chaoyi Shitai’s eyes turned red with blood. Hatred poured from her voice as if she were staring down her parents' murderers.

"Just what is it... that you hate so much?"

Liu Zhengmu looked at Chaoyi Shitai with a look of pity.

Righteous Faction members rarely fell into cultivation deviation.

The Righteous Faction's qi cultivation methods were slow but safe. They also safeguarded mental strength, so even if one was angry, one would be able to control their emotions.

Moreover, this safeguard increased as one's cultivation level increased.

There was no need to mention the mental safeguards of a master of the Harmony Realm.

However, such a master had fallen into cultivation deviation due to just anger alone, not even the death of a loved one.

This wasn't a common occurrence.

"You don't understand!"

Chaoyi Shitai continued to strike with her sword.

"Ha!"

"Ugh!"

Shen Yulian and Liu Zhengmu barely managed to block the Blossom Severing Petal Scattering Sword Technique. The momentum of Chaoyi Shitai rushing in with a desperate resolve was terrifying.

If they had responded to her attack alone instead of as a pair, they would have been pushed back by the lack of compatibility and the rampaging power of her cultivation deviation long ago.

"What do you know?!"

Blood trickled from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Do you know what it's like to be brainwashed from the moment you join the sect? To be told your only value lies in surpassing Mount Hua?"

Clang, clang, clang!

"Or what it’s like to struggle, and no matter how hard you fight, you’re never recognized?!"

The nun's shout became a scream. Her voice cracked, and dark spots appeared under her eyes.

She had turned pale, but her eyes were still alive.

"I will destroy this shitty

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that always compares us, and the disgusting Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance!"

Chaoyi Shitai swung her sword while screaming loudly. Even though she was undergoing cultivation deviation, her sword was accurate.

It didn't matter whether it was a transformation sword or an unfettered sword.

Controlling her breathing, Chaoyi Shitai responded precisely.

When attacked, she blocked, and after blocking, she thrust out her sword.

Her movements, though unhinged, were still razor sharp.

"Ahhhhh!"

Her cry was filled with pain, so much pain it was terrifying.

In her eyes filled with hatred and anger, memories of the past burst out like a flood.

Master, it hurts. It hurts so much.

This much isn't enough! You lazy bitch!

Chaoyi... you have to go past the Mount Hua Sect, beyond the Mount Hua Sect.

You're going to go beyond and fulfil the long-held desire of our nuns with this shitty amount of skill?

She didn’t know when it had started. She didn’t know when it had gone this deep.

"Mount Hua Sect!!!!"

Blood vessels burst in her eyes, turning the whites crimson. Under her billowing robes, scars of unknown age stretched across her body. Her entire being trembled with rage.

"How could they, even with..." Liu Zhengmu muttered, as if he was truly sorry.

"I found him!"

Behind the nun who was screaming, people in scholarly robes and with extraordinary auras jumped out.

"Gentle Smiling Swordsman, Liu Zhengmu!"

***

Shing!

Woosh!

Bang, bang!

"Gasp, gasp!"

Zhao Wuyang gasped.

Damn it, damn it!

Destiny Hand and the One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths had been locked in a brutal battle. Their once neat robes were now tattered. Sleeves had been sliced clean off, hems torn open, blood and bruises marked their skin.

The Middle Mountains' First Sword wasn't just an empty title!

Zhao Wuyang had been recognized by his sect, the greatest sword sect among sword sects, for his martial arts and skills, and had even been raised to the position of one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua. Although he had some problems with his character, his efforts and skills were real.

"Hmph, for someone so stupid, you're holding up well."

The One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths narrowed his eyes as he faced Zhao Wuyang.

Even though he was mocking the elder, he was still inwardly impressed.

Is this what it means to be one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua?

He had thought things would end in ten blows, not a hundred, yet the battle dragged on.

Although he was saving his energy for his

other

opponent, his pride was still hurt because this match wasn't easy.

"I'll make a proposition for you. If you abandon the Mount Hua Sect right now, I'll spare your life."

"..."

"Didn't you also get discriminated against in that great Mount Hua Sect because you didn't wield a sword? So..."

"Ha, seriously. Just a moment ago, you called me a loser who couldn't wield a sword, and now, what? Discrimination? So you're just a crazy bastard."

Zhao Wuyang snorted in disbelief. His expression seemed to say, "What kind of trick is this?"

"How foolish. Fine. I'll just kill you in a single breath!"

The One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths raised his sword and took a sword stance.

A familiar stance, the One Pine Sword Technique.

Hmph!

Zhao Wuyang furrowed his eyebrows.

I've almost exhausted my qi... This is a big problem!

He tried to find a way out. He looked around for help, but there was nothing he could find.

"Kuaaaaak!"

"Ugh!"

"Kill them!"

There were too many members of the Three Mountain Sword Sects Alliance. Even without that, there was no one to help him since the gap in power was already massive with his foe.

More than anything, it was hard to find a solution in the middle of this chaos.

There's nothing I can do.

Zhao Wuyang swallowed hard and faced the One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths.

I'll have to give up my flesh to break some bones.

Ssss.

The two warriors glared at each other and remained still. They didn't seem to notice the screams and chaos around them.

What an idiot. It's already obvious that you don't have much qi left, and what, you're going to block the One Pine Sword Technique that I, the Middle Mountains' First Sword is about to display with my full power?

A sneer spread across the One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths' lips.

It was as if he could read Zhao Wuyang's mind.

Fine, I'll show you. The Middle Mountain's Best, no, the Central Plain's Best thrust!

He drew back his right arm and leveled his sword in front of him. Bending slightly, he prepared to leap.

Qi surged from his lower abdomen. He twisted his waist and concentrated all his strength in his feet and hands.

Gulp!

Zhao Wuyang swallowed. Sweat dripped down his skin.

"I'm coming, Mount Hua Sect!"

The moment the One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths kicked off the ground.

"Di—ugh!"

Suddenly, something happened in an instant.

BOOM!

The One Hundred and Eighty Nine Paths fell forward.

His spine broke. His skull cracked. His nose was flattened, his teeth shattered, and blood gushed from his mouth.

His legs, once firmly planted, wobbled like wet cloth. His buttocks rose.

"W-what?"

Zhao Wuyang blinked in confusion.

"Yes."

The head of the Sect Master of the Mount Song Sect was slammed into the ground.

And Zhou Xuchuan, who was holding the back of the Sect Master's head, raised his head.

"I'm here."