Chapter 22
The old man in black stopped and turned around to face Jing Jiu, a startled expression forming on his face. "Haven’t used it for a long time, so I’m not sure," he said.
"May I have a crack at it?" Jing Jiu said.
Upon hearing this, Li Wuzhi’s changed slightly, and all the caretakers and disciples on Yunxing Peak all stared at him.
"Okay then; let’s see what you’ve got," said the old man in black after a long silence, his eyes locked on Jing Jiu the entire time.
He then continued trekking toward Sword Peak.
Lin Wuzhi glanced at Jing Jiu once, and the disciples felt somewhat odd about what happened.
--You didn’t answer when the Master Uncle asked you a question before; now you all of a sudden speak just as he is about to leave? What on earth are you trying to do?
The old man in black lifted his head and looked up toward cloud-enshrouded Sword Peak.
Whizz!!!
A sharp sound from a sword could be heard everywhere.
The cliffs below the peak were illuminated by the light radiating from the sword.
The old man in black rode his sword, rising up from the ground and flowing upward with the wind; his figure was no longer hunched, instead being straight as a pencil, as if he were still a youth who had just come to the Green Mountain Sect.
Soon he disappeared into the clouds, nowhere to be found.
…
Numerous sword sounds bellowed among the peaks.
The disciples didn’t know what had just happened, too shocked to express themselves.
"Senior Master Mo, returning the sword to Green Mountain!" the caretakers chanted in unison.
All nine peaks echoed: "to the sword returns to Green Mountain. The disciples of Green Mountain chanted together as well: "Congratulations to you, Grandmaster Mo!"
The whizzing sound of a sword could be heard at Tianguang Peak for a long time.
Dong!!!
Now the ancient bell on Shangde Peak was echoing among the peaks.
The Qingrong Peak was veiled by the transparent clouds.
…
"Senior Master Mo has collected and edited books and scriptures on the s.h.i.+yue Peak for over one hundred years, but today…"
Lin Wuzhi didn’t finish the sentence, his eyes filled with tears as he looked up at the Sword Peak.
It is said that the pract.i.tioners must cut off the relations.h.i.+ps and suppress emotions, but how many people can achieve this? In fact, the cultivation pursued by the Green Mountain Sect is not the Dao, but rather the Sword.
The swordsmen meet and then never meet again; how can someone not feel sad?
The disciples now realized what had just happened; that mild-mannered and nice Senior Master who had just talked to them was actually …dead.
His purpose for coming to the Sword Peak was to return his sword to the Green Mountain.
He hoped that someone from the disciples from coming generations would inherit his sword.
Looking at Sword Peak, the disciples felt somewhat heavy-hearted, feeling a mixture of emotions and sentiments that they couldn’t even describe.
This was the first lesson of the Great Green Mountain.
They turned their heads toward Jing Jiu again.
What did he mean when he said to Senior Master Mo that he might try his sword? Did it mean that?
Lin Wuzhi fixed a firm stare on Jing Jiu and said, "I don’t know how you guessed Senior Master Mo was about to return his sword to the Green Mountain, and I don’t know if what you said was intended to soothe him or convince him to put the sword somewhere lower and easier to get to, but you awoke his last bit of pride, and he put the sword somewhere closer to the top."
"So what?" Jing Jiu asked.
"You must carry this out since you gave your word; otherwise I won’t let you partic.i.p.ate in the Inherited Sword Compet.i.tion no matter which peak should pick you as their disciple."
The disciples were surprised to hear this, and the eyes looking at Jing Jiu were full of sympathy.
The fearsome will of swords was felt everywhere on Sword Peak; the will of swords was getting stronger with the elevation, and the top of the peak was far away in the deep end of the thick clouds. How could they get there at their current state?
"Too much talking, too much emotion, and
What he had just said was for the benefit of Jing Jiu of course, as well as for his behavior toward Senior Master Mo of s.h.i.+yue Peak before he died.
By now the disciples realized that Lin Wuzhi didn’t really loathe Jing Jiu, but rather saw a great deal of value in him.
A caretaker of Yunxing Peak distributed a Sword Card to each of the dozen disciples, saying, "The swords in Sword Peak are pa.s.sed down by the masters of previous generations; you have to watch your behavior when searching for swords, and don’t horse around and make noise. Of course, there are many swords here not owned by anybody. As long as you can call to it and make it respond to your calling, it will be a success; and if one of you is lost or injured, or suffer from an accident, just break this Sword Card and someone will come to your rescue."
"That’s all?" one disciple asked suspiciously while watching those awesome cliffs.
After severe and rigorous training in the outer sect, these inner sect disciples had bodies that were much stronger than those of regular folks, able to jump over ten yards easily, possessing good stamina.
That disciple thought he could manage to climb the Sword Peak, even though it was steep, using his own will to overcome the will of swords, regardless of their strength. As long as he didn’t climb to the area covered by the thick layer of clouds, he had the confidence to go up and come down.
Looking at the disciple, the caretaker didn’t say a word while eyeing that disciple, the corners of his mouth rising slightly to form a smile that was hard to understand.
The disciples who could enter the inner sect were a bunch of smart youngsters, and he could read that smile on the caretaker’s face.
"Please tell me what to do, Big Brother," pleaded that disciple, bowing and showing a pale color on his face.
The caretakers at the Green Mountain outer sect were those who could not pa.s.s into the State of Spiritual Stability; and the caretakers at the inner sect of the nine peaks were those who could not be chosen at the Inherited Sword Compet.i.tion. So to be called Big Brother was appropriate.
"You are still in the State of Spiritual Stability, and so have no hope of finding a sword; try to only after pa.s.sing the State of Knowledge Integration."
The caretaker of Yunxing Peak continued, "Even if you find a sword, do you think that sword will follow you? Why rely so much on empty hopes?"
"How long does it take to successfully obtain the sword?" one of the disciples asked.
"Regular disciples need three years to acquire their own swords; but it’s sooner for those disciples who have a gifted comprehensive ability and some luck."
"Sister Zhao used took months to do it; you have to think for yourself about how long it will take you.
After the talk, he returned to the small building by the cliffside of the peak, leaving the dozen young disciples here on their own.
The disciples watched each other without a word, thinking about what to do next.
Zhao Layue was the most talented among the second generation of disciples, idolized by these new inner sect disciples; if it took her three months, then we stand no chance.
Moreover, caretaker was quite clear that it was meaningless to get to the Sword Peak when one was still in a State of Spiritual Stability.
"As it’s the first lesson given to us by the sect, we can’t just give up."
One disciple, from the Zhu family, looked at others with a courageous air, and said determinedly, "Even if we can’t perceive where the swords are, we can at least become familiar with the environment around the Sword Peak, making it easier to do this in the future."
"You are right. This should be the Yunxing caretaker’s reason for giving us the sword card."
"Master Lin said that Sword Peak can strengthen our willpower; maybe he and other masters are observing us secretly, so how could we not go?"
All the other disciples were convinced and determined to go together, feeling kind of excited.
Jing Jiu didn’t say anything, standing there quietly but attracting more attention nonetheless.
Many of them threw their gaze toward Jing simultaneously.
These disciples knew he was famous for being lazy, but figured he might have changed somewhat since he entered the inner sect successfully.
What Master Lin had said to him sounded very stern, but also contained a strong sense of hope for him.
Jing Jiu nodded to the others and turned around to walk toward the opposite side of the peak.
The disciples now realized that he was actually about to leave.
"Didn’t you say you are going to get Master Mo’s sword," blurted out the disciple Zhu full of surprise.
The other disciples were startled as well, wondering if he was truly as rumored to be.
At that moment, a pa.s.serby appeared out of the woods from the west side of the peak.
That young man, wearing a plain sword robe, was quite handsome, his eyebrows were like two swords, his indifferent expression like the icy snow, an unusual aura surrounding him.
When the caretakers of Yunxing Peak approached him and talked with him briefly, the disciples learned he was the other Master Teacher at the Sword Was.h.i.+ng Hall, named Gu Han.
Gu Han had another important position.
He was the Third Brother of Liangw.a.n.g Peak.
Liangw.a.n.g Peak had gathered the most talented young disciples, and Gu Han was ranked third among them; one could imagine how powerful his sword cultivation was.
The disciples gazed up at Gu Han in full admiration and awe.
But Jing Jiu didn’t pay attention to Gu Han at all, quietly staring at something beside him.
A young man stood next Gu Han.
Since their meeting at the entrance of the village, it had been three years, and s.h.i.+sui was already thirteen.
He was a young man now, but his eyebrows were still so straight, his eyes still looked so pure and innocent, and his face was still so blackish.
After one year’s cultivation at the nine peaks, Liu s.h.i.+sui had matured a little, appearing calm and peaceful.
He stared a bit, and soon his eyes, once filled with suspicion, were suddenly full of happiness and excitement.
"AH!" Liu s.h.i.+sui shouted out, running toward Jing Jiu.