In the south, at the Nine Peaks Mountain Range, lies the Sword Cottage. This mountain range is famous throughout the world, and many swordsmen dream of reaching its peak to gaze upon the towering heights. However, this imagined holy place is surprisingly simple.
At the top of the mountain, in a humble grass hut that resembles a cow shed, Jian Wudao sits quietly inside. The furnishings in the hut are very basic: a rough table and a few stacks of books. The table is so crude it looks like it was carved from a tree stump. Its only advantage is that it is very flat.
At this moment, incense wafts from the burner on the table. Jian Wudao, who looks like an old man in his eighties with white hair and beard but with a youthful complexion, is quietly meditating with his eyes closed. In his hand, he holds a scroll titled "Detailed Explanation of the Sword Path." His other hand lightly taps his knee, as if he is deep in thought.
"Master."
Suddenly, a voice calls from outside the hut. Jian Wudao opens his eyes to see a young man in a white robe bouncing into the cottage, holding a piece of golden paper that floats in his palm.
"Master, a new Grandmaster has appeared on the merit list!" he exclaims, pointing to the last name on the golden paper: "Chong Er. What a strange name! I wonder which sect this Grandmaster belongs to. He actually destroyed a river of the Underworld level. This name doesn't sound like someone from the River of the Underworld."
Jian Wudao's expression remains calm as he replies indifferently, "What does this have to do with you?"
"Isn't it just out of curiosity?" The young man, knowing his master's temperament, chuckles. "Those old Grandmasters either stay at their sects, afraid to take risks, or they quietly cultivate to break through to the next level and extend their lives. They wouldn't do something so pointless. It must be a new Grandmaster. I want to go challenge him."
"Want to go down the mountain again?" Jian Wudao's face remains expressionless as he sees through the young man's true intentions. "To practice swordsmanship, you must endure this loneliness! There are millions of swordsmen in the world. If you want to stand out with your three-foot sword, you need to put in effort a thousand times greater than theirs. If you could focus more on your sword, you would have already reached the next level."
You really dare to say that; I can barely listen... the young man thinks to himself. The thought of reaching the next level seems daunting. He lowers his head and mutters, "Master, if I could spar with other Grandmasters more often, I would definitely improve..."
"Hmph! When I became a Grandmaster, I spent three years in seclusion to comprehend the sword. When I emerged, I had already reached the next level. I didn't need to spar with others."
Jian Wudao snorts, knowing that his third disciple has mixed feelings. He can't help but think of another disciple, and his gaze softens a bit. "How's your teaching of your junior sister going?"
"Junior sister is already half a step into the Spirit Travel realm, with 180 soul condensations. Tsk tsk, she's much stronger than I was back then. Master, you really are biased!" The young man says with a smile, despite complaining about favoritism.
Jian Wudao rolls his eyes. "If you could comprehend the Sword Heart in just one year, I would be willing to visit the Qian Dao Palace to get you a real soul inheritance."
"I don't want you to beg for me, Master."
"Besides, your junior sister is devoted to the sword. Sooner or later, she will comprehend the Sword Spirit. I can't compare to her."
The young man grins. "Speaking of which, junior sister should really thank you. Thanks to you bringing her out of the Divine General's residence, otherwise, she would have had to inherit the Li family's spirit. Eighty soul condensations are good, but that's just our level. It would be hard for her to reach the current top tier that rivals the royal family."
"And I heard the spirit inheritance from the Divine General's residence has many restrictions..."
"Shut up!" Jian Wudao scolds.
The young man is taken aback and quickly falls silent.
"The Li family is stationed at the border, having slain countless demons. How can you speak behind their back?" Jian Wudao reprimands coldly.
The young man realizes he has overstepped and scratches his head. "I was wrong, Master. I do respect the Li family."
"Hmph! Within three months, if you haven't perfected 'Sleepless Moon,' be prepared to stay at Sword Cliff."
Jian Wudao says coldly, "Stop looking at that river's ledger. The matters of the Underworld River have nothing to do with you. That's the business of the Divine General's residence. Once you reach the next level, I will naturally let you go down the mountain. Otherwise, with your current level, if you establish a sect and someone challenges you, it will reflect poorly on me!"
The young man leaves in frustration, not daring to linger.
...
"Newcomers on the merit list?"
In a certain sect, someone happens to be looking at the merit list and immediately notices the new name added.
"One hundred contributions? Did someone just destroy a river of the Underworld? Which Grandmaster has come out?"
...
"Chong Er, what a strange name. Quickly find out which sect this Grandmaster belongs to. Can we recruit him?"
In a tall building within a city, someone commands.
...
In a courtyard of the Divine General's residence in Yongzhou.
"Miss, a new name suddenly appeared on the merit list, called Chong Er. What a strange name."
"Don't talk nonsense. Anyone willing to take action to resolve the Underworld River disaster is a righteous hero."
"I understand, but that name is indeed a bit unpleasant..."
A woman dressed in fine silk glances at her little maid, who has been following her since childhood. "What do you know? Go listen outside my father's room and see if you can find out where he's from. If we can invite him over, we can offer him a position as a junior supervisor."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Once the little maid runs off, the woman looks toward the courtyard, a smile slowly appearing on her face. She picks a branch and lightly sketches two characters in the dirt: "Wind and Moon."
"Interesting..."
...
At the Tan Palace Academy, in the main hall of the Black and White Hall.
Song Yufeng secretly takes out a small tea package from his sleeve. Just as he pours it into a cup to brew tea, he suddenly sees several elders rushing in, and his heart skips a beat.
"Old Huang? No way, they found me this quickly? And brought others along?"
He hurriedly covers the cup, maintaining a calm expression.
"Palace Master!"
The leading elder, Huang Licai, looks excited.
Song Yufeng's face twitches slightly, and he coughs lightly. "Old Huang, it's not like I said anything to get you this excited. It's just a little..."
"Palace Master, the Fengshan Underworld River has disappeared!" Huang Licai exclaims, thrilled. "Elder Ni just went to investigate, and the main temple has vanished. Only a permanent passage can cause it to disappear immediately; otherwise, the temple would break apart into mud."
"What?" Song Yufeng is stunned, feeling relieved that they aren't here to accuse him. Wait, the Fengshan Underworld River was cleared? Who did it?
"What happened? Explain clearly. Who did it?" Song Yufeng asks repeatedly.
"I don't know; we couldn't find anyone."
Huang Licai shakes his head. "But your granddaughter seems to have seen it."
"Yueyao?" Song Yufeng is surprised and immediately says, "Quick, call her over."
"She's waiting outside." Huang Licai quickly turns and waves. Soon, two young girls, accompanied by an elder, walk in. It is Song Yueyao and Lin Feifei.
The two girls had heard the commotion and rushed to the main temple, witnessing the shocking scene of the temple's disappearance.
"Who cleared the passage?" Song Yufeng immediately asks.
Lin Feifei glances at her friend, while Song Yueyao remains calm. "Reporting to the Palace Master, it seems to be an outer courtyard disciple. Feifei and I were practicing nearby and only caught a glimpse of that person's profile. It's not someone I recognize."
"How many people do you know? You just practice all day..." Song Yufeng mutters in his heart and then turns to Lin Feifei. "What about you? Did you see clearly?"
"Reporting to the Palace Master, I only saw a profile too."
Lin Feifei quickly replies, "But if I see that person again, I will definitely recognize them."
Song Yufeng nods slightly. "Alright, then you two go and identify who it was. This is a good deed and deserves a great reward!"
"Should we report it to the Underworld River Office?" Huang Licai asks.
"The Underworld River Office is poor enough; we won't ask for that little royal reward. Clearing the Underworld River is everyone's responsibility; it's our duty. That Fengshan was originally a rural area, but unfortunately, it was invaded by the Underworld River, leading to the death of the entire village, and the villagers were enslaved by the Underworld River..."
Saying this, Song Yufeng sighs and shakes his head.
Huang Licai nods. "Then I'll take them to identify the person now and inform them so that the one who cleared the passage can come forward to claim the reward."
"Mm." Song Yufeng agrees.
Huang Licai immediately leads the two girls to leave but suddenly remembers something and turns back. "By the way, Palace Master, what were you going to say earlier?"
"Huh?" Song Yufeng looks puzzled. "What was I going to say?"
Seeing his expression, Huang Licai thinks he misheard and slightly bows before leaving.
...
...
News spreads throughout the academy, not only in the outer courtyards but also among the disciples practicing in the Black and White Hall.
Especially for the disciples in the Black and White Hall, who hasn’t experienced the torment of the Fengshan Underworld River? Now, this river has been cleared by someone?
"Who is it? Was it an elder?"
"Do elders have that kind of free time? Even if they did, it wouldn't be easy to clear it. I've heard that the requirements for clearing each Underworld River are incredibly bizarre and hard to find."
"The reward is the Chixiao Sword? That's made of meteorite iron, said to be indestructible and can even attack the soul!"
The disciples of the Black and White Hall discuss excitedly.
The outer courtyards are equally noisy, especially in the A Courtyard, where those competing for the martial arts rankings are dumbfounded upon hearing the news.
The Underworld River is gone?
Isn't that the place they would face as a test for entering the Black and White Hall next year?
How can it be gone?
Then how will they enter the Black and White Hall?
Compared to the A Courtyard, the other courtyards look confused.
Underworld River? What's that?
Clearly, the main task given to them by the academy is to break into the A Courtyard first.
What the Underworld River is has nothing to do with them; anyway, if they don’t enter the A Courtyard, they won’t have the qualification to go in.
"Yueyao, do you really think that person is an outer courtyard disciple? Looking at the number of flower patterns on their clothes, I think it seems like it, but..."
In the forest, Lin Feifei and Song Yueyao walk side by side toward the outer courtyard.
Lin Feifei looks uncertain. She has challenged the Fengshan Underworld River before, and it was tough. Once you enter the village, all the villagers will be alerted, and there are hundreds of people at the Zhou Tian realm!
Moreover, if it turns into a prolonged battle, that black-robed scholar would also intervene. Even with the strength of the initial stage of the Soul Inheritance realm, it would still be quite dangerous.
(End of Chapter)