Jiang Fei never expected that the publicly recognized number one expert from Mount Wudang would know about his identity as the successor of the Tianji Sect.
However, what surprised Jiang Fei even more wasn’t this, but the fact that this very Clear Void Taoist Priest, already crowned as Mount Wudang’s top expert, actually still had a master!
What’s more, this master of his was also a close friend of Xuanji Zi. This was truly extraordinary.
Could it be that Clear Void Taoist Priest’s master was also a terrifying expert on the same level as his ‘bargain’ master, Xuanji Zi?
This was entirely possible.
Clear Void Taoist Priest himself was already the public number one of Mount Wudang, not necessarily certain to lose against someone like Miyamoto Kazuma. If his disciple had already reached such heights, what about his master? Calling him ‘unfathomable’ would be entirely accurate.
Thinking of this, the corner of Jiang Fei’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
It seemed he had still underestimated the heroes of this world before. The land of China hid far more powerful experts than he had imagined. Although he had learned several powerful martial arts manuals through the system, he could only become a publicly recognized expert like Clear Void Taoist Priest. If he encountered some truly reclusive masters, he would probably still be outmatched.
At the very least, meeting his ‘bargain’ master Xuanji Zi that one brief time had given Jiang Fei enough self-awareness to know he was definitely not his match.
“Perhaps Benefactor Jiang does not know, but just a few days ago, Master Xuanji Zi specifically visited Mount Wudang for a matter. I was fortunate enough to meet him. It was from him that I learned you have now become the new sect leader of the Tianji Sect,” Clear Void Taoist Priest said with a smile.
“What matter did my master go to Mount Wudang for?” Jiang Fei asked curiously.
Clear Void Taoist Priest shook his head. “Master Xuanji Zi came to find my master. What business they had, I naturally do not know. However, before he left Mount Wudang, he entrusted me with a message for you.”
“What message?”
The smile faded from Clear Void Taoist Priest’s face, replaced by a rather serious expression. “Master Xuanji Zi asked me to tell you, Benefactor Jiang, that you need to be careful during this period. You will encounter a significant crisis and challenge in the near future.”
Jiang Fei’s eyebrow raised. Was his bargain master performing another miraculous calculation, deducing something about him? But he had now initial understood the Heaven’s Secret Diagram and was barely considered initiated in the art of divination himself. He hadn’t sensed any ominous signs, like last time during the assassination attempt at the hunting grounds.
However, since his bargain master had specifically asked Clear Void Taoist Priest to inform him, it probably wasn’t false. He really might face some considerable trouble soon.
“Did my master mention what kind of crisis this would be?” Jiang Fei asked.
“No,” Clear Void Taoist Priest shook his head.
“Alright,” Jiang Fei said, resigned, but he wasn’t overly worried deep down.
Frankly, after his character level increased again, his abilities in all aspects had grown significantly. He had also learned an incredible movement skill like Ladder Cloud Ascension. Unless he encountered an expert on the level of his bargain master Xuanxuan Zi, he should be able to handle it.
Moreover, he had been so busy coming to the Central Martial Arts Hall today to test Ladder Cloud Ascension that he had gotten overly excited and even forgotten about the two unallocated attribute points he gained after leveling up. He still hadn’t used them yet.
After a moment, Jiang Fei looked at Clear Void Taoist Priest with a burning, curious gaze. “I actually have a question I’d really like to ask you, Taoist Priest. I wonder if you could clear up my confusion?”
“Please go ahead, Benefactor Jiang.”
“May I ask…” Jiang Fei paused before continuing, “In our country, how many experts are there at the level of my master, or your master? Last time, my master left in too much of a hurry, and I didn’t get a chance to ask him.”
Since meeting his bargain master Xuanji Zi, Jiang Fei’s overconfidence had taken a serious hit. He no longer dared to feel invincible like before. And now, there was this Mount Wudang ancestral master…
So many experts suddenly popping up made this young man feel rather insecure, okay?
Therefore, Jiang Fei felt it was better to first clarify just how many of this level of expert existed, to have a better mental map. If he encountered such experts in the future, he could be more cautious.
And Clear Void Taoist Priest, as the ‘public face’ of Mount Wudang, its publicly recognized top expert, who also apparently had an incredibly powerful master, should be very knowledgeable about these matters. Asking him was most appropriate.
Clear Void Taoist Priest was taken aback, not expecting Jiang Fei to ask this kind of question. He smiled and said, “That’s right. Benefactor Jiang, you haven’t been the Tianji Sect leader for long and were previously unaffiliated, so it’s true you don’t know much about the reclusive experts in our Jianghu. However, the premise of your question itself is problematic…”
“What problem?” Jiang Fei asked, puzzled.
“Because the level of strength you’re referring to… Master Xuanji Zi and my master are not on the same level. In all of China, perhaps in the entire martial world, it would be hard to find a second expert like Master Xuanji Zi,” Clear Void Taoist Priest stated.
“What?”
Jiang Fei was dumbfounded.
So, he had been worrying needlessly from the start? There weren’t actually many experts in this world who made him feel utterly incapable of winning or resisting upon sight, like his master did? His bargain master was an outlier, having surpassed human limits!
“That’s correct,” Clear Void Taoist Priest nodded. “Master Xuanji Zi’s cultivation has reached a state of perfection, a realm that we ordinary people simply cannot comprehend.”
Jiang Fei’s eyes widened. A sudden, somewhat absurd thought crossed his mind. “Could it be that my master is truly on the verge of… ‘ascending’ or ‘shattering the void’?”
“I do not know,” Clear Void Taoist Priest replied honestly.
“…”
Jiang Fei was speechless.
In his view, ‘shattering the void’ probably wasn’t a real thing. Even if there were Jianghu experts and internal energy, these had little connection to transcending the mortal plane.
It was like the difference between Wuxia novels and Xuanhuan novels.
Wuxia was barely within the realm of acceptance, while Xuanhuan felt too far-fetched. Even now, having learned so many Wuxia manuals, Jiang Fei didn’t feel he would ever reach a point of ‘shattering the void’.
Just as Jiang Fei’s thoughts ran wild, Clear Void Taoist Priest spoke again. “However… although experts of Master Xuanji Zi’s level are exceedingly rare in our Chinese Jianghu, there are still quite a few who are more skilled than my humble self. But most of these people have long withdrawn from Jianghu affairs, having retired for many years, to the point where few in the current Jianghu even know they exist.”
Jiang Fei’s recently eased heart suddenly tightened again. He chuckled dryly, “Taoist Priest, aren’t you being too modest? Your skill level can only be considered ‘humble’?”
Clear Void Taoist Priest could roughly be considered on par with Miyamoto Kazuma. Even if Jiang Fei could now defeat such an expert without too much effort, he wouldn’t call their skills ‘humble’! If one could truly say that, their skill must be truly sublime, right?
“It is not modesty. There are indeed several reclusive masters whose abilities far surpass this humble Taoist’s,” Clear Void said earnestly.
“For example, ‘Lord Dong’ from the Black Mountains and White Waters of the northeast; the ‘Drunken Monk’ from the high plateaus; or the ‘Wild Grass Taoist’ at the foot of Mount Lu… each and every one of them is a peerless master. For this humble Taoist to last even ten moves in their hands would be difficult,” Clear Void Taoist Priest said with a sigh.
“Yet, laughably, many people are unaware that these individuals are the truly formidable experts of China, mistakenly thinking that I am the real master. It truly feels like ‘in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’. Like with that Miyamoto Kazuma last time, it showed a grave underestimation of our Chinese Jianghu.”
Hearing this, Jiang Fei’s sense of insecurity immediately returned.
If Clear Void Taoist Priest couldn’t last ten moves against these people, that was a terrifying level of strength. When Jiang Fei defeated Miyamoto Kazuma last time, it took over a hundred exchanges!
“It seems I need to work harder, either level up the North Darkness Divine Skill or improve the Lone Nine Swords,” Jiang Fei pondered internally.
If the trouble coming his way involved an expert of the caliber Clear Void described, Jiang Fei’s situation would truly be uncertain.
After chatting a while longer, Jiang Fei, his mind in a complex state, bid farewell to Clear Void Taoist Priest and left the Central Martial Arts Hall.
Returning to his car, he immediately calmed his mind and focused. Carefully circulating the Art of Mystical Doors and Escaping Jia, and drawing upon the knowledge he gained from the Heaven’s Secret Diagram, he began to seriously calculate his recent fortune.
He hadn’t performed a serious divination for himself before, so he didn’t know. Now, with the warning from his bargain master, Jiang Fei felt that if he carefully performed the deduction, he should gain some insight or understanding.
With his heart completely stilled, his mental energy rapidly spread out. Jiang Fei’s spirit entered a wondrous state, his perception maximized at this moment. Sitting in the car, it was as if his spirit wandered outside his body; he could perceive the happenings of the entire street with perfect clarity.
The profound concepts from the Art of Mystical Doors and Escaping Jia and the Heaven’s Secret Diagram automatically enveloped him. It was like an old monk entering deep meditation, attaining enlightenment. Jiang Fei’s consciousness felt as if it could traverse past and future, expanding infinitely.
After a long while, Jiang Fei’s previously tranquil mind suddenly shook. His brows unconsciously furrowed. Jiang Fei’s concentration intensified further, and then…
Swish!
With his eyes closed, the surroundings that were originally dim, dark, and shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see anything, were suddenly pierced by a sword aura, fast as lightning, shooting in from an unknown origin.
Thwip!
This sword was incredibly fast. Even Jiang Fei, who had comprehended the first level of the Lone Nine Swords, felt a sense of dread, a thought of not knowing how to block it. In the blink of an eye, it viciously stabbed between Jiang Fei’s brows.
“Hah…” Jiang Fei’s eyes snapped open. His body jerked back against the car seat. Beads of cold sweat actually appeared on his forehead, as if he had truly been stabbed in the head by a sharp sword.
“What a terrifying sword aura!” Jiang Fei thought with lingering fear, his eyes holding an unprecedented seriousness.
This terrifying sword aura had no fancy tricks, only one characteristic: Speed!
Extreme speed, terrifying speed, monstrous speed!
Such sword technique was far superior to Miyamoto Kazuma’s so-called Two-Sword Style Reincarnation Slash; they simply weren’t on the same level. No matter how flashy or intricate the Reincarnation Slash was, it couldn’t withstand this single strike.
In all martial arts, speed reigns supreme. No matter how complex or brilliant the technique, under this one sword, all turns to dust!
Even Miyamoto Kazuma’s ultimate Three-Sword Style technique, which presented the pinnacle of flashy and bizarre moves, transforming into a flawless trump card, would be useless against such a simple, brutal move. It would still be utterly broken.
Jiang Fei calmed his breathing and slowly closed his eyes again. The image of that ethereal yet strangely real sword strike reappeared in his mind. He wanted to recreate the scene, to see if he could find a way to counter it.
Unfortunately, it was like a flash of inspiration that had come unintentionally. Now, trying to seek it out deliberately proved difficult.
“Such a sword strike… Miyamoto Kazuma definitely couldn’t block it. So, can I block it?” Jiang Fei speculated internally.
The Lone Nine Swords claimed to be able to break all sword techniques under heaven, but Jiang Fei’s sword art was only at the first level, not yet mastered! Moreover, when the opponent’s sword was this fast, leaving no trace to follow, even the Lone Nine Swords would find it hard to break, right?
It was like when Linghu Chong, Ren Woxing, and the others stormed Blackwood Cliff. Facing the sheer speed of the Sunflower Manual, it was simply unbreakable.
Jiang Fei’s mood soured. He could roughly confirm that the sword strike which appeared in his mind was likely the result of his divination regarding the impending danger and trouble. This trouble was related to the sword. His enemy was most likely a master who had perfected the way of the sword!
“Could it be that so-called ‘Sword Master’ from the island nation? Yagyu Chika’s uncle, Yagyu Munenori?” Jiang Fei’s eyes narrowed slightly, his heart unsettled.
He had heard people mention recently that Yagyu Munenori, who held the title ‘Sword Master’, might truly be the number one in the island nation’s sword path, even stronger than Miyamoto Kazuma.
Is this how strong ‘stronger’ is?
That really is strong!
Shaking his head, after witnessing that sword strike, Jiang Fei suddenly knew how to allocate the two free attribute points he gained upon leveling up.
Without hesitation, he allocated both points entirely to Agility!
Agility wasn’t just about running speed; it also represented the speed of his sword strikes.
Thus, Jiang Fei’s character attributes became:
Level: 5
Experience: 9/7000
Physique: 4.0
Spirit: 4.1
Agility: 6.0
Strength: 4.2
Unallocated Points: 0
Martial Skills: Lightness Skill – Triple Cloud, Level 1 (0/100); Incomplete Taiji Fist, Level 1 (0/200); Art of Mystical Doors and Escaping Jia, Level 2 (0/450); Lone Nine Swords, Level 1 (1/500); North Darkness Divine Skill (3.6/15); Ladder Cloud Ascension, Level 1 (0/460). Available Skill Points: 80.9
Secondary Professions: Weapon Forging (Level 9), Plant Cultivation (Level 9), Culinary Arts (Level 9), Horticulture (Level 9), Musical Artistry – Qin (Level 9), Brewing (Level 9), Summoned Beast Taming (Level 9), Healing Arts (Level 8 + 79%)…
All four basic attributes had broken past 4, with Agility directly breaking 6, reaching six times that of an ordinary person!
