Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Zhang Ruochen stood by the river, releasing his strong spiritual power to half of the county.
Other than a few special areas that had cloaking spells on them, everything within the spell boundary was visualized in his mind.
There was a green boat pushing through the calm water, heading towards him.
On the deck of the boat, a petite teenage girl in scholarly robes stood, her bright eyes searching around, looking for someone perhaps?
The teenage girl was Li Min.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes first fell on her. He smiled. “What a coincidence.”
When Li Min’s eyes met Zhang Ruochen’s, she was stunned,and her eyes widened.
Immediately she turned the boat around and started rowing faster back to where she came from, the five-story pavilion at the west side of the river.
She docked the boat by the bay and fled into the pavilion, panicking. “Forefather, I didn’t see any sword saint. Instead, I met the pervert. What if he follows me back?”
The Forefather looked at the panicked girl and remained calm. His grey eyebrows lifted slightly and said, “He has arrived!”
“Has arrived?”
Li Min was surprised, and she released her spiritual power but could not found the pervert.
Zhang Ruochen was on the rooftop of the five-story pavilion, stepping on the golden yellow tiles. There were thousands of lanterns above him.
He was carrying the Taotian Sword, radiating an unusual aura.
Zhang Ruochen hopped down from the roof and showed himself to the Forefather and Li Min.
“Pervert!”
Li Min could not help but to exclaim.
Forefather glared at Li Min. “Min, do not be rude.”
Li Min immediately sealed her lips tight and lowered her head, but her eyes never left Zhang Ruochen.
The forefather stood up, looking up and down at Zhang Ruochen, then said, “I guessed it was you as soon as the purple light appeared.”
Li Ku was a spiritual power half saint. He could recognize Zhang Ruochen the moment he saw him.
“Looks like you are the Receiver of Pluto Sword Tomb.”
Zhang Ruochen drew the Taotian Sword and placed it in front of the forefather.
The forefather examined the Taotian Sword, then returned it to Zhang Ruochen. He cupped his hands into a fist, and bowed to Zhang Ruochen. He said, “Greetings to the Keeper of the Sword.”
After witnessing what had just happened, Li Min’s jaw dropped.
The forefather addressed him as the Keeper of the Sword?
In the tribe of the Guardians of the Prison, there were only six sword keepers, and each held a distinctively powerful divine sword. It was said that all the six keepers were sword saints, and they were the most powerful people in Kunlun’s Field.
Though she had always thought Zhang Ruochen was a pervert, she was aware that he was only a few years older than her.
Could be the successor of a sword saint, Li Min thought to herself.
It was only a few days ago that she had welcomed a successor of a sword saint. It was not surprising to meet yet another one.
The thought of the other successor made Li Min blushed.
Both were successors…why was the other successor a charming and charismatic young gentleman, while this guy standing in front of her the complete opposite – a pervert?
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen and Half-Saint Li Ku were having a discussion.
Half-Saint Li Ku said, “When I was younger, I met Sword Saint Xuanji once, and I admire him much. If you don’t mind, may I ask, has Sword Saint been resurrected from death?”
This was not a secret to begin with and Zhang Ruochen did not plan to hide anything. He answered, “My mentor has taken the Resurrection Potion, and yes, he has come back to life.”
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Half-Saint Li Ku’s eyes simmered with joy, and he asked further, “If Sword Saint is still alive, why would he pass Taotian Sword on to you?”
After the question, he found it inappropriate to have asked bluntly and hence added on, “According to the tribal law of the Guardians of the Prison, the sword can only be passed on to the successor after death of the predecessor.”
Zhang Ruochen could definitely hear the unwelcoming tone of the receiver.
But it was understandable, and expected. His face was all over the wanted notices across the whole of Qingli County, and the ministry had sent many skilled militants to arrest him.
Accepting Zhang Ruochen as the Keeper would mean going against the ministry, and could impose a penalty from the imperial court.
However, the line Taotian Sword had had 16 keepers. All of them had been protecting the Guardians of the Prison in secret, and overcome many crises the tribe had faced. Some of the Keepers even lost their lives protecting the tribe.
That being said, the tribe was hugely indebted to the fellow great grandmasters of Zhang Ruochen. Should they refuse to help Zhang Ruochen to avoid troubles, it would be too ungrateful of them.
That was also the reason why Half-Saint Li Ku had been beating around the bush.
Zhang Ruochen was not aggravated and replied calmly, “My master is away to resolve an urgent issue. That is why he asked me to pay a visit to Pluto Sword Tomb and handed Taotian Sword to me. Nevertheless, there’s no need to worry. I shall not stay long. I will leave at once after passing an important message to the tribal Chief.”
Half-Saint Li Ku heaved a sigh of relief after listening to what Zhang Ruochen said. “The Li Family of Qingli County is only a distant relative of the Guardians. Besides, Pluto Sword Tomb is not in Qingli County but other areas and so I have to notify them in advance. Before they send someone over to pick you up, I hope you don’t mind staying here for now.”
“On another matter, Wan Zhaoyi of Yuan Mansion has handpicked ten elites to track you down. Unfortunately, five of them are in Qingli County and have arranged to be staying with the Li Family at the moment. For this reason, I wouldn’t dare to host you and I hope you can understand.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and nodded.
Yet he let out a sigh in his heart.
After all, the receiver was rejective of his current identity.
If it were Sword Saint Xuanji who had come today, Half-Saint Li Ku would have treated him with much respect and brought him to Pluto Sword Tomb immediately. He would not even ask Sword Saint Xuanji to wait in the capital of Qingli County.
Obviously, Half-Saint Li Ku wanted to seek advice from the Chief and elders of the Guardians. He would never bring Zhang Ruochen back without permission.
Zhang Ruochen did not blame Half-Saint Li Ku for this. After all, the half-saint was not a core member of the tribe and had no decision-making rights. He had to be careful.
He was not prepared for Zhang Ruochen’s sudden arrival either.
After he had Li Min accommodate Zhang Ruochen, he left hurriedly to send the message of the sword keeper’s arrival to Pluto Sword Tomb.
Zhang Ruochen turned to Li Min and smiled helplessly.
He was the Keeper of Sword. He might not deserve a grand welcome from the entire family, but not to the extent of having only a teenage girl to entertain him.
On the contrary, it was wise to keep a low profile under the current situation. Having a junior from the Li Family to keep him company would not draw too much attention.
Li Min had been listening to Zhang Ruochen and Half-Saint Li Ku’s conversation. Though Half-Saint Li Ku never mentioned Zhang Ruochen’s name throughout the conversation, she had guessed it.
She asked carefully, “So, you are the legendary Time and Space Descendent, Zhang Ruochen? They say you have reached the Peak of the Heavenly Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen was known for his achievement of reaching the Peak of the Heavenly Realm. That was his greatest achievement for which he was first known to the world.
Later on, everyone thought he was killed by Nine Serenity of Sword Saint. His fame and achievements were all short-lived.
As for his achievement in sword mastery, and his impressive combat records in Kunlun Heir’s banquet and the Sword Technique Conference, they were all Lin Yue’s, not Zhang Ruochen’s.
Li Min’s impression of Zhang Ruochen’s achievement was no different. In her eyes, Zhang Ruochen’s achievement in the Heavenly Realm technique was equivalent to the First Change or Second Change of Fish-Dragon.
That was why she was not afraid of Zhang Ruochen. She had been treating him as her peer who had made impressive achievements.
Zhang Ruochen did not answer Li Min’s question. Instead, he asked, “Does Qingli County have a martial market? Take me there, I want to buy something.”
Qingli County was considered a central city that was linked to all the states. Though it was only a county, it had wide variety of supplies needed for cultivation practices. Perhaps Zhang Ruochen could get what he needed.
“What do you want to buy?” Li Min asked.
Zhang Ruochen nodded and answered, “Since you know the county well, do you know where can I buy the Silver Moon Dragon-Elephant’s or Celestial Divine Elephant’s blood?”
Zhang Ruochen was eager to complete his Ninth Palm practice of Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm. Only then would he be fit to cultivate and achieve the Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. He had to buy the elephant’s blood as soon as possible, regardless of anything.
The more critical the situation was getting, the more eager he was to break through so that he could obtain more power.
…
Author’s Note: The following two chapters will take more time. Best to save them for tomorrow morning. Thank you for your support and understanding!