Chapter 131 — The Mystic Gate's True Heir

He wanted to leap back up, but feared Ling Yuxiu would kick him down again.

Wei Yong beside him stared straight ahead, not moving a muscle. Ling Yuxiu glared at him with vicious eyes. A drop of cold sweat appeared on Wei Yong's forehead, and then he sprang, leaping down from the Jade Cliff.

Ling Yuxiu gave a snort and jumped down the cliff as well.

A prince not far away frowned. Suddenly, from behind his head, vital energy formed into a great hand that reached down the cliff, caught her, and drew her back.

He said gently: "Seventh Sister, don't be unruly. Mind the face of the imperial house.

" Ling Yuxiu could only settle down.

"Second Brother, that man is the divine physician who cured Granny Empress Dowager, and an old acquaintance of mine. .

.

" The Second Prince kept a placid face. "I know.

I also heard from young General Shen that you met him in the Barren Ruins and were quite close.

Seventh Sister, we are children of the imperial house and cannot do as we please. Don't be unruly. The world is in troubled times, and a calamity of the first magnitude stands right before us.

If it erupts, there will be ruin of the state and death of the house, and our imperial family will be stray dogs without a home! " Ling Yuxiu was startled and asked: "Second Brother, what do you make of this Daoist Heir's skill?

" "He has not yet acted, so I cannot know his measure. But since the Daoist Sect dares bring him here to block the gate, he must be no small matter! " The Second Prince looked at Shen Mu beneath the cliff and frowned slightly. "Seventh Sister, this Shen Mu may be a divine physician of the first order, but he is after all a castaway from the Barren Ruins. Don't get too close to him, lest people mock our imperial house for forgetting rank.

" Ling Yuxiu frowned.

Before the mountain gate, the Patriarch of the Demon Cult, who wore the face of a youth, came down the mountain and stood before the old and young Daoists. He made the Daoist bow of greeting.

The old Daoist hurriedly rose, and the young Daoist with him, and bowed in return. The boyish Patriarch smiled: "Danyangzi, you have brought the Daoist Sect's Heir with you. What is your intention? " The old Daoist smiled: "Elder Brother of the Dao, why ask what you already know?

The Daoist Lord of my sect is as old as you, and he does not wish to see the sects and schools of the world become vassals of the Kingdom of Jingping, and so he sent me.

The Heir will block the gate for three days only. If within three days the Heir is defeated, my sect will not revolt. If in three days no one defeats the Heir, then the world will change its master.

" The boyish Patriarch sighed: "The Daoist Sect has always stood aloof.

Can it no longer sit still? " Danyangzi kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, and said: "The Daoist Lord sees the great current of the world rolling like a tide; those who follow it prosper, those who oppose it perish. My sect seeks not to revive its own teaching, but only peace of mind. If the Jingping Imperial Preceptor wishes to destroy all the sects and teachings of the world, let him. But the Daoist Lord wishes to see whether the primary schools, the academies, and the Scholars' Lodge with which the Preceptor means to replace the world's sects have the right to do so!

My sect has trained a single Daoist Heir.

The Scholars' Lodge commands the resources of the whole world, far surpassing my sect. If the scholars it trains cannot match my sect's Heir, then the Imperial Preceptor's reform has no reason to exist, and the world should take a new master. " "I understand. " The boyish Patriarch turned and left, and his voice carried over the whole mountain: "Scholars of the Lodge, hear my command! Whatever the height of your cultivation, you may come down the mountain to challenge! " The words had no sooner fallen than the whole mountain heard them. "I'll go! " A Spirit Adept came out through the mountain gate and walked with great strides toward the Daoist Heir. The Daoist Heir rose and bowed, saying: "Senior brother.

" The Spirit Adept was likewise a scholar of the Lodge, having entered it a few years before; he bowed in return and asked: "What cultivation does the Heir hold?

" The Heir said unhurriedly: "The Six Harmonies realm. " The Spirit Adept laughed: "I, too, am in the Six Harmonies realm.

My name is Qu Ping.

Today I oppose you not out of private grievance, but to restore the good name of the Scholars' Lodge!

" The Heir nodded. "My worldly name is Lin Xuan.

Senior brother, please. " "Heir Lin Xuan, please!

" Qu Ping's eyes blazed with sharp light.

He suddenly burst into motion - yet his form did not charge forward; on the contrary, it fell back, his body drifting rearward. Two fingers pinched a sword-elixir, and with a hum the elixir sent forth a blazing sword aura, thick as a pillar, in which one could dimly see a sword-column gathered from countless beams of sword-light, spinning madly about its center!

Taking the sword-column as his sword, Qu Ping slashed down.

Where it passed, sword-wind shrieked, and its momentum was vast and overwhelming!

Seeing this, Shen Mu could not help being startled, and his heart shook: "Has the swordcraft of Jingping reached such a degree? Is this one of the profound sword arts of the Scholars' Lodge? " His eyes were sharp enough to perceive what was extraordinary about this blow. Qu Ping's slash looked simple, but in truth the control of vital energy over the sword had reached an inconceivable realm. The blow seemed plain, yet every one of those countless lights within the sword-column had to be driven by vital energy.

This single feat alone made Shen Mu feel he could never catch up!

This sword art seemed to leap beyond the basic techniques of thrusting, lifting, cleaving, and slashing, giving birth to another swordcraft not embraced by the foundations of the art! "The Great Six Harmonies Sword Art!

" Wei Yong cried out, his eyes shining. "This is the sword art of the Jingping Imperial Preceptor - a divine power that only Spirit Adepts may cultivate! " "The sword art of the Jingping Imperial Preceptor?

" Shen Mu's heart trembled faintly. No wonder he felt this sword art exceeded the bounds of basic swordsmanship. Never had he imagined it was a swordcraft created by the Imperial Preceptor himself!