Once they crossed the bamboo bridge between the first and second peaks, they'd officially entered Celestial Mountain. There were no longer any "rules to enter the sect." With Long Feiye leading the way, none of the orioles or birds on the path had the strength to cause trouble for Han Yunxi, even if they wanted to.
After the passionate kiss, Long Feiye allowed the crowd to gossip as he held Han Yunxi's hand and continued to walk forward.
The two of them were different in many aspects, but their attitude towards rumors and slanders was almost the same, which was to completely ignore them!
Many people would say self-confidence, but true self-confidence required an incomparably strong heart. Only with a strong enough heart could one walk out of an uproar calmly and do as one pleased.
Those with low self-esteem would often recognize themselves from other people's evaluations and constantly change themselves to cater to others. In the end, they'd lose themselves.
Circling around to the other side of the second mountain, Han Yunxi saw a different scenery.
Halfway up the mountain behind the second and third mountains, there were several palaces and pavilions scattered about in picturesque disorder in the forest. Many white-robed disciples were practicing their swords in groups of three to five.
White robes and silver swords. Their figures were calm and their swords were nimble. They moved like the clouds and their swords like flowing water, giving off a sense of vitality and dignity. Han Yunxi watched from afar and felt as if all of Celestial Mountain had fallen silent.
This was the Tianshan Kenzō she'd imagined. The clamor from the crowd just now, the jealousy and harshness in their hearts, didn't belong to Celestial Mountain. This was a pure land beyond the secular world. Unfortunately, the people here were still people of the secular world.
It was no wonder then. Tianshan Kenzō possessed the world's strongest martial arts. Everyone who came here to learn from its master came for the sake of profit. How could this pure land belong to Ning Jing?
Han Yunxi was well aware that this pure land was the most dangerous place in Cloud Realm's martial arts circles!
There was no bamboo bridge between the second and third mountains. Between the two mountains, there was a huge stone sword. It was like a pillar that supported the sky. It fell from the sky and pierced into the valley. It was magnificent and awe-inspiring.
Han Yunxi was stunned by the sight. She was about to ask when Long Fei Ye explained, "That was originally a solitary peak. We asked a craftsman to carve it into the shape of a sword. It took three years to complete."
Long Fei Ye picked up Han Yunxi and used the cliff as leverage to fly forward. Then he used the stone sword as leverage to reach the third mountain in one breath.
There was no rope bridge between the third and fourth mountains, only a huge stone sword.
Still, Long Feiye borrowed strength from the stone sword to reach the fourth level in one breath. Han Yunxi couldn't help but sigh. "Long Feiye, I wouldn't have been able to get up without you leading the way. I couldn't go down! "
"Mn," Long Fei Ye replied faintly.
Han Yunxi seized the chance to say, "Then you have to come down with me."
Long Fei Ye didn't reply, but Han Yunxi persisted. "Answer me."
"I promised you before. Don't you trust me?" Long Fei Ye retorted.
"If you lie to me once, I'll treat it as a hundred times!" Han Yunxi's narrowed eyes were filled with warning.
She'd once said these words.
"Mn." Long Fei Ye agreed readily, as if he'd forgotten that he'd once lied to this woman.
Along the way, Han Yunxi saw many palaces and pavilions in the forest, as well as many disciples practicing the sword. There were both men and women.
She'd always thought that Tianshan Mountain was only located at the top of the fifth mountain and the two pavilions and courtyards. She didn't expect there to be so many disciples. No wonder Long Fei Ye could pick out so many outstanding disciples from Tianshan Kenzō and nurture them into Shadow Guard.
From the looks of it, Tianshan Mountain was really a big sect!
Han Yunxi couldn't see the top of Tianshan Mountain even though she was standing at the middle of the fourth mountain. They went around to the back of the fourth mountain and saw a suspension bridge from the middle of the fourth mountain to the fifth mountain, Tianshan Mountain.
Other than this suspension bridge, Han Yunxi couldn't see anything else. Fog was rising at this time, and most of Tianshan Mountain was covered by clouds.
This suspension bridge was different from the bamboo bridge from before. The bridge was very wide, and although it would sway when one stepped on it, they could still stand steadily.
Long Fei Ye held Han Yunxi's hand as they crossed the bridge, explaining the different factions of Tianshan Kenzō to her.
Tianshan Kenzō only had one type of internal martial arts, but there were many branches of swordsmanship. The disciples that Han Yunxi saw on the way here all belonged to different factions. They all learned the lower and middle ranks of Tianshan Kenzō's sword skills. After entering Tianshan Mountain, they would first go to Cang Qiuzi's Lockheart Courtyard to cultivate internal martial arts. Then they'd draw lots to be assigned to different factions to learn swordsmanship.
The young disciples that Long Fei Ye had found were not only the best of their respective factions, but also the best of Tianshan Mountain's younger generation.
Because the Heavenly Sword Conference held once every ten years in the Heavenly Sword Sect had yet to begin, this batch of young disciples had yet to have the chance to enter the two pavilions and two courtyards. Currently, the youngest disciples in the two pavilions and two courtyards were already over thirty years old.
Every ten years, Tianshan Kenzō would hold a Celestial Sword Assembly to pick out new talents.
Those who wanted to study swordsmanship under the four elders had to pass through layers upon layers of duels at the Celestial Sword Assembly and enter the top ten. Only then could they be promoted, or they'd be stuck in the branch factions forever.
Once they entered the top ten, they had the right to climb the mountain and enter the Hidden Sword Depositories to pick a treasure sword of their own. Then they could choose one of the four elders to study swordsmanship under their tutelage.
The folklore said that Tianshan Kenzō accepted disciples every year, but that was only because of the four elders' authority. Each of them could make an exception to accept a disciple without having to go through the Celestial Sword Assembly.
An eldest young Miss like Cang Qiuying was an exception. She'd been personally taught by Cang Qiuzi since she was young. Although she wasn't very talented, she was still better than the other disciples at the foot of the mountain.
When Duanmu Yao was still a child in her arms, Western Zhou's imperial clan used all sorts of connections to send her to Celestial Mountain. They wanted to foster her under Cang Qiuzi's tutelage until she grew up to learn martial arts.
Back then, Tang Yiwan had used all sorts of connections to send the four-year-old Long Fei Ye up the mountain. By chance, they'd run into Western Zhou's imperial clan.
Back then, Cang Qiuzi had accepted plenty of bribes and often broke the rules to recruit more disciples. He didn't teach the new disciples personally, but left them to other disciples.
Both families were planning to take Cang Qiuzi as their tutelage, but by chance, Old Kenzō happened to come out of closed door cultivation on the day of the ceremony and ran into them.
Kenzō asked Cang Qiuzi why he'd made an exception, so Cang Qiuzi had no choice but to use the excuse of "innate talent." Who knew that Old Kenzō would test the girl himself?
Not only did he discover that Long Fei Ye was a martial arts prodigy, but he also discovered that Duanmu Yao's dantian was very similar to his late lover's.
Thrilled, the sword sect master broke his rule of not accepting any disciples and accepted Duanmu Yao and Long Feiye as his disciples. Duanmu Yao had been raised at the peak of Celestial Mountain ever since she was young, while Long Fei Ye had started learning martial arts as soon as he entered the sect. He improved at lightning speed and broke many of Tianshan Kenzō's records.
Hearing all this, Han Yunxi finally figured out the ins and outs of the matter. Worried, she asked, "Long Fei Ye, the Celestial Sword Conference hasn't started yet, right?"
"It's on the sixth of the sixth month of this year," Long Fei Ye replied. His other reason for coming to Celestial Mountain was the Celestial Sword Conference.
"The sixth of the sixth month … in other words, it's very likely that your junior brothers will betray you and join Cang Qiuzi's side?" Han Yunxi asked.
Long Fei Ye had come to Celestial Mountain to deal with Cang Qiuzi and Duanmu Yao. He wanted to help Old Kenzō purge these evil forces. However, Old Kenzō didn't accept disciples, so Celestial Mountain only had Long Fei Ye and Duanmu Yao as disciples. In terms of numbers, they were few and far between. Meanwhile, the two Depositories and Courtyards took in disciples every year. In less than ten years, they'd take in talented disciples from the lower factions. Their strength was self-evident.
Here on Celestial Mountain, Long Fei Ye could only take control of the branch factions to strengthen his own power. Once the Celestial Sword Conference began, Long Fei Ye would definitely suffer heavy losses.
To these branch faction disciples, the Celestial Sword Conference was a crucial step in their martial arts careers. Many of them had spent ten years practicing their swordsmanship for the sake of this conference! It wasn't just the disciples themselves. Their factions hoped to nominate an expert to climb up the ranks of the two Depositories and Courtyards and win glory for their factions. They wanted to use this chance to elevate Tianshan Kenzō's status.
Although these people were loyal to Long Fei Ye, the allure of the Celestial Sword Conference was too great.
First, no matter how strong Long Fei Ye's martial arts were, he was still Old Kenzō's disciple. Old Kenzō wouldn't accept any more disciples, so the disciples of the various factions couldn't climb Celestial Mountain through Long Fei Ye to learn superior sword skills. They could only pass the Celestial Sword Conference and the two Depositories and Courtyards.
Second, Long Fei Ye had no intention of fighting for the position of sect head, nor did he plan to stay on Celestial Mountain for long. Long Fei Ye wasn't a member of the martial arts world, so he'd have to return to court eventually. How long could Long Fei Ye protect them?
Third, Long Fei Ye might be the sect head's disciple, but the sect head was growing less and less involved. Head Elder Cang Qiuzi was growing more and more powerful, so Long Fei Ye's words in Kenzō held less and less weight.
People's hearts couldn't resist temptation. Moreover, Cang Qiuzi and the rest had long known that Long Fei Ye controlled many of the branch factions. They'd definitely use the Celestial Sword Conference to weaken Long Fei Ye's power.
Han Yunxi's considerations were the same as Long Fei Ye's. Long Fei Ye understood people's hearts better than Han Yunxi, especially those of the martial arts world.
He looked up into the clouds and said, "Han Yunxi, there's another grand meeting before the Celestial Sword Conference that I'll be attending."
Hearing his heavy tone, Han Yunxi felt a little uneasy. "What grand meeting?"
"On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Kenzō ranking tournament." Long Fei Ye said. "All Celestial Mountain disciples are allowed to participate. They're responsible for their own life and death, and the top five will be ranked based on their martial arts skills."
Han Yunxi knitted her brows. "You mean …"
"Master won't be participating. If we take first place in the Kenzō ranking tournament, the rest will be much easier," Long Fei Ye said.
The rules of the jianghu martial arts world were simple. Those with high martial arts skills were king. If he could take first place in the ranking tournament, then even the Sword and Scripture Depositories wouldn't dare to cause trouble, to say nothing of the branch factions. Cang Qiuzi would then be alone and without help.
He only had two goals for coming to Celestial Mountain this time. One was to bring Han Yunxi to see master, the other was to destroy Cang Qiuzi.
The fastest way to kill Cang Qiuzi was to participate in the ranking tournament. But if he wanted to take first place, he'd have to undo the seal on his body.
With the three countries at war and the struggles of the imperial court, he couldn't stay on Celestial Mountain for too long …
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