The main sword of Tianguang Peak was the most powerful sword of the Aoyama Sect.
This sword had been lost a long time ago, and the so-called Inherited Heaven Sword was only a sheath.
Undoubtedly, this was the biggest secret of the Aoyama Sect, and nobody knew about it except for the nine peak masters.
Zhao Layue still didn't know about it, because she left too suddenly, or maybe on purpose. She didn't know many secrets of the Aoyama Sect.
The disciples of Aoyama didn't know about it either.
The external disciples of the South Pine Pavilion and the North Crane Sect were still concerned about when they could reach the state of Spiritual Stability and become an inner sect disciple.
The sword-washing disciples by the stream were most concerned about which peak master would choose them for the upcoming Inherited Sword Competition.
The inherited sword disciples of the peaks were most concerned about the Sword Trial, which was held every few years, and what rank they would get, and whether they would be qualified to participate in the Plum Meeting.
There were over forty inner sect disciples participating in the Inherited Sword Competition, of which a dozen disciples from the South Pine Pavilion received the most attention.
Zhao Layue was from the South Pine Pavilion, and so was Liu Shisui.
In less than ten years, the South Pine Pavilion had produced two disciples with natural Dao quality, but the evaluation and treatment of these two disciples were completely different in the nine peaks of Aoyama.
When the name of Liu Shisui was mentioned, the disciples of Aoyama didn't show the same admiration as before, but rather disdain and disappointment. Sometimes they would show some sympathy, but most of the time they were angry.
When the name of Zhao Layue was mentioned, they became more excited than ever, and their admiration for her grew even stronger.
Yao Songshan and Lin Yingliang had finally brought back the news of the Master of Shenmo Peak, who had been traveling for two years.
It wasn't until now that the people of the nine peaks of Aoyama knew where Zhao Layue had been and what she had done in the last two years.
She had been killing demons and devils along the way!
No matter which sect you were from, or the benefactor of the Royal Concubine, you would be killed as long as you committed an evil deed!
Hearing these stories, the disciples of Aoyama couldn't help but feel proud and honored.
What pleased the disciples of Aoyama the most was what had happened at the Four-Seas Banquet.
The disciples of Aoyama didn't like the disciples of Western Sea Sword School because of their arrogance of the Godly Swordsman.
In the eyes of the disciples of the Green Mountain, Zhao Layue had slapped the West Ocean Sword Sect in the face by killing someone in the grand hall of the Four-Seas Banquet, which was quite satisfying.
The news that Jing Jiu and the Center Sect had a duel at the Plum Meeting had spread far and wide, but even the colleagues of the Green Mountain didn't think Jing Jiu would win.
It was because his opponent might be Tong Yan of the Center Sect, the number one chess player in the world.
Some disciples who didn't know what had happened at the time felt discontented, thinking that the Green Mountain would be suppressed by the Center Sect if he were to lose to the other party.
One afternoon, the sword-washing disciples finished half a day of homework and came to the stream to take a break. Taking advantage of the spring sun, they discussed something.
With the Inherited Sword Competition around the corner, the most popular topic among the disciples was naturally when Zhao Layue would come back and whether she would recruit disciples this time.
Suddenly, a white cloud floated over from the blue sky. The atmosphere between heaven and earth changed slightly. Light and shadow intertwined on the peaks. The Aoyama Formation opened up a passage.
A flying sword rapidly flew over from the horizon, drawing a perfectly straight red line.
There was a sudden silence by the stream, followed by an uproar.
Mei Li, Lin Wuzhi, Gu Han, and the others came out of the Xi Jian Pavilion upon hearing the noise. They looked up at the sky with different expressions.
Someone yelled in surprise, "Big Sister Layue is back!"
"It's Senior Master Layue!" a disciple corrected him.
"The Thoughtless Sword is even redder. It looks like blood."
"What are you afraid of? The sword of Aoyama is bound to be stained with blood. Senior Master Layue has been slaying demons and devils along the way, so of course her sword is redder. "
…
…
As the blood-red sword light retreated to the peak top, the monkeys screamed in the forest among the cliffs, followed by the sound of friction. It seemed that the monkeys were on their way to meet their master.
The monkeys were very enthusiastic about the return of their master, showing that they missed him very much.
Jing Jiu felt a bit annoyed, thinking that these monkeys were becoming more and more like his relatives on Shiyue Peak.
Zhao Layue went to the manor cave to take a bath and change clothes.
The first thing Jing Jiu did was to bring out the bamboo chair and lie on it.
Without this chair, he had less time to sleep over the last two years.
Besides the bamboo chair, he also forgot to bring a ceramic plate with him, which he took out now.
Zhao Layue walked out of the manor cave while wiping her wet hair. She saw Jing Jiu lying on the chair, holding a grain of sand in his hand and staring at the ceramic plate in a daze.
She hadn't seen this scene for a long time.
A hint of a smile flashed in her eyes.
The grains of sand on the ceramic plate had covered nearly half of the surface of the plate.
She remembered clearly that when they were by the Cliff of Sword Washing, it should have been one third of the plate.
Judging from the time, what Jing Jiu was doing should be more and more difficult as the game progressed.
It was because of the ceramic plate and the grains of sand that she believed that playing chess was the easiest thing in the world for Jing Jiu.
Even Tong Yan was no match for him.
As she was thinking of this, hurried footsteps could be heard in the cliffs.
Gu Qing came to the peak top as quickly as he could. He didn't have the time to bow to Jing Jiu. "The Plum Meeting?" he asked while looking at Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu uttered "hmm".
The expression on Gu Qing's face changed slightly, as he asked again, "Tong Yan?"
"If he goes," Zhao Layue said.
Standing by the cliff's edge, Gu Qing thought about it seriously for a while, and then said to Jing Jiu, "You have to win."
Influenced by Jing Jiu, Jing Jiu talked less and less, but for some reason, those monkeys in the peaks didn't change at all.
Jing Jiu turned to Zhao Layue and said, "Look, his state of mind is indeed peaceful, stronger than yours and Liu Shisui's."
Hearing Jing Jiu praising him for being stronger than Zhao Layue, Gu Qing felt a bit uncomfortable. Thinking of Liu Shisui mentioned by Jing Jiu, he said seriously, "He's having a hard time now. I went to see him once, but he didn't want to see me again. I think there's something wrong with his state of mind. You should go and have a look."
Jing Jiu didn't respond.
Zhao Layue asked, "Are you sure he'll be fine?"
Jing Jiu dropped the grain of sand between his fingers, saying, "I'm sure it's his own choice."
…
…
The Inherited Sword Competition began on the fourth day after the two of them returned to Aoyama.
The arrangement at the end of the Stream of Sword Washing was the same as three years ago. It was probably because all the Cultivation sects were preparing for the Plum Meeting that fewer guests came to watch the competition. No one from Guocheng Temple or Ōzawa came, and that young girl from the Platanus Sect didn't come either.
The strange thing was that the Windy Broadsword Sect, which didn't have a close relationship with the Aoyama Sect, sent another messenger to the competition.
The appearance of Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu attracted a lot of attention.
They had participated in the Inherited Sword Competition three years ago, but they were by the stream then, and they were on the cliff this day.
They were the disciples who were going to inherit the sword at that time, and now they were going to choose the disciples who would inherit the sword.
Speaking of the fast promotion of status, it was rare to see such a situation in the last tens of thousands of years in Aoyama.
This of course had something to do with the ascension of the Immortal Jingyang.
Looking at Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu, many disciples of Aoyama, including the masters of the second generation, couldn't help but feel envious or even jealous of them. But they were well aware that they didn't have the courage that Zhao Layue had three years ago, and they didn't have the ability to climb to the top of the Shenmo Peak. As such, their jealousy and resentment were all directed at Jing Jiu.
Apart from a few people, no one knew what had happened that night.
Jing Jiu didn't have any dealings with anybody, so he didn't have a chance to explain, and he was happy to see it happen.
Zhao Layue understood his intention, so she didn't say anything. Like Jing Jiu, she didn't see anybody.
A disciple by the stream suddenly said, "Look, is he still carrying that iron sword on his back?"
"It's the sword left by Senior Master Mo. It's wide and straight. I can't be wrong."
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