Chapter 129 - 108: Just Passing By, You Don’t Mind If I Take a Disciple, Right?

Chapter 129: Chapter 108: Just Passing By, You Don’t Mind If I Take a Disciple, Right?

"Riding the wind on a Flying Sword—"

"Carefree between Heaven and Earth—"

The uninhibited voice echoed.

The crowd looked toward the sound, only to see a Flying Sword slowly approaching from the end of the boundless night sky. Atop the blade, a figure as free-spirited as the voice appeared in their line of sight.

It was an entirely unfamiliar middle-aged man. His long, tangled hair fell past his temples on either side of his eyebrows. His facial features were refined, and his eyes sparkled with spirit, yet his entire being exuded a sense of deep indolence. He held a battered wine flask in his hand, occasionally taking a swig with an expression of immense intoxication.

"The Heaven-Severing Sacred Body, the South Mountain Sword Saint Yan Nantian?" Seeing the figure on the Flying Sword clearly, Gu Qingyan couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight.

But countless older generation figures in the Eastern Domain furrowed their brows, their expressions turning exceptionally grim.

"The Heaven-Severing Sacred Body? Could this person be Sword Saint Yan Nantian, one of the Nine Saints of Nanling—the only person in the entire Eastern Domain who can interfere with the Battle of Celestial Prides to a certain extent?"

"What did you say? Yan Nantian? The Nine Saints of Nanling?"

When this name was mentioned, countless Cultivators paled in shock. Evidently, many of the older generation figures had heard of Yan Nantian’s title, and even quite a few among the younger generation had caught wind of it.

"Yan Nantian? Who is Yan Nantian?"

"The master of one of the top ten on the Celestial List from the previous Battle of Celestial Prides. The number one Sword Saint of the Eastern Domain. The unparalleled Sword Dao figure who possesses the Heaven-Severing Sacred Body."

"You actually haven’t heard of Yan Nantian’s title?"

"He is a Sword Dao Saint who stepped into the Saint Realm eight hundred years ago. ’Nanling claims half the territory, Nine Saints guard South Mountain’—this refers to the nine great Saints of Nanling, and he is one of them."

"HISS—nine Saint Realm Powerhouses?"

"Can Saint Realm Powerhouses interfere with the Battle of Celestial Prides?"

"Naturally, ordinary Saint Realm Powerhouses cannot interfere. Even the terrifying existences in the Emperor Realm cannot ignore the restrictions to intervene, but Sword Saint Yan Nantian can."

"Because he was born with the Heaven-Severing Sacred Body, giving him the innate ability to isolate all Order and Rule Power."

At these words, countless peerless evildoers and monstrous geniuses felt as if they had been struck by lightning. An older generation supreme expert, and a Saint Realm Powerhouse at that, who could interfere with the Battle of Celestial Prides? Didn’t that mean he could slaughter any Celestial Pride in the world at will?

"You’re overthinking it. Even with the Heaven-Severing Sacred Body, he can only interfere to a certain extent. He still cannot attack us directly; otherwise, he too would be obliterated by the restrictive power," a knowledgeable monstrous genius immediately spoke up to explain.

Evidently, that figure was an exception. He could interfere with the Battle of Celestial Prides to a certain degree, but it was strictly interference—he couldn’t truly make a move. Yet, even this alone was enough to shock everyone.

"So you’re saying that although he can’t attack us, he can step in to interfere at crucial moments?"

"At the very least, he can save someone in the midst of a slaughter between Celestial Prides at a critical moment."

BOOM!!!

As soon as these words fell, everyone abruptly looked up, finally understanding why the Celestial Pride Mark that had lit up earlier was instantly extinguished.

This was a blatant cheat code!

It had to be known that right now was the height of the Battle of Celestial Prides. All older generation figures were restricted. Let alone suppressing and killing a Celestial Pride, even interfering in the life-and-death struggles between them would instantly cause the offenders to be locked onto and obliterated by the restrictive power.

This was also why Zhao Wuji of the Celestial Sword Sect and the others could only watch helplessly as their seven great prodigies were slaughtered. They simply could not interfere with the destinies of the Celestial Prides.

In other words, once the Battle of Celestial Prides began, the Guardians of all the Celestial Prides were reduced to mere decorations. The youths could only rely on themselves. Thus, a Saint Realm Powerhouse who could step in and rescue a Celestial Pride from absolute despair was undoubtedly an unfair advantage.

"Rumor has it that the South Mountain Sword Saint has lived for thousands of years, yet he has only taken three disciples in his entire life. They were the seventh ranker on the Celestial List in the previous Battle of Celestial Prides, the fifth ranker in the one before that, and the fourth ranker in the one prior to that."

Every disciple he had accepted was taken in during the Battle of Celestial Prides. Furthermore, all of them were unparalleled monsters of the Sword Dao who eventually climbed into the top ten of the Celestial List.

"What’s even more terrifying is that he is extremely protective of his own. He is completely unfettered, solitary, and impervious to threats from any faction. Sometimes, he doesn’t even give face to the Imperial Race."

"He can interfere with the Battle of Celestial Prides to a certain extent, save his disciples at crucial moments, is fiercely protective, acts alone, and cannot be threatened?"

If that was the case, wouldn’t becoming his disciple be the equivalent of using a cheat code in the Battle of Celestial Prides? Even though he couldn’t attack a Celestial Pride, he could directly rescue his disciple whenever their life was threatened.

In an instant, everyone came to a realization.

What was he doing here?

While everyone’s hearts pounded in trepidation, the middle-aged man took a sip of his fine wine. Smacking his lips in intoxication, he arrived at the peak of the night sky above Xingyue City.

Inside the Sword Array, Jiang Hao observed the sudden and dramatic turn of events. He reasoned that although he didn’t know what was going on, one thing was certain: his situation couldn’t possibly get any worse than it already was. The middle-aged man sitting on the Flying Sword drinking wine harbored no killing intent toward him; otherwise, the restrictive power would have already triggered a response.

Concluding this, the young man abandoned the idea of detonating his martial soul. However, no longer able to support his body, he slowly fainted and plummeted downwards. Jiang Hao had been holding on purely by a single breath of willpower. The moment that breath dissipated, he completely lost consciousness.

Watching the young man fall alongside the Sword Array, Yan Nantian slowly opened his eyes and gave a slight shake of his head.

"Eleven," he called out softly.

The next moment.

WHOOSH!!!

From within his sleeve, a tiny, inch-long Flying Sword instantly shot out. The Flying Sword expanded against the wind, transforming into a three-foot-long sharp blade that flew toward the falling figure below.