Nightfall

The well-made black academy uniform swayed gently in the warm spring breeze. Ning Que appeared before the masses with his black hair tightly tied up in a simple bun. His face was slightly gaunt and he looked more handsome than before. The image that Ning Que presented was exceptionally refreshing.

There were many students from the Academy who came to watch the battle. Chu Youxian and others who were familiar with Ning Que were also present. When they spotted Ning Que, they could not help but cheer loudly. Affected by the atmosphere, the public grew even more excited. Some people even started whistling.

Zhong Da Jun stood in a crowd of people and looked at the youth in black fluttering robes on the distant stone steps. He recalled the scenes when they had first entered the Academy two years ago and a trace of spite and jealousy flashed through his eyes. Then, these emotions turned into loss and loneliness. Ning Que and himself now were two people who belong in two different worlds. Even if he were a descendant of the Yang Guan noble family, he could no longer catch up with Ning Que, much less getting revenge on him.

The spring breeze caught the cheers of the crowd and brought it to the dozens of horse carriages on the road of the hill. The ladies of Chang’an who were on the cusp of romance lifted their curtains eagerly with hope and admiration on their faces. There were many faces that turned grave, including that of priest Cheng Lixue of the Divine Hall Revelation Department.

Many people from all great cultivation sects in the world had come to watch the battle, except the sadhus from Yuelun Kingdom’s White Tower Temple as they had been expelled from the Tang Empire by an edict.

All these cultivators from different sects were very interested in Liu Yiqing, who was previously unknown but suddenly gained fame. They wanted to know what state and abilities the younger brother of the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai had. But what they were truly interested in, was Ning Que’s performance in this battle.

The Academy was the only Unknown Place linked to the secular world and was the opposite of everything the West-Hill Divine Palace was. In the hearts of those who knew of the other Unknown Places, the Academy was the most powerful one and was even stronger than the West-Hill Divine Palace. However, the crux of the matter was, how strong exactly, were the people on the second floor of the Academy?

Everyone knew how great the Headmaster of the Academy was, but they did not know the extent of his power. Few have met Mr. First or Mr. Second of the Academy and they all came out from the meeting with exclamations but few details.

For decades, no one from the Academy had revealed their prowess.

That was because no one from the Academy had entered the human realm since Mr. Ke.

Until Ning Que.

The West-Hill Divine Palace had forbidden everyone mentioning Mr. Ke’s name and deeds since his disappearance. However, the world’s strongest powerhouse then had left many scars and shocking deeds on the world. That was why every single cultivation sect in the world wanted to find out Ning Que’s ability and state of mind.

Everyone knew of the battle between Ning Que and monk Guan Hai in the hall of Lanke Temple, but not the details.

The battle between Ning Que and Yuelun Kingdom’s Dao Shi had shocked each cultivation sects even more. Ning Que had beat a high monk of the Buddhism Sect from an Unknown place in the battle of Psyche. It was well known that the mind of Bhadanta from the Buddhism Sect, no matter his zen or his psyche, was the strongest in the cultivation world.

Ning Que’s act of cutting Dao Shi’s head after the battle in the morning had shocked the various sects, and many did not think well of it.

If a Buddha stops him, he would kill him. Should a God stop him, would he kill the God too?

That was what Mr. Ke had done. He had killed his way to making a name for the Academy, and his deeds had resulted in the respect that people had for the Academy. Even though he had been punished by heaven, not even the West-Hill Divine Palace dared to criticize him.

The cultivators had left their sects and traveled far to the Academy to catch this rare opportunity to see the true abilities of the second floor of the Academy for themselves. They wanted, even more, to see the Academy fail as they did not wish to see the birth of a second Mr. Ke.

Tao Addict of the West-Hill Divine Palace had claimed that Ning Que was the weakest World Wayfarer from the Academy in history. This had spread through the entire cultivation world. Even though Ning Que had won twice since he entered the human realm and had injured Prince Long Qing, many still believed in that there were tricks in the two battles.

Many praised Liu Yiqing who had sat quietly on the futon as if he was not part of this world. They thought that he was indeed the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai’s brother, as he had managed to reach the upper Seethorough State at such a young age. He had already shown signs of breaking the realm and was likely to beat Ning Que in his current state.

However, when he saw Ning Que who stood on the steps and felt the freely moving aura in his body, he thought of the rumors that Ning Que had gone into seclusion to receive Tao Enlightenment. He could not help but feel that he had underestimate Ning Que’s capabilities.

Cheng Lixue touched his silvery-white hair softly and looked at the Academy’s side doors below the hill silently. He suddenly said, “Senior Brother He, who do you think will win?”

He Mingchi smiled, “Ning Que, of course.”

Cheng Lixue asked in surprise, “Why are you so sure?”

He Mingchi replied, “Because he is a student of the Headmaster of the Academy.”

Chen Lixue received an epiphany and felt that his judgment earlier was rather ludicrous. He said, “That is true.”

…

…

Ning Que stood on the steps and watched his excited classmates from afar. He smiled and waved at them, and then, he looked at the man sitting on the futon by the side door.

The man was very young, but looked like a tree with deep and long roots as he sat on the futon. He gave people a sense that he would not move an inch no matter how strong the winds were.

Ning Que knew that the man came from the South Jin Kingdom and had waited for him outside the Academy’s doors for three months. He also knew that this man, Liu Yiqing, was the younger brother of Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword.

The Yulin Royal Guards had used some long ropes and barred the public behind it. There was a large piece of empty land by the Academy’s side doors beneath the stone steps.

The field was huge, but the distance between Ning Que and Liu Yiqing was small.

Liu Yiqing stood up and look at Ning Que silently.

After a moment, the futon that had accompanied him for three months broke into pieces.

The young man couldn’t help looking rather ragged after sitting outside the Academy for three whole months. He had no shelter and was drenched in rain and burned by the sun. His hair was tangled and his clothes were covered in dust. His nails, which were exposed outside his sleeves, were caked with dirt and mud and did not look like hands that were meant to hold swords.

Compared to Ning Que, who had just bathed and changed clothes and looked especially clean and refreshed, Liu Yiqing looked like a beggar. However, his expression was placid as if there was not any dirt on his clothes and that they were much cleaner than the black Academy uniform that Ning Que wore.

Liu Yiqing looked at Ning Que with bright eyes.

He was indeed exhausted and haggard.

But his Taoist Sword had been washed by the bitter winds and rain outside the Academy for three months, and it was brighter than ever.

He had waited for Ning Que for three whole months and had finally got to meet him today.

The sword that had been washed so brightly that it shone like water in spring had the strongest sword style.

“Ning Que?”

Liu Yiqing asked.

Ning Que nodded.

Liu Yiqing suddenly smiled.

The fragments of the futon at his feet lifted off the ground with his smile.

The dust on the ground swirled without wind but did not fly about. They rolled about and scattered around the grounds, forming an extremely odd scene.

When the dust rolled further away like a snake and was about to leave the empty piece of land. Those watching behind the rope watched the dirt that was coming towards them and stepped back subconsciously. However, there was no space for them to move and just as the dust was about to reach them, it gathered before the rope and stopped.

A shallow mud ridge was formed.

There were two worlds, one inside and the other outside the ridge.

The world inside the ridge was one of battle, and shouldn’t be disturbed.

…

…

There were exclamations of surprise around the side door of the Academy before dead silence ensued.

The dozens of horse carriages on road were enveloped in the silence as well.

The ladies in the horse carriages pressed their hands to their lips tightly in shock.

The cultivators from various sects in the horse carriages looked at Liu Yiqing silently. They did not know how to react.

The Sage of Sword, Liu Bai, had dared to allow his younger brother to challenge the Academy, so they were certain that Liu Yiqing definitely had a high state and was strong. They had already ascertained that Liu Yiqing was strong enough, but they did not think that he could be this strong.

Liu Yiqing was able to use his Psyche Power just by smiling and had been able to spread the dust on the field so perfectly. This seemingly odd scene required a delicate control over the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The officials of the Tang Imperial Center Administration looked at the side doors of the Academy silently. Worried expressions crossed their face. After Liu Yiqing’s display of his state, everyone thought that Ning Que was bound to lose.

Cheng Lixue fell silent as he looked at the scene.

Unlike other cultivation sects, the West-Hill Divine Palace who led everyone had already gathered information on Liu Yiqing years ago since he was the younger brother of the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai.

Before Liu Yiqing became famous, the West-Hill Divine Palace had already known that he was a rare Sword Taoism genius and had placed him on their to-watch list.

Cheng Lixue realized that Liu Yiqing was stronger than the Divine Hall had thought when he displayed his capabilities. He frowned worriedly.

While the West-Hill Divine Palace did not want another Mr. Ke to appear from the Academy, they did not wish for the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom to come up with another Sage of Sword like Liu Bai.

Liu Bai was the leading visiting professor of the Divine Hall, and the South Jin Kingdom was the greatest power that the Divine Hall held in the secular world. If the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom’s capabilities grew with Liu Yiqing and grow even stronger, the Divine Hall’s control over the Sword Garret would weaken. What would the Divine Hall do if they revolt in the future?

“So you are a precious sword that the Sage of Sword had hidden for many years.”

Cheng Lixue looked at Liu Yiqing from afar and said bitterly, “Now that I see it, it seems like not even Ning Que, the core disciple of the Headmaster, could be your match today.”

…

…

At the side doors of the Academy.

Liu Yiqing said to Ning Que, “You’re finally here.”

His tone was calm, but he could not hide the pride and confidence in his mind which have been expressed obviously in his voice. He was about to beat the Headmaster of the Academy’s core disciple today, and he could finally have a sense of pride and confidence that belonged to himself before the Academy from now on.

If this were a normal story, Ning Que would fall silent after Liu Yiqing spoke. Then, he would say, “What will come will come,” before losing the battle heroically.

However, Ning Que never acted like a regular person. He would do anything to win the battle. He could choose not to look at the other party’s cards even if he took a risk and not change his own.

Ning Que did not look at Liu Yiqing’s eyes that were as bright as a sword.

He looked at the clean green tiles on the ground and said sincerely, ” Your sweeping skills are the best in the world, just like your brother.”

…