The Path Toward Heaven

Gu Qing was the baby brother of Gu Han and Guo Nanshan’s sword attendant.

He wasn’t someone with natural Dao quality, but had outstanding talents. Because of Gu Han, he was sent to Liangwang Peak after he was born and had been learning sword work with Guo Nanshan all these years.

Among the new-generation, his state was at the highest; from Liangwang Peak’s perspective, he was even more advanced than Zhao Layue.

However, he had been staying in Liangwang Peak and seldom appeared by the Sword Washing Stream, so few people knew about him.

Gu Qing stepped onto a rock in the stream and stopped.

He didn’t move forward a single step after that.

The position was very important.

The stream rock he was standing on was about fifty feet away from Jing Jiu.

What did it mean? Such a distance was way out of the attacking range for someone with the State of Perfect Preservation, so during his sword washing period, had Gu Qing already reached the State of Inherited Will? Might he know something not only about this state, but also possess the attacking power of Inherited Will State?

Shocked expressions were everywhere, as people had just realized such a gifted youth was hiding in Liangwang Peak.

Guo Nanshan’s expression, however, remained very calm.

Gu Qing had been his sword attendant for many years, and in fact their relationship was more like half-master and half-disciple, so he clearly knew his actual state and strength.

He was prepared to use Gu Qing to discourage Zhao Layue; but Jing Jiu unexpectedly stood up before her, and Gu Han requested his brother.

He knew how Gu Han felt, and so he didn’t intervene.

As for the outcome of this battle, there shouldn’t be any surprise.

Gu Han stared down at Jing Jiu below as the hint of a sneer on the corners of his mouth.

A year ago, at the foot of Sword Peak, he and Jing Jiu first met, and he disliked Jing Jiu because of Liu Shisui, that and other unknown reasons.

“A jade won’t become a piece of art without first being carved. I hope Brother Jing will understand how hard the Brothers have tried to educate him,” Ma Hua said happily with a wide smile.

…

…

At the Inherited Sword Competition, the disciples were expected to perform their skill of sword riding, but you’d better not refuse it if someone challenged you.

The Green Mountain Sect looked down on the behavior of avoiding combat.

So when Lin Jingling came out to challenge Liu Shisui, no master thought it was inappropriate, and Liu accepted it naturally.

But everybody also knew Jing Jiu was different from normal disciples, a very lazy person; nobody could predict what reaction he might have.

Many disciples from the South Pine Pavilion, including Xue Yong’e and Sister Yushan, wondered whether he would make a surprising remark like, “I don’t want to fight with you.”

The disciples wondered this because Jing Jiu had no chance of winning in battle, besides in laziness.

Even if Jing Jiu had the State of Perfect Preservation, how could he fight with a gifted disciple who had already entered the State of Inherited Will?

From a distance of fifty feet, your sword couldn’t even touch your opponent’s body, so how could you defeat him?

Since defeat was inevitable, admitting defeat was also a possible option, though it would mean losing face in front of so many people.

“Let us begin,” said Gu Qing, cupping his fists together, the flying sword now out of his sleeves, hovering in front of him, and he presented the courtesy of leveled sword.

“Okay,” Jing Jiu said.

He hadn’t yet admitted the defeat yet.

There was once again a commotion on the cliffs and by the stream.

Some of them felt disappointed, some of them felt satisfied, and others sighed.

Yet most people thought the following scenario would be very embarrassing for Jing Jiu.

Sister Yushan covered her face with hands, and the youth Yuan of Lelang comforted her in a low voice.

“Is this the so-called tough experience? Or you guys simply want to humiliate him?”

Zhao Layue craned her head up, staring at the cliffs.

The disciples of Liangwang Peak were standing there.

She recalled the battle she had with Senior Master Zhuo of Bihu in the clouds of Sword Peak that night.

The gap between different their states couldn’t have been compensated by talent and methods.

Even if Jing Jiu had the magically protective relic hidden like hers, how could he use it in front of so many people?

If Jing Jiu hadn’t helped that night, she would have been killed by the sword of Senior Master Zhuo’s.

As she thought this, Gu Qing wielded his sword.

Like all the disciples who had performed earlier, the wielding of his sword was fairly simple.

From the moment his sleeves opened, sword light was produced and then focused.

A gray line appeared on the stream water.

His flying sword, possessing a faint, ancient aura, flew fifty feet in the blink of an eye, maintaining speed and power as it was aimed directly at Jing Jiu’s head.

Zhao Layue’s black pupils shrank a little.

Gu Qing had not only entered the State of Inherited Will, but also almost reached its completion, not that different from Zhao Layue.

As Gu Qing’s flying sword arrived in front of him, Jing Jiu didn’t move, as if frozen in fear.

It obviously had nothing to do with fear, though. They all knew a regular disciple couldn’t react at all since Gu Qing’s sword was simply too fast.

Next, the flying sword would stop in front of Jing Jiu’s eyes, a few inches away from the middle.

Then Gu Qing would say gently “Thanks you for letting me win”, and the battle would be over.

Everybody expected to see this.

However, that isn’t what happened.

A sound rumbled on the stream, spreading outward.

That sound was clear and crisp.

The wind rippled the stream water.

The gray line stopped suddenly.

The flying sword fell down diagonally, into the stream, splashing the water.

It was deathly quiet at the moment.

All the shocking gazes fell on Jing Jiu.

What had just happened?

Standing on the rock in the stream, Jing Jiu didn’t appear to have moved.

He held the sword the way a hunter would hold a staff looking for the wild duck in the mountain forest.

As Gu Qing’s sword was reaching his body, Jing Jiu simply wielded his sword and hacked downward.

Gu Qing’s sword was hit right on by that sword, like a wild duck being hit by a staff, falling into the stream water without a sound.

It was quiet, and the stream water could be heard clearly.

Gu Qing could even hear his own blood flowing inside his veins.

At first, he wasn’t sure what had just happened.

Until he saw the familiar sword in the stream water.

His face felt somewhat hot, but the facial color was pale as a wildfire deep in his eyes started to burn.

All of a sudden, he lifted his head to stare at Jing Jiu, full of shock and anger in his eyes, yelling, “Ah!”

With that yell, the fallen sword in the stream water flew up again.

This time the flying sword flew at a higher speed, its power more astonishing.

The more shocking fact was that the stream water that hadn’t dropped off from the sword turned into steam; it could be imagined just how hot the sword was at the moment.

The flying sword was actually on fire as it reached at the middle of the stream!

A streaking line of fire brightened the cliff walls, pointing directly toward Jing Jiu; the situation was scary and shocking.

…

…

“The Six Dragon Sword!”

“How could he learn this sword style!”

The screaming and crying arose in the cliffs.

The Six Dragons Return to Sun was used to hit the target!

It was clear that Gu Qing used the sword style of Shiyue Peak!

Everybody was extremely shocked.

The Elder of Shiyue Peak, in charge of the competition, showed a very uncomfortable expression.

The disciples of Liangwang Peak could learn any sword style of the nine peaks. Gu Qing grew up at Liangwang Peak, so it was not a surprise for him to learn the Six Dragon Sword.

Yet, the issue was that Gu Qing was still a sword washing disciple; he couldn’t show in public what he had learned in private.

It was quite unfair to those regular disciples who never had the connection and chance to learn them.

Seeing Gu Qing use the Six Dragon Sword of Shiyue Peak, many people in the cliffs were discontented.

Yet, they understood why Gu Qing showed his true skills even if risking being punished afterwards.

The reason was that Gu Qing was very angry, all he wanted was to use the most straightforward and even cruel method to defeat Jing Jiu.

In the previous spar, he indeed lost embarrassingly.

Underestimating his enemy was a reason for anger. Yet, watching his cherished sword being knocked down by a peer of a lower state in a rude and repulsive manner…who could tolerate that?

The burning flying sword dashed toward Jing Jiu like a hideous fire dragon.

Seeing the scene, Zhao Layue thought if she didn’t want to dodge the sword and she would knock it off using the Sword Heart.

She was sure Jing Jiu didn’t hide his state, so he couldn’t, like herself, counterattack. But she wasn’t worried, either because of the experience of that night, or some other reasons, she trusted this youth in white completely, thinking he must have a way to deal with it.

At last Jing Jiu got really serious now.