Chapter 33: Mò Xìnzi

The day of the Divine Weapon Trial.

Acting Sect Master He Yundan’s heavy footsteps echoed as he walked down the seemingly endless corridor.

This was the interior of the Chenluan Hall, located on the back mountain of Qingyun Peak, and it was also the place where the current Sect Master of Tianfeng Sect, Mò Xìnzi, had been in seclusion for many years.

He Yundan stopped in front of a massive stone gate in Chenluan Hall, which was carved with complex totems. He looked up at the stone gate for a moment before stepping forward and pushing it open with a palm filled with spiritual energy.

With a vibration that shook the ground, the heavy stone gate slowly opened before He Yundan.

As soon as He Yundan’s foot stepped inside the room behind the stone gate, pairs of candles on either side of the interior lit up one by one, paving a path for him into the room.

He Yundan walked all the way inside, and the scene before him suddenly opened up.

There was an extremely vast space, with a huge pool on the ground. A perfect circle was cut through the ceiling of the space, offering an unobstructed view of the sky and clouds outside.

The massive pool, which was immediately visible, occupied two-thirds of the stone room’s interior. Lotuses bloomed on the water’s surface, and in the center of the pool, a sizable pavilion was built.

In the pavilion, a young man with black hair and black robes was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Above the pool water in front of him, a longsword as black as ink was levitating.

“Sect Master.”

He Yundan stood at the edge of the pool and bowed respectfully to the young man in the pavilion.

“Yundan, I seem to have heard the sound of a bell outside. Is this year’s Divine Weapon Trial about to begin?” The young man’s voice was as young and pleasant as his appearance, possessing an extremely magnetic charm.

No outsider would probably have guessed that this young man, who looked to be only in his twenties, was the current Sect Master of Tianfeng Sect, Mò Xìnzi, who was rumored to be over a hundred years old.

“Indeed.”

He Yundan answered Mò Xìnzi, still bowing and not daring to make any other movements.

“I have said that you are now the acting Sect Master of our sect. You can handle all the sect’s affairs as you see fit. What is the reason for seeking me this time?” Mò Xìnzi kept his eyes closed, his voice carrying an unparalleled majesty.

“Sect Master, this year, Meng Yingxing will be participating in the Divine Weapon Trial.”

As He Yundan spoke, his entire body bowed even lower, and his voice dropped along with it.

He seemed to be saying something that was not meant for outsiders to hear.

“Meng Yingxing—”

Upon hearing this name, Mò Xìnzi’s closed eyes suddenly snapped open.

What a pair of eyes they were—golden pupils like a boundless golden sea, dotted with the starlight of the heavens, dreamlike and profound. A hazy sea fog veiled the depths of his pupils, and no one could see the scenery behind this mist—

“Lu Tianzhao’s son… To think that fifteen years have passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, he’s old enough to participate in the Divine Weapon Trial.” Mò Xìnzi’s voice was tinged with a laugh of unclear meaning, sounding enchanting yet dangerous.

“Yundan, pay close attention to him.”

“Take a good look at this son of Lu Tianzhao… and see whether he is a blessing, or…”

“A peril—”

As Mò Xìnzi’s voice fell with a resonant clang, the black longsword in front of him suddenly vibrated. A blood-red light flashed from its body, like the weeping of a demon, a lament for the human world.

The Hour of the Rabbit.

The sound of the bronze bell began to ring from the mountain-ascending steps of the Tianfeng Sect, followed in succession by Tianchu Peak, Wuyun Peak, Lianxiu Peak, Daicheng Peak, and Qingyun Peak.

The resounding clang of the bronze bell shot into the sky, dispersing the vast, hazy clouds and mist that lingered around the towering peaks of the Tianfeng Sect in the early morning. The morning sun was revealed, and rays of dawn fell in clusters from between the mountains, outlining the numerous pavilions and towers of the Tianfeng Sect in a golden hue.

At this moment, the Tianfeng Sect was as magnificent as a mirage. With the blue sky and white cranes, it was like a divine realm that had manifested itself among the mountains.

Yongning City at the foot of the mountain could also glimpse such a celestial scene. This was likely what was meant by a “celestial sect.”

The Divine Weapon Trial was held on a perilous peak on Qingyun Peak, where the Sect Master resided. Before the trial had even officially begun, the entire area was packed with numerous initiated disciples of the Tianfeng Sect and, in the center of the scene, the uninitiated disciples participating in the trial.

At this moment, Meng Yingxing was also one among the crowd.

He was wearing clean, washed-out clothes, his properly trimmed long hair tied into a ponytail, and on his back was a simple yet exquisitely crafted longsword with intricate patterns on its guard.

Facing the impending Divine Weapon Trial, a fire burned in Meng Yingxing’s crimson pupils. He was like a spirited youth, full of vigor and ambition.

“Whoa, this Divine Weapon Trial is quite the spectacle, huh? How many bronze bells must be ringing to make such a loud noise?”

Even though she was being carried obediently on Meng Yingxing’s back, Xiu Qingcheng was not obedient at all. She looked left and right, stunned by the grand scale of the Divine Weapon Trial.

“It is said that… up and down the five peaks, there are one hundred and eight bronze bells ringing together, and they will ring eighty-one times.”

Meng Yingxing had grown up in the Tianfeng Sect and had witnessed the Divine Weapon Trial several times. So, he had heard about these things that Xiu Qingcheng cared about, things that others never paid attention to.

“One hundred and eight?” Xiu Qingcheng seemed particularly sensitive to this number. “Why one hundred and eight? Do you also have one hundred and eight heroes of destiny on this Tianfeng Sect mountain?”

“Something like, ‘like a demon lord descending from the heavens, truly a grand duke of the mortal world’!”

“I don’t know,” Meng Yingxing indicated that his master’s train of thought was a bit too jumpy for him to keep up with.

Meng Yingxing’s eyes darted through the crowd as far as he could see. He saw Zhou Shangshao, whom Liu Chenxin had mentioned before, and the hot favorite to win this Divine Weapon Trial, one of the geniuses among the new disciples, Mò Kǎimíng.

Of course, Meng Yingxing also saw Liu Chenxin, who had come to join the excitement.

Liu Chenxin naturally made eye contact with Meng Yingxing right away. She waved at him from afar, looking incredibly happy.

Meng Yingxing gave a slight nod, which counted as a greeting to Liu Chenxin.

Liu Chenxin had also come to look for Meng Yingxing during the day for the past two days. Although she couldn’t help with anything, as one of the most enthusiastic and kind-hearted girls in the sect, she naturally had to come and cheer for the pitiful Meng Yingxing who was participating in the Divine Weapon Trial.

Seeing Liu Chenxin, Xiu Qingcheng would still occasionally think of the dangerous look she had on her face that day.

So, after some deliberation, Xiu Qingcheng still reminded him, “My dear disciple, you should still keep some distance from your Senior Sister Liu…”

“Why?”

Meng Yingxing asked in return.

“Because for a girl like her who is nice to everyone, there will definitely be many male creatures in the sect who will get the wrong idea and think she likes them. If you get too close to her, be careful you don’t get stuffed into a sack and beaten up!”

Xiu Qingcheng didn’t explicitly say that she thought there was something wrong with Liu Chenxin. Instead, she used a different approach to make Meng Yingxing stay away from her, lest someone say she was a great villain driving a wedge between them.

“…Is that so?” The blockheaded Meng Yingxing probably couldn’t understand, but he still nodded. “I have always taken the initiative to maintain a distance from Senior Sister Liu, but she’s often the one who enthusiastically approaches me.”

Meng Yingxing also couldn’t understand why he seemed like such a hot commodity in Liu Chenxin’s eyes.

And subconsciously, he also felt that there was something a bit strange about her.

“That’s good then.”

As Xiu Qingcheng finished speaking, the one hundred and eight bronze bells just happened to finish their customary eighty-one rings for the Divine Weapon Trial. The final bell toll echoed in the empty valley, and a huge floating platform, secured by chains, rose from the cliff in front of the crowd.

Everyone held their breath and watched with rapt attention as the floating platform slowly ascended. They also saw that standing on the platform were the most powerful elders of the Tianfeng Sect.