Chapter 154: Staring at You

The Prohibited Peak of the Tianfeng Sect.

Liu Chenxin clutched her incessantly bleeding wound and half-crouched on the ground.

She stood in a standoff with the “beast” imprisoned beneath the purple crystal.

She had tried to approach Lu Tianzhao several times just now.

However, without exception, she was repelled by Lu Tianzhao’s bizarre power.

Though Lu Tianzhao was currently bound by chains, he was like an unsheathed, masterless sword.

He launched indiscriminate attacks against anything that drew near.

Furthermore, this strange power of Lu Tianzhao’s was exceptionally formidable.

Liu Chenxin currently had no way of getting close to him.

She had finally found an unguarded opportunity and exerted great effort to pierce through the defensive barriers surrounding this Prohibited Peak.

Not to mention the lethally powerful traps and formations hidden in the vicinity, which had nearly cost her half her life.

Yet, in the end, she had failed to obtain anything of substance.

Liu Chenxin felt a wave of indignation.

Just as she found herself in a dilemma, the demonic clouds overhead began to dissipate bit by bit.

Slender rays of daylight began to fall through the black clouds.

Not long ago, she had seen countless sword lights shoot into the sky and then descend.

She knew then that the Sect Master of the Tianfeng Sect, who had been in seclusion, had finally emerged.

She hadn’t expected Mo Xinzi to defeat those troublesome demons so easily with a single strike.

Now that the greatest threat to the Tianfeng Sect was gone, those white-robed men guarding the Prohibited Peak would likely return soon.

This place was not fit to linger; it would be a major problem if she were discovered.

At the very least, she had confirmed that Lu Tianzhao was indeed on the Prohibited Peak of the Tianfeng Sect.

Liu Chenxin gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed intently on Lu Tianzhao for a moment, before she finally began to stand up and retreat.

After backing away a few steps, she turned immediately and left without hesitation.

‘As long as the “Prison of the Hunt” remained, something would eventually happen; she would return sooner or later!’

At the foot of the Tianfeng Sect’s mountain, within Yongning City.

The demonic fires in the city were gradually dying out.

The dust and smoke rising from the aftermath formed gray ladders that seemed to reach straight for the heavens.

The most threatening of the powerful demons had either fallen in battle or retreated.

Now, everyone’s gaze shifted to the man standing in the center of the battlefield, who looked like a fallen immortal.

Mo Xinzi had withdrawn all his pressure.

Standing there, he resembled a silent and elegant black lotus.

He looked utterly out of place amidst the surrounding scene of slaughter.

Yet it was this seemingly harmless person who, with the power of one man and one sword, had quelled the demonic farce.

Mo Xinzi gazed at the black-haired youth in the crowd, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Meng Yingxing looked at Mo Xinzi’s smile, feeling it was quite inexplicable.

‘What is he looking at you for?’

With Mo Xinzi staring so intently at Meng Yingxing, even Xiu Qingcheng felt like she was being watched.

A sense of guilt immediately rose in her heart, and she questioned Meng Yingxing in a low voice.

‘Master, I don’t know either.’

Meng Yingxing answered Xiu Qingcheng honestly.

Just as the two were completely bewildered, Mo Xinzi suddenly gripped his sword in a reverse hold and moved.

As the focus of everyone’s attention, Mo Xinzi was seen by all as he stepped forward and walked straight up to Meng Yingxing.

The elders standing to the left and right of Mo Xinzi looked at each other.

They could see the confusion in one another’s eyes, unsure of what their Sect Master was planning to do.

Meng Yingxing didn’t know why Mo Xinzi had come to him, but he maintained a fearful facade and bowed to him.

“Sect Master.”

“There is no need for such formality.”

Mo Xinzi raised his hand slightly, and Meng Yingxing felt a force lift his body back up.

Meng Yingxing and Mo Xinzi’s gazes met for an instant.

It was impossible to see what was hidden deep within Mo Xinzi’s ethereal eyes.

“Meng Yingxing. I know of you.”

“You took second place in the Divine Weapon Trial.”

The level of familiarity Mo Xinzi showed startled Meng Yingxing.

He had thought that a minor character like himself, even having grown up in the Tianfeng Sect, would never be remembered by the high-and-mighty Sect Master.

Meng Yingxing once again feigned the panic of a small person receiving attention from a great figure.

Seeing his reaction, Mo Xinzi squinted and chuckled a few times.

It made him appear like an exceptionally kind person.

Mo Xinzi scrutinized Meng Yingxing from head to toe once more.

Crimson-gold pupils.

An outstanding appearance.

He looked strikingly similar to someone Mo Xinzi once knew.

“Heh.”

Mo Xinzi opened his squinted eyes, finally letting his gaze fall upon the sword in Meng Yingxing’s hand.

The longsword was cobalt blue throughout, its blade covered in complex and ancient inscriptions.

From this sword, Mo Xinzi sensed a trace of familiarity.

It was somewhat similar to the Yao Que Sword in his own hand.

“Is this the sword you brought out from the Divine Weapon Pavilion?”

“Yes, Sect Master.”

“Its name?”

“Ting Tian.”

“A name I have never heard before. Did you name it yourself?”

“Yes.”

As this was his greatest secret, Meng Yingxing was terrified that Mo Xinzi might discover something about his sword.

A powerful sword possessing a spirit was one in ten thousand in this world.

No one could guarantee that others wouldn’t have selfish motives, even if that person was the Sect Master.

Therefore, as Mo Xinzi noticed the Ting Tian Sword and continued to question him, cold sweat broke out on Meng Yingxing’s back.

Even the usually talkative Xiu Qingcheng fell silent, staring intently at every move of the golden-eyed man before her.

Mo Xinzi nodded slightly.

Since the name registered by the sect during the trial was one Meng Yingxing chose himself, it suggested the cobalt-blue sword wasn’t some famous weapon.

As for the aura similar to the Yao Que Sword, perhaps it was just a lingering delusion from being in seclusion for too long.

“This sword… might I have a look at it?”

Mo Xinzi gave another faint smile.

Meng Yingxing’s heart was instantly torn.

He didn’t want to hand his Master over to anyone, yet the person before him was the unfathomable Sect Master of the Tianfeng Sect.

‘Let him see it.’

Xiu Qingcheng’s voice rang out at the right time.

‘If he likes looking, let him look his fill.’

Refusing to show the Ting Tian Sword to Mo Xinzi now would only arouse more suspicion.

Hearing this, Meng Yingxing gritted his teeth and, maintaining a steady expression, held the Ting Tian Sword out before Mo Xinzi.

Mo Xinzi reached out, but he pulled his hand back halfway.

“Seeing how much you treasure your weapon, I shall refrain.”

Mo Xinzi’s smile turned into two soft chuckles. “But as a swordsman, the sword is the person.”

“Taking it for a look on a whim would be somewhat impolite of me.”

Relieved, Meng Yingxing held the Ting Tian Sword and bowed to Mo Xinzi once again.

Mo Xinzi’s scrutiny of Meng Yingxing seemed to have concluded as he turned to walk away.

At this moment, the people standing around Meng Yingxing began to whisper among themselves.

– The Sect Master actually went out of his way to talk to that Meng Yingxing? What do you think that means? –

– Wasn’t it said that Meng Yingxing was a loser? How could he earn such favor from the Sect Master? –

– What loser? Times have changed! He’s the second-place winner of the new disciples’ Divine Weapon Trial! –

– I can’t accept this! Why won’t the Sect Master talk to me! 

Meng Yingxing could clearly hear the whispers behind him, but he acted as if he heard nothing.

Just as everyone thought Mo Xinzi was walking away, the Sect Master suddenly turned back like a flash of lightning.

His Yao Que Sword swung out, thrusting straight toward Meng Yingxing’s face!

A cry of surprise erupted from the crowd.

‘Disciple!’

Xiu Qingcheng’s urgent voice rang out.

Meng Yingxing saw a point of cold light piercing toward his eyes.

His hand, however, had already moved in sync with the Ting Tian Sword.

In a flash, Meng Yingxing raised his sword and blocked Mo Xinzi’s first strike.

Mo Xinzi hadn’t used any spiritual energy, but when his blade struck the Ting Tian Sword, Meng Yingxing felt as if he were being crushed by a towering mountain.

The pressure was even greater than that of Chi Zhanyue.

Seeing Meng Yingxing block his attack with wide eyes, a spark of brilliance flashed in Mo Xinzi’s eyes.

He pulled his sword away from Meng Yingxing and immediately changed his move to strike again.

Mo Xinzi was incredibly fast, but with Xiu Qingcheng’s assistance, Meng Yingxing’s speed didn’t fall behind in the slightest.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Mo Xinzi and Meng Yingxing exchanged several blows within a few short seconds.

During the clash, Mo Xinzi’s sword moves were sharp and tricky, seemingly impossible to parry.

Yet each time, at the critical moment, Meng Yingxing managed to intercept the blade.

“Good!”

Just as Meng Yingxing was dripping with sweat, Mo Xinzi suddenly stopped and shouted his praise.

“Sect Master, what is the meaning of this?”

Meng Yingxing remained in a sword stance, panting continuously, his gaze slightly cold.

Mo Xinzi spoke unhurriedly, “Your sword skills and your cultivation are not on the same level.”

“Have you ever tested your innate constitution? At such a young age, with average cultivation but such advanced swordsmanship… it’s a bit like a ‘Congenital Sword Intent Body’.”

“What?”

Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng shared the same expression of bewildered ignorance.

‘Master, what is that?’

‘I really don’t know. I’ve never seen it, never heard of it.’

After all, Xiu Qingcheng’s knowledge was limited to what she had personally witnessed.

Immediately after, Xiu Qingcheng grew indignant:

‘And besides, if your swordsmanship is advanced, shouldn’t it be because I taught you well!?’

‘This Mo Xinzi is blind!’

Hearing the term “Congenital Sword Intent Body,” the eyes of several elders revealed shock.

A Congenital Sword Intent Body was a physique for the sword that was rarely seen in a thousand years.

The last time they encountered such a person was Lu Tianzhao.

Could it be that a Congenital Sword Intent Body was now appearing in Meng Yingxing?

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Mu Xin came forward to perform a constitution test on Meng Yingxing.

The conclusion was exactly what Mo Xinzi had deduced.

Meng Yingxing was indeed a so-called “Congenital Sword Intent Body.”

Mo Xinzi smiled, but his gaze swept coldly toward the various peak elders beside him.

The peak elders looked conflicted, lowering their heads in silence.

As a unique existence who grew up in the Tianfeng Sect, they had failed to notice his special constitution.

This was a responsibility they could hardly evade.

Following Mo Xinzi’s special attention and the revelation of the “Congenital Sword Intent Body,” the way everyone looked at Meng Yingxing changed.

If the Divine Weapon Trial had transformed Meng Yingxing’s status from a loser to a qualified disciple, then now, he was a heaven-blessed genius with a unique talent—one who might even have a close relationship with the Sect Master.

“As a rare genius of the sword.”

“I hope you can make even greater contributions to our Tianfeng Sect.”

Mo Xinzi clapped for Meng Yingxing, his voice deep and his intentions hard to fathom.

“A genius of the sword.”

“Heh, a genius of the sword.”