CHAPTER 453: REMEMBER TO STAY AWAY

Chapter 453: Remember to Stay Away

After a long while, Li Zongsi finally finished carefully studying the two martial arts manuals. He sat there blankly, staring straight ahead with tears streaming down his face as he looked at Chen Huaian and Zhang Yibai.

Just as Chen Huaian and Zhang Yibai were feeling puzzled by his reaction...

The man suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times with loud thuds.

"Truly enlightening, absolutely enlightening! Before seeing the Tyrant Fist and Dominance Scripture, I thought the Deadly Black Blade was the pinnacle of martial arts in this world. Now I realize I was just a frog at the bottom of a well, a clown making a spectacle of himself! The brilliance of these two martial arts couldn't be matched by even a hundred or a thousand Deadly Black Blade techniques!"

He raised his bruised forehead, tears of gratitude pouring down his face.

"For two seniors to be willing to impart such techniques to this junior, I am endlessly grateful! I would gladly serve as your ox or horse!"

Chen Huaian and Zhang Yibai exchanged glances.

They were just two martial arts manuals - was it really that impressive?

Chen Huaian gave Zhang Yibai a subtle look and mouthed silently: "Did you modify them?"

"Bullshit! You provided the martial arts, you must have tweaked them!" Zhang Yibai immediately denied to protect his late-life reputation.

What they didn't realize was that for Li Zongsi...

Comprehending the Tyrant Fist and Dominance Scripture was like a person who only knew addition and subtraction suddenly learning multiplication and division - it was a qualitative leap forward.

After confirming everyone could comprehend the Heavenly Demon Art, Dominance Scripture and Tyrant Fist, Zhang Yibai designated these three as foundational techniques for Wind Spirit Sect. If they recruited talented disciples in the future, they could provide specialized instruction.

The main difficulty in practicing Tyrant Fist lay in its extremely high physical requirements and the need for precious medicinal liquids as supplements.

The former could be easily solved through the Heavenly Demon Art, while the latter was even simpler - with Pill Sect and Lingxi Valley backing them, what medicinal liquid couldn't they obtain?

...

Late at night, while all disciples were immersed in cultivation...

An uninvited guest suddenly arrived.

In the main hall where Chen Huaian and Zhang Yibai were discussing sect matters, their expressions changed slightly and they simultaneously fell silent.

"Someone's coming."

Chen Huaian closed his eyes to sense for a moment, then showed a peculiar expression.

"It's Wang Shouyi." He said to Zhang Yibai: "Wang Shouyi was probably sent by the leader of Kunlun Immortal Palace to investigate. It's inconvenient for me to appear, so I'll leave this to you, old brother. I'll return to C Province's Exorcist Division to avoid suspicion."

Zhang Yibai nodded: "Go ahead. This old man knows what to do."

Chen Huaian secretly flew away on his sword from Wind Spirit Sect's back mountain.

No sooner had he left than the main gate was pushed open.

Wang Shouyi walked into the hall with a stern expression, his shadow stretching long under the moonlight until it reached Zhang Yibai's feet.

Zhang Yibai knew of Wang Shouyi and had observed him through the Black Scales Sword.

But this young man now looked sinister and sharp-eyed, completely different from his cheerful demeanor at C Province's Exorcist Division.

"Are you the one who replaced the Black Blade Sect?"

As he spoke, Wang Shouyi's spiritual sense unceremoniously enveloped Zhang Yibai.

"What? Are there rules against replacing other sects?"

Zhang Yibai sat upright with perfect posture, his large fan-like hands resting on his knees, his aura steady as an ancient bell.

"The Black Blade Sect was one of Kunlun Immortal Palace's subordinate sects! Even changing sect masters requires Kunlun Immortal Palace's approval!" Wang Shouyi clenched his fists.

He had come with two missions:

First, to test this new sect leader's mettle.

Second, to see if they would continue submitting to Kunlun Immortal Palace.

This old man before him only had early Golden Core cultivation at best. Having recently learned some powerful sword techniques, Wang Shouyi was confident he could handle him.

"What grand words about requiring Kunlun Immortal Palace's approval! But Black Blade Sect is Black Blade Sect, Wind Spirit Sect is Wind Spirit Sect. Wind Spirit Sect won't submit to any power!"

Zhang Yibai stood up, his towering figure like an iron pagoda.

His beard quivered as a ferocious smile curled his lips, "So you came here today to pick a fight, is that it?"

"Nothing more to say." Wang Shouyi drew his sword and cupped his hands toward Zhang Yibai: "This one is Wang Shouyi of Kunlun Immortal Palace. I request your instruction!"

...

That night, fierce winds howled through Mount Emei.

The disciples of Wind Spirit Sect didn't sleep a wink.

The sounds of battle continued until dawn before finally ceasing.

When they gathered in the main hall the next morning as ordered, they only saw a thoroughly wrecked plaza and a completely unharmed Zhang Yibai radiating vigor.

"Wind Spirit Sect's first day! Body training!"

Zhang Yibai raised one finger while his left hand dragged a boulder over ten meters tall.

With a thunderous crash, he threw the boulder to the ground, making the entire mountain tremble.

"Everyone will carry this rock up and down Mount Emei one hundred times, using only one-tenth of your True Essence! Begin!"

...

Noon at C Province's Exorcist Division.

"Yawn." Chen Huaian rubbed his eyes as he walked out of Containment Area 0.

Despite being a Golden Core cultivator, he maintained the habit of sleeping at least three hours every night.

"Se-senior, good morning..."

A weak voice sounded at his feet. Chen Huaian looked down and instantly woke up.

It was an unrecognizable figure wrapped in tattered cloth strips, clearly identifiable as Wang Shouyi from the ID tag.

"Holy moly, Wang Shouyi, who beat you up like this?"

Wang Shouyi raised his face - covered in bruises, missing two front teeth - and forced a miserable smile: "Senior, I wasn't beaten... I-I fell. Do you have any healing pills? The ones Kunlun Immortal Palace provided aren't very effective..."

Chen Huaian gave Wang Shouyi a Great Recovery Pill.

He could tell at a glance that Wang Shouyi had been thoroughly thrashed by old brother Zhang Yibai.

This was fine though - as long as the problem was resolved.

After meditating for a while, Wang Shouyi's injuries improved significantly. Though his teeth hadn't regrown yet, he could speak normally now.

He didn't want to recall last night's experience, but if forced to describe it - it was like being one-sidedly pummeled by the Hulk.

That old man truly only had Golden Core cultivation, yet with his terrifying physical strength he'd used Wang Shouyi as a punching bag, while Wang Shouyi couldn't even break his defense.

Actually, Black Blade Sect wasn't really Kunlun Immortal Palace's subordinate sect.

He had said that to test if Wind Spirit Sect could be incorporated, only to kick an iron plate instead.

"Senior, I've embarrassed myself before you."

Wang Shouyi opened his eyes to see Chen Huaian staring at him and gave an awkward smile.

"I came today to inform you - Her Eminence sent word that Spirit Jade veins will appear in Tianfu District tomorrow."

"Her Eminence hopes you can participate in this competition. Though if you don't wish to fight, you only need to provide medical treatment for injured disciples."

"No problem!" Chen Huaian immediately agreed: "As an elder of Kunlun Immortal Palace, fighting for the palace is my duty!"

At the same time, as a qualified spy, one must maintain proper attitude - he mentally added.

Seeing Chen Huaian so enthusiastic, Wang Shouyi felt moved:

"With talents like senior, Kunlun Immortal Palace will surely flourish through our efforts!"

"Since senior has no issues, I'll return to report now."

Wang Shouyi remembered he still needed to report last night's events to Her Eminence.

Before leaving, he turned back with a serious expression:

"Oh, senior, one more very serious matter! If during tomorrow's Spirit Jade vein competition you encounter a sect called Wind Spirit Sect, especially if you see a nine-foot-tall white-bearded old man covered in muscles... take this junior's advice - stay far away from him!"

"Remember this, absolutely!!"

Chen Huaian: "..."

...