Capítulo 1328: Chapter 22: This Jianghu

A fishing rod, reeling in an ocean of waves.

Ma Xiangyu, with his reed-like body, was dumbfounded. Not just him, but the hundreds of people on the two ships all held their breath. A figure in blue robes stood serenely, holding a fishing rod, almost exuding the legendary aura of an Immortal.

Miao Zhiquiao’s heart trembled. Her sect was originally just a small island by the East Sea. The most formidable elder in her sect only possessed the means of the Fifth Rank, capable of controlling qi over hundreds of miles and casually unleashing Sword Qi like a waterfall, which was already a dazzling extraordinary technique.

The legendary unparalleled martial artists roaming the Jianghu, capable of splitting the ground with Sword Qi over hundreds of feet and performing unbelievable feats like carrying mountains, were always taken by her as mere stories, exaggerated at best. She dismissed the tales of her elders about crisscrossing Sword Qi and thunderous heavens as mere obsessions of the old.

She murmured to herself.

“Today, I finally understand what vast heaven and earth truly mean.”

While Miao Zhiquiao was shaken to her core, Shentu Hongye felt as if countless thunderbolts were striking within him repeatedly. His face was pale; he was a disciple of one of the Seven Sects, where there were Grandmaster-level experts, and his own Master was a rare Fourth Rank minor Grandmaster.

But could his Master, with nine weapons slightly lesser than the Thunderbolt Spear, unleash such prowess in a single breath? He was unsure, but one thing was clear: even if it was possible, it would never be achieved so effortlessly.

Moreover, the Scholar…

His face turned pale, suddenly recalling a story circulating within their sect.

Among this generation’s Seven Sects, only one true Grandmaster existed, incomparable to the Heavenly Mountain Sword’s stunning brilliance or the infrequent outings of the Heavenly Dragon Institute’s True Immortal.

However, several decades ago, there were two exceptionally talented individuals in the Flying Spirit Sect.

The current Elder was already extraordinary, with the foundation of an Immortal, but still inferior to that predecessor in decision-making, temperament, aptitude, and diligence—every attribute needed by a Martial Artist. That predecessor was outstanding in all.

In the East Sea, lacking whales, there was no way to utilize the sect’s supreme techniques to gather the Qi of the Four Seas to nurture the Dragon Palace.

He took a different path, spending ten years surveying the Central Plains, and found a spot by a great river. Using secret Yin-Yang techniques, he harnessed the earthly and aquatic Qi, painstakingly nurturing a Flood Dragon in the rivers that took eighteen years to form; Dragon Qi reached the heavens, and torrential rain fell over hundreds of miles.

At the crucial moment, a Scholar clad in blue appeared with a sword and wine.

In drunken revelry, he penned a bold incantation to kill the dragon, wielding a Qingfeng Sword and a jug of River Spring, forcing the Flood Dragon to retreat.

That Flying Spirit Sect predecessor had nearly succeeded in ingesting the Dragon Ball, only for that blue-clad Scholar, Ren Changge’s Sword Qi and Sword Intent, to utterly disrupt the rising Dragon Qi and Dragon Palace in his Dantian. Twenty-eight years of toil and a lifetime of cultivation were wasted, and upon retreating to the East Sea, he coughed blood and died within half a month.

Why the sect, one of the Seven, never avenged him or why they did not enter the Central Plains remains unknown to this day.

It is only known that the blue-clad Scholar once fought until his Qingfeng Sword broke, and his blue robe turned red with blood.

It is only known that the blue-clad Scholar stepped onto the Heavenly Sect’s gate in a single stride.

After that, he never entered the Jianghu again.

Now witnessing the terrifying Sword Qi and Sword Intent, Shentu Hongye’s complexion was deathly pale. Yet, he also noticed the white Jade Pendant at the waist of the blue-robed Scholar, adorned with a dragon intertwined with a phoenix. His expression changed once more, and with a wave of his hand, he retreated into the ship’s body, immediately steering the Flying Flood Dragon Great Ship aside.

Since Wang Anfeng had already taken action, naturally he wouldn’t allow him to leave so easily.

He stepped forward.

The Divine Thieves Sect’s supreme technique seemed to manifest the Taoist Sect’s Heluo Diagram in his eyes. In others’ eyes, the blue-robed Scholar merely stepped forward and vanished, reappearing already atop the forty-three-zhang-long Flying Flood Dragon Great Ship, with Vajra Power flowing, stepping on the Golden Tiger Colliding Horn.

The entire large ship shuddered violently, the side Wang Anfeng stepped on sank heavily, while the other end lifted high, raising waves in anger, layers of splashes colliding and cascading down like a waterfall, shaking the soul.

The remaining disciples of the Flying Spirit Sect gritted their teeth and rushed to intercept.

Wang Anfeng, wielding a fishing rod, took a step forward, making the weapons in the Flying Spirit Sect disciples’ hands veer off course; those aimed at his face ended up behind him. Dozens of people struck together, creating a mighty force that left Miao Zhiquiao and others dazed before they saw the blue robe gently move. In the blink of an eye, the blue-robed Scholar was at the ship’s stern.

The ship’s bow and stern.

In between lay the might of the Jade Dragon Sect.

Wang Anfeng reached the stern and flicked his fishing rod, reeling back the fleeing Shentu Hongye. The hook, with Sword Qi extending like silk threads, tapped on his back’s acupuncture point, precisely interrupting his Qi mechanism flow. With a flick of the wrist, Shentu Hongye was sent flying backward thirty zhang, caught by Wang Anfeng’s left hand at the throat.

Shentu Hongye felt a gentle Qi spinning at the back of his head, sweat pouring like rain.

Wang Anfeng said calmly, “You mentioned earlier, the Flying Spirit Sect intends to attack the Dongfang Clan?”

Shentu Hongye’s Adam’s apple moved, sweat running down his forehead. Only then did he recall where he had caused trouble, uttering ‘senior’ while racking his brains to downplay the matter, but immediately felt the grip on his neck tighten slightly, chilling him and instantly silencing his words.

Even though the Jianghu is filled with Dharmas and methods to retain youthful appearances, while many heroes are indifferent to their own looks, there are equally plenty who are quite particular about them.