“What a big boast! Do even kids in the One-Yuan Initial Realm dare to be so arrogant these days?”
The red-painted gates of the sword academy slowly swung open, and two lines of sword-wielding disciples emerged, standing in two rows by the roadside.
These disciples were all drenched in sweat and panting, clearly having just engaged in intense exercise.
Connecting this with the whooshing sounds she’d heard before entering, Jiang Ke’er instantly realized that she wasn’t the only diligent one; these sword cultivators had also been up early practicing their swords.
It seemed she still wasn’t working hard enough.
A tower-like man walked out of the gate.
As he passed the disciples on either side, they all bowed their heads in respect, indicating he was clearly the academy’s master.
“A demon?” The brawny man evidently hadn’t expected the early morning challenger to be a despised demon.
“You’re very brave to come to Myriad Blades Province,” the brawny man nodded slightly in approval.
“My name is Ma Qi. I’m an unworthy disciple of the Vajra Sword Sect. Having studied the Vajra Sword Dao for many years and achieved some minor success, I’m temporarily serving as the master of this sword academy…”
Jiang Ke’er slowly bowed.
Since the other party was treating her with courtesy, there was no reason for her to be presumptuous, so she offered a deep junior’s bow in return.
Yet, just as she lowered her head, the surrounding aura became chaotic, and a fierce, unparalleled sword light slashed down towards her!
Thankfully, even when bowing, Jiang Ke’er kept her hand on her sword hilt and even had her dynamic vision active.
Releasing the Swift Wind Sword Intent, she swiftly parried with her long sword, and a solid wall of wind instantly materialized before Ma Qi’s sword tip!
Jiang Ke’er felt a wave of lingering fear…
She thought he was treating her with courtesy, but it was actually a sneak attack?
Is this your Vajra Sword Dao?
Ma Qi’s veins bulged all over his body as he exerted all his strength to break through the wind wall.
To his horror, he found that his sharp long sword was completely ineffective against the gentle breeze in front of him!
“This isn’t a duel, it’s murder, isn’t it?” Jiang Ke’er asked softly.
“Why bother with ethics for a demon like you?” Ma Qi sneered, decisively withdrawing his sword and bypassing the wind wall, slashing from the side!
“I see, thank you,” Jiang Ke’er, however, nodded gratefully.
“You’ve taught me a lot.”
Dash, Steel Slash.
Jiang Ke’er ducked, sliding past Ma Qi’s sword tip, and with a graceful movement, her sword light traced a half-moon arc.
Ma Qi felt a chill at his waist.
That momentary chill made him realize the fate he was about to face.
He stood frozen in place, while Jiang Ke’er sheathed her sword and turned to leave.
“Master Ma?” A disciple asked tremblingly.
“Master Ma? Say something!”
“Master Ma, what’s wrong?”
The disciples held their breath and slowly gathered around Ma Qi.
Someone, perhaps carelessly, touched Ma Qi, and with a “slish-slish” sound of flesh rubbing, his upper and lower body slowly separated.
Not far away, the cat-eared youth and Chen Yi were dumbfounded.
“…What did you just say?” Chen Yi asked.
The cat-eared youth naturally didn’t repeat himself.
Because his previous sentence had been: “Ma Qi of the Vajra Sword Academy has practiced swordsmanship for decades. Although his talent has limited him from breaking through to the Four Symbols Realm, his sword skills are profound. This demon lady is probably going to fall.”
Yet, before he even finished speaking, Ma Qi suddenly launched a sneak attack and ended up cutting himself in half.
Chen Yi said “Amitabha” to Ma Qi’s corpse, regretting the sin.
“That shameless Ma Qi, sneak attack, tsk! Serves him right!” The cat-eared youth spat.
“Hey, where’s that demon lady? Quick, follow her, go, don’t lose her!”
“Shimin, let’s just go. Such a powerful lady won’t bother with you,” Chen Yi advised.
“It’s not yet clear how powerful she is, and besides, she hasn’t even reached the Two Forces Realm. How grand can she be?” The cat-eared youth, called Shimin, was full of motivation.
“But your Demon Revival Society…” Chen Yi’s expression was conflicted.
“It’s just a trap! A bunch of young people who haven’t even reached the Three Talents Realm, fantasizing about overthrowing the current rule system, wouldn’t anyone who joins just be unlucky?”
“What do you know? Young people are the future of Kyushu.” The cat-eared youth pouted.
“You won’t know if you don’t try. Come on, come on, let’s catch up…”
It was a long while after Jiang Ke’er left Ma Qi’s sword academy that her heartbeat gradually calmed.
Ma Qi’s sneak attack had made her fully realize just how dangerous this unregulated Ancient Realm of Learning truly was.
Life and death lay solely at the whim of the strong; power was the true law.
This was especially true for her, a demon, a small demon who had just embarked on the path of cultivation.
Fortunately, the Ancient Realm of Learning limited power, meaning that in the areas for beginners, even the strongest person couldn’t reach the Four Symbols Realm.
Otherwise, she would have been gone after that attack.
It was also thanks to her usual caution, always keeping her dynamic vision active.
So, should she go to the next place?
She had nearly died just now!
To say she wasn’t scared at all would be a lie.
This feeling of confronting the brink of death firsthand left her hands and feet cold after the adrenaline rush…
Even back in Beiju Luzhou, the feeling hadn’t been this visceral; back then, it was more about suppression and despair.
Jiang Ke’er walked to a roadside general store and bought a map of the Ancient Realm of Inquiry, as well as a detailed map of Myriad Blades State.
After thinking for a moment, she directly put the large map of the Ancient Realm of Learning into her inventory without even looking at it.
Instead, she opened the detailed map of Myriad Blades State.
This map meticulously marked the territories of various forces in Myriad Blades State, the gathering areas of different-tiered Ruin Beasts, the distribution of resources like minerals and medicinal herbs, and most importantly—the locations of major sword cultivation sects and sword academies.
By asking passersby, Jiang Ke’er learned the name of this small town: Floating Wood.
She then drew an ‘X’ over the name Floating Wood Town and headed to the nearest sword academy.
The cat-eared youth and Chen Yi had been following her the entire time.
The news of Ma Qi of the Vajra Sword Academy being cut in half on the spot quickly spread throughout Myriad Blades Province.
Ma Qi’s name was originally unremarkable, but when coupled with the identity of his killer, it became quite eye-catching.
The one who slew Ma Qi was a demon sword cultivator.
It was widely known that there were no demon sword cultivators.
The sword, such an elegant and graceful weapon, symbolized the unique etiquette of human civilization and a supreme, noble status…
How could those uneducated demons possibly learn to use a sword, which was exclusively for humans? Even if they managed to learn, how could they be worthy of wielding one?
However, after a brief period of indignation, the disciples of the major sword academies and sects cast this news to the back of their minds, happily thinking that it wasn’t their misfortune anyway…
That slain Ma Qi must have been very weak, and now even the Vajra Sword Sect outside would be implicated, their reputation completely ruined! Irreparable!
But what did that have to do with them?
Fellow practitioners were rivals, and sword cultivators scorned each other.
They had long been at odds, so seeing other sword arts sects suffer was naturally a joyful thing.
Thanks to Elder Ma Qi for contributing 300 Villain Points before his death, and his disciples for cumulatively providing 300 Villain Points.
Jiang Ke’er looked at the previous system notification, and even the pre-battle sense of oppression dissipated considerably.
It seemed that challenging academies was a win-win action.
Jiang Ke’er looked up at the huge plaque above her head: Martial Virtue Sword Academy.
This sword academy was clearly much more imposing than the small one in Floating Wood Town.
The academy’s courtyard was as large as a sports field.
Jiang Ke’er spent a long time searching along the walls before finally finding the main gate.
She steadied her breathing, and her state of mind calmed with it.
“Junior sword student of the demon race, Swift Wind Flow Jiang Ke’er, has come to pay respects to the master,” she still performed all the proper etiquette.
“What is the purpose of your visit?” A resonant, powerful voice, like a great bell, echoed from inside the sword academy, making Jiang Ke’er feel quite intimidated.
But she gritted her teeth.
“I ask the master… to grant me a defeat!”
The air became solemnly quiet.
The large gates slowly opened, but this time without any ostentatious display.
An old man, on the verge of death, walked out slowly, leaning on a cane, one faltering step at a time.
“I’ve heard of you. You killed Ma Qi,” the old man opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er was surprised to find that while the old man exuded an aura of death from head to toe, his eyes were as clear and bright as two crystal balls, containing a sharp, murderous glint.
She had once seen this demeanor in Qiao Xiaoxian; it was the reflective attitude towards life that came from being battle-hardened and having taken many lives.
“Oh no, oh no.” The cat-eared youth had been exclaiming in distress since he saw the old man.
“Yuchi Benzhen, I’ve seen him! This guy is a sword master who has single-mindedly dedicated his life to studying the Sword Dao! With his profound mastery of sword arts and the Sword Dao, even those seniors in the Five Elements and Six Harmonies Realms outside wouldn’t dare to say they’re stronger than him… It’s just that he was too engrossed in the Sword Dao in his youth and missed the best age for building his foundation, so he stopped at the Three Talents Realm. Otherwise, he would definitely not be in the beginner’s area!”
Chen Yi was stunned: “Are you saying… she’s done for?”
“I don’t know, it just depends on whether Yuchi Benzhen wants to kill her,” the cat-eared youth looked at Jiang Ke’er worriedly.
“I’ll try to jinx him, just in case it keeps her alive.”
Chen Yi rolled his eyes: “…Even if she survives, it won’t be because of your jinx; that’s her own strength!”
It seems Jiang Ke’er has quite the challenge ahead of her.