884 A Step from Jun Mo, an Arrow from the South (2/2)

Wang Jinglue surveyed the area. Looking at the scene, his heart thumped. He knew he had found the right moment, but how was he to proceed with getting the opponent to release his entire state?

He was known to have no enemies at the Knowing Destiny State or below. However, as Chen Pipi said long ago, even if one could defeat anyone at the Knowing Destiny State or below, a strong cultivator at the Knowing Destiny State might not necessarily have to release his entire state.

At this moment, a man with a bamboo hat and a cane and a woman in red appeared by the creek in the Cui Garden. Nobody saw how they had arrived there.

An urgent warning sounded throughout the Cui Garden grounds. The air was filled with the sound of scabbards colliding. An ancient array's energy began to slowly seep out of the courtyard pond.

The Song clan elder slowly lifted his head and looked toward the pair by the creek.

….

….

Jun Mo never looked at the Song clan elder. Although he knew that the elder was one of the Knowing Destiny individuals that his Little Brother was searching for, Jun Mo was looking for a different person — someone stronger than this elder.

The Cui clan of Ruyang County was the first of the seven surnames of the Qinghe Prefecture. Cui Garden was their business and the clan leader Cui Shi was naturally the person with the highest status. However, on this day, he was not allowed to sit.

This was because Elder Cui was sitting, and as his son, Cui Shi could only stand.

Long ago, Elder Cui was a university scholar in Chang'an. He was appointed Prime Minister and was given the title of Imperial Tutor after retirement. Thus, he was sitting on an Imperial Tutor's chair, drinking scholar's tea.

At the sight of the man and woman on the riverbank, Elder Cui slowly put down his tea. His expression showed his unreadable mix of emotions — somewhat perplexed and afraid, but also taunting.

Once he saw the man's empty sleeve, Elder Cui knew his identity.

He never thought that the Academy would ignore its agreement with the West-Hill Divine Temple and send someone to Qinghe Prefecture, much less send this person.

After a moment, he shook off his confusion and disbelief with the realization that the one he most feared and respected, Fu Zi, was no longer on this earth, and the Academy was no longer the same.

”If this was before, I wouldn't have had the courage to fight Second Master.”

Elder Cui looked at Jun Mo on the riverbank and said calmly, ”But one of your limbs is broken and you have not recovered from your serious wounds, how can you be any match for me?”

With these words, the Cui Garden array began to manifest in a show of power. The array of the Fuchun River's bank, passed down between countless generations of the long-established family, was indeed powerful. A somber, deathly atmosphere filled the air.

Jun Mo knew that the man's conclusion about the current situation was accurate. If this were before, he would have been able to kill all the enemies in the garden while brandishing his sword alone, but today, he was in no position to defeat the man.

Still, he neither said nor did anything.

Mu You picked up her embroidery needle and pierced it into an autumn lotus on the riverbank.

Her movements were nonchalant, almost subconscious.

Elder Cui's expression turned.

The fearsome array of the Fuchun River's bank dissipated in a single breeze.

The old family names of Qinghe Prefecture had a formidably rich history, dating back further than the Academy itself. Yet age did not necessarily make one mightier, or turtles would have long ruled the Earth.

Mu You was a bride; she was Seventh Sister, a lover of cracking melon seeds between her teeth, idle gossiping, and playing mah-jong. She was also the most talented array master on Earth. Having had half of the day on the banks of the Fuchun River to observe its array, she had long figured out how to dissolve it.

Jun Mo regarded Elder Cui coolly.

Elder Cui said indifferently, ”I passed through the Academy many times as Prime Minister and saw you growing up as a child. Who would have thought that I would kill you today?”

Qinghe Prefecture had many spies in Chang'an. Elder Cui was sure that Jun Mo had not recovered from his severe wounds. More importantly, nobody knew that he had not only reached the Knowing Destiny State, but was also now at the Knowing Destiny Zenith. Although the array of the Fuchun River bank was so easily dissolved by that Academy girl, he still had the utmost confidence that he could crush Jun Mo into the riverbank.

In the crowd, Wang Jinglue's face was ashen.

He was shocked enough at the appearance of Second Master. Finding out that Elder Cui was the Knowing Destiny State expert he had been searching for the whole time made him stunned.

According to Ning Que's plan, now was the time for him to strike. However, to make a Knowing Destiny expert unleash his complete State, it required a sufficiently strong person to strike with a sufficiently strong blow. After hearing Elder Cui's tone and unwavering confidence in his ability to defeat the Academy's Second Master, how could Wang Jinglue succeed?

Jun Mo did not strike, but simply stepped forward.

Elder Cui's expression turned to one of intense concentration. Under the shelter, the Song clan elder stood up, holding his sword.

Although Jun Mo had a broken limb and his state was nowhere as powerful as it was before, he was still Jun Mo.

Qinghe Province was quite close to Verdant Canyon. The nightmarish image of Jun Mo slaying thousands with a single sword in the Battle of Verdant Canyon at the end of the previous year was still branded in people's minds.

Nobody who faced Jun Mo in battle dared to underestimate him. Even Liu Bai would approach him as a formidable enemy if they were to fight now.

Elder Cui exhaled sharply and was instantly at the Knowing Destiny Zenith!

He smiled at Jun Mo. ”Isn't it a little surprising?”

Jun Mo replied, ”I'm surprised by your stupidity.”

A wild, ferocious wind suddenly rose, stirring up the waters of Fuchun River. The waters of Cui Garden's little creek were so disturbed they seemed to boil, while autumn lotuses were tossed around on the creek's surface, limp like the floating carcasses of dead fish.

An arrow approached from the south.

Elder Cui paled, and was torn into pieces.

His body was shattered into hundreds of chunks of flesh, scattered all over the garden.

To keep from being discovered by the Academy, Elder Cui had lived his whole life quietly, keeping his cultivation State secret until he was a hundred years old. Today, when Jun Mo came to Cui Garden, Elder Cui thought that the moment had finally come. He wanted to shock the Academy by revealing his decades of training and unleashing years of bitter hatred in one go.

In the end, he died without carrying out any surprise ambush.

The whole time, he had never gotten the chance to fight with Jun Mo.

This was because Jun Mo never moved to strike — he only took a single step forward.

He only needed to take a single step for his opponent to release his entire state.

It was because he was Jun Mo.

At the sight of Elder Cui being ripped into countless pieces of flesh, the Song clan elder's expression turned to one of shock and horror. All these years, he had remained at the lower levels of the Knowing Destiny State. Amongst the rest of the world, he was considered as a formidable opponent. Yet he had just seen with his own eyes how the mighty Elder Cui at the Knowing Destiny Zenith suffered a cruel death after a single step from Jun Mo. How could he have the courage to fight?

Jun Mo turned to face him.

The Song clan elder decided to release his entire state with a mighty bellow. His sword hurtled into the sky.

He was only at the lower levels of the Knowing Destiny State. Even if he were to unleash his entire state, he would not shine brightly enough to show up in a certain person's Perception State ocean, so a second arrow did not come hurtling from the south.

Jun Mo raised his left hand and moved it slowly in the autumn breeze.

The flying sword abruptly turned back around. In a single thrust, it drove straight into the Song clan elder's bosom.