Chapter 91 - Trample! (1/2)

Right outside of Zhong Yue's cave dwelling, there were five or six Swords Gate Qi Practitioners waiting for his return, their patience was wearing thin. Three months have elapsed since the Lawless Battles of Swords Gate upper house, that amount of time was sufficient for a mediocre cultivator to manifest a spirit. But they had waited for so long, and yet, Zhong Yue was still nowhere to be seen!

There were other Qi Practitioners that had lost their patience and returned back to their own cave dwellings, the ones in front of Zhong Yue's cave were the only few left.

"How much longer is this Zhong Shan Clan member going to stay in the Ethereal Palace? Is he planning to die of age in there?" One of them said irritably.

Another Qi Practitioner shook his head and responded, "He must have heard the news of us blockading his cave dwelling. He must've gotten scared and sought refuge in the Ethereal Palace without the slightest courage to face with us. I guess he will stay holed up in there until he manages to become a Rebirth Qi Practitioner!"

"Rebirth Qi Practitioner? Wouldn't that mean that we will have to wait for years?"

"Look, someone's coming! Is that the Zhong Shan Clan member?"

All of the five or six Qi Practitioners turned around and looked, there was a young man hiking the hill; he sported thick brows and large eyes, harboring an aura of composure and magnanimity. His gait was firm and serene and his clothes were sewn from exquisite beast hides and interlaced with mystic gold. On his waist was a jade pendant of delicate craftsmanship, and following behind him was a Jiao Dragon holding a copper lamp in its mouth.

The hills were paved green with grass, and the flowers blossomed like the spring. A young man was ambling across the field and hiking the hill, with the bees and butterflies fluttering in the winds around him. His feet traversed through the grass and stepped over the flowers in bloom, and yet, not an iota of dirt nor dust settled on him.

"He should not be that brat from Zhong Shan Clan."

The Qi Practitioners refocused their sights and thought to themselves, The Zhong Shan Clan is a small clan with fewer than a hundred tribesmen, how can it possibly have such a noble looking child? He must be one of the scions from the top clans.

All of a sudden, the young nobleman walked to Zhong Yue's cave dwelling and gave a curious gander towards the Qi Practitioners before extracting jade token and placing on the Zhong Yue cave dwelling's door.

To the profound shock of the young Qi Practitioners, the cave dwelling's doors began to creak open.

"Who are you?"

They quickly recollected their thoughts just right before the young nobleman was about to step foot into the cave dwelling, they moved forward to block his path and asked, "This senior martial brother, how come you have the Zhong Shan Clan member's token? What is your relationship with him?"

The young man smiled gently and answered, "I'm the Zhong Shan Clan member. Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan greets the senior martial brothers. Dear senior martial brothers, what are your intentions clambering in front of my cave dwelling?"

As if in sync with the moment the young man answered the question, a black bull who was gnawing on the grass nearby suddenly roused up, it galloped away gleefully and said, "The Zhong Shan Clan member is back, I must quickly tell the master!"

Above in the sky, a white crane flying in the sky heard the black bull and its heart skipped a beat as it hastily flew flapped away, "Master says to notify him of the return of the Zhong Shan Clan member, thankfully I didn't miss it!"

The next moment, there was a bevy of cats running, chickens flying, and a host of other animals dispersing away from the vicinity of Zhong Yue's cave dwelling while shouting in unison, "The Zhong Shan Clan member is back!"

Zhong Yue stared blankly at the scenery, dumbfounded and stunned. While the Qi Practitioners standing in front of the cave dwelling were startled.

Before this, they had made some inquiries around Zhong Yue; they knew that he was a poor peasant from a poor tribe, but what appeared in front of them was a young and dignified nobleman, the contrast with their preconceived notion of him was too stark.

It was a common adage that the clothes make a man just as a saddle makes a horse, the marten coat Zhong Yue stole from the Shuitu Clan was torn in rags during the battles. A few days ago, he again leads away a goat while passing by the Wei River, he took another set of fine and delicate clothes for himself and threw the ragged clothes away.

From the day he left Swords Gate until now, he had walked out of the Devil Soul Forbidden Land, journeyed to the sun and moon, encountered a myriad of peculiar and fantastical things, and survived the calamitous battles in the Savanna Wasteland. These ordeals had lent him a calm and unruffled air, indifferent to the world.Along with the fine and delicate clothes he was in, he effused an indelible elegance quintessential of a young scion of nobility.

As the saying went, walking ten thousand miles was superior to reading ten thousand books; even though he was not particularly well-read, his experience was undoubtedly plentiful. He was like an exquisite sword getting repeatedly tempered and refined against the heat of battle, slowly manifesting his acute and heroic spirit – one could easily tell that he was a diamond in the rough.

"Zhong Shan Clan, Zhong Yue?"

The Qi Practitioners noticed the exceptional manner and temperament he carried and their contemptuous thoughts were immediately washed away. One who could hold such a dignified countenance would surely not be an ordinary person.

The young Qi Practitioners looked at each other and their eyes filled with excitement.

The Zhong Shan Clan member they had been waiting for for so long was finally here!

One of the Qi Practitioners stepped forward, he smiled and said, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, I hear that you have the sword token. We are unconvinced and so intend to duel with you so we can see just what qualifications you have that would allow you to hold that sword token!"

Zhong Yue furrowed his brows only to release it a few seconds later, he smiled gently and answered, "That sword token was not mine in the first place, three and a half months ago, I've returned it back to its rightful owner. Senior martial brothers, I need to get back to my cave dwelling, please do not block the way."

"You've returned the sword token to its rightful owner?"

The Qi Practitioners were shocked, then laughed and said, "Who would believe it? Zhong Shan Clan member, it's not us being impolite, but your words are just a humiliation to our intelligence. How precious is that sword token, how can it be possible for you to return it so easily?"

Zhong Yue frowned, although he knew that the sword token was precious, it seemed as if he had grossly underestimated its value from the fact that it would instigate a few Qi Practitioners to camp outside of his cave dwelling for three months. Its value must be beyond what he imagined!

Suddenly, a surge of aura was coming in at great speed towards his cave dwelling, a din of sword keening could be heard as a brawny man alighted onto the ground. His sights were like swords cutting across the perimeter; suddenly, he gazed at Zhong Yue in shock and joy as he asked, "Zhong Shan Clan, Zhong Yue?"

"And you are?" Zhong Yue asked with his brows still locked.

"Hong Bo Cave Dwelling, Ta Wuyou!"

The brawny man strode forward, he was filled with alacrity as he laughed, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, you finally came out of hiding, I can see that you've manifested a spirit and became a Qi practitioner! In that case, this can't be counted as bullying anymore. Come, come, come, show me what you got, show me why do you deserve the sword token!"

Zhong Yue, frowned, but still maintained the facade of politeness, "Senior Martial Brother Ta, just for a sword token, do we really have to jeopardize the amicable relationship between the martial siblings?"

"How will this destroy the amicable relationship between us?"

Ta Wuyou guffawed, a surge of heroic spirit deluged throughout his body, "I will defeat you and wrest away the sword token. Although you may be sad, I will be happy continue to be polite to you, how would that impair the 'amicable relationship' between us that you so speak of!"