Chapter 103 - The Hints Left Behind (1/2)

"You are saying that, the one that saved Jun Sixie back from the Savanna Wasteland not long ago is this Zhong Shan Clan member?"

'Shui Qingyan' was shocked as she began to conjecture, "Unlikely… in Swords Gate Mountain, there are many Qi Practitioners who are proficient in the draconic arts. The Zhong Shan Clan member would have been in the Ethereal Palace manifesting a spirit at that time, how could he have been all the way in the monster race? Furthermore, the expert to Jun Sixie's rescue, Swords Gate will not send over a little brat that has just manifested a spirit, they would at least send over an expert at the level of hall masters or elders…."

Xiao Chuqing furrowed her brows and said, "That man teleported to the moon through the volcano bottom of Gu Xia City and came back the same way, then the person's traces were spotted in the Savanna Wasteland. This person must have just bumped into the dying Jun Sixie by chance, rather than being sent over by Swords Gate. From the traces left behind by the battles in the Savanna Wasteland could only have been made by one who is at the level of Rebirth, hence, this person must be in Swords Gate's inner hall. This is why I am here to investigate. But if the Zhong Shan Clan member was in the Ethereal Palace, then it's true that he wouldn't be in there in the monster race…."

The two ladies, one a god of the demon race and the other a young beauty from the celestial race, yet the both of them were lost as to how the events had transpired.

'Shui Qingyan's' heart shifted and she said, "The messenger had tried to eradicate Zhong Yue before, we will have to ask them for more details on whether Zhong Yue has left the Swords Gate in this period of time."

"The messenger…."

Xiao Chuqing's eyes flashed; clearly, she was very aware and alerted about this celestial messenger that was placed in charge of the Great Wilderness. She smiled and said, "Such a small matter, it's not worth troubling the messenger. The person had left footprints on the moon, we only need to compare those prints to Zhong Yue's to know if he was that person! He had just fought with Tan Zhen, his footprints must still be here around the cliff!"

'Shui Qingyan' cast her gaze over and her heart turned vigilant, This celestial woman, she doesn't seem to be brainless, I mustn't underestimate her. She comes over and ingratiates herself to me. She probably knows that her influence in Swords Gate in weak and her prowess is not too strong, that's why she is trying to rope me in and stand against the celestial messenger hidden in Swords Gate … how ingenious!

The two young ladies moved over to the slope of the cliff and inspected carefully and their faces darkened. There were many footprints left behind but they all belonged to Tan Zhen, none of them was Zhong Yue's bar for a huge dragon claw mark that most probably had been left behind when Zhong Yue's psyche formed the Jiao Dragons curling on his legs!

"I don't believe that this Zhong Shan Clan didn't leave even a single footprint behind after fighting so long with Tan Zhen!"

Xiao Chuqing alighted down to the forest which was the stage of Zhong Yue's and Tan Zhen's duel. Her face turned dark again as she saw that the woods were all chaotically strewn about. The place where they fought was cratered in the shape of a huge palm, it was left behind by Zhong Yue when he was suppressing the smokes, and the mark of the palm swept away all of the footprints on the ground!

"This Zhong Shan Clan is very suspicious, otherwise he wouldn't have erased all of his footprints!"

'Shui Qingyan' pondered deeply and said, "Even if he did leave behind one or two footprints, he wouldn't be so heavily suspected, yet he had deliberately erased all of his footprints. This is very very suspicious!"

Xiao Chuqing nodded and agreed, "This was why I've shown my moon atman in front of everyone, I want that person to know my true face and to lure them out. This person would do everything to guard against me, and the more they act in preparation, the more clues they would inadvertently leave behind. While this Zhong Shan Clan member has already left behind a tiny hint which makes him worthy to be suspected! Sadly, he didn't reveal his soul weapon, the traces of soul weapons were still lingering in the Savanna Wasteland where the battle had taken place, we would've been able to deduce whether or not he was that person if he had revealed his soul weapons!"

"Soul weapons?""Shui Qingyan" asked curiously.

"In the Savanna Wasteland, that person had fought with monster Qi Practitioners and left behind clues regarding the soul weapons. The person had two soul weapons, a saber and another had seemed to house a number of Sword Qis!"

Xiao Chuqing's eyes flashed, she continued, "If the Zhong Shan Clan member had brought out his soul weapon, then we can tell if it's him. Sadly, he hadn't used any soul weapon while dueling with Tan Zhen."

'Shui Qingyan' chortled, she asked, "I'm dying to know, why is the Xiao Mang Celestial Race clambering all over the place trying to kill a human brat that had only gone to the moon, can Chuqing tell me the reason?"

Xiao Chuqing chortled and said, "I'm also unsure of the details, I'm just following the orders I was given."

The two young ladies continued to stare at each other, the distrust the one harbored towards the other was palpable in their gazes.

….

"The Shui Tu Clan's [Sixty Four Sword Styles] is indeed a profound secret technique, no wonder Elder Shui Zian's Sword Cocoons can be listed in the Ten Malefic Weapons, Elder Shui Zian's talents are really incredible."

Zhong Yue and Tan Zhen were currently in the middle of "exchanging knowledge", he had finally learned the first 27 sword styles of the [Sixty Four Sword Styles]. The [Sixty Four Sword Styles] was a sword manipulation method to form a slaughtering array – both a sword array and a fearsome sword skill. Zhong Yue had fought with the Shui Tu Clan disciples who practiced the sword skill, hence, he was not unfamiliar with it. However, at that time, he could not see the profundity of such sword skill.

Only now, after the "knowledge exchange" with Tan Zhen, had he wholly acquired the first 27 sword styles, it was then that he realized how terrifyingly strong the [Sixty Four Sword Styles] truly were!

The [Sixty Four Sword Styles] required the Sword Cocoons sword silks to fully unleash its power; when Zhong Yue fought with the Shui Tu Clan disciples like Shui Qinghe, they had only wielded the normal Water Sword Qi, whether be it the power or the sword skill mutations they were able to display, it could only be considered an ordinary sword skill.

But if it were to be cast through soul weapons like the Sword Cocoons Sword Silks, the prowess it could exhibit would skyrocket to at least tenfold, the transformations of the sword skill would be ever more nuanced and capricious, and it would ultimately be nigh impossible to effectively guard against.