Chapter: 861 (1/2)

AST 861 – Demon Refiners Mu Clan

The capital of the Eastern God Country!

“Second younger brother, third younger brother, my house is just ahead. Let’s go inside and we’ll have a drink together,” said Dong Yan as he looked toward Sun Yan and Qing Shui.

Qing Shui and Sun Yan naturally accepted Dong Yan’s offer. They could tell how strong the Dong Clan was by the impressiveness of the luxurious manor far ahead. The Dong Residence stood out very easily as it was the only magnificent residence amongst the neighboring residences.

There was a Golden Eyed Tiger Hawk Beast standing firmly at the foot of the Dong Clan’s entrance door, which quickly flew up and disappeared to the horizon as the three of them approached the entrance. At the same time, a young man guarding the entrance came forward and greeted Dong Yan.

“Young master, you’re back!” The young man smiled as he greeted Dong Yan.

“Yes. Is everything alright at home?” Dong Yan passed through the entrance and looked at the courtyard of the manor.

“Yes, everything’s fine.”

“Alright, go back to your post. Second younger brother, third younger brother, let’s go inside.” A grin was plastered on Dong Yan’s face as he led Sun Yan and Qing Shui into the manor of the Dong Clan.

There were no facilities that a clan of nobility would lack as they had all the necessary furnishings of a proper home. The members of the Dong Clan were all equipped with a set of basic martial skills, including the servants of the household. In a pavilion nearby, there was an old man performing swordplay all by himself.

His movements were slow, much like an elementary swordsman practicing his sword moves. However, Qing Shui was shocked when he noticed the similarity between the old man’s swordplay and the Taichi Sword moves – these two had different approaches but with the same goal. The old man’s swordplay wasn’t as perfect as the Taichi Sword, albeit with the same concept of sword circle form – the sword could distinguish between yin and yang, further becoming the Four Emblems, which would generate the Eight Trigrams…….

Of course, the old man was in the lowest cultivation realm, which could mean that he had just learned the rudiments of the martial arts. However, Qing Shui was silently admiring the superb state of the old man as he already possessed the ways of ‘Taichi’. Indeed, the sea of knowledge knows no boundaries. This old man may be the pioneer of ‘Taichi’ in the World of the Nine Continents – at least from Qing Shui’s point of view.

The world of martial arts knew no limits, as everything stemmed from the ancestral foundations. Most logic behind each martial art had a connection to one another as they was more than one way to perform martial art techniques. If one technique had the same concept as another, countless other techniques would essentially be connected. Only a few could reach a full comprehension of the limitless form of the martial arts in this world.

Dong Yan approached the old man until the distance between them was about 50 meters. He then observed the old man performing his swordplay, along with Qing Shui and Sun Yan. Qing Shui, on the other hand, was more enthusiastic as he observed the old man’s movements and forms of the swordplay.

He could pick out the faults in the old man’s swordplay down to the miniscule details, which was basically the entire form of the swordplay. Qing Shui knew that they weren’t exactly mistakes per se but a form of trial and error. The old man was cultivating more on his mental state than the form itself.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed, the old man finally stopped his swordplay and turned to look at Dong Yan and his company. He showed an amiable smile and said, “We have guests, I see. How could you make them wait for so long?”

“Grandpa, they are my sworn brothers. Second younger brother and third younger brother, this is my grandfather,” Dong Yan smiled and made a short introduction to one another.

“Greetings old man!”

The old man lit up and laughed when he heard his grandson’s addresses to the two young men. He knew his grandson too well – he would only recognize extraordinary people, not those with ordinary background as his sworn brothers.

“Alright, since you are Yan`er’s sworn brothers, we are family. Come, let’s go inside the house and sit down.” The old man showed a kind smile and proceeded to lead them into a living room nearby.

When the news of Dong Yan’s return spread inside the household, a group of people came to see him. Qing Shui could tell the importance of Dong Yan in the Dong Clan, almost like he was treated as an important successor to the Dong Clan.

After knowing the relationship between Dong Yan, Sun Yan and Qing Shui, the members of the Dong Clan were surprised and asked a few questions to the handsome friends. Those who could be called “brothers” to Dong Yan should never be taken lightly.

After a few polite chats, most of them quickly left the room and let them be. Introductions had been made, so it would be disrespectful to Dong Yan and his friends if they stayed any longer.

“Grandpa, do you know any clans that possess a Sky Penetrating Grass of 5,000 Years or above?” Dong Yan asked his grandfather after the other members of the Dong Clan had left. Only three of them and the old man were left in the living room, sitting down opposite to one another.

Qing Shui couldn’t quite tell what the old man was thinking exactly.

“Sky Penetrating Grass?” The old man cocked his head at Qing Shui and Sun Yan.

“Old man, it is I who need the Sky Penetrating Grass,” Qing Shui smiled.

“Young fellow, you have a good physique and an extraordinary spiritual energy – the attributes of an alchemist. In the future, you might have a boundless breakthrough toward your spiritual energy,” the old man’s eyes lit up as he spoke with a dazzling expression.

Around the same time, Qing Shui was staring at the old man’s pale white eyebrows of a foot long and his facial hair. Normally, one would be able to judge the lifespan of a man based on the length of their eyebrows, instead of the length of the hair on the head.

Just like this old man, foot long eyebrows meant that he was at least 500 years old or more. Qing Shui had an impression of unfathomable wisdom akin to a bottomless lake from the old man.

The Dong Clan must be quite powerful to be able to maintain a high position in the capital of the Eastern God Country. Qing Shui revealed a smile to the old man and replied, “That was quite insightful, old man. I will count on your blessings to see whether that will happen in the future.”

“Haha, yes, you will certainly reach a breakthrough.”

“The one from Sun Clan of the Yun City, you will become the pillar of support for the Sun Clan in 20 years.” The old man gave a merciful smile at Sun Yan. He felt quite elated to know that his grandson had met such good friends this time around.

The old man was part of the first generation of the Dong Clan. The current clan head was from the second generation and Dong Yan was part of the third generation, as well as the youngest amongst the third generation of the Dong Clan. Some members of the fourth generation were even older than him by a few years.