171 Chapter 1329: The Stifled Qin Jiansheng (2/2)

Hu!

Fortunately, a silhouette suddenly rose from the rubble at this moment—Jian Qinsheng.

He wasn't able to maintain his image as an expert anymore. His clothes were in tatters, and his body was cloaked in dust. His wretched state felt as if someone had just taken advantage of him.

”Elder Jian…” Zhang Xuan's lips twitched for a moment before he called out worriedly.

”I'm fi—pu!” Jian Qinsheng chuckled awkwardly, but before he could finish his words, another mouthful of fresh blood spurted from his mouth. Putong! Jian Qinsheng plummeted from the sky and fell headfirst into a pile of mud.

At this very moment, he was suffering from a mental breakdown. Under normal circumstances, given his strength, it was impossible for the young man who hurt him no matter how powerful his sword art may be.

However, he had suppressed his strength down to a hundredth of it, and his Flowing Water Swordsmanship was breached so quickly that he hardly had any time to react. To be honest, he was extremely lucky to be alive at this very moment.

Lying in the pile of mud, Jian Qinsheng swallowed a pill, and it took a long while before strength slowly returned back to him.

Getting back to his feet, he took a look at his surroundings and sighed deeply.

He was curious to see how powerful a person who had comprehended two Sword Quintessences would be, only to end up being reduced to such a state in a single move… It was fortunate that no one was around to see it, or else he might have just died from embarrassment…

”Teacher, are you fine?”

”Old Master, what happened?”

”Everyone, be on your guards! Don't let the culprit get away!”

And just like that, Jian Qinsheng's final bit of consolation was utterly shattered.

Turning around, he saw his butlers, guards, Shui Qianrou, Senior Xie, and his other disciples all standing not too far away, looking at him in worry.

”What are you all doing here?”

If not for Jian Qinsheng's mental fortitude, he might have just passed out on the spot.

He was still feeling thankful that no one saw him earlier when more than a hundred people suddenly materialized behind his back. That was almost everyone in the residence!

”Teacher, Zhang shi said that you were injured and he asked us to hurry over to take a look. Senior Xie was worried that something bad might have happened, so he called all of us to follow him…” Shui Qianrou quickly explained.

”…” Jian Qinsheng clutched his chest, clawing at his heart which was aching so much that he could hardly breathe.

It was one thing for the young man to reduce him to the pitiful state he was currently in, but to even call his disciples and servants here to spectate his misery…

This was too much!

”Don't worry, I'm not injured. I just accidentally used too much force when I was practicing my swordsmanship earlier…” With a reddened face, Jian Qinsheng shrugged the matter off casually with a wave of his hand.

”Not injured?” Senior Xie, Shui Qianrou, and the others looked at one another with rather complicated looks in their eyes.

Completely tattered clothes and a swollen face… Is it really possible for anyone to be reduced to such a state from practicing his swordsmanship?

”Cough cough! Where's Zhang shi?” Knowing that his students were thinking, Jian Qinsheng coughed loudly twice and changed the topic.

He still saw the young man when he flew up earlier, so why would the latter be nowhere to be seen at this moment?

”Zhang shi has asked me to relay his gratitude toward you for allowing him to browse through your collection of books. It has provided him with some inspiration regarding his swordsmanship, so he bade his farewell to return back to his residence to cultivate…” Shui Qianrou said.

”He returned back to his residence to cultivate?” Jian Qinsheng felt even more stifled inside after hearing those words.

After causing a mess around here and severely injuring him, that young man actually secretly fled the scene… Gratitude, you said? Is this how you show your gratitude?

Just as Jian Qinsheng was contemplating whether he should capture that young man back here to teach him a lesson, Shui Qianrou suddenly walked up and presented him with a book, ”Right, teacher. Before he left, Zhang shi instructed me to hand this over to you personally…”

Jian Qinsheng took the book with a deep frown and casually flipped it open. With just a single glance, his entire body froze on the spot, and disbelief plastered itself on his face.

”T-this…” Jian Qinsheng trembled uncontrollably.

Considering how the ink on the book had barely dried, it was clear that it was just written down a moment ago. Detailed on it was the various mistakes he had made on his cultivation, as well as the aspects which he had erred in his comprehension of swordsmanship.

In fact, a large handful of those points written down were questions which had left him deeply confused for many years…

In other words, as long as he were to make corrections according to what was written on the book, he would definitely be able to bring his fighting prowess up to greater heights…

”It was just a brief encounter, and I hardly made any move at all… But he was still able to see through so much about me?” Despite squeezing the book tightly in his hand, Jian Qinsheng still felt as if he was in a dream.

On top of being a swordmaster, he was a teacher in the Sanctum of Sages as well. It wasn't rare for him to have to analyze the problems that a student was facing in his cultivation or swordsmanship and offer him pointers to resolve them. Naturally, his eye of discernment was extremely formidable as well, far surpassing that of his peers.

Even so, he was still completely helpless toward the problem he was facing. Yet, the young man was able to uncover and concisely detail all of the problems he was facing, and more importantly, he had even provided solutions to them as well…

Just what kind of monstrous eye of discernment did that young man possess?

”It's no wonder why he was able to comprehend two different types of Sword Quintessences at his young age. In terms of comprehension of swordsmanship, I don't even come close to holding a candle against him…”

In this moment, Jian Qinsheng finally understood why the young man was able to earn the recognition of his ancestor's Sword Intent so quickly.

From the very start, they weren't even at the same level as one another.

”Perhaps, that's what a true prodigy is!” Jian Qinsheng remarked deeply as he closed the book and kept it into his storage. Then, a thought suddenly came to his mind, and his eyes lit up, ”Wait a moment!”

”Given that young man's deep understanding of swordsmanship, if I were to bring him to the Zhang Clan, perhaps I might be able to exact vengeance for the grudge back then!”