Myths Begin From Boys' Gong

With a single sword strike, the outcome was decided.

Yan Congke suppressed the boiling pain in his body, his eyes filled with disbelief. His sword was so fierce and decisive, his moves, intentions, energy, and momentum were almost perfect. How could he lose with such swordsmanship and such swordsmanship?
But reality is cruel. Although his swordsmanship was superb, Meng Zhao's swordsmanship was even better, far surpassing his.

He had indeed come a long way in dismantling the Soaring Clouds Sword and integrating it into his personal characteristics, but Meng Zhao had gone even further. In terms of studying and utilizing this sword technique, he was superior to Meng Zhao.

Meng Zhao's defeat of Yan Congke with a single sword strike should have been a cause for celebration, but he remained remarkably calm and composed.

Holding his sword behind his back, Meng Zhao walked to Yan Congke and slowly said,

"In this contest of swordsmanship, it seems I have won. Yan Congke, are you convinced?"

Yan Congke was naturally unconvinced. He suspected that Meng Zhao was not simply comparing swords, but rather using his own powerful internal energy to enhance the sword, which was why he lost in one strike.

But Yan Congke also had his pride. He lost, and that was that. At worst, he would just do a few things for Meng Zhao. Anyway, he wouldn't die; at most, he would just lose a little bit of freedom.

Meng Zhao looked at Yan Congke, seeing his silence and a hint of resentment in his eyes, and smiled calmly.
"Let me break down this sword strike, and I'll show you why you were defeated and I won with a single blow. It wasn't because I suppressed you with my internal energy!"

As he spoke, Meng Zhao demonstrated the sword technique while verbally explaining its essential secrets, essentially giving a complete and unreserved instruction.

Yan Congke was utterly devastated. He thought it was just a single sword strike, but in reality, it was an extremely powerful sword born from the fusion of many swords. The speed and force of the sword were beyond anything he had ever seen or imagined in his life.

He pondered for a moment and realized that even if he exhausted all his strength, with the same amount of time and the same reaction, he could probably only manage to stab fifteen to eighteen times in a row at the same time. Anything beyond that was beyond his ability.

Such skill, compared to Meng Zhao's, is worlds apart, the gap is unimaginable.

Looking at Meng Zhao, whose face still held a touch of youthfulness, Yan Congke couldn't help but wonder if this world was going too far.

At such an age, with such skill, such swordsmanship, and such a level of mastery, is it really possible for a human to achieve this?
He had no idea about the life experiences of those top masters in the world, nor did he know what the past life of the strongest person who once had the reputation of being the best in the world was like.

At that moment, an extremely absurd yet perfectly natural thought arose in his mind.

This young man will be the best in the world in the future, if he doesn't die young.

I'm convinced, not just verbally, but also in my heart.

"I am convinced. Your swordsmanship is unparalleled. I am far inferior to you. If you ever need anything in the future, please come to me. I will do my best and never be perfunctory or shirk my responsibilities."

Yan Congke knew that Meng Zhao was most likely looking for him to kill someone, but that was also one of his strengths, so it wasn't a big deal.

Meng Zhao walked up to Yan Congke, reached out and gently pressed a few acupoints on his chest. A wisp of energy, like a gentle spring breeze, flowed into his body, relaxing his muscles and improving his blood circulation, thus restoring most of the injuries caused by the sword energy.

This is also one of the effects of Meng Zhao's Three-Part Return to Origin Qi, which has an extremely powerful therapeutic effect. It is not only because the primordial energy is pure, but also because it contains extremely vigorous vitality.

After receiving treatment from Meng Zhao, Yan Congke felt much better and invited Meng Zhao into the house for a chat.

Compared to the desolation and crudeness outside, Yan Congke's dwelling was extremely warm, clean, and spotless.

Yan Congke poured tea for Meng Zhao, and the two of them tentatively established their master-servant relationship.

Seeing that Yan Congke was very reserved, Meng Zhao softened his tone and said,
"You don't need to act like that. I value your character and swordsmanship. What I ask you to do is something you are definitely good at, so you don't need to worry."

Furthermore, unless it's something particularly urgent, I won't ask you to help. So you can still do whatever you want on a regular basis. However, there's one thing: if you're going out and leaving Kaiyan County, you need to let me know your whereabouts in advance and leave your contact information.

"Furthermore, I won't let you work for free. Every time you do something, I'll give you appropriate compensation. I won't let you suffer any losses!"

Yan Congke is not a machine, but a flesh-and-blood, and very independent person. He cannot be simply bound by a betting agreement.

Therefore, Meng Zhao was not stingy with his money; he did as much work as he could and received as much money in return, which was a win-win situation.

As for why this person is valued so highly, it's quite simple.

No one outside has Yan Congke's martial arts skills or his temperament.

A person who dares to fight and kill without any scruples is not so easy to find.

Yan Congke was indeed relieved after hearing these words.

He was a lone wolf, always doing things his own way. Suddenly becoming someone else's subordinate made him feel uneasy.

Fortunately, Meng Zhao eased his discomfort and used the method of hiring him to resolve the relationship between the two, even making such a person feel more grateful.

It is evident that Meng Zhao was indeed skilled at managing people.

After the two became somewhat closer, Meng Zhao began to inquire about Yan Congke's experiences, especially his time in other counties.

Yan Congke had nothing to hide.

He was a troublemaker in Kaiyan County, and no one dared to mess with him or wanted to provoke him. But at least it was his hometown, so he had some reservations and never actually did anything irreparable.

But things were different when we went to other counties; we really went off to explore freely.

Kidnapping, extortion, and murder are commonplace.

His most common crime was wiping out entire families, targeting mostly wealthy and powerful households. He acted ruthlessly, leaving his hands stained with too much blood, and the government had even issued an arrest warrant for him.

However, although Yan Congke was reckless, he was not stupid. He deliberately concealed his identity, so he was not unable to return home.

Over the years, he has offended quite a few people and has had many near-death experiences.

The most outrageous instance involved twelve factions within a single county who joined forces to set up a trap that was truly an inescapable net.

Fortunately, Yan Congke was a man who liked to hold back and had made preparations in advance. He barely managed to tear through the trap and escape, but he was seriously injured as a result and it took him three months to recover.

But he can no longer go to that county town, unless one day he can suppress all the masters in the county town by himself.

Besides doing these important things, he also liked to gamble in different places, although most of the time he was just a money-giving boy.

As he spoke of these things, Yan Congke's eyes shone brightly, and he became immersed in a special emotion.

Meng Zhao couldn't help but sigh. In his eyes, Yan Congke was like a sharp sword, and he was indeed almost perfect. The only pity was his hobby, which might become his downfall, or even his death.

However, this is a personal choice, and Meng Zhao has no reason or right to teach the other party to stay away from gambling.

Didn't Yan Congke know that gambling was a bad thing? Did he really need to gamble to make money and get rich?

No, it's not necessary. He was only doing it for the thrill, for the addiction, for the immersion.

In addition, Yan Congke had been wandering for so long, he had met many people and experienced many strange things.

The person who impressed Yan Congke the most was a young man who practiced demonic arts.

That's right, he's the demonic cultivator that Zhou Zhihan once mentioned.

His origins are unknown, but his palms are as hard as metal and indestructible. When he uses his internal energy, his palms turn red and emit a sweet and pungent poisonous aura. His martial arts skills are extremely high, and Yan Congke himself admits that he is no match for him.

This person was three or four years older than Meng Zhao, but his martial arts achievements were enough to prove the terrifying nature of the demonic path.

The most terrifying thing is that this person is suspected of possessing the secret of the Earth Origin Pill, which can turn martial artists into secret medicines and resources. His future strength is simply unimaginable, and resources will no longer be a shackle that limits his strength improvement.

The reason Yan Congke had dealings with this person was because Yan Congke and this demonic youth had their eyes on people from the same family.

This young demonic cultivator had his eye on a martial artist from that family, intending to plunder his essence and transform it into secret medicines and resources to enhance his own strength.

Yan Congke was after his family's wealth.

Their brief contact, though a collaboration, showed a fairly good understanding between them.

During this time, Yan Congke also vaguely sensed that the demonic youth seemed to have developed an interest in him, but it was only in refining him into a Di Yuan Da Dan (a type of pill).

Therefore, Yan Congke was extremely wary of him, and after that, he left that county and has never returned to it since.

I'm afraid of provoking the demonic youths, or even those madmen from the demonic path.

He was a ruthless person, and those who followed the demonic path were far more vicious and domineering than any so-called ruthless person.

The most bizarre thing was that Yan Congke once witnessed a creature that was pure white, had wings on its back, and a single horn, like a mythical celestial horse, truly bringing a dead person back to life.

The ability to come back from the dead is no longer a legend, something unattainable, but a reality that has actually happened.

Meng Zhao also became interested. A demonic youth was not unusual, but this celestial horse and its ability to bring the dead back to life were quite rare.

He vaguely sensed that this celestial horse was a strange beast similar to the mountain dragon of Xiaohan Mountain, an extraordinary creature of this world, possessing some innate supernatural abilities, which was not unusual.

But matters of life and death, the design of the great path of life and death, and the path of reincarnation, are not so simple.

Only after asking in detail did I understand the whole process.

The protagonist who came back from the dead was a young girl who had never practiced martial arts; she was just a pretty and youthful-looking girl.

Her death was not a sin committed by Yan Congke, but rather a result of bandits invading her village and attempting to rape her. The girl cut her own throat to protect her chastity from being violated by these bandits.

At that time, Yan Congke was being chased and fell into the mountains, where he encountered this incident and witnessed the entire process.

However, Yan Congke was no good either. He ignored these human tragedies and did not take action, but let them go unpunished.

But because of this, I witnessed the whole process.

After the girl committed suicide, an extremely powerful aura erupted from the mountain peak, sweeping across the entire world and even scattering the continuous white clouds floating in the sky.

Faced with such a dramatic change, the bandits dared not linger and hastily departed.

Not long after, the strange beast, which resembled a celestial horse from mythology, descended from the sky and landed beside the girl's corpse.

Its single horn burst forth with an extremely dazzling white light, which seemed to contain endless vitality. Soon after landing on the girl, it pulled the girl, who had just committed suicide, back to life from the Netherworld Palace.

It wasn't just serious injury, it was death.

Yan Congke was very confident in his eyesight and would never confuse serious injury with death.

However, the beast did not come without a price. After saving the girl, its single horn fell off, turned into ashes, and drifted across the land with the mountain wind.

After that, the girl was carried away by the strange beast, soaring into the sky like a flying fairy.

This experience was the most memorable and unforgettable one in Yan Congke's decades-long life; it was almost like a myth.

He even began to believe that there really were gods and immortals in this world, but they were unknown to people.

Meng Zhao did not doubt that Yan Congke was deceiving her; if this happened in the Central Plains, it would be commonplace.

As for the Tianyuan Dynasty, it wasn't actually that outrageous.

After all, this world operates according to the laws of nature. The existence of strange beasts and martial arts indicates that it contains an extraordinary path to transcendence.

Just like in Jin Yong's martial arts novels, there are examples of the Divine Illumination Scripture bringing the dead back to life.

The martial arts ceiling of the Tianyuan Kingdom far exceeds that of Jin Yong's novels, which naturally makes it seem ordinary.

"From this perspective, the strange beast should not only be beastly, but at least possess a certain degree of intelligence, which is why it saved the girl and took her away. As for the dragon in the mountain, it swallowed the dragon energy of Xiaohan Mountain, and in terms of level alone, it should be stronger than that heavenly horse beast, and it is highly likely that it will also develop intelligence."

It seems that to slay the dragon and retrieve the dragon pearl, we still cannot be careless and must proceed with caution.

Yan Congke thought that Meng Zhao would treat his bizarre and unbelievable story as a joke.

Unexpectedly, Meng Zhao completely believed it.

Meng Zhao then asked him if he had ever heard of famous divine weapons, such as the God-Slaying Spear or the Eight Desolations Lock.

At this point, he had already cultivated three parts of the Returning to Origin Qi. If he proceeded step by step, his martial arts skills would only improve. As time went by, he would eventually achieve his goal, and becoming the number one in the world would only be a matter of time.

However, these strange beasts are no ordinary creatures. They are blessed by heaven, possess a destiny, and are favored by the heavens. They are not easy to deal with.

Just like when he asked Zhou Zhihan if the current number one Arhat in the world could subdue the dragon in the mountain.

Zhou Zhihan had never truly witnessed the strength of either of them, but based on her personal experience, she guessed that they were no match for each other.

It is evident that human power has its limits, at least in this lifetime.

However, relying on powerful weapons and artifacts as an aid can greatly increase the chances of slaying the dragon. (End of Chapter)