Aoyama

Chapter 472 Spirituality

The sky is bright.

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia sped side by side through the mountains and forests, while Xiao Man and the others headed southeast, and they headed southwest.

The two men knocked on tree trunks along the way, startling birds into flight that circled in the air, attracting the hunters to chase after them.

After circling for a while, the birds in the sky landed back on the treetops, only to be startled again by the capture of the birds.

Chen Ji looked back and checked behind him, always maintaining a distance of more than a hundred feet from the hunter, neither getting closer nor distant.

He turned to look at Zhang Xia: "How long have you been at the Innate Realm?"

Zhang Xia answered carefully, "Twenty-two days. The entire text of the Cloud-Covering Sword Qi consists of 239 sentences, totaling 1,673 characters. Reciting it 3,000 times will advance you to the next level, and each 3,000 recitations will take approximately 68 days. If nothing unexpected happens, you can reach the Dao-Seeking Realm in 590 days. If you work even harder, you can reach it even faster."

Chen Ji then asked, "How much sword energy can be unleashed within three breaths?"

Zhang Xia replied, "A maximum of nine swords, with one sword restored every 360 breaths, in an endless cycle."

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "How much sword energy can a Dao Seeking Realm cultivator possess?"

Zhang Xia ducked to avoid a tree branch blocking his way and recalled, "When Qi Zheyun was still alive, he was sung about by storytellers. The stories said that he possessed eighty-one sword energies and could move freely in the Jing Dynasty's Tiger Army, surrounded by shooting stars as bright as a nebula. Of course, this is just a folk tale and may not be true."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Did Qi Zheyun ever say that he wanted to become the first Martial Saint of both dynasties?"

Zhang Xia nodded: "This matter is indeed recorded, without a doubt."

Chen Ji was even more curious: "How does one become a Martial Saint?"

Zhang Xia wondered why Chen Ji was asking these questions at this moment. After a moment's thought, he replied, "No one knows how to become a Martial Saint yet. In terms of strength and realm, Lu Yang, the head of the Martial Temple, is undoubtedly the number one person in the world, but even he hasn't been able to reach the threshold of a Martial Saint. Over the centuries, countless officials have wanted to become Martial Saints, but none have been able to cross that threshold in their entire lives. It seems that besides strength, something else is needed... Or perhaps, there simply will never be a Martial Saint in this world."

Because of answering Chen Ji's question, Zhang Xia's energy became uneven, and he gradually slowed down.

Chen Ji didn't care about these things and asked again, "Is a sage a realm above the divine path realm?"

Zhang Xia stepped over a rock blocking his way: "No. Sages transcend the mortal world, forming their own realm, and are not within the realm of cultivation. Since the beginning of written records, there have only been two sages in the world: the Supreme Sage Confucius and the founder of Taoism, Li Er. There was also a semi-sage, Ji Ke."

Chen Ji said casually, "When I asked you about these things in Guyuan, you said you didn't know. How come you know now? Where did you find out?"

Zhang Xia suddenly gasped for breath and froze.

At this moment, Chen Ji asked seriously, "Do you really want to learn how to fight?"

Zhang Xia replied earnestly, "Born in chaotic times, one must have some means of self-defense. Not for any other reason than that I don't want to always be hiding behind others."

Just as Zhang Xia was about to readjust his qi, Chen Ji suddenly said, "Use all your sword qi, let's see how fast and how far you can strike."

Zhang Xia was taken aback, but still did as instructed.

She raised her hand and unleashed sword energy from her fingertips into the open space in front of her. The sword energy shot out for six zhang before dissipating.

Zhang Xia turned to look at Chen Ji: "And then?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "I'll teach you the first lesson."

"what?"

Chen Ji said softly, "Spirit, energy, and vitality."

Zhang Xia asked in confusion, "Energy and spirit... what are you doing?"

She saw Chen Ji pat her on the shoulder, and then suddenly accelerate without saying a word, leaving her far behind.

Zhang Xia had just entered the Innate Realm, which was far from the Ancient Trace Realm.

She could only watch as Chen Ji ran further and further away, disappearing without a trace in just a dozen breaths, leaving her alone running through the mountains and forests.

Zhang Xia suddenly woke up.

Chen Ji spoke to her just now deliberately to disrupt her energy flow and slow her down. He also made her unleash her sword energy to deprive her of any means of support.

……

……

Birds behind me fluttered their wings and took flight.

Zhang Xia suddenly turned around and looked. In the shadowy woods, the three fastest hunters were forming a wedge formation and getting closer and closer. The armor plates made a rustling sound as they rubbed against each other.

One of the hunters put the copper whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth and blew it out like a bird's song, twice, as if summoning all his colleagues.

The next moment, the three hunters looked at each other and suddenly separated.

One person chased after Zhang Xia from behind, while two others followed Zhang Xia from the left and right, firmly blocking Zhang Xia's left and right paths.

Zhang Xia rarely muttered a curse about Chen Ji under her breath.

As she passed a pine tree, she casually broke off a branch, and while trying to regulate her breathing, she broke off the excess branches and tore the broken end as sharply as possible.

The next moment, she heard the creaking sound of a taut bow coming from behind and to her sides.

Zhang Xia lunged forward, and three arrows shot from three directions. The arrow from behind grazed her back and broke her hair bun.

An arrow from the left was aimed straight at her waist. She twisted and spun around in mid-air, barely managing to dodge it.

Zhang Xia landed with a somersault like a swallow, covered in fallen leaves and grass in her hair, looking extremely disheveled.

The hunter behind her drew another arrow from his quiver, rapidly closing in as he nocked it to the bowstring. Just as he was about to release the arrow, he noticed that Zhang Xia hadn't continued her escape; instead, she looked up at him, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve.

Zhang Xia scrambled to his feet and charged towards the hunters behind him.

They were only ten paces apart. Zhang Xia was about to shoot an arrow when the other man drew his bow, but it seemed as if he had already calculated the trajectory of the arrow the instant the other man released his hand.

She suddenly turned her head to avoid the arrow, letting it graz her ear.

The next instant, she rushed in front of the hunter and swung the sharp branch in her hand toward his chin.

A hint of mockery flashed in the eyes of the hunter.

He held the bow with his left hand, his wrist open, while his right hand had already reached to his waist and grasped the hilt of his knife.

Everyone knows that the generals who capture animals are extremely skilled in archery and horsemanship, but they mistakenly believe that they are only skilled in archery and horsemanship.

The general had already drawn his sword halfway out, blade facing outwards; a single slash would be enough to disembowel Zhang Xia.

In the blink of an eye, Zhuosheng Jiang's knife could no longer be drawn. Zhang Xia, lacking sophisticated fighting skills, instinctively charged forward, trapping Zhuosheng Jiang's arm between them, rendering him unable to move.

Zhuo Sheng stared intently at Zhang Xia, and Zhang Xia stared back intently at him, her phoenix eyes filled with a resolute expression, not flinching for a moment.

"You're being too clever for your own good," Zhuo Sheng said, using his shoulder to push Zhang Xia away, causing Zhang Xia to take a half-step back.

He twisted the hilt of the knife with his other hand, and a palm-sized bull-ear-shaped sharp knife was pulled out from the hilt.

The hunter gripped his ox-ear-shaped knife tightly and swung it upwards at an angle.

Just as the sharp knife was about to slice through Zhang Xia's abdomen, Zhang Xia suddenly felt a lightness on his shoulder, as if something had left.

In an instant, a flash of sword light slashed across Zhuosheng's wrist, and his hand and the bull-ear dagger fell to the ground together.

The hunter stared wide-eyed, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, Zhang Xia bent down and caught the falling bull-ear knife. Following the pattern she remembered, she first stabbed into the inside of Zhuo Shengjiang's knee, then stabbed into his abdomen along the gap in his armor, and finally stabbed into his mouth from under his jaw.

The three stabs were executed with incredible speed and in one fluid motion.

The capture of the live animal caused blood to splatter from its neck, staining Zhang Xia's face with a bright red hue.

Before she could catch her breath, she heard the sound of a bowstring from her left.

Zhang Xia felt a chill run down his spine and immediately turned around to grab the life-catching general in front of him, whose throat had already been pierced, intending to use him as a shield.

Ke Zhuosheng, still breathing, mustered his last bit of life force and strength to grab her arm with his left hand, pinning her firmly in place so she couldn't move.

Zhang Xia looked back and saw arrows hurtling towards him, leaving him no chance to turn back.

However, at that moment, she watched helplessly as the arrow flew within three steps of her, only to be cleaved in two by a sudden flash of yellow sword light.

The sword light, still sharp, hurtled straight towards the left side, aiming to capture the general's face.

Zhuo Sheng brandished his horn bow, deflecting the sword light. Zhang Xia then heard three consecutive twangs of bowstrings from the woods on his right.

Three arrows came in quick succession. The hunter parried the first arrow and dodged the second by leaping to the right, but the third arrow seemed to have foreseen it, striking the spot where he landed and pinning him firmly to the ground.

The hunter beside Zhang Xia slowly collapsed. She gasped for breath and looked to her right until Chen Ji's figure, holding a bow and arrow, slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Zhang Xia realized that three hunters had surrounded them earlier, and three bowstrings had been rang out in the woods. However, she only saw arrows behind her and to her left, while the hunter on her right seemed to have vanished into thin air.

It turned out that Chen Ji had returned early in the morning and was hiding in the shadows.

At this moment, Chen Ji came up to Zhang Xia: "You are allowed to curse me three times... ten times."

Zhang Xia raised his arm to wipe the blood from his face and said firmly, "Am I qualified to be your student now?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "Some people are born to eat meat, and some are born to eat grass. It's their nature, and you can't change it. If you were too scared to move just now, I would suggest that you stay in the capital forever and never put yourself in danger again."

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "And now?"

Chen Ji picked up the horn bow from the ground, took the quiver from the captured general, and handed it to Zhang Xia: "Now, I will teach you whatever I know."

"Learn bowing first?"

"Learn to use a bow first."

Chen Ji looked up into the distance, where birds were startled and took flight again. He turned and grabbed the quiver from another hunter, then headed south: "Let's go."

Zhang Xia followed behind him, and the two walked silently for a while, but there seemed to be something stuck between them, which they did not say.

A moment later, Zhang Xia looked at Chen Ji's back and teased, "No wonder you've kept your cultivation method a secret all this time. You really have to keep it well hidden, or you'll be finished if the number one official in the world comes to kill you."

Chen Ji paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

Zhang Xia suddenly asked, "Am I the first or third person to find out?"

Chen Ji replied without turning his head, "The second one. The first one is my master, Physician Yao."

Zhang Xia said earnestly, "Thank you."

Chen Ji stopped and turned to look at her, somewhat confused: "What are you thanking me for?"

Zhang Xia brushed past him, saying, "It's nothing."

(End of this chapter)