Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 147 Passing Through Jinyang City

The next day, the two got up very early and hurriedly headed to Jinyang City.

Upon entering Jinyang City, one is immediately struck by its bustling prosperity.

A shirtless man was swallowing a torch, and thunderous cheers erupted all around him. Not far away, a monkey wearing a red-tasseled hat was being led by a gong by a trainer who went around collecting coins, which jingled incessantly as they were poured into a basin.

White steam rose from the stalls selling flatbread, and colorful silks and gauze hanging in front of the silk shop swayed gently in the wind. On the main street in the middle of the street, there were even Western Region merchants wearing headscarves, leading camels slowly through the crowd.

I don’t know if it’s because of the martial arts tournament, but Jinyang is much more prosperous than Baozhou City, even though it’s only separated from Baozhou by a mountain.

"You... Oh! Seventh Young Master! Greetings, Seventh Young Master!"

Ye Shuyun, with Chang Ping'an by her side, quickly found the courtyard that the Ye family had rented in Jinyang. Because they had been running this route for many years, the Ye family had been renting half of the courtyard of Huiyou Escort Agency in Jinyang for storing goods or resting.

As soon as Ye Shuyun entered the courtyard, she showed off the Ye family jade token she always carried. The Ye family members who opened the door didn't even need to look at the jade token; they recognized Ye Shuyun as soon as they saw her face and immediately greeted her.

Ye Shuyun returned the greeting and politely asked, "Greetings, Junior Brother. How has the Old Patriarch been lately?"

The Ye family member replied, "Very good! They can eat and sleep well. Ever since the Immortal Fate Conference, the old patriarch decided to choose a place in the Daxing Mountains to build a Ye family villa. When he returned to Jiangnan recently, he was also sorting out the property, planning to leave only a portion of the Ye family members in Yuhang Prefecture."

"I have also heard about this matter, and I only believe what the old patriarch means."

As Ye Shuyun spoke, she inquired about the caravan's whereabouts: "By the way, where is the Ye family's caravan? Has it gone to Jingzhao Prefecture? Or has it not reached Jinyang City yet?"

"He just left yesterday! Is Seventh Young Master also going to the Capital Prefecture?"

Ye Shuyun nodded: "Yes, I have some business to attend to at the Jingzhao Prefecture... I wonder if the Ye family sent anyone to Monk Mingjing's martial arts tournament this time?"

The Ye family member replied, "You could say we sent someone. It's just that the Fifth Young Master is escorting the goods over and will also drop by to show his support. After all, the invitations have already been delivered, so it wouldn't be appropriate not to go!"

"I understand. I'll go after Fifth Brother now, and I won't stay any longer!"

As Ye Shuyun spoke, she and Chang Ping'an left the courtyard of Huiyou Escort Agency.

Chang Ping'an scratched his head and asked, "Should we go after them now?"

Ye Shuyun nodded and said, "Let's chase after them then. The sooner we catch up, the easier things will be."

So, the two of them entered Jinyang City and then hurriedly left the city again, heading west.

Because Ye Shuyun was only at the Qi Refining stage, the two of them only needed to use the Shrinking Earth to an Inch technique to travel, which surprised many people. However, considering that the Martial Arts Tournament was approaching, everyone thought it was some kind of martial arts master and did not think of anything else.

Only when they passed by a teahouse did a group of six or seven disciples of the Taiyue Sword Sect, who were drinking tea and resting, huddle together with serious expressions and discuss the matter.

"Those two didn't look like martial artists. With my skill, I couldn't sense even a trace of their true energy. And their strange lightness skill was something I had never heard of or seen in the martial world."

"It's not even like lightness skill, it's more like..." The leader of the Taiyue Sword Sect stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "It's more like 'immortal arts'!"

"Celestial arts!?"

The disciples of the Taiyue Sword Sect exclaimed in shock, pressing for an answer: "Sect Leader, is this immortal technique you're talking about from that person at White Stone Mountain?"

The leader of the Taiyue Sword Sect is named Qu Zhiweng. He is not young anymore, having passed the age of knowing one's destiny, but his cultivation is really mediocre, only at the fifth rank.

Therefore, the Taiyue Sword Sect has always had a weak presence in the martial arts world. If it weren't for Zhuang Wansong, a third-rank Venerable, serving as an elder in the Taiyue Sword Sect, it's likely that the sect would have been annexed long ago.

However, although his cultivation level was average, Qu Zhiweng was a very kind person. He had contact with almost all the famous sects and Taiyue Sword Sect. The network of relationships that Taiyue Sword Sect had built up in its heyday was well maintained by Qu Zhiweng. Therefore, when it comes to the famous sects, Taiyue Sword Sect can always be considered one of them.

Hearing his disciples' questions, Qu Zhiweng nodded and said, "That's right. A few months ago, I also went to the White Stone Martial Arts Tournament to observe a bit of it. Although I did not participate in the champion's match, nor did I face off against that little immortal Chang, I did see Master Mu fight against him!"

"Others may not be able to see it, but I can see it clearly—with just one move, Master Mu was already at a disadvantage. If Master Mu hadn't conceded defeat in time, he would have been killed instantly with just one more move!"

Another disciple inquired, "I heard that because of this, the Emperor of Xiao sent students from the Imperial Academy and the National Academy to the Immortal Ascension Assembly?"

“What’s the use of sending them all?” Qu Zhiweng shook his head and said, “They sent a lot of people to try the trial, but in the end only one of them made it through. Our Taiyue Sword Sect only sent five disciples, but two of them made it through! That’s more than the Jade Void Sect!”

One disciple bluntly tore off his sect leader's fig leaf, saying, "Master, that's because the most powerful disciples of the previous generation of the Jade Void Sect didn't participate..."

"Well, anyway,"

Qu Zhiweng, somewhat embarrassed, interrupted his disciples' discussion, emphasizing, "In short, those two people just now must be disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect, and they must be practicing immortal arts, not martial arts! I've also heard that disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect are not allowed to leave the mountain easily, so the fact that two of them came at once suggests there might be something fishy going on..."

"Master, couldn't it be a disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect who was invited to participate in the National Preceptor's martial arts tournament?"

Qu Zhiweng said, “That may not be the case. The new national teacher has a mysterious background. There are rumors that he is a monk from Dajuekang Temple in the Western Regions. He has never had any dealings with the sects in the Central Plains. The reason I was invited is because Taiyue Sword Sect is the number one sect in the Great Zhou Kingdom. I must go and show my support.”

At this point, Qu Zhiweng sighed even more, saying, "The world is about to descend into chaos. First, immortals descended to earth, and then martial artists broke through in droves... You should also know that in just the past six months, including the White Stone Martial Arts Tournament and the Martial Arts Tournament held by the Mingjing National Master, there have been five invitations to martial arts tournaments in the martial arts world!"

"In previous years, we wouldn't see even one like this for over a decade!"

One disciple asked doubtfully, "Master, isn't the flourishing of martial arts a good thing?"

"Where is the great prosperity?" Qu Zhiweng looked at his disciples with disappointment and sighed, "It's clearly doomed! Oh dear! I don't know how many more years our Taiyue Sword Sect can hold on!"

Among the crowd, the oldest disciple of the Taiyue Sword Sect rolled his eyes and couldn't help but say, "Master, you said that twenty years ago! You tricked your disciple into not eating properly for a whole year, and I was constantly honing my martial arts skills. It was Elder Zhuang who couldn't stand it anymore and exposed your lies!"

Qu Zhiweng sighed even more, slapping his thigh and saying, "Alas! This time it's for real! This time it's for real!"

(End of this chapter)