Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Chapter 116 The Heart Sutra of Forgetfulness - Doumu Siming Version! (Please subscribe!)

However, an old hand is an old hand after all. Li Canglan quickly realized what was happening, as did Lin Zhenting.

Looking at the disciples of the Gale Blade Pavilion and Li Canglan around him, Lin Zhenting said to Zhao Zheng with a flustered expression, "Young Master Zhao, please wait! I haven't gone back on my word. As long as you help me resolve this matter, I will definitely keep my promise!"

"You know what? I have the ability to tell whether someone is telling the truth or lying!" Zhao Zheng said, turning around.

He actually wanted to say it was a cultivation technique, but he felt that would be too complicated to explain, so he simply changed it to him having a certain ability.

As his cultivation level increased, the Limitless Version of the Sun and Moon Everlasting Observation Mind Technique not only allowed him to vaguely perceive changes in other people's emotions, but also enabled him to discern whether others were telling the truth or lying.

This is also why he told Lin Zhenting that he hates liars, because Lin Zhenting has no intention of keeping his promises.

This made Zhao Zheng feel that he had underestimated the allure of the divine weapon and the greed in human nature, as well as that he had appeared too early.

He shouldn't have appeared when a servant died at the Pingdu Escort Agency; he should have appeared when Lin Zhenting and the others were injured.

Upon hearing this, Li Canglan and the others, who were about to step forward, paused, their expressions slightly changing. Lin Zhenting smiled bitterly, his face turning pale.

"Young Master Zhao, I am not lying. If you are afraid of the Gale Blade Pavilion, you can simply say so. Why slander me?"

An old hand is an old hand after all; Lin Zhenting immediately labeled Zhao Zheng as cowardly.

Li Canglan and his group looked displeased, but they didn't show it. Zhao Zheng glanced at Lin Zhenting and nodded.

"Yes, you're absolutely right!"

After saying that, Zhao Zheng turned around and left, leaving Lin Zhenting with an ugly expression, feeling as if he had punched cotton. Li Canglan laughed and said to Lin Zhenting.

"Chief镖师 Lin, you've crossed the line!"

Swah—

Upon hearing this, Li Fengxiao, one of the four disciples beside Li Canglan, immediately used his lightness skill to rush towards Lin Zhenting.

Li Fengxiao attacked Lin Zhenting with an air that seemed to be about to take his life, but in reality, he only wanted to capture him.

Fortunately, Lin Zhenting hadn't dared to stray too far from the gate of his own security escort agency. His expression changed, and he quickly retreated into the agency's gate.

"Chief Escort Lin's light-footed skills are amazing!"

Li Fengxiao spoke with a smile, his tone full of sarcasm, which made Lin Zhenting's face turn pale and then red.

He glared resentfully at Zhao Zheng, who hadn't gone far, and when he saw Li Canglan walking towards Zhao Zheng, he deliberately raised his voice.

"Young Master Zhao, you previously claimed you would help me settle this matter, so why did you leave as soon as you saw Pavilion Master Li? Are you afraid? If you are afraid, you can simply say so. Why accuse me, Lin, of lying and breaking my promise?"

After hearing the rest of the words, Zhao Zheng stopped, frowned, and turned to look at Lin Zhenting and Li Canglan, who was standing in front of him and smiling.

"May I ask if you are the Deadly Scholar?"

Li Canglan's attitude was very amiable, with a gentle smile on his face, but Zhao Zheng sensed a murderous intent.

"To be honest, I'm starting to hate this world—" Zhao Zheng didn't answer, but instead said something inexplicable.

As soon as he finished speaking, a profound sense of detachment and detachment, a cold indifference like that of the Supreme Being, emerged, as if the Heavenly Dao were looking down upon the human world without sorrow or anger, a timeless and indifferent state of mind.

Li Canglan's smile vanished instantly, his face turning pale and solemn as he took three steps back, looking at Zhao Zheng with a wary expression.

"Sword intent? A Xiantian martial artist?"

These words caused an uproar. The disciples of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion, including Li Fengxiao, and the surrounding martial arts practitioners stared wide-eyed.

"What?! He's a Xiantian martial artist?!"

"The Innate Realm?"

"Is the Deadly Scholar a martial artist with innate abilities?"

"How old is he?!"

One voice after another came from the surroundings, filled with shock, which made Lin Zhenting's eyes widen and he knew something was wrong.

Zhao Zheng glanced expressionlessly at the crowd around him, then chuckled and said, "I suddenly have this urge to kill you all—but never mind, I'll just beat you all up!"

He's a good person; he never kills people indiscriminately!

Clang—

A blindingly cold light flashed as the Tai'a sword was drawn from its sheath, and even though it was a bright and sunny day, the sword light still made everyone instinctively close their eyes.

However, Li Canglan, who was facing this sword strike imbued with the Supreme Forgetfulness Sword Intent, dared not close his eyes. In his heart, he frantically cursed all the women in Lin Zhenting's family.

At the same time, he felt that Zhao Zheng's temper was really irritable, even more so than his own, a martial artist who cultivated the Heavenly Flame Force.

Despite his irritability, Li Canglan was pale as he experienced this terrifying aura that was slowing down his thoughts.

He moved, watching the Tai'a sword slash straight at his head, his right hand gripping the hilt of the Fierce Wind Burning Sky Blade at his waist.

Clang—

The opening move was the first move of the Thirty-Six Forms of the Gale Blade Pavilion's signature sword technique, Gale Blade Rising from the Box.

As Li Canglan drew his sword, he revealed a broad-backed heavy sword forged from black iron inlaid with fine steel, with a ratchet mechanism on the back.

A sword that clearly possesses domineering mechanical techniques!

As the Blade of Blazing Wind was drawn from its sheath, its mechanisms exploded with a loud bang, instantly igniting the embedded flame crystals. Crimson waves of fire surged forth, encircling the blade. Li Canglan activated the Blazing Heaven Flame Force within his body, unleashing a powerful flaming blade strike towards Zhao Zheng.

boom-

As the swords clashed, sparks flew. Just as Li Canglan was forced back by Zhao Zheng's sword strike, he smiled inwardly.

Because his attack, which had broken free of the blade, was cleaved in two by the Tai'a Sword, but still managed to lunge towards Zhao Zheng's fiery blade energy with undiminished momentum, he smiled. However, the next moment, his smile vanished!

Snapped-

The two flames didn't stick to Zhao Zheng as Li Canglan had expected, preventing him from getting burned. Instead, they slid past Zhao Zheng like raindrops falling on a lotus leaf and then disappeared into the air.

"Not bad swordsmanship—"

But why does it feel like a magic trick?!

Zhao Zheng, who had regained his pure and untainted state and ignored the flames, spoke calmly, his gaze curiously examining the broad-backed heavy sword in Li Canglan's right hand, which was surrounded by orange flames.

"You—what kind of martial arts is this?"

Li Canglan looked solemnly at Zhao Zheng, whose body had no burn marks whatsoever, not even a single scorch mark on his hair.

Although his Gale Blade Pavilion is not ranked high among the nine righteous sects, his Gale Blade Burning Heaven Blade technique is among the best in the martial arts world. Even those so-called grandmasters cannot be said to be unscathed when they fight against him.

But Zhao Zheng, he clearly saw that Zhao Zheng had miraculously avoided the blade energy of his Gale Sky-Burning Blade without even using his internal energy, which was simply unbelievable.

Not only did he find it unbelievable, but the onlookers, including the martial arts figures and Li Fengxiao, also found it unbelievable.

They knew that Zhao Zheng, the Deadly Scholar Swordsman, was no ordinary man, but they never expected that Zhao Zheng could force Li Canglan to retreat.

Who is Li Canglan? He is the Pavilion Master of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion, one of the nine righteous sects, and the Pavilion Master Li who wants to compete for the position of leader of the martial arts alliance.

One of the most famous experts in the Innate Realm!

Lin Zhenting, who was watching the battle from inside the gate of Pingdu Escort Agency, also found it unbelievable. In addition to finding it unbelievable, he also felt that he was finished, and his Lin family was finished!

"you guess!"

Zhao Zheng grinned, still without using his internal energy. He simply took a step forward, cracking the stone slab beneath his feet, and slashed at Li Canglan with his Tai'a sword, tearing through the air.

He didn't just sit idly by during his seven days of seclusion in the mountain stronghold; he modified his cultivation techniques before coming down the mountain.

These modified techniques also include the Taoist Golden Body Technique of the Twenty-Four Orthodox Methods of Maoshan. In other words, he now lacks nothing.

As for why he attacked Li Canglan, it's simple. He said he wanted to beat all these people up. He was careful in the main world, but he still has to be careful after transmigrating. Wouldn't that mean he transmigrated for nothing?

Also, it was Li Canglan who was hostile to him first!

"Physical training?"

Or is it superhuman strength?

Li Canglan stared intently at Zhao Zheng, who was shattering the stone slabs under his feet. Faced with Zhao Zheng's slash that tore through the air and made it cry out in pain, he dared not relax and swung his sword again.

boom-

The fifth move of the Gale Blade: Gale Piercing the Sun.

As the flames encircling the blade intensified, turning it from orange-yellow to orange-red, Li Canglan leaped forward, his figure swooping down like an eagle, his inner power of the Burning Heaven Flame Force surging wildly within him.

He concentrated all his inner strength into the blade, causing the orange-red flames on it to surge like a blazing sun falling to earth. His inner strength surged from his dantian to his wrists, and with a flick of his wrist, he swung the Gale Blade, fiercely slashing down at Zhao Zheng.

It wasn't that he ignored Zhao Zheng's attack, but rather that he had lost face and wanted to regain it by using this exchange of injury for injury.

boom--

The blazing sword energy cleaved through the surrounding air currents, creating scorching waves of air that forced the onlookers to retreat.

The heat also caused the eaves of the surrounding buildings to fly off, and sparks flew everywhere from the roof tiles. The flags and sails of the shops were also baked and wilted by the scorching heat.

"Because the weapons in this world are forged based on the principles of mechanical engineering, therefore—mechanical martial arts have thus emerged—"

Zhao Zheng glanced at the weapons on or in the hands of those martial arts practitioners and was somewhat surprised as to why the martial arts techniques in the mountain stronghold did not seem to emphasize mechanical martial arts. He thought about it and felt that it was probably related to the fact that most of those techniques were incomplete.

Also, Black Wind Village is too poor!

Thinking of this, Zhao Zheng's gaze fell on Li Canglan's domineering slash, which carried an orange-red flame wave and slashed straight down at his face, displaying a fierce and powerful force.

He neither dodged nor evaded, his right hand still aimed his longsword at Li Canglan's neck from right to left, without using any internal energy.

Seeing this, Li Canglan thought Zhao Zheng had gone mad. However, his right hand's slashing motion remained unchanged; instead, he grabbed the scabbard with his left hand and quickly blocked the attack on his neck.

clang-

Swah—

A clang of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying as Zhao Zheng's forehead collided with the blade of the Gale Sky-Burning Blade.

"Invulnerable to swords and spears!"

Just as Li Canglan was staring at Zhao Zheng's forehead in utter horror, he discovered a serious problem.

What was the other voice?

Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked at the scabbard in his left hand, and as he looked, the scabbard snapped in two.

At the same time, he suddenly saw a stream of blood spurting from his neck, causing his expression to change drastically as he clutched his neck and tried to back away.

At this moment, he saw an even more puzzling scene: the blood spurting from his neck still did not fall on Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng seemed to exist in this world, avoiding all taint, whether it was his blood or his flames.

Did I tell you to cancel?

Zhao Zheng spoke calmly, looking at Li Canglan who was retreating. He moved his feet and changed the move of his Tai'a sword in his right hand.

Ignite!

All states and laws—open!

The Four Symbols—Ultimate Blazing Sun—Open!

Zhao Zheng perfectly replicated the fifth move of the Thirty-Six Forms of the Raging Wind Burning Heaven Blade used by Li Canglan: Raging Wind Piercing the Sun.

Moreover, its power is even greater!

With a roar, Zhao Zheng leaped several meters into the air, and a mechanical Vermilion Bird phantom appeared behind him, letting out a cry.

His figure swooped down on the retreating Li Canglan like an eagle, and in an instant, the righteous and peaceful internal energy within his body transformed from the state of myriad laws into the blazing inferno internal force.

Zhao Zheng's entire body surged with even more intense fiery internal energy than Li Canglan's, and all of this energy was concentrated on the Tai'a Sword.

In an instant, the flames on the Tai'a Sword surged to the size of the ultimate blazing sun, radiating a light that the surrounding people dared not look directly at.

Just like Li Canglan, Zhao Zheng wielded his weapon and slashed down fiercely, the sword energy emanating so terrifying it distorted the air directly cleaving through the surrounding airflow.

The terrifyingly high temperature directly scorched everything around, giving off a burnt smell, especially the flags and sails of the shops, which were engulfed in flames.

Some people who were too close had their clothes and hair curled up, and some screamed and staggered backward.

"How do you know the Gale-Slaying Heaven-Burning Blade Technique?!"

Li Canglan's eyes widened like copper bells. He stopped covering his neck and forcefully used his internal energy to stop the bleeding.

However, Zhao Zheng did not answer him, because the Tai'a Sword had already answered Li Canglan's question on Zhao Zheng's behalf!

boom-

When the swords clashed, sparks flew and visible ripples of flame spread outwards, as terrifying as an exploding incendiary bomb!

The disciples of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion, namely Li Fengxiao and his group, only saw two blazing flames colliding repeatedly on the street.

However, after dozens of collisions in an instant, all that could be seen were afterimages amidst the flames, making it difficult to discern the true forms of the two individuals with the naked eye.

On the street, as Zhao Zheng and Li Canglan began their rapid exchange of blows, the surrounding area was filled with surging, intense heat.

The fire surged like a raging torrent, bursting out in layers and sweeping in all directions, leaving scorched marks on the bluestone slabs on the ground.

The hard stone surface was slashed by the sharp sword energy and blade light, leaving fine crystalline sword marks and blade imprints, with cracks spreading like a spider web.

In just a few breaths, the streets were filled with billowing dust and the heatwave surged, creating ripples of intense heat.

The surrounding houses trembled violently from the powerful energy, bricks and tiles falling from the walls. Each clash between the two unleashed a deafening roar, flames and sword energy intertwined, fiery force and blade light collided, turning the entire long street into a sea of ​​fire.

Silence, silence, silence. However, this did not mean that Zhao Zheng and his companion had suddenly stopped fighting; rather, it meant that the onlookers from the martial arts world were completely stunned.

"I remember Pavilion Master Li is a Xiantian martial artist, right?"

"To be able to fight a master of innate martial arts for so long—"

"What school or sect does this Deadly Scholar's Sword belong to?"

"How does he also know the sword techniques of the Gale Blade Pavilion?"

The martial arts practitioners fell silent for a moment, then began to whisper among themselves. Some who were acquainted with the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion even questioned Li Kuangdao and the others from the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion.

You're asking me? I'd like to ask you the same thing!

This was the thought of Li Kuangdao and the others. Their expressions were just as puzzled as those of the martial arts practitioners as they looked at Zhao Zheng, who was also using the Fierce Wind Burning Sky Blade technique to fight Li Canglan.

For a time, they were speculating about Zhao Zheng's identity, and some of the Liefeng Blade Pavilion disciples even whispered among themselves.

"Could this deadly scholar be our martial uncle or patriarch or something? Otherwise, how could he also know the Gale-Slaying Heaven-Burning Blade Technique?"

Upon hearing this, the other disciples of the Gale Blade Pavilion found it inexplicably reasonable, but some disagreed and spoke up.

"Could he be Murong Xuanshu?"

"You know what, it's actually quite possible! So, what he's using now is the Myriad Manifestations Returning to the Pivot Force, which can imitate and utilize the martial arts of all schools?"

"Wait a minute, the ages don't match!"

"Exactly! Murong Xuanshu is twenty-seven, isn't he? How old is this Deadly Scholar? He doesn't even look eighteen!"

"Uh—I heard that the Deadly Scholar is only eight years old this year—uh, don't glare at me, that's what the all-knowing scholar of the martial arts world said—"

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, and even more so with shock at Zhao Zheng's age.

boom-

Thump! Thump! Thump—

As the swords clashed, flames and energy exploded, and Li Canglan, covered in sword wounds, staggered back more than ten steps before finally managing to stop, his sword planted horizontally in the ground.

At this moment, Li Canglan was no longer as glorious as before; he was now in a sorry state and seriously injured. He ignored the four disciples who quickly came to his side to protect him and stared at Zhao Zheng, who was a few meters away, with no knife marks on his body and not a single hair on his head.

"Who are you? How do you know the Gale Blade Technique of my Gale Blade Pavilion?" After saying that, he stared intently at Zhao Zheng, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, clearly ready to fight again.

"Your Gale Sky-Burning Blade Technique isn't that hard to learn. You can learn it just by looking at it once, right?" Zhao Zheng asked curiously.

The Tai'a sword in his right hand, which was pointing diagonally at the ground, was surrounded by dark red flames and constantly emitted sparks.

If Zhao Zheng's state of myriad laws was only about 70-80% imitated before, the simulation level has now reached 88-99%, and it continues to increase!

This wasn't because the advancement of the state of myriad methods had become a talent, but because he had truly comprehended the Heart Sutra of Forgetfulness from the Dao Pivot Theory of Forgetfulness.

The moment he comprehended the Heart Sutra, he felt something was amiss, and he also felt a bit uneasy!

[Practice Method: The Heart Sutra of Meditation]

[Introduction: When truth is taken for falsehood, falsehood becomes truth; when nothingness is taken for existence, existence becomes nothingness. Forget form, forget things, forget life and death; deceive heaven, deceive earth, deceive even oneself. At the moment a thought arises, even the Mother of the Dipper bestows grace. Only by sitting in oblivion and entering the game can one see the true nature.]

[Note: The Red China boss played his cards well!]

'

The version number is wrong!

How did I come to understand the Heart Sutra of Sitting in Oblivion?

Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, but was soon attracted by the perfected Thirty-Six Forms of the Gale Sky-Burning Blade that appeared in the skill manual.

Huh? The fake has become real?

Is the Heart Sutra of Meditation really that powerful?

Zhao Zheng was surprised. These thoughts only lasted for a moment. When Li Canglan heard Zhao Zheng's answer, his face turned extremely gloomy.

Are you trying to humiliate me?

"If you keep arguing, I'll kill you!"

"you----"

Li Canglan glared angrily at Zhao Zheng, but he didn't make a move. However, his disciples attacked in anger!

Or, to put it another way, the hot-tempered Xiong Li Kuangdao, with a furious expression, drew a broad-backed heavy sword similar to Li Canglan's Liefeng Tiandao and attacked Zhao Zhengdao.

"How dare you insult my master like this!"

"I don't want to play anymore!"

Zhao Zheng spoke calmly, moved his right hand, and took a light step. All that could be seen was a dark red line carrying a wave of scorching heat that swept past all the disciples of the Gale Blade Pavilion in the blink of an eye.

Thud! Thud! Thud—

Weapons shattered and people collapsed, wailing incessantly, including Li Canglan, the leader of the Gale Blade Pavilion. Of course, he was the most stubborn, and he didn't utter a sound.

"Cough cough, you—you dare to bully my Gale Blade Pavilion like this—aren't you afraid of offending the righteous people of the world?!"

Li Canglan, lying on the ground, coughed up blood, staring venomously at Zhao Zheng, who was walking towards the gate of Pingdu Escort Agency.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zheng stopped in his tracks. He turned his head to look at Li Canglan and the others, his hand pausing as he sheathed his longsword.

He looked at the disciples of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion who stopped talking as he was about to draw his sword, as well as Li Canglan, and said with disdain.

"If you're not afraid, you're not afraid!"

"You—pfft—"

Li Canglan coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted. It was only because Li Fengxiao and the others reacted quickly that they caught him; otherwise, Li Canglan would have fallen flat on his face.

Li Kuangdao and the others glared at Zhao Zhengdao, saying, "Today you seriously injured my master. I, Li Kuangdao, and all my fellow disciples will remember this grudge!"

"Today you severely injured my master and insulted my Blade Pavilion. This blood feud will never be forgotten by the entire Blade Pavilion!"

"The humiliation and enmity of today will be avenged in the future! Please remember your words then!"

"Malice—murderous intent—"

Zhao Zheng stared expressionlessly at Li Fengxiao and the others who were making threats. He slowly drew his long sword, and as soon as he did, the mouths of these people quickly shut up.

Clang—

A flash of cold light and a dark red line of blood appeared—

Within two breaths, dozens of dead bodies appeared on the street, including the so-called leader of the Gale Blade Pavilion, one of the nine righteous sects.

Screams, screams, cries of panic—

In the blink of an eye, the common people and martial arts figures on the street were gone, vanished completely with the cries of "Li Canglan, the master of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion, was killed by the Deadly Scholar" and "The Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion is gone forever."

"To be honest, I really don't understand your thinking. You were the one who wanted to kill me first. I defeated you, but I didn't kill you. I just taught you and your followers a lesson. Instead, you want to kill me. Do you really think I'm young and easy to bully?"

Standing on the empty street, Zhao Zheng said helplessly that he felt that even in a different world, some people would still exist.

Why are you forcing me?

Zhao Zheng looked confused. He clearly didn't want to kill anyone, but these people kept forcing him to.

Although this Song—oh, I should say the members of the Fierce Wind Blade Pavilion—aren't exactly good people, he just doesn't want to kill anyone!

"Speaking of which, did I indirectly save the lives of that flute player's entire family?" Zhao Zheng thought to himself.

He jumped back in the end, looking helplessly at the corpses of Li Canglan and the others on the ground, and sighed.

"I just want to find what's mine. Why are you forcing me? Honestly, why are you forcing me to take action?!"

After speaking, Zhao Zheng slowly turned around, sword in hand, and looked at Lin Zhenting, who was staring at him with a look of horror at the entrance of the escort agency.

"It's our turn to talk—"

Zhao Zheng spoke first, then fell silent, watching Lin Zhenting charge at him with a roar, sword in hand. He took a deep breath and sighed, "Are you all—seriously, insane?"

Clang—

A flash of cold light appeared, and Lin Zhenting pulled out the dart from his chest and fell to the ground with a thud. Zhao Zheng silently stared at the sword in his hand, which was now half-cut.

He turned his head blankly to look at Li Kuangdao, who should have been dead but had instead tried to assassinate him, only to kill Lin Zhenting instead.

"Master, master, I'll fight you to the death!"

Lin Zhenting's wife ran out of the security company gate crying and charged at Zhao Zheng with her sword. Zhao Zheng was about to explain when a thud occurred.

啊—

With a scream, Lin Zhenting's wife fell onto him. Well, she wasn't stabbed in the chest, but in the neck.

The couple were reunited in an instant!

Zhao Zheng stared silently and blankly at the somewhat bizarre scene before him. His lips twitched as he watched the panicked servants in the escort agency shouting that the deadly scholar had killed their master.

He began to understand why those江湖人 (jianghu people) said he had killed three thousand bandits. He passed by the corpses of Lin Zhenting, who had tried to break his promise and deliberately frame him, and his wife.

By the way, he doesn't want to be a good person anymore; he's decided to be a bad person because he finds being a good person too tiring. Zhao Zheng walked expressionlessly into the gate of Pingdu Escort Agency.

As for the deaths of Lin Zhenting and the other man, he attributed it to their fate. Even if Li Kuangdao hadn't killed them, someone else would have.

After a while, he appeared expressionlessly at the back door of the escort agency. His gaze, thanks to his innate ability to see through layers of walls, pierced through the walls. He looked at Lin Ping, who had been rescued by Ling Qingyao and the other person, and wondered to himself.

"Can this really be made up?"

Zhao Zheng did not pursue Lin Ping, since he hadn't killed Lin Zhenting and his wife. He simply randomly selected a lucky servant to ask about the location of the Lin family's old residence before leaving the Pingdu Escort Agency.

Several miles away, there was a dilapidated temple.

Pale-faced and lost in thought, Lao Xuancheng and Ling Qingyao helped the still-shaken Lin Ping into the dilapidated temple.

Lin Ping, dressed in brocade robes stained with dust, his hair disheveled, and still panting, suddenly snapped back to his senses, broke free from their hands, his eyes bloodshot, and roared hoarsely and desperately.

"Why did you only save me? Why didn't you save my father? Why didn't you save my mother? You clearly have martial arts skills, so why didn't you save my parents and only took me to escape?!"

Ling Qingyao was startled by his sudden outburst of grief and indignation. She said helplessly, "Young Master Lin, calm down—it's not that we don't want to save them, it's just that the Deadly Scholar is too powerful. We simply can't save your parents—"

As she spoke, Ling Qingyao paused, a helpless hesitation appearing in her eyes, and said, "Moreover—your father is also to blame this time—"

She didn't continue speaking, but just kept quiet and looked at the crying Lin Ping. Although she arrived late, she had also witnessed the conversation between Zhao Zheng and Lin Zhenting in the crowd.

She felt that this was all Lin Zhenting's fault for saying things he shouldn't have, and also for Li Canglan.

However, she did not expect that this deadly scholar would have such a violent temper, killing Li Canglan and others without a word.

And it worked!

"My father and Li Canglan could only barely fight to a draw. If it were my father—" Ling Qingyao's heart sank.

Like the other servants of the Pingdu Escort Agency, she thought that Zhao Zheng had killed Lin Zhenting and his wife. However, unlike the other servants who thought Zhao Zheng had killed Lin Zhenting because of their panic, she mainly didn't see clearly because of the distance.

Lao Xuancheng, standing to the side, remained silent. His expression was complex, his mind a jumble of emotions. He couldn't help but be in turmoil; Li Canglan was dead, and the once-great Liefeng Blade Pavilion had been destroyed overnight.

As an undercover agent planted in the Lingxiao Sword Mansion by the Gale Blade Pavilion, how could he remain calm and composed?

Ling Qingyao glanced at Lao Xuancheng, who seemed lost in thought, and then looked at Lin Pingdao, who was still emotionally distraught.

"Young Master Lin, calm down—stop crying. You must live well. Only then will you have a chance to kill that deadly scholar, avenge your parents, and seek justice for all those who died unjustly at the Pingdu Escort Agency!"

Ling Qingyao spoke up. Although she hadn't personally witnessed the Lin family's servants being killed, she felt that they must have all been killed by Zhao Zheng.

Lin Ping collapsed to the ground, tears mingling with the dust as they streamed down his face. He murmured in despair, "Father, Mother—your son is unfilial, your son is useless—and why did you only save me? Why did you only save me—why did you only save me—"

Zhao Zheng was not clear about what happened in the dilapidated temple; at the moment, he was just searching for his lost Dingcang sword in the Lin family's old house.

"That's strange, it was supposed to be on the roof beam!"

Upon arriving at the living room of the Lin family's old house, Zhao Zheng looked up at the roof beams with surprise. After a moment's thought, his gaze fell on the stone bricks on the ground.

Zhao Zheng took a step, his ears twitched, and he arrived under a roof beam, squatted down, and reached out to lift a stone brick.

As the stone bricks were lifted, a sword box made entirely of jade appeared, causing Zhao Zheng to raise an eyebrow and mutter to himself.

"Up changes down — Heaven transforms into Earth —"

Yin and Yang of this world —

Thinking it over, Zhao Zheng reached out and opened the sword box. As the box opened, an ancient sword, three feet and three inches long and forged entirely from dark black iron, came into view.

Zhao Zheng picked up the so-called Dingcang Sword, wondering why he didn't feel the surge of desire as he pulled it out with a clang.

It appears as dark blue as the deep sea, without a trace of cold glint, only a layer of warm and restrained mystery flowing under the dim light as the sword is drawn from its sheath.

Zhao Zheng raised an eyebrow at the Dingcang Sword, which concealed its sharpness and showed no trace of killing intent, and then looked at the spine of the sword.

On the two sides of the sword's spine, there was a vertical groove as thin as a hair, containing some strange spring.

The spring mechanism is seamlessly hidden within the sword body, and it is not noticeable unless you look closely. The entire sword is connected with more precise mortise and tenon joints, and there is not a single nail on it. The only thing there is the two characters "Ding Cang" lightly engraved in ancient seal script near the hilt.

The ancient seal script strokes are ancient and vigorous, subtly embodying the principle of guarding heaven and earth. Looking at the hilt, Zhao Zheng muttered "ebony" before glancing at the tiny black jade buckle embedded at the end of the hilt, a buckle the size of a speck of dust.

"A scripture hidden within the sword?"

Zhao Zheng pressed the small black jade clasp with a thought. He didn't see the sword hilt, but he did see the opened sword hilt and a cylindrical space inside the hilt that could probably hold a martial arts manual!

"So—there's still the Sunflower Manual?"

But why don't I feel the so-called surge of desire? Zhao Zheng closed the open hilt of his sword and strangely waved the Dingcang sword in his hand.

The Dingcang Sword, the foremost of the three great weapons and the number one of the seven divine weapons, is indeed a good sword, at least in terms of sharpness.

"Is it because I'm only eight years old this year?"

Zhao Zheng stood up, lifted his pants with his left hand to glance at Xiao Zhao, who was the same height as him and developing rapidly, and began to channel his internal energy into the Dingcang Sword in his right hand.

"Amazing! The internal energy amplification rate is 100%, and—it even comes with a shield?!" Zhao Zheng exclaimed in amazement, sensing the vague information transmitted by the Dingcang Sword.

With a flick of his internal energy, the springs in the small mechanism slots on both sides of the sword spine snapped with a click.

Two semi-circular, translucent, dark-colored plates pop out from the mechanism slots on both sides of the sword, covering most of the blade.

In an instant, the original Dingcang Sword transformed into the Dingcang Fire Shield, specifically designed to counter the Burning Heaven Halberd, the number one of Gongshu's four most ferocious weapons.

"Wow, this is targeted at us!"

Sensing the vague information transmitted by the Dingcang Sword, Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, and inexplicably thought of the matter in the True Spirit Position Chart where the family that wrote the sutra last ranked higher in ancestral mastery.

He began to understand why his ministers had lost to the Mohists; it turned out that the Mohists produced weapons with specific targets in mind.

"Moreover, it seems that the Dingcang Sword amplifies more than just internal energy—" Zhao Zheng pondered, then became even more puzzled.

The reason is that he didn't feel any side effects; he didn't notice his desires suddenly increasing!

"Could it be because I'm only eight years old? That doesn't fall within the scope of the side effects assessment for the Dingcang Sword—so I'm fine—"

Zhao Zheng pondered for a moment, but didn't delve too deeply into the matter. Instead, he took out a die, a scattered die formed from the meditation technique of the "Sitting in Oblivion" mantra.

Does the world still have a God of Fate?

'