After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

Going there myself shows that I value this child.

……

The school hospital, the intensive care unit.

The Vermilion Bird's true form suddenly spoke to Zhou Yan, who was preparing to leave.

"Little guy, I've seen your fight with Linley. You seem to be an expert with a sword?"

Zhou Yan, who was about to leave, was taken aback. The young man turned around and said awkwardly.

"It's alright."

Zhou Yan's swordsmanship is passable, but he has three Bai Ze skills as a cheat, so he looks very powerful. It's a bit embarrassing to talk about, so Zhou Yan doesn't dare to say that his swordsmanship is particularly exquisite.

Zhuque said meaningfully.

"Linley's swordsmanship is not bad. Even the sword ape with the highest bloodline has said that Linley's swordsmanship has reached a high level and he will be able to start his own school in a few years. The fact that you were able to defeat Linley like that shows that you are not only not bad, but in terms of swordsmanship alone, you are probably no worse than the sword ape with the highest bloodline. I suppose you will be participating in the Four Schools Competition in the next few years. So, I have arranged a swordsmanship opponent for you who has participated in the Four Schools Competition. When you arrive in Zhongzhou, take advantage of the break during the meeting at Xuanwu to practice with her and get familiar with the strength of the top students in the Four Schools Competition."

Zhou Yan felt that there was something wrong with this statement.

Why can't the coach come? Why can he only come when he goes to Zhongzhou?

Can't we finish dealing with Xuanwu's matter before starting sword training?

Moreover, he is a top student who has participated in the four-school competition. What's so special about that?

"Oh, right."

Suzaku then spoke.

"That coach has an advanced immortal technique called Heart Sword. You should learn it from her and hone your swordsmanship, understand?"

Zhou Yan: "..."

Heart Sword, a high-level immortal technique?

There was an indescribable sense of conspiracy in those words, but since the Vermilion Bird Boss had spoken, Zhou Yan had no choice but to respond.

"Understood, I will train hard."

"Of course you should train hard. Also, little guy, do you know who helped you find the coach and that advanced immortal technique?"

Zhuque's words made Zhou Yan somewhat uneasy.

"who is it?"

Zhou Yan amplified his sense of danger to the limit, but he did not sense any danger brewing against him.

"Zhuque said softly."

"It's Leng Qing."

Zhou Yan: "..."

"Alright, stop looking at me like that weasel paying respects to a chicken."

Zhuque was over a hundred years old, and he could see at a glance what was hidden beneath Zhou Yan's as if he had eaten shit.

Suzaku reassured him.

"You'll be part of the elite student team in the future, and you might even be the next leader of the elite student team. When that time comes, you'll understand that after you defeated Lin Lei, a qualified leader like Leng Qing has already considered you one of his own. He's currently considering how to enhance your combat capabilities."

"Got it? From now on, when you see Leng Qing, call her 'Senior Sister' a few more times. She's genuinely thinking of you."

Zhou Yan didn't believe it, even though he didn't feel that this training program posed any danger to him.

"I see."

You can think about it, but you still have to be careful what you say.

"When I see my senior in the future, I will greet her more often."

"Okay, go take care of your own business."

Zhou Yan bowed to Zhuque and then left the ward.

As soon as Zhou Yan left, the ginseng spirit beside Zhuque asked in a low voice.

"Sister Zhuque, is the world about to change?"

Suzaku was silent for a moment before responding.

"Poverty breeds filial piety, and turmoil reveals loyal ministers."

Chapter Eighteen: Delusion

Tulip State, White Tiger Academy, a training room.

Wu Shanfu, cold and aloof, stood in the center of the training room, one hand resting on the sword at her waist.

Before Wu Shanfu stood a young woman in her early twenties, with a slender figure and strong, muscular skin. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible.

Wu Shanfu stood there staring at the girl, like an iceberg staring at the undulating water.

After a long while, the energetic girl suddenly opened her eyes.

A glint of cold light flashed.

A strand of hair fell lightly from the ear of the energetic girl, while Wu Shanfu remained motionless.

The energetic girl couldn't help but sigh.

"Sometimes I really feel that the gap between people is bigger than the gap between people and dogs."

The energetic girl entered the school at the same time as Wu Shanfu. Although their bloodlines were a level apart, Wu Shanfu never used any means other than skill to fight her. However, no matter how hard the energetic girl tried, she was always instantly defeated by Wu Shanfu.

Wu Shanfu said coldly.

"You were moved when you opened your eyes, and your body reacted accordingly, so I saw through you beforehand."

The energetic girl pouted.

"Come on, your Heart Sword cultivation is deeper than mine, of course you can see through my movements."

In fact, it's not just the energetic girl; none of the other swordsmanship teachers at the school, even the fully awakened sword apes, can teach Wu Shanfu any swordsmanship skills.

Wu Shanfu's swordsmanship has reached a point where there's not much room for improvement at the White Tiger Academy.

As for those forbidden areas for humans, Wu Shanfu could only go to places where she couldn't train her swordsmanship, and places that might have advanced swordsmanship techniques, but going there would mean certain death.

and so……

The energetic girl gripped the sword at her waist and walked towards Wu Shanfu, speaking as she went.

"Little Puff, so who is that kid you're talking about, the one whose skills far surpass yours?"

Wu Shanfu turned and walked towards the door of the training room.

"Xie Xin, if you want to meet that master, just come with me."

Wu Shanfu left her training room and then went down to the teaching building.

On the way to the school, the students from Baihu Academy made way for each other, and then found a good spot to take pictures of Wu Shanfu with their phones.

Wu Shanfu usually practices swordsmanship in her own training room and rarely comes out in public. Because of this, there is a saying in White Tiger Academy that if a student happens to run into Wu Shanfu on the way, he is the luckiest person in the day and actually sees the school's hidden beauty.

However, due to time constraints today, there were quite a few lucky students. As Wu Shanfu walked towards the school gate, a large number of students who had finished class came over and surrounded her on both sides to take pictures.

Several young men tried to approach and chat, but were quickly suppressed by the other students.

Wu Shanfu hates wasting time. In the past, several junior students tried to get close to her, but if their first words weren't helpful, they would be cut off by Wu Shanfu.

As time went on, no one dared to approach them anymore. Even if someone did, someone would quickly pull them back down, for fear that Wu Shanfu would take her anger out on them.

Wu Shanfu walked to the school gate surrounded by people.

There was a black luxury car parked outside the gate, and a driver dressed in black was standing at the back door.

"Ms. Wu, the plane and the dojo you're staying at are ready."

The driver in black opened the back door of the car as he spoke.

Wu Shanfu sat down inside.

Next up is Xie Xin, the energetic girl who was with Wu Shanfu.

As soon as Xie Xin entered, he nodded towards the window.

"Old Wu, I really admire your popularity. You always attract so much attention every time you come out."

Wu Shanfu said with disgust.

"It's just a matter of curiosity."

Because Wu Shanfu doesn't come out often, and she was an unprecedented top ten winner in her first competition, many junior students were interested in her. However, such interest was a waste of time and energy, so Wu Shanfu didn't bother to respond.

However...

Wu Shanfu took out her phone and opened the video of Zhou Yan fighting against Lin Lei.

As Zhou Yan and Lin Lei's swords clashed, Wu Shanfu's lips slowly curled into a smile.

perfect.

How could there be such perfect technology in this world? This is a field that even Wu Shanfu has not reached.

Xie Xin, who was standing nearby, also leaned in. This woman's bloodline was that of a sword ape, with an awakening rate of 85%. In addition, she often sparred with Wu Shanfu, so she was definitely a swordsmanship expert. As a result, after watching Zhou Yan move his sword for only five seconds, her eyes widened involuntarily. After watching for ten seconds, Xie Xin couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Is this guy really human?"

Wu Shanfu explained upon hearing this.

“I had someone investigate. This child seems to be a new student at Suzaku Academy. Suzaku values ​​him highly and brought him here personally. I don’t know anything else.”

After a pause, Wu Shanfu added a sentence, somewhat incredulously.

"This child is a minor."

Zhou Yan is seventeen years old this year.

Xie Xin exclaimed for the second time.

"Was this guy training in swordsmanship since he was born?"

Contrary to many people's imagination, in fact, with normal sword training and unarmed combat, four or five years is enough to learn the moves and routines, not to mention physical conditioning.

The rest was up to travel the world and hone one's skills through real combat.

Therefore, if Zhou Yan's swordsmanship was merely a series of flawless moves, each one worthy of being included in a textbook, Xie Xin could understand it, since flashy moves only need to look good. However, when Zhou Yan fought Lin Lei, he clearly achieved perfection in terms of awareness, technique, and intuition.

You think you can achieve this level of performance without spending ten or twenty years in various life-or-death battles?

After watching Zhou Yan and Lin Lei's match, Xie Xin grabbed her best friend Wu Shanfu's hand.

"Old Wu, do you think this master started wielding a sword at the age of three and began killing on the battlefield at the age of five, living in a harsh environment where it was either you or me who would die every day?"

Wu Shanfu nodded in agreement.

"Not only that, I think this sword master probably undergoes inhuman training every day to maintain the purity of his swordsmanship."

Xie Xin stroked his chin and daydreamed.

"For example, if you stay in the deep mountains and forests for a long time and swing your sword 100,000 times a day, it would originally take a whole day to swing your sword 100,000 times. Then it would gradually take half a day, then a few hours. In the end, he would find that his sword could cut through the water flow?"

Wu Shanfu's eyes lit up.

"For example, castrating oneself to prevent women from affecting one's sword-drawing speed?"

Xie Xin continued.

"And every now and then, they would go out from the deep mountains and forests, fight their way from one state to another, and fight different sword masters every day. After the fight, they would collect the swords that killed the sword masters and return to the deep mountains and forests to use the swords as tombstones. They would solemnly worship the swords and believe that they were everything to them and also their future graves."

Wu Shanfu felt like her head was melting.

"For example, this master, in order to train his ruthlessness, married a wife, had a child, and then killed his wife and child together to sacrifice to the sword, to show that he had nothing in his heart but the sword."

Xie Xin and Wu Shanfu both gave a thumbs-up, the two swordsmanship experts speaking in unison.

"Yes, this is a true swordsman."

……

Inside an airplane.

Zhou Yan, who was sitting in first class, suddenly felt an itch in his nose.