Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 797 - 796: Grassland Sword Legend 03

The ancient parchment scroll had a much deeper impact on Hou Niao than his calm appearance suggested.

He began to doubt whether the Body Sword Skill’s Nine Character Mantra of the Quanzhen Sect and the information on the ancient parchment were originally complementary. Had they diverged for some eternally unknowable reason, preventing the flower from blooming at all?

The Grassland people focused solely on attacking with their swords and, in order to compensate for their weaknesses, they somehow came up with a mishmash of Body Cultivation Skills from who knows where.

The Shan Sect of Quanzhen dedicated itself to long-range Flying Swords, eventually incorporating a variety of mismatched Spells to become more well-rounded.

Both had forgotten about the Body Sword Skill, and therefore, they overlooked the issue of the Sword Spirit.

As stated in the parchment, cultivating a Sword Spirit is a very complex and prolonged process with countless fundamental aspects initially, but for Hou Niao, he had already surpassed these basics, so it was not as complicated.

The same was true for the swordsmen of the Grassland. They might not have had as complete a foundation as him, but they had a fair amount already, sharing many basic elements through decades of Sword Cultivation.

This also represented an opportunity for him. His Flying Sword was accomplished, but without the Sword Spirit, it remained incomplete.

The punishment from the Quanzhen Sect had been the destruction of his sword, which seemed mild to outsiders but was indeed severe for a Sword Cultivator. Historically, the likelihood of re-cultivating a Sword Spirit once destroyed was less than thirty percent, extremely difficult; Li Shipeng was one such example.

But he was different, his Sword Spirit was himself, so the impact was minimal.

He planned to try it himself first. If successful, he would bring Li Shipeng over; he couldn’t let his brother suffer.

On the vast Grassland, each swordsman found his own place, diligently practicing as time slowly passed in their arduous cultivation.

There were only eight years left until the drop of the Spiritual Green from Outer Space.

... In Zhongqing City, Pingliang State,

Li Chuping was organizing case files, preparing for a handover. He had been in Pingliang for over a decade, helping establish a tri-cabinet system, fostering execution power, integrating and communicating with old Langzhong against infiltrating forces from Anhe, and resetting the commercial routes for Geng Ore mining. His accomplishments were notable over the years, yet he felt no sense of achievement.

Because fundamentally, he was just wiping someone else’s ass.

Fortunately, that thing had cleared off, but for some reason, he didn’t feel as relieved as he should have.

Only yesterday, he received a shocking piece of news from Jade Capital and was also asked to oversee the collection of related information and the dispatch of missions; he felt vaguely that the ass had just been wiped clean when another mess arrived...

The replacement would arrive in a few days, so he prepared early. Once he left, he feared he might not return, a scenario he had experienced countless times in his life, to which he had grown accustomed; thus, he did not wallow in sentimental thoughts.

As he was busy, someone outside asked for his attention, "Uncle-Master, may I take a moment of your time?"

Li Chuping was startled. He hadn’t had much contact with this old man from Pingliang since he took charge in Zhongqing City, who seemed quite low-key and always closed off practicing swordsmanship. This man had lost his Flying Sword in a fight against a Wu Sect Cultivator—a public injury—so even though he seldom came to the Capital Commandant’s office to report, Li didn’t mind. frёewebnoѵēl.com

The Capital Commandant’s office could manage without this one person; sending a Sword Cultivator who had lost his Flying Sword on a mission was akin to sending him to his death.

"Come in and talk," he said.

Li Shipeng walked in respectfully, and with just a glance, Li Chuping knew that he had yet to reforge a Flying Sword in all these years. He sighed internally; it was a likely outcome, not an easy feat by any means, and unfortunately, he couldn’t help with that.

"Uncle-Master Li, it’s like this—I have been tirelessly refining my Flying Sword for several years, but sadly, my skills are dull, and I’ve made no progress. I feel I’m in a daze, losing confidence in my sword, so I thought of asking for leave to travel a bit, what do you think?"

Li Chuping frowned, "Isn’t it fine just to travel within Shan Country?"

Li Shipeng insisted, "This time, I want to go further, to broaden my horizons."

Li Chuping had to warn him, "There’s something you might not know. While you were secluded and refining your sword, someone used your identity to deliver a letter, so you might encounter trouble because of it. My advice is if you don’t need to go out, then don’t. Your Flying Sword is unfinished, and self-preservation is difficult, so why bother?"

Li Shipeng was somewhat shocked. "Who was it? Am I that famous? It’s just delivering a letter, not like I’m going to steal, rob, kill, or start a fire. It shouldn’t be a big deal, right? It’s not the first time I’ve traveled, and as long as I don’t stir up trouble, safety shouldn’t be an issue."

Li Chuping couldn’t deny, knowing it was important for a Cultivator. Often, when Cultivation hit a bottleneck, traveling to clear one’s mind was the best solution, giving ample rest to the mind and seeking an epiphany.

But he was not an ordinary man, quick-witted and detail-oriented, "I heard your relationship with the former Capital Commandant was quite close?"

Li Shipeng could not conceal it as many had seen it, not exactly close, but rather like a lackey, "When help was needed, we naturally got closer..."

Li Chuping abruptly changed the subject, "It was also him who invited you out this time, wasn’t it?"

Li Shipeng’s expression remained normal, reflecting the calm of an experienced Sikong System agent, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hou Niao has been expelled from the Quanzhen Sect, no longer one of us, a target for elimination by everyone."

Li Chuping scoffed, "Stop pretending. You dare to lie to me? Do you think you no longer want to be part of the Sikong System?"

Li Shipeng was not fooled, whether or not the Assistant really had caught on, he maintained a demeanor as though neither boiling water nor a cauldron could scare him, a basic trait for someone in his line of work,

"Disciple’s future is indeed at the mercy of the Assistant’s words."

Li Chuping downplayed his suspicion; he knew the man hadn’t told the truth, and his guess was likely accurate, yet he did not want to know the whereabouts of that individual, fearing entanglement.

But some things needed that individual’s knowledge, "Do you know who impersonated you?"

Li Shipeng followed the lead, "Do you mean the former Capital Commandant?"

Li Chuping nodded, "He and he are old acquaintances with some ties, so when he came asking for a chance to get closer to Wu Sect, I let him use your identity to send a letter of spy exchange to Wu Sect’s Langya Mountain.

The man dragged his feet, and the letter was delivered a year later. Only then did I realize he wasn’t actually hoping it would reach Langya Mountain but was using it to divert Wu Sect’s attention during his escape."

Li Shipeng admired, "Smart move, worthy of being a Capital Commandant. So, what was the former Capital Commandant doing that required such a special escape plan?"

Li Chuping clenched his teeth, "He stole Wu Sect’s Pocket World."