"Other Dao Lords may bully him, but can I, the Giant Sword, not?"
The Giant Sword Daoist Monarch coldly snorted.
Since Song Knife’s Master, Lingxiao Dao Lord, passed away, the Lingxiao Sect has declined, and Song Knife has since been without backing. Last time, to refine a First-Rate Dao Pill, Song Knife willingly served Wangui Daoist for one hundred years.
He was wary of the Gong and Ruan families, the Five Temple Surnames, and the Nine Mountain Great Halls.
But he was not afraid of Song Knife.
Kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
Pinch the softest persimmon.
As a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord, dealing with a Dao Pill Daoist like Song Knife was a piece of cake. Although he could not violate the Sect prohibitions, the authority wielded by a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord, and the resources they could mobilize, far surpassed those of a True Monarch by a significant margin.
As long as he deliberately targeted Song Knife, he would ensure Song Knife suffered.
Moreover, since this was a Dao struggle, targeting Song Knife would also benefit Xu Xing.
Delaying Song Knife’s growth speed was, by extension, enhancing Xu Xing’s strength.
The two continued their discussion for half an hour.
Ultimately, the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch decided, "The Gong and Ruan families are powerful; we can contend with them. However, the scope of our conflict must be limited to the third and fifth branches of the Gong family and the thirteenth branch of the Ruan family. Song Knife is weak. We can pursue him relentlessly, seize benefits from doing so, and thereby intimidate other adversaries."
The Giant Sword Daoist Monarch’s meaning was quite clear.
But the prerequisite for contention was to distinguish primary and secondary targets.
Concession would not lead to peace, yet blindly provoking incidents would achieve it even less. Although the Gong and Ruan families were difficult to handle, as long as the Giant Sword Lineage demonstrated its prowess while dealing with Song Knife, the various branches of the Gong and Ruan families would inevitably weigh the pros and cons. They would then reconsider whether to oppose the Giant Sword Lineage.
Xu Xing agreed with this.
For the weak, abiding by the rules of the game was the best choice. In the future, if he possessed the strength, he could choose not to abide by the rules and target the Gong and Ruan families. But before gaining that strength, it was best to listen to the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch.
This was already the optimal solution!
"Master is in his twilight years, yet this unfilial disciple still troubles Master to travel back and forth..."
"The guilt in this disciple’s heart is unbearable."
"I can only express my gratitude by kowtowing."
As the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch was about to depart, Xu Xing’s eyes suddenly reddened slightly. He gazed fixedly at the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch’s retreating figure for a few moments, then immediately lifted the front of his long robe. Disregarding the dirt on the ground, he knelt and kowtowed in farewell.
Whether it was a spontaneous display of genuine emotion or mere pretense was, as it had always been since ancient times, exceedingly difficult to discern. Still, false sentiment was always preferable to... doing nothing at all.
At this moment, though Xu Xing’s heart held three parts pretense, it also contained seven parts genuine emotion.
From a condemned prisoner who had conquered prosperous lands, to embarking on the Immortal Journey in the third year of Tiande, and struggling to this day, he had always been adept at navigating complex situations. Relying solely on himself, he had forged paths from the brink of despair.
Individuals like the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch, who offered him guidance and aid, were few and far between.
It was true that the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch had taken him as a disciple out of consideration for his own interests.
But in this world, even parents might treat their offspring differently for various reasons, much like Zheng Zhuanggong Wusheng and his younger brother Uncle Shu. Simply because Zheng Zhuanggong Wusheng’s birth had not been smooth, his mother, Wu Jiang, so detested him that she named him ’Wusheng’ (meaning ’difficult birth’) and wished for Zheng Wugong to appoint Uncle Shu as crown prince instead.
Upon learning that traitors within the Sect were plotting to assassinate his disciple, the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch, without a word, rushed from the Sealed Demon Pan Palace to Biyuan Mountain. Assessing Xu Xing’s situation, he meticulously formulated a detailed plan, clearly stating who could be offended and who must not.
This display of earnest protection. Xu Xing felt that taking this man as his Master had been truly worth it!
"After all, we are master and disciple."
Hearing the movement, the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch turned his head and saw Xu Xing already kowtowing on the ground. He shook his head, a gratified smile touching his lips. He walked to about half a step from Xu Xing, sighed deeply, reached out, and lightly stroked Xu Xing’s hair bun.
Five thousand years had passed.
Before encountering Xu Xing, he had accepted four disciples. Some had come to him already skilled; others he had nurtured from a young age. Yet, without exception, all had met their demise.
Late in his life, he took Xu Xing as his disciple. Although he had accepted a disciple, he didn’t want to invest emotionally again. At least this disciple wouldn’t die before him, causing him the grief of an elder burying a junior.
"You may inherit my legacy."
The Giant Sword Daoist Monarch’s right hand, which had been lightly stroking Xu Xing’s hair, stilled as he spoke these words.
Then, his dark hair turned to white. In the blink of an eye, he became a white-haired old man, his aura heavy with twilight.
"My Ai Ah has not been unsheathed for nearly seven hundred years."
"This time, I, your Master, will protect your path of cultivation for one hundred years!"
As his words fell, the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch’s aura surged, the imposing might of a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord fully manifesting. His double pupils shone with sharp light, and two three-inch-long, emerald-green miniature swords flew from his mouth.
The emerald-green miniature swords floated in the air, swelling in the wind to become three-foot-long swords. Simultaneously, scabbards of withered wood materialized around the long swords.
The Withered Wood Sword Scripture embodies both decay and vitality: from decay, vitality is born; within vitality, decay resides.
The Giant Sword Daoist Monarch swept the two long swords into his grasp, shouldering them. With a sword-light escape, like a valiant warrior, he departed the Biyuan Mountain Cave Mansion, burst through the Heavenly Pond at the mountain’s summit, and soared straight into the clouds, disappearing without a trace.
「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」
So as not to miss the appointed time, Xu Xing did not spend the remaining few days in the Biyuan Mountain Cave Mansion. Instead, he rented a B-grade room in the Yuehai Pavilion, awaiting the departure date for the Hangu Mountain Secret Realm.
He was dressed in green robes, a mid-quality magical sword hanging at his waist.
He stood at Shangze Abyss, the docking point for the flying boat of the Flying Feather Immortal Palace sect.
The last time, the flying boat to Wangchuan Sea had also departed from Shangze Abyss. However, that vessel was merely an ordinary Sea-Crossing flying boat of the Flying Feather Immortal Palace. The flying boat destined for the Hangu Mountain Secret Realm this time was the more advanced Cloudbreaker Flying Boat.