Chapter 13: What Should Happen
Both the academian and Bai Shanshui were not ordinary realm sevens. Just now, to block Bai Shanshui’s attack, the old academian, Du Qingli, had suffered a sweep of his own sword essence. He only had a wound on his left brow but the sword essence reached his brain and gave him serious damage.
His body had lost control of most of its parts. But he was a real grandmaster, one that had still managed to survive after the years of slaughter in Changling.
Facing the seventeen green water beads that had taken sword form under Bai Shanshui’s control, his black eyes quickly turned faint gray.
Invisible grey energies streamed out of the cracks in the black rock above his head and surged into his body. His body did not change and felt like it was expanding rapidly.
The small swords the seventeen green water beads formed suddenly collapsed and fell from the air to the ground like scattered sand.
Bai Shanshui took a step back. Rock cracked silently under her feet, the cracks spreading outwards like a giant spider net.
Du Qingli’s face was half covered in blood but strangely calm.
He had cultivated in this Great Floating Water Prison for many years. In a sense, this was his world. He did not believe he would not be a match for this junior.
Bai Shanshui frowned deeply. A glowing and colorless water droplet silently appeared in front of her, but floated motionlessly as though it did not know how to pose a threat to this old academian.
While Bai Shanshui was being obstructed by Du Qingli, the water level in Zhao Si’s cave started to lower. The yin river water that had surged up momentarily due to water pressure started to fall back down. The waters fell, the stones appeared.
In Zhao Si’s gaze, an old man was standing on a protrusion on the rock face that was shaped like an eagle’s beak.
This old man dressed in blue robes, had pet.i.te features and a long face.
Facing Zhao Si, this old man looking down at her even had a stronger presence than she. He was the other imperial academian who guarded this place, Du Hongtan.
The Du two brothers had once been among the best young talents of Changling long ago in the past. People could rarely rival their cultivation speed. Yet the personalities of the two brothers were completely different.
Du Hongtan was relatively direct and rough. Seeing Zhao Si whose body was falling with the water, he spoke rudely, “Child, this is Changling, this is Changling’s most well-guarded prison, this is also our home. Is this where you should come?”
After the water fell down, it was air, but at this time, Zhao Si was standing in the void. Steam rose under her feet and supported her small but powerful body like a lucky cloud.
As Du Hongtan spoke, she rose up. “If you did not enter the Zhao, why would I have come here?” She looked directly at Du Hongtan and said righteously and without anger, “You first entered my home.”
Du Hongtan shook his head in disdain and said, “Regardless, now you are in my home.”
His words were arrogant and unreasonable. But he called someone like Zhao Si, who represented the Zhao Sword Furnace, a child. It was already arrogant and unreasonable.
“It is rude to not say a greeting. This can only be solved by the sword if you cannot understand.”
Zhao Si had risen to Du Hongtan’s height, but as she spoke, she was still rising. Her lifebond sword had been destroyed in the past Wei River battle, yet the desperate straits caused her to see a new world. A hot sword essence came out of her body as she attacked.
A red line appeared on the base of the enormous monument ahead of her. Then this enormous monument of unknown weight was broken. The seal lines in the monument shone with light again, but this time, they were not flowing with cold starfire, but a hot lava-like red flame. The enormous monument started to turn red and boil.
This enormous monument became her sword, and smashed towards Du Hongtan opposite her.
Du Hongtang was arrogant and unreasonable towards her. So her reaction would be even more arrogant.
Seeing this enormous sword fall towards him, Du Hongtan’s expression grew serious. He sighed sincerely. “The cultivators of the Zhao Sword Furnace are really rare geniuses in the world. When you broke this formation in an instant, you sensed all the seal lines when fighting the starfire contained within. And only cultivators of the Zhao Sword Furnace have such spirit to wield a sword like this.”
As he spoke, this enormous monument sword reached him. The enormous monument was red all over as though it would melt at any moment. The high temperature caused his hair to dry immediately and start burning.
He reached out with his hand. Black energy fell down from the rock above like black sand and fell towards his arm. His sword pressed on the hot enormous monument.
Whines emerged from within the monument like giant iron ships rubbing against each other. The entire monument abruptly stopped.
Du Hongtan’s body did not even waver. His body was extremely small compared to the monument, yet no rock fragment even fell off from under his feet. The black energy coming out of his hand bore all the force.
Black sand continued to fall down from the rock above, and bore this unreasonably arrogant Zhao Sword Furnace sword.
Zhao Si stood with her hands behind her back. Her index and middle fingers were together and pressed against the monument.
The monument slashed downwards like a sword. Her body was above the monument. She pressed all the power of her body and the weight of the monument towards Du Hongtan.
Du Hongtan stopped this blow easily. She frowned and sneered. “I had not expected the academian of the Changling imperial palace to not cultivate the sword, but these ghostly tactics.”
Hearing her mocking voice, Du Hongtan shook his head and laughed. “Child, do notforget, when I achieved fame, Yuanwu and that person had not been born yet. At our time, was Changling the world of swordsmen?”
Zhao Si did not argue. She recalled this was the truth. Also, she had mustered her full power, any extra word would be difficult for her.
But Du Hongtan was still relaxed. He looked sympathetically at Zhao Si who had reached her limit. He said, “The Great Floating Water Prison existed from the time of the previous dynasty. Countless powerful cultivators died, full of injustice. In terms of the so-called ghostly arts, where in Changling is more suitable than here? From the start, I reminded you this is the Great Floating Water Prison, this is my home … As long as I am here, I will be the strongest. You used up a lot of energy to defeat the monument. How can you win against me now?”
More black sand started to fall. The enormous monument started to rise and press towards Zhao Si.
The Dongling Army started to form formations outside of the Great Floating Water Prison. The leading commander thought of Bai Shanshui’s air when she spoke to him, and his expression remained uncertain.
In the deepest part of the water prison, footsteps sounded and Shen Xuan’s figure appeared in the deepest cell.
Seeing him, sitting like a rotten lotus pad at the center of the water, Lin Zhujiu laughed.
“You understand whatI mean now?”
He looked at Shen Xuan who remained expressionless.
“Bai Shanshui may not win against Du Qingli, Zhao Si cannot be a match for Du Hongtan. I do not know how you can laugh so happily,” Shen Xuan looked at the smiling Lin Zhujiu and said coldly.
Lin Zhujiu’s smile did not fade and said, “I laugh because you made a good choice.”
“There is no choice.” Shen Xuan looked down and said coldly and with a powerful presence, “If you want to laugh outside, you need to at least defeat the two academians, and win against me.”
His words were hard to understand. But at this time, an unusual presence came from a cell very close to this place.
A powerful and indestructible presence.
That cell contained Zhao Shiwu who was on the verge of death.
The Great Floating Water Prison would not let people die, but would not let those on the verge of death get stronger, especially realm seven cultivators and above. Especially grandmasters stronger than usual grandmasters.
But the presence coming out of that cell caused many people to feel anxious and terrified again.
Shen Xuan’s eyes did not change. This seemed to be something that should be happening.