Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 265 - 258 Departure Part 1

Chapter 265: Chapter 258 Departure Part 1

Lin Xin was confident in his eyesight, but still he could not see clearly how the other person had left or when they had departed.

"The meeting at Lin Xian Lake has not arrived yet, but the Sect Leader is indeed too hasty," he said.

From a distance, a long laugh like thunder faintly carried over—it was unmistakably the voice of the man with the surname Fang, sounding as if it were tens of miles away.

Boom!!

A loud noise thundered; the sky was densely covered with dark clouds, and from within a huge vortex, a bolt of lightning ferociously struck down.

Lin Xin swiftly covered his eyes, and only after slightly adapting to the brightness did he move his hand away to look outside.

He saw in the distance the sky crowded with dark clouds, countless bolts of lightning striking down, continually converging towards an extremely small shadow below.

"Red Spine Sect’s business, irrelevant people step aside!"

At this moment, a stiff and somewhat proud voice faintly carried over from the surroundings.

Lin Xin’s expression shifted slightly, and his figure vanished in an instant.

*******************

"Hai Na Bai Chuan..." Lin Xin stood alone on the training field in the early morning, surrounded by clusters of Kunlin Sword Sect disciples, forming groups of three or two, some sparring and others practicing swordsmanship alone.

There were also those like him, disciples accompanied by figures akin to retainers who were skilled bodyguards.

The plump Ma Jingxuan, carrying a longsword, was practicing alone on the side, her sword light swift and fierce, already possessing a relentless and sharp feeling.

As Lin Xin watched the plump girl practice swordsmanship, he pondered the four words previously mentioned by that person.

"Does Teacher Hong know about the battle at Lin Xian Lake that happened not long ago?" After completing a set of sword moves, Ma Jingxuan, breathing heavily, sheathed her sword and stood upright.

"Lin Xian Lake?" Lin Xin immediately recalled the person he had encountered a few days ago, who had also mentioned this place.

"Who and who?" he quickly asked.

"It was the Red Spine Sect Leader and Yuan Qiuque, the hero! The two True Monarchs of Yin Ji battling, it’s said they triggered lightning strikes, and the entire Lin Xian Lake evaporated, leaving behind a crater twice the size of the original," Ma Jingxuan said with longing.

"Yuan Qiuque and Huang Yuerong..." Lin Xin slightly trembled, immediately knowing who the person he had drunk with was.

And why he had asked him if he was interested in the knife he carried. Perhaps what looked very ordinary was the legendary Life and Death Knife.

Fang, the opposite of which is round, round should be the homophone Yuan.

"The world’s number one master and the world’s second swordsman." Under his emotional realization, he saw even more clearly that the talents in Central Prefecture far surpassed those in Southern Prefecture.

Here, he also figured out that just the Qi Cultivation level members of Kunlin Sword Sect almost equaled the entire Southern Prefecture’s Pine Forest Sword Sect.

The world’s number one master here might have already reached beyond the Nascent Soul stage. True Monarch...That title is not one that can be easily assumed.

"Yuan Qiuque wields the Life and Death Knife and is now being pursued by the Red Spine Sect. The whole Central Prefecture is talking about this. It’s said that a while ago, the Black Wolf Gang retreated inexplicably, also because they discovered Yuan Qiuque was nearby..."

The plump girl spoke animatedly about these rumors and legends, completely different from her usual silent, serious demeanor.

Listening to her repeat the same tales several times and continuously marvel at them, Lin Xin became somewhat impatient and simply interrupted her.

"How is that senior brother you like doing now?"

The moment the words were spoken, the previously animated expression on the plump girl’s face froze. Her face suddenly turned redder, and her whole body became as hot as boiling water.

"I...I...I..."

"What about you?" Lin Xin found this amusing; who didn’t have a time of youthful admiration, "By the way, I’ve pretty much learned all there is about Central Prefecture. Did your mother give you any message for me?"

The plump girl then calmed down, taking several deep breaths until her mood completely stabilized, before she spoke.

"Mother said to tell you that the route has been arranged, and your identity has been prepared too, though it was not without great effort. She hopes you can watch over me for two years."

"Two years?" Lin Xin carefully sensed his current condition; the Qingyu lamp might not last two years, perhaps it would completely exhaust its energy in just about a year.

"At most one year, I have a problem with my body and need to seek a cure outside." He openly said, "So at most, I can only help you for one year."

"One year will do. Mother knows you’re not an ordinary master and doesn’t press for more," the plump girl’s words indeed made Lin Xin feel much better.

"Good, from today, for one year, if you have any urgent needs, you can seek my help." He promised her.

"Thank you, Sir!" Ma Jingxuan hastily expressed her gratitude. Being able to hire a Sword Heart Level master for a year at such a reasonable price was already extremely cost-effective; compared to others, none of the Sword Heart Level could be hired without spending vast sums of money, so this was indeed quite favorable.

She stealthily sized up Lin Xin. Although he didn’t have the imposing aura or the conspicuous brilliance of those at the Sword Heart Level, which made one doubt his true strength, the fact that he could defeat a Blood Beast confirmed that he was undoubtedly at the Sword Heart Level.

"Next, I’ll enter the Dust Transformation Hall and start accepting missions. Please take good care of me, sir," she respectfully bowed to Lin Xin.

"Yes, I know. If it weren’t for the mission, your mother wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to find me," Lin Xin understood naturally. In the Kunlin Sword Sect, once disciples reached the formal stage in the Dust Transformation Hall, they had to accept missions to subdue demons and eliminate anomalies in the vicinity. This was similar to the rules in the Southern Prefecture, but here, disciples were allowed to have skilled protectors accompany them, thus greatly decreasing the danger.

The Dust Transformation Hall required a mission every three months, at least four times a year. The first four missions were when disciples most frequently lost their lives due to inexperience, carelessness, and other such reasons.

Therefore, gradually it became common to bring along a skilled protector if possible.

And those without conditions would follow disciples who had protector accompaniment, forming small teams to complete missions together.

After the morning practice, the two returned to the small building, had breakfast, and the little chubby girl went to the Sword Sect’s Consular Hall to receive her mission.

Lin Xin did not accompany her but stayed alone in the small building to ponder over the Eternal Slumber Nine Injuries given to him by Yuan Qiuque. This manual seemed to be Nine Coffins Sect’s Sect-protecting Divine Technique, and its value was not inferior to the Nine Morning Melodies, making it one of the top Cultivation Techniques he owned, second only to the Bell Tone Technique.

In fact, if we consider, the Pine Forest Sword Sect’s series of Cultivation Techniques, including Return to Origin, are actually not as advanced as the Nine Morning Melodies and Eternal Slumber Nine Injuries.

In the world, nine is the extreme number. Thus, Cultivation Techniques named with the numeral nine are meant to be the strongest among their type.

What Lin Xin was pondering over was, since Yuan Qiuque had foreseen his tough fate and short lifespan, why hed he given him the term "embracing all rivers"?

Above the Sword Heart Level in the Kunlin Sword Sect is the Sword Intent Level. Originally, he had planned to test this out, but the little chubby girl’s mission had arrived. He could only put it aside for now and start preparing with her to gather disciples and set off together.

********************

Outside the Consular Hall, a huge black stone slab, over ten meters tall and twenty meters wide, stood half-buried in the ground.

Various Dust Transformation Hall disciples and their accompanying skilled protectors were waiting in front of the stone slab. Many disciples had already gathered, forming groups of various sizes.

Ma Jingxuan and Lin Xin stood at the edge of the stone slab. As a disciple with a skilled protector, she had just been promoted to formal status and was feeling somewhat unconfident. If it were like battling Outer Sect disciples, she naturally would not be nervous, but this time she was facing opponents far stronger than Outer Sect disciples.

"Nervous? Relax a bit..." Lin Xin smiled, looking at the tense Ma Jingxuan, "With the difficulty of the mission you accepted, at most it will attract attention from fellow newly promoted disciples like you, so this might be a good opportunity to make friends," he said softly and reassuringly.

"The mission... the mission is to clear out the demons entrenched in Huayun Temple. Unless absolutely necessary, please do not intervene. I want to complete it independently." Ma Jingxuan’s voice was a bit choked at first but gradually became smoother.

"Of course," Lin Xin laughed and then suddenly looked up. "Your teammates have arrived."

Ma Jingxuan followed his gaze and sure enough, two young teenagers squeezed through the crowd. She immediately felt somewhat relieved.

"Excuse me, are you Senior Sister Ma Jingxuan?" the girl with small dimples on her cheeks and milk-like skin politely asked.

"Yes, that’s me."

Ma Jingxuan struggled to keep her expression steady to conceal her nervousness.

"For this mission, to clear Huayun Temple, I’m your teammate, Han Yaolu. I was just promoted a few days ago, please guide me, senior sister." The girl bowed slightly.

"You are too polite. I also got promoted not long ago," Ma Jingxuan hastily introduced herself.

The other boy was somewhat shy.

"My name is Guo Song, styled Zixuan. Senior sister, you can call me Guo Zixuan. Please look after me for this mission."

The two maintained a very humble demeanor, occasionally casting glances at Lin Xin standing beside them.

Havimg a team with an accompanying skilled protector was the first choice, as having someone at the Sword Heart Level generally ensured the smooth completion of the mission, and the chances of injury were also much reduced.

Only when all teams with accompanying protectors were at full capacity would the second option of forming teams among the disciples themselves be considered.

With Ma Jingxuan leading, Han Yaolu and Guo Zixuan joining, along with Lin Xin accompanying, the team was set for the mission.

After some brief introductions where they discussed their skills, both Ma Jingxuan and Han Yaolu excelled in swordsmanship and preferred close combat, whereas Guo Zixuan, despite being male, was skilled in Talisman techniques, which here were not activated with Inner Qi, but with Essential Blood, though they were slightly more powerful.

After preparation, they packed similar items like Resentment Talismans, Detoxifying Medicine, Healing Medicine, and various other logistics and consumable supplies.

After the preparations, they loaded a horse-drawn cart.

The four made their preparations, and the next morning, they followed the hired cart and set off.

Traveling northwest from the Kunlin Sword Sect for about ten days, they boarded a local trade association’s boat and drifted for another six days, finally landing on a wild, rocky shore.

The four disembarked, and someone was already waiting on the rocky shore.

"Four heroes, my master has been waiting for a long time," the servant said respectfully. "Additionally, there are already other sects’ heroes who have arrived. Regarding Huayun Temple, please let us unite and collaborate."

"Oh? There are others." The three were surprised; Lin Xin remained silent in the back, as this situation was to be expected. After all, given the distance from the Kunlin Sword Sect, it made sense that nearby sects would have dispatched their people first.