Green Mountain
Chapter 83 - 68. Whale_2

Chapter 83: 68. Whale_2

But Chen Ji had no choice; some secrets could only rot in his heart.

Wu Yun patted the back of Chen Ji’s hand, "I’m leaving now. There was a battle just now that I hadn’t finished, and my men are waiting for me."

Chen Ji, "Okay, just don’t get blood on yourself."

...

...

After Wu Yun left, Chen Ji slowly closed his eyes to ponder the clues from before.

If the Coachman truly had no intention of killing him, then did Wu Hongbiao really lie? And what role did the Coachman play in this matter? He could only wait until evening to probe further.

Chen Ji gathered up the sixteen stove flames, letting himself pass through the black sea of clouds and land on the Top of Qingshan.

Once, Chen Ji had detested this dream realm, where the echoes of battle cries night after night felt like a never-ending nightmare, unsettling his sleep.

But now, he liked it here, not only for the exquisite combat skills, but also because he didn’t have to think about complex social relationships.

There was no Military Intelligence Department, no Spy Department, no parents, and no uncles.

Chen Ji only needed to fight over and over again, learning one skill after another, without thinking about anything else.

He turned and saw Xuanyuan, dressed in a black King Robe and leaning on a Royal Banner, sitting at the edge of the cliff, looking out into the distance.

Beyond the cliff, the battlefield was frozen; clouds in the sky curled and relaxed, and even Chen Ji’s mood calmed down.

He sat silently next to Xuanyuan, "Over these years, have you been watching all this alone?"

Xuanyuan didn’t respond to him.

Chen Ji asked again, "Why are you in my dream?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him, "In your dream... you think you match up? This is my world."

Chen Ji, "..."

So this place wasn’t a dream, but a real place?

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Have you heard of the Forty-nine Heavens?"

Xuanyuan puzzled, "What place is that? I’ve never been there."

Now Chen Ji was also confused. It was one thing for people around him not to know about the Forty-nine Heavens, but was it possible that even Xuanyuan, the "Immortal," didn’t know of its existence? Could Li Qingniao be spouting nonsense?

"Northern Continent?"

"Never heard of it."

"Have you heard of the person Li Qingniao?" Chen Ji asked.

"Never heard of it," Xuanyuan shook his head, "I’ve seen ’blue birds,’ but never heard of anyone by that name... what nonsense are you talking about?"

Chen Ji was perplexed; did no one really know about the existence of the Forty-nine Heavens?

Xuanyuan stood up, "Don’t waste time, Feng Huai, give him a knife and practice well with him."

The Saber Soldier named Feng Huai nodded, "At your command."

"Hold on, hold on," Chen Ji raised his hand and said, "But someone told me that I shouldn’t practice with knives."

Xuanyuan chuckled as if he had heard a great joke, "Are you here to tell me jokes? You shouldn’t practice with knives? Someone told you that? Hahaha."

Xuanyuan’s laughter boomed like the Hong Bell, even scattering the clouds.

Chen Ji frowned, "Is it that funny?"

Xuanyuan pointed at him through the air, puzzled, "You used to use knives!"

Chen Ji, "... I did?"

"The sword is the king of a hundred weapons, the knife is the courage of them; knives are the most suitable for you, what else should you practice?"

"Maybe the knife suited the former me, but I want to try the sword now. The person who taught me said my current personality doesn’t suit using knives; it would ruin the basics."

"Your current personality... he’s not entirely wrong," Xuanyuan scoffed, "But with your little foundation, what ’ruin’ can you talk about? After you practice the knife, then you move to the sword, axe, spear, cudgel, hammer... you must practice everything. If you can’t master them all, how will you know what methods your enemy will use against you? When you’ve practiced them all, you’ll understand that all these paths lead to the same destination."

Liang Gou’er wouldn’t let him train, but Xuanyuan would. Whose words should he heed?

Chen Ji chose to listen to Xuanyuan because Xuanyuan seemed to be much more experienced than Liang Gou’er...

He looked at Xuanyuan, "If... I mean, if I really am the person you knew back then, what kind of knife did I use?"

Xuanyuan gazed long at Chen Ji, then suddenly drew a large knife as tall as a man from thin air, "Try this one."

The handle was about two-thirds the length, with the blade about one-third; the handle was decorated with golden dragon patterns and the blade was as white as snow.

Xuanyuan tossed it over through the air, and as Chen Ji caught it, he was nearly pulled to the ground by its weight.

Chen Ji swung the large knife a few times and immediately shook his head, "No, I’m not used to it."

Xuanyuan drew another knife from thin air, a two-foot waist knife, and tossed it to Chen Ji, "Try this one."

The blade of this knife was red as if it had just been pulled from magma.

Chen Ji swung it a few times, "No, this doesn’t feel right either, it’s a bit awkward."

This awkwardness was like that felt by someone who had been accustomed to a particular pen and was suddenly handed a different one; it could be used proficiently, but one would still prefer the old one.

Xuanyuan took a look at him, then conjured dozens of knives from thin air, hovering before him; "Choose, until you find one you like."

Chen Ji went from one knife to another, taking each one down to try gripping and swinging it; there were sleeve daggers, Yanyue Great Blades, Straight Handle Blades, and crescent-shaped curved knives.

He compared each knife carefully and meticulously, as time ticked away, Xuanyuan didn’t urge him at all.

This time, Xuanyuan was exceptionally patient.

Finally, Chen Ji stopped in front of a shiny, narrow, long knife, the blade three feet and three inches, and the handle two feet and two inches, matching his eyebrow height when placed on the ground.

Chen Ji held this knife in his hands and curiously asked, "What is this knife called?"

"Don’t you recognize it?"

"Should I recognize it?"

"Of course, you should because it’s your knife," Xuanyuan said calmly, "It’s called ’Whale.’"

"Did I name it?"

"No, I did."

Chen Ji fell silent, realizing Xuanyuan had been quietly waiting to see if he would choose this particular knife.

And among more than fifty knives hanging in the air at the Top of Qingshan, he hadn’t chosen one slightly longer, nor one a bit shorter, but precisely this one.

Holding the "Whale," Chen Ji felt an inexplicable familiarity, as if he had found a long-lost friend.

At one moment, he also seriously considered whether he might really be the person Xuanyuan had mentioned, that the latter hadn’t mistaken his identity.

This realization came suddenly, and although Chen Ji had previously apologized for his "former self" and accepted Xuanyuan’s guess, he didn’t truly believe it in his heart. He only wanted to learn more skills on this battlefield, to learn how to fight, to master the Sword Seed Path.

And now...

Chen Ji looked up at Xuanyuan, "Why do you have my knife? Did you kill me?"

Xuanyuan remained silent.

Chen Ji suddenly laughed, "Haha, why that expression? Even if you did kill me, here I am, alive again! By the way, can you give me this knife? Since you say this is your world, then this knife must really exist, right?"

Xuanyuan gave him a look, "If you can beat Feng Huai within three days, this knife will be returned to you."

Chen Ji casually performed a flourish with the knife, "What are we waiting for then? Let’s get started!"

Xuanyuan looked at Chen Ji seriously, "Don’t think just because you defeated a Giant Spearman in one day, you’re that remarkable. The bronze spear is used in battle formations to deal with charging horses, it has few variations and is not very agile, making it easy to exploit weaknesses. Knives are different; winning against Feng Huai will prove you’re qualified for battle."

Chen Ji curiously asked, "I noticed that the Giant Spearman and Saber Soldier you selected are dressed differently from the others; they’re not ordinary soldiers, are they?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him, "Both of them are my Hu Ben, the elite of the army, masters in various types of weaponry."

Chen Ji, somewhat resignedly, realized that he was indeed fighting the best people, skilled with their preferred weapons, "Why do I feel... like you really want to teach me all the skills of battle?"

Xuanyuan sneered, "Feng Huai, cut him."