World of Honor

“On the matter of cursing Ning Qingcheng, I think we can agree.” Nangong Xi’er reached out and shielded Su Baiyi behind her. “But on other matters, I’m afraid not.”

“What is your esteemed name, miss?” Jie Qing asked.

“Xue Gong, Nangong Xi’er.” Nangong Xi’er replied.

“Xue Gong?” Jie Qing was stunned. “Xue Gong lives alone in the ten-mile Langhuan, and never wants to get involved in these affairs of the Jianghu. Why are you so interested in this Su Gongzi?”

“Su Baiyi has joined Xue Gong, and is now my Xue Gong disciple.” Nangong Xi’er said solemnly. “I am his senior sister, and naturally I have to protect him.”

“But I have to take him away. I promise you, miss, that I will keep him safe. How about that?” Jie Qing said sincerely.

Nangong Xi’er sneered, “Why did you only curse Ning Qingcheng back then, and not beat him up?”

Jie Qing was startled, and said helplessly, “That’s because I couldn’t beat him.”

“Yes, since you couldn’t beat Ning Qingcheng, how can you protect my junior brother?” Nangong Xi’er asked back.

“Miss, your logic is clear, but I can’t beat Ning Qingcheng.” Jie Qing stomped his right foot on the ground. “Can I not beat you?”

A powerful aura emanated from Jie Qing’s body, and pressed down on the carriage where Nangong Xi’er and the others were. Su Baiyi instantly fell back into the carriage, and was lucky that Feng Zuojun and Xie Yuling reached out to catch him before he fell out of the carriage.

“What is this…” Su Baiyi exclaimed.

“Ordinary people practice martial arts for years, but they can hardly be called masters in their lifetime. There are nine levels in the lower realm of martial arts, and four in the upper realm. Only those who enter the upper realm can be considered as stepping into the threshold of masters. The first level of the upper realm is the Autumn Water Realm, where the masters’ inner strength is like autumn water flowing into the sea, endless and unstoppable. Just now, this monk showed his hand, and announced that he is a master of the Autumn Water Realm.” Feng Zuojun activated his inner power to suppress the surging true energy in his chest.

“Very good.” Nangong Xi’er casually picked up a nail beside her, flicked it with her finger and shot it out. With a bang, the monk’s robe that was flying in the wind suddenly fell down.

Jie Qing raised his eyebrows. “You broke my Hidden Image Skill with just one move. Miss, your strength is higher than I imagined. But the next one won’t be so easy.”

“The next one will be handled by me as well.” Nangong Xi’er picked up another nail beside her, flicked it again, and flew straight towards the monk.

“Good.” Jie Qing suddenly clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and the nail stopped in front of him an inch away. It didn’t move forward or fall to the ground, but just spun rapidly in place.

“What kind of martial art is this?” Su Baiyi asked in surprise.

Nangong Xi’er frowned slightly, “Heart-Mind-Energy Mixed Skill.”

“Miss, you have good knowledge. If you stop now, you can all leave.” Jie Qing said with a smile, his eyes still closed.

“I guess when you open your eyes, that nail will come back at you.” Nangong Xi’er moved her hand to the side again.

“Senior sister, if you pull out more nails, the carriage will fall apart!” Su Baiyi reminded her.

“Fine.” Nangong Xi’er lightly shook her wrist, and Su Baiyi saw that she had a green bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet was crystal clear, and the green color was like a pool of clear water. Nangong Xi’er moved her hand slightly, and the bracelet flowed with her movement. She flicked the bracelet and held it in her hand.

“What a beautiful bracelet.” Su Baiyi praised.

“This is the Green Water Bracelet.” Nangong Xi’er touched the jade bracelet, then closed her eyes and threw it out.

“Ha!” Jie Qing shouted angrily, opened his eyes, and the iron nail that had stopped in front of him shot out. It hit the Green Water Bracelet, making a crisp sound. Then the iron nail fell straight to the ground, and the Green Water Bracelet flew back. Nangong Xi’er raised her hand and put the bracelet back on her wrist.

“Miss, you are…” Jie Qing’s expression changed slightly.

“So what?” Nangong Xi’er raised her eyebrows, stretched out her right hand, and Feng Zuojun quickly took out a sword from the carriage. Nangong Xi’er drew the sword in an instant, pointing it at Jie Qing. “Monk, get out of the way.”

The sword was long and narrow, pure white and flawless. It looked like a piece of jade under the moonlight. And on the sword, there were two words.

Liang Ren.

On the sword manual, there were seven famous swords listed. There was no ranking among them, but each had its own merits. They were King’s Command Sword Tian Li, Rebel’s Bone Sword Shui Yue, Rogue’s Star Sword Liu Xing, Heartless Sword Xuan Bing, Immortal Wind Sword Bu Gui, Gentleman’s Word Sword Jun Yu, and Foolish Love Sword Liang Ren.

“Master, is this the sword you often talk about, the most beautiful sword in the world, Liang Ren?” Su Baiyi whispered softly, remembering the words that Xie Kanhua once said when he touched his own sword, “She said, Jun Yu, Liang Ren. These two words together form a sentence that is very beautiful.”

Jie Qing sighed softly, “As expected.”

“I’ll say it one last time, get out of the way!” Nangong Xi’er shouted, and a strong sword aura emanated from this flawless Liang Ren sword. Jie Qing faced the sword aura, his white robe fluttering in the wind. His face was stung by the sword aura, but his eyes became more and more sharp.

“Nangong, so it’s this Nangong.” Jie Qing waved his sleeve violently, dispersing the sword aura.

“Ascending Realm!” Nangong Xi’er said in a deep voice.

“Soaring up a thousand miles in a day, this monk looks no more than twenty years old, but he already has the power of the Ascending Realm.” Feng Zuojun exclaimed.

“Senior brother, what realm have you reached?” Su Baiyi asked.

“I’m still a step away from the Autumn Water Realm.” Feng Zuojun sighed.

“What about Xie senior brother?” Su Baiyi asked again.

“I’m only a foot of water away from the Autumn Water Realm.” Xie Yuling replied.

“Then we’re two realms behind this monk, aren’t we useless?” Su Baiyi said anxiously. “What realm is senior sister in?”

“I touched the threshold of the Autumn Water Realm when I was ten years old, but I didn’t really enter it until I was sixteen.” Nangong Xi’er said slowly. “Although it’s only a foot of water away, it may take a lifetime to cross.”

Feng Zuojun and Xie Yuling understood that their senior sister was teaching them, and immediately bowed their heads and said, “Thank you for your guidance, senior sister.”

Su Baiyi was a bit anxious. “Then we can’t beat this monk.”

“I entered the Autumn Water Realm when I was sixteen, and two hours later I entered the Ascending Realm.” Nangong Xi’er leaped up and stood in front of Jie Qing with her sword. “Because that day I experienced life and death.”

Jie Qing laughed loudly. “Good!”