Chapter 125: It Spread
An ordinary Disciple's eyesight is average, and his Divine Thought is not strong. At most, he can only look at a girl's bellyband and see if there is a mole on her roundness.
However, a high Realm cultivator can easily see through that figure without much effort.
That person was Ji You.
So, after everyone left the Wangjian Platform, many fell silent, especially some Lingjian Mountain Disciples, who barely said a word.
Then, someone couldn't hold back and revealed what they had seen: Ji You breaking the Sword Forest.
Some low Realm Disciples of Lingjian Mountain didn't believe it at all, but when they saw the expressions of their high Realm Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters within the sect, their hearts couldn't help but thump.
Later, someone encountered Yan Shujing and asked her if she had broken the Sword Forest. The answer she gave was a shake of her head.
And the answer revealed by Gongshu Chou, who was also asked, was the same.
There were only three people in the Sword Forest. With two answers excluded, only one remained.
“Some Disciples went to the Sword Forest in the afternoon. Ji You wasn’t there, but he also didn’t go down the mountain. His whereabouts are unknown; he might be with Elder Qi.”
“Senior Brother Chen saw it clearly earlier, but he never dared to say anything. This makes me understand why that Lingjian Mountain Elder's expression was so ugly.”
“It couldn’t be him. He’s only in the Tong Xuan Realm. He used sixteen swords when he passed through Xiao Chong Shan that day. How could it be him?”
“I heard them say that one can challenge the Sword Forest by catching swords or by comprehending swords.”
“What does that mean?”
“Anyway, a few people who challenged the second layer of the forest with Ji You said that the sword he used at the time was very similar to Xiao Chong Shan. They said others were catching swords, but he was learning swords, so he was slower.”
,
“?”
After noon, the news that Ji You had broken the Sword Forest gradually became clear with various corroborating pieces of evidence.
Thus, all the Disciples on the mountain, whether from Lingjian Mountain, Asked the Dao Sect, or Mountain and Sea Pavilion, now had very strange expressions.
Tianshu Academy came to Asked the Dao Lingjian Mountain and lost both matches, which could be considered a strong display of their might. But who knew that the Sword Forest they set up on the mountain would be broken by a Disciple from Tianshu Academy?
Moreover, the time this forest was broken happened to be exactly when You Buyu lost his last match, which made things very complicated.
No one could say clearly whether Tianshu Academy had gained or lost Face in this situation.
After all, Lingjian Mountain was famous throughout the world for its Sword Dao, yet a Tianshu Academy Disciple indirectly defeated a direct Disciple of Xuanjian Peak in the Sword Dao.
Therefore, Lingjian Mountain, which should have been loudly proclaiming Tianshu Academy's defeat, suddenly became much quieter when faced with this matter.
However, there were also some stubborn ones who refused to believe it, just like Min Cheng, who was heading towards the Sword Forest at this moment, his Face gloomy, not speaking a word the entire way.
Even though more and more people said they saw Ji You, he was unwilling to believe that Ji You had broken the Sword Forest, so he decided to come and see for himself.
Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were still waiting there when they saw Min Cheng approaching.
“Junior Sister Ding, why are you here?”
“Oh, it’s Senior Brother Min. Junior Sister Zhuo and I had nothing to do, so we just wandered around the mountain.”
Min Cheng turned to look at the quiet, verdant Sword Forest, and after a long silence, he spoke: “Just now, I heard some amusing rumors down the mountain. I wonder if Junior Sister Ding has heard them?”
Ding Yao paused slightly, looking up at him: “What rumors did Senior Brother hear?”
“Someone from Mountain and Sea Pavilion in the Integration Dao Realm said they saw Ji You break your Lingjian Mountain's Sword Forest.”
“Oh, so it’s that matter. I heard it too.”
Min Cheng now reached out and gripped his sword: “Junior Sister, do you know which layer he has reached now? I’ll go in and take a look too. Our Realms are not too different, so I can definitely reach wherever he can.”
Ding Yao glanced at him: “He should have reached Elder Qi by now.”
Upon hearing this, Min Cheng fell silent for a moment, his smile frozen on his Face, then he turned and went down the mountain.
Not many people on Lingjian Mountain had truly spoken with Ji You; he was one of them.
In fact, when those two strange singing voices echoed from the mountaintop just now, he had already sensed a hint of familiarity, but he simply didn't want to believe it.
However, Ding Yao's words just now directly confirmed the matter.
She was a Disciple of Lingjian Mountain and had a personal grudge with Ji You. Logically speaking, she should be even more resistant to this outcome than he was.
But since she said so, it proved that it was the truth.
During these three days of Tianshu Academy Asking the Dao Lingjian Mountain, Ji You, who had been on the periphery of the entire event and reprimanded by his fellow Disciples for his lack of discipline, swung his sword and broke Lingjian Mountain's Sword Forest, making the entire atmosphere of Lingjian Mountain extremely strange.
As for how he managed to do it, he heard many things during his ascent of the mountain.
Some said that after clashing sixteen swords with Xiao Chong Shan, he had seen through Elder Qi's Sword Dao, but the people outside could not achieve that level of Sword Heart clarity, which is why they couldn't understand.
At this moment, the Son of the Demon Emperor had not left either, looking in the direction of the Sword Forest, his expression a half-smile.
In fact, the moment Ji You soared into the air, Night Chill had already confirmed his identity. Recalling it now, he found it very interesting—that was just someone he had casually met on the streets of Shengjing, and he had even thought he had made a mistake in judging the combat power of Human Race cultivators.
Only at this moment did he realize that the person he had casually met was actually a person of astonishing talent.
Min Cheng had now descended from Xuanjian Peak and was walking silently towards the courtyard Lingjian Mountain had prepared for them, passing the gate of You Buyu's small courtyard on the way.
After being sent flying from the Wangjian Platform, the Disciples of Tianshu Academy quickly carried him back to the courtyard and had not left since.
After all, they had lost both Asked the Dao matches, so they had no Face to see anyone.
He Lingxiu was in the courtyard at this moment, her brows deeply furrowed.
She had almost recovered after taking the Spirit Pill, and her aura was much more stable now.
And after learning that You Buyu had lost the second match, she had already prepared to take the Disciples down the mountain.
But who knew that You Buyu's injuries exceeded her expectations, and he was still unconscious, making it impossible for them to set off.
Just listening to the noisy sounds outside the courtyard, the people inside would occasionally feel their hearts leap into their throats.
When they lost the first match, some Disciples from Asked the Dao Sect or Lingjian Mountain would pretend to pass by, saying harsh words and openly mocking them.
They were now somewhat worried that those people would directly break in and mock them until they couldn't lift their heads.
They still couldn't understand why You Buyu lost so easily, but at this moment, they had to accept this reality.
So they all sealed their Divine Thought to avoid hearing those infuriating rumors.
However, what surprised them was that although people often walked by outside the door, no one ever came in to mock them.
Just then, a muffled groan came from the room, suddenly making all the Tianshu Academy Disciples tense up.
At this moment, You Buyu slowly opened his eyes from the bed, leaned over the bedside, and spat out a mouthful of thick blood, his throat still emitting a rapid gasping sound.
“Senior Brother, you’re awake. Are you feeling better?”
“Go down the mountain, immediately!”
You Buyu clutched his chest, seemingly in immense pain, but he still said fiercely.
He was also directly pierced by Sword Qi while under the effect of 'All Laws Accompanying the Body', but Zhuang You's Sword Qi was much stronger than Yan Shujing's, causing his injuries to be extremely severe. Coupled with the surging Spiritual Qi, he was in excruciating pain at this moment.
He Lingxiu couldn't help but frown tightly: “You are not in a suitable condition to travel right now.”
“Do I have to stay here and continue to lose Face? Wang Yue, pack your things!”
“Senior Brother, Ji You hasn’t returned yet, and Pei Ruyi and the others who went out to find them haven’t returned either.”
You Buyu directly slammed his fist on the edge of the bed: “He hasn’t returned even now. Does he really think that if he breaks through the Sword Forest, Lingjian Mountain will teach him swordsmanship? Does he not even care about Face anymore?”
He Lingxiu couldn't help but frown deeply and also looked out of the courtyard, feeling somewhat anxious.
After she woke up, she learned from others that the Spirit Pill she took was given by Lingjian Mountain at Ji You's request, and she felt grateful for it.
But even so, she couldn't understand Ji You's behavior of staying in the Sword Forest and not returning, even though he was already in a very embarrassing situation.
Although You Buyu's words were unpleasant, they seemed to be correct now.
He lost, but at least he fought for Tianshu Academy, while Ji You was for personal gain.
It seems that Junior Brother Ji truly doesn't regard himself as a Tianshu Academy Disciple and completely disregards the Face of Tianshu Academy. If the people of Lingjian Mountain are willing to teach him swordsmanship, he might even betray Tianshu Academy and become a Disciple of Lingjian Mountain.
However, just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door, immediately making everyone alert.
And upon opening the door to find it was Pei Ruyi and the other three, they quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where’s Ji You? What time is it now, and he still hasn’t returned from the Sword Forest? Is he really going to join Lingjian Mountain and become their Disciple?”
Pei Ruyi opened his mouth: “The Sword Forest is broken.”
He Lingxiu was slightly displeased: “How is that related to what I asked?”
“It’s Junior Brother’s sword.”
2
With Pei Ruyi's words, the courtyard suddenly fell silent. Some frowned, some stared, and then everyone suddenly opened their eyes and turned to look, a hush falling over them.
Wang Yue slapped the table: “What time is it, and you’re still making such jokes?”
Wen Zhengxin pointed outside the door: “It’s already spread everywhere outside. You’ll know if you go ask.”
“Even Yan Shujing was trapped in the Sword Forest for several days. How did he break the Sword Forest?”
“Actually, when the second Asked the Dao match began, Junior Brother Ji had already reached the third layer of the forest. Some say Junior Brother had prepared early, and if Senior Brother You lost, he would forcefully break the Sword Forest to regain a shred of Face for Tianshu Academy.”
In fact, these things they were talking about were all heard from Zhuo Wanqiu on the mountain path, but at first, they didn't believe it and waited for people on the mountain path.
It wasn’t until more and more people started saying it that they realized it was true, and then they hurried back. Ban Yangshu also couldn't help but speak: “The atmosphere at Lingjian Mountain is very strange now. It seems they don’t plan to widely publicize our visit to Ask the Dao this time.”
Upon hearing this, You Buyu suddenly lay back down on the bed, silent, while the others had complex expressions, turning their gaze away.
Having lost twice and completely lost Face, they didn't expect that the last shred of Face would actually be retrieved by Ji You. “Didn’t he use sixteen swords just to catch the first layer?”
“If he had caught it with one sword, would the people of Lingjian Mountain dare to let him continue challenging? Foolish!”
Rulong Immortal Emperor looked disgusted, thinking to himself that he was indeed the person who understood Brother Ji the most in this world.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yue was stunned, then he pursed his lips and said no more.