Chapter 147: The Painting Depicts Master Jian's Tribulation
In Lingzhou, south of Kyushu, atop the mist-shrouded sword peaks.
The young Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain had been in seclusion for over half a month, reportedly to break through to the Sky Soaring Upper Realm.
If she succeeded, she would not only be the fastest Sky Soaring Realm cultivator of her generation but also potentially the fastest and youngest Wujiang Realm cultivator in the Human Race's thousand-year history.
A twenty-two-year-old Wujiang Realm cultivator—something no one would believe if told, yet it was happening.
At this moment, Cui'er, Xing'er, and Ding Yao had been guarding the door for over half a month, their boredom tinged with weariness.
Master Jian's current seclusion was a death seclusion; she wouldn't easily emerge. However, as maids, they still had to remain here.
This was because some news was frequently reported within the sect, requiring them to consolidate and handle it for Master Jian. Only if truly necessary would they request Master Jian to emerge from seclusion.
“Senior Sister Ding Yao, when will Master Jian emerge from seclusion?”
“Although Master Jian's talent is exceptional, it won't be too quick for her to enter the Sky Soaring Upper Realm. It could be as short as half a year or as long as a year, but—she might temporarily emerge today.”
Cui'er and Xing'er exchanged glances: “Why would she emerge before breaking through?”
Ding Yao remained silent for a moment before speaking: “Wanqiu returned yesterday and brought some good things, which she sent inside.
Master Jian probably couldn't resist—”
“Oh, those papers sent in this morning, right? But if they're good things, why do you look so worried, Senior Sister Ding Yao?”
“Because—because that stuff messes with one's Dao Heart—”
Zhuo Wanqiu returned at noon, anxiously bringing manuscripts and picture albums to Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.
Ding Yao received and delivered the items, and she had flipped through them several times herself.
So, she wasn't exaggerating; she had seen them with her own eyes and felt that those things truly messed with one's Dao Heart. This was why Cui'er and Xing'er hadn't seen them, otherwise, anyone who did would be disturbed.
Just as they were speaking, a sudden movement came from within the hall.
The two maids froze at the sound, then discreetly peered through the gauze curtains in front of the window.
Yan Shuyi, clad in a red long dress, emerged from the cultivation chamber within the hall, her bare, snow-white jade feet stepping out.
Having been in seclusion for a long time, she hadn't washed, her hair was a bit messy, and she yawned as she scurried along, then precisely grabbed the manuscripts and paintings on the table, her usually aloof eyes suddenly becoming lively.
“...Raising his sword to the sky, a circular slash swept across the heavens, and gasps of astonishment echoed from all directions—
“After three consecutive punches, everyone thought he was injured, but he relied solely on his tenacious will to forcefully endure—
“The villain Chu River's sword fell, carrying immense power, its Qi piercing through his body, and with a ripping sound—his clothes fell away—his chest broad and well-proportioned—”
The manuscripts and paintings Zhuo Wanqiu sent were meant to be viewed together, with both text and illustrations.
Some plots consumed an extreme amount of ink, naturally accompanied by exquisite and realistic paintings.
At this moment, Yan Shuyi was reading about “after three consecutive punches, everyone thought he was injured,” and a hint of coldness couldn't help but surface in her eyes. However, she quickly read “with a ripping sound—his clothes fell away—” and couldn't help but blush.
Her right hand's motion in turning the painting was a beat slower than her left hand's motion in turning the manuscript, so she had read the description but hadn't yet seen the image.
Nevertheless, she had already imagined some things.
So, with a solemn expression, she turned to the next page of the painting, her eyes slightly narrowed, wanting to confirm her imaginings.
This painting was a low-angle shot from the lower right, looking up at the man's side profile, making his upper body appear incredibly strong,
bare-chested and exposed, head held high, without clothes.
Yan Shuyi held her breath, unable to resist leaning closer—
【I want to see him alive】
Cui'er and Xing'er, watching from outside with wide eyes, saw a rosy blush gradually appear on Master Jian's exquisite face, a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.
“Why is Master Jian's face so red?”
Cui'er became intensely curious about those papers: “What's drawn on that painting?”
Ding Yao slightly opened her mouth: “What's drawn on the painting is Master Jian's tribulation.”
“?”
Seeing the bewildered looks of the two maids, Ding Yao offered no explanation, continuing to intently watch the room.
From the number of pages currently turned, she knew that Master Jian had seen the pages depicting “bare-chested and exposed, head held high.” She saw her eyes brimming, and her plump, tender pink toes began to curl slightly, like blooming petals gathering back into a bud.
It really is a tribulation...
Ding Yao sighed inwardly, watching her Master Jian continuously turn pages, then meticulously observe and repeatedly admire the “bare-chested and exposed” ones.
Until an hour later, those snow-white jade feet suddenly moved from the bed to the carpet and quickly walked towards the door.
So Ding Yao quickly straightened her back, turned her back to the door, and pretended nothing was amiss.
Yan Shuyi opened the door and spoke proudly: “Ding Yao, I have something to send you to do.”
“Your servant is here, Master Jian, please instruct.”
“Go to the Sword Forest and call Gongshu Chou for me.”
“?”
After noon, Ding Yao found Gongshu Chou at Wangjian Platform, the most crowded place on Lingjian Mountain, and brought him to Cloud Top Heavenly Palace on Xuanjian Peak.
At this moment, Gongshu Chou's expression was solemn, his brow tightly furrowed.
He knew that some part-time jobs, even if done with a masked face and as discreetly as possible, would eventually be exposed.
But what he hadn't expected was that this matter would directly alarm Master Jian, even causing her to emerge from seclusion to inquire about it.
One must know that for years, matters concerning sect affairs, internal public opinion, and so on, had been handled by the Sect Master Yan Zhong. Master Jian focused solely on cultivating the Dao and generally wouldn't personally inquire unless it was an urgent and significant matter.
And in recent years, the only thing she had personally inquired about was the matter of the ruins.
Gongshu Chou frowned for a long time, unable to confirm how the severity of this matter could possibly be comparable to that of the ruins?
So, with his inner determination, he followed Ding Yao up to Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.
Yan Shuyi had already changed into the Master Jian's immortal robe and wore a glazed immortal crown, exuding immense majesty, truly like an immortal descending to the mortal realm, causing Gongshu Chou to bow to the ground, not daring to look directly at her.
It was in this solemn atmosphere that he noticed Master Jian's maid walking towards him.
Then, she extended her hand and handed him a few sheets of paper, covered in dense writing.
Gongshu Chou took them and glanced, discovering that the papers contained a complete record of Ji You's participation in the Tianshu Academy Outer Courtyard Autumn Tournament, where he slew Chu River, the second son of the millennial Chu Family!
However, where it described “clothes exploding,” it seemed to be missing several pages of detailed description afterward, as if they had been individually removed.
“Master Jian—?”
“Take it.”
“??”
Gongshu Chou was still bewildered when he was led away, holding the manuscript in silence for a long time, not understanding why.
But he was, after all, over forty years old, his mind long mature, not truly incapable of understanding anything.
So he flipped through the manuscript again, vaguely grasping some clues.
That's right!
Although these few pages described the matter of “Ji You slaying Chu River with his sword in the Tianshu Academy Autumn Tournament,” a careful examination revealed two subtle words hidden within—Sect Prestige!
Because the sword with which Ji You defeated the second son of the Chu Family was their Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao, and this story highlighted the prestige of their Spiritual Sword Mountain!
Gongshu Chou gazed at the mountains, suddenly understanding the deeper meaning of Master Jian's decree.
Thus, in the afternoon, the matter of “Ji You defeating Chu River with the Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao in the Tianshu Academy Autumn Tournament” quickly stirred up a whirlwind among the Disciples of Lingjian Mountain.
No one knew where this wind originated, but it was indeed swift and fierce, leading to widespread discussion.
In fact, the Tianshu Academy Autumn Tournament, having invited a large number of cultivators from other sects to observe, had spread among the Disciples of the Seven Great Immortal Sects.
But undoubtedly, the Lingjian Mountain version was the most detailed and realistic.
Especially some detailed descriptions, which truly made one feel as if they were there.
When it was mentioned that “Ji You's seven swords emerged together, which was Lingjian Mountain's Dao Sword 【Xiao Chong Shan】,” all the Disciples of Lingjian Mountain felt a tingling sensation on their scalps.
Then came the abandonment of the sword's sharpness to break through techniques with force, which made countless Disciples so numb they couldn't move.
For some reason, when they heard that Ji You had defeated Chu River with the Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao to enter the Inner Courtyard,
even though they knew this was an internal struggle of the Tianshu Academy, they still developed a sense of identification with this Tianshu Academy Disciple named Ji You.
It was as if, although he was a Tianshu Academy Disciple, in everyone's eyes, he was already like a lost fellow brother from their Lingjian Mountain.
Even after this story spread east and west, some female Disciples of Lingjian Mountain even unconsciously began to call Ji You Senior Brother.
“Our Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao is actually this strong? It can even break through the foundation of that millennial Worldly Family?!
“Truly worthy of being our Spiritual Sword Mountain's Sword Dao—”
“This story is too detailed, where did you hear it?”
“I met a Senior Brother wearing a bamboo hat on the way to the Sword Forest just now, and I learned this story from him.”
“Such a detailed account, it seems it won't be false, because no matter how brilliant a story is, if it's made up, there will inevitably be loopholes, but this clearly has none!”
“Senior Brother Ji, truly so strong—”
“Indeed strong. Before, I heard people say that even an ordinary Integration Dao Realm cultivator might not be able to withstand his sword, and I didn't believe it. It seems my knowledge was indeed shallow.”
“Senior Brother Gongshu can even fight back and forth with such a Sword Dao Genius, exchanging several rounds of swords, and hasn't been killed. Truly worthy of being Senior Brother Gongshu!”
On Wangjian Platform, countless people were discussing, and it had already been two hours, but the fervor had not subsided.
And just as everyone was constantly citing evidence of Ji You's strength, a man in a coarse black shirt walked up the mountain path from below the Sword Forest.
“It's Senior Brother Gongshu!”
“Truly worthy of being Senior Brother Gongshu—”
At this moment, Gongshu Chou looked on with an indifferent expression, frowning slightly for a long time, silently listening to the discussions of the crowd, and finally drifted away.
Neither flattered nor humiliated, watching the flowers bloom and fall in the courtyard; neither staying nor leaving, watching the clouds roll and unroll in the sky.
He seemed indifferent to everything in this world, with nothing outside his heart, only the eternal Sword Dao.
(It's another New Year's Eve, and I've lost a lot more hair. Lao Cuo wishes everyone a Happy New Year, all the best, a happy family, and always awesome!)