The Demon Lords

The Sword Saint nodded, "I’m annoyed too."

When that girl falsely claimed to be his disciple, the Sword Saint, who had been watching from a distance like a spectator, got annoyed.

In other words,

someone who could slay a king with a single sword, force his own brother to rebel, and dare to enter Li Tian City alone to duel with Lord Jingnan—how could such a Sword Saint possibly have a good temper?

Yes, the days in Shengle City and Snow Sea allowed the Sword Saint to savor a different taste of life, but at the end of the day, he was still the Sword Saint.

Now he cared about fewer things than before, but matters of master and lineage were of great significance to him.

The Sword Saint had never founded a sect because he had a master who brought him out of the impoverished and downtrodden life of the Yu clan, enabling him to carve out his own path.

One might say, even if someone were to disparage him to his face as unworthy and compare him to selling pork, the Sword Saint would most likely just laugh it off, unbothered.

But,

this heroine touched his sore spot.

The Sword Saint made his move,

and naturally,

their identities needed no further concealment.

The Sword Saint did not wield the Longyuan, instead, he directly pointed his finger at the heroine.

The heroine’s eyes narrowed, immediately sensing a terrifying force surging towards her; she swiftly raised her long sword in defense before her.

The Sword Saint’s fingertip touched the blade, halting its forward motion, but the Sword Intent contained within his fingertip instantly penetrated the long sword and directly entered the heroine’s body.

"Watch out!"

The young monk shouted lowly, his palms pressing against the heroine’s back, then reversing the force, guiding the Sword Energy that had just been infused into her body outward, shooting it into the ground.

Instantly, a tiny hole was shot into the ground.

The Sword Saint retracted his finger after the strike, standing his ground.

The heroine spat out fresh blood, held in the young monk’s arms; she wasn’t as weak as she appeared, but her mistake lay in the audacity to use her Sword Energy to resist this man’s Sword Energy earlier, causing her Sword Energy to disintegrate instantly, allowing the opponent’s Sword Energy to penetrate deeply.

If it weren’t for the monk’s timely intervention, the Sword Energy now within her body would have shattered her internal organs.

The Sword Saint was not Mr. Chen; Mr. Chen had always harbored a compassionate feeling towards the Qian people, but the Sword Saint disliked sentimentality.

Either, laugh it off;

or, you die.

"Amitabha."

The monk handed the heroine to the scholar beside him, joined his hands, and spoke:

"Benefactor, a chance encounter, why harbor such murderous intent? Note, heaven cherishes all life."

Lord Zheng extended his hand to pull up Xiong Liqing, retreating a few steps.

Commenting simultaneously:

"These years, I’ve cut down many, but you three are quickly becoming the ones I most desire to cut."

One after another approaches,

one after the other incites anger,

rushing to their deaths?

Today,

the weather was originally nice,

Lord Zheng intended to first visit Tianhu Mountain for reflection, then join the main group and enter Li Tian City with the blind ones.

Originally, the mood was quite at ease, who would have thought, at the mountain foot’s small tavern, while having a meal, someone would forcibly draw out a killing intent.

The young monk stepped forward, wanting to regain the field, and around him, a faint golden light seemed to flow.

The drunkard sighed:

"Buddhist Vajra Body."

The path of martial cultivation, seemingly expansive and broad, actually has many branches, with the key differences arising from the unique techniques each uses to refine their body.

This young monk previously subdued the accountant using his Buddhist Vajra Body.

The Sword Saint spread his hand,

"Buzz!"

A sword hum trembled, the Longyuan unsheathed, flying into the Sword Saint’s hand.

Sitting to one side, the accountant, upon seeing this sword, was instantly filled with shock.

In contrast, the drunkard beside him, having already suspected, wasn’t too surprised but his expression grew much more serious.

Longyuan,

forged by Chu State’s swordsmiths, personally created for the Sword Saint, a renowned sword of its time, its form and style have long been known in the Jianghu.

Troops favor knives, Jianghu loves swords.

First, the sword is the handy weapon for face-to-face dueling in the Jianghu, and second, having a long sword by your side with fluttering robes fits the Jianghu’s aesthetics perfectly.

Countless young men, on first entering the Jianghu, even if it meant selling everything they had, must procure a sword for themselves, otherwise, the Jianghu loses its essence.

The style of Longyuan is also a must-learn sword form for many swordsmiths in the Jianghu.

In major strongholds with strict governance, the forging of civilian weapons in local blacksmiths faces restrictions, after all, the authorities wouldn’t want metal tools to flow into civilian hands on a large scale.

But cats have cat’s ways, mice have mice’s ways, Jianghu, fundamentally, is synonymous with nonconformity, Jianghu people have their channels for buying knives and swords, and some blacksmiths specialize in catering to Jianghu, after all, what profit is there in selling hoes and rakes for just a few copper coins?

And in Jianghu,

more than half of the blacksmiths’ shops never lack a replica of Longyuan; even if it’s missing, it’s only because they sold out and haven’t had time to make more.

So, upon Longyuan’s appearance, everyone recognizes it.

As for the authenticity of the sword, that depends on the person wielding it.

Earlier, injuring with fingertip Sword Energy, then summoning Longyuan, this person’s identity was already screaming itself!

Yet,

as Longyuan emerged,

the heroine in the scholar’s arms suddenly shouted:

"Why is my master’s sword in your hands!"

"..." Zheng Fan.

"..." Sword Saint.

This woman, could she be a fool!

"Amitabha, you hurt Lady Qingqing and even dare wield her master’s sword, I’ve never encountered anyone so shameless!"

Finishing,

the monk directly charged at the Sword Saint.

Moreover, using his Buddhist Vajra Body, forcibly pressing down!

This is a commonly used fighting technique among martial artists, relying on their physique to battle opponents in the most straightforward and forceful way, provided the opponent lacks the ability to break through their body in the short term.

Yet,

back when the former Lord Jingnan dueled the Sword Saint,

even Lord Jingnan wouldn’t choose to directly face the Sword Saint’s sword, instead using his physique to wear down the Sword Saint’s Sword Intent and then wrapping up with an extraordinary move.

In this world,

only a handful of individuals,

dare to directly face the Sword Saint’s Longyuan.

However, this monk dared,

because he seemed convinced this was not the real Sword Saint, but an imposter!

Then,

the battle,

became simple.

To be precise,

the Sword Saint himself hadn’t fought this kind of fight in a long time, the opponent actually charged directly at his sword edge!

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking ensued,

Longyuan effortlessly pierced the monk’s Vajra Body, the monk saw this and expressed shock, hurriedly pushing forward with both hands.

The Sword Saint did not continue with the sword, opting instead for a retreating slash, because he too felt these three people were somewhat foolish.

The sword edge traced an arc,

the young monk retreated, but with a broken bleeding chest wound and blood-soaked hands,

he assessed his injuries,

remarking:

"Though not truly the Sword Saint, your sword can almost grasp the shadow of the Sword Saint."

Meanwhile,

the scholar pulled out a signal arrow from his embrace,

saying:

"Upon firing this arrow, the troops stationed outside Li Tian City will immediately march here, then you will find it difficult to escape with wings!"

Xiong Liqing instantly looked down at her husband’s waist,

Zheng Fan shook his head and said:

"I don’t have that."

Indeed, the real Lord Zheng also didn’t possess such a thing.

Deploying troops from Snow Sea Pass is simple, but to mobilize other forces outside requires Lord Zheng himself to make a personal appeal unless he holds a Tiger Talisman.

Then,

the drunkard rose from the table,

bowing to Zheng Fan,

he kneeled and knocked his head in respect, saying:

"Greetings to Lord Pingye, to the Sword Saint, and to Her Highness, the Princess.

Lord,

these three are not fools; if this humble person guessed right, they should be from the clandestine sect, practicing a technique of deception.

They’re not pretending to be mad in front of the Lord and the Sword Saint, they truly believe they are Zheng Fanli, a disciple of the Sword Saint.

This is a method of self-deception among the clandestine sect,

thus,

they have now deceived themselves."