Chapter 37: A Grandmaster Descends Upon Jianghai City

"Old Qin, remember that Grandmaster from the Imperial Capital I mentioned last time?"

"I hear he’s coming over in a few days. He’ll be giving a lecture at the Jianghai Martial Arts Academy... We could go listen together."

As Xia He spoke, he suddenly pulled two passes from his pocket and gestured with them. "I had to pull a lot of strings to get these. You wanna come?"

"A Grandmaster’s lecture..."

Hearing this, Qin Yang pondered for a moment and paused.

He vaguely remembered that a few days ago, while the Sword God incident was unfolding, rumors of a Grandmaster’s arrival had already started circulating online.

It was just that the hype was consistently overshadowed by the "Jianghai Sword God," so it didn’t cause much of a stir.

"Why are the higher-ups sending an expert down so quickly?"

Qin Yang and Xia He walked side-by-side toward their posts as Qin Yang asked quietly, "Maybe it’s because of what happened at Li Shui Lake?"

"That’s probably the only reason. What else could it be..."

Xia He yawned, holding the "Ziwei" Plus in his hands as he spoke:

"Who would have thought that a monster like the Bloodthirsty Demon Insect would show up and completely crush our Jianghai City’s combat forces? If the Sword God hadn’t stepped in, we’d all be dead by now.

Ever since the Bloodthirsty Leeches incident, the whole country knows that Jianghai City’s combat power is insufficient.

Even the mayor was removed from office and punished over it... So now that a Grandmaster-Level expert is arriving, it’s almost certain he’s here to whip our forces into shape."

"And Old Qin, to be honest, this Grandmaster-Level expert dropping in... he might not be coming with good intentions."

Xia He suddenly leaned closer to Qin Yang and whispered.

"’Not coming with good intentions?’ What do you mean by that?"

Qin Yang raised an eyebrow at Xia He, confused.

"Think about it, Old Qin. Are these people really... just coming to teach?"

Xia He said in a low voice, "The way I see it, rather than teaching, they probably have some ulterior motives..."

"Like, for instance, searching for the ’Jianghai Sword God’?"

Qin Yang’s mind raced as he heard this, and he immediately finished Xia He’s thought.

’After all, I was the one who drew my sword to kill the leeches.’

’The terrifying power I displayed, enough to topple cities, had already met the standard for the Grandmaster Level.’

’And as for such top-tier combat power...’

’How could the country’s higher-ups possibly sit by and do nothing?’

’So it’s highly likely this Grandmaster they’ve sent down is using teaching as a pretext. Their true intentions lie elsewhere!’

"Whoa, not bad, Old Qin. When did you get so sharp?"

Xia He glanced at Qin Yang in surprise, clearly taken aback.

He hadn’t expected this quiet guy to guess what he was thinking.

"AHEM, so are you coming to the lecture or not, Old Qin?"

Xia He coughed lightly, hiding his surprise.

"I..."

Qin Yang hesitated for a moment, on the verge of refusing.

’After all, the lecture given by the visiting Grandmaster would probably only cover minor issues for those below the Innate Realm.’

’And since I’m already in the Grandmaster Realm, it would be of no help to me at all.’

’What would I gain by going just to see what the fuss is about?’

’It would be a waste of time.’

But then, on second thought, Qin Yang swallowed his words. A new idea suddenly occurred to him.

’It wasn’t actually important whether I attended the lecture or not.’

’What was important was that I could go to the lecture to gather intelligence.’

’Since they were possibly coming for me, I couldn’t just sit around and wait for the worst. I should take the initiative to learn more about them.’

’There are also differences in power within the Grandmaster Realm.’

’And I could use this opportunity to observe their strength.’

’Taking precautions now would prevent future trouble!’

With that thought, Qin Yang nodded to Xia He and said, "Alright, just let me know when it’s time."

"Great! You can count on it, Old Qin." Seeing Qin Yang agree, Xia He beamed.

...

Meanwhile, on Broken Peak Mountain.

A stream gurgled softly.

Li Zixuan sat cross-legged on the ground, sensing the surging Sword Intent around her and constantly deepening her understanding of the Sword Dao.

She was now near the mountain’s sheer face, only a single step away from the center of Broken Peak Mountain.

A powerful storm of Sword Intent raged around her. Besides her, not a single other Star Martial Artist could be seen.

’Almost there.’

Li Zixuan gazed at the center of Broken Peak in the distance, her heart filled with excitement.

Ever since witnessing her teacher’s Immortal’s Sword that day, she had become even more immersed in the Sword Dao, dedicating herself to one day mastering One Sword Opens the Celestial Gate.

From practicing her sword in the Martial Arts Hall, to studying Basic Swordsmanship in the library, to comprehending Sword Intent on Broken Peak Mountain.

Her monotonous life, moving between those three points, was dull and tedious, but it was finally paying off.

Now, Li Zixuan had gradually mastered the Sword Intent of Broken Peak Mountain, and it could no longer harm her in the slightest.

The day she reached the center of the summit would be the day her Sword Dao reached Great Success!

...

「Three days later.」

「Outside the Jianghai Martial Arts Academy.」

In front of the magnificent stone gates, a massive, noisy crowd had gathered to witness the arrival of the Grandmaster.

Elder Li, dressed in a formal tunic suit, stood by the roadside with a line of the academy’s senior administrators, personally waiting to welcome their guest.

Before long, a black luxury sedan approached from the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust. It soon pulled up to the curb, and after the door opened slowly, a young man stepped out.

With sharp brows, bright eyes, and an elegant, well-fitted suit, he instantly drew the gaze of everyone present.

"Mo Feng, welcome to the Jianghai Martial Arts Academy. It must have been a long trip."

Elder Li strode forward and welcomed him warmly.

"Teacher, you’re being too formal."

A look of respect appeared on Mr. Lin’s face as he humbly returned the greeting. "No matter what, I will always be your student."

After some polite exchanges, the two of them, surrounded by the other academy administrators, headed toward the auditorium.

The surrounding crowd went into a frenzy at the sight, and everyone quickly took out their passes to follow.

Xia He and Qin Yang moved with the crowd. On the way, Xia He watched the young Grandmaster’s receding figure and couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration:

"To reach the Grandmaster Realm at such a young age... he has a boundless future."

"What’s his story?" Qin Yang asked.

"This guy’s the real deal, Old Qin. His name is Lin Mofeng, an absolute prodigy."

Xia He slowly explained to Qin Yang, "He’s also from our Jianghai Martial Arts Academy. His talent is off the charts. He reached the Grandmaster Realm before he was thirty, and now he’s an instructor at the Imperial Capital Divine Martial Academy."

Hearing this, Qin Yang sensed Lin Mofeng’s aura.

His aura was completely restrained, like a state of Heaven and Man’s Sympathy. Every movement seemed to be one with the world—the clear hallmark of the Grandmaster Realm.

’His strength is undeniable. He’s very strong indeed.’

’However... ’

’Compared to me, he was still off by just a smidgen.’

With that, Qin Yang was finally able to put his mind at ease.

’It seems my current strength has already far surpassed the ordinary Grandmaster Realm.’