Chapter 450: Sword and Blade dual mastery
Translated by: La0o9
Proofreader: Arya
The long-bearded cultivator flew from the jade tag down to the ground.
His gaze swept through Qing Rou, Wan Er, then finally stopped on Gu Qing Shan.
Gu Qing Shanâs gaze met with his.
Heâs a sword cultivator.
Both of them had the same thought.
This was a sort of intuition from the realms beyond, although one of them was already dead, true sword cultivators easily recognize each other at a single glance.
The long-bearded cultivator nodded, confirming his assumption.
Gu Qing Shan also felt a bit curious.
â Could this humble one ask for your name?â Gu Qing Shan clasped his fist and asked.
âTian Shan Yeâ the long-bearded cultivator answered.
That name sounds familiar, where have I heard it beforeâŠ
While slowly recalling from his memories, Gu Qing Shan suddenly realized who this was.
This was a renowned figure from the history of Guang Yang sect.
Even in this world, the name Tian Shan Ye represented a legend.
Sword and Blade dual master, Tian Shan Ye.
Over 1000 years ago, before the realm demon came to this world.
Back then, this worldâs moon, stars, sun and even the earth still existed.
The world of cultivation was full of geniuses, secret techniques and treasures were so vast it seemed infinite.
During a tournament that all the sects participated in, Guang Yang sectâs Tian Shang Ye managed to triumph over all opponents with both his sword and his blade, completely undefeated.
During that period of time, thanks to the existence of Tian Shan Ye, Guang Yang sect stood at the very top of the world, the undisputed number 1 sect.
It was the most glorious age for Guang Yang sect.
âCould you be our sectâs 9th sect master, Tian Shan Ye?â Gu Qing Shan couldnât help but ask.
Tian Shan Ye glanced at him and answered: âThat is indeed this venerable oneâ
âThis humble one is Qi Yan, this generationâs Zwei Wei Hallâs Hallmaster, greetings to sect master Tianâââ but why is sect master Tian here?â
Gu Qing Shan bowed as per etiquette and asked in confusion.
Tian Shan Ye shook his head lightly, as if remembering some sort of terrible memory.
But in the end, he sighed: â1500 years ago, Wang Hong Dao begged me to be his master and cultivated under me for 300 yearsâ
Wang Hong Dao!
Gu Qing Shan became serious.
So, Tian Shan Ye was Wang Hong Daoâs master.
But then why is Tian Shan Yeâs soul hidden in a place like this, what exactly happened?
Then Tian Shan Ye continued: âDuring a spar, I killed a friend of mine by accident, also heavily wounding myself in the processâ
âDue to my own guilt, my mind was in chaos. Despite being my best disciple at the time, Wang Hong Dao had taken advantage of my recuperation to take me by surpriseâ
âUnwilling to die in such a way, I used a secret technique to possess this sword technique jade tagâ
Gu Qing Shan was suspicious: âWhat an honor it must have been to be your disciple, why would Wang Hong Dao have to sneak attack you while youâre recuperating?â
âBecause I only taught him the Blade without teaching him the Swordâ Tian Shan Ye answered.
âI remember nowâ Qing Rou silently tugged Gu Qing Shanâs sleeve and told him: âBack then, sect master Tian was called the Sword and Blade dual master, the strongest cultivator of the landâ
âAny cultivator that could learn one or two of his Blade techniques could travel across the world without worryâ
âAny cultivator that could learn sect master Tianâs swordsmanship was even more fortunate as they are destined to become an unrivalled great cultivatorâ
âDuring one time of sparring against a cultivator of the same level, he completely disappeared, never to be seen againâ
âCultivators of the world all agreed that sect master Tian felt ashamed from accidentally killing his friend, so he went into the space vortex to find another world.â
Gu Qing Shanâs mind moved quickly and followed up: âBecause you didnât teach him your sword techniques, Wang Hong Dao held a grudge and wanted to steal your sword techniques, is that right?â
Tian Shan Ye nodded with a look of deep regret in his eyes.
âTruthfully, I shouldnât have taught him the Blade with his temperament eitherâ Tian Shan Ye said.
âHis temperament? Why do you say so?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
It was now a good chance to learn more about Wang Hong Dao.
So it turns out this Grand Elder of Guang Yang sect actually killed his own master.
Knowing about this clearly will help me understand Wang Hong Daoâs personality and thought patterns
Thereâs no harm in knowing more about an enemy.
Tian Shan Ye explained: âThe path of the Blade is nothing but heroicâ
Gu Qing Shan nodded.
Of the Blade users he met, Ning Yue Xi once said something similar.
âDedicating the Blade to Dao, heading forward to become unrivalledâ
ââ-Ning Yue Xi was a Blade user through and through, with how pure her thoughts were, her Blade qi was true and it showed from her fast growth.
Gu Qing Shan actually really liked being friends with Blade users.
Because most Blade users are mostly heroic and sincere, seeing the world as truly black and white, separating grudge and favor really clearly.
Such straight-forward and simple people were excellent companions.
Of course, you werenât called a Blade user simply by being a cultivator who uses a Blade.
Just like how you canât be called a sword cultivator by just holding a sword.
Tian Shan Ye sighed: âWang Hong Daoâs mind is too secretive and afraid of death, heâs not suitable to use the Blade. I only left him by my side because heâs my first disciple, holding absolute loyalty for over hundreds of yearsââ- but that was a grave mistakeâ
Gu Qing Shan sighed as well: âYou were a talented and experienced person, I think it wouldnât have been easy for you to make a mistake in judging characterâ
âDisguising your true self for 1-2 years is already something extremely hard to do, let alone dozens of years. But when Wang Hong Dao was under me, he was considerate, loyal, fair and sincere to everyone without a hint of arrogance for being the sect masterâs disciple, this perfect act of his continued for 300 years without any faultâ Tian Shan Ye explained.
Qing Rou and Wan Er exchanged looks, seeing the horrible chill in each otherâs eyes.
To get what he wanted, someone actually managed to disguise himself for over 300 years.
And for those 300 years, not a single one of his gestures caused any suspicions at all.
What kind of temperament and character would be capable of such a feat?
âSect master Tian, what if we bring you out to let the world know this?â Wan Er tried suggesting.
âThat is meaninglessâ Tian Shan Ye shook his head.
âThatâs right, Wang Hong Dao is already the strongest cultivator in the sect, even if people knew about this, what can they do to him?â Qing Rou spoke.
âFurthermore, this world is already on the verge of destruction, everyone only has themselves to worry about, who would be so free as to bother with someone elseâs matter?â Gu Qing Shan also sighed.
He then clasped his fist: âSect master Tian, what do you want me to do?â
âI can sense your sword qi, and youâve never practiced any spells of Guang Yang sect, correct?â
âIndeedâ Gu Qing Shan admitted.
âWang Hong Dao doesnât know how to use the sword, only the Blade and corpse-manipulation spells, so he shouldnât have a disciple whose expertise is with the sword like yourselfâ
âI am indeed not his discipleâ
âThis is Wang Hong Daoâs turf, not even the sect master of this generation could enter this placeâ
âBut despite being so young, you managed to get in here, this has to be because some trouble mustâve happened in the outside worldâ
âThat is indeed the caseâ Gu Qing Shan admitted without pause.
âIf thatâs the case, I want to offer you a dealâ
Saying so, Tian Shan Ye appeared determined.
âPlease speakâ
âThere is a powerful sword technique written in this jade tag, back when Wang Hong Dao was still studying the Blade, he really wanted to learn it, but I felt that he wasnât suitable for the sword. In fact, if it wasnât for his assumed loyalty, I wouldnât have taught him the Blade eitherâ
âWhich means youâve never taught him any sword techniquesâ
âCorrect, I didnât fully teach him my Blade techniques eitherâ
âWhat happened then?â
âWhen I was attacked and found that I would definitely die, I activated a lock seal to destroy all the Sword and Blade technique jade tags I keptâ
Tian Shan Ye then pointed at the jade tag in Shannuâs hand, saying: âThis jade tag was the only one I purposefully left as a trapâ
âA trap?â
âCorrect, my soul possessed this jade tag so that anyone who touches it would be taken overâ
Gu Qing Shan silently told himself, sure enough.