"This form, Lingxiao Heaven, can be considered perfected."
Feeling the gale buffeting his face and gazing at the vast sea of clouds boiling and churning below the cliff, Huang Tian had a moment of profound comprehension.
"Previously, at rank five, I could defeat and kill rank-three martial artists and contend with rank two. Now that I have broken through to rank four, aided by the two forms—Tushita Heaven and Lingxiao Heaven—I should be able to hold my own against rank-one peak grandmasters, and perhaps even count among the stronger of rank one.
"Granted, I haven't fought one yet, so I cannot be entirely certain. What is certain, however, is that ordinary rank-two grandmasters can now be suppressed and slain with a flip of my hand!"
Now, he finally stood at the absolute pinnacle of Qin Province!
In all of Qin Province, there were only ten rank-one grandmasters. Four belonged to the imperial court: the Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard, a rank-one Divine Constable of the Six Doors, a rank-one Divine General of the Black Armor Army, and the Governor of Qin Province.
In the jianghu, the Supreme Elders of Qin Province's Four Great Sects were all rank-one grandmasters.
In addition, there were two itinerant rank-one grandmasters who lived in seclusion and had no interest in establishing any factions.
However, after word spread of the Thundering Lightning-Chasing Divine Sword appearing in Yong Province, the Qin Province authorities had dispatched the Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard and the rank-one Divine Constable of the Six Doors to Yong Province as reinforcements. Three of the Four Great Sects' Supreme Elders had also gone to Yong Province to vie for the divine armament.
As for the two itinerant grandmasters, no one had seen them in Yong Province; perhaps they had gone, or perhaps not.
In short, there were at most five rank-one powerhouses currently in Qin Province—perhaps even fewer!
*So, I am practically invincible!*
When that thought surfaced, Huang Tian could not help but smile. It was not that he was overly full of himself, but with his present strength, no one in Qin Province could threaten him any longer, granting him a long-absent sense of ease.
"Neigh—neigh—"
Beneath him, the dragon horse let out a fawning whinny.
Looking down, Huang Tian noticed it was trembling, its large eyes filled with blatant flattery.
Amused, he placed a hand on its massive head. A strand of gentle true qi swiftly coursed through its body. Soon, the dragon horse felt as though it were soaking in a warm spring. It shivered instinctively, a surge of vigor washing over it.
Excited, it reared its head and let out a resounding neigh that echoed freely through the valley beneath the cliff.
Down in the valley, however, no tigers roared or apes cried in response. Likely, they had been frightened into hiding by Huang Tian's Heaven Blade strike.
After neighing several times in succession, the dragon horse managed to rein in its excitement. It tilted its head to look at its master, seemingly asking where they were headed next.
Huang Tian guided the horse away from the cliff edge and rode toward the green-gowned young woman and her companions over a hundred zhang away.
The group over there seemed to have only just recovered from the shock of the colossal blade spanning the sky. Their bodies still trembled faintly with excitement. Seeing him approach, their eyes went wide and they held their breath.
Only Brother Qin, who was meditating on the blade intent, remained lost in a daze, his mind completely consumed by that resplendent, peerless blade light!
One ray, ten rays, a thousand rays—
Countless blade rays poured down like liquid silver, submerging his consciousness like a raging torrent.
Not until the sound of approaching hooves reached his ears, bursting like muffled thunder in his mind, did he suddenly snap back to reality.
Looking up, he saw a valiant youth sitting on horseback, studying him.
He hastily scrambled from sitting to kneeling, saying in agitation, "Qin Hao pays his respects to Senior! Thank you, Senior, for imparting guidance on the saber!"
Indeed, after awakening from his daze, he had successfully grasped a wisp of blade intent from that glorious Heaven Blade!
Though it was barely a fraction of a percent of its profundity, it was enough to elevate his strength to a whole new level!
The young masters and ladies around him cast envious glances in his direction, then looked toward Huang Tian with tentative, hopeful expressions, seemingly eager to receive his guidance or a favor of their own.
How could Huang Tian fail to see what was on their minds? He said nonchalantly, "That you were able to glean something from my technique is down to your own aptitude. I did not offer you any guidance."
Even so, Qin Hao remained deeply grateful. To learn another's way was to incur the debt of receiving instruction.
Frankly, it was only because Huang Tian did not care about others learning his moves. Had he been narrow-minded, he might well have killed Qin Hao on the spot to keep his signature martial technique from leaking or being deciphered.
Sitting tall on his horse, Huang Tian swept his gaze across the group and said, "You came out here for an excursion, drinking wine and listening to the wind, never expecting to be disturbed by my practice—"
"Not at all, not at all!"
The group shook their heads vigorously. The young man surnamed Liu piped up, "It was only some fruit and wine blown away by the wind. It was nothing at all."
Huang Tian pondered for a moment, then pointed toward the cliff. "When my Lingxiao Heaven cleaved down, blade intent saturated the surrounding area. It will not dissipate for three months. If you reflect on it attentively, you should be able to gain some insights."
Consider it an opportunity granted to them.
Hearing this, the group was overjoyed. They had witnessed firsthand how magnificent and vast that blade strike had been. If they could master even a hundredth of it, becoming invincible among their peers would be effortless!
And if they could comprehend the essence of the blade intent, they might even use that affinity to apprentice themselves to Huang Tian—that would be a truly grand fortune!
Having said his piece, Huang Tian turned his mount, bade them farewell, and galloped off. The onlookers watched him depart until his figure was completely out of sight.
Then, they exchanged looks.
The young man surnamed Liu rubbed his hands together and approached rather awkwardly. "Brother Qin, what did you just comprehend from that divine blade?"
The others looked over as well. Qin Hao drew his saber, a smile spreading across his face. "I... I think I can use my blade to channel ambient spiritual qi!"
As his voice fell, the saber in his hand slashed down like a streak of silver silk. A sharp, chilly blade aura tore through the air, carving a shallow trench into the ground.
Though the force did not seem overwhelming, such blade aura could normally only be unleashed by middle-three-ranks experts using true qi!
Yet Qin Hao was merely at rank seven, lacking true qi within him. Clearly, just as he said, he had mobilized spiritual qi through blade intent to produce that blade aura!
Achieving this meant he had already crossed more than half the threshold to the middle three ranks; rank six was not far off!
The group broke into exclamations of amazement, their eyes shining, while the green-gowned maiden's gaze rippled with tender affection.
The young man surnamed Liu no longer cared about his crush favoring someone else. He exclaimed excitedly, "This is our great opportunity!"
Grasping merely a scratch of the surface had helped Qin Hao stride toward the middle three ranks. What if they comprehended it more deeply?!
Everyone's eyes turned toward the spot where Huang Tian had practiced, burning with even hotter fervor.
***
While Huang Tian rode back, in the Martial Restraint Guard government office of the commandery seat, Yu Jingcheng and Bai Yuanfu sat facing each other, their faces filled with worry.
Their concern stemmed from none other than the two rank-two grandmasters sent from the provincial capital as reinforcements, who had arrived in the commandery seat several days prior.
One was Zhou Tu, a rank-two Divine Constable of the provincial Six Doors and the uncle of Zhou Miaosu.
The other was Niu Kuanyu, Vice Commander of the provincial Martial Restraint Guard, a man of formidable strength who had once defeated two rank-two grandmasters of the Demonic Cult single-handedly!
The arrival of these two in Kunyun as reinforcements was supposed to be a good thing; with them stationed here, the commandery's situation would undoubtedly stabilize.
However—
Yu Jingcheng sighed and transmitted his voice privately: "This Vice Commander Niu Kuanyu from the provincial capital does not seem to come with good intentions. I feel he didn't come to Kunyun to assist us, but rather came for Huang Tian."
Bai Yuanfu nodded slowly. "Senior Zhou Tu, who came with him, is genial and unpretentious. But Vice Commander Niu... sigh, he keeps pressing me to send a letter to Huang Tian, urging him to hurry back."
Yu Jingcheng frowned deeply. "I once asked Vice Commander Niu to go oversee Funing, but he refused, saying he had to wait for Huang Tian to return and confer the promotion order before setting out for Funing. But—"
He was too impatient!
That Vice Commander Niu was eager to see Huang Tian, looking as though it were he himself receiving the promotion rather than Huang Tian.
Beyond the impatience that showed in his words from time to time, he had summoned Instructor Xu, Head Instructor Liu, and others who had once taught Huang Tian on multiple occasions, questioning them repeatedly about Huang Tian.
"It seems that, like many others, he believes Huang Tian's rapid cultivation must conceal some grand secret, and he covets it..."
The two exchanged glances, both sighing heavily.
*Knock, knock.*
A knock sounded at the door.
Yu Jingcheng called out, "Enter."
A clerk walked in and reported, "Assistant Commissioner, Pacification Commissioner, Battalion Commander Huang has returned! He has already entered the city!"
Both men stood up at once and walked toward the door. Just as they reached the entrance of the government office, they saw a youth carrying an arrow quiver galloping up on his mount.
"Neigh—"
The dragon horse whinnied and halted at the gate. Huang Tian dismounted, cupping his hands with a smile. "Assistant Commissioner! Pacification Commissioner!"
The two smiled in return, though their expressions were slightly strained.
A warrior took down the bundle from the dragon horse's back and set it aside, then led the beast off to be fed.
Stroking his beard, Yu Jingcheng said, "Huang Tian, it's good that you're back. The provincial capital sent someone to confer your promotion order. I expect that after today, you'll be an Assistant Commissioner just like me!"
With that, he focused his voice into a thread: "Be careful around Vice Commander Niu Kuanyu from the provincial capital. He seems very focused on you, intent on finding something from you. Exercise extreme caution when speaking and dealing with him."
Huang Tian raised an eyebrow and transmitted back, "Thank you, Assistant Commissioner. I understand."
He had long been mentally prepared for scrutiny within the imperial court. Not everyone was like Bai Yuanfu and Yu Jingcheng, who cared for their subordinates and cherished talent. The world was full of ambitious, envious, and scheming individuals.
Come to think of it, he was surprised by how smoothly things had gone along the way, as Instructor Xu, Head Instructor Liu, Xia Hong, and the others he had encountered had all treated him well.
It could be said that the overall atmosphere of the Kunyun Commandery Martial Restraint Guard was quite healthy, free of sordid petty squabbles. Perhaps that was due to Yu Jingcheng's easygoing nature and Bai Yuanfu's fairness.
As for the provincial Martial Restraint Guard...
Huang Tian could only sigh. No wonder Pacification Commissioner Bai had previously said the provincial capital was a tangled web and advised him not to rush there...
While he was pondering this, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out from within the government office, and two men—one slender, one burly—walked out.
The slender one had upright features and a short beard beneath his chin.
The burly one wore a luxurious purple robe, his taut muscles straining the fabric, exuding an abundant sense of power.
"Divine Constable Zhou, Vice Commander Niu."
Yu Jingcheng and the others offered their greetings.
The purple-robed Niu Kuanyu laughed heartily. "No need for formalities. We are all on the same side. Let us go inside to talk."
"Yes."
The group entered the government office together and came to a spacious, brightly lit hall, taking their seats.
At that moment, Niu Kuanyu drew a golden medallion from his sleeve and tossed it into Huang Tian's hands. "This is the waist medallion of an Assistant Commissioner. From this day forth, you are a rank-three Assistant Commissioner of our Qin Province Martial Restraint Guard."
Huang Tian held the golden medallion and examined it. It was about the size of a child's palm and quite solid, engraved with the character "Huang."
"Someone will deliver the corresponding robes to your residence shortly."
"Thank you, Vice Commander."
The robes of an Assistant Commissioner were similar to what Niu Kuanyu wore: deep purple and made of exquisite fabric, differing only in the embroidered pattern.
"No need for thanks, you've earned it," Niu Kuanyu said with a chuckle. "Before Brother Zhou and I set out for Kunyun, we heard about your feats of slaying that Demonic Cult scoundrel Pei Guan and destroying the Feihong Sect single-handedly. We were truly astounded. And following that astonishment came pride—you have truly brought immense honor to our Martial Restraint Guard!"
Seated in his chair, Zhou Tu stroked his beard with a smile, saying nothing as he quietly observed Huang Tian's expressions.
Facing Niu Kuanyu's praise, Huang Tian did not act arrogant or boastful, nor was he overly humble. He merely smiled and responded with a few polite remarks.
*This youth remains unfazed by favor or disgrace. He truly does not act like a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy...*
Zhou Tu mused privately. Like Niu Kuanyu, he was curious about Huang Tian, but he had no desire to pry into the secrets behind him.
Firstly, his niece Zhou Miaosu had established preliminary contact with Huang Tian; by presenting that Grandmaster Roll, the two sides had forged a tenuous goodwill, and he did not want to rashly destroy that relationship.
Secondly, he was wary.
Huang Tian grew too fast! Far too fast! So fast that many people could not keep up! Just when you thought Huang Tian was at rank six, the next day he had suddenly broken through to rank five. And when you thought he was at rank five, he might break through to rank four tomorrow!
Such an opponent was inscrutable and fathomless, and Zhou Tu was unwilling to make an enemy of him.
However, he could see that Niu Kuanyu seemed to harbor designs on Huang Tian—no, not seemed, but was intensely fixated on him!
The tallest tree in the forest catches the wind after all. This hurdle would not be easy for Huang Tian to pass...
Thinking this, Zhou Tu looked toward Huang Tian with a hint of pity.
Sensing something, Huang Tian turned his head and met Zhou Tu's gaze. The latter nodded gently, and Huang Tian returned a faint smile.
In the hall, the group chatted for a while longer, discussing the situation in Yong Province and the chaos in Funing County. Only after talking for quite some time did the gathering come to an end.
Just as they were leaving, Niu Kuanyu suddenly spoke up. "Huang Tian, stay behind for a moment. I have something to say to you."
Hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Zhou Tu, Yu Jingcheng, and Bai Yuanfu tactfully refrained from lingering and walked outside, leaving only Niu Kuanyu and Huang Tian in the hall.
Niu Kuanyu coughed lightly, putting on an amicable front. "Huang Tian, though today is our first time meeting, please don't feel like a stranger. After all, we are both members of the Martial Restraint Guard. I can also loosely be considered your senior, so naturally I hold concern for you in my heart.
"Do you have any worries or difficulties in your everyday life? Just speak up. If there is anything I can resolve, I will definitely lend a helping hand!"
Worries?
What worries could he possibly have?
Huang Tian smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Vice Commander. My mind is at peace, and I have no worries whatsoever."
Chapter 115