You Share a Name with a Great Figure

"I'm Yun Mengmeng," she said. She had the distinct feeling that Lu Yang's reaction upon hearing her name was a bit odd, as if he had heard it somewhere before. *She's really called Yun Mengmeng?* Wasn't that the alias Eldest Senior Sister had used when she impersonated the Heavenly Court Cult Master? Lu Yang sized up Miss Yun carefully, thinking to himself that this girl's name was truly interesting—it actually coincided with Eldest Senior Sister's alias. "Do you know me?" Yun Mengmeng asked hesitantly. The way Lu Yang was looking her up and down did not give her the impression of a decent person. "I don't. But I've heard that name before. It shares a name with a prominent figure. If you use it while traveling outside, it's very likely to cause some misunderstandings." "What prominent figure?" Yun Mengmeng wondered inwardly if her name was really that common, to the point of sharing it with a great figure. Lu Yang naturally could not tell her that she shared a name with their Cult Master's alias. His current identity was a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, not the Young Cult Master of the Heavenly Court Cult. "At this hour, there should be storytellers around." Lu Yang mobilized his five senses and listened to his surroundings, picking out a nearby teahouse with a storyteller amid the bustling noise. This was a hot pot street, right next to a snack street, an antique street, and others. A place like this had plenty of teahouses. "Come on, I'll take you to listen to pingshu. Then you'll understand." The two twisted and turned through the alleys until they arrived at a teahouse. Lu Yang ordered a pot of the finest tea and a table full of pastries to treat Yun Mengmeng to pingshu. "...Now, speaking of that battle in Hanshui City! Two ancient supremes took dreams as their Dao, dragging the million citizens of Hanshui City into a dreamscape to wage a battle that could truly be said to seize the fortune of heaven and earth!" "...Yet no one could have imagined that someone could barge into the dream world constructed by these two supremes! That person strolled leisurely through the dream realm, completely disregarding the two supremes!" "Seeing that person, the two supremes faced a formidable foe, cold sweat drenching their brows, and asked in hoarse voices, 'Who are you?!'" "That person cast merely a glance at the two supremes, plunging them into an icy abyss, like uncivilized mortals catching a glimpse of the vast heavens." "In an unchanging, timeless tone, that person introduced herself: 'Heavenly Court Cult Master, Yun Mengmeng!'" One sharp intake of breath after another sounded across the room. It was not the first time the patrons had heard this passage, yet hearing Cult Master Yun Mengmeng of the Heavenly Court Cult make her entrance once more, they could still feel the domineering aura that severed the eternal ages through those few words. "...Then consider the Battle of the East Sea! An immortal stepped out of the gray mist, every movement displaying the mighty power of heaven and earth, intent on slaying the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, one of the Four Sovereigns of the Heavenly Court!" "Just then, the Heavenly Court Cult Master appeared! The first immortal war since ancient times commenced! Two immortals clashed, and the entire cultivation world sensed it..." "...After who knows how many rounds of fierce fighting, the female immortal who stepped from the gray mist suffered defeat. Cult Master Yun pursued the advantage, and the two vanished into heaven and earth..." Lu Yang offered the last pastry on the plate to Yun Mengmeng. "That's how it is. You share a name with the Heavenly Court Cult Master." Yun Mengmeng had been listening in a trance. *We're both called Yun Mengmeng, so why is she so amazing while I'm so useless?* Lu Yang sighed. "I suppose your family never expected you would share a name with an ancient almighty when they named you." "All right, all right, those are minor things! I'll follow you to that Sword Tower or whatever. When this is over, I'll take you to seek refuge with my good sister." "Good sister?" *I knew this young lady couldn't have just run away from home so foolishly,* Lu Yang thought. *She definitely has a place to stay.* Seeing that Yun Mengmeng had the strength of the Golden Core stage, Lu Yang knew she was not entirely eye candy; her cultivation talent was quite respectable. Now that he had advanced to the early Soul Formation stage, very few cultivators could conceal their cultivation from his eyes—unless the other party was a Body Integration stage cultivator. Then again, what kind of Body Integration cultivator would leave home without a single coin and freeload meals and drinks off others? "Yeah! My good sister is super amazing. She's especially good at fighting, but she's very low-key, so not many people know how strong she is. If she gives you a pointer or two, I guarantee you'll benefit endlessly." Speaking of her good sister, Yun Mengmeng wore a slightly proud expression. "Especially good at fighting?" "Of course! She's the strongest one where we come from. Nobody can beat her." Lu Yang did not take Yun Mengmeng's words to heart. *No matter how amazing your good sister is, could she be as amazing as Eldest Senior Sister?* *Forget Eldest Senior Sister—your good sister would be lucky to be stronger than me.* Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng ate and drank along the way, taking their sweet time until they arrived at the Sword Tower. "Did your family not feed you in the past?" Lu Yang looked at Yun Mengmeng with a strange expression. Yun Mengmeng was still holding a skewer of grilled sweet potato noodles bought from the Try Again Barbecue Shop. "Of course they fed me, and it tasted pretty good, like peaches and such. It's just that eating too much gets a bit cloying, and the flavors are really bland. Nothing like here." *If you want strong flavors, you've come to the right place in Shuzhou,* Lu Yang thought. *And if you think the food here is still too bland, my only option would be to invite an immortal to possess me and cook for you.* In a daze, Lu Yang caught sight of an enormous celestial sword towering into the clouds, planted into the earth. Its hilt was obscured by the cloud tops, faintly discernible. Looking closer, he realized it was not a giant immortal sword at all, but a wooden tower shaped like a sword. It was the Sword Tower. Many sword cultivators were walking toward the Sword Tower. Sword cultivators, who were usually a rare sight, had gathered here in droves. Here, Lu Yang saw peak sword cultivators clad in snow-white robes with spirit swords strapped to their backs; Buddhist disciples clutching Buddhist prayer beads with wisdom swords tucked into their waists; and all manner of fully transformed and partially transformed great demons who had also arrived. The sword was not the exclusive weapon of the human race; many in the demon race also favored it as their weapon of choice. Besides sword cultivators from the Demon Domain, the East Sea, and the Buddhist Kingdom, Lu Yang also saw cultivators from the Far North. The Far North was freezing and sparsely populated, lacking even major factions like Penglai Island. The cultivators there were generally rogue cultivators or relied on simple master-disciple lineages. Many sword cultivators liked to travel to the frigid Far North to hone their Sword Dao, hoping to take it to the next level. And sword cultivators hailing from the Far North were naturally powerhouses among their peers. Lu Yang circled halfway around the Sword Tower and quickly found their destination: the Sword Shop. Inside the Sword Shop, all sorts of swords hung upon the walls: long swords, short swords, broadswords, narrow swords... a dazzling array. Everything hanging here was a top-quality sword; even Sword Tower disciples had to purchase from here. However, they still failed to catch Lu Yang's eye. "The quality won't do." The sword he wanted had to at least withstand the force of the Body Integration stage. How could the swords hanging outside the Sword Shop possibly possess such quality? "Who said the swords in our Sword Shop aren't good quality?" a displeased voice sounded from inside the shop. A young man lifted the curtain and walked out, holding a large iron hammer in his hand. The young man froze upon seeing Lu Yang. Lu Yang recognized the young man as well. "Senior Brother Lu Yang!" "Junior Brother Mingtai." It was indeed the true legacy disciple of the Sword Tower, the sword spirit of the Sword Tower Supreme: Mingtai.