Old Master, Times Have Changed - Chapter 710 (Patreon)

Chapter 710: When Did the Sword Sovereign Know?

In fact, it was precisely because Bie Xuening hadn’t stepped forward back then that so many people felt there was a Sword Ancestor’s shadow behind Yuan.

After all, the Sword Sovereign primarily cultivated the Dao of the Sword—slaughter and conquest—her temperament supposedly cold and distant, keeping strangers at arm’s length.

Emm…

Given how things looked now, the “cold and distant” part was obviously fake. But the fact that she held the path of slaughter in her hands—and had a short fuse—was absolutely real!

If the Sword Ancestor hadn’t given tacit approval, there was no way she would’ve allowed someone to borrow her junior brother’s name to swagger around and fool people.

All in all, many things in those days could happen.

Yuan’s ability was certainly important, but those subtle coincidences also played an enormous role.

Daoist Ling: “Then do you know he and Big Brother Xu came from the same place?”

Sword Sovereign: “I don’t.”

She only noticed that what Yuan was doing matched what her junior brother was trying to do, so she didn’t step out to clarify.

That was all.

As for what Yuan personally did, or what he went through, she didn’t pay special attention.

First, in all her years of cultivation, she had seen far, far too many geniuses—talents that dazzled the world.

Second… she controlled the slaughtering Sword Dao and her offensive power was unrivaled, but in other areas she truly wasn’t good at all…

Even her junior brother couldn’t sort out something like “social reform,” so there was no way she’d stick her nose into it.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Sword Sovereign: “It wasn’t until Yuan vanished and the news spread that I guessed he might come from the same place as my junior brother.”

Meizu: “/sigh (little yellow duck)”

Meizu: “What a pity. If this concubine had known Dao Brother’s origins back then, I would’ve helped Dao Brother keep Yuan here.”

She wasn’t like the Sword Sovereign—slow on the uptake and holed up at home all day, indifferent to the outside world.

Sword Sovereign: “/slash you with one sword (little yellow duck edition)”

Meizu: “/endure”

Daoist Yuanjun: “…”

How many times had it been? These two were still this childish.

Pill Patriarch: “Speaking of which, back then it seems only the Sword Sovereign knew Dao Brother’s origins, right? /side-eye grin”

Overlord: “Same master, same sect—totally normal. /side-eye grin”

Hong: “/side-eye grin”

Hong: “Oops, I accidentally tapped ‘+1.’ Sorry. /side-eye grin”

Sword Ancestor: “/smile”

Nonsense!

Since when did your ‘+1’ delete words on its own?!

Meizu: “Actually, this concubine is really curious—when did the Sword Sovereign figure out Dao Brother’s origins? /curious”

Daoist Yuanjun: “I’m curious too.”

Daoist Ling: “.”

Seeing this, Xu Xing’s expression turned a little complicated.

Hong: “/crack sunflower seeds”

Overlord: “/watching the drama”

Pill Patriarch: “/pop a pellet”

Artifact Lord: “Weren’t we discussing Yuan and the Alliance of Righteousness?”

Artifact Lord: “Isn’t the topic drifting a bit?”

From a troublemaker’s perspective, he honestly wanted the topic to keep going.

But as the most ignored person in the group, usually only Dao Brother would respond to him.

If he kept fanning the flames now, he’d really become invisible in this group forever.

Hong: “Daoist friend, this is where you’re wrong. /serious”

Overlord: “Yeah. You just had to jump out and beg for attention right now? /digging nose”

Pill Patriarch: “/complicated”

Artifact Lord: “I’m just reminding everyone the topic drifted.”

Hong: “/body cultivator ‘elegant language’”

Pill Patriarch: “/body cultivator ‘elegant language’”

Overlord: “/body cultivator ‘elegant language’”

Group member ‘Overlord’ retracted a message.

Overlord: “…”

Sword Ancestor: “Now this is where you’re wrong.”

Sword Ancestor: “Artifact Lord meant well. How can you treat him like that? /serious”

Pill Patriarch: “/body cultivator ‘elegant language’”

Sword Ancestor: “/draws sword as a warning”

Pill Patriarch: “/endure”

Pill Patriarch: “Actually, I think what Artifact Lord said makes sense. /dead serious”

Hong: “…”

Overlord: “Alright, alright. Dao Brother, stop derailing. We’re not asking who you’d pick—what’s there you can’t answer?”

Sword Ancestor: “/after school, don’t you run”

Overlord: “…”

As a civilized, harmonious exchange group, why was it always threats of violence?

What a crude brute!

Sword Ancestor: “About this matter, actually, Senior Sister already knew a very long time ago.”

Xu Xing still decided to explain.

Just like Overlord said—there really was nothing that couldn’t be answered.

Meizu: “A very long time ago… don’t tell me she already knew before this seclusion? /shocked”

Sword Ancestor: “Even earlier than that.”

Daoist Yuanjun: “Before that ancient war with the Cang race?”

Sword Ancestor: “…”

Sword Ancestor: “Earlier than that.”

Earlier than that wasn’t just ‘a bit’ earlier, was it?

Daoist Ling: “Then it was probably before Big Brother Xu even met me. The Sword Sovereign already knew, right?”

Sword Sovereign: “Correct.”

Sword Sovereign: “More precisely, it was before I met Daoist Yuanjun.”

Daoist Yuanjun: “…”

That was really early.

Meizu: “Wait—when did Dao Brother and Daoist Yuanjun meet, then?”

She only knew their first meeting was a long, long time ago.

But she didn’t know exactly when.

Meizu: “@Daoist Yuanjun”

Meizu: “Spill it. Don’t be so selfish. /pointing”

Daoist Yuanjun: “Then you tell us how you met Dao Brother.”

Meizu: “No! That’s my most important secret. /serious”

Sword Sovereign: “If you say it, I’ll tell you Daoist Yuanjun’s story.”

Daoist Yuanjun: “…”

Meizu: “/bleh”

Meizu: “There’s one more person. @Daoist Ling”

Meizu: “You go first.”

Naturally, there was no reply.

The three of them yanked the topic back and forth for quite a while, but none of them would talk.

Later, perhaps realizing it was a bit inappropriate to discuss this in the Core Members’ Retirement Chat Group, they ended the topic with unspoken agreement.

…

…

Not long after.

Inside the Sword Ancestor Hall.

Looking at the Core Members’ Retirement Chat Group returning to “normal,” Xu Xing let out a breath and looked up, sensing Yuan’s condition ahead.

Suddenly, something stirred in his heart, as if he’d thought of something.

He sent another message in the group.

Sword Ancestor: “I just heard Yuan say he offended you before, @Hong.”

Hong: “?”

Hong: “He offended me? When? /confused”

Overlord: “Yuan’s romantic confidantes seem to be quite a few, huh? /side-eye grin”

Hong: “?!!”

Hong: “(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!”

Hong: “Tell him to stay away from Xiao Xi, or I’ll skin him alive! /furious”

Hong Xi—Hong and Han Liu’s daughter.

About the same age as Yuan.

Because she was a cultivator from Yuan’s era and witnessed his rise all the way, unlike her older brother Hong Sheng who was hostile to Yuan, Hong Xi herself admired Yuan immensely.

Sword Ancestor: “…”

Sword Ancestor: “It has nothing to do with Xiao Xi.”

Overlord: “Right. Also, Yuan’s romantic confidantes all seem to be quite a bit older than him.”

Huh?!

If it wasn’t Xiao Xi, that didn’t make sense.

He had a few Dao companions, sure, but in total he only had five daughters.

Zhao Ruohan was only in her twenties—impossible. The other two were from Hong Qianqian’s generation, even more impossible!

Sword Ancestor: “It was that kid Hong Sheng.”

Overlord: “Holy—”

Pill Patriarch: “/complicated”

Hong: “/after school, don’t you run”

Overlord: “/digging nose”

Pill Patriarch: “/drink tea to calm down”

Two idiots!

Hong cursed inwardly and decided not to bother with these two potholes anymore.

Hong: “If it’s Xiao Sheng, could it be Yuan still holds a grudge because he bullied the weak with his strength back then?”

Sword Ancestor: “Not that. It’s just that after Yuan reached the Integration realm back then, he severely injured Xiao Sheng.”

Sword Ancestor: “Since he beat up your son right in front of you, he thought he’d offended you.”

Hong: “/complicated”

Hong: “When you put it that way, I suddenly feel like I should be a little angry.”

What do you mean ‘right in front of me’?!

Hong: “But about that incident back then, I should actually thank him.”

Pill Patriarch: “?”

Overlord: “/shocked”

Hong didn’t ignore them.

Hong: “That kid was far too arrogant. With his innate divine technique to rely on, he never put his peers in his eyes.”

Unlike Zhao Ruoming before.

Hong Sheng’s greatest reliance had always been his innate divine technique.

But because he relied on it too much, he neglected tempering his mana and cultivating other arts and divine abilities.

Before reaching the Void Return realm, he could still rely on that innate divine technique and stand among the top echelon of the immortal sects.

But after reaching Void Return, as his peers’ divine abilities grew sharper and sharper, his advantage gradually shrank.

Compared to the very top immortal sect prodigies, overreliance on an innate divine technique became his weakness instead.

And the problem was, the Void Return realm was only the beginning of that “gap.”

Even if there was a gap, it wouldn’t be enormous.

As long as no one fought to the death, Hong Sheng in that period still couldn’t easily be separated from those top prodigies in a clean win or loss.

Until Yuan appeared.

Hong: “If Yuan hadn’t given him a blow, he probably would’ve wasted many years before deciding to truly cultivate seriously.”

From an ordinary nobody who was nowhere near him, to later reaching the Integration realm one step ahead of him—

It directly shattered the pride of a “true immortal’s son.”

That was the first time he truly examined himself.

And it was exactly the blow Yuan gave him that let him grasp the chance to reach the Integration realm.

To Hong, the conflicts between Hong Sheng and Yuan were nothing more than kids brawling—especially since Hong Sheng ended up benefiting from the misfortune.

He naturally wouldn’t blame Yuan.

As long as Yuan truly had nothing to do with Hong Xi!

Hong: “Just tell him to put his mind at ease.”

Hong: “Also, Xiao Sheng has already come out of seclusion. He’s still adapting to the current Tai Xuan Realm.”

Hong: “Once he adapts a bit more, I’ll ask him.”

Hong: “If he still refuses to accept it, I’ll arrange for Yuan to fight him again.”

Huh?!

Overlord: “Wait!”

Overlord: “Let me sort this out. /deep in thought”

Overlord: “That kid Hong Sheng went into seclusion once and jumped from Void Return straight to the Integration realm? /shocked”

Hong: “Of course not. Think about it—there’s no way.”

Overlord: “Then do you know what realm Yuan is in right now?”

Overlord: “/complicated”

Even if he really did jump from Void Return to the Integration realm in a single seclusion…

One look from Yuan could still kill your son on the spot.

Hong: “Doesn’t matter. He won’t die anyway.”

Hong: “Remember to tell Yuan. I’ll make the arrangements then. @Sword Ancestor”

Sword Ancestor: “/complicated”

Staring at the chat screen, Xu Xing’s eyelid twitched.

He put away his phone and continued looking toward where Yuan was.

But he discovered Yuan had already completed his initial adjustment and was trying to move his body.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Xing decided to pass on Hong’s request:

“Yuan, Hong has something he wants to ask you to help with.”

Hm?

Yuan, who was moving his limbs like an elderly man, paused.

“He wants you to fight Hong Sheng again.”

Huh?

Fight Hong Sheng again?

“That’s fine, but I haven’t recovered yet. It might need to be a bit later.” Out of caution, he asked again, “How long has he been at the Soul Transformation realm?”

Though jumping from Void Return to Soul Transformation in such a short time was abnormal…

He himself had done exactly that.

He couldn’t rule out someone else doing it too.

Besides, that guy was the genuine “true immortal’s son.”

“He’s not at Soul Transformation. He’s only at the Integration realm.”

Huh?!!

Only Integration?

Integration fighting his Soul Transformation?

No—

This guy was a honey badger or what? That brave?!

Yuan froze for a long while.

Wait!

He reacted.

“Could it be Senior Hong will…”

How could Integration fight Soul Transformation? A true immortal might manage it!

“Don’t worry. Daoist Hong will only make sure he doesn’t die. He won’t interfere.”

“Then I can do it anytime.” Yuan said decisively.

Even though the fusion of body and spirit was still unstable, even though the “Dao injury” still existed, and his worn-away essence hadn’t recovered yet—

Still!

Yuan felt that crossing realms to fight an Integration cultivator… he had a chance to win.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go all out!”

…

…

After passing along Hong’s meaning, Xu Xing didn’t disturb Yuan further.

The firelight around them flickered unsteadily. Xu Xing stared ahead, yet his thoughts drifted back to what Meizu had asked just now.

When did she learn he was a transmigrator…

When he arrived in the Tai Xuan Realm back then, due to the impact of spacetime turbulence, Xu Xing’s body reverted to the state he had at ten years old.

And at that time, Bie Xuening had only just turned sixteen.

When Xu Xing entered under their master’s tutelage, she was the same as now—cold to outsiders, icy and distant.

But in the end she was only a sixteen-year-old girl. Even if she tried to act, she could only keep it up for so long…

So before long she revealed her true nature. And over the next few years of getting along, she gradually came to trust Xu Xing, until that trust eventually turned into reliance.

Moreover, the first person to discover Xu Xing’s secret wasn’t Bie Xuening, but their master.

However, their master didn’t expose it—he even deliberately helped cover for him.

The teacher who taught him with complete sincerity trusted him without reservation, and the closest senior sister never doubted him at all.

Maybe some people wouldn’t think much of it.

But Xu Xing, in that period, was suffering intensely inside.

In the end, after a bout of mental struggle, he chose to confess to his master, and he also explained to Bie Xuening his identity as a “transmigrator.”

After that, his master didn’t develop prejudice against him. Instead, he reminded him not to tell outsiders about it.

But as for “impact”…

There was some.

Perhaps because of that unusual experience, his master held higher expectations for him, and in daily life supervised his cultivation far more strictly.

As for Bie Xuening…

At the time, she seemed not to understand what Xu Xing was saying at all.

“Sigh…”

With a soft sigh, Xu Xing’s scattered thoughts settled back into calm.

After that confession, his master once believed he was the one who would lead the human race into the future.

But by then, Xu Xing—already facing reality—didn’t believe that.

He coasted along, even a little lazy.

“…”

In the very last time, his master must have been somewhat disappointed in him.

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