Old Master, Times Have Changed - Chapter 730 (Patreon)

Chapter 730: Trump Card Exposed

“Huff!”

Seated upright in the quiet meditation room, Chi Jiuyu suddenly snapped her eyes open—and sprang to her feet!

The cyan-gold longsword resting flat across her knees slipped downward with her movement, but when it fell to a certain point, it trembled lightly. In the next instant, it turned into a wisp of azure light that shot up, circled the room once, and then hovered at Chi Jiuyu’s side.

“Yuyu, my liege?”

The voice was still young and crisp, with a hint of confusion.

Weren’t you adjusting your state? Why did you suddenly jump up?

Only after a long moment—after confirming she was indeed inside her meditation room—did Chi Jiuyu finally come back to herself.

“Holy crap!”

She couldn’t help blurting it out.

Just a moment ago, she’d witnessed that silhouette swing a sword in the most absurdly show-offy way, as if it cleaved that entire stretch of heaven and earth apart.

After a blinding burst of light, everything in her perception turned into an absolute “void” where nothing existed.

And it was precisely then that her consciousness reconnected to her body again… and then this happened.

“Yuyu, my liege?” Yu Yi asked again, still worried.

“…I’m fine.”

Replaying what had just occurred in her mind, Chi Jiuyu slowly sat back down.

And that was when she noticed the crystal she’d placed inside a jade box—somehow, at some point, it had floated out on its own.

“Yiyi, when did this thing run out?”

“Huh?”

Yu Yi drifted around the six-sided crystal hanging in midair.

“I didn’t notice either!”

“…”

Chi Jiuyu stared at the six-sided crystal in front of her, watching the sword-shaped shadow condensed from threads of light within it, and fell into thought.

Neither she nor Yiyi had noticed—so clearly, the problem was the thing itself.

If nothing unexpected had happened, then everything she’d just seen was probably the scene from when Third Senior Brother created the “Extremity Sword.”

Thinking that, she reached out and grasped the six-sided crystal, and her heart couldn’t help but recall that single slash of sword light.

Very quickly, as she continued to replay it, the six-sided crystal in her palm seemed to respond—those light-threads forming the sword-shadow inside began to flow.

Even that sword, branded into her memory, stopped being an incomprehensible, purely abstract flash of light. It began to carry meaning—more and more of it.

From simple to complex, from the first stirring of intent to the refinement and completion of the “Extremity Sword”!

The Extremity Swordmaster’s entire life of sword-dao unfurled before her in this very moment.

In a daze, it was as if a towering figure stood there with a sword in hand, flicking the blade lightly with one finger.

Amid a clear, ringing sword-cry, he thrust forward with an ordinary, level swing.

Where the sword light passed, the cosmos shook. Heaven and earth split apart, and for a long, long time, they could not rejoin!

Oh?

There are different versions, too?

…

…

“As expected.”

Inside the Sword Ancestor Hall, Xu Xing sat cross-legged at the center of the dao ground, his gaze fixed on Chi Jiuyu’s cave abode.

“Saying this might make her proud, but… she really is worthy of being Jiuyu.”

The “Extremity Sword” truly carried great danger for sword cultivators with excellent talent.

Ordinary sword cultivators, on the other hand, didn’t have that issue—because they couldn’t understand it at all…

This was a sword cultivator with ultimate sword-dao talent spending an entire lifetime, and only then forging a single sword.

And only someone like Chi Jiuyu—another “talent freak” of the same breed—could truly learn and use this sword.

If a more ordinary sword cultivator obtained that sword-intent crystal, they wouldn’t even hear that sentence, let alone use their own sword intent to trigger it and rewind the scene of that sword’s creation.

“She won’t be satisfied with learning it as-is.”

Beside Xu Xing, Bie Xuening said flatly.

She understood this rebellious disciple far too well.

She was still young, but her pride and ambition didn’t lose to her junior brother’s third disciple in the slightest.

So even if it was the “Extremity Sword,” a sword that could be called the pinnacle of sword-dao, she would never accept it wholesale.

She would only comprehend the parts that suited her, then use that as the foundation to create a sword that belonged to her alone.

“Isn’t that even better?” Xu Xing chuckled.

The Extremity Sword…

Even to this day, it could still be called a “pinnacle sword of sword-dao,” the utmost limit ordinary cultivators could reach.

But no matter what, that sword was still an “extremity” of the past.

There will always be someone—and there will inevitably be someone—who surpasses it.

“He’ll be looking forward to that day too.”

…

…

At the bottom of the Xuanxu Sea.

The Alliance of Righteousness, the Supreme Council’s undersea city.

Within the core area at the center of the thirty-six towers stood Yuan’s former residence—the palace later converted into a museum.

Because of Yuan’s official return, it had been remodeled again, and became his dwelling once more.

At this moment, beneath the main hall, at a depth of roughly five hundred meters.

In front of a heavy stone gate, a winding staircase spiraled upward. Along the walls on both sides, a bright golden gemstone was set into the stone at regular intervals.

Soundlessly, the stone gate gradually opened.

Yuan walked in at an unhurried pace, arriving in a spacious secret chamber.

Thick spiritual mist filled the place like woven cloth, mixed with strands of spirit incense that calmed the mind, soothed the spirit, and steadied one’s mana.

The entire chamber looked hazy and indistinct.

A figure sat cross-legged on the central cushion, breathing evenly, with long intervals between breaths.

It was Chen Yuanlin.

Soon, as Yuan entered, the spiritual mist that filled the chamber began to churn and scatter.

Chen Yuanlin sensed the disturbance as well, and slowly opened his eyes.

After seeing who it was, he rose and bowed respectfully.

“Master.”

“Mm.”

Yuan answered lightly and sat down across from him.

“Sit too. Don’t just stand there.”

“Yes.”

“Has your cultivation been going smoothly lately?”

“Everything is going smoothly.”

“Then do you have confidence you can beat Chi Jiuyu?”

“…”

“Looks like you don’t.”

“Your disciple is dull.”

“Heh. If you’re dull, everyone else might as well go find a block of tofu and smash their heads into it.”

Yuan’s tone was extremely casual.

“Alright. I’m joking—don’t mind it.”

“Your disciple isn’t minding it.”

Of course he wasn’t. Among cultivators of the same generation in the Divine Sect, count them one by one—only Chi Jiuyu wasn’t someone he could defeat.

He was already very satisfied.

Contentment is happiness!

“Tsk. With that attitude, I don’t even know why I took you as a disciple,” Yuan sighed.

If we’re talking about imparting the dao and teaching…

These past few years, under his fellow townsman’s arrangements, he’d been busy like a dog. On the rare occasions he squeezed out some free time, he spent it with Wanzhu and Mingyu.

Whenever little Yuanlin had cultivation problems, he mostly went to consult other high-level cultivators who had also cultivated the True Scripture of Void Traces, Empty Calamity, Boundless Realms.

As for resources, that went without saying.

Every mission, he completed outstandingly. The Ascension Points he earned alone were more than enough to cover his routine resource consumption.

He even had plenty left over!

So during holidays, he’d buy gifts to show filial respect.

And Yuan didn’t even need to worry about his mental state.

Even though he was always suppressed by Chi Jiuyu, he was cheerful all day long.

“If you think about it carefully, whether you took a master or not… doesn’t seem to affect you at all.”

“Master, that’s not what you should say. So many people want to become your disciple and never get the chance,” Chen Yuanlin said with a grin. “Besides, if one day I offend some high-level cultivator…”

“Then just don’t mention your master,” Yuan cut in.

Chen Yuanlin: “…”

“Ahem. Joking.” Yuan’s expression turned serious. “As long as it’s the other side’s fault, no matter who they are, I’ll back you up.”

Even if I can’t handle it, I’ve got people behind me!

“Thank you, Master.”

“As I should.”

This master-and-disciple conversation could only be described as extremely weird.

The secret chamber fell quiet for a while.

“May I ask why Master came to see this disciple?”

Chen Yuanlin knew all too well.

His master was busy every day to the point of death. When he finally had free time, he still had to accompany his two mistresses. If it weren’t for something, he wouldn’t come looking for him.

“It’s not really a big deal.” Yuan paused. “One of Master’s… friends wants his disciple to spar with you.”

A disciple of Master’s friend… wants to spar with him?

Mm…

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he felt like his master sounded very unhappy when he said the word “friend.”

“Your disciple obeys.”

Since his master personally came to say it, he naturally couldn’t refuse.

“Master’s friend’s disciple…”

“A few years younger than you, early-stage Soul Transformation. Not Chi Jiuyu,” Yuan said succinctly.

Chen Yuanlin understood at once.

“Your disciple understands. I will go all out.”

…

…

Five days later, morning.

Very early, when the sky was only just turning faintly bright, a large group of people arrived near Chi Jiuyu’s cave abode.

Zhang Yunlu, Zhao Ruohan, Ye Zhiwei, Lin Xuanxuan…

In fact, even Zhao Ruoming and some Soul Transformation cultivators from the Divine Sect who weren’t that close with Chi Jiuyu had come to the Sword Sect, already heading toward the arena.

Today was the Sword Sect’s Divine Sect qualification selection.

Chi Jiuyu was a major championship favorite in this year’s Divine Sect Grand Competition, so naturally, many people wanted to observe her performance in the selection matches and devise targeted tactics.

To be honest, this happened every year.

It was only that last time, Chi Jiuyu hadn’t been very competitive, so no one paid attention.

“She isn’t still asleep, is she?” Ye Zhiwei stared at the tightly shut door, suspicious.

“She might still be cultivating,” Zhao Ruohan said with a grave expression.

Lin Xuanxuan blinked and looked toward Zhang Yunlu.

“Little Zhang, what do you think?”

She didn’t feel much pressure—she was only at peak Nascent Soul, and not in the same group as Chi Jiuyu.

“No idea.” Zhang Yunlu stepped forward. “We’ll know once we go in and check.”

The selection matches started in two hours. Even if Senior Sister was still asleep, they had to wake her up.

The four of them came to the entrance and were about to press the doorbell.

Ka!

With a crisp sound, the closed door suddenly opened.

Chi Jiuyu stood there, bleary-eyed. One hand rubbed her eyes, her hair was a total bird’s nest, and she’d even put her shark slippers on backward.

Seeing them, she froze too.

“Why are you here?”

“Told you she wasn’t awake yet,” Ye Zhiwei said darkly.

“Huh?”

Chi Jiuyu looked a little dazed.

…

…

A bit over ten minutes later, Chi Jiuyu sat at the dining table, yawning, looking listless.

A cyan-gold longsword with a simple, ancient appearance—Yu Yi—floated at her side. With gentle threads of sword-qi, it wrapped around a comb and carefully helped her comb her hair.

Several sword-qi threads extended into other rooms as well.

Some helped Chi Jiuyu pick suitable clothes, then activated specific formations to press them flat.

Some bustled in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone.

Some held a kettle and watered the spirit-plant potted herbs Lin Xuanxuan had brought, using spirit liquid.

The four of them sat on either side of the table with blank expressions.

Even though they’d seen this scene many times, every time, they still couldn’t help thinking…

How is this idiot’s life so blessed?!

Soon, Chi Jiuyu’s tangled hair was combed neat. Yu Yi put the comb back where it belonged, then used sword-qi threads to carry the breakfast out from the kitchen and set it down steadily in front of each person.

“My liege, eat quickly. I’m going to revise the mission report.”

The report from the last Ascension mission was actually already finished.

But Yu Yi felt it still wasn’t perfect—it didn’t maximize how wise and mighty her liege was.

So she decided to revise it again.

“I picked your outfit. After you eat, go change, okay?”

“Mm-hm.”

Chi Jiuyu grabbed a fist-sized bun and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth at once, puffing out both cheeks.

After chewing hard a few times and swallowing—

“Eat up! Yiyi prepared the ingredients yesterday—super tasty!”

Everyone: “…”

If her natal spirit sword ever snapped and decided to devour its master one day, that would honestly be understandable.

“You didn’t suffer qi deviation, did you? Why do you look so out of it?” Ye Zhiwei suddenly asked.

The moment she saw her, she’d noticed.

Chi Jiuyu’s spirit looked a bit drained.

But she was a Soul Transformation cultivator. Forget a few days—months, years, even decades without sleep shouldn’t weaken her spirit at all.

The last time they met, this idiot was still bouncing around full of energy.

Now she looked this exhausted…

It really looked like something went wrong in cultivation—qi deviation.

“…” Chi Jiuyu paused, her tone grave. “I didn’t expect you to see through it, Little Ye.”

Zhao Ruohan frowned slightly.

“Your progress is already fast. There’s no need to rush so hard—”

Before she could finish her concerned words, Chi Jiuyu cut her off.

“That’s right! This ancestor has gained new enlightenment and fully integrated the Yue Lan Seven Sword Forms. Impressive, huh?” she said smugly.

Zhao Ruohan realized she’d been tricked and was about to get annoyed, but the next second, she was caught by a name in that sentence.

“Yue Lan Seven Sword Forms? What is that?”

Ye Zhiwei and Lin Xuanxuan also looked over with curiosity.

Crap!

Chi Jiuyu cursed inwardly.

These past days, she’d been comprehending the “Extremity Sword,” burning through too much mental effort—so she’d blurted it out without thinking.

She was just thinking about how to fool them when—

“The Yue Lan Seven Sword Forms is a sword art that includes the Four Symbols Annihilation Sword Wheel, the Spirit Cloud Dao Sword, the Sword of Annihilation, and the four swords newly created over these years,” Zhang Yunlu explained calmly.

Huh?!

Little Yunlu actually stabbed her in the back!

Four newly created swords?!

“You told me your trump card was those three swords,” Zhao Ruohan stared at her.

“…” Chi Jiuyu’s eyes darted away, but she quickly became righteously indignant. “But I never said I only had three swords!”

Be reasonable!

It’s you guys who can only tank three swords, okay?!

Think about it—since it was already exposed anyway!

And Little Yunlu didn’t say what the later four swords were, so it didn’t really count as backstabbing.

“After today’s selection matches, we’re sparring again,” Zhao Ruohan said.

“Fine!”

Anyway, three swords and it’s over!

“I’ll directly use Taishang Lihen Flame-Spirit Immortal Radiance. You directly use your latter four swords.”

Huh?

Taishang Lihen Flame-Spirit Immortal Radiance?

What even is that?

“And spar with me too,” Ye Zhiwei said as well. “These past years, I comprehended a move called ‘Life-and-Death Indeterminate Wither-Bloom Mysterious Light.’ Perfect timing to test your newly created four swords.”

What is this thing now?!

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ!

So you’ve all been hiding stuff too, huh?!

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