Chapter 68: The Imperial City Bastards Are Ruthlessly Vicious
BOOM!
Yeop Hyeon's form crashed into the ground. A massive tremor shook the surroundings as dust billowed into the sky!
"...Haha... hahaha... hahahaha!"
Yeop Hyeon lay sprawled on the ground in a spread-eagle position, laughing like a madman.
When the Spirit Water Sword had carried him up briefly, most of the falling momentum had already dissipated. Though he was still about a dozen zhang high, his robust body had no trouble enduring the impact. It hurt, but he'd survived with his life intact!
Even more crucially, he'd unexpectedly unleashed sword control at that razor-edge moment between life and death!
Sword control!
Qi sword control!
All on his own, without anyone's help!
After laughing wildly for a bit, he suddenly sprang up and dashed off somewhere. Moments later, he arrived in a forest, hurriedly climbing a tree to hide himself.
Yeop Hyeon looked up at the sky. His gaze grew steadily colder.
Who attacked the cloud ship? And why?
His first suspect was Cangmu Academy.
In the entire Jiang Kingdom, they were the only ones vicious enough to pull off something like this.
But why would Cangmu Academy do it?
Just then, a strand of intense energy surged from afar. Yeop Hyeon leaped down from the tree and flattened himself against the ground at its base. At that exact moment, a small character—"Earth"—appeared between his brows.
Dochik!
Blending seamlessly with the earth, his presence vanished completely, as if he'd become one with the land.
Moments later, an old man and a woman appeared in the area.
Upon seeing their faces, Yeop Hyeon's expression twisted in fury.
They were none other than Mok Song, the vice dean of Cangmu Academy, and Bei Chen!
Mok Song scanned the surroundings meticulously before bellowing in rage.
"Why! Why is there no corpse of that bastard?!"
"Master, did we really have to go this far? He would've died by my hand in the upcoming martial exchange anyway!"
Mok Song shook his head.
"The investigation wasn't as simple as you think. A near-sword master, a great sword cultivator—no less—who killed the manager of the Tianshan Pavilion and escaped Unseon on his own two feet.
At first, his strength wasn't even fit to kiss your toes, yet at Yangjie Mountain, he reached a level where he could contend with you. His growth in that short time is utterly incomprehensible...
It's not that I don't trust you, my disciple. But in that martial exchange, we can't afford the slightest mistake. Cangmu Academy's millennium of glory must be upheld by our hands!"
Bei Chen fell silent, offering no reply.
"You needn't think otherwise. Cangmu Academy's faith in you is absolute. It's just that Yeop Hyeon is utterly unpredictable. And if he truly possesses the legendary sword body, he'll soon become a monumental threat to Cangmu Academy. With him alone and National Scholar An having left the kingdom, I judged this the perfect moment to eliminate him and avert future calamity—hence my personal intervention!"
Bei Chen hesitated before speaking.
"Master, what if... just what if word of this leaks out...?"
"Hmph! Leak? No one knows of this affair. They might suspect Cangmu Academy, but who would dare accuse us publicly? In a few months, the world will have forgotten it entirely."
Bei Chen said nothing more.
Mok Song furrowed his brow and began scanning the area again.
"Where the hell is that corpse?!"
"He's merely at the Control Qi Realm, so survival from that height is impossible. He might've disintegrated midair, for all we know."
Mok Song nodded at her words.
"True enough. We'll abandon the search for the body. Let's withdraw to the Imperial City. Fen Jue should be back by now. Soon, we'll give the Canglan Academy disciples a taste of hell. It's a pity—if Yeop Hyeon were alive, we could've seen how Fen Jue cooks him..."
Mok Song and Bei Chen vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, having overheard every word, Yeop Hyeon wore an icy expression.
As expected, it was Cangmu Academy's doing!
His prowess so far had clearly instilled fear in them.
"To resort to such cowardly tactics..."
Yeop Hyeon emerged from the ground. His narrowed eyes burned with intense killing intent.
"Just you wait till I get back..."
He was genuinely furious. Had he not grasped sword control in the nick of time, he'd be a mangled corpse by now!
This incident taught him one thing.
The factions in Qingcheng were innocents compared to those in the Imperial City!
The Imperial City bastards were despicably ruthless!
They'd stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Yeop Hyeon ceased his thoughts and took a moment to rest.
Soon after, he dashed toward Yangjie City.
Even at full speed, it would take two weeks to reach the Imperial City on foot. He couldn't afford that.
As he raced toward Yangjie City, the Spirit Water Sword flew ahead of him.
Until now, he'd repeatedly failed at sword flight. But in that life-or-death crisis, he'd succeeded dramatically. Now, he could wield sword control in battle!
This alone granted him another powerful killing move.
But this wasn't the time to bask in triumph.
Inside the Yangjie City barracks.
An elderly man rushed into Gang Gu's tent.
"Y-Your Highness! There's been trouble with the cloud ship carrying Young Master Yeop!"
Gang Gu's face paled at the words.
"What do you mean?"
"For some reason, the cloud ship was destroyed midair. It looks like human sabotage! And..."
"What about the boy!?"
The elder shook his head.
"We don't know if he's alive or dead. But from that height..."
CRASH!
The desk before Gang Gu splintered to pieces. Her expression burned with unprecedented fury.
"It has to be those Cangmu Academy bastards! I'll kill them all!"
"Y-Your Highness..."
Gang Gu turned to the elder.
"Send a hundred cavalry to scour the area. We must find him. No matter what!"
The elder nodded and hurriedly left the tent.
Alone now, Gang Gu drew a golden nameplate from her bosom. Her gaze upon it was chillingly cold.
"If you die, Cangmu Academy will pay dearly. I swear it!"
She clenched her fist, her nails digging into her flesh.
"Please... just stay alive..."
Night had fallen. Yeop Hyeon slipped quietly into Yangjie City. He wore a black robe to conceal his identity.
He didn't seek out Gang Gu. For their mutual safety, hiding was paramount now.
He went to the Tianshan Pavilion and cautiously purchased a cloud ship ticket.
Half a shichen later, a cloud ship slowly ascended into the air and vanished into the dark night sky.
Entering a standard cabin, he locked the door securely before stepping into the Gyeok Ok Tower.
Sword refinement!
The sword technique he needed to hone now was qi sword control.
Inside the tower, a single sword flashed ceaselessly through the air. But its flight was erratic, barely lingering aloft.
He hadn't mastered sword control yet.
That was no issue for Yeop Hyeon.
If it wasn't familiar, he'd train until it was!
A day and a half passed. The cloud ship drew near the Imperial City.
Yeop Hyeon still hadn't emerged from the tower. He trained like a demon, making steady progress through relentless practice.
Two shichen later, the city loomed clearly into view.
Before Canglan Academy's main hall in the Imperial City.
Yeop Ryeong sat on the stone steps, gazing at a small doll. It was one carved by Yeop Hyeon.
Staring at it blankly, she turned toward the distant mountains and murmured.
"Oppa... I miss you..."
Since his departure, she came to these steps every day, waiting over a shichen for him.
Just then, Ji An Zhi approached and stood beside her. Yeop Ryeong looked up.
"Unni, hungry again?"
Ji An Zhi sat silently beside her and eyed the doll.
"Your brother?"
"Yeah! Oppa carved it. Cool, right? Hehe..."
Suddenly, Ji An Zhi stared straight ahead. Moments later, a man leading over a dozen warriors approached them slowly.
They were all Cangmu Academy students!
Ji An Zhi's face darkened upon recognizing the leader.
Fen Jue!
Alongside Bei Chen, he was one of Cangmu Academy's twin pillars!
Fen Jue addressed Ji An Zhi.
"Yeop Hyeon?"
Ji An Zhi rose slowly.
"He's not here."
Fen Jue narrowed his eyes.
"I heard you killed several Cangmu students while I was away from the city. Who gave you the guts?"
In an instant, Fen Jue vanished from his spot.
The ground before Ji An Zhi cracked open.
She drew her blade and swung it fiercely.
THUD!
A dull impact sent Ji An Zhi tumbling into the inner courtyard.
As Fen Jue moved to press the attack, a Cangmu student behind him pointed at Yeop Ryeong.
"That girl's Yeop Hyeon's sister. Since she's here, he's probably hiding nearby!"
Fen Jue turned to Yeop Ryeong. As she tried to flee, he blocked her path and seized her hair roughly. Pain brought tears streaming from her eyes.
Ji An Zhi, scrambling to her feet, charged with her blade raised.
But she halted mid-stride. Fen Jue was using Yeop Ryeong as a shield.
Ji An Zhi roared in fury.
"You coward!"
"Coward? Hahaha!"
Fen Jue's cold laughter echoed through the grounds before cutting off abruptly.
"I simply don't want you dead yet. Go tell Yeop Hyeon this: If he doesn't come to Cangmu Academy within one shichen and offer his neck, another corpse will adorn Cang Mountain!"
As Fen Jue turned to drag Yeop Ryeong away, Ji An Zhi shouted.
"Resorting to holding a mere child hostage—does Cangmu Academy not care if it becomes the laughingstock of the world?!"
Fen Jue's eyes turned icy.
"Laughingstock? Who dares mock Cangmu Academy?"
"A real man using such methods—don't you find yourself pathetic?"
"Heh, a true hero gets the job done by any means. I'm done arguing with you. Bring Yeop Hyeon to the base of Cang Mountain in one shichen. Fail, and this girl joins Canglan Academy's pile of corpses!"
With that, they vanished, taking Yeop Ryeong.
Ji An Zhi hurriedly crushed a sound transmission stone from her bosom.
Not long after Fen Jue's group departed, a shadow swiftly scaled the mountain. A broad grin lit the figure's face as he charged like a gale.
"Hahaha! Ryeong! Oppa's back!"