Chapter 28

The second day, Zhou Xuanji brought Little Jiang Xue for the appointment .

Xiao Jinghong did not leave but still sat at the same spot in meditation .

He began to teach him how to execute two sword wills immediately . The precondition was Simultaneous Execution .

Although he attained it merely through self-discovery, since he had already mastered it, he could explain its principles quite well .

The first step was to let Xiao Jinghong execute one sword technique in each hand .

“Two sword techniques? This seems difficult . Will I lose my mind?”

Xiao Jinghong asked with knitted brows . Zhou Xuanji then showed him how it was done .

After he observed Zhou Xuanji, he fell into silence and quietly began to practice .

Little Jiang Xue brought Ah Big and Small Er to hunt and to gather firewood .

Zhou Xuanji laid on the ground and chewed a piece of grass in his mouth . His legs were crossed as he looked up into the sky and felt very pleased .

The vast blue sky and white clouds made one’s mood pleasant .

And so, he had an extra mission every day, which was to teach Xiao Jinghong .

He taught Xiao Jinghong during the day and returned at night to cultivate .

Xiao Jinghong was very patient . He remained at the same place and kept on practicing .

Time passed quickly like a horse galloping ahead without return .

Half a year passed .

Zhou Xuanji broke through to the third level of Foundation Building, while Little Jiang Xue broke through to the sixth level of Qi Nurturing .

They progressed so quickly because of the spirit stones’ help .

Xiao Jinghong had also mastered executing two sword techniques simultaneously, and he was exceedingly happy .

Just by learning dual sword techniques, his power had significantly increased, let alone if he were to use dual sword wills .

Executing two sword techniques simultaneously would catch the enemy off guard .

At the same time, he tried to execute a sword will with one hand and a sword technique with the other . Although the flow of his Qi was messed up and his sword Qi moved inward, it was barely enough for him to succeed .

“Thank you, revered master, for your guidance!”

Xiao Jinghong looked excited . He held his sword and bowed toward Zhou Xuanji, who was lying on the mountain slope .

Without Zhou Xuanji’s teaching, he could not have mastered such amazing techniques within half a year .

Zhou Xuanji waved his hand without care and said, “With your ability, it’s only a matter of time before you master dual sword wills . ”

Xiao Jinghong was even more joyous after receiving his affirmation .

He leaped up and beckoned at Xiao Jinghong with his hand .

Xiao Jinghong walked over promptly and stopped before him . He asked, “Revered master, what is it?”

Zhou Xuanji raised his head and asked, “Why did you come to Gulan Forest?”

With Xiao Jinghong’s ability, Gulan Forest would not be a difficult place for him to traverse . Was he just passing by?

Xiao Jinghong sat beside him and squinted his eyes as he looked up into the sky, and said, “I have a promised battle . To become stronger, I aimed to challenge the Great Demon King in the deepest part of Gulan Forest . ”

“What promised battle?” Zhou Xuanji asked in curiosity .

He heard about the demon king in Gulan Forest . Legends had it that he had great abilities and millions of demon soldiers under his command . They almost destroyed the Southern Snow Kingdom, but fortunately, the Great Zhou Empire came to their rescue in time .

“I fought the Great Zhou Empire’s Meng Tianlang, but neither of us won . So we promised each other that we will fight again a decade later at the border of the Great Zhou Empire . There are still seven years left . ”

Xiao Jinghong replied . When he spoke about Meng Tianlang, his eyes clearly expressed his will to fight .

Zhou Xuanji knew about Meng Tianlang .

He was the Great Zhou Empire’s youngest Knight General . He was good with strategies and was victorious even with many times fewer troops during the empire’s war, which made him famous across the world . Emperor Yan of Zhou was overjoyed with him and raised him to the status of a Knight General straight away .

Of course, this was influenced by their connection to the Meng Clan also . The Meng Clan was a super clan that ranked in the top five in the Great Zhou Empire after all .

“Oh yeah, I have yet to know your name, revered master . ”

Xiao Jinghong tilted his head and asked . He looked at the seven-year-old child, curiosity evident in his eyes .

Even Great Zhou’s prince, Zhou Yalong, was not as devilish as him .

This child will undoubtedly impact the world significantly in the future .

Zhou Xunaji said frankly, “Zhou Xuanji . ”

“Zhou Xuanji? Good name . ”

Xiao Jinghong nodded and said in amazement, though he did not believe Zhou Xuanji to be the prince of Great Zhou .

Lady Zhao Xuan’s incident became widely known, but all the people referred to Zhou Xuanji as Zhao Xuan’s son . Only people in the royal palace knew Zhou Xuanji’s name .

Xiao Jinghong stood up and said, “It’s time for me to leave . Only real battles can hone my skills quickly so that I can master dual sword wills even faster . ”

Zhou Xuanji stood up also and said, “May you be successful . ”

Xiao Jinghong smiled at him and said, “After I beat Meng Tianlang, I will come back to you . ”

Then he leaped into the sky, going a hundred yards above the ground and flying toward the horizon in a stream of cold light, swift as lightning .

This was the Sword Noble .

He came without a shadow and left without a trace .

Zhou Xuanji raised the corner of his lip and said, “That won’t be for sure . We might be in Great Zhou . ”

After Xiao Jinghong left, Zhou Xuanji laid back down and waited for Little Jiang Xue’s return .

After a long while .

Dusk was about to come, and Little Jiang Xue was still not back yet .

Zhou Xuanji leaped up . He knitted his brows and felt worried .

Usually, Little Jiang Xue would have returned by this time .

“Woooo–”

A dragon eagle’s cry resounded from the horizon . Ah Big was flying over .

It quickly landed in front of Zhou Xuanji . His face turned when he saw Ah Big’s wings were stained with blood . It was injured .

It chirped in its bird language . Since Zhou Xuanji had spent a long time with the dragon eagles, he could understand what it meant based on experience .

Little Jiang Xue and Small Er were captured!

He first took out some medicine and applied it to Ah Big . He then leaped onto its back and said, “Bring me there . ”

Hooooo!

Ah Big flapped its wings and flew quickly in the direction he came from .

Zhou Xuanji looked calm but was anxious in his heart .

If something were to happen to Little Jiang Xue, he would go crazy .

The two of them had been living together for five years . Zhou Xuanji had taken her to be his closest family and would not allow anyone to hurt her .

…

Shady Mountain Stronghold .

This stronghold was one of the bandit strongholds beyond Southern Snow Kingdom’s borders . The bandits did all sorts of evil things .

The Shady Mountain Stronghold was situated on a lone mountain . At this moment, a group of people was moving forward . There were three prison wagons among them .

Small Er was locked up in the last prison wagon, immobilized by multiple iron chains that bound it . It was lying down, covered in blood .

The other two prison wagons were used to lock up humans, one for males and the other for females . Altogether there were fifteen people .

Little Jiang Xue was one of them . She leaned at one corner of the prison wagon and kept looking up into the sky .

“Oh, no… The Shady Mountain Stronghold has its eyes on us . We are doomed…”

A beautiful lady dressed in a green skirt said with desperation . Her eyes were a blackish blue and her face was covered with tears . She had been punched in the face .

The other three ladies in the wagon were similar . They were all young, and quite beautiful . Once they entered into the stronghold, one could imagine what would happen to them .

The men in the other wagon were similarly desperate .

They all were young cultivators from different sects and clans . The highest cultivators amongst them were only at Foundation Building Level One . They went to the Gulan Forest area to train but did not expect to encounter the Shady Mountain Stronghold .

A muscular man walked at the front . He was dressed in black armor and rode a tall and ferocious horse . In his hands was a Guandao stained with blood .

“Second Chief, although we did not find the Three-eyed Drought Rodent, it was worth it for us as we caught a dragon eagle instead . ”

A skinny man walked over and said with a grin, exposing a row of disgusting yellowish teeth .

The Second Chief curled his lip and said, “Hopefully Third-Chief can get his hands on the Three-eyed Drought Rodent . The other strongholds and soldiers of Southern Snow already have their eyes on the rat, so we must find it quickly . ”