The Nine Cauldrons

On Qing Hu Island

“Teacher!”

Teng Qingshan departed, leaving Xue Xin and Zhao Guangzuo’s corpse in the courtyard.

“The one whose Dantian was destroyed seems to be Zhao Danchen? The lone-armed Zhao Danchen?” Xue Xin gulped as he realized this, and his eyes filled with astonishment.

Before Xue Xin became Teng Qingshan’s disciple, he had been an armed escort. As an armed escort, he had traveled extensively and was very well-informed. Naturally, he knew a lot about the lone-armed swordmaster, Zhao Danchen, who was ranked in the top ten of the 《Heavenly Ranking》.

Zhao Danchen was a legendary figure. He had originally ranked in the top ten of the 《Heavenly Ranking》. After his right arm had been hacked off by Zhuge Yuanhong, the Sovereign of the Gui Yuan Sect, his place in the 《Heavenly Ranking》 had dropped below thirty. However, no one had expected that Zhao Danchen would be able to rise to the 9th place of the 《Heavenly Ranking》 within only two years.

In Xue Xin’s opinion… Zhao Danchen was a super powerful expert in the Land of the Nine Prefectures.

“Yet Zhao Danchen was kicked into the air, and his Dantian was destroyed?” Xue Xin could not believe his eyes as he thought to himself, “Against my teacher, Zhao Danchen was like an infant who knew no sword art.”

“Just how powerful is my teacher?!”

Xue Xin blinked. He felt excited and shocked at the same time. Although he had been accepted by Teng Qingshan as a disciple, he did not know that Teng Qingshan was an Emptiness Realm Expert! As a matter of fact, Xue Xin didn’t even know what the Emptiness Realm was!

“Xue Xin.”

Teng Qingshan’s voice rang strangely in Xue Xin’s ears.

Xue Xin froze as the voice continued ringing in his ears, “You should stay in the inner court while I leave for Qing Hu Island. If you are in danger, leap onto the back of the Six Legged Bladelike Chi, and it will ensure your safety.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Xue Xin looked around, but there was no sight of Teng Qingshan.

Outside the Jing Residence, General Li was waiting in a restaurant. He stared fixedly at the Jing Residence and thought to himself, “Why isn’t Elder Zhao coming out yet?”

“I don’t hear anything.”

General Li felt very nervous.

Then suddenly…

He felt a gust of wind blow past, and his entire body shivered involuntarily. Seeming to have sensed something, General Li turned to look at his side… There, he found Teng Qingshan dressed in a white cloak while carrying a sword on his back. Additionally, one of Teng Qingshan’s hands was still grabbing onto Zhao Danchen’s clothes. Teng Qingshan stared at General Li with a faint smile on his face.

“You-you…” General Li freaked out. His entire body trembled, and his face became deathly pale.

When he saw the person in Teng Qingshan’s hands, General Li’s face turned even more pallid. “This… Elder Zhao!”

“What have you done to Elder Zhao?” General Li began panicking. Elder Zhao was one of the few most powerful experts in Qing Hu Island.

Yet Zhao Danchen’s eyes were currently filled with pain. His mouth could move, but Zhao Danchen couldn’t speak at all.

“General, you never learn your lesson. I said that if you ordered anyone to charge into my Jing Residence, I would take your life,” Teng Qingshan said with a smile as he stared at General Li.

However, Teng Qingshan’s words scared General Li, causing his face to turn completely ashen, and drops of perspiration covered his forehead.

“No, Lord! Senior!” General Li pleaded hastily.

He had no thoughts of resisting… even Zhao Danchen had been caught alive. Thus, how could General Li have the audacity to resist?

Teng Qingshan smiled and said, “However… you actually managed to ask Zhao Danchen of Qing Hu Island here. You have done a meritorious deed, and your offense will be forgiven because of this. That said, you must remember not to let anyone enter my Jing Residence. If this happens again, I will not be in such a good mood.”

With a “poof” sound, Teng Qingshan grabbed Zhao Danchen and vanished from before General Li’s eyes.

“Er…”

General Li felt as though his throat had been clutched and was only finally able to breathe now. He gasped for breath continuously, while his entire body was covered with cold sweat.

“I did not die. I did not die.” General Li wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. “This terrifyingly powerful expert, Jing Yi, said earlier that I have done a meritorious deed. What meritorious deed have I done?”

……

Teng Qingshan grabbed Zhao Danchen with one hand and transformed into a beam of light. He then headed toward Qing Hu Island with an incredibly fast speed.

“Zhao Danchen.” Teng Qingshan lowered his head and glanced at Zhao Danchen.

During the incident which had occurred four years ago in the Great Yan Mountain, Zhao Danchen had been the most active, the most powerful, and fiercest one.

“Er.. Ah.” Now, Zhao Danchen could only make these sounds. He could not speak.

“Don’t worry. We will arrive in Qing Hu island soon.” Teng Qingshan swept past a river several dozen Zhang in width. He stepped on the branches of trees and instantly disappeared into the distance.

Morning, in the forbidden area of Qing Hu Island, the Sword Edge Mountain:

Sword Edge Mountain was the cultivation location of the most powerful expert of Qing Hu Island and one of the few most powerful experts in the Land of Nine Cauldrons—the Blind Swordmaster.

On the Sword Edge Mountain, in front of the tattered house covered with cobwebs:

The Blind Swordmaster sat cross-legged on a rock. He was completely silent, and his entire body was covered with dust.

The wind blew strongly on the mountain, and yet when the cold wind blew, the Blind Swordmaster’s clothes didn’t even move. Then suddenly…

The Blind Swordmaster opened his eyes, which were a strange ash gray. He then turned and looked toward the northeast.

“An Emptiness Realm Expert?” A black glint flashed across Blind Swordmaster’s ash gray eyes, and he stretched out his right hand—

“Whoosh!”

A streak of black light flew out of the run-down stone house and fell into the Blind Swordmaster’s hands. It was a thin black iron rod, which had a violet light swirled around it.

“How gutsy he is!

“He actually caught Danchen!”

The Blind Swordmaster was expressionless, but his eyes narrowed, making him appear like a venomous prehistoric snake. “How dare he come to Qing Hu Island even after taking a member of Qing Hu Island hostage?!”

“Indeed, he’s heading toward where Tie Fan is located!” The aura around the Blind Swordmaster’s body instantly intensified.

“Boom!” The Blind Swordmaster’s clothes fluttered forcefully, flicking away the dust on the black cloth. The Blind Swordmaster then rocketed into the sky, transforming into a beam of black light as he flew rapidly toward the northeast.

……

There were many disciples and many elite soldiers in Qing Hu Island.

“Eh? I think I saw something passed.”

“You must have seen wrong.”

Several disciples were walking on a meandering path while discussing with smiles on their faces. Suddenly, a disciple pointed at something in the distance and shouted, “Look there!”

All the disciples immediately turned and saw a white-cloaked swordsman walking down the mountain road while carrying another man. The white-cloaked man’s every step covered a distance of almost one Li.

“Who is that?”

“Who has the audacity to go to the dwelling place of the Island Lord?”

There were many disciples in the surroundings. Furthermore, Teng Qingshan had deliberately performed ‘Crossing Worlds.’ If he had used the Spiritual Power of the Heavens and the Earth, then he would have transformed into a streak of light. However, since Teng Qingshan had performed ‘Crossing Worlds,’ he left behind an afterimage with each step he took, allowing the disciples of Qing Hu Island to catch a clear sight of him.

“Ah! That’s Elder Zhao.”

“Elder Zhao is in his hands.”

“Why is Elder Zhao in his hands?” The disciples were all shocked and angry as Zhao Danchen was the pride of the Qing Hu Island disciples.

……

The frightened and shocked voices of the Qing Hu Island disciples rang out around Teng Qingshan. Every one of them was angry, but none of them dared to stop him.

Teng Qingshan smiled and said, “Now, even the ordinary disciples of Qing Hu Island know that I’ve caught Zhao Danchen and made my way here… The Blind Swordmaster can’t even pretend as though this never happened!”

Teng Qingshan aim was to bully and humiliate Qing Hu Island!

This way, there would be an irreconcilable hatred between Qing Hu Island and Teng Qingshan!

Teng Qingshan just wanted to provoke Qing Hu Island!

“He is fast.” Teng Qingshan sensed that the Blind Swordmaster had already descended into a pavilion situated up ahead. Beside the Blind Swordmaster, there was a man with an extremely powerful aura. According to Teng Qingshan’s speculation, this powerful aura should belong to a Golden Dan Innate Expert.

At this moment, Tie Fan, the Lord of Qing Hu Island, and the Blind Swordmaster were the only two people in the Dragon Bolt Attic.

“He really is very arrogant.” The Blind Swordmaster could distinctly sense that Teng Qingshan was deliberately decelerating in order to let the disciples notice him, and this enraged the Blind Swordmaster.

“Martial Ancestor, who is that?” Tie Fan said in a slightly worried tone.

The Blind Swordmaster scoffed coldly and replied, “We will know later.”

“Whoosh!”

A blurred figure suddenly appeared and solidified in the Dragon Bolt Attic. It was Teng Qingshan who was currently carrying Zhao Danchen.

“So, this is the Blind Swordmaster,” Teng Qingshan thought as he scrutinized the person before him.

Although he had heard of the Blind Swordmaster’s great name, he had never seen the Blind Swordmaster in person. The Blind Swordmaster before Teng Qingshan had his eyes closed, and he held a thin steel rod which looked like a walking stick. His silver-white long hair fluttered in the wind, and the black cloak he donned seemed like the skin of a bat.

As Teng Qingshan stood there, he felt as though the dark night had descended as the pressure of an overwhelmingly powerful aura weighed down on him.

“As expected of someone who has attained Emptiness Realm Culmination! He is indeed powerful!” Teng Qingshan thought to himself.

“Haha, you must be the Blind Swordmaster,” Teng Qingshan guffawed. He threw Zhao Danchen on the ground and continued saying, “I heard that the Blind Swordmaster is one of few top figures in the Land of the Nine Prefectures. I have always wanted to meet you. Now that I have seen you, I think you are indeed extraordinary.”

As the Blind Swordmaster stood there, the Island Lord, Tie Fan, behind him appeared very inconspicuous.

“Who are you?” The Blind Swordmaster asked.

“I am Jing Yi.” Teng Qingshan laughed and said, “I heard of the Blind Swordmaster’s reputation a long time ago. What is your real name?”

If it was an ordinary person who said ‘the Blind Swordmaster,’ the Blind Swordmaster would have gotten furious. However, the Blind Swordmaster realized clearly that the person before him had not come with good intentions today.

“Tie Wu!” The Blind Swordmaster answered in a deep tone.

“Oh?” Teng Qingshan smiled as he nodded and replied, “Hm, Tie Wu is a good name.”

The Island Lord, Tie Fan, who was at the side, became slightly anxious as the conversation progressed. It was because Zhao Danchen, who was on the ground, had been trembling this whole time. He could not even sit up.

However, the Blind Swordmaster was expressionless, appearing like a carved sculpture as he spoke with a deep voice, “Jing Yi, you are an Emptiness Realm Expert as well. Today, you ruined the life of a Golden Dan Innate Expert from Qing Hu Island, then you came here blatantly… Why?”

“Hmph.”

Teng Qingshan’s expression darkened. He flicked a glance at Zhao Danchen, who was on the ground, and replied, “A few days ago, the men of Qing Hu Island in Wuan County tried to barge into my residence. During that time, I said I would kill anyone who dared to barge into my Jing Residence! When Zhao Danchen came to my residence, he did not ask for the guards to notify me, nor did he wait for me to summon him. He snuck into my Jing Residence and even killed my guards… Then when he saw me, he scolded me and tried to kill me…

“Blind Swordmaster, how did you teach the disciples of Qing Hu Island?”

“I, Jing Yi, would never actively provoke anyone. However, I will not let anyone bully me. An inferior Golden Dan Innate Expert actually had the audacity to behave wantonly in my residence…”

Teng Qingshan stared at the Blind Swordmaster and continued saying, “The destruction of his Dantian was just a minor punishment. Out of my respect for you, I did not take his life… Blind Swordmaster, you should discipline the members of your Qing Hu Island! Teach them that they should not simply barge into anyone’s mansion!”