Chapter 14

"Let them be, just send two people to keep an eye on him. Our main target is Liu Zhengfeng; other matters can be dealt with later." Ding Mian frowned and thought for a moment before giving instructions.

"Second Master is right. Since this person has come to Hengshan City, he will naturally show himself. Instead of guessing here, we should remain calm and deal with any changes. If he dares to come to us, my Dashaoyang Palm is not to be underestimated," Lu Bai said.

Fei Bin nodded in agreement. The three brothers did not say much more, sitting cross-legged on the mats to rest and gather their strength.

...

Since entering Hengshan City, Su Zhong had stayed in an inn. Apart from eating, drinking, and using the restroom, he had not stepped out of his room.

Cultivation had almost become a habit for him. Yu Canghai was hiding in Liu Zhengfeng's residence and would not come out in the short term. So Su Zhong stayed in the inn to cultivate and study sword techniques.

The "Twelve Deadly Swords" were not yet complete. Su Zhong's plan for entering the martial world was to test his sword skills and strive to perfect his deadly sword technique to the highest level.

He had already connected the twelve main meridians and broken through the Ren and Du meridians to form a small cycle, becoming an early-stage innate martial artist. Thereafter, for every two meridians of the eight extraordinary meridians he connected, his internal cultivation would advance to a higher level. This is why the martial world had levels such as early, middle, late, and perfect stages of innate cultivation.

Su Zhong had long deviated from the correct path in practicing the "Bodhi Sutra." Even if Hongye Chan Master were to come back to life, he could not guide Su Zhong's internal cultivation.

This did not trouble Su Zhong. His mental cultivation was entirely focused on his sword heart. In other words, his internal cultivation was entirely linked to his sword skills. As long as he could perfect the "Twelve Deadly Swords," his internal cultivation would also grow.

Sword skills were internal cultivation, and internal cultivation was sword skills. He inadvertently resolved the Huashan Sect's debate over sword qi.

Early in the morning, Su Zhong took a good bath and changed into a new set of clothes from head to toe. He had a premonition that there would be a big fight today.

Arriving at Liu Zhengfeng's door, he saw a steady stream of guests and heard the voice of the usher announcing the gifts. Su Zhong suddenly realized that he had no proper gift to give.

Su Zhong turned and walked out of the city. When he returned, he was holding a large red cloth bundle.

At the door, the usher asked, "May I ask if the esteemed guest has an invitation?"

"No," Su Zhong answered honestly.

The usher was not flustered. Clearly, there were many people like Su Zhong who came to join the festivities at the last minute. The usher had already made arrangements for such people.

"Then may I have the esteemed guest's name?"

"Deadly Sword Lin Yang." Su Zhong said, throwing the bundle to the usher.

The usher quickly caught it and opened it to find a root carving.

The carving depicted undulating mountains, with the most exquisite part being a welcoming pine tree at the mountain peak, where even the pine needles were clearly visible. The usher's eyes lit up, immediately recognizing the extraordinary nature of the root carving. Regardless of the material, the craftsmanship alone was a master's work.

Little did he know that Su Zhong had just used his sword to carve it. Su Zhong's cultivation of sword skills had long honed his ability to control the power of each strike with precision. To achieve such a realistic carving, he only needed a bit of practice to reach a divine level.

The usher immediately announced, "Deadly Sword Lin Yang, a magnificent root carving of mountains and a welcoming pine tree!"

The noisy courtyard suddenly fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the door, seeing Su Zhong with a cold expression.

"Is this the Deadly Sword?"

"He's too young, can't be real, right?"

"Shut up, do you want to die? This person killed Tian Boguang the other day!"

"Hiss..."

The usher immediately realized that Su Zhong was not a nobody. He quickly dismissed the usher and personally led Su Zhong to show respect. Halfway through, Liu Zhengfeng led a group of people to welcome him at the door.

He did not need to come out, but since the Deadly Sword had killed countless black path experts since his debut five years ago, the name "Deadly" was not just a title; it meant every move was lethal. Today, many people from both the white and black paths had come for his retirement ceremony. If Su Zhong went on a rampage and shed blood, it would be disastrous.

Seeing Su Zhong, he was surprised by how young the Deadly Sword was.

"Hero Lin, your youthful heroism brings great honor to this place. I am deeply grateful, please come in." Liu Zhengfeng bowed with a smile.

Before he could return the bow, several people in the crowd let out heavy snorts. Su Zhong followed the sound and saw several tables in the courtyard, all occupied by black path leaders.

Su Zhong's eyes narrowed, and his internal energy surged, instantly covering the entire area with a cold and deadly sword intent.

For a moment, everyone felt as if they had been doused with a bucket of ice water in the middle of winter. Those with weaker internal cultivation were already frozen in place!

"Sword intent! It's actually sword intent! What a domineering sword intent!" Yue Buqun's face turned serious, and a purple aura flashed across his face as he immediately broke free.

"Such deep resentment!" A middle-aged nun's face turned pale as she also broke free from Su Zhong's sword intent.

Liu Zhengfeng's face remained smiling, but his eyes were filled with deep caution.

"Please, please, please..."

Su Zhong did not push further, retracted his sword intent, and walked into the room. The black path leaders, now pale-faced, dared not make a move.

"Brother!"

Lin Pingzhi was chatting with a group of Huashan disciples when he looked up and saw Su Zhong, unable to hold back a shout.

Su Zhong turned and saw Lin Pingzhi, his eyes shifting to Yue Buqun. Lin Pingzhi had indeed joined the Huashan Sect.

"I didn't expect my young disciple to have such a powerful elder brother. Truly unexpected." Yue Buqun was genuinely surprised. He had just taken Lin Pingzhi as a disciple and had not yet had the chance to ask about his background. He only knew that Lin Pingzhi had a highly skilled elder brother, but he did not expect it to be to this extent.

Yue Buqun himself had not yet grasped sword intent, yet Su Zhong already had his own sword intent?!

"Since that's the case, would Brother Lin like to sit with his own brothers?" Liu Zhengfeng asked.

Su Zhong nodded and walked straight to the Huashan Sect's table. The others saw Su Zhong sit down and, though curious, knew this was not the time to inquire.

Yue Buqun sat in his seat, eyes half-closed, deep in thought.

"Brother, why are you here?" Lin Pingzhi seemed particularly close.

Surprised, but not overly concerned, Su Zhong asked, "Where's Mother?"

"Father and Mother are staying at an inn in Hengshan City. With the elders of the major sects here, Yu Canghai doesn't dare to act rashly." Lin Pingzhi whispered, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Yu Canghai.

Su Zhong glanced at Lin Pingzhi. It seemed that after the family massacre, Lin Pingzhi was no longer a naive youth and had learned to use leverage.

"Why are you here, Brother?" Lin Pingzhi asked, puzzled.

Su Zhong's face darkened: "With the elders of the major sects here, Yu Canghai thinks I won't act rashly, so he's hiding in Liu's residence like a turtle!" He also glared fiercely at Yu Canghai.

Lin Pingzhi's face was strange. They were hiding from Yu Canghai, but Yu Canghai was hiding from his elder brother?

"Ha ha, you brothers are really interesting." Yue Lingshan, who had been listening, found it amusing.

Su Zhong ignored her and turned to look at Linghu Chong, who was drinking alone. Before Su Zhong could ask, Yue Lingshan chattered away, explaining the situation.

Linghu Chong had been scolded by Yue Buqun for speaking rudely to a nun and was ordered to return to the mountain to reflect on his actions. He was now sulking.

Su Zhong listened and let it go, not intending to get involved. The current Linghu Chong was not worth his attention.

"How did you join Huashan?" Su Zhong asked, curious.

Lin Pingzhi explained, and Su Zhong's face immediately darkened. His killing intent overflowed, and the entire table fell silent. Linghu Chong's drinking motion paused, feeling somewhat helpless. Indeed, every time he saw this person, he felt a sense of oppression.

Su Zhong reined in his killing intent: "Mu Gao Feng, he's asking for it. How is Xiao Sheng's injury?"

"He's fine, just exhausted and needs time to recover." Lin Pingzhi answered nervously, his cold-faced elder brother still as cold as ever.

Just then, the time for the retirement ceremony arrived, and the grand ceremony began.

Liu Zhengfeng bowed to everyone: "Thank you all for coming from afar. This is a great honor for me. Today, I am retiring from the martial world and will no longer be involved in its affairs. I hope you all can bear witness to this."

Everyone stood and returned the bow. Before they could speak, Liu Zhengfeng was about to put his hand in the copper basin.

"Wait!" A loud voice rang out, and four men entered the hall. Two pairs stood on either side, and another man entered with a brocade flag. His chin was high, and he looked proud, but when he looked down, he saw that Liu Zhengfeng's hand was already in the basin!

Noticing his gaze, Liu Zhengfeng vigorously washed his hands, as if afraid he wouldn't see or hear.

Then, under the astonished and even teeth-grinding gaze of the other man, Liu Zhengfeng calmly took the towel that had been prepared and slowly dried his hands.

"I don't know what Left Lengchan has to say, but I am no longer a part of the martial world. It's better not to talk about it. If you're here to drink, I welcome you. If you have other matters, I am powerless." He changed his tone as soon as he retired, even calling him by name instead of "Alliance Leader."

The crowd, who had been waiting for a show, found the scene quite amusing, and some even chuckled.

Three men rushed into the room with a thud, looking grimly at Liu Zhengfeng. They were followed by several people, who brought in a few women, girls, and children.

"Left Lengchan is indeed devious, using my family to threaten the Hengshan Sect. Unfortunately, his plans are not as good as mine. I have already retired from the martial world. What can you do to me?" Liu Zhengfeng, who had always been gentle, was now unusually aggressive. Anyone whose family was taken would not have a good face.

Lu Bai's face turned green. With such a major change, the Shaolin Sect's mission was off to a bad start, but there was no turning back.

"Liu Zhengfeng, you have consorted with the demon sect's evil person Qu Yang, with ulterior motives. I am ordered by Left Alliance Leader to capture you. What do you have to say?" Lu Bai shouted coldly, his words righteous and stirring the hearts of those in the hall.

"Proof!" Liu Zhengfeng shouted, leaving Lu Bai and his men stunned.

"You dare to deny it? Do you believe I will kill your son!" Fei Bin's face turned red, pressing a dagger to a boy's back. He never expected the always rigid Liu Zhengfeng to deny it outright!

"Do you have no proof? Without proof, you dare to take my entire family? And you want me to admit it? Is this any different from forcing a confession through torture?" Liu Zhengfeng was furious.

The crowd was also enraged. Who