Chapter 49

"Brother Crane, here comes the sword!!!"

With a loud shout, Su Yi, holding the heavy black iron sword in his left hand, collided heavily with the divine crane.

There was a loud bang. Under Su Yi's impact, the divine crane lost its balance and sat down on its buttocks. Su Yi was also pushed back by a powerful force, retreating more than ten meters before he could steady himself.

At this moment, Su Yi was wearing a gray robe, his bright eyes flashing with a spirited and confident expression. He shouted, "Brother Crane, when we first met, you severely injured me with one strike. Why are you so weak now? I was looking forward to your performance! Hahaha..."

As he spoke, Su Yi couldn't help but laugh heartily. With the completion of the second volume of the *Nine Yang Manual*, Su Yi's internal martial arts skills had made an unprecedented leap. Now, he wielded the heavy black iron sword with ease, no longer struggling as he did before. Although he still couldn't use the more intricate techniques, it was enough to match the divine crane.

The divine crane struggled to stand up, let out two dissatisfied squawks, and charged over again.

"Come on!"

Su Yi laughed loudly and charged forward without hesitation. The two of them began to exchange blows, a noisy and unskilled fight. The divine crane also got into the spirit of it, its eyes growing more and more excited.

Whoosh!!!

The divine crane spread its wings, leaned forward, and its beak, hard as metal, aimed for Su Yi's face.

Su Yi recognized this as the move that had severely injured him before. Wanting to test how much stronger he had become, he didn't counterattack but instead held the sword horizontally in front of him, just as he had done that day, to block the strike!

Clang!!!

Another loud bang. Su Yi's left hand went numb, and the heavy black iron sword almost slipped from his grasp. But the Nine Yang energy flowed naturally, and the numbness in his arm quickly subsided, allowing him to grip the weapon firmly.

Back then, he had been severely injured by this move, but now, even with his injuries not fully healed, he had made such great progress that he could withstand it head-on. Clearly, he had made significant strides, and Su Yi couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

Unable to contain his pride, he said, "Brother Crane, you used to look down on my martial arts skills. Do they meet your standards now?"

The divine crane squawked disdainfully.

Su Yi suddenly understood and said, "Are you saying that I'm still far, far behind Senior Dugu?"

The divine crane nodded happily, pleased that Su Yi always understood its meaning.

"Thank you for your encouragement, Brother Crane. I will continue to work hard and strive to surpass Senior Dugu."

The divine crane became even more disdainful, turning its head away, clearly not believing Su Yi's bold words.

Su Yi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright, Brother Crane, we've been fighting for over an hour. Let's take a break, and then we'll bury Senior Dugu properly, okay?"

The divine crane nodded in understanding and walked over to Dugu Qiu'ai's remains. For the past few days, it had been squatting next to Dugu Qiu'ai, as if he were still alive, except when it went out to find food or spar with Su Yi.

Such a loyal and devoted creature made Su Yi feel envious...

Taking a deep breath, Su Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead. After an hour of intense fighting, he had only used up about half of his Nine Yang energy. In the past, he would have collapsed and been unable to move.

He went to the pond, splashed water on his face, and looked at his reflection. Su Yi couldn't help but laugh smugly.

After shedding his skin, his face, which had become somewhat tanned from the harsh weather over the past few months, had become incredibly fair and smooth, like a newborn baby's skin. Combined with his bright, dark eyes, Su Yi now looked handsome, and the more you looked at him, the more appealing he became.

A teenager with the eyes of someone in their late twenties, coupled with the refined demeanor from his internal martial arts cultivation and the scholarly air from his fair and smooth skin, made Su Yi uniquely charming...

For Su Yi, who had been a nobody for over twenty years, this was a pleasant surprise, no less than the completion of the second volume of the *Nine Yang Manual*.

Every time he thought about how Lu Zhan yuan had described himself as handsome and dignified in front of Li Mochou and Yin Zhiping, Su Yi would secretly shed a tear, feeling that his ordinary face was a disservice to the public... But now, he could proudly declare that he was also a handsome man! Ladies, look this way, la la la~~~

...

After admiring himself for a long time, Su Yi took a deep breath and reluctantly left the pond.

"Brother Crane, it's time to bury Senior Dugu. The grave is already dug, and if we let him be exposed to the sun and wind any longer, he might have something to say about it." Su Yi said to the divine crane.

The divine crane squawked reluctantly but finally nodded in agreement.

Su Yi picked up Dugu Qiu'ai's skeletal remains and gently placed them in the makeshift coffin, whispering, "Senior Dugu, you bestowed the Nine Swords of Dugu and the divine weapon to me. I have no way to repay you, so I can only make sure you rest comfortably. The coffin is simple, please don't be offended!"

After saying this, Su Yi closed the coffin lid and pushed it into the large pit. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back and said, "Oh, and thank you for the clothes. Otherwise, I would have had to run around naked!"

...

Swish, swish, swish~~~

After Su Yi stepped back, the divine crane spread its wings and flapped them forcefully beside the pile of soil. Countless clumps of earth fell into the pit, and in no time, the coffin was no longer visible.

The divine crane squawked twice, its eyes filled with gratitude. It had always wanted to help Dugu Qiu'ai have a proper grave, but as a bird, it was limited in what it could do, so it had only managed to create a simple stone pile. Now, Su Yi had fulfilled its wish.

"You don't need to thank me. I received the Nine Swords of Dugu from Senior Dugu, so I can be considered his disciple. In a way, I'm your junior, and this is what I should do."

Su Yi was also very happy. He was glad that he hadn't left Dugu Qiu'ai's body exposed in the wilderness and had given him a proper resting place. If not, he might have become enemies with the divine crane, and he might have even been killed by it.

After thanking Su Yi, the divine crane continued to flap its wings. Its strength was immense, and in a short time, the large pit that Su Yi had spent days digging was easily filled.

Then, Su Yi brought stones and stacked them high on the mound, forming a large stone pile. He then erected a huge stone stele. With the black iron sword in hand, it was easy to carve the stele. To do justice to Dugu Qiu'ai's reputation, Su Yi went out of the valley to find the largest stone, which stood nearly ten feet tall.

It was clear that the divine crane was very satisfied with the stele.

Su Yi held the Qingming Sword and carved, "Grave of the Sword Demon Dugu Qiu'ai, erected by disciple Su Yi."

After some thought, Su Yi also carved the powerful and majestic words from the sword tomb, so that future generations could appreciate the unique aura. However, the small characters carved by Dugu Qiu'ai in the sword tomb, filled with sword energy, were far beyond Su Yi's reach.