Chapter 121: The Question of Double Jade

"Ba Zun An..."

Xu Xiaoshou murmured softly. Indeed, even the name of a genius was so uniquely styled!

He noted it down mentally but countered, "The Eighth Sword Immortal? Isn't there only seven Sword Immortals on the continent?"

"That's right, there should have been an eighth, but what a pity—this guy broke through and immediately clashed with the veteran Sword Immortal, Hua Chang Deng, and the genius fell just like that." Sang Lao clicked his tongue.

"After the strongest Sword Immortal of our time, You Tu, went into seclusion, Hua Chang Deng basically had no rivals. Yet he dared to challenge..."

"Ah, well, you can only say overconfidence buried a genius..."

Sang Lao looked at Xu Xiaoshou. "Humility leads to progress; pride leads to downfall!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Well, you're quite the master of quotable lines!

Sang Lao mentioned Hua Chang Deng, whom he didn't know, but You Tu, he had heard of.

His "White Cloud Sword Art" was derived from this old Sword Immortal's "Xing Tian Qi Jian," though its power was reduced by several dozen times.

You Tu had beheaded the previous hall master of the Sheng Shen Dian Tang with his seven swords and then vanished from the world—this story was familiar even to someone as uninformed as Xu Xiaoshou.

"The three great Sword Immortals..." Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist; they were incredibly strong, and he had to admit he felt a bit deflated.

Sang Lao pressed down on his head and corrected, "More like two and a half. That genius has been gone for over thirty years—maybe his only impact was to motivate a bunch of people to train harder!"

"These things are still far off for you, so don't get disheartened, but if you're really aiming for the Five Domains and trying to chase after true powerhouses, you'd better put in more effort."

"You're nowhere near good enough right now!" Sang Lao's words hit like a wake-up call.

Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill in his heart; truthfully, after killing Chao Shu, one of the top thirty-three in the inner courtyard, he had started feeling a bit overly confident.

But Sang Lao's sharp words punctured that balloon and left him deflated!

Sang Lao withdrew his hand from Xu Xiaoshou's head and said slowly, "Actually, if you think about it, you have a small connection to this Eighth Sword Immortal."

"Oh?"

Xu Xiaoshou perked up with curiosity; he quickly realized something and started counting on his fingers.

Thirty years ago, plus his current age of eighteen, that would be forty-eight years...

Around fifty years old!

At that age in the mundane world, having children might be a bit of a stretch, but in the spirit cultivation realm, it was no problem at all!

His eyes lit up—he hadn't expected such a background—and he looked up sharply, but before he could speak, Sang Lao smacked him on the head.

Smack!

The old man saw him counting on his fingers and knew he'd gotten the wrong idea; his face darkened as he snapped, "Ten Segments Sword Finger! What are you thinking?!"

"Ten Segments Sword Finger?" Xu Xiaoshou was stunned and felt a bit embarrassed; he quickly changed tack and asked, "So, the creator of this spirit technique is the Eighth Sword Immortal?"

"That's right!"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood; the day he first saw this technique in the Spirit Repository Pavilion, he was amazed by its bold idea of infusing sword intent into the body and immediately felt a kinship, acknowledging its founder as a genius.

He hadn't realized this genius had such a grand background—in comparison, he felt like a counterfeit...

"So now you know how precious the spirit technique in your hands is—it's a legendary art on par with 'Jin Zhao Tian Fen.' Once you enter Tianxuan Gate, you must go to Black Falling Cliff to master it!" Sang Lao encouraged.

"Black Falling Cliff..."

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't expected that after all this circling, the old man's real goal was to trick him into going there—he still remembered the mischievous smile on Sang Lao's face the first time he mentioned the place.

Black Falling Cliff... it must be dangerous!

Xu Xiaoshou chose his words carefully. "I'll try; if I have time, I'll go take a look."

Sang Lao rolled his eyes immediately. Coward!

Xu Xiaoshou ignored the old man and shifted his focus back to "Ten Segments Sword Finger." He hadn't had a chance to look at this spirit technique yet, but...

He recalled the masked man; on their first meeting that night, Xu Xiaoshou had wrapped his body around him, and the other seemed to use a similar technique to break free from the restraint.

That person was clearly a swordsman, but afterward, whether it was Ye Xiao Tian, the Nine Great Elders, or Sang Lao who showed up, he never used a sword.

The only things he deployed were two fingers and various menacing glares...

Could it be...?

Xu Xiaoshou looked suspicious, but asking directly about the masked man would definitely make Sang Lao clam up, so he casually said, "By the way, how many people know this technique? I think I've seen someone use this sword finger before. If it's so widespread, how does it compare to 'Jin Zhao Tian Fen'?"

This flattery made the old man beam; he chuckled, "Oh, plenty know it, but most are just imitators. Very few truly grasp the essence of infusing sword intent into the body!"

A flash of disappointment crossed Xu Xiaoshou's eyes; it seemed he'd jumped to conclusions.

Of course, someone like the Eighth Sword Immortal, a genius of that caliber, would have fans and imitators.

He had plenty himself in the Spirit Palace!

After letting it go, Xu Xiaoshou thought his idea was a bit ridiculous.

Sang Lao had said the Eighth Sword Immortal had fallen, and even if the intel was wrong and he was still alive, he couldn't possibly be the masked man.

There were only seven great Sword Immortals on the continent, with a total of twenty-one famous swords—that's more than two per person, so why would anyone need to steal?

Shaking his head to dismiss the absurd notion, Xu Xiaoshou noticed Sang Lao peering out the window.

"What are you doing?"

Sang Lao turned back, a hint of embarrassment on his face that nearly blinded Xu Xiaoshou.

What was going on?

The young man stepped back cautiously, on guard; something unusual was definitely afoot!

"Xiao Shou, there's something I need to tell you as your master."

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

As your master?

Was that something Sang Lao would say?

This was bad news!

"I have other things to do; I'm leaving first!" Xu Xiaoshou retreated to the door, ready to bolt.

Sang Lao: "..."

"You brat, get back here!"

The sharp command halted Xu Xiaoshou's movement; he turned back reluctantly. "Is it really important?"

"Very important!"

"Important? That probably means it's long, right? Shorten it then? But shortening it might not show how important it is, so maybe it's better not to say anything at all, don't you think?"

Sang Lao's face darkened. "Sit down!"

With a thud, Xu Xiaoshou obediently sat.

"Go ahead."

The old man rubbed his hands together, looking awkward as he pondered how to start. After a long pause, he finally said, "Suppose you have two pieces of jade, both uncarved..."

"One is unknown, full of uncertainty but with unlimited potential—you can see that with proper carving, it's bound to become an exceptional jade, no surprises."

"But it's the surprises you're worried about, you know, all those unexpected risks..."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded to show he understood. What was there to hesitate about?

"Then what?"

Sang Lao continued, "The second piece has an excellent base; anyone can see that with a little polishing, it could stun the world."

"Um, no surprises!"

The old man nodded emphatically. "So, how would you choose?"

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but laugh; the answer was obvious. He asked back, "Are you short on money?"

Sang Lao was taken aback. "What do you mean, short on money?"

"If you have money, an adult would choose both!"

The old man's eyes lit up with delight. "Excellent! You're truly worthy as my eldest disciple—your thinking matches mine perfectly!"

Now it was Xu Xiaoshou's turn to be stunned.

Eldest... disciple?

Why the "eldest"?

Sang Lao grinned broadly. "Here's the thing—I held a grand apprenticeship ceremony this morning, and now you have a junior sister."

He glanced out the window. "By now, she should be arriving."

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

Junior sister?

Apprenticeship ceremony?

Why wasn't I woken up for this?

What the hell? I just took a nap, and all this happened? I even missed the ceremony?!

"I..."

He trailed off and suddenly looked toward the door, with Sang Lao doing the same.

Outside the third floor of the Spirit Repository Pavilion, a girl lingered, clutching the hem of her light green skirt. She had twin ponytails and a demure, modest appearance.

Her little face was full of tension; she bit her lip, mustered her courage, peeked inside, and called out softly:

"Master, hello!"

"Senior brother... hmm?" Her shyness turned to shock. "Xu, Xu Xiaoshou?"

Xu Xiaoshou slapped his forehead, his eyes wide with horror.

"Mu Zi Xi?"