Chapter 363: Eating Melon

The woman in palace attire clutched her, a pang of heartache evident on her face. Ruan Qingsu was usually such an arrogant disciple; she wouldn't even flinch if a piece of her flesh were torn. Yet now, she was weeping uncontrollably. It was clear how deeply she had been wronged!

The woman in palace attire carefully examined her body, then noticed bloodstains at the corner of Ruan Qingsu's mouth. Her shoulder blade had been pierced. Even more terrifying, a gaping, bloody hole had been punched through her abdomen by a sharp sword. Her face turned pale with fright, and she quickly retrieved a precious, high-grade healing pill from her collection, feeding it to Ruan Qingsu. Only then did some color return to Ruan Qingsu's ashen face.

"Who did this? Who dared to lay such a vicious hand on you!" Lin Yuhang, the woman in palace attire, demanded, her face full of cold fury.

However, Ruan Qingsu found it difficult to speak. Her distress wasn't from her physical injuries, but from her wounded pride. Biting her red lip, she said, too ashamed to elaborate, "Never mind, Master. I was in the wrong first. Consider it a lesson learned." If she hadn't provoked the other person and caused a misunderstanding, none of this would have transpired.

"Speak!" Lin Yuhang's voice rose in a cold demand: "Don't be evasive! He injured my disciple like this; he clearly shows no regard for me, Lin Yuhang! This is no longer just your affair!" In her mind, Ruan Qingsu had been attacked within the Qingyun Sect. Who else could have been the assailant? It could only be someone from Qingyun Sect! And to injure Ruan Qingsu to such a degree, ordinary Qingyun Sect disciples could be immediately ruled out. The culprit must be an elder from one of the peaks, or perhaps a deacon who had retired from a senior disciple position, and so forth.

Ruan Qingsu's body trembled as she sensed her master's rising fury. Knowing she could no longer conceal the truth, her cheeks flushed as she stammered, "It was... a young man."

Lin Yuhang's expression froze in disbelief. "Are you sure you saw correctly?" she questioned. "How could a young man of such power exist, capable of beating my carefully trained disciple to this state? While there are a few prodigies of that caliber in the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, this is Qingyun Sect—the weakest of the Nine Sects!"

Ruan Qingsu's voice was bitter. "Disciple did not see wrong; it was indeed a young man. My injuries don't bother me; what truly pains me is that I have failed Master's years of teaching, having been severely taught a lesson by an unknown young man."

Lin Yuhang was greatly surprised. "Tell me exactly what happened!" she commanded.

And so, Ruan Qingsu had no choice but to grit her teeth and recount, in painstaking detail, the entire humiliating ordeal.

After hearing her account, Lin Yuhang flatly declared, "Impossible!" She even suspected for a moment that Ruan Qingsu was talking in her sleep.

"He's only eighteen? Yet he's proficient in Earth-tier palm, finger, and leg techniques, *and* Earth-tier sound-based cultivation methods? He wears Qingyun Sect attire, but also cultivates both Thunder Sect and Heavenly Sound Sect techniques? He's only at the Foundation Establishment Realm, but can blast through the defensive jade pendant I gave you? And you say he can control a sword, injuring people from a distance? Do you even believe what you're saying?"

A person's energy is finite. Mastering even one Earth-tier cultivation method to a significant degree is quite remarkable. Simultaneously cultivating four Earth-tier methods sounds incredibly far-fetched. And the rest? Cultivating Thunder Sect techniques *and* Heavenly Sound Sect techniques? How is that possible? What's even more outlandish, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator breaking through a fifth-layer Golden Core Realm defense—is there even a remote possibility? Fine, even if all of *that* were true... Controlling a sword to injure from a distance. Isn't that Xu Qingyang's Sword Manipulation Art? Across the entire land of the Nine Sects, no one else possesses that skill besides Xu Qingyang. How could a young man suddenly appear who is proficient in it?

"Master, I'm not lying; everything I said is true," Ruan Qingsu replied bitterly. "Although it sounds incredible, I truly experienced all of it. Otherwise, where would these injuries come from?"

Lin Yuhang shook her head. She naturally believed Ruan Qingsu had been injured, but the process she described was simply too fantastical, beyond belief. She found it impossible to convince herself to accept such an account.

"No matter how this person injured you, I, your master, will obtain justice for you!" Lin Yuhang declared. "Let's go! I will demand an explanation from Liu Wenchen right now!"

Now, turning to Jiang Fan, who was perfectly fine. After returning to his cave dwelling, he replayed the battle with the female rogue and felt quite dissatisfied with his own performance. He had used a significant portion of his techniques, yet failed to subdue a Golden Core second-layer martial artist.

"My cultivation methods are still not powerful enough," he mused.

After some thought, Jiang Fan took down his guqin and laid it across his knees. The technique for the "Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Art" came to mind. He had successfully comprehended the first layer, "Tiger Roar," back in the Spirit Beast Sect's main hall. Its immense power was currently unrivaled. However, today's duel revealed its destructive capability was quite limited against opponents with highly agile movement techniques. He could try to comprehend a higher layer, to see if it would address this weakness. Closing his eyes, he meticulously delved into the second layer.

At dawn, he slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of joy passing through them. "It seems the predecessor who created the 'Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Art' also recognized the drawback of 'Tiger Roar' lacking sufficient speed in its destructive force," he mused. "The second layer, 'Dragon Cry,' not only enhances raw power but also incorporates a penetrative effect for the sound waves."

Realizing this, he eagerly circulated his spiritual energy, his hands gliding over the guqin. Suddenly, sharp and rapid musical notes erupted. The sound was like a fierce dragon erupting without warning from a tranquil, sun-dappled sea, its roar reverberating close by. It was deep yet piercing, threatening to shatter eardrums and throw one's blood qi and spiritual energy into chaos.

Simultaneously, the terrifying sound waves instantly swept out in all directions. *Bang, bang, bang!* A series of deafening blasts, as if stones were tearing through the air, echoed throughout the secret chamber. Looking around, Jiang Fan saw that the thick, solid walls of the chamber had been riddled with holes by the sound waves. Streaks of faint light pierced through, illuminating the smoke-filled chamber with an eerie, fluctuating glow.

Jiang Fan clicked his tongue in amazement. Just one strike, and the secret chamber was like a sieve! If he were to face that female rogue again, she would likely suffer far more than just torn skin from the shock. More importantly, these sound waves could disrupt a person's blood qi and spiritual energy, effectively paralyzing them for a brief period. This made them especially effective against enemies with swift movement techniques! Escaping the sound wave's attack range using movement techniques would become incredibly difficult.

"Heh heh, I actually hope I encounter that female rogue again, just to get some practice in," Jiang Fan muttered.

*Knock, knock, knock!* A knocking sound came from outside the stone door. It was Tao Zhengjun.

"Junior Brother Jiang, Master is calling for you," Tao Zhengjun announced.

Jiang Fan opened the door, looking at the senior brother with whom he'd once had minor friction. "Does Master have any instructions?" he asked.

Tao Zhengjun offered a friendly smile. "A special envoy from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets has arrived with an urgent matter, and the Sect Master has summoned all members of Qingyun Sect," he explained. "It's not about you, Junior Brother, so don't worry." Having suffered a humiliating defeat at Cao Zhen's hands the previous day, Tao Zhengjun saw Jiang Fan's effortless victory over Cao Zhen as a form of revenge on his behalf. Thus, he had taken the initiative to extend goodwill, hoping to resolve their past unpleasantness.

Jiang Fan was naturally amenable. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Tao," he said. "But what significant matter does this special envoy from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets have that requires everyone from Qingyun Sect to be present?"

Tao Zhengjun shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "However, I heard that all the elders and deacons of Qingyun Sect were kept awake all night last night. It seems someone greatly offended this envoy, provoking her immense wrath."

Jiang Fan looked puzzled. "Who would be foolish enough to offend the envoy to that extent?" he wondered.