663 The Second Level Mountain

Zhang Ruochen caught up with the tall skinny man and began walking alongside him. Out of curiosity, Zhang Ruochen asked, "What did you mean when you said just now that you were unlike me?"

The tall skinny man kept looking straight ahead, giving the impression that he did not intend to speak to Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruochen continued, "Tell me your reason, and I will tell you mine."

For whatever reason, be it because Zhang Ruochen was a Long-living Yard disciple, or that the tall skinny man was truly curious about Zhang Ruochen's unusual response, he finally answered, "I have reached the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm in my cultivation, however, it would be impossible for me to break through to the Ninth Chnage in the Fish-dragon Realm even if I were to ingest water from the Holy Spring."

Zhang Ruochen nodded in realization. "I see. So you intend to ingest from Holy Spring once you breakthrough to the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm. Thereafter, you will perceive the Holy Road with the power from the Holy Spring to break through to the Half-Saint realm."

"That's right."

The tall skinny man stared at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Don't tell me you have also reached the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm? Although I can't determine your cultivation level, I know for a fact that you are still some distance away from reaching the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.

"Amazing, you are indeed a superior of the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm."

Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "There's no harm telling you the reason I didn't stay at the first Holy Spring to raise my cultivation level. It's because I wanted to get hold of the Holy Water from the second Holy Spring at the summit of the Second Level Mountain. I would even go take a look at the summit of the Third-level Mountain if the opportunity arises. Why should I waste my time at the First Level Mountain if I can only have this chance once a month?"

The corner of the tall skinny man's mouth twitched as he sized up Zhang Ruochen. He said, "I never expected such an arrogant man would come from Long-living Yard. If you could break through to the first stage of the Second Level Mountain with the level of your cultivation, it would be a shocker to the Yin and Yang Sect."

Obviously, the tall skinny man thought it was impossible for Zhang Ruochen to get to the summit of the Second Level Mountain. To him, Zhang Ruochen was merely an arrogant man who was biting off more than he could chew.

Earlier, when he witnessed how Zhang Ruochen had saved the Saint's disciple, he saw his human side. Furthermore, they were both disciples of Long-living Yard, so he did not mind becoming friends with Zhang Ruochen.

However, the little good impression he had of Zhang Ruochen vanished into thin air because of the statement he had just made.

The tall skinny man walked straight ahead and stopped speaking to Zhang Ruochen.

If one says something and is able to do it, one is said to be confident.

However, if one is unable to do what one says, he would instead be deemed arrogant.

Zhang Ruochen had always thought of himself as a confident person. What could a person accomplish if he lacked self-confidence?

Zhang Ruochen could only shake his head and smile, seeing that the tall skinny man had gone ahead without looking back. Completely unperturbed, Zhang Ruochen put his hands behind his back and continued his journey to the foot of the Second Level Mountain.

A dozen or so Saint's disciple were already gathered at the foot of the mountain before the two of them arrived.

Obviously, all monks who were able to come all the way to the Second Level Mountain were exceptional. They were the outstanding ones among the Saint's disciples.

A cyan stone wall stood 333 meters in front of them. Upon it were characters inscribed by a sword.

Compared to the inscriptions at the foot of the First Level Mountain, these inscriptions embodied an even greater power in terms of the Tao of the sword.

Standing at the bottom of the wall, the monks had stinging sensations on their skin in waves as if an invisible sword Qi were attacking them.

Moreover, the inscriptions on the stone wall were obscure and indecipherable.

Some of the characters had never even appeared on scrolls. They were characters created by the deceased sages of the Yin and Yang Sect.

These characters were known as "sacred inscriptions".

Zhang Ruochen spotted Xu Changsheng and Gai Hao in the crowd. Gai Hao was fighting against a translucent shadow. Their strengths were on par with each other and sword Qi surrounded them as they fought.

After thirty-odd moves, Gai Hao was struck on the chest by the sword of the translucent shadow. He suffered a half-foot laceration and was defeated.

"Failed breakthrough."

The translucent shadow of a man transformed into a word character and then flew back onto the stone wall.

Gai Hao still did not manage to break through the first stage of the Second Level Mountain.

However, the fight was affirmed by everyone present. He was able to withstand over thirty moves from the gatekeeper of the first stage of the Second Level Mountain. At the cultivation level of the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm, it was not an easy feat. In fact, only a Saintly Being could be this strong.

Having been defeated, Gai Hao immediately ingested a Pill and retreated.

"He's rightfully a Saintly Being, having reached this high-level cultivation in the Tao of the sword at such a young age. Give him three years and Gai Hao would definitely break through to the first stage of the Second Level Mountain," said one Saint's disciple who had reached the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.

Although this Saint's disciple was 85 years old, he looked middle aged. His cultivation was deep and profound—it gave the impression that the earth was collapsing with his every stride.

He went to the foot of the stone wall and picked a character inscription that came off the wall and condensed into the shadow of a gatekeeper.

"Bang! Bang!"

After a succession of 16 moves, the Saint's disciple who had reached the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm was thrown out by the gatekeeper.

Challenge failed.

Although this Saint's disciple was accomplished in terms of his cultivation, in terms of his understanding of the Tao of the sword, he was nowhere close to Gai Hao, who had merely reached the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. This was why he was only able to withstand 16 moves from the gatekeeper.

This demonstrated that the test at the Second Level Mountain was beyond the norm. It was even difficult for a Saintly Being and a Saint's disciple who had reached the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm to pass the first stage.

Someone spotted Zhang Ruochen and the tall skinny man at that instant and exclaimed. "Two more new people have passed the third stage of the First Level Mountain and arrived here."

"This is interesting. Both of them are Saint's disciples of the Long-living Yard. When did Long-living Yard become so powerful?"

"In the last thirty years, Long-living Yard has always been at the bottom in every competition among the Suzerains. How is it possible for it to produce two conquerors at one time?"

The arrival of Zhang Ruochen and the tall skinny man at the Second Level Mountain had caused a commotion. After all, which monk who was able to come to the Second Level Mountain was not prominent?

All the Saint's disciples turned around to look in their direction one by one.

Xu Changsheng snorted when he spotted Zhang Ruochen. Obviously, Zhang Ruochen's arrival at the Second Level Mountain stirred up a feeling of disdain in Xu Changsheng.

Finally, someone recognized the tall skinny man. He immediately broadcasted a sound transmission to inform everyone present.

"So it's him."

Surprised and unsettled expressions appeared on the faces of the remaining Saint's disciples when they realized the tall skinny man's identity. Immediately, they retreated left and right, leaving a path for him to cross.

Only three among people remained unperturbed. They did not show any sign of panic upon his arrival.

The first person was Xu Changsheng.

The second was Qin Yufan, who was standing at the foot of the stone wall.

The last person was standing afar at the edge of the cliff. Her tender body was concealed by a layer of white fog. While her features could not be distinguished, clearly she had a slender figure with a pair of long legs. She had all the right curves in the right places.

Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and could already guess her identity. She must be Qi Feiyu, the God's favored daughter who had recently attained "Heart Integrated into Sword".

Xu Changsheng fixed his eyes on the tall skinny man and said, "You finally came back to the Suzerain, Can Dong. I thought you intended to fight in the Battlefield of Primitive World all your life."

The tall skinny man said, "If not for the upcoming Sword Technique Conference, I would still not come back."

"Since you're back, let's have a battle."

Xu Changsheng's voice carried with it a powerful sound wave and a roaring Holy Qi surged from his body. In a flash, an enormous 13-foot illusory image of a Martial Soul condensed right behind him.

"Rustle!"

Instantly, a gust of strong wheezing wind swept the pebbles and sand from the foot of the Second Level Mountain into the air and turned them into hundreds of wind blades that shuttled back and forth in the air.

Zhang Ruochen watched in silence from afar, then he mumbled to himself. "I see, he is 'Blood Sword' Can Dong. He is indeed a strong opponent."

Although Zhang Ruochen had never fought with Can Dong, he could feel how powerful Can Dong was. He was indeed unfathomable.

Thereafter, Zhang Ruochen shifted his vision to focus on Xu Changsheng.

Xu Changsheng, who was a little younger than Can Dong, appeared to surge with war intent. However, Zhang Ruochen realized that actually, Xu Changsheng had a calm look in his eyes. In this aspect, he was not a rash person. He was, in fact, both bold and intelligent.

He was yet another powerful person.

Even Zhang Ruochen could not wait to watch the battle between Xu Changsheng and Can Dong. What would the outcome be?

Can Dong appeared exceptionally calm in the face of Xu Changsheng's challenge. "I am here to break through to the Second Level Mountain. I don't want to waste my strength at the foot of the mountain. If you really are strong enough, we will get the opportunity to fight each other at the Tao of the sword martial arts contest."

Xu Changsheng restrained the war intent in him and said, "If that's the case, let's compete and see who will go farther in the Ancient Gods Mountain."

Xu Changsheng went a step ahead by walking to the spot right below the stone wall. He lifted his head and his eyes swept across the stone wall. "I have long broken through the first stage of the Second Level Mountain. I would like to challenge two characters this time round."

The surrounding Saint's disciples were shocked as no one would have expected Xu Changsheng to challenge two characters in one go.

Two characters were equivalent to battling solo with two gatekeepers. The level of difficulty battling two gatekeepers as opposed to one was more than double.

"Don't you think that Xu Changsheng is overly confident in his Tao of the sword?"

"Battling two characters at the same time will be extremely challenging for him."

"Bam!"

Two characters came off the stone wall and transformed into shadows of two translucent men that then charged toward Xu Changsheng.

Three human shadows fought together in a fierce confrontation. Everyone except Qin Yufan, Can Dong and Qi Feiyu retreated some distance away, fearful of being accidentally wounded by sword Qi.

Zhang Ruochen patted his chin as he observed what was going on, and muttered. "In order for him to break through this level, he has to attain the initial Stage of Heart Integrated into Sword in Tao of the sword realm. In addition, he has to reach the third realm in his cultivation of Sword One."

According to Zhang Ruochen's judgment, Xu Changsheng had almost reached the fourth realm in his cultivation of Sword One. There was a great possibility of success in his battle with the two gatekeepers given his strength and capabilities.

After an hour, Xu Changsheng defeated the two gatekeepers by wielding a Ghost Level mid-class sword technique, thereby passing this test.

Without anyone noticing, Han Qiu quietly came to stand behind Zhang Ruochen. As her pair of beautiful eyes were fixated on Xu Changsheng far off, she smiled and said, "How could he be victorious over two characters? Xu Changsheng must have reached the fourth realm in his cultivation of Sword One. He is indeed amazing."

Zhang Ruochen was not at all surprised that Han Qiu had passed the three tests of the First Level Mountain.

Without looking at her, Zhang Ruochen said, "Junior sister apprentice Han Qiu, please keep your distance."

Han Qiu looked at him in dismay and said, "I thought you had always fancied me. Why are you pushing me away now that I've taken the initiative to draw near to you? Are you no longer the man who is easily seduced?"

"Haven't you heard of the term 'femme fatale'? Your Senior Brother Apprentice Xu will claim that I am molesting you if you stand so close to me. Wouldn't I become his rival for no reason?" said Zhang Ruochen.

All of a sudden, Zhang Ruochen felt someone's eyes on him. As he lifted his head to look in its direction, he found himself locking eyes with Xu Changsheng.

Zhang Ruochen laughed bitterly and said, "See! I am treated with hostility every time I am too close to you."

Han Qiu squinted and smiled as she whispered into Zhang Ruochen's ear. "I had decided to give you an opportunity to pursue me, but I didn't expect you to be such a coward. Are you shrinking back just because Xu Changsheng glared at you?"

Xu Changsheng, who was standing at the foot of the stone wall, not only saw how close Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu were standing next to each other, but how they were enjoying their conversation. Immediately he felt a surge of jealousy in his heart.

His expression did not reveal his emotions, however. Instead, he wore a smile and said from afar, "Junior fellow apprentice Lin Yue, I heard that you combined three Patriarchal Sword Comprehensions during the coronation ceremony. This is quite a magnificent feat for the Yin and Yang Sect. I believe you are indeed exceptionally gifted in the Tao of the sword. How many characters are you prepared to challenge today?"