The transference array utilized by Tianfeng City could be described as plain, perhaps dilapidated compared to the massive display atop at the outskirts of Jiang’an.
If put simply, the transference arrays utilized by the Hundred Clan Coalition and the various cities of Great Yong were contained within a box.
A box without a ceiling to guard from the elements.
Other than that, the transference array constituted of a circular pattern of various obelisks and an inscribed ring of engraved characters at the center supported by a large platform.
At the epicenter of the inscription, lay a blood-red engraving of two characters: Jiang’an.
The large room seemed to be constructed from compressed and hardened shale. The near pitch-black coloration of the surfaces emitted an unsettling and repulsive aura, as though living beings were not permitted to come into contact.
…though perhaps that aura emanated from the score of people standing across from her.
Yang, Shen, Du, Tang, Wen, Di, and Huang.
The various symbolic titles etched onto the robes served as an emblem distinguishing their identity. From the mixed appearances of both young and old, it was evident that their clans had dispatched cultivators of immense strength.
Alas, An Fei could be certain that out of the twenty-odd cultivators glaring towards her direction, they belonged to the Hundred Clan Coalition.
Her conjecture was further supported as the Heavenly Guardian responsible for escorting her to the transference array leading to Jiang’an, walked onto the side to greet Yang Jian with clasped fists.
“Honorable Yang.”
“Pan Ming,” Yang Jian returned the greeting with an amiable smile, clapping the former on the shoulder with a firm hand.
“You have done well in your duty. Report to the Council of Ten; they will distribute an appropriate reward for your services.”
“Many thanks for Honorable Yang in providing this opportunity!”
Pan Ming bowed a final time, before departing from the transference array with joyful steps.
As he brushed past her shoulder, the young girl thought that she witnessed a slight smirk cross his countenance, alas…
“Mind explaining what is going on, Esteemed, no… Honorable Yang?”
The young girl’s question was tinged with a hint of malice, and hands unwittingly dropped to the hilt of the taijijian at her waist. At the same time, the snow white fox appeared by her legs, and the little raven took flight from her shoulder to perch atop an obelisk.
“My… Young Miss Xu never fails to surprise this one,” Yang Jian’s eyes narrowed at the abrupt presence of the fox.
“Just as the Young Miss’ previous present has brought forth unimaginable benefits, I wonder what miracle this snow-white fox might contain?”
Heeding his suggestion, An Fei’s eyes drooped towards the handsome man’s waist, catching sight of the twin butterfly swords sheathed and attached to a leather belt.
The young girl’s fingers curled into tight fists, a baleful rage brimming in her heart with greater intensity than she had expected.
“…I see that Mister Yang is indeed… honorable,” she spat.
“Robbing the possessions of a young mortal girl, is such a profession enlightening and rewarding?”
“No, no – this can’t be called robbing,” Yang Jian demurred with a pleasant smile on his countenance.
“This is placing artefacts in the hands of their deserved owners; by the order of the jianghu, mortals are not permitted to possess spiritual artefacts. Young Miss Xu, you cannot instantiate slander like this!”
The expressions of the members of the Hundred Clan Coalition changed upon hearing the brief exchange between the An Fei and Yang Jian. As they stared between the two, their countenances flickered between regret, envy, and greed.
After all… with just a few months of attempted refining, Yang Jian who had been bottle-necked at the peak of the Spirit Building Realm had broken through to advance into the Core Formation Realm.
Moreover, the immense spiritual essence contained within the twin butterfly swords was more than sufficient to propel the other Young Masters – Shen Haoren, Tang Yunhe, and Wen Jiu – into the Core Formation Realm.
A single spiritual treasure wrestled from the hands of a mortal girl was more than sufficient in birthing four Core Formation Realm cultivators without being completely refined – what more could they ask for?
Just from Yang Jian’s most recent words, it seemed highly likely that the young girl before them possessed even more treasures of such sort…
In that case, why wouldn’t they change the laws of the jianghu – since the jianghu of Great Yong belonged to them in the first place!?
“I did expect such character from an identity like that of Mister Yang,” An Fei nodded with an unusual expression.
“However, old man – even you turned out to be of this character?”
“…”
Shen Haoren’s countenance blossomed with scarlet embarrassment towards the young girl’s interrogative question, and didn’t dare to meet her gaze.
Nonetheless, the pot-bellied man took a deep breath, exposing another sentence that was certain of igniting the Hundred Clan Coalition’s righteousness… and greed.
“Young lass, it’s not that I was of the intention to steal from you. However, your identity was also suspicious – why would someone of Great Yong possess a demonic artefact to immense caliber exceeding the national treasure? Not to mention, why did my daughter suddenly fall ill after you left?”
Demonic artefact!?
A spiritual artefact capable of surpassing its limits! And of a caliber equaling that of a national treasure!?
Unrealistic as it may seem, but they had to obtain it at all costs!
Seeing the greed within the hearts of the Hundred Clan Coalition evolve into primal desire, the young girl released a despondent sigh. The matter of Shen Haoren’s daughter was completely ignored by the remainder of the Hundred Clan Coalition’s members, much less Yang Jian himself.
On an impulse in answering the question of her heart, An Fei gazed towards the cheerfully smiling, handsome man of the Yang Clan.
“…so those assassins were sent by you all?”
“Indeed. Our Patriarch could divine a few more things regarding your identity than others; it was natural that given the massive benefits on your person, it was better for the Hundred Clan Coalition to secure them. It is just a pity that after everything, we simply couldn’t determine your identity until that… incident at the Eight Immortals Pavilion.”
There was nothing needed to be stated any further.
Shua!
The taijijian was unsheathed in a swift, smooth motion, and An Fei swung the blade towards the ground before her feet.
The dull tremor racing through her legs was soon replaced by the warping of her vision, and the young girl found herself standing within the center of the Hundred Clan Coalition’s cultivators.
All around her, she could spot startled expressions and countenances laced with fear and surprise. The fear soon morphed into anger and aggressive humiliation, and twenty-odd weapons were drawn.
“Attack!”
“Hold!”
Du Yongkang, who was amongst the cultivators dispatched by the Du Clan, shouted with his might to reel in the frenzied members of the Hundred Clan Coalition. He had personally experienced the young girl’s abnormally powerful external martial arts technique, and thus knew its terror.
Alas, his warning was too late, and after the incident at Dong Lin City, the Young Master Du’s authority within the Hundred Clan Coalition had fallen significantly.
Thus…
Clang!
“M-m-monster!”
Twenty members rushed in to attack, and twenty cultivators were repelled by an astonishing force. As they painfully collided against the ground, they found to their horror that their body had been lacerated by numerous, deep cuts.
Just… how?
They had attacked from twenty different directions, and the opponent had only a single sword – a practice sword – but they, of the Hundred Clan Coalition, were the ones pushed back?
Furthermore, the young girl was in fact a mortal, which meant that what they had just encountered was an external martial arts technique!?
This made no f*cking sense!
How was there any justice in this world if cultivators could be this easily bullied by a mortal!?!?
“The external martial arts technique can reflect back any attack thrown at it – !”
Once again, Young Master Du’s timely warning failed to alert anyone to their senses. The injured cultivators howled as they attempted a second rush – this time with martial arts techniques and spiritual essence scattering from their body.
It was on this day that the legend of the practice sword and the young girl was exposed to the world.
Ting!
The slender and thin blade of the taijijian swept from side to side, the sharp tip puncturing holes through the attacker’s clothes and armor.
The speed at which it was wielded increased as the angered cultivators increased the ferocity of their attacks, and An Fei’s vision warped and blurred as her suppressed senses failed to contest against the accelerated fight.
Instead of observing a multitude of swords, spears, halberds, and knives attempting to lacerate and defile her body, the young girl saw the indistinct figure of a scarlet dragon, its massive body coiled within the void.
As if having spotted her gaze, the dragon raised its head to face the young girl. There was no exchange of words or information as the mythical creature abruptly flickered its eyes, uncoiling its body to soar through the void.
As the enormous body of scarlet light sliced through the darkness and glacial isolation of the void, it carried along a resplendent majesty and power.
With each movement made by the scarlet dragon, a stream of scattered words echoed within the young girl’s head.
At the same time, the cultivators of the Hundred Clan Coalition withdrew for the second time, having incurred greater injuries than before.
However, they weren’t as unsuccessful as the first time, for a bloody stain was present at the corner of the young girl’s lips.
Alas, for the third time, they were too late.
On the blade of the taijijian, the inscription of a scarlet dragon shone forth, the rays of light emanating with a majestic aura adamant on the reaping of the lives of its foes.
