AZI Volume 2 Chapter 53

By the time Long Hua had raised his head, the replicated figure of Dao He Tian Xue had already vanished, while the blade-scarred scenery begins to distort.

(We'll be strangers the next time we meet…? Other than giving me this new cultivation method, just what was shizun's main objective in performing a partial descent? That voice that laughed as well…)

Closing his eyes in contemplation, Long Hua dismisses the Heart Sword completely, and with it, his body is thoroughly overwhelmed by exhaustion—causing his legs to fold.

"Good work."

Appearing by Long Hua's side, Bai Wen places a hand beneath the former's arm, preventing him from falling completely.

"…"

Opening his eyes, Long Hua finds himself within what was supposed to be a spirit herb garden.

But with how damaged the place is—whether that be the blade scars, or the crater like holes that are everywhere, no one would have been able to guess the building's original purpose.

"Eat it, it should help to alleviate your fatigue, and hasten your recovery."

Resting on top of Bai Wen's palm is a white-colored pill, to which, Long Hua takes and swallows.

(…The medicinal effects are quite good.)

Almost immediately, Long Hua feels the pain that comes from every part of his body beginning to subside. Some of the lighter laceration wounds had closed instantaneously.

(There's still some traces of shizun's sword Qi in my body.)

Straightening his stance, and distancing himself from Bai Wen, Long Hua forms a fist with his right hand.

Turning around—

"Uh…!?"

He throws a strike aimed at Bai Wen's stomach.

Having caught Bai Wen off guard, Long Hua's strike lands a clean hit, pushing the former back by five steps.

"Hack!"

Spewing out a mouthful of blood, Bai Wen looks to Long Hua—who is directing a fierce glare at him.

"C'mon, what was that for?"

With an unamused look on his face, Long Hua asks back—

"You're the asshole who was maintaining that magic array, right?"

"Ah...…"

"Figured as much."

While Long Hua moves over to Tian Cheng, Bai Wen rubs his exposed abdomen in pain.

(Ah goddam that hurts like hell…)

As Long Hua's strike had been imbued with traces of Dao He Tian Xue's sword Qi, the attack had ripped right through Bai Wen's natural defenses—as a Nascent Soul realm practitioner, along with the protective enchantments of his robes.

Drawing in a deep breath of air, Bai Wen widens his one eye.

"Uh? Lao Long, what exactly did you do to me?"

Keenly aware of his body condition at all times, whether it be physically or spiritually, Bai Wen is surprised to feel a sense of tranquility on the spiritual side—that is almost always in a worse off state than his physical health.

Fully restored, Tian Cheng rises off the ground, and proceeds to collect the larger pieces of Kun and Bai Zhe that are scattered nearby.

Turning to Bai Wen, Long Hua answers—

"I transferred the traces of my shizun's sword Qi over to you."

Towards this answer, Bai Wen blinks his eyes. Rather quickly, he realizes something, and asks—

"You have any more of those? I don't mind getting hit a few more times if needed."

"Piss off, masochist."

"Ai, a shame…"

Covering his exposed abdomen, Bai Wen repairs the fist-sized hole in his robes with magic.

Following this, a vast number of individuals—dressed in archaic black robes with short sleeves, and knee-length pants, enter the vicinity.

Held in these individuals' hands are tools of varying shapes and sizes.

Ignoring Long Hua, these individuals immediately begin to patch up the damaged vicinity.

"…"

"…"

The last person to enter the vicinity was a man with a cane. To his side is a young lady dressed in a boyish manner.

"Well then, shall we get the introductions out of the way?"

Following Bai Wen, Long Hua and Tian Cheng are guided in front of Zhen Huai and Zhen Rong, to which, Bai Wen begins introductions with—

"This is Zhen Huai, you can call him Lao Zhen, or Zhen-laoban; he's the village chief. The one beside him is his younger sister."

Looking to Zhen Huai, Long Hua asks—

"Zhen-laoban, are you satisfied with what you've seen?"

The other side should already know his name; hence Long Hua doesn't see any point in stating the obvious, and immediately gets to the point.

Towards Long Hua's question, Zhen Huai replies—

"There's not much enjoyment to be gained from watching a single-sided struggle."

"…"

Despite these words sounding unpleasant to the ears, Long Hua would have to agree. A battle between two practitioners of equal strength is far more entertaining to watch—if he were only a spectator.

"…"

"…"

Maintaining eye contact with one another, both Long Hua and Zhen Huai seem to be making an attempt at seeing the other person's depths.

(A crippled right leg, with a cultivation base that is stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm. Well, if he's a merchant, none of these two things should matter. What's important is his ability to see an individual's worth.)

(Qi Condensation realm cultivation base. This shouldn't be anything remarkable, and yet, the fact that he was able to put up such a fight against an enemy—that was capable of utilizing a Heaven Manifestation realm divine art… I suppose, he shows promise?)

Watching the two's silent exchange from the side, Tian Cheng is also attempting to see Zhen Huai's depths.

Eventually—

"Xiao Rong."

Taking a step forward, Zhen Rong opens her storage ring, which is worn as a necklace. With a flash of light, a neatly folded set of robes appears in her hands, to which, she passes over to Long Hua.

Receiving the robes, Long Hua raises an eye, and asks—

"Does this mean that I passed?"

Shrugging a shoulder, Zhen Huai answers—

"You definitely have potential, but only time will tell if your potential is enough to let you overcome the restrictions of this world."

"I see."

Accepting this answer, Long Hua uses magic to swap his clothes, and stores his cut-up attire into his storage pouch.

"Not bad."

Getting a feel for the fabrics of the blue robes—that have golden wheat patterns decorating its hems, Long Hua smiles with satisfaction.

Beneath the outer robes is a white layer, and binding them all together is a red sash—that's been modified to also act as a scabbard.

(I feel more comforting in these types of clothes than in my usual every-day wear.)

Being able to wear robes of this nature again, an odd feeling wells up in Long Hua's heart.

"Not bad indeed. If you just grow your hair out some more, you can go around posing as an Immortal."

Towards Bai Wen's remark, Long Hua replies—

"Keep your nonsense to yourself."

"I'll meet with the two Nian beasts first."

Leaving Long Hua and Bai Wen to their own devices, Zhen Huai leaves with Zhen Rong.