Chapter 76 Yan Bei of Swallow Fortress
Yan Bei was a member of the Swallow Fortress' Yan Clan. At the age of 25, he managed to acquire internal arts and surpassed the younger generation of the clan, becoming the youngest third-rate expert in Yan Clan and was considered the top talent in his clan. After becoming a third-rate expert, he left the fortress with great confidence in his abilities and began to roam in Jianghu.
Several months later, he realized that while becoming a third-rate expert at the age of 25 might have been a great achievement in Yan Clan, it was no big deal at all in Jianghu. Plenty of people were stronger and younger than him. There were also numerous major sect disciples who managed to become third-rate experts at the age of 15 or 16.
After learning the truth, he deeply understood that although Swallow Fortress ruled the area surrounding it, it could only be considered a minor sect in Jianghu! He had attempted to justify and defend the honor of his clan, as he was unable to accept the truth that the Yan clan which he was so proud of had such a lowly status in Jianghu. Alas, facts were facts, and there was nothing he could do about it!
Silently accepting the truth, he made a vow in his heart. He was going to do his best to learn martial arts and become a first-rate expert. Then he was going to expand and grow the Yan Clan so that everyone in Jianghu would no longer be able to look down on his clan.
Receiving information about the place called Lanzhou City, he learned that this was a wondrous place where the top talents from both factions often clashed. It was here that one could experience battles of life and death, and from these battles, increase one's strength rapidly. Therefore, he decided to head for Lanzhou City to improve himself.
Acquiring a horse, he traveled thousands of li before reaching Lanzhou City several months later. Although he had experienced countless hardships along the way, he managed to make it.
Arriving at Lanzhou City, he was filled with emotions. Fortunately, not long after he arrived, he heard that large numbers of demonic cult disciples were attacking the righteous faction. Such events occurred frequently, and it was always one of the two factions stirring up trouble for the other.
Yan Bei did not care about all these matters. He only knew that he now had plenty of chances to engage in battles of life and death with demonic cult disciples. Although he was extremely excited, he did not set off immediately. Having roamed about Jianghu for more than a year, he was well aware that making a move too early was dangerous. It was easy to fall into a trap devised by the demonic faction.
It was much safer to follow behind a large force. Although he wouldn't be able to get the meat in this way, he could still manage to get some soup. Besides, he wasn't here to exterminate evil and make a name for himself. His only aim was to hone his abilities by taking part in battles of life and death.
Once the major sect disciples had led large forces and set off, he slowly followed behind, heading in the direction of the Western Region. Although the demonic cult disciples were bound to be overrun by the large forces, he believed that there was bound to be some who managed to escape. His judgment was correct, and he found one of these escapees with great luck.
After a great battle, he expended most of his energy and strength before finally managing to kill the demonic cult disciple. Once he digested the experience that he gained from the battle, he felt that he had improved greatly and was filled with joy.
Those old hands of Jianghu were right. One could only grow rapidly by constantly experiencing battles of life and death. After getting a taste of it, Yan Bei started searching for targets with even more enthusiasm. Within a few days, he managed to find a few more demonic cult disciples to do battle with.
He could feel himself improving after every battle as his fighting techniques became more and more polished. Eliminating excessive movements, each technique was now capable of killing. He also became better at dodging and his movement speed increased. He was very satisfied with his progress.
With excitement and anticipation, he delved deeper into the Western Region. Finally, he encountered an enemy who was stronger than him. It was a demonic cult disciple who was from a minor sect just like him. However, he was highly experienced in fighting, and Yan Bei was unable to deal with him.
Similarly using a saber, his moves were sharp, vicious and extremely fast! Although the moves were simple, they contained great power. Yan Bei was incredibly pressured and he lost the vantage at the start of the battle.
After dozens of moves, Yan Bei started to feel a lack of strength and the inability to keep up with his opponent's speed. The enemy's saber also started landing hits on his body. Fortunately, due to his improvements in movement arts, he was able to avoid major injuries. Still, the situation was getting worse, and he felt that he was going to lose his life after another hundred moves.
He started feeling regret for using such a risky method to improve himself. As a result, he was going to die before he could become a first-rate expert and achieve his dream of expanding his clan.
Feeling despair in his heart, his movements grew sluggish. After suffering several more cuts, his saber was knocked out of his hand and his opponent kicked him to the ground before leaping into the air and chopping towards his head. Yan Bei secretly sighed: "My life ends here!"
Just when he was going to close his eyes to await the arrival of the final moment, he was astounded by an arrow which appeared with great speed. The demonic cult disciple which was going to deliver the final blow was hit by the arrow and a large hole was blasted in his body. He then flew backward several meters before crashing onto the ground. The enemy had been killed by an arrow!
"Killed just like that?"
Yan Bei could not believe his eyes. Such a powerful and experienced demonic cult disciple who nearly killed him was vanquished by a mere arrow? How strong was the one who shot the arrow?
Just as he fell into a daze, a youth in white holding a violet great bow and carrying a sword on his back approached him. This youth in white was apparently the person who shot the arrow.
"So young?"
The age of this youth greatly shocked Yan Bei. Achieving such great power at such a young age?
Before he could recover from his shock, four more figures emerged from behind the youth. They were all wearing heavy armor and holding their helmets in their hands. Among them, there was a nun who was even younger than the youth! The other three people were slightly older, but also only about twenty years old.
"Who are these people?"
Yan Bei was rendered speechless at the sight of them. He always heard others talking about how young the major sect geniuses were. Now he could finally see them with his own eyes. He was still practicing Basic Saber Art at the age of 15 or 16, and the concept of internal arts was not even in his mind then.
"Are you alright?"
The youth in white who was apparently the leader of the group smiled at him and offered a hand. Although his face looked young, his behavior was incredibly mature, and he exuded an extraordinary aura.
Yan Bei shook his head repeatedly and got up from the ground by himself.
"No, no, you don't have to help me, I can get up on my own. I'm very grateful to you for saving my life!"
"I am Yan Bei from Swallow Fortress' Yan Clan, may I know who are you?"
Yan Bei stated his identity with a face full of gratitude.
"Lin Yi of Huashan."
Yan Bei fell into shock once more as he pointed at the youth and stammered: "You...you are the famed Deadly Celestial Sword of Huashan?!"
Lin Yi smiled and nodded.
"To think that I have been saved by the great Deadly Celestial Sword!" Yan Bei could not contain his excitement. He heard that Deadly Celestial Sword had fought ten similarly classed experts by himself and killed them all. Seven of the ten were even the infamous Black-Robed Seven from Sun Moon Holy Cult. Yan Bei had been greatly awed by this feat and he treated Deadly Celestial Sword as his idol. To think that he would meet his idol right now.
"The four of them are?" Yan Bei looked at the other four people as he made a guess in his mind.
"Northern Hengshan's Yiqian!"
"Songshan's Lu Buping!"
"Taishan's Yun Taizi!"
"Southern Hengshan's Mo Yu!"
Yan Bei's suspicions were confirmed once he heard their names.
"So all of you are from the Five Mountain Sword Sects, Yan Bei greets all of you young heroes and heroines!" Yan Bei hurriedly bowed.
"Young Hero Yan, you don't have to stand on ceremony." Lin Yi smiled as he shook his head. Then he surveyed the surroundings and discussed with the four others from time to time. Yan Bei did not dare to eavesdrop on their conversation and only scrutinized the five of them secretly. He discovered that besides Lin Yi who was wearing a white garb and free from injuries, the other four of them were wearing heavy armor that was covered in cuts and blackened bloodstains.
The five of them emanated killing intent and ferocity as they talked, and it was apparent that they had just experienced a great battle. Yan Bei could not even imagine the extent of the battle. Thinking of the arrow which killed his opponent, Yan Bei sighed secretly: "As expected of disciples from Five Mountain Sword Sects, the abilities of major sect geniuses aren't something that I, Yan Bei, can be compared to."
At this moment, the five of them seemed to have finished deciding their next destination. Yan Bei decided to bid them goodbye as he did not dare to become a burden for the five of them.
Just as he was about to speak, a series of terrible cries could be heard from far away. The sounds were approaching them at great speed. As he turned to look, he saw a monk who was apparently a Shaolin disciple, followed by a Quanzhen disciple behind. The two of them were filled with terror and they seemed to be fleeing madly from something horrifying.
"Eh? Isn't that Jueyuan the bald donkey?" Yiqian pointed at the monk and called out.
"It seems that they are running away?" Lin Yi frowned and spoke in a low voice.
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the two people. He was extremely fast and a freshly killed corpse was held in his hands.
At the sight of the figure's speed, Lin Yi hardened his face: "Second-rate expert?!"