Volume Two: Snow over the Qin River Chapter Two: Sword Peak, a Thousand Fathoms High

Just as a consensus was reached within the Hall of Seeking the Way, a crisp sound of a sword ringing out suddenly echoed through the mountains.

The sound startled the morning air of the Snow Cloud Sect.

"The day for ascending the Sword Path hasn't arrived yet; who is so impatient to go and get themselves tortured?"

"It must be Junior Sister Zihan, right? In all of Snow Cloud, she's the only one who doesn't take the Sword Peak seriously."

"Well, she is a natural-born sword physique, after all. There haven't been many of those in the entire history books."

"Shall we go and take a look?"

"Forget it. I saw it just two days ago, and my Dao heart is still feeling blocked. I won't go and add to my own misery this time."

"Wait... has Junior Sister Zihan come down yet?"

"Now that you mention it... when I left, I don't recall seeing her come down."

"Could it be... someone else?"

"Let's go, let's take a look!"

...

Feng Qi frowned as he looked at the hem of his robe, where a thin, long cut had appeared.

He scratched his head, feeling that this situation was becoming quite troublesome.

Given his personality, he naturally wouldn't obediently follow Xue Wuji’s advice to go find some senior brother to ask for directions. Relying on his knowledge of the Snow Cloud Sect’s secret history and some unofficial accounts, he set his sights on the direction of the Trace-less Peak and walked toward it—and then, it ended up like this.

Thinking of this, he sighed, musing that unofficial histories were truly unreliable. The sword intent here was strong and blatant; how could this possibly be the Trace-less Peak?

What to do now?

If he wanted to get out of here quickly, begging for mercy should be the simplest way, right?

He shouted twice, but after receiving no response, he sighed again, thinking that this matter was indeed a nuisance.

Outside the peak, countless disciples were whispering.

"Who is this? Why haven't I seen him before?"

"Could he be an outer-mountain disciple who just entered the inner mountain?"

"That's possible... but why did he go to climb the Sword Peak?"

"He took the wrong path, obviously. Don't you see he's already given up? In a while, the senior brothers from Thousand-Fathom Peak will come down and take him away."

"That doesn't seem right. Given the arrogance of those senior brothers on Thousand-Fathom Peak, if they encountered such a spineless person, they would have already come down to drive him away. Why haven't we seen a shadow of them until now?"

"Now that you mention it... could he be a personal disciple of one of the elders from the Sword Pavilion?"

"If he were a personal disciple, surely he wouldn't have given up after climbing only a few dozen yards, would he?"

"..."

Feng Qi could not hear the voices from the outside, but that did not prevent him from recognizing the reality.

This must be Thousand-Fathom Peak, the one also known as the Sword Peak.

Of the five peaks of Snow Cloud, each has hundreds of disciples, and Thousand-Fathom Peak is no exception... If no one has appeared, could it be because this place is special?

He hadn't seen any restrictions or similar things while climbing, so it shouldn't be a forbidden area.

In that case, this place must be used for assessing or training disciples... If no one has appeared, perhaps they want to test me?

He stood up and tentatively took a step backward.

A chilling sword intent suddenly surged beneath his feet.

His hair crown split into two, turning into fine powder amidst the rising sword intent before it even touched the ground.

A breeze blew past, and the powder vanished instantly, as if nothing had ever happened.

Not allowed to leave?

Although he didn't know what was going on, Feng Qi vaguely felt that something was wrong. The last time he had this feeling was when he was escorting Star-Iron back to Yanyun.

Feng Qi raised an eyebrow, and with a thought, he drew his long sword from his Yuan Mansion.

He did not use his Overlord Spear, even though his spear skills were far superior to his sword skills.

Sensing his sword intent, faint sword sounds emerged in the air.

***

So that sense of crisis had come from this pervasive sword intent.

Feng Qi smiled, took three steps upward, and swung his sword into the air before him.

The first stance of the Cloud Platform Three Falls: Rising Cloud.

*Ding.* A light sound reached his ears.

Feng Qi smiled and looked upward, his eyes shimmering with silver light.

Trace-less Sword Intent!

For the next half hour, he climbed over forty yards in one breath, only stopping when the vital energy in his Yuan Mansion began to run dry.

He surveyed the path ahead and, after confirming that there were dozens more strands of sword intent within the next yard, remained silent for a moment.

Thousand-Fathom Peak is a thousand yards high. At this rate, am I really going to spend an entire day in here?

But it seemed his teacher had no intention of coming to his rescue.

Perhaps guessing something, Feng Qi pursed his lips and closed his eyes to begin recovering his vital energy.

...

"What's up with this guy? Why does it feel like he's become a different person?"

"This speed isn't exactly fast, but since it's his first time on the Sword Path, it can be considered a sign of extraordinary talent."

"Now it just depends on how far he can actually climb... the sword intent on the Sword Path is not that simple!"

"It's hard to say. He seems quite sensitive to sword intent. Haven't you noticed? Except for the first two swords that struck him, he has completely dodged all other sword intents!"

"Could it be... that he might even surpass Junior Sister Zihan?"

Xue Wuji looked at the projected image from the Sword Peak and frowned.

Xue Qianzhang said from the side, "What else are you dissatisfied with? Although the boy Feng Qi's performance isn't perfect, it's certainly excellent. Among disciples entering the Sword Peak for the first time in the last hundred years, his performance could rank in the top hundred. If he can reach a hundred yards... he could enter the top three!"

Xue Wuji shook his head. "Being able to remain calm when trapped in an unfamiliar place, taking only a very short time to find the correct way to respond, and mastering the Trace-less Sword Intent so skillfully—I am not dissatisfied."

He paused and added, "What I am worried about is his temperament. Even though it was only a small step back... as practitioners of the Dao, how can we retreat?"

Xue Qianzhang smiled. "He has a child's temperament, and there is still room for correction. If he were born perfect, what would we teachers be needed for?"

Xue Wuji nodded and asked casually, "By the way, how is your disciple doing?"

Xue Qianzhang replied helplessly, "That boy Sheng Yun, don't even get me started."

Xue Wuji asked, "What happened to him again?"

Xue Qianzhang said, "If that boy had half the diligence of that girl Zhou Zihan, I wouldn't be this frustrated."

Xue Wuji felt some sympathy for him. "It's not that I'm saying this, but you spoil Sheng Yun too much. If it were me, I would have hung that kid up and thrashed him eight hundred times by now."

Xue Qianzhang sighed. "I suppose it's because I was beaten so much by our master in the past that I don't want my disciple to live the same hellish life I did."

Speaking of the past, a hint of nostalgia flashed in Xue Wuji's eyes. "Yes, Master was very strict back then. You and Yuan Yulong were the ones who got the worst of it, yet you two were also the strongest... Could it really be that a strict teacher produces brilliant students?"

Xue Qianzhang said, "If you had put as much energy into your sword back then as you did into peeking at the senior sisters of the Chasing Moon Peak bathing, how could you still be trapped in the Middle Realm of the Void Dao?"

Xue Wuji laughed sheepishly and hurriedly changed the subject. "That boy Feng Qi seems to have woken up."

Xue Wuji smiled and shook his head, looking at the mirror.

Feng Qi had already opened his eyes. He stretched his limbs, then raised his right fist high and slowly gave the middle finger to the Sword Peak.

Xue Qianzhang was stunned.

A vein throbbed on Xue Wuji's forehead. "Rebellious disciple! Just wait until he comes out; I'll show him what's coming!"

Feng Qi did not know he was being watched by his teacher; he was simply very annoyed.

This annoyance mainly stemmed from his current predicament.

Since he began his cultivation, he had always been the one outsmarting others. He never expected that the hunter would become the prey, getting caught in this troublesome Sword Path for no reason. He really felt pent up with frustration.

Under the gaze of the crowd, this time he climbed over fifty yards before stopping, and it only took him half an hour.

The number of disciples watching grew, and the shock in their eyes intensified.

This shock turned into an uproar when Feng Qi ascended to one hundred and twenty yards.

After a hundred yards, every step is filled with sword intent!

***

And the sword intent is formless yet substantial. How did this person manage to avoid every single strand?

Yuan Yulong had arrived beside Xue Qianzhang at some point, watching the youth in the reflection without speaking.

Xue Wuji was also too stunned to speak. Even if those who practice the Trace-less Sword Intent are naturally sensitive to such things, how could he be so unerring?

Xue Qianzhang frowned. "Senior Brother, did you only teach him the Trace-less Sword Intent, or did you pass on the entire Trace-less Sword Manual to him?"

Xue Wuji glanced at Yuan Yulong and said nothing.

Xue Qianzhang said, "Speak up. With such talent, even if you did something against the rules, I'll take the blame for you!"

Xue Wuji's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

Xue Qianzhang replied, "As the Sect Master, can I not handle such a small matter?"

Xue Wuji looked a bit embarrassed. "I taught him everything."

Yuan Yulong snorted.

Xue Qianzhang thought as much.

Xue Wuji looked at Xue Qianzhang, then at Yuan Yulong, his old face reddening slightly. "I meant... the Sword Manual's General Principles."

Xue Qianzhang's voice rose a few octaves. "What did you say?"

Yuan Yulong added from the side, "Are you sure you're taking the blame for this? If you are, I'll go call the Five Peaks Meeting now. I've been wanting to sit in that Sect Master's chair anyway."

Xue Qianzhang gave a dry laugh at Yuan Yulong. "Sword Law Senior Brother, you jest."

He glared fiercely at Xue Wuji again. "You have no bottom line when you do things. If Feng Qi cannot climb two hundred yards, I will strip you of your position as the Peak Master of Trace-less Peak today!"

It sounded serious, but they all knew this threat was actually meaningless.

Since Feng Qi had climbed a hundred and twenty yards so easily, how could the remaining eighty yards stop him?

...

Thousand-Fathom Peak.

Feng Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking that this place was finally becoming interesting.

He casually brushed back his hair and inserted his sword sheath into his belt.

*Hmm...* that should keep it from falling down and blocking his vision.

Feng Qi refocused his gaze on the Sword Path ahead.

The sword intent was dense and swift; even the Trace-less Sword Intent could not clearly capture every single strand.

In that case, let's try another way.

The silver light in Feng Qi's eyes gradually faded. He withdrew his sword and pulled out his long spear.

The imposing aura of the Overlord Spear instantly radiated from his body.

Seemingly sensing that "sole ruler" aura, the sword intent on the path paused, then launched an attack with an even more chilling ferocity.

Feng Qi ignored the incoming sword intent entirely.

His upper garment suddenly burst open, revealing a toned torso. The sword intent struck him, producing the sound of metal clashing against metal, leaving behind white marks that vanished in the blink of an eye.

The final stance of the Overlord Spear: Fighting with Back to the River!

He stomped his foot heavily, and his figure shot forward instantly, leaving only a series of afterimages behind him.

His arrogant laughter echoed on the Sword Path.

Hearing his laughter, Xue Wuji felt even more awkward.

He had just said he passed on the entire set of Sword Manual General Principles to Feng Qi, never expecting that the boy would find it troublesome and start using moves from the Overlord Spear. Although, given his situation, the timing for using the Overlord Spear was perhaps better than using the sword, it was still, to some extent, cutting corners.

He secretly glanced at Yuan Yulong and gave a dry laugh. "Using the Overlord Spear to deal with this sword intent—the boy is quite clever."

Yuan Yulong said coldly, "Clever? The sword intent after two hundred yards will rise to 'heart-piercing' intensity. I hope his 'Fighting with Back to the River' is strong enough; otherwise, you might have to find another disciple to inherit your legacy!"