Chapter 53: One Move to Wash Away Humiliation, Nian Shen's Smooth Scheme (Part 1)
At this moment, looking at the Chaoyang Palace bathed in the sunset, Lu Qing gradually felt a majestic and powerful aura hidden within this magnificent structure, as if an extraordinary divine sword stood upright on the top of a high mountain, making people look up to it with reverence and admiration.
"Isn't that Lu Qing, the senior brother of Neizong?" A outer sect disciple guarding the gate of Chaoyang Palace asked another disciple standing beside him.
"Yes, Lu Shixiong is now another rare talent in our Chaoyang Palace, second only to Da Shixiong Nie Qingtian. He rose by more than 20 places in just half a year, this is indeed the achievement of a true master." Another disciple, about twenty years old, spoke with emotion.
"It's possible that he'll become even more outstanding, after all, Lu Shixiong is only thirteen years old now. In the future, he will definitely be reused by the Peak Master, and one day it's even possible for him to become the Outer Peak Master, who can predict this?" The first disciple to speak up thought for a moment before murmuring again.
"That's not necessarily true, this kid is just relying on the care of his senior brother, what can he do by himself, isn't he still relying on others to support him?"
"Senior Gong Yang!" The two were shocked, but it was Gong Yangyu and two inner sect disciples who walked out of the palace, having heard their conversation. Almost everyone in Chaoyang Palace knew that Gong Yangyu had publicly humiliated Lu Qing on his second day of entering the sect, stepping on him with his foot and scolding him severely. Although everyone knew that there was a grudge between Taiyun and Duan Qingyun involved, the one who took action was Gong Yangyu, so most of this grudge would still be attributed to him.
Gong Yangyu has been quite out of sorts recently. This time, he returned to his family for the annual festival. Due to feeling that this year's competition was fierce, and because he had neglected his cultivation over the past half year while following Seventh Brother Taiyun on a mission, he only managed to hold onto his ranking by guarding the Sword Platform and didn't challenge anyone. However, he was ridiculed in front of the elders of both the Gong Yang and Huangfu families by Huangfu Xū, who is also from Chao City and ranked fourth, at a banquet.
How could he not harbor resentment, but the situation was stronger than people. Firstly, although Gong Yang's family in Chao Yang City was also quite powerful and had two innate swordsmen, they were still unable to compare with the Huang Fu family, one of the five major families with a thousand years of heritage. The face and status of the family made it impossible for him to vent his emotions. Secondly, his cultivation was indeed inferior to that of Huang Fu Yu.
Huang Pu Xū is the eldest son of the Huang Pu family and one of the three family disciples who entered Chāoyáng Peak, with a cultivation level higher than the others. He has the strength of a Sword Guest Xiaotian, practices Huǒmù Qìjiàn (Flaming Wood Energy Sword), and has already merged his power seed to form a fierce fire-attributed sword energy. Moreover, he has also grasped the second realm of swordsmanship, "Light as a Feather, Heavy as a Mountain". His cultivation can be ranked among the top twenty in this generation of inner sect disciples.
Facing his sarcasm, Gong Yangyu had no choice but to swallow his anger and frustration, this was the gap between strength and status. It also made him not infrequently lectured by family members after this year's annual ceremony, as the sole heir of the Gong family, he carried a lot on his shoulders.
However, at this moment, returning to the Chaoyang Palace for these few days, he was still in a bad mood, feeling annoyed and frustrated. He then summoned two disciples with whom he had a good relationship to go to the back mountain to hunt some wild game to clear his mind. Unexpectedly, as they were about to leave the palace gate, he heard such words and immediately spoke out to refute them.
Lu Qing's stunning performance in this big comparison has also sparked great interest among the inner disciples of Chaoyang Palace, especially since the powers behind them have all taken a certain degree of understanding of Lu Qing. With that, Lu Qing's identity would not be able to withstand the scrutiny of so many forces, and besides, Lu Qing had never thought of hiding anything anyway.
However, the identity of the next head of the Lu family, a thousand-year-old sword-casting clan, still makes many people feel shocked. After all, this is a force that can be compared to the five major families in the entire Zixia Sect region, although the current head of the family, Lu Yun, died six months ago due to exhaustion from casting a golden heavenly-level divine sword, and the Lu family lost a top-notch swordsman who could guard the mansion. Nevertheless, a dead camel is bigger than a horse, apart from the strong power of the current head's wife, Yan Ruyi, who has a Tian-grade sword guest, countless swordsmen have sought to cast swords for the Lu family over the generations. As long as the Lu family puts out the word, the power that can be gathered is even comparable to the combined strength of two families among the five major families.
Don't underestimate any ordinary swordsmith, especially those who have formed a family and even produced a Golden Heaven-level swordsmith in their thousand-year history. The accumulation of the family's power and influence is not something that ordinary people can imagine. Don't doubt the status of swordsmiths on the entire Sword God Continent.
After receiving the news, Gong Yangyu also became somewhat flustered. After all, with Lu Qing's current rapid progress, he would definitely attract attention from the entire sect if he continued to improve at this rate. The revenge that would follow would almost be unimaginable, and as someone who had personally participated in the humiliation, he understood how deeply it was etched into the memory of a 12-year-old successor to a great family clan.
At the same time, he was also resentful of Lu Qing's rise in status and power, especially Lu Qing's relationships, which had unexpectedly gained the favor and friendship of Nie Qingtian, who was known for being difficult to get along with. Additionally, Lu Qing had received the protection of the three eccentric individuals from the Zizhu Temple in the Chaoyang Palace, making it so that he no longer dared to openly bully Lu Qing, and sometimes even had to force a smile when they met, which made him extremely annoyed.
But Gong Yangyu saw that Lu Qing, who had arrived in front of the palace, did not react at all. However, when Gong Yangyu saw Lu Qing, he was shocked in his heart. How could his breath become so weak that it almost disappeared? Moreover, his skin had also become crystal clear like jade. What's going on?
Impossible, in an instant, Gong Yangyu denied such thoughts in his heart. Although he had seen many of the top ten inner disciples of Taiyun, it was hard to imagine that this would happen to a 13-year-old boy like Lu Qing.
At the age of twelve, Lu Qing's current position as a top-notch swordsman is already astonishing, but it can still be accepted. After all, among the inner sects of this generation, there are one or two talented individuals who are not inferior to Lu Qing and even surpass him. However, if it were said that Lu Qing had reached the realm of Xiantian Sword Guest's rebirth and renewal in just a year, even Gong Yangyu would not believe it.
How detestable! In an instant, a fierce aura burst forth from Gong Yangyu's eyes, and his entire being exuded a cold and sinister air. He couldn't believe that he, of all people, had been disrupted by a newcomer who was once beneath him. All considerations, all reliance on his powerful backing, were cast aside in this moment.
"Hmph, even if only one of the Innate Swordsmen families is left, it's still not necessarily comparable to my Gong Yang family. As for you, Huang Fu Xū, I surpass you in both strength and status. Could it be that I would still fear you, a declining aristocrat? Since you want to take the lead, I'll strangle you in your cradle."
The fierce look on his face grew heavier, and the two inner sect disciples beside him also saw the change in Gong Yangyu. When they saw Lu Qing standing at the mountain pass, their faces also changed. They were also one of the four who had bullied Lu Qing back then. However, they soon calmed down as well. They too had seen Lu Qing's transformation and didn't believe that he could make another breakthrough in such a short time. Perhaps he had eaten some spiritual medicine over 100 years old to improve his physique? This was also the only reasonable explanation.
Lu Qing was deeply drawn in by the aura of the Chaoyang Palace at this time, and for a moment, he sank into it, feeling the great momentum that had been accumulated in the thousand-year-old palace for thousands of years. However, he did not notice Gong Yangyu and his two companions arriving at the palace gate.
However, three black shadows blocked his line of sight. Lu Qing withdrew his gaze and saw that it was Gong Yangyu and the other two. Their eyes were exceptionally calm, without any emotional fluctuations. However, Gong Yangyu couldn't bear such a gaze. In his expectation, Lu Qing's eyes should have revealed hatred, although not to the point of taking action, but at least they should have been icy cold and disdainful. But at this moment, Lu Qing's calm and waveless gaze deeply pierced Gong Yangyu's pride hidden in his heart, which was even more infuriating than Lu Qing's previous impertinence.
Because of the difference between the person in front of him and what he used to be, even before his gaze was enough to look down on him, or even disdain, but in just half a year's time, the person in front of him, although still unable to pose a threat to him, is already not far off.
At this moment, the two people beside Gong Yangyu looked a bit awkward. Their ranking was also just a few places ahead of Lu Qing's, and in their opinion, Lu Qing's strength was already on par with theirs, only lacking in cultivation. They had initially taken action to teach Lu Qing a lesson out of necessity. Now, after the big competition and through the influence of their family, they knew about Lu Qing's identity. As members of a small family, they didn't have the same strong foundation as the Gong Yangyu family, so they didn't want to face Lu Qing again. They only hoped that he would forget or be able to resolve the issue, but at this moment, following Gong Yangyu, they had no choice but to confront Lu Qing once more.
"Can you understand the overall situation of Chaoyang Palace, Lu Qing?" Gong Yangyu spoke first with a cold gaze, his hands behind his back. Being still underage and not fully grown physically, he was slightly taller than Lu Qing. At this moment, he slightly lowered his head, taking on an air of a senior lecturing a junior.
Lu Qing didn't say a word and simply stared at the three people in front of him as if they were strangers. Now that his realm had improved, Lu Qing's state of mind and perspective had also undergone a drastic change. As for Gong Yangyu's provocation, he no longer put it in his eyes. To use Gong Yangyu's previous words, this was the difference. (Ten Steps Rush New List, urgently seeking recommendation votes and collection, hoping everyone will generously help, let Ten Steps truly take ten steps to kill one person, a thousand miles without leaving a trail, killing all the way to the top ten!)
