Chapter 885: Two Sword Bearers
Gradually, from between the two stone mountains, cultivators with formidable auras emerged one after another, the lowest among them at the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Most were of the older generation, though there were also some younger disciples, each one a proud prodigy.
Li Ku Half-Saint walked over to the corpses of the blood slaves, examined them, and his face turned extremely cold and grim. "All of them are from the Yu Clan of Wanxiang Commandery. It seems the Undying Blood Clan has already wiped out the Yu Clan."
The Yu Clan was one of the outer families of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan and also the top family of Wanxiang Commandery.
First, it was the Guo Clan of Fengnan Commandery, then the Wu Clan of Beiyue Commandery, followed by the Piao Clan of Si Commandery, and now finally the Yu Clan of Wanxiang Commandery.
In total, four outer families had been completely annihilated.
Although the current clan leader of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan had ordered all outer families to disperse their members and lead their elite disciples back to the Underworld King Sword Grave after the Guo Clan was wiped out, some distant outer families had not reacted quickly enough and ultimately suffered catastrophic destruction.
Seeing this scene, the members of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan all showed expressions of anger.
"The Undying Blood Clan has gone too far. We can no longer endure this. We must launch an attack and drive them out of Yuan Mansion," said a palace-robed woman of about thirty, with thick, dark eyebrows and a broad jaw. A green sacred sword was strapped to her back, and her entire body exuded a sharp, piercing aura.
Another silver-haired elder, however, shook his head repeatedly. "Everyone must remain calm. The Undying Blood Clan is trying to provoke us, to force us out and fight, thereby depleting our strength. The more critical the moment, the less we should act rashly."
The palace-robed woman snorted coldly. "Are we afraid of them? In Yuan Mansion, let alone the mere Undying Blood Clan, even the imperial court's forces are far inferior to ours. Once we go to war, the Undying Blood Clan will surely lose."
"That's right. Four outer families and hundreds of thousands of clansmen have already perished. We can't endure this any longer."
"We must fight and make the Undying Blood Clan pay with blood."
"Yuan Mansion is the territory of our Zhenyu Ancient Clan. We cannot allow the Undying Blood Clan to run wild. If this continues, who knows how many more clansmen will have their blood drained or become blood slaves?"
...
Most of the younger cultivators supported fighting, their anger boiling their blood with fervor.
However, some did not advocate for an immediate all-out confrontation with the Undying Blood Clan, harboring various concerns.
Zhang Ruochen could see that the Zhenyu Ancient Clan was now divided into a war faction and a conservative faction. As a newcomer, he felt it was not his place to speak, so he stood aside and remained silent.
Just as the two factions were locked in heated debate, the young sword bearer fixed his gaze on the Sky-Soaring Sword strapped to Zhang Ruochen's back, then shifted his eyes to Zhang Ruochen himself. "Are you Zhang Ruochen, the disciple of Xuanji Sword Saint?"
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sword bearer and frowned slightly.
Both were sword bearers, yet the other stood three zhang above the ground, looking down at him—wasn't that rather rude?
Moreover, all the senior members of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan were standing on the ground, while he alone hovered in the air.
Out of courtesy, Zhang Ruochen did not dwell on it and nodded lightly. "That's right. How should I address you?"
Before the sword bearer could speak, Li Min, standing beside Zhang Ruochen, interjected, "He is the sole disciple of Qingyu Sword Saint, Xiang Zhengfeng. Last year, Qingyu Sword Saint passed away at Lingjuan Hill and passed the Zhu Tian Sword to him. Sir Xiang is now the new sword bearer."
Li Min secretly glanced at Xiang Zhengfeng, and when their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head shyly.
Xiang Zhengfeng, however, showed no particular emotion, appearing as upright and unyielding as his name suggested.
In a tone that sounded almost accusatory, he said, "Since you are the disciple of Xuanji Sword Saint and have brought the Sky-Soaring Sword to the Underworld King Sword Grave, it means you will become the new sword bearer and shoulder the responsibility of guarding the sword grave."
He continued, "Then I want to ask you—why didn't you act when the blood slaves launched their large-scale attack on the sword grave just now?"
Xiang Zhengfeng's voice was extremely loud, causing all the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members to fall silent. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the two young sword bearers.
His words also jolted the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members, who looked at Zhang Ruochen with puzzled expressions.
Some even whispered among themselves.
"Zhang Ruochen is a wanted criminal of the imperial court. Didn't the clan leader say he wouldn't be allowed into the Underworld King Sword Grave?"
"Hmph, he's probably here to seek refuge, hoping our Zhenyu Ancient Clan will shelter him."
"It's said that Zhang Ruochen stirred up more trouble in the Central Domain, killing four kings of the Ministry of War and destroying Ziyong Pass. He and the Undying Blood Clan share common enemies and interests, so it's very possible they're cooperating."
"How interesting. Zhang Ruochen arrives, and the blood slaves attack immediately. If there's no conspiracy here, I wouldn't believe it."
"The blood slaves attacked, but Zhang Ruochen didn't draw his sword. Instead, he asked about the clan's formations. His purpose in coming to the Underworld King Sword Grave is probably not pure."
...
Zhang Ruochen's ears were fused with two divine seals, so the half-saints' telepathic transmissions could not escape him. He heard every word the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members said.
If not for his master's instructions and his concerns about the "Underworld King," he would have wanted to leave immediately.
Having reached the Half-Saint realm, Zhang Ruochen's mental state had improved considerably, and he remained calm. "They were just a group of blood slaves, not real Undying Blood Clan members. Does dealing with them require a sword bearer to act?"
In truth, if Xiang Zhengfeng hadn't struck first, Zhang Ruochen would have already drawn his sword to help Li Ku Half-Saint kill those blood slaves.
But faced with Xiang Zhengfeng's accusation, Zhang Ruochen had no mood to explain further.
Xiang Zhengfeng raised his voice. "Do blood slaves pose no threat to the sword grave? If they break through the stone mountain sword gate, how many Zhenyu Ancient Clan members' lives would be endangered?"
Hearing this, the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members naturally felt the same, all becoming indignant and developing a strong sense of rejection toward Zhang Ruochen.
At the same time, Xiang Zhengfeng's prioritization of the clan members' safety earned their support and approval.
In their eyes, Xiang Zhengfeng was the true sword bearer, the one truly guarding the Underworld King Sword Grave.
As for Zhang Ruochen, they found him increasingly disagreeable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If the Zhenyu Ancient Clan can't even handle a group of blood slaves, how do you plan to fight the Undying Blood Clan?"
Originally, Zhang Ruochen was just stating a practical fact, but it enraged the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members.
Especially those from the war faction, who were filled with righteous indignation, their bodies surging with sacred qi fluctuations.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you dare insult the Zhenyu Ancient Clan?" Wang Ju drew a heavy sword and thrust it into the ground. A powerful surge of sacred qi flowed from his palm into the sword, causing it to emit a dark radiance.
Between the two stone mountains, the sky and earth suddenly turned dark and gloomy, with cold winds howling.
Wang Ju was a half-saint from the Wang family, one of the three major families of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan. He held a high status in the clan and was also a member of the war faction.
The three major families were the Wang family, which specialized in swordsmanship; the Shen family, which specialized in formations; and the Shi family, which specialized in runes.
Each family had its own head.
Additionally, a clan leader was elected to oversee the entire Zhenyu Ancient Clan.
Zhang Ruochen glanced in Xiang Zhengfeng's direction. "The one insulting the Zhenyu Ancient Clan is not me."
"Enough talk. If you have the guts, fight me. If you win, I'll let it go. If you lose, it proves you're unworthy to be a sword bearer. You must leave the Sky-Soaring Sword behind and get out of the sword grave immediately," Wang Ju said aggressively.
Wang Ju's words naturally voiced the sentiments of all the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members present, earning their support.
"That's right. If you have no skill, get out of the sword grave. The Zhenyu Ancient Clan won't shelter a wanted criminal of the imperial court."
"You can leave, but you must leave the Sky-Soaring Sword behind."
...
Zhang Ruochen knew that once he fought Wang Ju, whether he won or lost, he would not be able to stay in the Underworld King Sword Grave and would surely be expelled.
After all, this was his first time at the sword grave. If he defeated Wang Ju, even if he hadn't meant to insult the Zhenyu Ancient Clan before, it would now become a true insult.
Under such circumstances, how could the Zhenyu Ancient Clan still have a place for him?
Just then, a yellow-robed man slowly walked out from between the two stone mountains. "I think Zhang Ruochen is absolutely right. If you can't even handle a group of blood slaves, going to fight the Undying Blood Clan's experts would just be suicide."
The yellow-robed man walked out calmly with his hands behind his back, followed by a group of elders also dressed in neat yellow robes.
Seeing the yellow-robed man, the Zhenyu Ancient Clan members all fell silent and stepped back, making way.
Even the aggressive Wang Ju lowered his head and bowed. "Greetings, Young Clan Leader."
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised to see the yellow-robed man. "It's him," he thought.
The yellow-robed man was named Shi Ren, and he had some history with Zhang Ruochen. They had gone through life-and-death situations together in the Underworld.
At that time, Shi Ren had only told Zhang Ruochen that he was going to the Underworld to find a resurrection medicine to save his wife, saying nothing else.
Who would have thought they would meet again at the Underworld King Sword Grave?
Shi Ren walked up to Zhang Ruochen and smiled. "Brother Zhang, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon after parting in the Eastern Domain."
(To be continued.)