Chapter 130 — Barring the Gate, Striking at the Heart
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 2
Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, and Yun Que all felt their hearts tighten, and each glanced at the others; the three of them walked out of Hanguang Hall. Ling Yuxiu had meant to go up to Shen Mu, but at the sight of this she had no choice but to give it up, and was dragged off by several princes and princesses. Shen Mu said, "You have made great progress.
" Shen Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"You are still a little short of the mark. Your foundation is not as solid as mine; and even if your foundation were as solid as mine, you would still be no match for me. At the same realm, my cultivation is far stronger than yours, and my arts are far better than yours. You fix your eyes too much upon the sword and neglect all else; at the same realm you are still no match for me. Still, your progress has been great. " Outside Hanguang Hall, Shen Wanyun and the others wore grave faces.
Yue Qinghong said furiously, "The Grand Academy is playing favorites, giving him extra lessons, keeping him behind to be taught sword arts alone! His swordsmanship was hardly weak to begin with; if the Grand Academy deliberately cultivates him, what chance will we ever have of beating him? " Shen Wanyun said calmly, "You need not worry. However exquisite the sword art the Grand Academy teaches him, he cannot be my match. I need only seize upon the flaw in his arts and I can defeat him!
" "That may be so, but it cannot go unguarded against," Yun Que warned. Shen Wanyun nodded. "Rest assured.
He is advancing, and so am I.
These past days I have suppressed my realm, and I feel that I am on the very verge of the Six Harmonies realm. With my fighting strength at the peak of the Five Luminaries realm, how could I fail to take him down? And the guidance he gets from the Grand Academy will only cost him heart and strength on new sword arts, leaving him no leisure at all for cultivation! To defeat him at the Five Luminaries realm is my dearest wish; otherwise, even if I became a divine-power adept, I would still feel regret in my heart. " Had the three of them witnessed this scene, their very eyeballs would have started from their sockets! Shen Mu understood his meaning: to transmit a cultivation art, one must have a renowned master. Take the monk Chenghuai of Great Thunderpeal Temple, for instance: his own master had never cultivated the Eight Thunderpeal Arts to perfection, and so the Eight Thunderpeal Arts he passed on to Chenghuai had flaws in them.
Therefore, to learn profound and supreme arts, one must have a good master!
A flicker passed over Shen Mu's face. "Where can one see the Sword Treatise? " "Tianlu Tower.
" Shen Mu's spirits surged.
He had never yet been to Tianlu Tower, and it held the texts of every sect and school in the whole empire; how could he not go?
"The Young Sect Master has not yet eaten his midday meal, I take it?
" Shen Mu said hesitantly, "There is still a little fox at my home. .
.
" "Bring her along, then.
" Shen Mu left Hanguang Hall with him and returned to the Scholars' Residence, where Xue Hu'er was cultivating the Creation Spirit Art.
Hearing that they were going to eat, she came running out in high spirits at once. "Is there wine? " "Jiantang, have you no wife?
" Shen Mu asked doubtfully.
"A wife?
" The middle-aged man soon set the dishes on the table, then served out the rice. "And what would I want a wife for?
Trouble. " Xue Hu'er tasted the food he had cooked and said in astonishment, "This is delicious! Jiantang, your cooking is so fine, better than many a master chef in the capital.
Why not find yourself a wife? " "I had one once.
When I was young I was close with a woman of the sect; I was young then, and knew no better. " Xue Hu'er was taken aback and argued, "Jiantang, that is not right at all.
What is so bad about women? " Shen Mu blinked.
Jiantang's realm was too high; he did not yet understand such a realm.
Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry, and waved a hand at him.