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Chapter 96. Phantom Bow Swordsman (2)

The problem was that, aside from the Four Dogs, there wasn't a single person with outstanding or even passable cultivation. Most of them were simply reckless ruffians who committed all kinds of evil under the name of the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao.

Pingnan, Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate.

"What? The Gate Master passed away?"

"That's ridiculous!"

Just yesterday, the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate had no doubts about their victory and had even been preparing a feast to celebrate Ju Zhong's safe return.

However, to think this was the shocking news they would get?!

While the Gate was investigating to confirm if it was just a rumor, there were too many witnesses to the deaths of the Gate Master and his four sons for them to doubt it.

The retreating troops pulled back to Pingnan as the camp they had set up in Zhuning fell.

They were desperate.

Soon after, the news spread throughout the murim.

Guangdong, Evil Valley.

"Hmph."

The Evil Valley Master snorted in disbelief, then exploded in rage.

"You idiotic bastards!"

He cursed the Miao Family Sword Gate and the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate.

He leaped up from his seat, kicking the table leg with all his might as he continued to shout.

"What the hell are you dumb bastards doing, stabbing each other in the neck while everyone else is worrying about what to do about the tomb of the Ominous Demon?!"

The investigation of the tomb of the Ominous Demon was practically over. The water was so deep that there was no way to salvage it.

However, all the parties involved were still waiting at the tomb of the Ominous Demon just in case, which was why the Evil Valley and the Evil Faction had to be careful.

"AGHHHHHHH!"

Today, everyone except the Evil Valley had benefited.

Even without their senseless war, the Evil Faction didn't have many experts, which was one of the flaws of their path.

But now, masters who could have made a significant impact if a war broke out in the future were dead!

Not only the masters, the damage on both sides was enormous.

The conflict between the two sects had been dragging on for far too long.

"The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate is finished."

Most of those in the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate's lineage were losers.

The only decent martial artists were the Gate Master and his four sons.

To make matters worse, even the famous vassals of the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate had been captured by the Miao Family Sword Gate. Now, there wasn't anyone left who could properly lead the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate.

Since they had lost their core, it was only natural for them to collapse. More importantly, they had spent a fortune hiring a large number of mercenaries.

Initially, they had planned to defeat the Miao Family Sword Gate and use them to make up for their lack of funds. However, since they had been ultimately defeated, that hope turned into nothing more than a lost cause.

"In the Righteous Faction, a weak sect will slowly decline and only eventually become eliminated. However, in the Evil Faction, a weak sect is devoured. The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate will be completely consumed by the surrounding sects."

While that was regretful, that wasn't the main issue.

The main issue came next.

Who would replace the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate?

If they weren't replaced, future power struggle would be brutal.

Even without this loss, the Evil Faction was already losing ground rapidly.

"How ridiculous that such a trivial matter led to such a conflict. Since ancient times, when it comes to the Evil Dao, it's not strength that determines the strong, but the one who survives..."

The Evil Valley Master clicked his tongue and cursed the two gates.

"But, if Ju Zhong was a Harmony Realm Master, who killed him? I was so enraged that I didn't finish listening to the report earlier."

"Someone named Zhou Xuchuan."

"Zhou Xuchuan? That's a name I've never heard before."

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate was defeated solely because of him. He was originally hired as a mercenary by the Miao Family Sword Gate. But, strangely enough, he is said to fight with a bow."

"A bow?"

Evil Valley Master frowned as if he had heard something strange.

Hefei, Anhui. Martial Alliance.

"A bow?" a martial artist with a build large for an old man asked.

"Yes, Alliance Leader."

Ten Empyrean Overlords.

The Completion Sword (劍成) [1] Nangong Weiwu.

From toddlers to reclusive hermits that had cut ties with the secular world, there was no one in the murim who hadn't heard of the Completion Sword.

Aside from his personal reputation, his other identities were renowned as well, given he was the previous head of the Nangong Family of the Five Great Ancient Families and the current Martial Alliance Leader.

"Did he really kill Ju Zhong with just archery?"

"No, that's not it."

The Vice Alliance Leader, the Knowledge Dragon Zhuge Xiang, shook his head.

"When he first appeared on the battlefield, he fought with his phantom-like archery and was given the nickname, the Resonating Death Bow. However, he used a sword when fighting the Four Dogs of the Flashing Waterfall."

"Oho."

"Ju Zhong was eventually defeated by that sword, and now, he's not called the Resonating Death Bow, but the Phantom Bow Swordsman."

"Tell me more."

Nangong Weiwu's eyes lit up with interest.

Zhuge Xiang summarized the information and reports the Beggar Gang had gathered and explained it concisely. He was glad that there wasn't anything he had to correct, as Zhou Xuchuan's title was changed shortly after the rumors spread.

"They said he's around twenty, right?"

Nangong Weiwu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, that's right."

"What do you think, Vice Strategist?"

"According to the rumors, the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate Master is a Harmony Realm Master. Since he fought Ju Zhong alone, the Phantom Bow Swordsman should have also reached the Harmony Realm. Most likely, he must have gotten younger after reaching the Harmony Realm."

"Hohoho, you're indeed worthy of being an advisor. You're not called the Knowledge Dragon of the Younger Generation for nothing."

"While I'm still lacking, I am grateful for the Alliance Leader's praise."

Zhuge Shang humbly accepted the compliment.

"While one definitely gets younger once they reach the Harmony Realm, even with that considered, it's incredible how young he is. He's likely still around thirty or forty. While the Evil Valley Master has lost the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate, he's still gained a talent."[2]

Nangong Weiwu rubbed his chin, regretful.

There were few within the Righteous Faction, or even in the entire murim, who could reach the Harmony Realm in their thirties or forties.

"Is there any more information about him?"

"There isn't much other than the fact that he uses a splendid and vibrant transforming sword technique. Unfortunately, there are only groundless rumors about what sect he belongs to, making it difficult to verify his affiliation."

"Do we at least know his name?"

"Fortunately, we were able to uncover his name. His name is Zhou Xuchuan."

"Zhou Xuchuan? Where have I heard that name before?"

A deep furrow formed between Nangong Weiwu's eyebrows.

"There is a Zhou Xuchuan in the Mount Hua Sect," Zhuge Shang added.

He had also been a little surprised when he first heard the name but dismissed it as a coincidence.

After all, "Zhou Xuchuan" wasn't an uncommon name, and although the Zhou Xuchuan he knew was talented, he wasn't a master who could defeat the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate Master.

Zhuge Shenge didn't suspect him at all.

"What a strange coincidence."

Phantom Bow Swordsman Zhou Xuchuan had been hired as a mercenary for the Evil Faction. Moreover, the secretary of the Miao Family Sword Gate had omitted his name from the register, making it impossible to verify his affiliation.

During his battle, there hadn't been any masters who could recognize the Twenty-four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom of the Mount Hua Sect.

On top of that, no one had ever heard of or seen a disciple of Mount Hua that used a bow.

Thus, this was the secret story of the birth of the Phantom Bow Swordsman, a master of the Evil Faction.[3]

***

After the battle, the Miao Family Sword Gate searched for the Phantom Bow Swordsman, the most significant contributor to their victory.

As soon as they learned that such a master had been hired as a mercenary, they were determined to recruit him by any means necessary.

However, by the time they went to find him, it was already too late.

Zhou Xuchuan had left for Nanchang the moment he obtained the Mind Qi Separator.

Despite questioning the Hundred Man Regiment he had led and sending people to trace his whereabouts, they couldn't find him.

Meanwhile, on his way to Nanchang, Zhou Xuchuan kept glancing down at the Mind Qi Separator in his hand, feeling dumbfounded.

"Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate... you idiots really don't know anything, do you? Yeah, believing your martial arts are the best or whatever is fine and all, but to think you used an artifact like this as decoration..."

Ju Zhong wasn't the only one to boast that the saber was the best.

The previous gate masters of the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate, along with all their disciples, did the same.

So, what use was an artifact that allowed them to use other martial arts? It wasn't as if they cared about anything other than their own saber anyway.

As their interest in the artifact gradually waned and time passed, even an item as precious as the Mind Qi Separator was gradually forgotten.

"He lost his life because of this artifact in my previous life, too, didn't he?"

The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate had been destroyed at the end of the Great War of Good and Evil because the Dark Heavens Association had targeted the Mind Qi Separator.

The Dark Heavens Association already had an interest in artifacts, and after finding information about the Mind Qi Separator during the Archive's investigation, they found Ju Zhong and kill him.

Just like in this life, the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate Master hadn't used the Mind Qi Separator even at the very end in Zhou Xuchuan's previous life.

Was his pride in the saber and need for it to be more important than owning a great treasure?

Their pride in the saber extended to the Righteous Faction.

Originally, the Evil Faction wasn't one to consider the means of battle to be that important.

Whether through sword or saber, their priority was survival.

The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate hadn't clashed with the Righteous Faction for nothing. In that sense, they truly were a rare gate within the Evil Faction.[4]

"Their disposition is too excessive to be part of the Evil Faction."

The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate had been a problem in his previous life as well. Because they had such intense pride and stubbornness in the saber, irritating the Evil Faction was a given; they even went out of their way to antagonize all of the Righteous Faction sects.

They went as far insulting and looking down on the Righteous Faction's Daoism, brazenly going to the Hebei Peng Family, masters of Daoism, and cursing them to their faces.

"Oh dear, the Poison Phoenix and Sword Demon must be dying, waiting for me. I have to return as soon as possible."

Nanchang.

As soon as Tang Hui read the girl's pulse, she felt a strange sensation. It was as if the girl's mind had been split in two, like there were two souls in one body.

She found herself becoming more absorbed in observing this strange sensation before remembering her original purpose and refocusing.

After concentrating and probing deep into the girl's body, she could barely detect the lingering poison. It was a poison that had embedded itself and remained hidden for fourteen years.

It had completely attached to the girl's meridians without being expelled, so, frankly, it would have been even stranger if her body hadn't shown any abnormalities.

Tang Hui borrowed the power of the Mind Qi Separator and painstakingly began to remove the poison from the meridians, slicing at it layer by layer.

Even this simple repetitive action took more than half a day. If Tang Hui hadn't been a Poison Master, she wouldn't have even attempted it in the first place.

Finally, late at night, when most would be asleep, Tang Hui let out a sigh of relief and leaned back.

"H—how is my daughter?" Wu Qu asked immediately, having stood by her side from the moment Tang Hui began the detoxification.

"We've succeeded."

"Are you... are you sure?!"

"Yes, I've drawn out all the poison that was hidden in her meridians."

"Are you okay?" Zhou Xuchuan asked.

"It seems you've already forgotten who I am. Maybe you should get that hole in your brain checked out. Poison is strength and cultivation to me."

As the purity of the poison wasn't that bad, the qi she had gained afterward had exceeded her expectations.

Tang Hui's gaze turned to the Sword Demon again.

"Although I removed all the poison, her body is still weak. You'll need to be careful for a while. It might be a good idea for her to take some elixirs, but don't start with anything too potent without tempering her body. Start with something weak. I don't know much about medicine, so be sure to call a physician to examine her soon."

The Sword Demon nodded and took Tang Hui's words to heart. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Fa... ther...?"

"Zhenhua!"

Hearing her faint voice, the Sword Demon quickly approached his bedridden daughter.

He hesitated to touch her, afraid he might hurt her, so he just looked down at her, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay to hug her, just be gentle."

Sob, sob.

In that moment, the Sword Demon, who had terrified the entire murim, was simply a father, holding his daughter in his arms and crying like a child.

Seeing him like this, Wu Zhenhua was startled at first before she smiled gently and patted him on the back.

1. Specifically, the 73rd tetragram of the Taixuanjing, Completion. ☜

2. Remember, they don't know that Zhou Xuchuan is the Phantom Bow Swordsman yet. ☜

3. For reference, anyone at or above the Harmony Realm is called a master, anyone of First Class to Transcendent is called an expert, and anyone Third/Second Class is called a martial artist. ☜

4. The Evil Faction can be considered evil as in they don't care what they do to survive and get stronger. They aren't super stubborn idiots who clamor about the strongest. That's more the Demonic Path. That's why it's so strange that the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate does this idiotic posturing. ☜