Watching the Mountain

Chapter 276: Chapter 168: Enlightenment Dao, Midsummer

After she finished, she stepped forward and patted Lu Mingchen’s shoulder. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she adopted a mock-serious tone and said,

”You’re definitely coming with us. You just don’t need to fight. All you have to do is be there.”

”Huh?” Lu Mingchen cried out. ”Fellow Daoist Qianxue, you mean the three of you are going to take on all five of them?”

Hearing this, Luo Qianxue lifted her chin and huffed. ”Isn’t that obvious? We don’t know anyone else. How would we coordinate with them?”

”Besides, they’re just five minor Demon Cultivators. With the three of us, you think we can’t take them down?”

Lu Mingchen’s eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief. He then turned his gaze to Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao, who were standing nearby.

When they saw him looking, they glanced at each other and shared a smile.

They said nothing, but the confidence in their eyes was unmistakable.

They thought the same. Although they knew the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints were powerful and coordinated seamlessly, they were confident that the three of them together had nothing to fear.

Just as Luo Qianxue had said, all they wanted right now was to beat down those so-called Young Demon Saints.

After seeing the reactions from Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao, Lu Mingchen hesitated for a long moment. Finally, he took a deep breath, clenched his jaw, and said,

”I understand. Eldest Martial Brother, Fellow Daoist Qianxue, and Fellow Daoist Chu, I believe in you. I’ll go with you. You absolutely have to defeat those Young Demon Saints from the Demon Court.”

He punctuated his words with a determined pump of his fist.

Hearing this, Li Daoyi and the other two nodded seriously. Then Luo Qianxue laughed heartily. ”Fellow Daoist Lu, don’t get so worked up! With the three of us, five minor Demon Cultivators are nothing to worry about.”

Just then, the soft sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard. A cold, aloof figure appeared in the doorway. It was Shen Wuchen.

He wore his usual expressionless mask. His gaze swept over the lively group in the courtyard before finally landing on his disciple and Xu Ran.

Luo Qianxue and the others, who had just been chattering away about the ”truth” and the future, fell instantly silent. Their expressions turned incredibly awkward; they looked like they wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, their eyes darting all over the place.

Shen Wuchen was completely baffled by their behavior, but he paid it no mind. He gave a cold nod by way of greeting, then looked at Lu Mingchen. ”It’s getting late. Time to return for your evening practice.”

”Y-Yes, Master.” Lu Mingchen jolted and hurried over, but he couldn’t stop himself from sneaking a glance at that seemingly aloof face.

He recalled what Grandmaster Xu Ran had said earlier, and his imagination couldn’t help but run wild.

’Is Master really just nervous?’

Xu Ran saw their reactions and stifled a laugh, giving them a little wave.

Shen Wuchen turned and left with his disciple, his figure as straight-backed and solitary as ever.

Not until he was far in the distance did the courtyard erupt with Luo Qianxue’s suppressed but gleeful laughter. Even Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao were shaking their heads and chuckling.

The night breeze rustled gently, carrying the young cultivators’ lingering laughter and boundless, youthful energy far into the distance.

*

*

*

A dozen or so days later, Xu Ran stood at the foot of Qing Xuan Peak to welcome back Li Daoyi, Luo Qianxue, Chu Lingxiao, and Lu Mingchen.

Of the four who returned, all but Lu Mingchen were covered in wounds.

They had already fought the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints, and Xu Ran had already heard the outcome.

They had lost.

The Five Young Demon Saints were already formidable; individually, each one was a match for any of the trio. What’s more, they coordinated seamlessly. In a five-on-three fight, their defeat was no surprise.

However, unlike their previous battles, after which they were berated by the entire Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm, this time, after their defeat, not a single person in the Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm criticized them or called them a disgrace.

There was only a sense of regret.

Because this time, the battle between the trio and the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints had been incredibly fierce. Both sides had fought for a full day before a victor was decided.

It was the most grueling battle the Five Young Demon Saints had faced since arriving in the Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm. On several occasions, the five of them had nearly been defeated by Li Daoyi’s trio.

After the battle, even the Demon Saints themselves admitted that they had only won because they had superior numbers.

Had they not outnumbered Li Daoyi’s group by two, they would have surely been defeated.

They had previously boasted that the Cultivation Realm had no one of note, but this time they lowered their proud heads and acknowledged the trio’s excellence.

After this battle, they returned to the lands of the Demon Race.

In a way, Li Daoyi and his companions had saved face for the entire Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm.

And yet, the entire Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm was left feeling frustrated and regretful. Even though the Five Young Demon Saints had returned to their lands and acknowledged the strength of the realm’s cultivators, the fact remained that the demons had returned home with their undefeated record intact.

Many sighed over this, believing that if Li Daoyi’s group had just one more person, the outcome might have been different.

But for some reason, the trio had refused to add anyone else to their team, so the affair could only conclude as an honorable defeat.

While the entire Cultivation Realm was lamenting on their behalf, the trio themselves showed no sign of dejection. Their eyes sparkled, and their faces were lit with excitement.

It was as if they hadn’t taken the loss to heart at all.

This puzzled Xu Ran. He knew them to be proud individuals who, by all rights, should not have been able to accept defeat. But the way they acted now suggested otherwise.

”You lost, yet you’re this excited?” he couldn’t help but ask.

The words were barely out of his mouth when Luo Qianxue—a young woman whose personality was the very opposite of her name—shot to her feet. Her slender, fair hands fidgeted restlessly, as if she didn’t know what to do with all her excitement.

”Senior, you have no idea! We may have lost, but the fight itself... we enjoyed it so much! It was the first time we ever realized a battle could be so...”

She trailed off, her mouth hanging open as she searched for the right word.

Xu Ran looked at her flushed cheeks, hesitated for a moment, and supplied, ”Thrilling?”

Hearing the word, Luo Qianxue’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. ”Yes, yes! That’s it... thrilling.”

She pumped her fist and shouted, ”That fight was just so thrilling!”

”Right?” She looked to Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao.

They both nodded emphatically, clenching their fists. Brimming with fiery passion, they shouted in unison, ”Thrilling!”

Xu Ran nodded thoughtfully at the sight. Just then, Lu Mingchen, who had been standing off to the side, ducked his head and muttered,

”I’m sorry. If I were stronger and could have fought alongside you, maybe you would have won.”

As soon as he finished, Luo Qianxue stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. ”Fellow Daoist Lu, didn’t I tell you? Your job was to make us look even more amazing by comparison! And here you are, wanting to fight alongside us. You’re quite ambitious, aren’t you?”

Lu Mingchen lifted his head slightly to see Luo Qianxue smiling at him, her eyes narrowed playfully. He stared at her, slightly dumbfounded.

He knew Fellow Daoist Qianxue. She could be blunt, but she never meant any harm. He understood she was just trying to keep him from dwelling on it. He slowly clenched his fist, held it for a long moment, then let it drop.

The others laughed at the sight. They began to discuss the battle, their words holding none of the disappointment of defeat.

They spoke of impossibly strong foes and dreamed of a future filled with challenges. There was no fear in their eyes, only the blazing light of youth.

Watching them from the side, Xu Ran’s lips curved into a faint smile. He sighed silently. ’This is the scorching sun of youth.’

’Such boundless energy, such fearless declarations, such confidence that could illuminate the dusk itself.’

As he watched them, an emotion began to swell within him. He slowly summoned his longsword. Gazing up at the scorching sun hanging in the sky, he swung his blade, much to the astonishment of Li Daoyi and the others.

A flash of light, more dazzling than the blazing sun above, erupted from the blade.

When the light faded, Li Daoyi and the others stared at him, their eyes wide.

”Martial Uncle, what was that?”

Xu Ran smiled faintly and replied softly,

”The fourth style of my Swordsmanship: ’Scorching Sun’.”

It was a style of Swordsmanship inspired by these young men and women.

Like the height of summer, it was filled with passion, confidence, and fearlessness.