Chapter 275 – Grudges (III)

Chapter 275

Grudges (III)

Elder Qin opened his eyes slowly as he stood up, feeling that it was time.

He’d been meditating for almost four days now, waiting in the darkness, but he felt it at last–the twine was broken, the one he set up at the very edge of this place.

For a while now, he’d been tracking the movements of the so-called ‘Ghostblade’, an Elder of the Immortal Sword Haven Sect.

The man largely locked himself up within the Sect’s confines, and as the Sect had entirely closed itself off from the world, he could seldom catch a glimpse of him. The rumors were that they were preparing for the opening of a Secret Realm, but he couldn’t care less.

Nonetheless, with a bit of patience and a bit of wit, he finally had the chance.

About a month ago, he’d spread the rumor of a sentient trace of Sword Qi some four hundred miles south of the sect, not to the disciples directly, of course, but by being slightly ‘loose-lipped’ with some chatty mercenaries.

He already knew that the man called Ghostblade had been stuck at the peak of the Inner World Realm for a long while and had probably given up even attempting to break through any further. But the tantalizing invitation of the sentient trace of Sword Qi…

Precisely because that was, in effect, its sole purpose; it was entirely useless to those still progressing in the path of Sword, as they hadn’t yet reached the ‘Wall’. For those that have, though, and have no hope of climbing or tearing through it on their own, the sentient trace of Sword Qi was their only chance.

Yes, they’d get to see what is on the other side, but that would be as far as they’d ever go.

Staring through the shadows, he finally caught a glimpse of the figure–he’d pulled a hood over his face and had concealed his Qi the best he could, making it seem as though he was ‘only’ at the Revolving Core Realm, but it was child’s play to see through.

No, that was a bit of an exaggeration; before his ‘death’, he would never have seen through the wool of Qi, even if he had a hundred lifetimes to investigate.

Something had… changed, deeply, inside of him, in far more ways than just one.

The man kept looking around, though there was nothing there.

Feeling that he had reached his peak state and activating the concealment array, Elder Qin stepped out, immediately alerting the man, who tried to dart out and away, only to realize there was nowhere to go.

Though the array itself wasn’t of particularly high quality, it did the one thing it was supposed to do–prevent the man from escaping immediately.

“Who are you!?” the man asked, using Qi to distort his voice.

Unlike him, Elder Qin didn’t bother hiding his appearance–not that the man would recognize him. Even if he was at the Sect’s attack and just one of those who stayed outside, who he was today and who he was on the day he died… those two men were different, vastly.

“Ghostblade,” Elder Qin said. “Before I sever your head, I wish to confirm it’s the right head I’m severing.”

“Huh? This… was a trap? Ha ha ha,” the man suddenly laughed and removed the hood over his head.

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The sharp, azure eyes stood out even more when framed by a face rather than a piece of cloth. A handsome man, all things considered, though the touch of ineffable arrogance dulled it ever so slightly.

“Clever. I hadn’t been trapped like this in a long time. Congratulations on that, at least. But what? Do you think you can—what was it? Sever my head? Oh, you naive little fool.”

“So, it is you.”

“Ha ha, it indeed is. Why would I hide it from a little pup like you? Though I am mighty curious, just what hole did you crawl out from? I make it a point to never leave behind a root that can sprout even into useless weed. I don’t recall ever missing one, either.”