Book 4, Chapter 197: Walking To The Tower With The Frost King Saber
Book 4, Chapter 197: Walking To The Tower With The Frost King Saber
The disciples leading the way were respectful and stern. After all, they were leading a foreign martial arts master, who their master had called for a spar, to their school. They wouldn’t dream of showing him the slightest sign of disrespect.
While Chen Chuan walked away, the warship in charge of escorting him also arrived at the island. It positioned itself sideways with all its cannons pointed at Two Coins Isle.
If the islanders did anything fishy or if anything happened to their martial arts master, they were going to carpet bomb the entire island.
***
After Chen Chuan left the beach, he followed the disciples for around ten minutes before they reached a quiet, tree-lined path perfect for meditation. Then, the school showed up before them.
There was a stone beside the entrance with the words “Fierce Wave.” The strokes were bold and thick, giving it a majestic demeanor. Just staring at it made Chen Chuan feel as if he could hear the waves, but there was also a gentle, submissive feeling underneath, as if it was intimidated and kept in place by some power. The sound of the waves was loud but not shocking, fierce but not terrifying.
When the disciple saw Chen Chuan staring at the stone, he said, “Master Chan Dao, our first master, carved these words more than six hundred years ago.”
Chen Chuan continued staring at the stone. Even though so many years had passed, he could still sense a faint trace of mental energy from it, just like from Master Hongfa’s lotus flower seat.
Also, the two words contained a lot of other things.
Upon seeing Chen Chuan stand still, the two disciples didn’t bother him or call him to hurry on. Instead, they waited respectfully.
Chen Chuan observed the words for a while before looking away and turning to the winding mountain path going up the bamboo forest. “Let’s go.”
“This way, please,” the first disciple immediately said and continued leading Chen Chuan along the way. The first few dozen steps were rather steep, but after a while, the slope turned gentler. Chirps occasionally came from the bamboo forest.
Just then, Chen Chuan noticed a black stone monument deep within the bamboo forest. There were statues of strange creatures beside it and many people’s names carved on it, though there was still a large portion of it empty.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That’s the Sacrificial Monument. It holds the names of the disciples who died outside while challenging other people. It has been around for centuries,” the disciple answered respectfully. Then, after a brief pause, he continued, “After Junior Jiancheng died, his name was also carved on it.”
Chen Chuan cast him a look. “Junior? Then, you must be Bianyue Yizhen, the eldest disciple of Fierce Wave School.”
“That’s me.” Bianyue Yizhen bowed.
Chen Chuan observed him. He had been able to tell right from the start that he was no ordinary disciple, but an elite among Third Limit martial artists.
Chen Chuan had already met Yejian Hong of Serene Radiance School and Gongying Changxiu of Windforest School. All of them had an indescribable demeanor, while Bianyue Yizhen had average looks. Still, Chen Chuan could sense that he had greater determination, or rather, clung onto his beliefs more stubbornly. That was something the other two didn’t possess.
“Aren’t you sad about your junior brother’s death?” he asked.
Bianyue Yizhen looked up and said seriously, “We’re warriors, and it’s our fate to die by the sword. While our shed blood gets buried in dirt and our bodies rot away, our names remain. It’s true that Junior Brother Jiancheng died by your hands, but he died to a martial arts master. That was his fortune.”
He sounded sincere. Chen Chuan could tell that this was what he truly thought.
Chen Chuan didn’t comment on that. After walking out of the bamboo forest, the view before them opened up. They had to pass a corridor to reach a building up ahead. It was built from the island’s national tree in the classical style of the old era.
Along the sides of the corridor were a row of trees with crimson flowers, while at the end, in front of the door to the building, was an old man in black. It was clear he had a limp, even though he was sitting in seiza with a stern expression. He said nothing and didn’t move even when they approached him.
Just as they walked past him, however, the old man asked, “Did he use all his techniques back then, sir?”
Chen Chuan could tell who the old man was asking about, so after going through his memories, he said, “I suppose he did.”
The old man turned around and bowed deeply.
Chen Chuan turned away. He took the last couple of steps to the large, wooden door. Bianyue Yizhen bowed and said, “My master is waiting for you in the grand viewing hall. Please forgive me for not being able to escort you inside.”
Chen Chuan looked inside but had no intention of taking off his shoes. He stepped on the stairs. None of the attendants voiced any displeasure toward him.
However, his body kept releasing a faint glow as he walked, so no dirt touched his feet. He didn’t leave any footprints on the floorboards.
After crossing the lobby, he reached the grand viewing hall. The bamboo curtain had been rolled up, so he could see a tall, thin man sitting inside. He was more than two meters tall, and his hair hung loosely down his back. A long, curved saber was on the saber rack beside him, and on the table in front of him was an ink-black incense burner with wave motifs. Above him was a scroll with the words “Thunder Listener.”
This was Fenghe Shou, master of Fierce Wave School.
Fenghe Shou reached out with his hand and motioned at a seat. “Have a seat, Mr. Chen.”
Chen Chuan walked over and sat down across from him.
Fenghe Shou picked up the ceramic teapot on the table and served him a cup of tea. There were white shoots at the tips of the tealeaves, which looked like snowflakes in the cup.
“This is the Snow Waves Tea. Master Chan Dao got two of these tea trees from a Zen monastery in the Eastern Continent. Apparently, they are the only ones left in the world, and one can only harvest their tea at the end of October. It’s the perfect time to serve you this tea. Try it.”
Chen Chuan picked up the teacup and took a sip. Immediately, he felt a cool, refreshing taste that nourished his body, and the fragrance lingered in his mouth. “I don’t know much about tea, but I think it’s pretty good.”
“I’m glad you like it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an expert in tea or not. People like us no longer have to care about earthly concerns or what other people think,” Fenghe Shou commented.
Chen Chuan took another sip. Since the teacup was rather small, he finished it right away. Only the tea leaves remained at the bottom. He set the teacup down and said something that had a double meaning, “It’s not enough.”
Fenghe Shou didn’t serve him another cup. Instead, he took a look at the Frost King Saber and remarked, “You have an outstanding and dignified demeanor. It’s a pity that your saber isn’t worthy of you.”
“Having one or not doesn’t matter to me,” Chen Chuan answered in a relaxed manner.
“If that’s the case, why did you bring it?” Fenghe Shou asked as he regarded Chen Chuan curiously.
Chen Chuan cast a glance at his saber before turning back. “This is the Frost King Saber, and it has been with me ever since I walked down the path of a martial artist. It’s a good companion of mine. It’s a bit lonely to have no spectators for our fight, so I’d like it to be our witness.”
Fenghe Shou seemed to approve of his words, because there was a satisfied look on his face. He yanked at the chain beside him. Gears creaked as the entire hall trembled and started sinking slowly.
If Chen Chuan was startled or puzzled, he didn’t show it. He just sat there calmly.
The grand viewing hall kept sinking until it was around fifty meters below where it originally was. Then, clanging sounds rose, as if the ropes keeping the hall in place were tugged tight. It jolted a bit before stopping.
Chen Chuan saw a corridor made of wood behind Fenghe Shou. Its black pillars were carved with strange animals’ heads. Bright light shone from where the corridor turned a corner.
Fenghe Shou grabbed the saber beside him and said, “You must have seen the words above my head just now. It was the name of my saber.”
He then stood up, and Chen Chuan noted that he was four meters tall. He wore a martial arts uniform with a belt around his waist. His sleeves were rather wide, and his face was quite narrow and long. He didn’t look ugly, but Chen Chuan couldn’t figure out his age. He looked to be anywhere between twenty to fifty years old, and that profound, imposing aura he had wasn’t helping.
“We won’t be able to fight to our hearts’ content here, Mr. Chen. Please come with me,” Fenghe Shou said and turned around to head to the light.
Chen Chuan stood up as well, picked up the Frost King Saber, and followed after him.
The corridor was rather spacious. It was twenty meters high and around six meters wide, but there were still scratches on the walls and ceiling.
Chen Chuan was deeply familiar with the light ahead. It came from the other world.
All martial arts schools that lasted up to this date among the island nations with a complete legacy had their own gap. They were heading to Fierce Wave School’s gap right now.
This was a secret to laymen, but not an unusual sight to martial arts masters. Practically all of them knew about it.
Chen Chuan had gone to Single Flow School’s gap before. A predecessor of the school served as a guardian there, which made Chen Chuan wonder about the situation here.
When they were about to reach the gap, Fenghe Shou stopped. The mouth of the gap seemed to have been forced open wider than it originally was. The decorations and support that were originally there were gone, and only a large pit remained. “A predecessor of ours was originally here, but he left.”
“He did?”
“Our lives can’t end naturally, but while we train, we can be corrupted. The more we train, the more corruption we gather, and this is almost impossible to fix.
“But we need to train to transform and reach a breakthrough. That’s why it’s so difficult to get rid of the problem. Once you go further down your path, you’ll find that corruption will not only come from the outside, but also from within your body and mind. The suffering brought from all the attacks is impossible to put into words. That’s why we need to get rid of the corruption and regulate our bodies as well as minds. If we can’t defend our true forms, we will end up being corrupted and turned into demons.”