No one spoke.
The youthful experts were all very reserved.
“Little Buddha” Lei Tingchan closed her eyes. Slowly, she fingered the lamb jade beads in her hand; “Double Wind and Thunder” seemed to be saying something under their breaths. Xia Nichang rolled his eyes; Feng Xingyue was silent and did not speak a word. He looked quietly at the surface of the table, as if he were looking at the world’s most beautiful scenery or woman; Dependent Arising’s disciple and saintess were waiting quietly as well, their eyes closed. The Yun Xing saint sat on the stool. He was of a dwarfish stature and his pair of stubby legs swung lightly to and fro, humming an unknown tune with his lips. His serene expression made it hard for anyone to a.s.sociate him with that Butcher who had grown so used to killing people.
Outside the tavern, there were a huge number of martial artists and the general crowd.
To be able to see the glory of Snow Province’s new generation of senior experts was a very attractive matter to many. And at the very beginning, the crowds had increased very quickly. Towards the end, there were gradually scores of thousands of people who had blocked the surrounding areas; even the rooftop was crowded with people.
Such a scene was akin to the mad mobs that Ding Hao had seen in his previous life.
There was a sudden noise from the crowd; it was people who had forcefully squeezed in from the back, making their way forwards.
“Martial uncle Ding,” said the lad who had made his way through. It was a youth from the “Swordsmans.h.i.+p-sect house”. At the moment he saw Ding Hao, his eyes brightened and he took quick steps forward, whispering a few words in Ding Hao’s ear.
Ding Hao’s face changed. At the moment, before even saying anything pleasant, Yun Xing sage, who was humming some indistinct tune gently swung his legs and stretched his back, saying irritably, “It’s almost time. Why haven’t those two fellows showed up yet.”
“They are already here. It’s just that you haven’t seen them,” Feng Xingyue, who had been quietly looking at the “Heart-cleansing Sword” on the table spoke up for the first time. It was almost at the same instant when he shrugged his shoulders; anyone should have seen how he had drawn his sword and ‘whew’, made a swoos.h.i.+ng sound—an arc of neon sword light emerged from the scabbard of his long sword which was yet unsheathed, and that light shot out in the direction of that empty table in the middle of the great reception area.
“Clatter!”
It was almost like the sound of a single drop of water falling into the ocean.
That sharp sword radiance suddenly vanished when it was within one meter of the empty table. It seemed that it had been swallowed by something, or to have entered another realm altogether—as though it had never appeared.
However, every single person who was present had at that split second, felt the fleeting element of a water vital force.
“Such a degree—such vast and precise ability to control water—who is this person?”
Ding Hao’s heart chilled. It was almost at that split instant where he had seemingly felt the presence of vast and endless oceans. That mysterious and unknown person’s ability to control water had already reached a level that was stupefying. No wonder that person had not even been found out by Yun Xing sage, when he was camouflaging himself amidst so many experts.
Feng Xingyue’s face changed.
He never would have thought that even with his power, he had not been able to force that opponent out of his camouflage.
He was about to unsheathe his sword, but, he then realized that a melodious voice like that of reed pipes had wafted out of the tavern. The voice was filled with an ethereal quality and aura. Ding Hao turned his head; the voice was coming out of Little Buddha Lei Tingchan.
Lei Tingchan fingered her prayer beads. Sounds in Sanskrit were flowing out from her and ruddy and watery lips; they were filled with such a mystical aura, which caused the surrounding area to ripple in a way that even the naked eye could see.
The chant was like tides and currents, and it rolled towards the center of the hall where the empty table was.
Two streams of unseen force started to contest in the air. The water force which had appeared previously started to ripple, as if there was some invisible item that was slowly getting removed by those sounds in Sanskrit. Two blurry silhouettes, one big and the other small, started to appear on the empty table.
They were slightly familiar to the eyes.
“Hahaha, what a “Nine Sounds of the Sanskrit”, employing the technique of the Zero Thought Sect. You little nun, you seemed to have learnt some of the quintessence.” A hearty laughter rang out and finally, two figures had suddenly gained clarity beside the empty table, before the eyes of everyone who was present.
The crowds outside all burst out in shouts of exclamation and surprise, as if salt had been poured down on a boiling pan of oil.
No one would have thought that those two figures which had appeared were actually the grandfather and grandson who were busking and singing.
The blind old man and that one-legged young boy. The blind old man sat quietly beside the table, hand grasping his own erhu tightly. He closed his eyes and gently shook his head, as if he was so immersed in something beautiful, and that person who had been laughing heartily was indeed that one-legged boy. Clearly, he had the figure of a young boy, but his voice and his mannerisms those of a brutish grown up, which caused some consternation in those who saw him.
“Heehee, so it was you both. I had truly been mistaken. I would have never thought that out of the “Deity Phoenix Great Sage’s ten demon kings.”
The blind old man continued with his eyes shut, not speaking a word.
The single-legged boy laughed heartily. “You woman, you are truly flirtatious indeed. Why don’t you come to my side, to the Deity Phoenix palace? Perhaps you would still be qualified to be beside the Great Sage and be a tea-pouring server of a la.s.s.”
“How dare you!?”
“Brazen!”
The few youthful disciples from the Leiyin Sect could not help but slam the table, crying out.
Xia Nishang was still the most accomplished female disciple from the Leiyin Sect. Every helmsman from the sect enjoyed a n.o.ble status in the Leiyin Sect. G.o.d knows how many men in Leiyin had secretly fallen in love with her. In the face of that rascal who was only four to five years of age, how could they not be angry while seeing him shooting his mouth off?
The one-legged boy laughed and his eyes darted to the side.
Following which, a few shots of cyan light columns had suddenly appeared on the heads of a few disciples from the Leiyin sect. It suddenly turned into a huge and majestic beast of the six senses and surrounded the Untainted Land. It was quick as lightning and before those unlucky few had even reacted in time, they had heard a few shuffling noises, then they were crushed into minced meat, spilling on the ground.
A waft of bloodiness was emanated in the tavern.
Everyone who had crowded in to watch was all scared out of their senses. Someone screamed and everyone took a step backwards.
The man who had been stamped to death was an outstanding disciple from the Leiyin sect. His strength was more than ordinary but he was like an ant that had lost its life. Even the Double Wind and Lightning would not have been able to help him.
The remaining three disciples from the Leiyin Sect had all been scared out of their wits. They trembled and did not dare to speak a word.
While at that b.l.o.o.d.y scene, various disciples from the Leiyin sect gradually understood that they were facing the infamous Demon King. He was a killer and was merciless—actuality, he was not as vulnerable as he seemed to be with his child-like appearance.