Chapter 065: Meeting the Sword King

Wei Jiaping had every reason to be furious. Though his roars and growls betrayed his panic, he could not help himself. He knew Su Jingxing was difficult to handle. The terms of the deal were not theirs to dictate—they required Su Jingxing’s agreement, and that alone left Wei Jiaping feeling stifled and on the verge of madness.

Yet Su Jingxing possessed a quality worthy of respect: he had principles.

To find another mid-tier martial artist of the sixth rank who not only upheld principles and boundaries but was also powerful, trustworthy, and, most importantly, in need of the “Eight-Step Soaring Dragon” was a nearly impossible task.

In the eyes of Wei Jiaping and Wei Jiajia, Su Jingxing’s martial cultivation was likely at the sixth rank. Finding a sixth-rank martial artist who would engage in a fair trade was a rare stroke of luck. Even if the terms were set by Su Jingxing and their family could not use the deal to expand their influence, Wei Jiaping believed that, should the Wei siblings ever face a life-or-death crisis, Su Jingxing would not stand idly by. The reasoning was simple—if the siblings died, with whom would Su Jingxing complete his transaction?

Such was the advantage of making arrangements with a principled martial artist.

In essence, the remaining two opportunities amounted to the Wei siblings’ trump cards for survival. The stronger Su Jingxing became, the greater the security these cards provided.

But what had Wei Jiajia done? She had exchanged these two life-saving boons for mere “beauty” and “tutoring.”

The “Radiant Bloom” was a flower that preserved youthful skin for decades. As for selling it for money, the Wei family’s problem was not a lack of wealth, but how to keep it safe. The likes of Chen Xiaodao and others coveted the Wei family’s business only because it was valuable. Their true need was not money, but a powerful martial artist to protect their assets.

To use one of their precious chances for the sake of youthful skin—what else could that be but vanity? If Wei Jiajia had been a breathtaking beauty, capable of leveraging her appearance to secure a powerful protector, it might have been justified. The problem was, she did not possess such dazzling allure.

As for the letter of introduction to the “Sword Immortal of Soaring Glory,” it was indeed rare to receive personal guidance from a third-rank grandmaster. But let us be clear—this was merely guidance, not an offer of apprenticeship. To be accepted as a disciple by the Sword Immortal, one needed extraordinary talent in the martial path. Was Wei Jiajia such a prodigy? Obviously not. Had she been, she would already have apprenticed herself to one of the masters within Qinghe City. There was more than one fourth-rank martial artist in that city, after all.

The Sword Immortal’s instruction would consist of correcting mistakes in training, advising on suitable martial arts techniques, optimizing cultivation methods, and pointing out bottlenecks and challenges along the martial path.

Put simply, it was akin to receiving private tutoring from a distinguished teacher. How much she could learn still depended on herself. Such guidance—was that not just “tutoring”? And the duration of this “tutoring” would be, at most, three days. Trading a life-saving chance for three days of expert instruction—how could Wei Jiaping not be angry?

The “Eight-Step Soaring Dragon” might be enticing to Su Jingxing, but to the Sword Immortal, it was ordinary martial fare. The Sword Immortal could soar through the skies under his own power. The techniques of the “Eight-Step Soaring Dragon” might not even compare to the “Seven-Step Fist” in his eyes, which at least boasted explosive power.

For the siblings to strike a deal with the Sword Immortal was plainly impossible. Meeting him would, at best, fulfill Wei Jiajia’s own wish. To call it “idol-chasing” would not be an exaggeration.

This was precisely the source of Wei Jiaping’s ire: the two chances Wei Jiajia had used were spent solely on her own benefit, exchanging the family’s treasured secrets for personal gain. Was this not the height of selfishness? Perhaps, when she made her demands, she sought to make things difficult for Su Jingxing out of spite for his lack of cooperation. After all, the Radiant Bloom was a priceless rarity, and the letter of introduction to the Sword Immortal was a one-in-a-billion opportunity. But who could guarantee that she hadn’t been tempted by the prospect herself? However slim the chance, it was still a disgrace to the Wei family.

Wei Jiajia knew all of this, which was why she offered little resistance.

...

Elsewhere.

Su Jingxing was oblivious to Wei Jiaping’s anxious rage, his shouting at Wei Jiajia, or the slap he dealt her. Even had he known, he would not have cared. The transaction was complete, and from now on, the Wei siblings had nothing to do with him.

What he looked forward to was his impending meeting with the Sword Immortal of Soaring Glory.

This third-rank grandmaster would arrive in Qinghe City the day after the lottery ended. Considering that two candidates had been selected, Su Jingxing was unsure whom the Sword Immortal would choose to see first. Either way, it would not take long—his instruction would last, at most, three days. Su Jingxing was in no rush.

The outcome, in fact, exceeded his expectations.

By the following evening, he received a message from the Sword Immortal via the backend of the Big Fish Forum, instructing him to come to the rooftop sky garden of the “Stone King Tower” the next day.

Yes, he was the first to be summoned.

The Stone King Tower was the property of the Shi family, a martial clan with a century-long legacy in Qinghe City’s western district. The tower, thirty-three stories tall, boasted a rooftop sky garden—the city’s most exclusive social club, inaccessible to ordinary folk.

With the Sword Immortal’s arrival, every major power in the city vied for the honor of hosting him. The Shi family, through unknown means, succeeded in securing his presence. To accommodate the Sword Immortal’s instruction for the lucky winners, the family closed the sky garden to the public for a full month. For such a connection, the Shi family would have gladly shut it down for a year. Even if their efforts came to nothing in the end, the reputation of the Stone King Tower would be firmly established, thanks to this once-in-decades live advertisement from a third-rank grandmaster.

Of course, they dared not openly publicize the event, but merely kept an eye on the two lucky ones: Yang Jian and Wei Jiajia. To advertise the Sword Immortal’s presence would be sheer folly; to mention Yang Jian and Wei Jiajia, however, was harmless.

And so, when Su Jingxing, disguised as Yang Jian, stepped onto the small plaza in front of the Stone King Tower, he was immediately swarmed by a pack of media personnel—strategically placed by the Shi family, pretending to have just exited the tower.

“Mr. Yang, have you received the message about the meeting place with the Sword Immortal?”

“Mr. Yang, on behalf of the online community, may I ask if you’re married?”

“Yang Jian, do you feel you deserve this opportunity?”

“Mr. Yang, are you here because the Sword Immortal summoned you?”

“That’s right, Mr. Yang—is the Sword Immortal meeting you at the Stone King Tower?”

Microphones thrust forward, the crowd feigned innocence as they tried to coax Su Jingxing into confirming the location of his meeting with the Sword Immortal.

Caught off guard, Su Jingxing nearly blurted out the truth. But after a moment’s listening, he discerned the media’s deliberate probing. Without hesitating, he pressed off the ground, leapt into the air, and, stepping lightly on the heads of the crowd, swiftly entered the tower.

Inside, he ignored the stares of others, took the elevator, and ascended straight to the rooftop.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened.

Su Jingxing stepped out onto the grass-covered garden, swept his gaze around, and locked onto a slender figure with cascading black hair.

“Wandering swordsman Yang Jian, greetings to the Sword King!”