Chapter Ninety-nine: Escaping the Small World

Zhang Ning's "grace" was thus passed down as a tale of wonder, earning him a line from a great contemporary Confucian scholar: "For half a lifetime, Luoqing lay unknown to all; once fame came in a single morning, the whole world knew." Luoqing referred to Luoqing Valley, the sect to which the original owner of Zhang Ning's body had belonged—a sect of no particular renown. Yet after "Qin Guanlan" had vanished from the small world for so many years, his life story was at last unearthed in full. Luoqing Valley became a scenic attraction, toured again and again, endless visitors hoping to catch some trace of Qin Guanlan.

For many believed that Luoqing Valley was merely an outer sect of the one to which Qin Guanlan had belonged—that the true Luoqing Valley, holding peerless techniques with the Grandmaster Qin Guanlan himself at its heart, lay in a place far more secluded, and could only be found by those fated to discover it. This notion evidently fit certain fantasies nestled in people's hearts, and so it spread far wider than the true account, and after many years came to be taken as the real story.

In that story, Qin Guanlan—garbed in white robes, holding a sword in a bare hand, sharp-featured, cold of temperament, come for revenge, breaking through mid-battle, and more besides—stirred boundless imagination. He became the idol countless martial artists strove to emulate, and the man of countless maidens' spring dreams.

Curiously enough, Zhang Ning had never once used a sword and understood nothing of sword arts. Yet merely because he always wore that sword at his side, people took him for one of principle, of the temperament that does not lightly draw a blade—and because he had never used it against anyone in battle, never fighting meant never losing! Thus he was even honored with the title Sword Immortal, and all manner of tales were spun of the splendor that would attend the moment he drew his sword.

Though the true inspirational tale would have been one of fighting and losing again and again, yet fighting on regardless, this flawless legend was beautiful enough to be unforgettable. Many who heard it in their youth carried it in their hearts all the way into old age—let alone those who had personally witnessed the events, such as Qingning and An Ruoyin.

But what was the truth of the matter?

The fact was that after exchanging blows with Chen Zili, Zhang Ning discovered the two had fought to a standstill! One must remember that Chen Zili was gravely wounded and his momentum likewise inferior to Zhang Ning's, who had come wearing the identity of senior brother, seeking revenge, and had been building his presence for some time.

Moreover, the first move of Chen Zili's spear technique was the one he had been gathering strength for longest, and the strongest as well; though the subsequent moves were exquisite, none could surpass the first. So Zhang Ning had resorted to a delaying tactic throughout. Even so, he had not gained any significant advantage—which shocked Zhang Ning to the core.

Chen Zili taught Zhang Ning a lesson with plain fact: no matter how profound and marvelous one's techniques, in a life-and-death battle, one's true combat ability and experience were what decided the outcome. In reality, Zhang Ning had been in the Tianqing Realm from Water Blue Star for only a little over half a year, and in all that time he had not been constantly instructed by Chu Hanyu—not like the outsiders believed, that he had grown up under the palm of the Wanxiang Demon Lord since childhood.

A mere half-year, even with cheats and point allocations, and he could already fight Chen Zili to such a state—in truth, Zhang Ning's martial talent was monstrous. But Zhang Ning clearly hadn't thought of it that way. He only felt that the matter brooked no delay, for delay breeds change!

Zhang Ning thought rightly. Just as Chen Zili was inwardly sneering and about to crush his greatest hidden trump card—the jade pendant at his waist—he suddenly felt a heavy pressure bearing down on him. Startled, he looked up, and discovered that Zhang Ning's aura had risen yet again!

Yes, Zhang Ning had once more added attention points to his cultivation, which raised him in an instant from the Master that people in this small world saw to a Grandmaster! And from a false Martial Emperor floating in the air by means of the Cloud Free Contemplation Method, he became a true Martial Emperor!

Martial Emperor, Martial Emperor—as the name implied, the emperor among warriors! At this moment, Zhang Ning was the absolute sovereign of this region!

In that brief instant when his unassailable pressure froze Chen Zili in place, Zhang Ning crossed bodies with him midair, exchanging their positions, and at the same time lightly brushed his hand across the top of Chen Zili's head. His motion was truly gentle—as gentle as a lover brushing a flower that had improbably fallen upon a beloved's hair—yet Chen Zili spat out a mouthful of blood, stared fixedly at Zhang Ning, and collapsed to the ground in a sitting heap. His hand loosened, and the jade pendant rolled to Zhang Ning's feet.

Hearing the gurgling sounds from Chen Zili's throat, unable to form complete words, yet seeing the confusion in his eyes, Zhang Ning knew at once what Chen Zili was thinking: Qin Guanlan was also a man of name and repute, with signature techniques of his own—why on earth would he insist on using Zhuge Yi's moves? If the purpose from the start was humiliation, then why never once use his own famous techniques? Or could it be... he was not Qin Guanlan at all?!

His goal achieved, Zhang Ning calmed down and spoke softly, in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Sorry about that. My name isn't Qin Guanlan. I'm called Zhang Ning—the Zhang of Zhang Ning, and the Ning of Zhang Ning!" Chen Zili stared at him, eyes wide, and breathed no more. He had died with his eyes open, refusing to close!

Zhang Ning turned and left. Apart from carrying away Chen Zili's head, he did nothing else. He had come for revenge; what meaning would there be in doing anything more? Besides, Zhang Ning's current body could not withstand the cultivation of a Martial Emperor. Piling on attention points had only elevated his realm; it could not halt the collapse of his physical form. So when he reached a dense forest, he felt the body could no longer hold on.

He found a desolate cave, struck the rock wall with a single palm, and tumbling stones rolled down, burying the passage from the cave to the outside world. Then he closed his eyes and used a soul art to leave the small world.

As for An Ruoyin, who had stood in a daze for a long while at the site, her great revenge finally accomplished, by the time she understood what she had to do, she had forever lost the trail of her senior brother somewhere in the mountain woods. She stared at the vanishing footprints for a long while, then collapsed to the ground, sobbing without restraint.

But it was already too late, far too late. Had the original owner of this body seen his little junior sister weeping so bitterly, he would surely have rushed to her side without hesitation. But the original owner's soul had long since scattered to the winds; no one had even gathered his corpse. And though Zhang Ning, by a strange twist of fate, had avenged him, his body would forever remain in that nameless cave, sealed off by rock—never to meet his junior sister again, in life or in death.

Tianqing Realm

It took a while before Zhang Ning adjusted to the discomfort of leaving the small world. The feeling of having his cultivation stripped away was indeed not pleasant, and without the cheat, cultivation truly was a problem. No wonder Chen Zili had been arrogant for a while. Still, at least everything had gone smoothly!

But at that moment, Zhang Ning heard a chime: "Ding! World linkage successful. Livestream system upgrading... successfully upgraded to the Save-the-World Livestream System! Thank you for the streamer's hard work and cooperation. A reward of Source Power Crystal from a small world has been received and placed in the streamer's warehouse."