Martial Cultivator

“When it comes to being stubborn, you’re actually more clear-headed than this old man ever was. For sixty years, this old man crossed swords with that man twelve times. Every time, I thought I’d surely win the next one. But in truth, from the very first match, it was already fated that I would only fall further behind him. I only understood that just before I left the mountain.”
The old man sighed. A life could be wasted, but how many spans of sixty years can one afford to waste?
Yu Xiyi looked at the old man with curiosity. “Now that you’ve figured it out, surely this shouldn’t be where it ends?”
The old man naturally knew what Yu Xiyi meant. He shook his head. “Do you think your Sect Master is someone easy to reason with? Every time we crossed swords, he held back?" “These sixty years, how many times has this old man's apertures been destroyed? How many strands of his sword qi are in this old man's body right now, do you know?” "Do you think it's easy for this old man to live until today?"
A great sword immortal would be treated with respect anywhere. But in the Sword Sect, in the eyes of that Sword Sect’s sect master, he was merely a whetstone on the path of Sword Dao.
However, when the old man spoke, there was no resentment in his tone. Contrary to the rumors outside, the Sword Sect’s Sect Master had never stopped him from leaving. It was only that he himself had wanted to stay, trying to defeat the other.
But as for the final result, it could now be seen at a glance.
Yu Xiyi sighed, feeling genuine regret.
The old man narrowed his eyes. “If this old man isn't mistaken, you’ve already reached the threshold and want to take another step forward, planning to use your sect master as your whetstone?” “You’ve really got some nerve. You should know, among all the sword cultivators in this world, being able to raise a sword before him is already remarkable. To actually draw it is just asking for trouble.”
Yu Xiyi’s face was full of disdain.
The old man gave a soft “oh,” and said indifferently, “Bragging is fine, just don’t end up like this old man. Spent a lifetime crossing swords with him and never won once.”
Yu Xiyi remained silent.
After thinking for a while, the old man said bluntly, “This old man has heard of you, so I don’t think you came here for this old man's Sword Dao that’s fated to be inferior to his. You came to ask where his weakness lies, didn’t you?”
Yu Xiyi had not yet spoken when the old man continued earnestly, “Actually, even if you knew his weakness, at this point you still wouldn’t be his match. If he’s in a good mood, you might keep your life. If he’s not, one sword and you’ll be dead. Where would you go to reason with him?”
As for the Sword Sect’s sect master’s temper, probably everyone in the world knew it: in his eyes, sword dao came first; everything else could wait.
Yu Xiyi thought for a while and said, “A friend wrote me a letter a few days ago, asking what realm I’m at now.”
The old man raised an eyebrow. “He wants you to do something for him?”
“There was nothing about that in the letter. He didn’t even ask directly about my realm, but the more he avoided it, the more I felt he needed my help for something important.”
“That guy has already reached the end of Nepenthe. There are few in this world he cannot kill, yet now he still needs my help. I think he might be...”
Yu Xiyi paused, then said, “Going to kill the Demon Emperor.”
Hearing this, the old man was stunned.
There were probably few in this world who could hear such words and not be stunned.
Kill the Demon Emperor.
Yu Xiyi was somewhat excited. “If he's really going to kill the Demon Emperor, then I must be counted in.”
He had not spent a short time cultivating the sword. At this point, he was already a sword immortal. Yu Xiyi had never been very interested in killing people.
On the contrary, he was very interested in killing demons.
Especially when he knew he might be going to kill the Demon Emperor.
The old man sneered. “Are you all mad? Do you even know what kind of being the Demon Emperor is? Even that man, after comprehending so-called final sword move, may not necessarily succeed. You think you guys can?”
At this moment, when the old man looked at Yu Xiyi, it was as though he were looking at an idiot.
It was said that young people had the fervor of youth. But that was fervor, hot-bloodedness, not foolishness, not madness.
Yu Xiyi raised his brows. “You need not worry about that. Since he has this thought, there must be a chance.”
The old man’s face darkened, but he still could not help asking, “Who is that friend of yours?”
Yu Xiyi looked at the old man in confusion, thinking - you don’t even know this?
The old man was equally puzzled, looked at Yu Xiyi as if to say — should I know?
They stared at each other.
A moment later, Yu Xiyi deflated and had no choice but to say the name of that friend.
After hearing it, the old man only muttered a few words. “All lunatics.”
Yu Xiyi smiled indifferently.
Some people became friends not by coincidence, just like him and Chen Chao.
The old man was silent for a long time before saying, “Although I don’t believe you will succeed, what is it that you want this old man's help with?”
Yu Xiyi said straightforwardly, “I want the Sect Master to be my whetstone. But I know the Sect Master will not even exit seclusion for my sake.”
"So... I want you to challenge the Sect Master to a duel once more."
Yu Xiyi looked sincerely at the old man before him.
If the old man drew his sword, the Sword Sect's Sect Master would respond. Only when the Sect Master emerged from seclusion could Yu Xiyi then draw his sword as well.
But to ask a great sword immortal to do such a thing, it was actually a kind of disrespect toward someone of that stature.
The old man looked at him just as seriously and said, “Do you think... this old man hasn’t lost enough already?”
Over the past sixty years, the old man had been defeated by the Sword Sect's Sect Master twelve times. Did he still need to lose once more?
For the first time, Yu Xiyi felt somewhat embarrassed. He looked at the old man before him, unsure of what to say. He knew these were words that should not have been spoken.
The old man stood up and prepared to walk toward the small town. Drawing his sword twelve times, each one ending in defeat. He no longer had the slightest desire to cross swords with that man again.
Let alone the nonsense this young man was talking about; breaking through to kill the Demon Emperor. Did he think the Demon Emperor was so easy to kill?
Even setting aside whether they could kill the Demon Emperor, reaching the Demon Realm and even seeing the Demon Emperor were two entirely different matters.
Were there no powerhouses in the Demon Realm? No great demons? No demon lords?
With only two cultivators at the end of Nepenthe Realm, what could they possibly accomplish?
The old man shook his head and hunched his back, walking alone toward the small town, his steps slow and weary.
Behind him, Yu Xiyi watched his departing figure in silence, unsure of what he was thinking. The young sword immortal said nothing.
No one knew how much time passed before the old man’s silhouette gradually vanished from sight. Yu Xiyi then left the supper stall, stepping into the falling snow, and soon, his hair turned white.
Standing amidst the heavy snow, he looked at the small town before him.
Three Feet.
He sighed softly and was about to think of another way.
But before he could turn around, a young man in black emerged from the snowy night and came up beside him.
Sensing his dejection, the black-clad youth patted his shoulder and teased, “So you were a bit slower than me, it’s no big deal, don’t take it so hard.”
It was meant as a casual comfort. After all, the young sword immortal before him wasn’t the sort to brood over such things.
But Yu Xiyi turned his head, looked seriously at the black-clad youth, and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely break through during this time. I want to do that important thing together with you!”
The black-clad youth had just opened his mouth to speak when Yu Xiyi again said solemnly, “Because that matter, I’ve also wanted to do it for a very, very long time.”
The black-clad youth vaguely felt there was some misunderstanding, but it wasn’t the time to explain.
So he nodded with a smile and said, "I believe in you."