Chapter 84: Solitary Sword Mountain

Thunder cracked and the air was filled with heavy pressure. The clouds hanging above the mountain range were dark and menacing. Bolts of lightning slammed into one particular peak causing the earth to rumble and the air to crackle.

The people who resided in this mountain range watched the dreadful scene with their hearts palpitating. Even though they were cultivators and could be termed as geniuses among geniuses, after all the Seven Clouds Sect never recruited ordinary people, they couldn't help but gulp seeing the fury of the heavens themselves.

These geniuses usually strutted around the continent with arrogance and rarely put anything or anyone in their eyes. Today, they stood humbled before the might of the heavens and watched it rage with awe and fear in their eyes.

The phenomenon lasted for some time, before ultimately fading away.

Just when they thought everything was over, one last lightning of terrible might formed within a blink of an eye and slammed towards the peak. However, this time something was different.

A small figure rose from the peak and flew towards that lightning valiantly. It clashed with that lightning strike head-on and even emerged victorious. As the lightning dissipated, the clouds rumbled as if they were dissatisfied with the result. Nevertheless, the dark clouds that were covering the range of mountains started dissipating as well.

A loud laughter boldly echoed throughout the mountain range causing the people who heard it to look at the figure that was floating above the peak in awe and wonder.

This was a world that revered the strong and worshipped the ground they walked on. To see the heavens rage had made people feel small and inconsequential. But, seeing a man stand up to the heavens and emerge victorious, made their blood boil.

"Looks like our Holy Son has stepped into the next realm. I can't imagine how strong he is…"

"Senior Liu Kong is mighty and valiant…"

"My heart melts whenever I see our Holy Son. I want to serve him and devote my entire life to him…"

"How mighty is our Holy Son? Even the heavens had to retreat in front of him…"

"To face the heaven's fury head on… Senior Liu Kong is the only one that has such bravery. No wonder he is our Holy Son…"

Praise flowed from all around as people looked at the mighty figure that was laughing loudly in the sky.

*****

Sometime later, Liu Kong sat in his residence with a bright smile on his face as he enjoyed the adulations of his fellow disciples. The arrogance that was present in him earlier in the Grasslands had increased tenfold and it was wafting off him.

While normally people would have been put off by such arrogance, at this moment, the people present here felt that Liu Kong had to capital to be this arrogant. It was not arrogance if one had the strength to back it up.

Several female cultivators giggled whenever Liu Kong's eyes passed over them. They sent out sultry signals and acted coquettishly in front of him, in the hopes of catching his eyes. However, Liu Kong ignored all their signals and chatted with the people around him merrily.

These were the men who could be termed his inner circle. Liu Kong didn't have any opponents or rivals in the Seven Clouds Sect. As the Holy Son of the sect, he had ensured that no one that could threaten him would live long enough to become a threat.

Hence, he was always surrounded by people who curried favor with him and bootlickers. Among them, he had a selected group of people that were handpicked by him to become his inner circle.

While Liu Kong was arrogant and had the power to back it up, he knew that if he wanted to succeed in the position of Sect Master, he need to have his own followers who were both competent and powerful enough in their own right. These followers would become the next generation of elders of the sect and help him manage the sect.

So, he had groomed a select group of people who were completely loyal to him and would always support him in the sect. There were the people who suppressed the dissidents, made sure that there were no potential rivals, and always worked in the interests of Liu Kong even above the sect's interests.

Suddenly one of the men turned serious and sent a mental message to Liu Kong.

"Holy Son, I have enquired about the task you gave me. I know the reason Xing Wulong wasn't present in the Grasslands and instead sent Peng Xiaoli there," the man spoke.

Liu Kong's smile stiffened a little and turned to look at the man who had sent him the message.

"What is the reason?" Liu Kong sent back a mental message.

"Xing Wulong had gone to the Solitary Sword Mountain," the man replied a little fearfully. "He sent Peng Xiaoli over to harass you and distract others, while he paid a visit to the Solitary Sword Mountain."

Liu Kong's good mood evaporated as his eyes shrunk. The people around him felt the change in him and stopped their laughter.

"Did he succeed?" Liu Kong asked softly.

"No, Holy Son. He failed just like his brother did," the man replied sweating a little.

"Ha ha ha ha… ha ha ha ha…." Liu Kong started laughing uproariously out of nowhere causing the others present to look at him in surprise.

But, Liu Kong didn't care about the reaction of the others one bit. He felt as if everything was happening in his favor. First, he obtained the Seven-Colored Soul Lotus. Next, he broke through the Nascent Soul realm. And now, Xing Wulong had suffered the same defeat his brother had encountered.

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This made him feel joyous. He couldn't contain the emotions in him anymore. He knew that if Xing Wulong had succeeded, the chance of catching up to him would be minuscule. He needed to come across another heavenly opportunity to even have a chance.

But, Xing Wulong had failed.

That meant, while Xing Wulong stagnated, he, Liu Kong, had progressed and closed the gap between them with a mighty leap. If Xing Wulong encountered yet another setback, he would be on par with him soon.

And then, it would be time to surpass those detestable Xing brothers and prove to the world once and for all, that he was the top genius and not them. Just imagining such a scenario made him want to laugh heartily.

"Just wait Wulong, I will one day make you kneel before me and beg me for mercy!!!" Liu Kong roared inwardly as he laughed loudly amidst the confused guests in his dwelling.

*****

"Senior brother, how are you?" Peng Xiaoli asked in concern as he looked at the melancholic youth before him.

The melancholic youth was garbed in white clothes. He had a scholarly air around him. His temperament was refined and gentlemanly, unlike Peng Xiaoli's rough temperament.

That youth was Xing Wulong, the second prince of the Star Empire and the current Holy Son of the Myriad Heavens Sect.

"Xiaoli, you don't need to worry about me," the youth smiled comfortingly and spoke softly. "My dao heart is not that fragile. I have already prepared myself for the possibility of failure before even setting out. I have learned from my big brother's mistake and wouldn't fall into the state he fell in because of this failure."

Peng Xiaoli felt a little uncomfortable. He was here to enquire about his senior brother's state of mind and he was the one who ended up being comforted instead. His senior brother was truly a rare genius. Who among the top geniuses in the Dragon Scale continent currently possessed such a refined temperament and broad heart?

"Senior brother, there is no need to worry. Didn't your brother come out of the shadow of that failure and grew even stronger? I have full confidence that you will become stronger too," Peng Xiaoli stiffly comforted his senior brother.

"Ha ha ha," Xing Wulong laughed softly. "I will. I will indeed become stronger. You don't need to worry about me, truly."

"That's the spirit, senior brother. After you become stronger, you can once more challenge the Solitary Sword Mountain," Peng Xiaoli encouraged enthusiastically. "Next time, I am sure you will succeed."

"No," Xing Wulong said flatly causing Peng Xiaoli's mouth to drop open in surprise. "Solitary Sword Mountain is behind me. There is no use in trying again. I know deep in my heart that I won't succeed."

"Senior brother…"

"Xiaoli, do you know why no swordsman tried to challenge the mountain a second time?" Xing Wulong asked calmly.

Peng Xiaoli shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

"Unless you are a true swordsman, you wouldn't understand why no one tried it again. If you were meant to succeed, you would have succeeded the first time. There is no use in trying repeatedly," Xing Wulong said shaking his head.

"But… but…"

"The test the mountain poses isn't one of power, wit, or knowledge. It is a different kind of test. One will know whether they will succeed or not on the first try itself. There is no need to waste any more time challenging it again," Xing Wulong said with a small smile.

"As for this failure affecting me negatively, I was already warned by my brother that there is a high chance of failure. If the test at Solitary Sword Mountain could be overcome so easily, what is the meaning of such a test? There is a reason Solitary Sword Mountain is considered the holy ground of sword cultivators. It can be only experienced by sword cultivators."

"And it isn't as if I didn't gain anything from the test, is it? I now have a clear view of my future path of cultivation. Several of the questions that have been plaguing me had been answered. If I am not wrong, I will not face any bottleneck anytime soon, just like every other swordsman did after they got over their failure," Xing Wulong said with a slight smile.

"It is a common misconception that the failure at the Solitary Sword Mountain would destroy a swordsman. That is true only if the swordsman was obsessed with passing that test. Instead of that, if you learn from the failure and absorbed the lessons imparted, your cultivation will progress smoothly for a long time."

"If that is the case, doesn't it mean that Liu Kong wouldn't have any advantage over you, senior brother?" Peng Xiaoli asked curiously.

"Indeed, if anything, the gap between us has widened further," Xing Wulong smiled mischievously and patted Peng Xiaoli's back.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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