Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 24 The Passing of Time
From then on, Zhang Xiaofan would fly to Tongtian Peak every morning to offer incense at the Ancestral Temple on the back mountain. Afterward, he would practice the Heavenly Secret Seal and swordsmanship on the back mountain. Afterward, he would fly back to Dazhu Peak to cook and cultivate.

In the blink of an eye, more than a year has passed, and the day of the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is just around the corner.

Tongtian Peak, the back mountain, the Ancestral Master's Shrine.

"Master Uncle, I have been disrespectful!"

Looking at the old man holding the Ink Snow Sword in front of him, Zhang Xiaofan held a long flute and spoke in a deep voice.

Standing opposite Zhang Xiaofan, Wan Jianyi looked at Zhang Xiaofan holding a long flute, and his face became more solemn. On the Mo Xue sword in his hand, a few dark halos of light quietly spread.

A wisp of mysterious energy rose from the Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs flute in his hand, enveloping the entire instrument. The next moment, Zhang Xiaofan moved, and the Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs transformed into a sharp sword, piercing straight towards the myriad swords.

Seeing Zhang Xiaofan attack, Wan Jianyi did not launch a counterattack, but only focused on parrying with his sword.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

In the blink of an eye, Biluo Huangquan and Moxue Sword had already clashed dozens of times.

The ink and dark colors shifted and alternated, making it impossible to distinguish which was the sword and which was the flute for a moment.

After Zhang Xiaofan and Wan Jianyi clashed, they each put away their magical weapons. Then, they both thrust at each other. In the next instant, sparks flew from the point where the two magical weapons collided.

It turned out that the tip of the Ink Snow Sword had fallen right into the Netherworld.

"Ding!!"

As the crisp sound of metal rang out, a remarkable surge of magical power erupted from the two magical treasures, sweeping outwards.

"boom!!"

They looked up and exchanged a glance. The next moment, Zhang Xiaofan and Wan Jianyi each put away their magic weapons and took several steps back. Then, streams of magic power flowed from Zhang Xiaofan's body into the Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs.

"Senior Uncle, please forgive me!"

Zhang Xiaofan shouted, and Wan Jianyi's face also became more serious upon hearing this. Suddenly, a ball of dark magic power surged from the Mo Xue sword in his hand, almost swallowing everything around him in an instant. From a distance, it looked like a frozen ink painting.

"The righteousness of heaven and earth will last forever. We don't seek to kill immortals, but kill ghosts and gods!"

He slowly raised the long flute in his hand, then slowly bent his arm, as if it were a long sword, which Zhang Xiaofan held in front of him.

As the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique was unleashed, a faint aura of righteousness lingered around this Azure Heaven and Yellow Spring Sword, which was forged from two great treasures of evil and malevolence.

Zhang Xiaofan's expression turned serious, and then he took a step forward, thrusting his long flute fiercely towards Wan Jianyi.

Wan Jianyi narrowed his eyes slightly, held his long sword upright in front of him, and took a step forward. Streams of magical power continuously flowed into the Mo Xue sword, and clusters of dark sword energy merged the surrounding vast world into an ink painting.

"boom!"

As soon as the long flute pierced into the dark sword domain, Zhang Xiaofan felt a sense of oppression coming from all directions, trying to stop his advance.

However, Zhang Xiaofan remained resolute and unmoved, his eyes fixed only on the sword in front of him.

"clang!"

The long flute gently touched the blade of the Ink Snow Sword, producing a crisp metallic sound. Then, all the magical power in the surrounding area dissipated.

Zhang Xiaofan put away the Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wan Jianyi, and said, "Uncle-Master, you flatter me!"

Upon hearing this, Wan Jianyi simply smiled, returned the Ink Snow Sword to Zhang Xiaofan, glanced at the Ancestral Hall, and sighed softly.

"You've already mastered the techniques of slaying demons and gods and controlling lightning with divine swords. I have nothing more to teach you, so you don't need to come back again."

"Yes, Master Uncle. This disciple will take his leave now. I will come to visit Master Uncle again when the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament takes place!"

Zhang Xiaofan sheathed the Ink Snow Sword, bowed to Wan Jianyi, and then turned to leave.

During the year and a half that followed Wan Jianyi, Zhang Xiaofan learned many sword techniques, including the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique and the Ghost-Slaying Divine Sword Technique, as well as the Ink-Stained World of the Ink Snow Sword.

Moreover, while practicing swordsmanship under Wan Jianyi, Zhang Xiaofan had even begun to combine the sword control techniques of Tianyong City with the sword control methods of Qingyun Sect.

Even Taiji Xuanqing Dao and Dafan Prajna have reached the ninth level of the Jade Purity Realm.

With less than a month to go before the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament, Zhang Xiaofan could take this opportunity to meditate and integrate all his gains.

Watching Zhang Xiaofan walk down the wide mountain path, Wan Jianyi looked somewhat dazed.

"He is just like you back then, equally talented and brilliant. In just a year and a half, he was able to master both of my Qingyun True Techniques."

Dao Xuan Zhenren, dressed in a dark green Daoist robe, slowly walked out of the ancestral hall and stood beside Wan Jianyi, sighing softly.

"I think he's more like you. He's calm and reserved, and he also has the inner beauty of Junior Brother Tian. That's good. It's better to stop before you're full, and it's better to keep sharpening your edge than to keep it too sharp."

A self-deprecating glint flashed in Wan Jian's eyes. He had once been one of the two prodigies of Qingyun, but now he had wasted a hundred years of his life, and his cultivation had almost stagnated.

Although Dao Xuan Zhenren saved Wan Jianyi back then, Wan Jianyi's heart was already dead. How could the once proud and peerless genius accept living a life of perpetual darkness in the ancestral hall as an old sweeper?
"After all these years, you've finally figured it out?"

Wan Jianyi did not answer, but turned to look at the ancestral hall in front of him that had imprisoned him for a hundred years. After gazing at it for a long time, he suddenly spoke.

"If you had been the one to stab me back then, do you think I would have..."

"No, that's not you."

Before Wan Jianyi could finish speaking, Dao Xuan Zhenren replied decisively.

Wan Jianyi couldn't help but turn his head to look at Dao Xuan Zhenren. Looking at this Daoist who had experienced more hardships than himself, yet remained as majestic as a mountain, he sighed softly.

"Yes, that's why I'm not as good as you, whether back then or now. As the scriptures say, 'The enlightened path seems obscure, advancing on the path seems retreating, and the smooth path seems rough.' In terms of the Way, you have always been above me."

Dao Xuan Zhenren seemed to smile a little more upon hearing this, and then he didn't linger for long, but just said softly.

"The Seven Sects Martial Arts Tournament is just around the corner, and recently the Demonic Sect seems to be making a comeback, so I'll head back now and come see you again in a while."

Having said that, Dao Xuan Zhenren did not wait for Wan Jianyi's response. He quickly left the Ancestral Temple with the speed of wind.

Watching Dao Xuan Zhenren's retreating figure, Wan Jianyi's face twitched involuntarily. Then, he sneered disdainfully, picked up a broom, and began sweeping the spotless ancestral hall again, muttering something under his breath.

Unfortunately, the ancestral hall was secluded and quiet, making it difficult to hear clearly. One could only vaguely hear words like "master" or "eyes" as the incense smoke wafted around the solemn and majestic ancestral hall.

(End of this chapter)