"Why?" Once the last of the evil cultivators had fled, Fengyun Wujie asked.
"Why what?" Ximen Yibei looked up at him, a casual air surrounding his every movement, giving off an impression of easy-going nonchalance.
"Why help a stranger like me?" Fengyun Wujie couldn't believe that someone would help him without a reason.
Ximen Yibei flicked his finger and tossed the Xuanming Book—the very one the other cultivators had fought over—toward Fengyun Wujie. Without another word, he turned and began walking away through the void, seemingly lost in his own world.
"Because you are a swordsman too," came his distant, almost melancholic voice from ahead.
"Because I am a swordsman too?" Fengyun Wujie pondered the words, but when he looked up again, Ximen Yibei had already disappeared.
"This boy is now under my protection on Youming Peak. Anyone who dares to harm him will face the consequences." Ximen Yibei's voice echoed eerily across the peak, but Fengyun Wujie knew it was only a lingering message left by him.
No sooner had the voice faded than a flash of sword light appeared from the horizon, as quickly as it had come, it vanished, leaving nothing but an eerie silence.
Boom!
Suddenly, a towering mountain in front of Fengyun Wujie seemed to split in half. The upper portion of the mountain slid downward, crashing into the valley below, its echo lingering for a long time.
The world fell into an even deeper silence, the only sound being the whispering winds in the air.
One strike, one sword.
At this point, the swordsmanship was truly at its peak. Fengyun Wujie stood in the air, staring in the direction Ximen Yibei had gone. An epiphany came over him. This man had taken the sword path to an extreme, a path of his own, one that no longer adhered to the notions of right or wrong. He claimed to know only one strike, only one sword—but who could stop that one sword?
One strike, one sword: if the enemy doesn't die, then I shall.
Fengyun Wujie imagined what it would be like to face such a sword strike... A flash of sword light crossing the sky...
Cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He knew, in that instant, that facing that sword, he would surely die. It was a sword so powerful that it completely disregarded technique—just one strike to kill, no chance to resist.
"Who is this person? To have refined his swordsmanship to such a terrifying extent?" Fengyun Wujie muttered, looking up at the sky, momentarily lost in thought.
After a long while, he sighed and began walking south. This icy, snow-covered world was no longer suitable for him.
As he passed through countless mountain peaks, waves of divine consciousness swept over him, only to quickly retreat—such was the power of Ximen Yibei.
Half a day later, Fengyun Wujie finally stepped out of this frozen world, standing at the edge of the snowfield, where snow and earth met. Between the snow and the vast land, a figure in gray stood proudly.
The figure turned around, gray hair flowing in the wind, revealing eyes devoid of any trace of black. The person smiled and looked at Fengyun Wujie as he approached, saying, "We meet again."
At the moment the figure turned, Fengyun Wujie's heart shook violently. "You... the Right Protector of the Void-Destruction Palace."
The man in gray nodded. Slowly, he raised his right foot and stepped into the void, vanishing in the blink of an eye, only to appear less than ten yards from Fengyun Wujie. The sudden shift from complete stillness to extreme movement was almost unbearable to watch.
"You didn't die. The Dao Master is very angry," the Right Protector's voice was flat, devoid of emotion, as if he were a mindless automaton.
Fengyun Wujie snorted coldly. "You're clever. Why wait until I'm about to leave before you act? Were you afraid of Ximen Yibei?"
The man in gray nodded indifferently. "His swordsmanship is too extreme. I don't want to risk my life with him, nor is there a need to."
"Then make your move," Fengyun Wujie said firmly, sensing that the man's resolve was unshakable. He prepared himself for whatever attack was coming.
The Right Protector raised his head, his eyes flashing with a strange light. He slowly drew his sword from his wide sleeve. Though the sword hadn't fully left the sheath, Fengyun Wujie could already hear a sharp, clear sword hum.
A gray scabbard shot out from the air, and the Right Protector of the Void-Destruction Palace vanished from his original position.
Without even taking a second look, Fengyun Wujie sensed a sharp sword light already close to him. He inhaled deeply, his body becoming light as a feather, and he swiftly moved backward.
The Right Protector appeared in the spot where Fengyun Wujie had been standing, his right hand gripping the sword hilt in an odd position.
He looked up again, a strange gleam in his eyes. Then, with a slight bow of his head, another Right Protector emerged from the shadows. The new protector slashed upward with his sword, sending a grayish sword energy cutting through the air.
But Fengyun Wujie's "Willow-like Agility" technique had reached its full potential. Just a gust of wind was enough to carry him away, and the sword energy missed him completely.
The Right Protector retracted his sword, sweeping it around his body in a graceful motion, but Fengyun Wujie had already sensed that it was only a shadow, and the man had long since disappeared from his original position.
A silent sword energy rushed at Fengyun Wujie from behind, but it merely brushed past him.
One sword after another came at him, relentless. The strange mist emanating from the swords filled the air, carrying with it a corrosive scent. In the void, more than ten figures in gray robes appeared. Every time one disappeared, another took its place, each one striking in a unique sword posture.
But even more bizarre was Fengyun Wujie. His body moved in ways that defied the limits of human flexibility, twisting and turning as if made of paper, folding in any direction at will. The Right Protector's thousand sword strikes never even grazed him.
"What kind of martial art is this?" The Right Protector's voice echoed, each word coming from a different direction.
For the first time, Fengyun Wujie sensed a fluctuation of emotion in his tone—frustration and helplessness.
"Willow-like Agility," Fengyun Wujie replied casually.
Suddenly, all the illusions vanished, and the figure of the man in gray reappeared beside him, his massive gray robe billowing in the wind.
"With such a supreme technique, you're already undefeatable. No matter how strong my sword is, I cannot harm you," the Right Protector said, raising his hand. The sword scabbard shot up from the ground and into his grasp.
Clink! The sword slid into its sheath, and the man in gray turned without a word, walking toward the depths of Youming Peak.
"When I have sealed my sword energy and released no more wind, I will find you again."
His voice lingered faintly, but the man had already disappeared from sight.