Chapter 927: Chapter 43: Sword Saint of the Tian Gang
The cave was not far from the Sword Sect, and soon, the eight of them arrived outside the cave. Xi Wen called out loudly, "Master, your disciple Xi Wen seeks an audience. There’s news of Ninth Disciple." His voice, wrapped in True Qi, traveled into the deep cave.
After a moment, an echo came from inside the cave. "Yes. I just heard the Heaven Profound Bell. Did you find Owen’s disciple? All of you come in." It was the clear voice of the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang.
"Yes, Master," Xi Wen responded, leading Ah Dai and his fellow disciples into the cave.
Ah Dai looked around. The cave was completely natural, with no traces of human craftsmanship, and it was very deep. They walked about a hundred meters before turning a corner and coming upon a somewhat spacious cavern. In the center of the cavern, a man was sitting cross-legged on a large rock. Due to the dim light, Ah Dai could not see the man’s face clearly.
Xi Wen and the other six disciples knelt down simultaneously and respectfully said, "We pay respect to Master."
Ah Dai was startled and only knelt down after Xi Wen urged him, stutteringly saying, "A-Ah Dai pays respects to you, Elder Sword Saint Tian Gang."
"You all rise. Xi Wen, stand aside," the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang said, his normally calm voice tinged with a trace of excitement.
Xi Wen and the others complied, moving to either side. Ah Dai was the last to stand up. Just as he did, two cold flashes suddenly struck him, causing him to jump back in fright. The cold flashes were from the opened eyes of the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang. Those were a pair of clear eyes, emotionless yet full of vitality. Ah Dai felt as if his entire body was locked, unable to move, while the True Qi within him kept circulating wildly, as if energized in excitement.
"Are you Owen’s disciple Ah Dai?"
Under the oppressive aura of the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang, Ah Dai nearly couldn’t catch his breath. "Yes, Uncle Owen taught me martial arts," he managed to say.
The Tian Gang Sword Saint sighed softly and closed his eyes, immediately lifting the pressure on Ah Dai. "Tell me how you met Owen and everything about your time together, including how he died eventually," he instructed.
Without the slightest intention to resist, Ah Dai honestly replied, "I was originally practicing magic in the Illusive Forest with Master Goris. During that period, Master Goris went out to look for some items. Oh! By the way, Master Goris is a great Alchemist. One day after the teacher left, I suddenly discovered that the Magic Array set by Master Goris had been triggered. Thinking that it was my master returning, I ran out to meet him, but instead, I encountered a group of men in black attacking a man in white. The man in white was Uncle Owen, and those in black wanted to kill him, but they were no match for him. I heard them say that Uncle Owen had been poisoned by the potent ’No Second Water’."
At this, Xi Wen and the other six disciples exclaimed in unison. The name of No Second Water was well-known across the continent for its peerless, fatal poison that everyone greatly feared.
It seemed that the Tian Gang Sword Saint was indifferent, "Continue."
Ah Dai said, "Uncle Owen was about to be killed by those men, and then he used the Sword of Hades to kill two of the assassins."
This time, even the Tian Gang Sword Saint couldn’t maintain his calm. His eyes flared open, emitting a chill light as he slightly shifted his expression and said, "You said Owen used the Sword of Hades. That’s to say, the number-one assassin ’Nether King,’ who has roamed the continent for many years, was him. I didn’t expect this. I really didn’t expect this! My disciple ended up being an assassin. Child, continue."
Ah Dai nodded and detailed how Owen managed to frighten off the assassins, how he fainted, and everything that happened between them, "Uncle Owen said before he died that the thing he regretted the most in his life was his betrayal of his younger sister-disciple and you, elder. He told me to visit the Sword Sect when I had the chance. After Uncle died, I cremated his body, and kept his ashes with me. With the blood of the Divine Dragon as catalyst, open the gates of time and space." Ah Dai pulled out the blue Dragon’s Blood from his neckline; under the flickering light, the Tian Gang Heavy Sword given by Owen and the urn containing Owen’s ashes floated out, and Ah Dai directed them smoothly to land on the ground.
The Tian Gang Sword Saint and the seven disciples of Xi Wen all fell silent. With a flicker of a breeze, the Tian Gang Sword Saint landed in front of Ah Dai. Up close, Ah Dai was surprised to find that the Sword Saint appeared to be only about forty years old, his face smooth with hardly a wrinkle, though his hair was completely white. His features were not particularly handsome but strikingly distinct with high cheekbones and phoenix eyes that emitted a chilling energy when blinked. On closer observation, Ah Dai noticed an unusual charisma emanating from the Sword Saint that involuntarily made him feel a deep respect, a sensation that even Cardinal Xuanye in Red had never evoked. The Tian Gang Sword Saint’s entire being radiated an intense righteous energy. At that moment, his body trembled slightly as he looked at the two items on the ground, his eyes flashing continuously.
The Tian Gang Sword Saint stretched out his right hand, and the Tian Gang Heavy Sword, weighing over seventy kilograms, along with the urn of ashes, gracefully rose and landed in his palm. Although many years of cultivation had brought him to a realm of desirelessness, the sudden news of his beloved disciple’s death and the cause of his daughter’s death still stirred profound emotions within him. He gently caressed the sword and murmured, "Old Nine, your life was too hard. Ah—, this was all my fault originally. I shouldn’t have neglected you because of your sister-disciple’s death. It wasn’t your fault!"
