Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

"The technique is part of the Forgotten Sword Technique that I learned from my master, and he learned it from a mysterious old demon." Jia Yuyan and Zhang Xiaolong [3] were both surprised to hear Han Ling mention a demon. "According to my master, the demon used to be a human, and he turned into a demon because of something, but he didn't explain the details to him. I can feel the sword Qi in your body, but unfortunately, you have never refined it."

"You're right, Old Han." Zhang Xiaolong [3] then took out the moonlit whisper sword. "I have mastered all the basics of swordsmanship, and I have some sword techniques. However, I am not really a swordmaster, and I mostly fight using long-range attacks or even sneak attacks."

Han Ling nodded in understanding. "Before I explain to you in more detail, please first show me all you know about basic swordsmanship, and I'll help you improve your knowledge about them."

After Han Ling and Jia Yuyan moved aside, Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately demonstrated all the basic sword skills he had learned from the basic sword manual.

"What do you think about him, Little Han?" Jia Yuyan asked.

"Hmm?" Han Ling maintained a serious expression as he continued to watch Zhang Xiaolong [3]. "Those are just the basics of swordsmanship, but I've never seen a swordmaster who trained them to such perfection as this kid. Every movement he makes in slashing, thrusting, and swinging the sword is perfect. I think he won't have any trouble learning my sword techniques."

Jia Yuyan responded with a slight nod. "I don't understand swordsmanship, but I also think he has mastered the basics. He also has many other abilities, and he often uses them against his enemies, especially his speed."

"His speed has already surpassed all cultivators in this realm; not even those old fogies would be able to defeat him in a speed contest." Han Ling then asked Zhang Xiaolong [3] to stop because the results had satisfied him. "Your basics are perfect, but you won't be able to fight your enemies using them alone. Long-range combat is advantageous, especially with your high speed. However, you also need to hone your close-range combat skills, and swords or daggers are the most flexible of all weapons in close-range combat. Do you know about the stages of swordsmanship?"

Zhang Xiaolong nodded at him. "Novice, spirit, king, emperor, sovereign, saint, and god."

"I won't explain to you about the novice sword level, especially since anyone can become a swordmaster at that level." Han Ling then took out his black sword, but an ominous aura radiated from it. "The spirit sword realm is a little unique, and it would be better if you had a soul sword."

"A soul sword?"

"When you reach the sword spirit realm, you can manifest your sword Qi into a true sword that you can control with your consciousness to help you fight your enemies. If you have a soul weapon and have a close connection with the soul within it, you can manifest the spirit into the real world, and it will be your partner in every fight." Zhang Xiaolong [3] raised an eyebrow as several swords made of qi floated beside Han Ling. "These swords are made of my sword qi, and their power depends on our sword qi. The stronger your sword qi is, the more difficult it will be to destroy these qi swords.

"How to manifest the soul in the sword?" Zhang Xiaolong [3] really wanted to know about that because Jian Guang'an and Jian Hei'an had been trapped inside the demon extermination sword for too long, and he wanted to bring them out into the real world.

"Do you have a soul weapon?" Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately sheathed the moonlit whisper sword and summoned the demon extermination sword, which surprised Han Ling and Jia Yuyan. "A divine-grade soul weapon, huh?"

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded at him. "At first, this sword was a spirit-grade soul weapon, but two blacksmiths helped me upgrade it twice, and now it is a divine-grade."

"As I said before, you must have a strong connection with the soul within your sword; otherwise, it will not obey your request, and it will not manifest itself into the real world." Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding to Han Ling, who immediately channeled his sword qi into his sword. A female demon materialized right by her side shortly after, her eyes as fierce as a lion ready to pounce on its prey. "Her name is Yong Heng, and she comes from the Eternal Night Demon Race."

Zhang Xiaolong [3] was momentarily stunned after Han Ling mentioned the demon race, especially since Yong Heng was of the same race as Tian Shuixiang's wife, Ye Zhiye.

{Master, this kid's body reeked with many demon scents, so I'm sure he's a demon. Moreover, he wasn't surprised to hear about my demon race, so he should have met someone from my race before.} Yong Heng spoke as she narrowed her eyes at Zhang Xiaolong [3].

"Are you really a demon, kid?"

"Yes." Zhang Xiaolong [3] admitted it directly. "I was born as an ordinary human, but I turned into a demon after I rose from my death, and I have evolved into a transcendent demon lord."

"Little Han, this kid has another identity as a heavenly fox." Jia Yuyan reminded him.

Han Lin nodded a few times in response. "Everything about you goes beyond common sense, from your three identities, your seven elements, and your other secrets."

Zhang Xiaolong [3] scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I never expected to become like this when I was an ordinary human, but my two identities have become a part of me, and I chose to embrace and strengthen both of them. By the way, where did you get your sword? How did she become the sword's soul? I've heard that the Eternal Night Demon is the seventh strongest among the ten demon races."

"My master's master gave this Eternal Night Sword to him, and he passed it on to me before his death." Zhang Xiaolong [3] raised an eyebrow slightly before realizing the identity of the demon Han Ling had mentioned earlier. "You're right, his master is part of the Eternal Night Demon Race, and he came from the Paradise Realm."

"Huh?" Zhang Xiaolong [3] was shocked by that, as he had not expected that the Eternal Demon Race had already ventured into the Three Mortal Realms in the past, let alone that he went all the way to Earth. "Is he still alive now?"

"He—"

"His master is Ye Futian, one of the elders of the Eternal Night Demon Race." Zhang Xiaolong [3] turned to Jia Yuyan directly, suspecting something. "He came to the three mortal realms specifically to look for his daughter, who ran away with a demon from the Asura Demon Clan. He searched for his daughter as far as your home realm, where he met Little Han's master. He taught him the Forgotten Sword Technique and gifted the Eternal Night Sword to him.

'What a shitty coincidence! Why do I feel like the universe is so small?' Zhang Xiaolong [3] inwardly grumbled. "How did you know all that? Were you also stalking Ye Futian?"

"I told you I'm not a stalker!" Jia Yuyan shouted in annoyance. "I'm just doing my job to monitor the people from the Paradise Realm who descended here."

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded slightly. "Even so, your actions are no different from a stalker's."

"Humph!" Jia Yuyan softly snorted and didn't speak further.

Yong Heng floated right in front of Zhang Xiaolong [3]'s face. {Hey! Have you met a member of my demon race before? You can't deceive me because I smell the scent from your body, and I can't possibly mistake it.}

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded at her. "I have indeed met a demon from the Eternal Night Demon Race, but I have promised not to reveal that person's identity or hiding place. I'm a man of my word, so I won't tell you anything about it."

{You-} Yong Heng gulped hard when she sensed the powerful demonic aura radiating from Zhang Xiaolong [3]'s body, and Nalan Yushu instantly appeared in front of them. {You... you are a demon from the soul-devouring demon race!}

"Hehehe." Nalan Yushu chuckled and lifted Yong Heng's chin. "Unlike you, I am a complete soul, and I can devour your soul if I like. Therefore, you must be polite to my master, or I will slowly devour your soul, making you suffer."

{No!} Yong Heng screamed and went straight into Han Ling's sword again, and it shook quite violently, forcing her master to calm her. {Master, that female demon is really evil, so please don't summon me out in front of her.}

"Hahaha!" Nalan Yushu laughed excitedly before looking at Jia Yuyan. "You are the subordinate of that hypocritical elf, huh?"

"Hmm?" Jia Yuyan frowned and stared at her.

Nalan Yushu shook her head and spoke again, but her tone was quite mocking. "You really don't know, or are you pretending not to know? That guy is famous for his hypocrisy and pettiness, so I'm sure you already understand his true character. Unfortunately, he is your leader, and you are too timid to oppose him."

"Stop it and go back inside, Yushu." Zhang Xiaolong [3] spoke sternly.

"Master, you must be careful with this female elf, and you must never trust her leader. Otherwise, you will not only harm yourself, but you will also harm everyone by your side." After she said that, Nalan Yushu immediately entered Zhang Xiaolong [3]'s tiny soul world again.

"She—"

"You don't need to explain anything." Zhang Xiaolong [3] interrupted with a shake of his head. "Even if Yuzhu didn't say all that, I would never trust your leader, especially after I listened to all his previous messages. As for you, I also don't fully trust you, especially since I can see too many secrets in your soul. If you don't believe me, I can mention them one by one."

"No need." Jia Yuyan turned to Han Ling. "I have to go back to the eastern forest now, so I'll leave you two alone."

"Please be careful, Senior." Jia Yuyan stared at Zhang Xiaolong [3] for a while, but she didn't say anything and disappeared from their sight instantly. Han Ling then spoke to him. "I don't mean to interfere in the affairs between you two, and I don't know anything about her leader, but I can tell you that she has always been sincere with everyone, especially those who need help."

"I know." Zhang Xiaolong [3] then asked him. "Please teach me to reach the spirit sword master, Old Han."

"Please sit by my side." Zhang Xiaolong [3] followed Han Ling, who was already sitting on the riverbank. "I will explain everything to you first, and you can start trying to master it after you understand everything."

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded, and he seriously paid attention to Han Ling's explanation.

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A flying artifact flew into the Red Sun Realm, and three women stood at the front. They were the three cultivators from the Sovereign Heaven Realm: Chi Yuexin, Li Zixun, and Wenren Yue.

"Where is the Shang Clan located, Yue?" Chi Yuexin asked her disciple.

"If I recall correctly, the Shang Clan lives on the southern island." Wenren Yue then pointed toward one of the islands. "There."

Li Zixun immediately directed their flying artifact to the island, and she landed it a little far from the largest city, where the Hong Clan and the previous Shang Clan resided.

A while later, the three women had entered the city, and they moved quickly to find the location of the Shang Clan. However, they were shocked because the clan no longer existed, and it was replaced by the Zhang Clan.

The people of the city told them that the leader of the Zhang Clan was a young man in his twenties, but none of them knew Zhang Fei's name because Murong Qianying and the Hong Clan hid his name according to her wishes.

They tried to find out information about Shang Ziyuan's whereabouts from the people in the city, but none of them had seen her again since the destruction of the Shang Clan more than two years ago.

"What should we do now?" Li Zixun asked the others.

Chi Yuexin immediately looked at the Zhang Clan's residence. "Since we're already here, there's no harm in going to the clan, and we might be able to meet their patriarch to ask about Shang Ziyuan's whereabouts. Moreover, the highest cultivation in this realm is only at the Divine Ascendant Realm, so it's not difficult for us to suppress them, but we'll only do it if we have to."

"You're right." Li Zuxin nodded in agreement. "Let's go to the Zhang Clan then."

Shortly after, they arrived at the Zhang Clan, but the guards informed them that all the clan higher-ups were absent, and they had not returned since they entered seclusion.

Without them knowing, a black cat was lying on the roof and monitoring them. She was Mai Yuzhen, Mai Xiaomeng's closest person.

Since Mai Yuzhen couldn't contact Mai Xiaomeng, who joined the others at the Star Tower. She tried to contact Zhang Fei through one of his clones, and her idea worked. She immediately told him about the arrival of the three women, including their purpose in looking for Shang Ziyuan.

"Are there any other administrators from this clan?" Li Zuxin asked them.

"There are Madam Sun Jingwei and Madam Kang Xiaoyi, but they have no say in this clan, and clan affairs are usually handled by Madam Murong Qianying."

Li Zuxin then asked the other. "What now? Are we going to wait for them to return to this realm?"

"No." Chi Yuexin tried to check inside the clan before continuing. "We don't know when they will come out of their isolation, and we may end up waiting for them in vain, so I think we should return to our realm now."

Wenren Yue immediately put forward her idea. "How about I wait for them in this realm, Master? You two can return to our realm, and I will immediately inform you if the people from this clan return."

"Then—"

"Who are you guys? Why are you looking for Shang Ziyuan?" The three women immediately turned their attention to Zhang Fei [1], who was speaking from inside the residence. After he received the report from Mai Yuzhen, he decided to stop his training and go to that realm directly. 'Based on their cultivation, they should be people from the Sovereign Heaven Realm, right?'

'Huh? Why does his face look so similar to that kid's? Moreover, their cultivation is both at the 1-Moon Divine Transcend Realm, and their auras are also quite similar.' The three women were shocked when they saw Zhang Fei [1]'s face, as he was not wearing a disguise. "Are you the patriarch of this clan?"

"I am." Zhang Fei [1] casually nodded.

"Can we talk in your clan?" Chi Yuexin asked him.

"Come in." Zhang Fei [1] immediately turned to leave, and the three women hurriedly followed him.

After they arrived at the main hall and sat down together, Wenren Yue immediately asked a question. "Do you have a twin brother? I once saw a man with the same face as you in our realm, and your cultivation is also at the same level."

'Sigh! I didn't know they came from that realm, so I didn't use a disguise.' Zhang Fei [1] immediately made up a story. "You're right, I do have a twin brother, and his name is Zhang Xiaolong. I don't know where he is now, especially since he goes wandering so often. Who exactly are you three? Where are you guys from?"

"Since Zhang Xiaolong is your twin brother, I won't hide it from you because you will find out from him one day." Zhang Fei [1] laughed inwardly because Chi Yuexin believed his story so easily. "We came from the Sovereign Heaven Realm, and not everyone can enter our realm. However, your twin brother managed to complete all the entrance tests quickly, and he lives in our realm now."

Li Zuxin then added. "We came here to recruit Shang Ziyuan, especially after we heard about her ability to create new techniques."

- To Be Continued -