Chapter 118: The Immortal’s Trial

Through the shattered fan, Qiu Qianren studied Gu Ning’an while calming his emotions.

Earlier, he hadn’t noticed the man’s presence at all. Even when the flying sword was headed straight for him, his reflex was to open the fan to block it.

If the sword hadn’t veered off by two inches, his head would have been pierced right through!

Wait… Was the sword truly off course, or was the other party simply not intending to kill?

After a moment of thought, Qiu Qianren made up his mind. The flying sword wasn’t an intentional move; after all, it wasn’t even the sword Gu Ning’an was holding.

The man had merely tapped Liu Feixue’s hand; this must have been a coincidence!

If there were someone who could control a sword to such an extent, wouldn’t they already be famous across the world?

After comforting himself, Qiu Qianren put away the fan and cupped his hands. “This gentleman’s reaction is swift. I had intended to teach my disobedient niece a lesson.”

“Who would have thought she’d resort to using ‘One Life for Another’ technique?”

“Fortunately, you acted in time, or I wouldn’t know how to explain things to Brother Liu.”

“Go retrieve the sword.” Hearing Gu Ning’an’s words, Liu Feixue let out a confused “Eh” before quickly walking over to pull the sword out of the pillar.

“Just a coincidence, a coincidence.” Gu Ning’an dismissed Qiu Qianren’s words and waved at Ying Du, who was by the wall. “You’re not dead, are you?”

“I’m not dead…” Ying Du sat up, blood dripping from his nose.

“Then come upstairs with me for tea. Don’t stay down here causing trouble.” After speaking, Gu Ning’an smiled at Qiu Qianren.

Seeing that smile, Qiu Qianren instinctively took a step back.

Embarrassed, he wanted to walk confidently to his seat, but his body refused to move. He had to wait until Gu Ning’an led Liu Feixue and Ying Du upstairs before he finally darted to his position, picked up the “Ghost Sword,” and steadied himself.

Meanwhile, the farce on the sidelines caused the sword fight between the martial artists on the arena to pause.

At this moment, among the swordsmen standing on the platform was the bald man, Lu Ming, who set his heavy sword down on the ground. Propping his hand on the sword, he gasped and asked, “Master Qiu, how long are we going to fight? When will this end?”

“There were almost three hundred martial artists, but now less than a hundred remain…”

Hearing this, Qiu Qianren pulled his gaze from the third-floor balcony and adopted a sorrowful expression. “Sigh… What was originally supposed to be a sparring match has turned into this.”

Seeing Qiu Qianren’s fake sympathy, the martial artists present all revealed looks of contempt.

At this point, was he still pretending to be the righteous man?

While no one had said it out loud, many suspected that Qiu Qianren had intentionally led them into a battle to the death. However, with the Immortal Sword Manual in front of them, how many could afford to give up on what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Qiu Qianren exhaled deeply, as if making an important decision. He then declared, “I’ve decided, this first round of the competition ends here… All those who wish to enter the second round may do so, regardless of how many tokens you have!”

“What!”

“What the hell did you just say?!”

On the platform, a bloodied martial artist with wounds all over his body stared with fiery eyes and shouted, “I’ve collected thirty tokens! And now you’re telling me it doesn’t matter how many tokens I have?”

“What the hell was all this fighting for then?!”

Clang!

A large pile of tokens was thrown onto the ground by the blood-eyed swordsman, each token stained with either dried, dark blood or bright, fresh blood.

“I killed two brothers for these damn tokens!”

“And now you tell me they’re useless?”

“Qiu Qianren! You’re a beast worse than a dog!”

“No! You’re even worse than an animal!”

After a furious tirade, the blood-eyed swordsman collapsed to his knees, laughing and crying as he picked up each bloodstained token. “A-Da, Tie San, I’m sorry, brothers!”

“You’ve become vengeful spirits, but remember to find that old dog Qiu Qianren!”

“It’s him who caused us brothers to turn against each other!”

Clang!

Qiu Qianren slammed the “Ghost Sword,” and the malevolent sword immediately partially unsheathed!

A dark purple-black sword barrier appeared above the mad swordsman’s head in an instant!

As the sound of “grinding meat” echoed, the sword barrier slowly dissipated, leaving hundreds of shocking sword marks on the otherwise unyielding arena!

Lu Ming, who stood on the platform, was so frightened he broke out in cold sweat, his lips trembling as he kept swallowing to suppress his fear.

It wasn’t just him—every martial artist who witnessed this scene was filled with terror!

These were strong swordsmen, yet the appearance of the black sword barrier clearly shattered their previous understanding of the world!

That was something only found in “storybooks!”

As the martial artists were shaken, Qiu Qianren felt little disturbance within himself. His gaze instinctively shifted to the balcony where Gu Ning’an stood.

He hoped to see the same fear and trembling on Gu Ning’an’s face as he had seen on the others.

However, the result was a disappointment… The man in the green robe showed no sign of fear; instead, he calmly peeled an orange and leisurely ate it, not in the least bit hurried.

On the balcony, Gu Ning’an saw Qiu Qianren’s gaze and raised the orange in his hand. “The orange is quite sweet, Master Qiu, would you like some?”

“No, no thank you.” Qiu Qianren waved his hand, growing increasingly uneasy. He forced a calm expression and said, “The second round of the competition is designed by the Immortal. As long as you pass, you will be allowed to view the Immortal Sword Manual!”

Whoosh!

This announcement was like a boulder falling into a still sea, creating waves of excitement.

“The test set by the Immortal! If we pass, does that mean we’ve passed the Immortal’s trial?”

“Does this mean we could meet the Immortal?”

“Master Qiu, please start the test quickly! We can’t wait any longer!”

“An Immortal’s touch, bestows eternal life! If I perform well, can I gain the Immortal’s favor and achieve the path of immortality?”

The crowd erupted in excitement, eagerly urging Qiu Qianren to start the Immortal’s trial.

On the balcony, Liu Feixue and Ying Du stood to either side, one with a strange expression, the other frowning as they watched Gu Ning’an eating his orange.

“Mr. Gu!” They both spoke at once, exchanging a look before continuing. “You speak first?”

“Or should I speak first?”

“Why are you copying my words!”

After a few moments of awkward exchanges, Liu Feixue turned her head. “You go ahead.”

“Hehe!” Ying Du awkwardly laughed and then turned serious as he addressed Gu Ning’an. “Mr. Gu, I didn’t expect you to be so skilled. That flying sword earlier even frightened Qiu Qianren!”

Without responding, Gu Ning’an gently tapped the table with his finger and calmly said, “Are you looking to challenge the person your master met back then, or do you want to gamble with the immortal?”