Chapter 146 — From Alley's End to Alley's Head

Wei Yong, though a little plump, had no low talent or aptitude; his understanding of the three sword forms ran deep. His family learning was profound, and his own strength was far from weak, not inferior to Shen Yu's. Shen Mu wanted to see what he was capable of, so he did not strike him down brutally as he had Shen Yu; instead he likewise met him with the Winding Sword Form.

The two men's sword arts coiled about each other, each transforming, each displaying the exquisite swordsmanship he had comprehended. The cultivators not far off, seeing it, forgot their wounds and all turned to watch, their gazes fixed on the two men's sword arts. Wei Yong's swordsmanship was already extraordinary.

He came from the Wei family of Jiangling; the Wei family had a great man, none other than the present first-rank minister, the Duke of Wei. The Duke of Wei was a being of the Cult Master level, with brilliant military achievements. In one battle he had destroyed a kingdom—wiped out the Tianyu Kingdom of the northern frontier—and the whole of Tianyu was brought into Jingping's territory; for this he was enfeoffed as Duke.

Wei Yong's standing in the Wei family was not high, but since childhood he had studied hard, and the Wei family's learning was deep; among the Wei family's sons his ability too was outstanding, ranking at the front. And in the same Winding Sword Art, Shen Mu's sword changes were many more—not mere swordsmanship alone, but the subtleties of fist techniques mixed into it as well.

In fighting him, Shen Mu seemed like an elder brother feeding moves to a junior, guiding Wei Yong to grasp the subtleties of the sword art; when Wei Yong had grasped about enough, he would shift into the next move. Before long the two had exchanged three moves. Wei Yong let out a breath, his confidence greatly increased, and laughed: "Brother Shen, you can go all out now—I want to see how great the gap between us still is!

" Shen Mu smiled slightly, and suddenly changed his move. Even as his sword stabbed out, the move Sun Illuminates the Yang Spirit, Refined in the Void blasted Wei Yong until his soul nearly left him, and he hurried to steady his mind.

Shen Mu turned his hand and loosed another move, the Heavenly Demon Ishvara Seal; Wei Yong's soul and spirit broke their hold at once, and Shen Mu put him flat on the ground with a single sword. Shen Mu dispersed his primal qi and helped him up, laughing: "Brother Wei, my apologies.

" Wei Yong scrambled up and looked around. Half the cultivators of the Cultivator's Residence had been defeated; the other half did not dare come forward.

He laughed: "Compared to the others, my lot is rather good. By the way, I heard someone say just now that there is a flaw at your shoulder—why is it that, knowing your flaw, no one can wound you? " "Knowing the flaw is one thing; breaking it is another.

" Shen Mu said: "If it were a contest between equals, those who could find the chance to strike my flaw—counting the whole Imperial College and the Directorate of Education—there are only two or three. " Wei Yong clicked his tongue.

Shen Mu looked around. The Cultivator's Residence was again a scene of devastation, and those few menial servants were glaring at him in anger.

He hurried to make an apology to those servants, and said: "Brother Wei, I still need to go to the Tower of Heavenly Records.

Senior brothers and sisters, I cannot keep you company any longer. Farewell. " With that he walked outward. In the Cultivator's Residence, no one dared to block him again.

Yue Qinghong rose from the rubble and watched Shen Mu walk out of the Cultivator's Residence.

She sighed softly: "He is the true senior brother of our Cultivator's Residence. .

.

" Crash.

A wall suddenly collapsed, dust and smoke filling the air. Through the smoke Monk Yunque ran for all he was worth, one hand guarding his front, one hand guarding his rear, dashing back to his own courtyard, rushing into the main hall, and slamming the door shut with a bang. Many cultivators wanted to laugh but did not dare.

After a moment, Monk Yunque's voice came: "Um, senior brothers outside, this poor monk has no spare clothes left.

My only set was taken by the fox, and she will not give it back. If anyone has spare clothes, send this poor monk one?

I would be moved to tears.

" Wei Yong laughed: "Senior Brother Yunque, wait a moment. I have several spare sets there, only they are a bit loose. " Yunque said: "No matter.

For a man of the cloth, clothes are an external thing too. " The Bashan Libationer walked out of Wei Yong's room, secretly calculating: "Wanyun counts as one; Junior Brother Shen is one; add Shen Yu of the Shen family, and the little fatty is quite good too. Yue Qinghong and Yunque are also fine hands. That makes six candidates for the post of Imperial College Doctor.

Guiding their cultivation should be no difficulty.

But besides the Cultivator's Residence, there are also cultivators of the Five Luminaries realm in the Princes' Garden; I must not favor one and slight the other.

The Princes' Garden too must yield a few cultivators, lest the Emperor make things awkward for me. " Those he chose to teach were all cultivators who had not yet attained the Six Harmonies realm; for once one attained the Six Harmonies realm, one was a being of divine powers, one's path essentially fixed—and then one could not teach according to the student. After midnight tonight, three chapters will be posted in a row!