Death… and me

"You should stay and rest here for now. Early tomorrow morning, I will personally inform my Father. If he agrees, then we shall proceed immediately." Tie Bu Tian said with a smile.

Earlier his appearance was like a sword emitting an aura of power and arrogance. But after he smiled, his entire demeanor became gentle and intimate, making others feel as if they were basking in the morning sun.

He did not employ any tricks to sway the hearts of people. The way he spoke naturally was enough to make all who come into contact with him feel regret as to why they did not serve him.

"Yes!" Bao Kuang Lei shivered. He could not help but re-evaluate this prince at a higher level. Despite his age, he was not a simple individual. Since his birth, Bao Kuang Lei has met many different kinds of people. However, he has yet to meet anyone who could even compare to this prince.

It was clear why people praised him as the number one heaven-sent talent of the Lower Three Heavens in all of time.

Before meeting Tie Bu Tian, Bao Kuang Lei did not pay attention to those praises. In life, how can there be such a thing as a heaven-sent talent. It's only through good upbringing and undergoing harsh training than normal people that one is able to become strong. If you learn to rule from infancy, over time, your aura will certainly be considered above average. As for number one heaven-sent talent… there is no lack of heaven-sent talents in this world.

However, at this time, he believed. From the elegance that seemed seeped into his bones to the majesty that seemed to radiate from the soul. Every action, from the lifting of the hands to the stretching of the legs, was so natural and exuded a sense of royalty that it made a Jiang Hu person like Bao Kuang Lei tremble within his soul.

Beyond the Heavens Sect's Purple Bamboo Garden.

Next morning, Tan Tan laid on the ground with arms and legs outstretched, panted and exclaimed, "Chu… Yang… I… I… admit you are much more handsome than me. But these past few days, you have been far too cruel. You are going to work me to death…"

These days Chu Yang just wanted to cultivate, so he forced Tan Tan to go along with him, causing him to almost die from exhaustion. Therefore, only after a few days, every time Tan Tan saw Chu Yang, he would shake uncontrollably from fear.

With every session, Chu Yang calculated very carefully. He knew exactly how long it would take before Tan Tan's body reached its limits. So after each time, even though Tan Tan could barely stand up, his body was not in any danger whatsoever.

Now every time Tan Tan saw Chu Yang, it was as if he had run into a demon. Previously, he was in the habit of bragging in self-admiration, but currently, he didn't even have time for self-admiration.

Chu Yang took a deep breath, pulled in his energy and stood up. In the past twenty days, he did not let his cultivation lapse for even a little. His cultivation has already reached the ninth grade martial pupil, just a little more and he would enter the rank of martial warrior.

Feeling all the transformations which he had undergone within himself, Chu Yang couldn't help but smile. Only when he advanced to the rank of martial warrior could he begin to officially train his body.

If his strength had not reached martial warrior level and he forcefully trained using excessive physical exercises, then there is a large chance that his muscles and internal organs would be severely compromised. There was a saying in the Lower Three Heavens,

"Literature lasts for eternity,

A Martial artist retires at death."

This implied that those who practice martial arts usually do not live past 60 years. However, this lesson seemed to be accurate. Because while this saying basically valued literature over martial arts, the number 60 was just a haphazard guess. The truth was, every year, there are countless martial pupils recklessly desire to improve their skills by cultivating carelessly. However, this usually ends up consuming a lot of their strength and results in extreme fatigue that is unbearable to the body of a martial pupil. Even if they advance in skill, that fatigue remained hidden within their body. When they are about 50 years old, this fatigue will manifest itself intensively and it would be too late to do anything because the body would be ravaged beyond repair.

Therefore, martial artists always wasted the most time in the training the body, setting a solid foundation at the martial pupil level before progressing.

Just a little bit more and he would become a martial warrior, then he will have the requirements to cultivate the Nine Tribulations Sword – Nine Tribulations Transcending the Nine Heavens Technique! And not just the Nine Tribulations Sword, but there were techniques in the Middle Three Heavens that clearly stated those below the rank of martial warrior are not to cultivate.

Chu Yang's dantian was stirred. He had struggled from dawn to noon to cultivate a little qi for the Nine Tribulations Sword spirit to absorb. He would then release that qi a moment after. Despite the amount of qi being significantly smaller, it was extremely pure.

Although, this qi could not compare to natural qi, in terms of purity it was many times better. The difference was in purity was like heaven and earth, far much better.

During these few days, after each cultivation, as his martial power increased, Chu Yang felt the sword spirit stir quietly within of him. He thought nothing of it, gradually ignoring it all together.

What worried him most during this time was the pure purple jade essence he wore around his neck, which was unreactive. When it came to this pure purple jade essence, Chu Yang still could not find a solution. The first time he had attempted to use this pure purple jade essence to restore his energy, the Nine Tribulations sword spirit suddenly became disturbed from inside his dantian and cut off contact completely. Chu Yang tried again a few times but to no avail. It was clear that the Nine Tribulations sword spirit wanted him to rely on his own strength to cultivate, not any external sources.

Even when he used the jade to recover energy to fight against a rival, the Nine Tribulations sword spirit would still do the same. Before, he was able to use the jade essence once, in coping with Qu Ping. At that time, the Nine Tribulations Sword Spirit had no reaction, but ever since that battle, it refused to allow him to do it again.

Upon encountering an impartial monitor like this, Chu Yang had no choice but to oblige. Eventually, he extinguished any intention of using the pure purple jade essence during cultivation.

Tilting his head, Chu Yang looked at Tan Tan, who was desperately trying to cultivate. He suppressed his laughter and said, "Okay, you can rest a little."

Hearing these words, Tan Tan felt such great relief. He was so grateful that he almost started to shed tears. He was so fatigued that he had trouble even getting up as his arms and legs refused to cooperate. When he finally got up, he let out a sigh of relief.

In the yard, Chu Yang continued to practice the simple act of drawing and sheathing the sword. Even though this was extremely mundane, he was attentive to every little action and kept training until every part of the movement was smooth and precise.

At this time, the sun had slowly begun to show itself, making Chu Yang's whole body heat up. Drops of sweat constantly dripping off his face and body, soaking the ground.

When Tan Tan finally recovered, he turned observe Chu Yang. Tan Tan began to notice a strange point in Chu Yang's movements. Even though Chu Yang repeated the same actions hundreds of times, each time Chu Yang's movement had a minute difference!

It seemed as though Chu Yang was continuously adjusting. From the beginning, where his actions seemed a little unnatural, to later when they became fluid and finally appearing as a flash of light.

Drawing the sword, sheathing the sword, he continued repeating the same motions and as he did, the sound of each movement became softer than the last.

"Chu Yang, your arm is swollen!" Tan Tan was looking at Chu Yang practicing and admiring him when he suddenly realised that between Chu Yang's elbow and shoulder was an abnormal swollen mass. He shouted out in panic.

However, Chu Yang's countenance remained unconcerned as if nothing has happened and his movement did not stop. He said indifferently, "It's nothing. It will go away with more training. If I stop now and wait for it go down, then it would take a long time. The best way is to practice until you get used to it. Then this swelling will go away on its own. This is how you advance!"

"Oh…" Chu Yang's words made Tan Tan feel ashamed of himself. He could only stand there stupefied. Then seeing that he had restored some energy, he immediately resumed training.

In a corner of Purple Bamboo Forest, Meng Chao Ran was quietly watching the two practice. The edge of his mouth revealed a little smile.

Meanwhile, a constant moan could be heard from inside. It was the sound of Shi Qian Shan being tormented by pain. He had been bed-ridden for the past 20 days. Qu Ping's people were cruel; that day they had broken not only Shi Qian Shan's ribs but also his femur.

At least for the next three months, Shi Qian Shan would not be unable to practice. And in the next half year, he would not be able to use his martial arts. However, by then, the ranking competition for disciples of Beyond the Heavens Sect will have been over. This injury has undoubtedly destroyed all of Shi Qian Shan's plans at Beyond the Heavens Sect!

The physical pain did not even compare to the mental anguish that Shi Qian Shan felt. Yet the bizarre thing is, he did not hate the people who hurt him, he hated Chu Yang. In Shi Qian Shan's mind, if it were not for Chu Yang, he would have had a bright future!