Chapter 242: Chapter 237: Extremely Sly
The next day, an hour before the appointed Si hour, people began to gather in groups and leave the ancestral land.
Led by Qi Changsheng, Luu Wangji, Jiang Yang, and Jiang Luo, a group of twenty people traveled half a mile to meet Jiang Li and Elder Tianxuan.
Upon seeing the group, Elder Tianxuan did not say much, but with a flick of his sleeve, he put everyone into the space created by his Sleeve Universe, leaving only Jiang Li outside.
"They lack the strength and cannot withstand the pressure of the Escape Skill."
Elder Tianxuan explained briefly, then looked at Jiang Li with a hint of mischief, "You, however, could give it a try."
"Try what?" Jiang Li had a bad premonition.
"Of course, it’s the Heavenly Star Escape Technique, a method I created myself. This technique relies on the power of all the stars in the sky, borrowing their power for flight. If perfected, one can easily travel from the North Sea to Cangwu in a day. There’s just one small drawback."
She reached out, and her seemingly delicate hand, imbued with an inevitable control and dominance, grabbed Jiang Li’s left shoulder, "It demands a great deal from the physical body."
Covered in starlight, Jiang Li suddenly felt as if he’d lost all gravity and was about to float away.
The Earth lost its hold on him, releasing his body, but then another force of gravity captured both him and Tianxuan.
This force seemed to come from the southeast, and the location should be...
"The sky?"
Jiang Li’s mind raced, and he quickly grasped the principle behind the so-called Heavenly Star Escape Technique.
To detach oneself from the Earth’s gravity, to connect with the star’s gravity, the next step... would be to move using the star’s gravity.
As this thought barely formed, Jiang Li’s vision blurred, and numerous landscapes flew past.
Mountains, rivers, trees, and white clouds in the sky, his excellent eye power allowed Jiang Li to capture a multitude of scenes, the influx of information causing him considerable discomfort at a glance.
But the most crucial part was his body.
The resistance to movement was negated by the starlight, but the high-speed shifting still made his body very uncomfortable. Jiang Li felt as if his body was moving but his soul remained in place, the disparity enough to make one cough blood.
He felt like he was suffering from Escape Skill sickness, overcome with an unstoppable urge to vomit, yet unable to bring anything up, his body feeling petrified and unable to move. The high-speed movement also caused him to lose control over his body, which normally moved as he willed – now, because of this ridiculous reason, he had lost control.
The gap between Seventh Rank and fourth-rank was displayed in such a visceral way.
Such a gap made Jiang Li doubt whether he could break through his master’s defense.
Time felt unbearably long, yet also as if it passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, Jiang Li felt a heaviness in his body, his feet regained the sensation of touching the ground.
His face was pale as he forcibly suppressed the overwhelming urge to vomit within him, he looked around and across the lake’s surface rippling with light, the mountains encircled by the Seven Halls entered his sight.
Had he returned to the Sect?
Jiang Li looked up to the sky, calculating the time.
With his calculation power, he could precisely determine the current time. If Elder Tianxuan hadn’t rushed day and night, then the time elapsed since leaving the Jiang’s Ancestral Land should have been less than half an hour.
Less than half an hour, a distance of several thousand miles at the least, no wonder... vomit.
Just then, a melodious voice suddenly reached his ears, with a hint of invisible magic power, asking, "Why did your senior sister say she padded it?"
Jiang Li, who was dizzy and disoriented, heard this and instinctively wanted to answer.
"Ha." In a flash of an epiphany, he suddenly let out a light ’ha’, coming back to his senses.
"Three Flowers Gathering at the Top."
Jiang Li employed his Dao Fruit Ability, combining the Three Elements, and forcefully used his spirit and Qi to control his body, quelling the dizziness and regaining clarity.
"This disciple does not know," he replied.
Elder Tianxuan looked at the three flowers appearing above his head and knew immediately that he had recovered his lucidity. She huffed lightly and said no more. With a flick of her sleeve, the twenty people previously stored in the Sleeve Universe appeared behind her, and then with a buzz, she disappeared.
’That was close.’
Jiang Li felt a cold sweat break out on his back, internally expressing relief.
He had not expected Tianxuan to suddenly pull such a move. It was utterly unpredictable.
If it weren’t for...
Jiang Li touched the Jade Ruyi in his sleeve, ’If it weren’t for the Jade Ruyi saving me, I might have really been trapped. Cunning, truly majorly cunning.’
Among those who Jiang Li had encountered, when it came to slyness and cunning, no one could surpass Elder Tianxuan.
Even though Jiang Li had managed to hold his tongue in time, through the display of the "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top," Elder Tianxuan had begun to harbor suspicions. In the coming days, Jiang Li feared that there would be no shortage of tests.
Jiang Li even wondered whether he could really subdue such a woman.
"How good my senior sister is."
Once again, he found himself missing the goodness of his senior sister.
At least his senior sister had been thoroughly tamed by Jiang Li.
He straightened up, wiping a little sweat from his forehead, and turned to look at the group of people who were still unaware of the situation.
It had taken less than half an hour to reach the Dinghu Sect, which shocked not only Jiang Li but also puzzled the others.
So—
Standing with his hands behind his back, Jiang Li appeared calm and composed as if he had anticipated this situation. He smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Dinghu Sect."
...
...
After providing a small shock to the crowd, Jiang Li led the group towards the ferry crossing.
According to the rules, non-law enforcement disciples were not allowed to fly when entering or leaving the Sect’s island, with violators facing the punishment of facing the wall in seclusion for half a month. This was to prevent the spectacle of figures flying all over Dinghu, affecting the image of the Sect.
Even as a True Disciple, Jiang Li was not exempt from this rule.
Additionally, he needed to take the Jiang family members to the Outer Disciples area for registration, so taking the boat was unavoidable.
However, today’s Dinghu Sect seemed much busier than before he had left.
People were coming and going at the ferry crossing, most of them not from the Dinghu Sect and their Qi Mechanism varied, indicating they were from all over the Four Seas and not from one group.
"It’s the Sword Discussion Conference," Qi Changsheng exclaimed with a clap.
"The Sword Discussion Conference held by our Sect is about to begin."
At his words, Jiang Li remembered.
Half a year ago, while Jiang Li was on the mission to pursue Zhou Mingyun, Qi Changsheng also went to the Sword Discussion Sea to take part in the grand event of the Sword Discussion Conference for the Artifact Dao. That Conference almost turned into an all-out martial confrontation due to disagreements between two parties, followed by a scheduled challenge set for half a year later, which was this month.
"Junior brother, hurry," Qi Changsheng urged anxiously, "In order to secure the hosting rights for this Sword Discussion Conference, Elder Kaiyang said he will display our Sect’s heavy treasure, and it might already be on display now."
"Heavy treasure?"
"The Xuanyuan Sword, oh the Xuanyuan Sword, Elder Kaiyang mentioned displaying it."
"How do I not know about this?" Jiang Li wondered.
He was, after all, a True Disciple of the Sect and even lived with his master. He hadn’t heard about such an important matter concerning the Sect’s treasure, and neither had Elder Tianxuan mentioned it.
"This... ahem, haha," Qi Changsheng’s urgency faltered, followed by an awkward chuckle, "Actually, it’s because Elder Kaiyang worried the Sect wouldn’t agree, so he planned to act first and report later, and we..."
And these accompanying Artifact Refiners also wanted a glimpse of the Xuanyuan Sword, so everyone kept it a secret.
Once all the participants arrived, the Sect would have to honor the promise and display the Xuanyuan Sword to save face.
Jiang Li discerned Qi Changsheng’s unspoken implications and was astonished by Elder Kaiyang’s bizarre line of thinking.
Was it really necessary to gamble with the Sect like that?
Jiang Li knew how loyal Elder Kaiyang was to the Sect and wondered how he could come up with such a foolish idea.
Moreover, even if Elder Kaiyang had made such a statement, it wasn’t certain that the Sect would take the risk just for the sake of face.
What if the Sect’s treasure were to be stolen or snatched away simply from being displayed?
Although this was happening within the Dinghu Sect’s own territory, it’s impossible to guarantee that there wouldn’t be an unforeseen event. There were millions of Dao Fruit abilities in the world, who could tell if there might be one capable of unexpectedly stealing the sword?
Both emotionally and rationally, Jiang Li felt this was an impossible scenario.
But what if?
At this thought, Jiang Li became intrigued.