The second day, Zhou Xuanji brought Little Jiang Xue for the appointment.
Xiao Jinghong did not leave but still sat at the same spot in meditation.
He began to teach him how to execute two sword wills immediately. The precondition was Simultaneous Execution.
Although he attained it merely through self-discovery, since he had already mastered it, he could explain its principles quite well.
The first step was to let Xiao Jinghong execute one sword technique in each hand.
"Two sword techniques? This seems difficult. Will I lose my mind?"
Xiao Jinghong asked with knitted brows. Zhou Xuanji then showed him how it was done.
After he observed Zhou Xuanji, he fell into silence and quietly began to practice.
Little Jiang Xue brought Ah Big and Small Er to hunt and to gather firewood.
Zhou Xuanji laid on the ground and chewed a piece of grass in his mouth. His legs were crossed as he looked up into the sky and felt very pleased.
The vast blue sky and white clouds made one's mood pleasant.
And so, he had an extra mission every day, which was to teach Xiao Jinghong.
He taught Xiao Jinghong during the day and returned at night to cultivate.
Xiao Jinghong was very patient. He remained at the same place and kept on practicing.
Time passed quickly like a horse galloping ahead without return.
Half a year passed.
Zhou Xuanji broke through to the third level of Foundation Building, while Little Jiang Xue broke through to the sixth level of Qi Nurturing.
They progressed so quickly because of the spirit stones' help.
Xiao Jinghong had also mastered executing two sword techniques simultaneously, and he was exceedingly happy.
Just by learning dual sword techniques, his power had significantly increased, let alone if he were to use dual sword wills.
Executing two sword techniques simultaneously would catch the enemy off guard.
At the same time, he tried to execute a sword will with one hand and a sword technique with the other. Although the flow of his Qi was messed up and his sword Qi moved inward, it was barely enough for him to succeed.
"Thank you, revered master, for your guidance!"
Xiao Jinghong looked excited. He held his sword and bowed toward Zhou Xuanji, who was lying on the mountain slope.
Without Zhou Xuanji's teaching, he could not have mastered such amazing techniques within half a year.
Zhou Xuanji waved his hand without care and said, "With your ability, it's only a matter of time before you master dual sword wills."
Xiao Jinghong was even more joyous after receiving his affirmation.
He leaped up and beckoned at Xiao Jinghong with his hand.
Xiao Jinghong walked over promptly and stopped before him. He asked, "Revered master, what is it?"
Zhou Xuanji raised his head and asked, "Why did you come to Gulan Forest?"
With Xiao Jinghong's ability, Gulan Forest would not be a difficult place for him to traverse. Was he just passing by?
Xiao Jinghong sat beside him and squinted his eyes as he looked up into the sky, and said, "I have a promised battle. To become stronger, I aimed to challenge the Great Demon King in the deepest part of Gulan Forest."
"What promised battle?" Zhou Xuanji asked in curiosity.
He heard about the demon king in Gulan Forest. Legends had it that he had great abilities and millions of demon soldiers under his command. They almost destroyed the Southern Snow Kingdom, but fortunately, the Great Zhou Empire came to their rescue in time.
"I fought the Great Zhou Empire's Meng Tianlang, but neither of us won. So we promised each other that we will fight again a decade later at the border of the Great Zhou Empire. There are still seven years left."
Xiao Jinghong replied. When he spoke about Meng Tianlang, his eyes clearly expressed his will to fight.
Zhou Xuanji knew about Meng Tianlang.
He was the Great Zhou Empire's youngest Knight General. He was good with strategies and was victorious even with many times fewer troops during the empire's war, which made him famous across the world. Emperor Yan of Zhou was overjoyed with him and raised him to the status of a Knight General straight away.
Of course, this was influenced by their connection to the Meng Clan also. The Meng Clan was a super clan that ranked in the top five in the Great Zhou Empire after all.
"Oh yeah, I have yet to know your name, revered master."
Xiao Jinghong tilted his head and asked. He looked at the seven-year-old child, curiosity evident in his eyes.
Even Great Zhou's prince, Zhou Yalong, was not as devilish as him.
This child will undoubtedly impact the world significantly in the future.
Zhou Xunaji said frankly, "Zhou Xuanji."
"Zhou Xuanji? Good name."
Xiao Jinghong nodded and said in amazement, though he did not believe Zhou Xuanji to be the prince of Great Zhou.
Lady Zhao Xuan's incident became widely known, but all the people referred to Zhou Xuanji as Zhao Xuan's son. Only people in the royal palace knew Zhou Xuanji's name.
Xiao Jinghong stood up and said, "It's time for me to leave. Only real battles can hone my skills quickly so that I can master dual sword wills even faster."
Zhou Xuanji stood up also and said, "May you be successful."
Xiao Jinghong smiled at him and said, "After I beat Meng Tianlang, I will come back to you."
Then he leaped into the sky, going a hundred yards above the ground and flying toward the horizon in a stream of cold light, swift as lightning.
This was the Sword Noble.
He came without a shadow and left without a trace.
Zhou Xuanji raised the corner of his lip and said, "That won't be for sure. We might be in Great Zhou."
After Xiao Jinghong left, Zhou Xuanji laid back down and waited for Little Jiang Xue's return.
After a long while.
Dusk was about to come, and Little Jiang Xue was still not back yet.
Zhou Xuanji leaped up. He knitted his brows and felt worried.
Usually, Little Jiang Xue would have returned by this time.
"Woooo--"
A dragon eagle's cry resounded from the horizon. Ah Big was flying over.
It quickly landed in front of Zhou Xuanji. His face turned when he saw Ah Big's wings were stained with blood. It was injured.
It chirped in its bird language. Since Zhou Xuanji had spent a long time with the dragon eagles, he could understand what it meant based on experience.
Little Jiang Xue and Small Er were captured!
He first took out some medicine and applied it to Ah Big. He then leaped onto its back and said, "Bring me there."
Hooooo!
Ah Big flapped its wings and flew quickly in the direction he came from.
Zhou Xuanji looked calm but was anxious in his heart.
If something were to happen to Little Jiang Xue, he would go crazy.
The two of them had been living together for five years. Zhou Xuanji had taken her to be his closest family and would not allow anyone to hurt her.
...
Shady Mountain Stronghold.
This stronghold was one of the bandit strongholds beyond Southern Snow Kingdom's borders. The bandits did all sorts of evil things.
The Shady Mountain Stronghold was situated on a lone mountain. At this moment, a group of people was moving forward. There were three prison wagons among them.
Small Er was locked up in the last prison wagon, immobilized by multiple iron chains that bound it. It was lying down, covered in blood.
The other two prison wagons were used to lock up humans, one for males and the other for females. Altogether there were fifteen people.
Little Jiang Xue was one of them. She leaned at one corner of the prison wagon and kept looking up into the sky.
"Oh, no... The Shady Mountain Stronghold has its eyes on us. We are doomed..."
A beautiful lady dressed in a green skirt said with desperation. Her eyes were a blackish blue and her face was covered with tears. She had been punched in the face.
The other three ladies in the wagon were similar. They were all young, and quite beautiful. Once they entered into the stronghold, one could imagine what would happen to them.
The men in the other wagon were similarly desperate.
They all were young cultivators from different sects and clans. The highest cultivators amongst them were only at Foundation Building Level One. They went to the Gulan Forest area to train but did not expect to encounter the Shady Mountain Stronghold.
A muscular man walked at the front. He was dressed in black armor and rode a tall and ferocious horse. In his hands was a Guandao stained with blood.
"Second Chief, although we did not find the Three-eyed Drought Rodent, it was worth it for us as we caught a dragon eagle instead."
A skinny man walked over and said with a grin, exposing a row of disgusting yellowish teeth.
The Second Chief curled his lip and said, "Hopefully Third-Chief can get his hands on the Three-eyed Drought Rodent. The other strongholds and soldiers of Southern Snow already have their eyes on the rat, so we must find it quickly."