The third day.
A rooster's crow early in the morning abruptly woke Shen Changge from his sleep.
"Was I having a nightmare?"
This does not feel right!
In the past, nothing could have woken me up from the seal of my bed!
Shen Changge had a suspicious look on his face. After he subconsciously touched the back of his ear, he discovered what seemed to be wrinkling his skin.
This is strange?
He came to the mirror he had deliberately placed in front of his bed. After admiring his handsome face, he tilted his head slightly, and what he saw made his pupils shrink.
It was a tiny grey handprint, probably the size of a baby's, and it looked very strange.
He felt chilled to the bone.
A Demon?
When did it…?
At that moment, Shen Changge felt as if he had been submerged in water. A cold chill started from his knees and rose up to his head. It cycled rapidly in his brain!
Though he had been slacking off over the years, he would often hear about demons!
Since when had he been targeted by a demon?
This had absolutely not been the case before yesterday!
But yesterday…
He only went to the Sword Lord statue, the training grounds, and then to the old geezer…
In any case, he had to find the problem as soon as possible!
This thing was just like a soul reaper!
"Gotta check-in first."
Shen Changge left his house just as he had yesterday.
The Empyrean Sword Sect was extremely quiet this morning. It was possibly because of the death of the two disciples the day before.
The air was damp and cold. On the slippery and quiet walkway, Shen Changge was burdened with worry.
What exactly was the problem?
Some people may ask why, since he already knew that he was being targeted by a demon, would he still go out?
But as a filial disciple who often lingered around his Divine Bridge stage old master and a senior brother who showed love for his junior brothers, Shen Changge understood that as long as someone was marked like he was, then there would be no use in hiding anywhere!
He would arrive sooner or later!
Hence, Shen Changge had to quickly complete his third day of check-ins as soon as possible.
Then he had to find the source of the problem.
Everything had been nothing but normal over the past two days. What was it that was out of the ordinary?
While thinking it over, Shen Changge unconsciously arrived beneath the Sword Lord statue. The statue was still standing in the same place as usual.
"After receiving thousands of years of worship, I've never seen you protect the sect before. I dare you to protect me if you're really that powerful!" Shen Changge muttered.
"Check-in."
"Check-in Success +1"
"Third check-in at Sword Lord statue, Success. Acquired reward: Cultivation in the Empyrean Sword Manual: Riding Sword Section *20 years / Riding Art: Swift Gust!"
In an instant, Shen Changge's eyes darkened. It was as if the four seasons were quickly passing through them.
In the blink of an eye, 20 years of practice had gone by and had given Shen Changge brand new enhancements in the Empyrean Sword Manual's Riding Sword Section!
Ka-boom!
Winds swirled through the air surrounding him as majestic and mysterious energy surged. Shen Changge raised his finger slightly, and a sword abruptly unsheathed itself from behind his back and rushed into the clouds. The black mist was driven apart by the bright Swordlight and was accompanied by scattering lightning. The Swordlight became the most dazzling streak of lightning beyond the skies of the Empyrean Sword Sect!
"Who is it that has cast his blade above the Empyrean Sword Sect!?" someone suddenly shouted from afar.
Hearing that, Shen Changge recalled the sword and left quickly and without hesitation.
He muttered inwardly, "I've already arrived at phase two for the Empyrean Sword Manual's Riding Sword Section: Sword Shifting. Shifting one's sword like lightning will grant one a massive boost in power!"
What's more, he even got a sword technique: Swift Gust!
Although it was a Riding Art and its power was certainly weaker than that of an Assaulting Art, when combined with a terrifying sword manual such as the Empyrean Sword Manual, its power level was definitely not to be underestimated.
Under the Sword Lord state.
Two disciples walked over with great vigilance.
"Who the h*ll is it that's already awake this early in the morning? Didn't the great master forbid disciples from coming out for the few days?"
"Please, stop talking. Things are getting weirder and weirder in the sect recently. Our patrol mission has also been reduced to one round. Let's hurry up and finish this round so that we can go back. Oh boy, I hope nothing goes wrong."
Two disciples walked over.
However, as soon as they arrived beneath the Sword Lord statue, their expressions quickly changed!
"What a terrifying Sword Rhyme…"
"Riding Sword, Sword Shifting Phase! This Sword Rhyme is definitely at this level!"
"How is that possible? Aren't there only a few disciples in the Qi Bending stage in our sect that have gained mastery over sword riding?"
"But the elders are all out there investigating the dark mist… so who in the name of heavens is it?"
Both of the disciples' pupils shrank.
What the h*ll was going on?!
"It's getting more and more spooky in here. Let's hurry up and report the sighting to the great master!"
The two disciples left in a hurry, feeling as if there was a pair of eyes staring at them in the dark.
Gloomy.
Depressing.
Behind the ears of the two disciples, there were markings shaped like a baby's handprint. The markings exuded an aura of eerie coldness…
…
Shen Changge walked step by step as if he had become one with the darkness. White clothes, three swords behind his back, dashing eyebrows, and a tall and upright posture.
He walked to the training ground.
The training ground was extremely quiet as nobody had gotten up early to train.
"Check-in."
"Check-in Success +1"
"Third check-in at Training Ground, Success. Acquired Cultivation: Ten years"
Ten years of cultivation.
What kind of stage would Mr. Shen step into?
Ka-boom!
A gust of pure cultivation abruptly poured into his body!
Enlightenment, Late-stage.
Alright then.
This means that if I cultivated normally, I would need a whole fifteen years to get from Middle-stage Enlightenment to Late-stage Enlightenment…
Two stages in 15 years…
Shen Changge was not looking too good.
It would be great if there was a place for him to modify his aptitude.
He remembered that there was a Renew Pavilion in the Empyrean Sword Sect's main sect.
If the dark mist could be cleared in the future and he was able to head into the Empyrean Sword Sect's main sect to bind the Renew Pavilion as a check-in location, that would be amazing.
After all, if his talent level could be altered, his gains from 15-years of cultivation would be worth even more.
A Cultivation Base of Late-stage Enlightenment, paired up with the Empyrean Sword Manual's Riding Sword Section.
Now, Shen Changge should be capable enough to best someone at a regular Qi Bending stage.
He took a deep breath.
"I can't just go back like this. Before that thing comes to me, I have to investigate the sect as soon as possible… are demons really hiding within the Empyrean Sword Sect?"
Shen Changge took a deep breath and quickly concealed himself amid the darkness!
The Empyrean Sword Sect's territory as of now was very small, consisting of only a training ground, the Empyrean Peak and its near vicinity, and the houses erected by the disciples.
Soon after, he was done investigating the Empyrean Sword Sect.
He stood above the Empyrean Peak with an awful expression on his face.
"There are no roosters in the sect…" he said.
…
Sparse knocking could be heard from the door.
Slightly irritated, Zhang Sanjian walked towards the door.
Who was it?
While he was cycling his Qi to heal his wounds, being disturbed was one of the most taboo things.
He opened the door.
All of a sudden, his pupils constricted!
Two disciples fell in front of Zhang Sanjian's door and their blood was all over the ground. They were no longer moving. There were small holes on their chest that went straight through. Behind their ears were grey handprints the size of a baby's. Their skin began to wrinkle, and their life force was seemingly sucked out.
Zhang Sanjian's expression was as awful as it could ever be!
Two disciples had died right before the Sect Lord's door, and the Sect Lord hadn't even noticed it.
There was no way to hide this!
A wave of fear erupted within the Empyrean Sword Sect!