The ancient characters on the broken stele each carried a certain artistic conception, a certain understanding of the Daoist art. Even with Ding Yan's perspective and experience, he could only comprehend the first few characters. It was imaginable how astonishing the cultivation level of the person who left these characters was. As for the 'Dao' character that was reflected from the skull, Ding Yan even suspected that the artistic conception contained within it was a fabled Immortal Art.
Immortal Art was almost like a legend, existing only in the Illusory Nine Heavens, Ding Yan had not seen any Immortal Art elsewhere. Furthermore, even in the Illusory Nine Heavens, Ding Yan had only comprehended an incomplete seal. Compared to a complete Immortal Art, he had not even comprehended one-tenth of it.
This was not due to Ding Yan's lack of comprehension, but was due to the real gap in realms.
Until reaching that level, there would always be profound mysteries that could not be understood.
Time passed day by day...
Ding Yan sat in front of the stele like petrified stone, continuously comprehending. Not far behind him, the statue of a Daoist didn't move at all, as if hundreds of thousands of years ago, he too had comprehended this broken stele here.
The fifth year of Ding Yan's seclusion. In the mundane world, a young swordsman emerged. With outstanding swordsmanship, he stood out in the martial arts world. He quickly became known as the number one genius in the martial world, and it was said that this young swordsman was only fifteen years old.
Another year passed, the young swordsman stood alone, fought the Blood Clothing Gate, defeated the Old Execution Demon, and ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Fate List.
...
Chu State, Yi Shui City.
More than four years had passed since the Battle of Zhao Chu. After the immortal of the Zhao State was inexplicably repelled, the Chu State army directly attacked and captured the capital of the Zhao State, leading to the fall of the Zhao State. After the great battle, many places began to rebuild. Over four years had passed, many towns had been restored to their original appearance, and in some places, they were even more prosperous than before.
Yi Shui City was like this. Before the war, Yi Shui was just a small town.
During the great war, Yi Shui Town was captured by the Chu State, and the remaining residents were all slaughtered. After annexing the Zhao State, the area was divided into a prefectural capital and a city was constructed. Over four years, Yi Shui Town was many times more prosperous than before. In addition to the return of the residents who fled, a large number of refugees chose to settle there, making it the largest city within a radius of a hundred miles.
Ding Chen, with a long sword on his back, wore a green long robe and walked slowly into the city.
This attire had never changed for Ding Chen because in his subconscious, it represented the closest person to him.
Walking into the city, Ding Chen's eyes revealed a trace of desolation.
"I wonder if my uncle will come back here..."
A group of children frolicked by.
Dimly, Ding Chen seemed to see his young self and the group of children who dreamt of becoming great heroes.
"Do you know? Yesterday at our shop, a great hero came in. He had a steel sword on his back, wore a bamboo hat on his head, and as soon as he entered, he shouted, 'Boy, give me two catties of beef!'..."
"When I become the leader of the martial arts world in the future, I will appoint you as the head disciple..."
A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Ding Chen's mouth.
"I wonder how Zhuba and Husan are doing now, and whether they have also become great heroes."
Ding Chen remembered that Husan's family had moved away before the city was breached, and Zhuba had also left later, taken away by family.
"Everyone, go down, go down!"
A noisy shout brought Ding Chen back from his memories. Looking back, he saw a young nobleman had approached without him noticing, and his two attendants were loudly scolding the customers upstairs.
"Our young master is hosting a dinner for Miss Piaopiao at Fragrant Building today. He has reserved this floor, so please make way. Of course, our young master will cover the cost of the drinks tonight." As the servant on the left spoke, he took out a bag of silver from his sleeve and threw it to the ground.
Upon hearing this, the customers upstairs showed a hint of anger.
One of the armed men bellowed, "You want us to leave just because of a dinner bill? Do you think you're the leader of the martial arts world?"
"Don't push your luck. Xuesan, throw him down," the young nobleman said impatiently.
"Yes, young master!"
Without hesitation, the armed man drew his large sword from behind as soon as he heard the young nobleman's words and struck with a swift, decisive blow. It was clear that this armed man was no ordinary foe.
The young nobleman narrowed his eyes and stopped his servant's movement, extending his right hand.
His two fingers accurately caught the incoming sword.
With a twist of his fingers, there was a crisp sound.
The ten-catty heavy steel sword was broken in half by his two fingers.
Then the young nobleman pointed in the air.
Crack!
A loud crack echoed as the young nobleman's internal energy turned into a direct force that sent the armed man flying across the room with a strike to his chest.
"Lingxu Finger!"
"That young man has profound internal energy."
Many of the observing customers in the building were amazed.
Without further hesitation, one by one, they gathered their belongings and left the building.
In an instant, only a few people remained on this floor – besides the groaning armed man on the ground, there was Ding Chen, who was sitting by the window taking slow sips of his drink, and an old man who had not moved from the beginning.
Frowning, the young nobleman was about to speak, but before he could, Ding Chen, who had been sitting by the window, put down his cup and spoke.
"Who are you, Xue Pan?"
Upon hearing this, the young nobleman's expression changed slightly, and he frowned, "Who are you? How do you know my father's name?"
Xue Pan, the one who had once received a painting from Ding Yan and had mastered a set of sword techniques, was a genius swordsman in the current martial arts world and ranked the second most powerful expert. It was said that he had secluded himself, and few people knew where he lived.
"Take me to see him," Ding Chen stood up and said.
Over the years, Ding Chen had been searching for Ding Yan's whereabouts. He couldn't understand why Ding Yan had suddenly left.
Relying on the martial arts techniques passed down by Ding Yan, Ding Chen had spent five years cultivating his elemental energy and become a martial artist at the first level of Qi refining. Although this level was at the bottom of the cultivation world outside, it was considered top-notch in the mortal world because internal energy and elemental energy were fundamentally different levels of power.
In his quest to find Ding Yan, Ding Chen had visited many places, including the Blood Cloth Sect. On that occasion, Ding Chen ended up annihilating the Blood Cloth Sect, including the long-noted Xing Laoguai, inadvertently gaining attention and becoming well-known in the martial arts world.