Chapter 148: Heading North All the Way (1/4)

PS: I patched a bug—Jiangnan is actually in the south, so heading to the imperial capital means flying northwest, not southwest. My mind must have slipped when I wrote that.

.

.

"We’ve crossed the Jiangnan border already?!" The crowd gasped, staring at the clouds whipping past them. "Are we about to reach Heyue?"

"From Jiangnan, you head northwest into Heyue—that's right," Xue Daolv said. "Keep going north out of Heyue, and you'll arrive at the imperial capital."

"How is it this fast?!" Ye Xiaoye exclaimed, her jaw dropping. "This is simply too fast."

"What do you know?" Ye Songtao chided. "To get through Heyue, you still have to pass over several major cities. It's not that quick!"

"Oh..." Ye Xiaoye pouted. "It's not like I've ever been there before."

"Look ahead, there's a flying vessel!"

Just then, floating ahead of Fang Qi, a mid-sized flying vessel over a hundred feet long came into view. Its hull was crafted entirely from spiritual wood, shaped like a shuttle, with soaring serpent patterns carved along its sides. Wings sprouted from its flanks, yet it carried no banners. The entire craft seemed enveloped in an invisible barrier; whenever a cloud drifted near, it was shattered before it could even touch the hull.

"Master, flying like this... we won't be late, will we?" A young man stood at the prow, gazing out into the distance.

"Those robes...?" Inside the internet cafe, someone clearly recognized them. "The Wuyun Daoist Temple from Heyue?"

"Hey, look at that old man in grey at the prow. Isn't that Old Man Wuyun? I recall he's in the... True Lake Realm, right?"

"How could we be late!" The short, grey-robed elder standing at the prow scoffed. For an event as grand as the national examinations held in the imperial capital by the three major academies, not only were warriors invited, but several cultivators were also asked to observe. Even the Wuwei Daoist Alliance had dispatched cultivators to offer congratulations.

Old Man Wuyun was naturally among the invited cultivators.

"My Dharma vessel is a rare, top-grade artifact. Even if I only use thirty percent of its power, it is more than enough to—"

"Master, it looks like something is catching up from behind?" The youth at the prow suddenly pointed backward, looking thoroughly bewildered.

"Something catching up? Brat, your eyes must be playing tricks on you," Old Man Wuyun said with a look of disdain at his disciple, turning around to look.

In the next instant, his eyes widened in sheer disbelief!

A young man, treading upon a single sword, was overtaking them from behind!

"What is going on?!" Though Old Man Wuyun had lived a long time and seen cultivators flying on Dharma treasures, riding the wind, and even warriors stepping through the air, he had never witnessed a scene like this!

"Master... this... am I seeing things?!" The grey-robed youth was equally dumbfounded. "Flying while standing on a sword?"

"Hahaha! Daoist Wuyun is completely dazed! This is called the Sword Controlling Technique!" inside the cafe, someone immediately fired off a bullet comment.

"I bet he's utterly stunned!"

"Never seen it before, have you! Our Grand Sword Controlling Technique is just that magnificent!"

An Huwei, frantically stuffing himself with Haagen-Dazs, sent a comment: "Old Man Wuyun, take your time flying!"

Dong Qingli also covered her mouth, laughing uncontrollably until she trembled. "Look at that old Daoist's expression! It's as if he's seen a ghost!"

The two on the vessel watched in complete bewilderment as a young man standing on a flying sword soared past them, his robes fluttering in the wind like an immortal.

He even cast a casual glance their way.

"Master, didn't you say your Dharma vessel was a rare, top-grade artifact...?! How did we just get overtaken?"

Old Man Wuyun’s face darkened instantly, turning as black as a storm cloud. "I barely used any of my strength! Watch me put some effort into it!"

With that, Daoist Wuyun pinched a hand seal. As his massive spiritual energy surged, the entire vessel shuddered slightly, as if some critical mechanism had been unlocked, and its speed instantly increased by fifty percent!

"Master, why does it feel like he's still pulling further away...?!"

Old Man Wuyun's face grew even darker. He let out a loud shout, "Hey! Kid, don't run!"

He formed another hand seal, pushing the flying vessel to its absolute limits!

The entire vessel shimmered with spiritual light, and its speed surged by another fifty percent!

Only then did Old Man Wuyun speak, "Now, let's see how much further you can run, brat!"

"Look behind the boss!" Inside the internet cafe, everyone stared at the big screen. "Is Old Man Wuyun chasing the boss?"

"Tsk tsk, look at that spiritual light! He's pushed it to full power!"

"The old man refuses to accept defeat, doesn't he?!"

"Daoist Wuyun: This old man refuses to believe I can't catch you!"

"Boss: Catch me if you can!"

The comments kept flooding the screen, and the cultivators and warriors in the cafe were practically beside themselves with amusement.

"Boss, look behind you! An old man is chasing you!" Jiang Xiaoyue hastily sent a comment as well.

"Hmm? An old man chasing me?" Fang Qi turned his head in curiosity, and indeed, the Dharma vessel he had just overtaken was pursuing him relentlessly.

"Think he can catch up?" An Huwei, eating his Haagen-Dazs, wasn't worried in the slightest. "If he could catch up, why on earth would I bother learning sword-controlling flight?"

The Dharma vessels of this world were flying artifacts controlled by spiritual energy; the stronger one's energy and the higher the vessel's quality, the faster it flew.

The Sword Controlling Technique was different. Although "a thousand miles in an instant" was an exaggeration, it perfectly illustrated the speed of the technique.

The defining trait of the Sword Controlling Technique was its sheer rapidity, not to mention that the style from the Legend of Sword and Fairy was already a highly perfected system.

Right at that moment, Fang Qi’s flying sword suddenly slowed down.

"Hmm? Why is the boss slowing down?"

"Has the kid finally run out of spiritual energy?!" Old Man Wuyun sneered. "He amounts to nothing more than this! Disciple, watch how your master overtakes him!"

Under his driving force, the flying vessel quickly pulled up almost parallel to Fang Qi.

"Hmm?"

"Old gentleman! Could I ask for directions?" Fang Qi waved toward the Dharma vessel.

"Directions?"

"Could you tell me which way the imperial capital is?! And how much longer until we get there?" Fang Qi shouted.

He had been flying for a considerable time now and hadn't seen any sign of the imperial capital. In truth, this was his first time flying on a sword, and he really lacked a sense of direction, leaving him somewhat anxious.

"Straight north from here! It's still a journey of several hours!"

"Thank you!"

Old Man Wuyun let out a mocking laugh. "Which sect's youngster is this? Don't tell me you've run out of spiritual energy and want this old man to give you a ride? Wishful thinking! Did you think I would agree?!"

Just as he was thinking this...

"I head all the way north, leaving behind the season that holds you..." Fang Qi hummed a tune while gazing at the sky, passing right by Old Man Wuyun's flying vessel and speeding ahead.

"Is the boss humming a song?"

"What song is he humming? Never heard it before!"

"The boss is getting a bit arrogant!"

"Too confident! Look behind you, boss!"

"I've got to hand it to the boss!" Chen Feng clicked his tongue in amazement from behind.

"..."

"Master, that person seems to have flown ahead again..." The grey-robed youth pointed forward. "Are you unable to outfly him?"

"..." Behind them, the Taoist Master Black Cloud's weathered face suddenly grew as dark as charcoal, and he came within a hair's breadth of launching a magical strike right at them!

...

.