Chapter 32: The Sword Saint's Cottage

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Watching the griffons soaring in the sky, Li Mingxing’s first instinct was to ask who their master was. But before he could speak, he saw that all the soldiers ranked Crusader and above nearby had half-kneeling to the ground. Silencing all his questions, Li Mingxing swallowed his words.

The human riding one of the griffons appeared unfazed by the scene. He merely nodded and then said to Li Mingxing, “Only you may come here. Have your men stay in the city. If you can fly, then fly yourself; if not, find a way to catch up.”

Li Mingxing was even more puzzled but still did his best to follow from the ground.

Seeing Li Mingxing trailing behind, the human on the griffon said nothing further. Instead, he circled once in the air before flying toward the City of Crystals.

At first, Li Mingxing thought he would fly directly into the city, but halfway there, the griffon abruptly changed course mid-flight and headed toward a forest in a different direction.

Once inside the woods, Li Mingxing immediately regretted following. He was ill-suited for running through dense forest. Though in this inner world he had gained the blood of a unicorn and certain claws to aid him, he was still far inferior to those who had long lived in the woods.

Initially, the griffon flew slowly, but as Li Mingxing’s pace quickened, the griffon grew displeased. It spread its great wings and accelerated forward. This ignited a fire within Li Mingxing. He shouted loudly and leapt onto a tree branch, not caring about any obstacles ahead. Charging forward, he would break through any branches blocking his path in an instant.

Though this exertion consumed more energy, Li Mingxing’s speed increased significantly.

Yet this also drained him heavily. If he continued like this, his stamina would never last until the griffon.

Just when Li Mingxing thought he was about to collapse, a powerful, bone-chilling sword aura suddenly surged ahead. His vision blurred, and when he came to, he found himself on a clearing in the forest.

Looking around in surprise, Li Mingxing realized this place was unlike anywhere else in the inner world. Here was a small lake that had never before appeared in this realm.

Floating above the lake was a small wooden cabin, and outside it were perched hundreds of griffons. The very griffon that had led Li Mingxing here was resting before the cabin. The human rider had dismounted and was kneeling on one knee, reporting something.

Li Mingxing wanted to get closer to see more but was stopped by three men, each carrying a massive double-edged sword on their backs.

“Please remove the claws on your hands and the needles on your tail,” one of the men said, eyeing Li Mingxing’s condition.

Li Mingxing stared coldly at the man and said, “Are you afraid I might attack your Sword Saint? If so, do you really think your Sword Saint can handle the Green Dragon?”

Hearing this, the three men’s expressions changed. Just as they were about to respond, a voice came from inside the cabin, “He speaks the truth. Let him in.”

Upon hearing this, not only did the three men step aside, but the griffons resting before the cabin all flew to its rear.

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Then, a sword aura sliced open the water before the cabin, forming a path that stretched directly to Li Mingxing.

Li Mingxing glanced around and noticed the three men blocking him earlier wore expressions full of schadenfreude. He understood this path would not be easy to traverse.

But the path was laid out now, and a summons had been sent. If Li Mingxing refused to go, his fate would be far worse than that of the apprentice hero from the Radiant Alliance.

For the sake of his own life, Li Mingxing closed his eyes and stepped onto the path. The moment he did, countless sword auras sliced past him, each carrying a biting cold that numbed his nerves but caused him no harm.

The further he went, the stronger the sensation became. At first, he could use his imperial aura to neutralize it, but after only a third of the way, his imperial aura faltered. The aura that once expanded a hundred meters was compressed back into his body by the sword aura.

Once fully forced inward, Li Mingxing pushed on for another ten steps, but then he could go no further.

Ahead, the sword aura no longer merely chilled him; it delivered real damage. His skin was no match, and just half a step more left him with hundreds of wounds.

Thus, he was forced to stop. When he lifted his foot again, he found he no longer had the will to proceed.

At the same time, the sword aura on the path vanished immediately.

Li Mingxing understood that he had missed the chance to learn something from the Sword Saint.

Yet he did not dwell on it. Though he believed strength was important in this inner world, safety was even more so.

He had no regrets about how things turned out and grew curious about why the Sword Saint had summoned him.

Approaching the cabin via the sword aura path, Li Mingxing did not rush inside. Instead, he called out at the door, “I am Lion-Scorpion Li Mingxing, greetings to the Sword Saint.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened. Yet, for some reason, Li Mingxing could not see inside. He only saw a rather dejected middle-aged man carefully wiping a sword with a piece of yellow linen.

Surprised, Li Mingxing watched as the man slowly spoke, “Tell me, what do you see?”

Li Mingxing immediately understood the man’s meaning. It seemed the Sword Saint had tested his courage, which he had failed, so now he was being tested for wisdom.

However, Li Mingxing was not someone of absolute wisdom; otherwise, he would have become a sorcerer long ago. He shook his head and said, “I see that you could kill me at any moment.”

“That’s not a very good answer. Seems you are neither talented in letters nor martial arts,” the man shook his head.

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“Yes, but only people like me live longer, don’t they?” Li Mingxing said as he sat down by the water before the cabin.

“Very clever, the choice of a politician. At least you have political insight. But what I need now are warriors and sorcerers, not politicians,” the man shook his head.

“I understand. And I also know what I need, so I never intended to ask you to take me as your subordinate,” Li Mingxing said calmly.

Hearing this, the man’s eyes brightened. Looking at Li Mingxing, he saw no hesitation, realizing Li Mingxing was not trying to gain favor by retreating.

The man stood up and asked, “Then what do you want?”

“Actually, I came here for two reasons. First, you sent a griffon to find me, so I had to come see. Second, the two people who were just killed—I assume some items fell into your hands?”

The man laughed. “Indeed, those two things are with me. Do you want to take them back?”

“Only one,” Li Mingxing said, locking eyes with the man.

The man laughed heartily. “Good. After all these years, you’re the first to speak to me like that. But I don’t intend to give you either, because I feel those things are useful to me.”

“True, they are useful to you, but you can’t use them now. If they remain with you, maybe you’ll never be able to,” Li Mingxing said confidently. “Why not show them to me? Maybe I can help.”

“Help me?” The man looked at Li Mingxing in surprise. “Do you know how many people come here every year wanting to help me?”

“I know. But I also know this time, I truly can help.” Seeing Li Mingxing’s certainty, the man sighed slowly. “I have a story. Want to hear it? Of course, if after hearing it you can’t help me, you should consider the consequences carefully.”

Li Mingxing did not hesitate. He stared at the man and said, “Before you tell your story, can you show me the two items I obtained?”

Without a word, the man placed the two items before Li Mingxing. Li Mingxing saw a piece of white-hot stone and a white, wheel-like object.

Seeing these, Li Mingxing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He now knew for certain that the apprentice hero in this inner world was truly dead.