Hao Ren used the horse that was captured back outside the city and he set out to travel. He wanted to learn more about the Spirit Siphon Continent. Yin and the rest of the people had also left last night but he waited till the morning and found the landlord to collected the advance he had deposited to him.
The young man had simply chalked it up as, he had limited money and didn't want to waste any of it. Hao i almost wanted to beat him up, he was the Emperor of a nation and yet he was acting so stingily. The young man rode on the back of his horse in a leisurely pace. He kept one leg over the back of the horse and wore a bamboo basket as he strumd a bamboo guitar strings and sang a few songs.
He was playing the role of a bard and singing songs that he heard back on the blue star. The system had given him the skill for music and Hao Ren was using this to cover his identity. Although the horse appeared to be walking leisurely, Hao Ren had given it an enlightennt and this lowly beast now had so sentience.
He was using a technique to cover greater distance with each step forward. Hao Ren spent three nights to get out of the territory of the Rising Fla Country, and during this ti, he hid his breath and aura from the others.
Another four days, and he ca upon a valley town. The place looked secluded and only a few houses were spotted by Hao Ren even with his enhanced vision. However, what lured him to this place was a strong sword intent radiating from the place. He patted the back of his horse and they descended down the steep cliff wall.
The horse was not scared but on the contrary it changed into a mountain ram, jumping from one foothold to the other until it ca to the ground. Hao Ren chuckled as he mumbled, "I haven't ridden a roller coaster in ages but this was certainly putting the roller coasters to sha."
The horse panted to catch its breath, earlier, many tis it lost its footing and Hao Ren cast a spirit energy base for it to regain balance and continue. The young man was an adrenaline junkie. Hao Ren was stroking the neck of his horse when he sensed a few people approaching him from the side. He smiled and said, "You all have a good response. However, don't worry, I climbed down the cliff wall only to save so ti. I don't have any ill-intention towards your settlent."
Seven people stepped out from behind the trees, they were all carrying swords on their waists. Hao Ren placed his thumb in the string of his guitar and plucked it gently.
"Twang!"
The simple pluck released a wisp of sword intent that caused them all to retreat two steps back. They all had cold sweat covering their faces and backs. Hao Ren smiled and asked, "Can I see your leader?"
The leader of the party gulped and nodded as he said, "Please follow , Senior."
Hao Ren nodded, the horse that had just started to chew a mouthful of grass turned around and followed the people through the trees. All this while Hao Ren sat on the back of the horse and kept playing with his guitar.
He couldn't help but play the lodies that made him feel close to the nature. The greenery in the surroundings was very refreshing. They passed through the trees and Hao Ren noticed that most of the people were living in tree houses that were hidden under the cover of the canopy. The population of this place was a bit more than what Hao Ren expected.
He asked, "May I know what is your na?"
The person leading the way was suddenly taken aback. Then he replied, "I am called, Mast, Senior."
Hao Ren nodded as he asked, "So, Mast, can you tell the unique way of living? Why have you made so many tree houses?"
Mast replied, "Senior, in this region we suffer from wave attacks of the Red Sword Ants. They cannot climb the trees of Smoke Fruit."
Hao Ren mumbled the nas of two things and asked, "How can an ant fail to climb a tree?"
Mast replied, "Senior, the limbs of the ant are akin to that of a sword. So the young and old have trouble contending against them. Each ant is as big as a horse. These trees, when the bark is cut, they emit a smoke so lethal that the sword ants suffocate and die. It's more like they won't climb the trees and not cannot."
Hao Ren nodded and asked, "Does this smoke harm humans?"
Mast nodded and replied, "If soone carelessly damages the tree bark, and cos in contact with the smoke, the skin will boil and rot, in a matter of minutes, we don't have any cure to this."
Hao Ren nodded and looked at the surroundings thinking this was basically a parasitic place to live. Looking at the tree houses, he found they were connected with rope bridges and many people were gazing down at him as they crossed the bridges.
Soon, they ca out of the tree line and in the center stood a building covered with formation runes and on top of the building sat a middle-aged man with a sword across his legs. Mast approached the building and said, "This is the guardian tower. senior, please wait here while I call the leader over."
Hao Ren nodded and slid down the horse back and then said, "Blue Wise, go and found yourself so grass, however, stay clear of ant colonies and don't bring in trouble."
The horse snorted and then it trotted away slowly. The young man looked around him, stored away his guitar and took out his Chaos Sword. He took in a deep breath and his persona changed completely. The middle aged man sitting on top of the roof opened his eyes and looked at Hao Ren as he stood up and asked, "May I ask what caused the Senior to co here?"
Hao Ren smiled and said, "I sensed the sword intent lingering in the void, and I thought about coming here and find a sparring partner."
The middle-aged man shook his head and replied, "How can that be? Your cultivation level far surpasses those you might find here."
Hao Ren shook his head and said, "To master the sword, one doesn't need the realm. Realm only helps you with the damage you can do, but the finesse of the sword relies on your effort. Sword intent is not attached to how much spiritual energy you have accumulated, but on how much of the sword path have you comprehended."
His words were spoken in a calm tone and the person on the other side shivered when he heard this. He took a deep breath after a few seconds, and bowed to Hao Ren as he said, "I am Gara, the leader of this village. I thank senior for your guidance."
Hao Ren waved his hand and said, "Leader Gara, you appear to be a valiant person, how about it, would you be my sparring partner?"
Gara nodded and said, "It would be my pleasure."
Hao Ren was about to take out his sword when he noticed that Gara was using a normal steel sword. He sighed and took out a wooden sword. He said, "I don't an to disrespect you, but since this is a spar, I would prefer us both to be on the sa level. I will not use my spirit energy, and we will only compare the skills of sword."
Gara was surprised but then he nodded and took out a wooden sword from his space ring. He took a deep breath and said, "Senior, can we fight so place else? The tree bark is a bit too delicate in this season."
Hao Ren chuckled and waved his hand as he erected a barrier around them, as he said, "You don't have to worry so much, I have cast a barrier, it will be fine."
Gara heaved a sigh of relief. Hao Ren found that this guy was just in the Planet Shattering Realm. His strength seed to be very lacking compared to the average of this continent. However, Hao Ren didn't ddle, and the sparring began. Many people had gathered on the rope bridge on the tree line, and so elders were standing at the edges of the barrier.
Hao Ren kept his promise, he fought with the normal capabilities and only used his sword skills. His movents were fluid and he was punishing any and every mistake made by Gara. However, the latter was learning a great deal from this exchange and didn't repeat the sa mistake again.
Hao Ren smiled and just when he wanted to continue, a loud horn echoed in the surroundings, and Gara said, "Senior, we have a wave of sword ants coming, please forgive . I have to attend this."
Hao Ren nodded and said, "Since I am here, may I also join?"
Gara was surprised and nodded hurriedly.
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