Song of Adolescence

Lei Wujie stared at his senior riding away on his crane and he couldn’t help but think to himself, “Now that’s a true expert.” However, weird though this senior might be, he did leave the floor empty for him to proceed onwards. The way to the sixteenth floor was now in sight. He took a deep breath and walked forward. Yet when he reached the sixteenth floor, it was empty.

There wasn’t anyone around.

This time, Lei Wujie didn’t choose to wait around and instead, he jumped upwards and broke through the roof of the tower. Planting his feet onto the top of the tower, he yelled in a clear voice, “Lei Clan’s Lei Hong’s disciple, Lei Wujie, hereby challenges the Snow Moon City! He wishes to meet the Snow Moon Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi!”

Challenging Snow Moon City? Meet Li Hanyi?!

“Madness.” Sikong Qianluo muttered under her breath.

Snow Moon Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi, was one of the five Sword Immortals in the world. Ever since he was able to draw his sword, he had never suffered a defeat, even in his three battles with the citymaster of Unparalleled. Even if he was a disciple of the Lei Clan, and even if he inherited Lei Hong’s teachings…

What qualifications did he have to challenge the Sword Immortal?

Tang Lian and Xiao Se knew about his plan beforehand so the look of surprise wasn’t too apparent on their face. However, there was an indescribable feeling of terror in their hearts.

The words, ‘Li Hanyi’ terrified people as they were. Out of the three citymasters of Snow Moon City, Sikong Changfeng was the most approachable and conducted himself in a gallant yet restrained manner despite his unique standing as the world’s only Spear Immortal. He was the closest to the disciples and was the one who was truly in charge of Snow Moon City.

As for the first citymaster of Snow Moon City, Baili Dongjun, he was never an easy one to track. Even Tang Lian was only able to see him a scant few times. Each time Baili Dongjun passed on his skills, he simply left behind several sentences. Sometimes, he would even send a sealed letter. There was a rumor going around that the first citymaster was actually drifting around the world all year long and wasn’t in Snow Moon City at all.

The second citymaster, Li Hanyi, stayed in his home in Mount Cangshan. He was cultivated alone behind closed doors and never showed himself in public in Snow Moon City. Everything about him was a mystery.

“What kind of person is Li Hanyi?” Xiao Se asked Tang Lian.

Tang Lian shook his head and replied, “No idea.”

“What does he look like?” Xiao Se followed up with another question.

Tang Lian shook his head like before and said, “No idea.”

“You’ve never met him before?” Xiao Se was extremely puzzled at this point.

“I’ve only met my Second Esteemed Teacher seven times. Out of seven, there were six times where I only heard him speak but never saw him. There was only once where Second Esteemed Teacher showed himself. Even then, he wore a gray veil.” Tang Lian shook his head. “Not to mention the fact that Second Esteemed Teacher has never talked to me. That’s why I have no understanding of him.”

Xiao Se turned his head to look at Sikong Changfeng. “I’m sure our senior over here, the Spear Immortal, would definitely know.”

Sikong Changfeng shook his head slightly and muttered, “Really bad tempered! Also, that brat just smashed the roof of the Tower of Ascension. Even if Li Hanyi doesn’t teach him a lesson, I will!”

As for Lei Wujie, he had yet to receive a reply even after shouting at the top of his lungs so he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. After clearing his throat, he yelled once again, Lei Clan’s Lei Hong’s disciple, Lei Wujie, hereby challenges Snow Moon City! He wishes to meet the Snow Moon Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi!

There was still no reply forthcoming. By now, the winds atop the tower were starting to bite and Lei Wujie couldn’t but feel a little miserable. He thought about how Lei Yunhe moved the winds and called forth the lightning like a real immortal. Comparing and his current state, he couldn’t help but lament the huge gap between the two of them.

“Lei Clan’s…” Lei Wujie’s yelled once again.

“What are you shouting for?! Even the dead will wake up from your d*mned ruckus” Lei Wijie felt his eyes blur for a second before a white robed but gray veiled figure suddenly appeared before him. That person angrily chided him, “Hereby challenges the Snow Moon City? With what? That muder-something Sword of yours?”

“It’s the Murderous Dread Sword…” Lei Wujie’s voice grew soft.

“Scram!” The longsword in the person’s hand swept out and half of the roof was ripped open.

“Li Hanyi you scoundrel!” Sikong Changfeng angrily scolded as his heart ached at the fate of his tower.

Lei Wujie was struck by the sword and fell from the sixteenth floor.

So what if he could climb up all sixteen floors? Just like how the Spear Immortal struck down the beggar in the past… This time it was Li Hanyi who struck Lei Wujie down with a sword.

However, just as he fell past the thirteenth floor, he stabbed his sword into the tower with a mighty screech and finally halted his momentum at the tenth floor. He activated all the true qi in his body and the image of the Garuda appeared once again! Lightly tapping his foot, he leapt upwards to arrive at the roof of the Tower of Ascension.

“Blazing Arts, Garuda Realm?” Li Hanyi frowned with sword in hand. “You dare to bring out such rubbish? What a disgrace!” He waved the longsword in his hand once again and the entire roof broke apart. Because Lei Wujie still hadn’t gained a firm foothold yet, he immediately fell down towards the ground once again.

By this time, the ache in Sikong Changfeng’s heart had reached such an unbearable point that he could no longer watch the battle. Unlike him ,however, all the elders in Snow Moon City were more than happy to do so as they rushed out towards the Tower of Ascension at the fastest speed possible.

Luo Mingxuan dutifully kept up with his master ,the Immortal Maiden Luoxia, as she rushed towards the tower. “Teacher, what is everyone in a rush for?”

Yin Luoxia looked at the white robed figure and said solemnly, “To watch the Sword Immortal’s sword!”

This time, Lei Wujie crashed right into the bottom of the tower. The guardian on the first floor of the tower, Xie Yanshu, only saw a blur flash past him as he gazed upwards at which point the red clothed youngster fell in front of him. Patting the youngster’s shoulders, he asked, “Are you dead?”

Lei Wujie’s body twitched.

“Not dead yet?” Xie Yanshu tapped him once again.

“Ah!” Lei Wujie suddenly stood up.

“Zom… Zombie?!” Xie Yanshu was so shocked he took three steps back.

At this moment, Lei Wujie’s clothes were torn to shreds and his body was smothered in dust. Pulling out the Murderous Dread Sword in his hand, he endeavored to climb up once more. However, it was at this point that he heard a distant voice from above.

“Mount Qingcheng’s Zhao Yuzhen’s disciple, Li Fansong, pays his respect towards the Snow Moon City. He humbly extends a challenge towards the Snow Moon Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi!”

The peach wood sword on the attendant’s back finally shot into the sky and the scholar, Li Fansong, jumped into the air as well. He grabbed the peach wood sword and rushed straight for the peak of the Tower of Ascension.

“Not bad, he has the gallantry of Zhao Yuzhen about him!” Sikong Changfeng praised.

An annoyed look appeared on Lei Wujie’s face. “I’m the one who challenged the Tower of Ascension. If you want to challenge the Sword Immortal, go start from the first floor…”

Li Fansong’s sword was like a rainbow piercing through the sky. The white flash it emitted was blinding like an immortal was the one who unleashed this sublime display. In one swift motion, his sword arrived atop the roof of the Tower of Ascension, which had only had an inch left of standable space, and rushed at the Sword Immortal’s chest.

“Heartless Sword?” Li Hanyi’s eyebrows slightly twitched.

“It’s the Unlimited Sword Art!” Li Fansong yelled.

“Unlimited my *ss!” Li Hanyi’s longsword spun around in a circle before furiously hacking downwards in a chop. Surprisingly, it was the Five Tigers Soulbreaking Knife Skills, a skillset that was decidedly average.

“Against a brat like you, is there even a need for me to use my sword skills?” Li Hanyi smugly declared.

It was said that Li Hanyi’s moves were all light and agile like the wind. However, what Li Fansong felt rushing towards him right this instant clearly didn’t square with those rumors floating around the martial word. “Light my *ss!” Li Fansong exclaimed in anger. Not only was his sword blocked, the resulting force even pushed him down all sixteen floors, causing him to land with a resounding thud next to Lei Wujie.

Lei Wujie looked at the brilliant student from Mount Qingcheng whose brilliance only lasted for an unfortunate second. He hesitated for a moment then asked, “How was it up there, brother?” fre𝙚𝓌𝒆𝚋noѵel.c𝚘m

Li Fansong stood up and patted the dust off his body before replying calmly, “Can’t beat him.”

Lei Wujie hurriedly nodded his head to express his agreement. “Yup, can’t beat him.”

Li Fangsong thought about it for a moment and made a suggestion, “How about we…team up?”

“Sure!” By this time, whatever pride Lei Wujie had in him was more than knocked out of him.

“Lei Clan’s Lei Hong’s disciple, Lei Wujie, hereby challenges the Snow Moon City!”

“Mount Qingcheng’s Zhao Yuzhen’s disciple, Li Fansong, also challenges the Snow Moon City!”

A fire marked sword and a peach wood sword charged into the sky.

Li Hanyi looked at the two people who just teamed up without any hesitation and laughed coldly. All of a sudden, he stowed his sword and left it on the tower before jumping into the sky. As his sleeves danced wildly, two waves of sword qi cleaved forth towards the two youngsters.

Li Fansong suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and immediately plummeted towards the ground

The Garuda behind Lei Wujie crumbled as well and he hurtled downwards soon after.

Yin Luoxia who was watching the battle from afar exclaimed, “Excellent sword technique!”

Luo Mingxuan had a puzzled look on his face as he asked, “How is that a sword technique ,didn’t the second citymaster leave his sword behind?”

Yin Luoxia glanced at him and coldly snorted, “This kid can’t be taught…”

Luo Mingxuan scratched his head. “That’s why I got beaten up.”

Tang Lian suddenly yelled, “Not good!” When they first slammed into the ground, they used their true qi to shield their body so they only suffered superficial injuries. However, the true qi around their body was already broken by Li Hanyi’s sword qi. If they really slammed into the ground now, they would be dead without a doubt.

The attendant, Fei Xuan, stepped forward and lightly waved his palm out. A loud cry escaped his lips, “Halt!”

The two of them suddenly stopped falling.

As Fei Xuan slowly raised his hand, another word left his mouth, “Rise!”

The two of their bodies started to slowly rise into the sky.

“Well done! Mount Qingcheng’s Grand Dragon Qi… Looks like the real expert is over here.” Sikong Changfeng praised.

Though he said that, the expert in question wasn’t exactly having a good time either. Beads of sweat profusely rolled down the youngster’s floor and onto the ground.

“Do you still have a sword in you?” Li Fansong asked as he looked at the pale-as-a-ghost Lei Wujie

Lei Wujie tightened his grip on the Murderous Dread Sword. “One last one.”

Li Fansong nodded his head. “I happen to have one more in me as well.” 𝗳𝘳𝐞e𝙬𝙚𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟𝗲l.𝑐𝑜ｍ

“Wujie still has one last sword to present for the Sword Immortal’s judgement!” Lei Wujie used the last of his strength to yell out.

“Fansong also has one last sword to present for the Sword Immortal’s judgement!” Li Fansong followed up with a clear voice.

“Sword name: the Raging Inferno Lightning!”

“Sword name: the Boundless Heaven Stars!”

A streak of red light and a streak of purple light gradually met as they shot through the sky. With each second that passed, Sword qi surged and spiralled, destroying any clouds unfortunate to be in its path. Li Hanyi slightly frowned while his white robes danced wildly in the wind. Beneath him, the Tower of Ascension began to sway as though it would collapse at any time.

“That’s more like it. Now’s that actually more appropriate for a challenge against a Sword Immortal.” Sikong Changfeng laughed.

Li Hanyi sighed. “What awful names. Your teachers really don’t have any naming sense at all. Rise, my sword!”

The sword which was left in the middle of the tower flew up and returned to his hand. Wrapped around it was a white glow that seemed to grow by the second.

The name of that sword was ‘Armored Glacier’, ranked number three out of the ten famous swords!

Li Hanyi waved the sword in his hand. “I have sword too, it’s name is the Moon in Obscurity, Flower at Daybreak!”

This sword strike was different from the rest of the sword strikes displayed today. It was beautiful, soft, and gentle, like smoke from a chimney but with a slight trace of green within it. If this sight had to be likened to something, it would be fresh flowers blooming at dawn, or a bright moon which hung high in the night sky. So alluring soft gentle the sight was that a person could get drunk on it.

The arrival of such a beautiful sword caused all the Camellia in Snow Moon City to rise into the sky as a million petals and twirled around Li Hanyi’s sword. This scene was one that defied description.

“A Sword Immortal’s sword.” Sikong Changfeng commended.

“Is one for the ages.” Yin Luoxia closed her eyes, breathing in deeply the fragrance of the million flowers.