A Thin Sword

The walk towards where Huang Yang was, seemed to be longer than most of them had thought. This was most likely due to the tension of the whole situation. Pen Min had shown his true colors this time.

None of them knew that Pen Min was actually this strong. Yan Gong had a feeling, that he should have heard of this man.

From what Pen Min said, it appeared as though the Yan and Zhu families' ancestors both knew about his existence, yet they had never even heard of his strength.

Pen Min said nothing as he continued walking in the front. He was walking leisurely while taking a sip from his gourd every now and then as if nothing really mattered to him.

Behind him was Huang Hao and the group of kids. While Huang Hao still tried to maintain a stoic silence, he was in reality just in a daze, as he had never really seen Pen Min's true colors.

The children hardly cared for silence, as they began chatting happily amongst themselves. This was a world of violence, so seeing blood wasn't really new to them. They simply didn't like the Zhu duo, and therefore had a good time seeing their defeat.

On their way, they even imagined how Huang Yang would beat up Zhu Tian, making him resemble his father.

Furthest in the back was Zhu Mu who was being held by his son as they walked along the road. While his son could not help him in any way, he didn't stop him from holding on to him, like this they could easily talk to each other.

"Son, do everything in your power to cripple that Huang Yang, make him suffer as I have!", he said with a hushed voice.

Zhu Tian nodded along with small movements. He would like to see the face of Pen Min, when he did the same thing to Huang Yang, as Pen Min did to his father.

He was currently young and had no way of getting revenge on Pen Min, but he would destroy his pupil in any way he could. He would only feel joy as he watches the hatred on Pen Min's face.

"But what's to stop him from attacking me when I win?", Zhu Tian asked with a hint of worry.

"Cause it's a fair fight... He will only attack you if Huang Yang admits defeat and you keep going, so do not allow him to surrender, understood?", Zhu said, after which his son nodded.

They really didn't have to worry in the slightest, since Pen Min had no thoughts about stopping the fight, simply due to him knowing the strength of his student.

While Huang Yang had been hurt and therefore hadn't progressed in his cultivation, he did spend a lot of his time mastering the sword. He was looking forward to seeing the faces of Yan Gong and Zhu Mu when they saw what a true talent actually looked like.

.....

They soon reached the simple house by the foot of the mountain, standing there, by the door, was Huang Yang's parents and brother along with his grandfather.

They all had faces filled with smiles. While they had been worried about Huang Yang, they had realized that no permanent harm had befallen him in this situation, which they were truly happy about.

They soon saw that a group of people was approaching and Huang Shi remembered that he had allowed the talented group of kids, which they had recently recruited, to come and meet Huang Yang, maybe even train together.

A flash of surprise appeared on his face as he saw that more than just the children had joined. Walking with them was a burly man with a beard and blond short hair, along with a thin man with black hair. The thin man even seemed to have a small clone following him.

Realization first appeared in Huang Canfeng's eyes when he saw the three new people. He hurriedly came walking towards them, after which he gave a slight bow.

"Yan Gong, a pleasure to meet you... you two must be Zhu Mu and Zhu Tian, your reputation proceeds you", Huang Canfeng said in a respectful tone.

He had long known about Yan Gong, he had even met him before. The Zhu duo was quite easy for him to figure out who were, the black-haired father and son, who loved their lightning. They did indeed have quite a reputation, but not the best unfortunate.

While the Zhu duo appeared happy when faced with the tone of respect. Yan Gong actually gave a small bow himself, before saying, "a pleasure to meet you again Huang Canfeng".

Huang Canfeng had a surprised face when he heard this, but then he saw the condition Zhu Mu was in. His arm had been bandaged but blood was still visible. He took a quick glance at Pen Min before guiding the people towards the house.

It appeared as though he had a slight understanding of Pen Min's strength, but didn't say anything.

They all gathered by the simple house, as they all gave their formal greetings. Zhu Tian was visibly disgusted by the house as if it was made for rats. Unlike last time, however, he kept his mouth shut for good reasons.

"Is it possible to meet Huang Yang now?", Yan Gong finally asked after chatting for a short while. His curiosity had peaked after hearing how much of a monster Huang Yang was.

Thanks to his realm, he knew that he could see Huang Yang's cultivation realm the moment he met him, not that he even expected him to have entered the opening realm since he was only seven years old, but he wanted to see how strong his body was and what his talent for fighting was.

"Of course you can meet him, he is currently training so you can watch, if it interests you", Huang Shi said with a faint smile. This day came sooner than he had expected, but he had been looking forward to it.

He wasn't a fool that hadn't explored the world, so he clearly knew just how frightening his son was. He could be placed at the top of this world, within the Tang dynasty and still be considered talented. This was a huge thing.

He turned around to walk around the house, where the training field was located. There was nothing else than silence, but when they came they saw a boy standing motionless with a thin sword in hand.

He was wearing white robes, with a black belt and armguards. His sword had a basic length but it was very thin, had they not been in a higher realm, they would likely not had seen it, due to the light.

The boy was standing with closed eyes, while a black crow was sitting on his shoulder, trying not to disturb him one bit.

The sword seemed to glow as he breathed calmly, with a steady pace.

Seeing the boy, Yan Gong and Zhu Mu froze, as if struck by fear. They were high ranking cultivators, yet they had never seen such a monster as today. They didn't know if they were seeing things, but they felt that it was real.

Zhu Tian, however, had a wicked smile on his face, he hurriedly gripped his sword which also seemed kind of thin, and took off. His feet were fast as he approached Huang Yang. He was ten years old but already at the fourth stage of the opening realm, many would feel threatened by him.

"Huang Yang, I, Zhu Tian, hereby challenge you to a duel!", he screamed mid-charge. He held nothing back, as he hardly waited for a reply.

It happened too fast, and with his father still being in a daze, they could not make themselves react in time. Little did Zhu Tian know, that he was facing the heavens.

He struck out his sword towards Huang Yang, while blue sparks gathered around his blade.

The only reaction he got, was the black crow taking off in a relaxed fashion, yet he hardly thought twice about it. His blade came closer and closer to Huang Yang in a dominating manner, as more and more light grew from it.

He couldn't wait to strike down the student of Pen Min who had humiliated his father to such a degree. His rage empowered him, yet it also overshadowed the shout coming from his father.

While he was fully focussed, his mind didn't have time to react to what came next. Rapidly flashing lights almost blinded him as he closed his eyes. A second had not even passed, yet he had felt nothing when striking with his blade.

As he realized how his thin sword felt lighter than normal, he opened his eyes. His high-quality sword had been cut into pieces. Small metal parts fell to the ground, yet he only heard a ringing noise, so he could not hear them land.

Sweat was dripping from him as he looked down, only moving his eyes, to see a blade neatly placed by his throat.