Chapter Eighty-Eight: Conviction

Defeating Zheng Fan was no easy matter; even Ye Sansi himself had once been beaten soundly by him in only a few moves.

Three years was a long enough span that it would still be far from sufficient to cultivate the strength needed to defeat Zheng Fan, yet it was also too short for Xiong Gang to wait in anguish for treatment.

Ye Sansi and the others could not bear it, but since Fang Jian had already given the order, and did so for their own safety, they had no choice but to agree.

Fang Jian took Xiong Gang away and, together with the other elders, cast their spells to seal him in ice at once, forming a radiance array to protect Xiong Gang’s heart meridian.

The place where Xiong Gang was kept was forbidden to all disciples except the island master and the elders. Before leaving, Fang Jian cast another spell to seal the entrance, ensuring Xiong Gang’s safety.

When Fang Jian returned to the Heaven-and-Earth Hall and saw that Ye Sansi was still there, he asked, “Disciple, why are you here alone? Why did you not return to rest with the others?”

Ye Sansi bowed and said, “Master, your disciple dares to ask you something. I hope you will not blame me.”

“Ask whatever you wish.”

“Master said that in three years we will fight Senior Brother Zheng Fan, and the winner may go to the Far Northern Lands. Surely you are not deceiving us...”

“What makes you say that?”

“I know Senior Brother Zheng Fan is extraordinarily strong. Senior Brother Fang said he is second only to you. We are mere mortals; let alone three short years, even in ten or several dozen years, we would still struggle to defeat him. Master, this is not...”

“I am precisely trying to make things difficult for you.”

“What? Master, what do you mean by that?”

Fang Jian shook his head and said slowly, “Alas, you did see how that little girl looked when she was bent on death. How could I bear to watch her take her own life? So I set this obstacle before her, to delay her by several dozen years and let her gradually forget about Xiong Gang.”

“Then the Far Northern Lands are also made up?”

“Only a legend. I do not know whether it is true or false, but I once heard a senior say that the Far Northern Lands are filled with demonic beasts, and within them one’s cultivation and spiritual power are greatly suppressed. To be honest, even I would not dare enter such a perilous place.”

Hearing this, Ye Sansi gave a slight nod.

Fang Jian said, “Sansi, you do not truly mean to go to the Far Northern Lands, do you?”

“Since Master has said that a senior once went there, then the legend must be real. What if there truly is an immortal there? Wouldn’t Xiong Gang then have a chance to be saved?”

Fang Jian said slowly, “Even so...”

“Master, the rules were set by you. Three years from now, if we defeat Senior Brother Zheng, we may leave the island and go to the Far Northern Lands. You must not go back on your word.”

“All right, all right. Since I have made the promise, I shall not regret it. If you wish to win, then over these three years you had best work hard.”

Ye Sansi nodded, bowed to Fang Jian, and said, “Then this disciple will take his leave first and go ask Senior Brother Fang Yuan for more guidance.”

“Very well. Go on.”

Ye Sansi left the Heaven-and-Earth Hall, planning to head first to the East Dining Hall. At this hour, Fang Yuan, Ling Shuang, and the others ought to be there.

Though he knew the art of sword flight, Ye Sansi still walked on foot, thinking as he went: Senior Brother Zheng Fan is the offspring of both human and demon, immensely strong, and skilled in both martial arts and sorcery. He wields a pair of exquisitely refined swords. If he fought with his full strength, I might not even be able to take a single move.

Ye Sansi did have a hidden trump card: if he swallowed a pill, his spiritual power and cultivation could surge a millionfold. That would certainly be enough to deal with Zheng Fan. But if all of this were a sham, and he truly went out of the island and into the Far Northern Lands, he would hardly survive, let alone find any immortal.

When he reached the dining hall and entered, he saw the disciples in the hall waiting for the meal to begin. Wang Qi hurried over and took him by the arm. “Uncle Ye, come with me.”

Wang Qi led Ye Sansi to the back hall. Inside, a room had been partitioned off for Wang Qi’s rest. Though it looked rather small, it held a long table, and Fang Yuan, Li Taiyi, Liu Lingshuang, Lin Nian’er, and Jin Sun were already seated there.

After Ye Sansi greeted Fang Yuan and took an empty seat, he asked, “What is all this...”

Liu Lingshuang said, “We were waiting for you.”

“For me?”

“Of course. Sansi, didn’t you say you had something to discuss with the island master? So, have you come to ask about some way of making rapid progress? If we all learned it, we could defeat Senior Brother Zheng sooner, go to the Far Northern Lands, and beg an immortal to save Xiong Gang’s life.”

Ye Sansi waved a hand and said, “There is no such thing as a quick way. Cultivating immortal arts requires calmness and patience, one step at a time. How could we rush for results and ruin the very purpose of cultivation? We will certainly go to the Far Northern Lands, but not today, and not tomorrow. If we go, it will be three years from now. From here on, you must not slack off.”

Fang Yuan nodded. “Brother Ye speaks reasonably. Cultivation must be carried out with a tranquil mind; if one rushes for success, that is the path of demons and evil. In the days to come, if any of you have moves you do not understand, you may come ask me. If you wish to defeat Senior Brother Zheng, you will have to put in serious effort.”

Dish after dish was brought to the table. Wang Qi smiled and said, “No matter how important the matter, we should eat first and then talk. Eat, eat. It’ll get cold in a moment.”

Ye Sansi asked, “Where is Senior Brother Zheng? Why is he not here with us?”

“Hahaha, as for Junior Brother Zheng Fan, he has an aloof temperament and does not like eating at a table with others. In a little while, have Wang Qi pack up a portion, and I’ll take it to him.”

As they ate, they chatted idly, but in truth every one of them felt stifled. Xiong Gang was a good, honest, righteous man, always calling one man big brother and another second brother. Though he was older than Sansi and Taiyi, they had long since treated Xiong Gang as a brother, thinking only of how to protect him. Who could have imagined such an accident would occur?

Everyone present had their own private thoughts, all wanting to do everything in their power to wake Xiong Gang.

By the time the meal was over, night was nearly upon them, and everyone had no choice but to return to their rooms. After the calamity of the heavenly tribulation that day, they were all surely exhausted. Resting up now would allow them to have strength for cultivation tomorrow.

But Ye Sansi could not sleep.

That day, the thunder of heaven had pierced through his blood and sinews, causing his power to condense within him, so that it could be used and unleashed more effectively. Ye Sansi spread out his hands and stared at them in a daze, murmuring to himself, “So this is the spiritual power Senior Brother Fang spoke of. It feels swollen, gathered within my body, but very comfortable. If I use the Snow-Thought Vitality Control, its force certainly won’t be weak.”

Thinking of this, Ye Sansi opened the door, stepped outside, and quietly shut it behind him. He summoned his sword and flew once more to the Heaven-and-Earth Training Grounds, wanting to practice the arts he had already mastered on his own.

A month had passed since he descended the mountain, and he had learned quite a lot. The Blazing Step to Seize Feathers, the Scorching Flame Hand, and the Eight Treasures Art taught by Li Taiyi; the Sword Rain Art passed down by Qi Fei; the Seventy-Two Willow Sword Forms, the Heaven-and-Earth Lock, the Punishing Chill Vitality Control, the Sword Control Art, and the Five Evil Palm. He had also created his own Blazing Step to Seize Feathers Seventy-Two-Step Method, the Blazing Thirteen Swords, and the Snow-Thought Vitality Control.

Ye Sansi’s talent was truly extraordinary. He could glance through any technique a few times and begin to grasp its essentials. With a little more thought, he could combine strengths and compensate for weaknesses, even creating new moves of his own.

Still, the profound immortal arts of the Fangcun Immortal Island were truly exquisite, far more difficult than the martial arts of the mortal world. Ye Sansi had no confidence that he could fully master the island’s arts within three years, let alone contend with Zheng Fan.

He then put every technique he knew on display. Unexpectedly, Zheng Fan had been watching from the shadows the whole time. When Ye Sansi finished, Zheng Fan stepped out as well, applauding.

“Not bad, not bad. What you’ve learned, Brother Ye, are all top-tier martial arts. Truly marvelous. I am no match for you.”

“Hahaha, Senior Brother Zheng, you are only making fun of me. I know that if you used your full strength, I would not be able to withstand even one move...”

Zheng Fan came closer, patted Ye Sansi’s shoulder, and laughed. “I am a demon by birth, so I possess spiritual power naturally. When it comes to learning sorcery, I’m faster and more thorough than ordinary disciples, and when I use it, it is even more domineering and formidable. But you are no ordinary person. You can withstand the strike of heavenly thunder, and a powerful force roams within you. If you can make full use of it, I certainly would not be able to defeat you.”

“From what Senior Brother says, are you telling me there is a way to fully make use of the power within me?”

Zheng Fan circled Ye Sansi once, studying him carefully. “By my reckoning, two powerful strands of spiritual power are intertwined within your body. If I am not mistaken, one is divine power, and the other is demonic power. When I first met you, this divine power was not apparent and its aura was weak, but tonight... this divine power has actually begun to gather. I assume you can feel it yourself.”

“Senior Brother Zheng is truly remarkable. You can tell all that?”

“Don’t think that the gathering of divine power is necessarily a good thing. Originally the two forces were in balance, restraining each other. But now that one is gaining the upper hand, it will gradually erode the other. However, I can help you cultivate the demonic power within you. In less than a month, you will be able to condense it. By then, divine and demonic powers will be in balance, contending within your body. The clash will only make both kinds of spiritual power grow stronger, and by then your future will be boundless.”

“Senior Brother Zheng, you really can teach me how to condense the demonic power within my body?”

Zheng Fan laughed. “Hahaha, Brother Ye, do you think I would lie to you? I am a demon; no one knows better than I do how to use demonic power. If I, as a demon, were to cultivate the immortal arts of the Fangcun Immortal Island, my strength would naturally be reduced quite a bit. But if I skillfully wield demonic power, it will not be affected.”

Ye Sansi bowed. “Then I thank Senior Brother Zheng first. I hope you will look after me in the days ahead.”

Zheng Fan waved his hand and smiled. “A small matter, a small matter. No need for courtesy.”

From their conversation, Ye Sansi did not find Zheng Fan aloof at all. On the contrary, he was very warm and friendly toward him, so Ye Sansi smiled and said, “Senior Brother Fang said you were aloof. After meeting you a few times, I really don’t feel that way at all.”

“Hahaha, actually I do not like speaking with outsiders. But the first time I saw you, I felt you were kindred, and that is why I came to spar with you. You are righteous. You are fearless. You carry love in your heart. For that, I admire you.”

Ye Sansi scratched his head bashfully and smiled. “What is there to admire? Aren’t you the same?”

“No, no, we are not the same. You fight for righteousness and love, whereas I fight for battle itself. I want to become strong, stronger still, so that no one can bully me, and no one can call me a monster!”

“Senior Brother Zheng, you have misunderstood. Is there truly no one in this world worth protecting? If all living beings suffer disaster and you have the strength to act, would you simply stand by? You would not. That is not who you are. When heavenly thunder fell upon us and you resisted it with all your might, were you doing it only for yourself? Was it not to protect us, to protect the Fangcun Immortal Island?”

As soon as Ye Sansi said this, Zheng Fan was first stunned, then burst into laughter. “Brother Ye, you really know how to speak. In any case, from now on come to the Heaven-and-Earth Training Grounds and cultivate with me for an hour each day. I’ll teach you how to condense demonic power. If there are any other Fangcun arts you do not know, you may ask me. I will explain everything to you in detail.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Show me the techniques you’ve learned once more. You were too fast just now; I didn’t get a clear look.”

Ye Sansi had no choice but to comply.

But to be fair, this Zheng Fan really was a martial arts fanatic...