Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

However, after a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke.

”The Heart Demon... Shi Pingzhang.

”He achieved martial prowess through calligraphy, a rare genius in this world.

”He was later accepted into the top academy of the Li Country, the Celestial Slave Academy.

”He spent ten years in secluded study and eight years traveling the nations.

”In the end, he went mad.”

”Mad?”

Jiang Ran was stunned.

”From reading too much? He read himself into madness?”

”That, I do not know...”

Ye Jingshuang said,

”Before he earned the moniker ’Heart Demon,’ the Jianghu people called him the ’Mad Confucian Scholar.’

”It was because his actions were erratic and defied common sense.

”But back then, though he was mad, he hadn’t brought any harm to the Jianghu.

”Not until he created the Killing Heart Demon Scroll... With a single scroll, he slaughtered an entire city. That was what drew the wrath of the Jianghu!”

”A single scroll slaughtered an entire city!?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ran couldn’t help but be shocked. ”How is that possible?”

”Brother Jiang, you may not know this.”

Huang Xuan took over from Ye Jingshuang:

”The Killing Heart Demon Scroll was created by Shi Pingzhang, who integrated everything he had ever learned into his calligraphy.

”Anyone who gazed upon the scroll would be invaded by the killing intent within it.

”They would be overwhelmed by an uncontrollable murderous aura, killing anyone they saw.

”Back then, Shi Pingzhang wrote this Killing Heart Demon Scroll upon the city walls of Yuanding City in the Li Country.

”All who passed by and saw it, even those who were completely illiterate, were tainted by this killing intent, causing a river of blood to flow through Yuanding City.

”Even many experts among them could not escape the scroll’s demonic power.

”It wasn’t until the Li Country’s number one expert, Jade Building, personally intervened and erased the calligraphy that the incident came to a close.

”But by then, Yuanding City was already empty... Because his martial arts directly targeted the gates of the heart and were exceedingly harmful, the name ’Heart Demon’ was born.”

”After this incident, Jade Building personally led numerous experts from the Li Country to apprehend him.

”Unexpectedly, during a battle on the border between Golden Cicada and the Li Country, he brought out a ’Chaotic Mind Funeral Dirge.’

”It caused these experts to attack one another, nearly leading to a total failure.

”But Jade Building’s Inner Energy and mental fortitude are second to none in the world.

”He broke the ’Chaotic Mind Funeral Dirge’ and struck Shi Pingzhang with a palm.

”As a result, that one palm strike sent him flying into the Golden Cicada Realm.”

Ye Jingshuang continued,

”Jade Building has a special status. He is not just the top expert of the Li Country, but also the number one figure in the Great Within.

”Given his status, the moment he stepped foot inside their territory, it would have very likely triggered a war between the two countries.

”At that time, the chaotic war between the five nations had just subsided, and they could not afford any more turmoil.

”So, Jade Building hesitated.

”And that hesitation allowed Shi Pingzhang to escape.

”Fortunately, his palm strike had nearly shattered Shi Pingzhang’s heart meridians.

”He was later tracked down by disciples of the Cyan Pine Sword Sect, one of the Five Great Sword Sects. They joined forces with the other four sects and also sent word to the Dao Yi Sect.

”Only then was he cornered and trapped at Broken Heart Rock on Qixia Peak.

”That place’s name seemed to be a taboo for Shi Pingzhang. He was known as the Heart Demon, yet the place was called ’Broken Heart.’

”Finally, he was ambushed and killed by their combined forces...”

As she said this, she couldn’t help but glance at Huang Xuan.

”How could he possibly reappear in the Jianghu?

”He’s different from that group of people who escaped from the Heartless Ghost Mansion.

”They were taken away by the Heartless Ghost Mansion and turned into the ghouls and goblins within.

”But Shi Pingzhang clearly died back then.”

Huang Xuan shook his head.

”I don’t know about that either.

”It’s just that two months ago, our sect suddenly received an urgent report. The message came from the Dao Yi Sect.

”It said that traces of Shi Pingzhang had been discovered within the Golden Cicada Realm.

”This was no small matter. The Sect Leader urgently summoned all the martial uncles to discuss it.

”Only after that were we ordered to leave the mountain and search for his whereabouts.

”Disciples from nearly all of the Five Great Sword Sects have been dispatched, splitting into several groups to investigate this matter across the Jianghu.

”Some time ago, we discovered that his trail seemed to be heading toward Cangzhou Prefecture.

”But as we got closer, we heard about the Ye family’s situation, so we took a detour this way, intending to find you first.”

”So you’re saying you haven’t actually seen the man himself?”

Jiang Ran asked softly,

”What happened to his body back then?”

”He fell from Broken Heart Rock...”

Huang Xuan sighed. ”Although he had been struck by the Dao Yi Sect’s old Sect Leader’s Great Scattering Clear Wind Palm before falling from Broken Heart Rock, logically speaking, his death should have been certain.

”But... in the end, no body was ever found.

”So, even after so many years, when the news of his reappearance in the Jianghu spread, the Five Great Sword Sects didn’t dare to be complacent.

”We’re not afraid of anything else, only that he didn’t actually die back then and will stir up trouble again.

”And with the immense power of that Killing Heart Demon Scroll, the slightest carelessness could lead to a worldly tragedy.”

”This...”

Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment.

’He knew that Shi Pingzhang falling from Broken Heart Rock was likely something beyond the control of the people at the time.

’But the trope of surviving a fall from a cliff always seemed to silently suggest that not only would the person not die, but their martial arts would also greatly improve.

’If he had remained dormant for so many years and suddenly reappeared, he would inevitably cause trouble for the Five Great Sword Sects and the Dao Yi Sect.’

Thinking of this, Jiang Ran asked the question he was most concerned about:

”Is there a bounty on him?”

Everyone was taken aback. ’What does that have to do with anything?’

Ye Jingshuang, however, was not surprised at all. She nodded and said,

”Not from the Li Country. After the incident, they never intended to let Shi Pingzhang live.

”But the Golden Cicada side has offered a bounty of thirty thousand taels of silver.”

”Only thirty thousand taels?”

After saying this, Jiang Ran had a sudden realization.

”Is it because the incident happened in the Li Country?”

Ye Jingshuang nodded.

”The two countries have never been on good terms. Even following the principle of ’befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones,’

”if something happens in the Li Country, the Golden Cicada side, even if they don’t celebrate with fireworks, won’t really put in the effort to help them catch someone. Offering thirty thousand taels is already their limit...

”His subsequent intrusion into Golden Cicada territory was completely unexpected.

”Therefore, the bounty was never increased.”

Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment, not rushing to feel happy... because he had a feeling that this Shi Pingzhang would be quite troublesome.