Nine Yang Sword Saint

However, the old man still kept his eyes closed, which made Yang Dingtian slightly sad. He felt like someone who had gotten good results but didn’t get praised by his parents.

When he started practicing the fifth technique, reality finally completely wiped away Yang Dingtian’s arrogance. The reason was that his progress had become incredibly slow.

The fifth technique was the most important technique. He needed to first release his Xuan Energy when he punched. At the same time, the veins in his body must gather sufficient Xuan Energy from his Sea of Energy to support the next attack. He must be able to perform both tasks simultaneously at least last three times in a row.

Three months passed, and Yang Dingtian didn’t even manage to perform even one combination. He needed half a minute to gather Xuan Energy again after he threw out a punch.

Such slow progression left him somewhat despairing. However, Yang Dingtian was definitely the type of person who became more determined when he encountered an obstacle. As a result, he ended up practicing even more desperately. Every day after he finished his three-hour practice, he would continue furiously contemplating the technique. He thought about it even in his dreams.

Three months, four months…..

The summer of this world ended. Autumn had also come and gone. It was winter once again. (The extreme cold up north is caused by a perpetual winter. However, to differentiate the seasons, the period that is the least cold is known as summer. The period of extreme cold is known as winter.)

During this cold winter, there were big snowstorms one after another. The large amount of snow caused Yang Dingtian to temporarily shift his focus away from Zhen Yang Punch. Instead, he would work on his ice stairs after his daily practice.

The reason for this change was that there was one thing more important than practicing martial arts, which was to escape this horrible place with the old man as soon as possible.

Finally, after the tenth heavy snowstorm, Yang Dingtian’s snow stairs was 99.99% complete. He was only a few dozen steps away from the top, which was only three to four meters away.

Yang Dingtian needed one more snowstorm to complete the ice stairs that he had been building for exactly a year. After constructing over ten thousand ice steps, he could finally leave this horrible place with the old man.

He had been trapped in this ice cave for more than a year. Soon, he would be able to escape.

************************

As Yang Dingtian was sleeping soundly, he suddenly felt a coldness on his face and opened his eyes immediately.

As expected, it was snowing. What was more, the snowfall was extremely heavy. This time, he had enough snow to build the remaining few dozen ice steps.

Yang Dingtian did not start building immediately. Instead, he first practiced the heaven and earth tips for an hour before then practicing the fifth technique of Zhen Yang Punch for three hours.

Now, after he launched an attack with Xuan Energy, his entire body only needed 15 seconds to gather Xuan Energy for the next attack. He still couldn’t complete one combination, not to mention three in succession. At the moment, Yang Dingtian had put aside all his fantasies and was prepared to fight a lasting war to master this technique.

But……it seemed like God was joking with him.

This morning, he practiced the fifth technique of Zhen Yang Punch as usual.

“Ping…” The punch that he threw broke the snow in front of him.

“Ping…”

“Ping…”

“Ping…”

…..

Without any warning, Yang Dingtian continuously threw ten waves of Xuan Energy attacks. Even he himself did not immediately realize that each strike was thrown one after another without any delay in between. The veins in his entire body had instantly gathered new Xuan Energy during each strike.

After realizing what had happened, Yang Dingtian was completely stunned. “How, how can this be?” He had spent four months and couldn’t even complete even one-third of the technique. He was even prepared to spend one or two more years to master it. He did not expect to suddenly be able to complete the fifth move. Moreover, the minimum requirement was three repetitions, but he had managed to do ten.

Yang Dingtian was afraid that he was either hallucinating or had only done it by chance. Hence, he tried the fifth technique of Zhen Yang Punch again.

Indeed, he could now easily throw dozens of Xuan Energy attacks. Only after the thirteenth wave did the veins in his body need time to gather Xuan Energy again.

Yang Dingtian was so stunned that he even forgot to cheer.

At this moment, the old man suddenly opened his eyes and said, “Yes, martial arts are indeed mysterious. They will often leave you in despair but will also occasionally give you unforeseen pleasant surprises. Of course, all these surprises rely on one’s own understanding and talents.”

Then, the old man repeated a mantra, “When you compare one person to another, it will only cause frustration!”

Yang Dingtian looked at his own fists before starting to dance and punching the snow. He said, “Grandfather, I’ve finished practicing Zhen Yang Punch. And I’m going to finish my ice stairs in no time. We will be able to escape. We can escape already….”

“Grandfather, we can get out already…..,” Yang Dingtian shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

Usually, he wouldn’t yell in this manner due to complaints from the old man after a few previous incidents. However, this time he was so excited that he couldn’t resist. After realizing what he’d done, he immediately shut his mouth and waited for the old man to scold him.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, looked at the heavy snow, and then looked at the overexcited Yang Dingtian. However, unlike in the past, he smiled a little, sighed, and said, “This day has finally come.”

“Yes, we can finally get out,” Yang Dingtian said excitedly.

“Son, sit down,” the old man said.

Yang Dingtian quickly sat down beside the old man and asked, “Then, what are we learning today?”

“We won’t be learning anything today.” The old man smiled and said,” Haven’t you been wanting to know who I am? Why I was trapped here? Even though you never asked before.”

Yang Dingtian was stunned for a moment and then nodded.

“It’s about time. If I don’t tell you now, I won’t have another chance,” The old man said while smiling.

“I’m called Dongfang Niemie, the head of the Yin Yang Sect.”

Although Yang Dingtian didn’t know whether the Yin Yang Sect was large or small, the old man was still the head of a sect. Yang Dingtian instantly asked, “Then, were you extremely powerful before all this?”

Dongfang Niemie was a little stunned. Then, he smiled and said, “Oh, quite powerful.”

He continued, “You’re really weird. If I was that powerful, how would I have ended up like this?”

Yang Dingtian nodded.

“Son, I couldn’t tell you about that matter right now. You wouldn’t benefit from knowing that secret since you are still not that capable. It might instead even harm you.” The old man continued, “The fact that I am trapped here many kilometers below the surface is itself the greatest secret in this world.”

“At first, I thought I would be trapped here in this ice cave for the rest of my life, but who would have thought that someone like you would appear before me, arriving from another world? Our meeting was really fate!”

“That’s why, when you rescued me from the icicle, I kept asking whether you were sent by my enemies and what evil you were plotting. However, no matter how clever I am, I never would have guessed that you came from another world.”

“The realm that I couldn’t reach, you can reach. The enemies that I couldn’t defeat, you can defeat! Because you have the Nine Yang Xuan Veins.”

Nine Yang Xuan Veins? The Taoist Priest on Earth had said that Yang Dingtian had the Nine Yang body.

“Didn’t you asked me before about your Xuan Vein talent?” The old man smiled and said, “Your Xuan Vein talent is one in hundreds of millions and difficult to find even once a hundred years!”

“The Nine Yang body may be worthless in your world and will even bring endless troubles. However, in this world, it is something that only appears in tales.”

“A woman with a Nine Yin body could not be found even once a millennium. A man with a Nine Yang body similarly could not be found even once a millennium.” The old man said, “When you practiced the Heaven and Earth tips and Zheng Yang Punch enlightenment martial arts, I estimated your highest possible achievements. However, your performance was far beyond my imagination.”

“The martial artists in this world start practicing the enlightenment martial arts even before the ages of seven or eight. Those who are talented would need at least three to four years to complete the enlightenment period, but you only spent seven months and eighteen days,” the old man lectured.

Yang Dingtian said, “But, they are only seven or eight years old. I am over twenty and shouldn’t be proud to have outdone kids.”

“It doesn’t work like that. The later you go through the period of enlightenment, the more you lose as progress is slower.” The old man laughed. “You started enlightenment in your twenties. What you’ve accomplished is already a complete miracle.”

“Son, I am already very talented, but I still had less potential than you have now.” The old man continued, “At first, I thought that my dream was doomed to remain a dream. However, God gave me such a talented person: you.”

“I’ve lost in this lifetime. I was defeated and am already at the stage where being dead is better than being alive. However, my dream and efforts can be entrusted to you.”

“Son!” The old man stared at Yang Dingtian and asked, “Are you willing to accept me as your master? Are you willing to inherit my legacy?”

Before Yang Dingtian even truly understood what the old man had said, he automatically responded, “Of course, of course, I’m willing to. In this world, you are the only one that is like family to me. You are the closest person to me here.”

“Then kneel down!” Dongfang Niemie ordered.

Yang Dingtian stood up, knelt in front of the old man, and kowtowed three times with his head hitting the ground lightly each time.

“Good, good! From today onwards, you are Dongfang Niemie’s only disciple. Henceforth, you are the twenty-ninth head of the Yin Yang Sect.” Dongfang Niemie opened his palm to reveal two flaming fireballs circling his fingers. They then solidified into a ring on his ring finger.

It was an extremely beautiful ring, its appearance like that of two flames hugging each other. One flame was red while the other was ice blue.

Dongfang Niemie took off the ring and slid it onto Yang Dingtian’s ring finger. The moment the ring settled, the flames vanished.

Dongfang Niemie said, “This is the Yin Yang Sect Head’s ring. Currently, it remains hidden on your finger. Only when you become strong and capable enough will it reappear. At that moment, you will truly become the Head of the Yin Yang Sect.”

Yang Dingtian was frightened and said, “Grandfather…. Oh Master, how can I be the Head? I’m so weak.”

“Every Head of the Yin Yang Sect was the disciple of the previous Head. So if you don’t want to be the Head, who will?” Dongfang Niemie continued, “After you reach the Yin Yang Sect, don’t announce my death for the time being. Let everyone think that I am still the Head of the Yin Yang Sect. Ten to twenty years later, when you’ve become strong enough, when the flame ring has reappeared on your finger, only then can you announce my death to the world and become the next Yin Yang Sect Head.”

Dongfang Niemie unclasped something from around his neck. It was a fiery red jade carved into the shape of a flame. The item was extremely beautiful.

“This is a token representing the love between me and my wife. This accessory is called ‘A Moth Flies To The Flame.’ My wife and I each have half of the complete piece. My half is the flame, while her half is the moth. You show this to her and she will trust you unconditionally.”

“When my wife combines this flame accessory with the moth accessory, she will be able to see the will I wrote for her….”

****