Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 168: Just Call It Bragging

"You two, go find a place to wash up. You stink."

Ye Tianling frowned.

The ancient latrine was unbelievably foul. Even if he stopped breathing and sealed his pores to block the absorption of the world’s energy, he still couldn’t stop the putrid stench from actively invading his senses.

Ye Tianling backed away some distance, a look of clear disgust on his face.

"BLEGH—"

Only when Ye Tianling brought it up did Wan Xuegui realize how bad the stench was. This time, he finally couldn’t hold it in and began to vomit violently.

...

Wan Xuegui and Que Xinyan spent nearly an hour purging the filth from their bodies with Sword Spirit Power. Then, they spent another hour washing in a pool infused with the world’s Spiritual Qi before they finally managed to get the foul stench off themselves.

By the time the two returned, the sky had already grown dark.

"Master, please accept this bow from your disciple, Wan Xuegui."

Wan Xuegui scurried over, bowing deeply to Ye Tianling before kneeling and kowtowing.

"Uh—what are you doing?"

Ye Tianling was taken aback by Wan Xuegui’s actions and immediately activated his Soul Talent.

"Master, Que Xinyan and I are sworn brothers. Since you’re his Master, it’s only natural that you’re my Master as well!"

Wan Xuegui said as if it were a matter of course.

But in his heart, he was thinking: ’Being his disciple means I can get some benefits and guidance. He’s from the Dragon Race, his talent is extraordinary, comparable to an Unparalleled Saint Son, and his cultivation speed is so damn fast. Following him can’t be a bad thing. Besides, being his disciple is better than being his grandson, right? Now that I’m his disciple, he can’t possibly keep screwing me over, can he?

Besides, I fell for his trap and made that vile oath. I, Lord Gui, can’t betray him, so I have to compromise. This is the only way to get around that damn vow of loyalty.

Sigh, I, Wan Xuegui, am a real fucking unlucky bastard. My life is bitter as hell, running into a Great Demon like him.’

When Ye Tianling read these persistent thoughts from Wan Xuegui with his Soul Talent, he couldn’t help the absurd feeling of ten thousand horses stampeding through his mind.

"Alright, you win. From now on, you’re not my good grandson, you’re my good disciple."

Ye Tianling wore a strange expression; he hadn’t expected Wan Xuegui to be so sensible.

In truth, Ye Tianling wasn’t particularly keen on taking disciples, but this Wan Xuegui was not only to his liking, but also genuinely, foolishly loyal.

And that foolish loyalty was actually very important.

Furthermore, Ye Tianling needed to save Long Tianyu, but how to enter the Celestial Dragon Sword Tomb was a monumental problem.

And Wan Xuegui, according to his own claims, did indeed know a method to enter the Celestial Dragon Sword Tomb.

"Master, please accept three more kowtows from your obedient disciple."

Wan Xuegui breathed a sigh of relief. Having achieved his goal, he felt refreshed and invigorated, as if the greatest shadow and hidden danger in his heart had been resolved.

He immediately kowtowed again.

At the same time, he looked at Ye Tianling with an incredibly eager expression.

His innocent, simple, and utterly adorkable gaze seemed to say: ’Master, your disciple has already kowtowed and acknowledged you. Don’t you have a little meeting gift for me? How can you shamelessly hold onto your disciple’s treasures?’

"Yes, what a good disciple! However, your Master used up all his treasures in the battle against that Saintess from Blood Killing Heaven, Xia Xinyan. I’m completely broke now, so I have nothing good to give you. Of course, you’re also broke, so I, your Master, won’t be needing your gift of respect either.

No need to thank me. I, your Master, have always been generous and kind to my disciples. The greatest love is silent."

"Uh—"

The muscles on Wan Xuegui’s face twitched violently. The feeling in his heart... was truly beyond words.

’Thank you? Thank my ass! Generous and kind? The greatest love is silent? Ptooey!’

Wan Xuegui felt that all the shamelessness in the world combined probably couldn’t match half of what this "Master" of his possessed.

’Damn it, if you’re going to be stingy, just say so. Why find such a high-and-mighty excuse?’

"Oh? You don’t believe me? I, your master, am an upright and selfless person. I never lie."

Ye Tianling emphasized in a deadpan voice.

’Upright and selfless? Never lies?’

Wan Xuegui’s expression became even more priceless. He almost fainted on the spot.

’The Fang Qingxue I met was probably real. The one lugging around two giant iron balls was just her clone, not my master.

The Elder Wan Tianshu I met was also probably the real one. His teachings definitely weren’t just a load of nonsense he made up on the spot.

And the "Wan Xuegui" that Fang Qingxue met before must have been real, too. It’s just that I didn’t know there was another me in this world.’

Wan Xuegui chanted in his mind, as if hypnotizing himself.

Ye Tianling’s Soul Talent picked up on these thoughts, and he felt the urge to vomit blood.

’Holy hell, I’m telling the truth! How did I end up looking so shameless? As if I’m not willing to part with a single treasure?’

Ye Tianling cursed inwardly, feeling utterly speechless.

"Sigh. In this world today, no one believes you when you tell the truth. How frustrating. As for those treasures, I used up most of them when I killed Long Tianxiao. Later, when I heavily injured Xia Xinyan—"

Before Ye Tianling could finish, Que Xinyan couldn’t listen anymore.

"Master, Long Tianxiao could instantly kill Xia Xinyan with a single glance. So if you could kill Long Tianxiao, wouldn’t a single glance from you be enough to reduce Xia Xinyan to ashes? This... this brag... your disciple can only give you a 60. Barely passing."

Que Xinyan said with a deadpan expression.

Ye Tianling was completely dumbfounded.

His mouth twitched, but he didn’t try to explain further.

Wan Xuegui also chimed in. "Long Tianxiao, the First Saint Son of the Cyan Dragon Holy Land, is at the Sword Tribulation Seven Refining Realm with a battle power that has reached Breaking Eight. Besides Long Yunfan, he’s the peerless genius most likely to attain a battle power of Breaking Nine Forbidden. And Xia Xinyan... she’s just a Candidate Saintess from Blood Killing Heaven at the Sword Void First Transformation Realm. Her battle power has likely only reached Breaking Five.

Master, where did you even hear about these two great figures?"

Although Wan Xuegui didn’t explicitly say Ye Tianling was lying, his meaning was crystal clear: ’Master, you should at least draft your boasts before you make them. This one is just too outrageous! Even my Wan Family’s Elder, Wan Jimie, isn’t as badass as Long Tianxiao! If you’re that incredible, don’t be my Master—be my damn Elder instead!’

"..."

Ye Tianling was actually speechless.

He waved his hand and said, "Fine, just assume I was bragging. So if I said I could hack Ye Cangqian to pieces with a single sword strike right now, you wouldn’t believe that either?"

Wan Xuegui immediately said with an incredibly firm expression, "I believe you!"

Que Xinyan also said, "I believe you too!"

Ye Tianling looked at the two of them and activated his Soul Talent. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Instantly, he heard Wan Xuegui’s inner thoughts: ’Believe my ass! Keep on bragging! Although Ye Cangqian is only at the Sword Spirit First Heaven Realm right now, he has already broken through the shackles of battle power and is considered a candidate for Saint Child. That caused quite a stir. You’re only at the Sword Soul Third Heaven Realm. The shackle of a Great Realm separates you; it’s practically impossible to overcome!

You might not even be my match in a direct fight, and I can’t beat Ye Cangqian. How could you possibly be his opponent?’

Que Xinyan thought: ’Master is Master, after all. I have to give him some face. I’ll believe whatever he says, but as for this battle power... In the future, Master will definitely be able to hack Ye Cangqian to pieces. And even now, if Master uses his trump cards, there should be a tiny bit of hope. Yes, I need to make sure Master maintains enough confidence. I must act like I have complete faith in him.’

After their thoughts entered Ye Tianling’s Sensing, he was once again rendered utterly speechless.

He didn’t bother explaining. He directly gathered the power of his Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique, channeling it through the Panhuang Life and Death Killing Dao, and unleashed a killing strike with his sword.

"PFFT—"

In the distant void, a distorted ripple suddenly exploded. A terrifying Sword Intent evolved into a killing Sword Spirit, revealing the monstrous might of the Samadhi True Fire Celestial Dragon Sword Spirit. It was a killing blow so powerful it seemed to make Heaven and Earth itself explode.

"BOOM—"

Heaven and Earth trembled and the ground cracked apart. Debris filled the air as sand and stones were whipped up by a raging gale.

"AH—"

Que Xinyan and Wan Xuegui both jumped in fright.