THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 6 - Season 14 Episode 65

Zen and Layla looked in the direction which Yolande was pointing in, and saw some dense words inscribed on the rock.

Some of these words were huge and some were small. The huge ones were as tall as a person, while the small ones were only the size of a palm. They were written in a myriad of styles.

“I gave up my great future and spent all my life here, yet ended up gaining nothing. I must tell everyone in the universe that this is only a scam concocted by Supreme Lord Sword!”

“Liar! Supreme Lord Sword is a great liar! I wasted ten thousand years of my time here and only encountered the Five Aging Processes. If I am able to reincarnate and am fortunate enough to come here again, I will definitely shatter this stone.”

“Alas! Newcomers, stop dreaming. Just focus on cultivating your own methods. If you want to comprehend Supreme Lord Sword’s sword intent in these words, be warned that this is just nonsense! Life is so short. Don’t waste your time here.”

Between these dense lines of writing, there were traces of pessimism and advice scattered for the later generations, by the prior generations, to give up on the futile observation.

Seeing the words, Zen sighed and shook his head. He could understand these people’s feelings. They had spent all their lives here, but in the end, they had gained nothing. If he was one of them, he himself would find it hard to accept this fate.

“Why is there no one here now?” Zen asked curiously.

From the pits on the ground, Zen could imagine that there should have been many warriors who had come here to observe the rock, but now, he didn’t see any signs of them. Their bodies had over years shaped pits in the ground where they had sat in watchful meditation as they had all focused on the rock.

“Since the Orange Sea World became the place for the alliance to hold Passing the Torch, ordinary warriors aren’t able to enter it. Moreover, no one in living memory has been able to comprehend the mysteries within it, not for millions of years. Many warriors have also begun to doubt the legend. However, there are occasionally warriors who would come to meditate,” Yolande said as she looked around before shaking her head. “But I don’t see them today.”

Layla stared at Zen and asked, “Zen, are you sure you saw that white sword shadow?”

Although Yolande and Layla didn’t think that Zen was lying, they still didn’t dare believe that he could see that white sword shadow.

After all, in the past millions of years, countless warriors had come to observe the rock and not a single one had managed to discover the secret. It was inconceivable that Zen would see the white sword shadow right after he had just arrived here.

The vice leaders and talents of the Mist Palace waited at the side of the huge rock, avoiding the intimidating aura of the words with downcast eyes.

“What are they doing?”

“It seems like that guy said he saw through the mysteries of the rock!”

“That is simply impossible! Supreme Lord Sword’s poem is already a joke in the universe. It is clearly a complete and utter lie!”

“Why are you so emotional?”

“You know what? One of my uncles was about to reach the Spirit Supreme Realm, yet he chose to come here to observe the rock instead. We could only watch helplessly as he encountered the Five Aging Processes and passed away.”

When Timothy heard about Zen’s claim, he flashed a mocking smile and taunted, “Humph! I believe this brat is only bragging. There have been many warriors like him. They saw nothing, yet they lied and said that they saw something. These people were common rubbish. Some of them claimed that they saw a huge chessboard, some said they saw snakes, and some said that they saw tens of thousands of swords. They were all talking nonsense!”

Actually, Timothy was telling the truth. Observing the rock gradually became a real deception, and it even seemed to have driven some of the observers mad. Some fabricated strange things, telling other warriors that they could see something, in order to defraud them of their money and belongings.

In a word, there were so many disputes and stories around the rock that it was difficult to describe them in detail or know what the truth was.

“Let’s go. Warriors from the other palaces should have been waiting for us. We don’t need to wait for that brat,” Timothy said in a cold voice. He was here to take the talents of the Mist Palace to take part in Passing the Torch, not to see Zen observing the rock. This was a waste of their time.

The other warriors all left together.

In their eyes, the mystery had been there for millions of years. It was impossible for Zen to have solved it when he had just arrived.

Hearing Layla’s question, Zen thought for a while and shook his head. “I’m not so sure.” He had seen the white sword shadow, and felt it piercing into his body, which was why he had felt so uncomfortable. The vision had been slightly disconcerting.

But he was not sure that it was the mystery left by Supreme Lord Sword. After hearing the story from Yolande and Layla, Zen even began to doubt and suspect himself. ‘So many warriors failed to solve the mystery. How could it be possible that I could solve it the moment I came here?’ he thought befuddled. Even though he was confident in his ample luck, he was not so sure that he could solve the mystery.
Layla pursed her lips as disappointment was suddenly written all over her face. A moment ago, she had faithfully believed that Zen could solve the mystery. She looked at the retreating figures of other warriors and urged, “Let’s not waste time here then.”

Yolande stared at Zen, lost in thought. After some consideration, she nodded and said to Zen, “We’d better hurry up. The warriors from the other twelve palaces should have arrived by now.”

“May I stay here for a while?” Zen asked, his face still filled with doubt and speculation.

Yolande smiled, and she realized then that Zen had seen something. So she nodded. “I’ll inform you when Passing the Torch starts.” After saying that, she and Layla left the rock and flew away.

When they had disappeared from sight, Zen descended to the ground.

The ground was rather hard under his feet. Zen couldn’t image how many years it had taken for the warriors to create so many pits in the ground just by sitting here and meditating. He believed it couldn’t be done in anything less than decades.

He found a smooth place and sat down. Then he raised his head and looked at the huge words on the rock. A while ago, when he had concentrated on the words, he had seen the white sword shadow. But once he was distracted, the shadow would disappear.

“Can I see it again if I concentrate?”

he murmured as he stared at the words and began to focus on them. Zen deepened his focus and intent.

After he had observed the words for a long time, he failed to see the white sword shadow again. But he still felt uncomfortable, like a sword was piercing through him. It meant that the sword shadow was still there. It was just that he couldn’t see it. Zen frowned as he concentrated and puzzled at the mystery.

‘Is it because of my lack of concentration?’ he thought then, seeking the problem within, like any good warrior who quested for cultivation was wont to do.

Maybe his state of mind had changed after he had heard the story from Yolande and Layla.

Thinking of this, Zen instructed himself to calm his mind. He deliberately slowed his breathing. After a few moments, he was finally able to keep a peaceful mind.
After about thirty seconds, a faint light began to emerge from the huge words. There was a spectral quality to the light, and Zen stared at it, while still forcing himself to remain calm and focused.

It was indeed a sword shadow! Although the shadow was rather faint, Zen was sure that he saw it again.

When he was about to concentrate more in hopes of seeing more clearly, a harsh voice interrupted him in a jeering tone, “Ha-ha! We have a new friend here. These last few years, few young warriors were still interested in Supreme Lord Sword’s mystery.”

Zen’s peaceful state of mind was shattered by the harsh voice. The white sword shadow immediately disappeared. He frowned in disgruntlement.

He hated being disturbed at this moment of intense concentration.

Warriors all hated being disturbed when they were cultivating. That was why they preferred to cultivate in seclusion.

Interruptions were considered extremely rude, and the interrupted warrior had every right to become vexed and seek retribution.

After all, even a light cough might cause a warrior immersed in cultivation to spiral into madness.

His face became dark and sullen, and Zen raised his head to see who it was. It was a middle-aged man in dark shabby clothes. He was slightly fat and filthy.

Probably, no one knew how many years it had been since he had taken a bath, or how many years he had neglected grooming the matted beard on his face. He was rather shabby looking.

The man was very excited at the sight of Zen and called out to his friend, “Landry! We have another friend. Come over here!”

Swoosh!

Another man flew over at a fast speed. He was thinner than the first one, but he looked equally dirty.

‘Their cultivation levels are surprisingly not low at all, ‘ Zen thought. He guessed that they were both at the Spirit Supreme Realm.

The warrior named Landry Chen sized Zen up with a smile, his dark eyes glittering excitedly, and he asked, “Young man, do you want to comprehend the mystery hidden within the huge rock?”

Zen nodded slowly. That was the reason why he had stayed here. Seeing the two warriors’ bedraggled status, he asked, “How many years have you been here?”

Landry Chen and the fat man looked at each other and smiled slightly insanely. Landry Chen pointed at the fat man and said, “This is Damian Xu. He has been here for more than twenty thousand years.”