It seemed that he was too tired in the past few days. When he fainted, it was as if he had slept for a long time. After an unknown amount of time, Yan Liqiang woke up and found himself lying in a cave. When he opened his eyes, he saw the stalactites in the cave hanging down like huge bamboo shoots. Just more than ten meters away from him, drops of water dripped from the stalactites, forming a small pool on the ground.
A ray of sunlight shone into the cave from the crack in the top of the cave. The whole cave seemed particularly quiet, with only the sound of dripping water echoing in Yan Liqiang's ears.
Yan Liqiang's thoughts stopped for two seconds, and then everything came back to his mind. He thought of the fight at the foot of Longhu Mountain, the old man who was collecting herbs, and the scene when he fainted...
Then he jumped up.
Yan Liqiang first checked and moved his whole body, and found that he was intact, except for a slight soreness and stiffness in the socket of his right shoulder. This should be a minor external injury left by Zhu An, but it was not serious.
Yan Liqiang let out a long breath and then walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, it is located halfway up a high mountain. Outside is a pine forest. Looking around, there are clouds and mist below the mountain, and clouds and mist are flying upwards. In the fresh air, there is a faint scent of orchids, which is refreshing.
Looking at such scenery, one suddenly feels like being out of this world.
The old man sat cross-legged under a pine tree, smiling as he watched Yan Liqiang walk out of the cave.
Yan Liqiang walked over and saluted the old man as a disciple, "Yan Liqiang greets the master!"
"Please sit down. I know you must have a lot of questions. We can have a good chat now. There are some things I must let you know!"
Looking at the kind face of the old man in front of him, Yan Liqiang couldn't imagine how this old man could use a ray of golden light to destroy more than a dozen people without even blinking an eye.
"Although I have called you Master, I still don't know the origin of your name!"
"My surname is Liu, my full name is Liu Guiyuan, and I am one of the elders of the Sword God Sect, one of the four major sects in the world!"
Sword God Sect? It was actually the Sword God Sect! Just these three words shocked Yan Liqiang.
Although Yan Liqiang had guessed in advance that the master he was worshipping had an unusual background, he never expected that his master was actually the elder of the Sword God Sect, which was known as the leader of the four major sects in the world.
The so-called four major sects in the world refer to the Sword God Sect, the Mingwang Sect, the Yu Luo Palace, and the Lingshan Sect.
The four major sects each have their own characteristics. The Lingshan Sect is all-encompassing, with countless strange people. In addition to martial arts, the Lingshan Sect's elixir mechanism is also famous in the world. The Mingwang Sect is known for defending the truth with killing. The disciples of the Mingwang Sect are the most warlike. There are often many disciples of the Mingwang Sect joining the army and fighting with others on the battlefield. In the army of the Han Empire, the Mingwang Sect's influence far exceeds that of the other three major sects.
However, the Yu Luo Palace is the most mysterious. So far, no one knows where the gate of the Yu Luo Palace is. The disciples of the Yu Luo Palace usually disappear from the world, but every few decades, a disciple of the Yu Luo Palace will appear and do earth-shaking things.
As for the Sword God Sect, it is known as the leader of the four major sects in the world. All the sword arts in the world come from this sect. Within the sect, with a single order, an army of 100,000 swordsmen can be gathered, and no one can stop them. In addition to the sword art, the Sword God Sect also has the art of taming beasts, which is the best in the world.
The son of Ye Tiancheng, the governor of Pingxi County, is in the Sword God Sect and has already advanced to the level of Dragon-Tiger Warrior, allowing him to practice in the inner sect of the Sword God Sect.
If I enter the Sword God Sect, I will become a fellow disciple with Ye Tiancheng's son. This is really a narrow road for enemies to meet.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang could only sigh at the wonder of fate, which made him feel awed. He never expected that after his rebirth, he would actually enter the Sword God Sect and become a disciple of the Sword God Sect's elder. He also became a fellow disciple with the son of his greatest enemy.
Liu Guiyuan thought Yan Liqiang was intimidated by his identity, so he let Yan Liqiang digest it quietly for a while before continuing, "In the Sword God Sect, my public identity is an elder, and my responsibility is to manage the Sword God Sect's Medicine Valley. But secretly, I also have another identity and responsibility, which is to be the Sword God Sect's protector..."
"Protector?" Yan Liqiang looked at Liu Guiyuan in confusion when he heard these three words for the first time. This was the first time he heard of this name. "I wonder what the responsibilities of a protector are?"
"Every major sect has a protector. The protector is the most secretive guardian of a sect. On ordinary days, if the sect is safe and sound, the protector will hide and blend in with the world. Once the sect encounters a disaster, the protector's duty is to protect the sect's most important core secrets from falling into the hands of outsiders. At the same time, he must find a place to continue the sect's heritage..."
"I understand. The protector that Master mentioned is like a seed that preserves the sect. At a critical moment, Master can allow the seed that he has preserved to take root and sprout somewhere else, and grow into a towering tree again."
"Yes, that's what I mean!" Liu Guiyuan nodded, his face extremely serious, "My identity as a protector is top secret in the Sword God Sect. Before today, apart from myself and the Sect Master of the Sword God Sect, no one else in this world knew about it. Even the elders of the Sword God Sect, and even my family and several other disciples, don't know about my identity. You must not reveal my identity, otherwise the sect law will be ruthless, and you will be in great trouble in the blink of an eye, and even the gods can't save you!"
"Since the identity of Master's protector is top secret information of the Sword God Sect, why did Master tell me this news?"
Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang calmly, "You are so smart, guess why I told you this news?"
Yan Liqiang swallowed his saliva, thought for a moment, and then asked with some difficulty, "Master, are you... trying to train me to be the next protector of the Sword God Sect?"
"Hahaha, yes, that's right!" Liu Guiyuan laughed.
"Then why me? Master, didn't you just say that you already have a disciple in the Sword God Sect?"
"My disciples in the Sword God Sect can inherit my other knowledge, but they cannot inherit my identity and responsibilities as a protector. The identity and responsibilities of a protector and the secret skills that a protector must master are not something that ordinary disciples can inherit. To become a protector of the Sword God Sect, in addition to having the best aptitude, one must also have extraordinary demands on one's character and mind. Without thunderbolt means and a heart of a bodhisattva, without a one-in-a-million aptitude, without great perseverance, courage, and wisdom, it is impossible to become a protector of the Sword God Sect. All the sects in this world open their doors and recruit disciples. There are disciples looking for masters everywhere in the world, but for the identity of a protector, only masters can look for disciples. I have been struggling for decades to find you!"
"I only met you once on Mount Longhu. Even if I was kind enough to carry you down the mountain, how would you know that I was suitable?"
Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile, "I paid for the meal you had in Yunhe Tower. You thought you only met me once, but I have been following you for a long time. That night, you ambushed and killed Wu Tao and the other two in the forest and destroyed their bodies. I was right next to you, but you didn't notice it. These days, I have seen everything you did. I also knew that the people from Shengyue Tower were going to cause trouble for you. That time on Longhu Mountain was the final test of your character. It was not difficult for you to carry me down the mountain, but it was difficult to carry me back up the mountain to find the key without any trouble. Among ten thousand people, there will not be one person like you. If you can take me back and get the key I dropped, you will be my destined disciple and the next protector of my Divine Sword Sect. If you leave me behind, it means you are not the person I want to find. What happens to you in the end has nothing to do with me..."
Hearing this, Yan Liqiang couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat while feeling relieved. The first thing he was thankful for was his moment of kindness on the mountain road that day, which allowed him to withstand Liu Guiyuan's final test. The second thing he was thankful for was that he had been running around these days and had no time to practice the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing, so his secret had not been discovered by anyone.
"Now, Master, are you going to take me back to the Sword God Sect?"
"Hahaha, if I take you back directly, how can we hide our identities from those who are interested!" Liu Guiyuan shook his head, "This is already Laizhou. The headquarters of the Sword God Sect is on Jianshan Mountain, 200 miles away. You can go to Jianshan Mountain and ask to join the Sword God Sect..."
Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment. "I have been homeless these years, wandering around, and I can't explain my origins clearly. Will the Sword God Sect accept me?"
"Of course not under normal circumstances, but with this, the Sword God Sect will definitely accept you!" Liu Guiyuan said, and took out the key that Yan Liqiang had carried out to find on Longhu Mountain that day, and put it in Yan Liqiang's hand, "When you arrive at the Sword God Sect, just take out this key and say you want to join the Sword God Sect!"
Yan Liqiang looked at the key in his hand in surprise, wondering how this small key could have such great power. This key was made of iron and looked ordinary, not much different from an ordinary key, except that there were a few more patterns on the key. How could he rely on it to join the Sword God Sect
"Master, could this key be the Sword God Sect's token?"
"Yes, this key is indeed a token of the Sword God Sect. If the elders of the Sword God Sect encounter danger while on duty and someone helps them in times of crisis, they can leave this key. In the future, if someone comes to the Sword God Sect with this key and asks for help, the Sword God Sect will help that person to the best of its ability, as a way of repaying that person's kindness to the Sword God Sect! This key was left behind by an elder of the Sword God Sect in Huzhou. That elder had a fierce fight with someone in Huzhou and fell into the water after being seriously injured. In the end, he was rescued by a traveling doctor. The elder left this key to the doctor and told him that if he had any difficulties in the future, he could come to the Sword God Sect to find him..."
"Then will it be okay for me to take this key?"
"This is God's will!" Liu Guiyuan sighed, "That elder passed away a few years ago. Before he passed away, he asked me to go to Huzhou to find the wandering doctor and see how he was doing. I went to Huzhou two years ago and found the wandering doctor. He was also very old. After knowing that I was asked to visit him, he returned the key to me and passed away soon after. You can take this key to the Sword God Sect and just say that you are the grandson of the wandering doctor. The wandering doctor gave you the key before he passed away and asked you to come to the Sword God Sect..."
"What about after I arrive at the Sword God Sect?"
"You will practice like the other disciples. I will not give you any preferential treatment. Everything depends on you. Don't tell anyone about your relationship with me. After you advance to the Dragon Tiger Warrior, when the time is right, I will publicly accept you as my disciple and secretly pass on the Sword God Sect's protector's lineage to you!"
"Master, have you never doubted my origins?"
"For me, it's enough to know what kind of person you are. It doesn't matter where you come from!" Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang with a wise and generous eye. "At your age, you should be at home to be filial to your parents and enjoy the warmth of family. Instead, you wander around alone, going through hardships, trying so hard to join a big sect, and you can't explain your origins. It's likely that your family has been ruined and your enemies are powerful. You want to learn skills to take revenge, right?"
Yan Liqiang's eyes turned red. He bit his lip and nodded.
"Then you should practice well in the Sword God Sect from now on. The only reason why a person cannot take revenge is that he is not capable enough. When you become capable enough, killing your enemies will be as easy as killing a chicken. In this world, what kind of revenge can't be avenged?"
Yan Liqiang nodded...
(End of this chapter)