Proud Sword Soaring Clouds-Chapter 32 - 31: Yisha’s Decision

"Grandpa..." A syrupy sweet voice drew out the word in a coquettish plea. "You must know where the Vantia Holy Fruit is, right? Won’t you please tell me? Please?"

If any students from the Imperial Academy saw this, their jaws would have hit the floor. This was Isabella, the girl who blushed and stuttered whenever she tried to speak. Yet here she was, holding the hand of a kindly-looking old man, pleading with him in an adorably naive manner.

"Haha, so my Little Yisha knows how to beg now? Tell me, why do you want the Vantia Holy Fruit? Everyone wants that thing. But even if our family knows its specific location, no one has managed to bring a single one back after all these years. Sigh. We’ve lost quite a few skilled people over it. The survivors said that where your great-granduncle went to gather the Holy Fruit, there’s a Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon that might even be beyond Tier Five! A Tier Five Flying Magical Beast! I’m afraid even a Demon Sword Master wouldn’t want to pick a fight with that!"

"Ah, it’s that dangerous!" Yisha’s face turned deathly pale as she worried about Ling Xiao’s trip. ’Ling Xiao is so weak... forget a Tier Five Magical Beast, he probably wouldn’t even be a match for a Tier Two Flying Magical Beast!’

’What should I do? I have to find a way to save Ling Xiao!’

Anxiety flooded Yisha’s heart, and she couldn’t help but bite her lower lip as she sank into thought.

The old man let out a soft sigh. He raised a long, white eyebrow, his wise eyes gazing lovingly at the young genius before him—the kind their clan might see only once every few hundred years, and in his mind, the ideal heir to the family. Then, he abruptly changed the subject.

"Three days ago, on the road to the Vendia Great Snow Mountain, a band of low-ranking mercenaries set up a roadblock. Their leader was a Tier Four Sword Master, and their weakest member a Tier Six Sword Attendant. There were more than ten of them, and every single one was killed with a single sword strike. And the one who killed them was, surprisingly, a young man who wasn’t even a Sword Master..."

The old man finished speaking and looked at Yisha, a warm smile touching his lips. "Truly, a master of the sword!"

Yisha blinked her long, thick lashes, looking at the old man in confusion. "Grandpa, what does that have to do with me?"

The old man’s smile broadened, the wrinkles on his face multiplying and deepening, much like a blooming chrysanthemum. "That young man, the killer... his name is Ling Xiao!"

"Ah...?" The usually gentle and innocent Yisha shot to her feet, her soft, rosy face turning serious, her eyes filled with anger. "Grandpa, you had someone follow me?"

"Now, now, don’t be hasty, Little Yisha," the old man said with a chuckle, waving his hand and ignoring his treasured granddaughter’s fury. "Grandpa just had to find out how exceptional the man our little princess has taken a liking to is, don’t you think?"

"Ah..." A blush spread across Yisha’s face. She stomped her foot petulantly. "Grandpa, what are you talking about! It’s not like I like him! I just think his knowledge of medicinal herbs is even greater than mine, so I wanted to help him. Grandpa, he’s truly talented, but everyone treats him like a good-for-nothing. It’s not fair!"

"Ohoho, Little Yisha is angry now!" The old man beamed, not the least bit upset himself. He kept smiling until Yisha became flustered and annoyed, at which point he slowly let his smile fade and spoke with a serious tone. "Yisha, you must understand the responsibility you will have to bear in the future: to lead our family forward. In recent years, the family has become a bit too high-profile, and His Majesty the King has always been wary of great clans like ours. Therefore, your burden is heavy. You must not only lead the family to continued glory but also sheath the sharp edge that has become too prominent. That is why, when it comes to matters of the heart, Grandpa cannot allow you to decide for yourself. Ahem... Yisha, you... you don’t blame Grandpa, do you?"

Although Yisha was not old, she had grown up hearing about such things. She fell silent for a moment, then lifted her head and said, a bit sullenly, "I understand, Grandpa. But even if I can’t choose for myself, I still have the right to refuse!"

The old man was taken aback for a moment, then gave a wry smile, his loving expression returning. "You little rascal. Scheming against your grandpa every which way, are you? Fine. Grandpa gives you his word."

"Grandpa, then tell me more about him!" Seeing the old man agree, Yisha was genuinely happy now. She walked over, hugged her grandfather’s arm, and rubbed her cheek against it a couple of times like a little kitten.

The old man sighed softly. "That young man is a rare genius of the Martial Dao! For a genius like that to be called a waste? Hmph, I wonder who the real wastes are! The man I sent is a Fourth-rank Great Sword Master, and even he didn’t dare get too close. The boy is exceptionally sensitive to changes in his surroundings. When he started killing, my man could only watch from a distance. The battle against a dozen mercenaries was over in an instant. Though one could suspect a sneak attack at first, the latter kills were all from frontal assaults! Frankly, even if one of our own had stepped in, while he could have killed those men, it would have been impossible to finish the fight so quickly without sustaining any injuries!"

"Ah, he’s really that powerful? Then why was his fight against Wulan Tuo so full of close calls?" Yisha furrowed her pretty eyebrows, completely baffled by Ling Xiao’s performance that day. ’Even if you want to hide your abilities,’ she thought, ’there’s no need to risk your life doing it, is there?’

The old man said calmly, "He was probably careless. He likely didn’t expect that boy from the Wulan Family to be holding a Tier Three sword."

Yisha nodded. That was the only explanation that made sense.

Then she felt happy for Ling Xiao again. To possess such formidable strength... ’If he finds those things, unblocks his meridians, and cultivates to the realm of a Great Sword Master, what will he be like?’ As she pictured it, a look of longing appeared on Yisha’s soft, rosy face, and a slight smile touched her lips.

In her heart, she silently prayed for Ling Xiao. ’You have to succeed!’

The old man, however, sighed to himself, hoping his treasured granddaughter wouldn’t get caught in the web of love.

He hadn’t mentioned that, although the boy had shown many excellent qualities and came from a prominent family, he had been traveling with a girl in black the entire time!

Although the family’s spies were skilled, they couldn’t keep Ling Xiao under surveillance around the clock, so many details remained unknown. But this didn’t stop the old man from reaching a conclusion: Ling Xiao was a bit of a casanova, and thus not suitable for Yisha.

"So, Grandpa, do you think he can succeed?" Yisha asked, her face filled with hope.

"Well... Grandpa can’t say for sure. Besides, he doesn’t know the specific location where the Holy Fruit grows. I’m afraid it will be... somewhat difficult." In his heart, however, the old man thought it wouldn’t just be ’somewhat difficult.’ If a boy who hadn’t even reached the level of a Great Sword Master, and who didn’t even have an accurate map, could still obtain the Holy Fruit, then that would just mean one thing: all the masters from the Yisha Clan who had failed for all these years were nothing but a bunch of pigs.

Yisha’s heart ached. She felt so useless. If only she could mobilize the family’s power right now, she could help Ling Xiao so much!

Yisha seemed to mature in an instant. ’I have to change,’ she resolved. ’From now on, I’ll save the shy Yisha for his eyes only.’

’I will grow stronger! I will take control of the family as soon as possible!’

...

The Vendia Snow Mountains. The mountain range was vast, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see. Its main peak soared into the clouds. Above the halfway point, it was covered in pristine white snow that never melted, year in and year out. Clouds and mist shrouded the range all year round, the majestic peaks exerting a huge, unseen pressure on all who approached.

Ling Xiao stood looking at a map in his hands. Ye Wen Ni leaned against a massive tree, a weary look on her face.

The two of them had entered the mountains yesterday and had already been walking for the better part of today. Ye Wen Ni’s injuries were almost fully healed, yet as a Tier Three Sword Master, she found it a surprising struggle to keep up with Ling Xiao!

This infuriated the naturally competitive Ye Wen Ni. ’Why should he, a mere Sword Attendant, be able to move so quickly? He’s like someone born and raised in these mountains, but look at his delicate skin! He’s obviously a young noble lord!’

So she had started competing with Ling Xiao, not uttering a single word of complaint no matter how tired she got. By the time Ling Xiao finally stopped, Ye Wen Ni was nearly collapsing from exhaustion. She immediately sat down, gasping for breath.

"Ling Xiao, you’re such a freak! What’s your real cultivation level?" Ye Wen Ni had become extremely suspicious of Ling Xiao’s power.

"Sword Attendant." Ling Xiao was actually exhausted too. This body was very weak. He had been pushing the pace on purpose—not to torment Ye Wen Ni, of course, but to train himself!

It might have looked like Ling Xiao had killed those dozen or so mercenaries with lightning speed, but in reality, only Ling Xiao himself knew that he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion right after.

The Nine Swords of Dugu is all about Sword Intent; it’s more of a conceptual state. It is a martial art that pushes technique and speed to their absolute limits, focusing on seeing a move and instantly countering it. In essence, its key points are: fast, precise, and ruthless! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Although it didn’t require profound Inner Strength to support it, that didn’t mean it used none at all. And right now, Ling Xiao had no Inner Strength whatsoever.

Therefore, the first thing Ling Xiao needed to do was to strengthen this body as quickly as possible and strive to achieve the physique of a Tier Six Sword Master!