With a sword drawn, he laughs proudly, his martial prowess dominating the heavens!

Chapter 12 Che'er, what do you think?

In the Hall of Righteousness, Linghu Chong was forced to kneel again as punishment. It was unknown how many strokes of the cane he would receive this time, or whether his self-created "Indestructible Divine Buttocks" could withstand them.

The disciples had already scattered like birds and beasts. It was almost lunchtime, but they all went to the training ground and practiced diligently.

However, Linghu Chong didn't care about any of these things; his mind was filled with the words "It concerns Senior Brother Li."

Important!

Extremely urgent!

What exactly happened?

Suddenly, it felt as if someone had grabbed my heart, and I couldn't help but want to get up and rush to the Suoyoubuwei Pavilion.

He kept shaking his head and muttering to himself, "No, it can't be! I must have misunderstood. Junior Sister would never... it couldn't be that!"

Heartbreak is hard to heal, let alone self-inflicted wounds...

There are things one should not do.

Yue Lingshan closed the door and bolted it shut, creating a strong sense of clandestine activity.

The couple exchanged a glance, unable to fathom what their mischievous daughter was up to this time. Judging from her expression, something was definitely up.

Thinking of this, Yue Buqun became nervous. "You silly girl, stop acting strangely. There's no one else around within ten feet. What happened to Che'er?"

Yue Lingshan smiled mysteriously, then drew her longsword and demonstrated a couple of moves. "Father, Mother, what do you think of my swordsmanship?"

"The Hengshan Sword Technique?!"

With a thud, Yue Buqun slammed his teacup on the table. "Shan'er, where did you learn this from! Stealing martial arts from other schools is a grave taboo. You're becoming increasingly audacious!"

Yue Lingshan wrinkled her nose and said, "I didn't steal it; Senior Brother Li taught me. He not only knows the Hengshan Sword Technique, but he also knows all the sword techniques of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, and he knows more than those sect leaders!"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something was wrong. Hadn't she implicated her father as well? She immediately shut her mouth and lowered her head, but her eyes kept glancing at her father-in-law.

To his surprise, his own father seemed completely oblivious, his face instantly turning pale, and he sat bolt upright in shock. "What did you say?!"

Ning Zhongze scolded, "Shan'er, you mustn't talk nonsense about such things!"

Yue Lingshan chuckled to herself, "Just as I thought back then, Father must have assumed that the man surnamed Li was a spy from another faction."

She dared not hide it any longer and told the story of the sword techniques of the Cliff of Contemplation in detail.

Seeing her parents' eyes widen, she became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke...

On the cliff of contemplation, Li Che looked down at the road below. It was already past noon, why hadn't they brought the food yet?

Just as he was about to turn around, he saw three figures emerge from behind the protruding rock.

Yue Buqun walked quickly. If it weren't for his daughter's foot injury being just healed and his desire to maintain his strict teacher demeanor, he would have loved to use his lightness skill to fly directly up the cliff.

Ning Zhongze followed closely behind, holding her daughter's hand with one hand and carrying a lunchbox in the other.

Li Che quickly went to greet them, "Master and Mistress, you've arrived. Junior Sister, is your foot injury better?"

Yue Lingshan glared at him with a sour expression, muttering to herself, "It's all your fault!"

Then she remembered the scene of him taking off her shoes and socks to check her injury that day, and she suddenly felt a surge of heat rush up her feet, and her face regained its rosy color.

Ning Zhongze, who was standing beside her, noticed her daughter's unusual behavior. Her eyes swept over the two young people, and she inexplicably recalled how she and her senior brother looked back then. She couldn't help but smile knowingly.

But thinking of Chong'er kneeling as punishment in the Hall of Righteousness, she sighed inwardly.

Yue Buqun stood with his hands behind his back, still as gentle and refined as ever. In an instant, all the anxiety on his face disappeared, and he nodded with a slight smile.

"Hmm, his breathing is deep and steady, and his eyes gleam with a sharp light. After more than a month of seclusion, it seems Che'er has gained quite a bit. Excellent!"

"Master, you flatter me. Compared to you, I am far inferior." Li Che complimented, then said directly, "I originally intended to go down the mountain a few days ago, but the sword technique in the cave is of great importance, and I dared not be careless. Fortunately, Master and Mistress have finally returned to the mountain, so I am at ease."

Yue and Ning were even more satisfied upon hearing this.

"Senior brother, Che'er is so young yet so composed and thoughtful, which is truly rare. He is no less capable than you were when you were young."

"Haha~ Junior sister, you're being a bit dishonest. When I was young, I was nothing like Che'er."

Yue Buqun stroked his beard and laughed heartily, quite pleased with himself. He thought to himself that with such a fine disciple, when he saw his master a hundred years from now, he would be able to proudly say: Your disciple is no match for my disciple!

A round of mutual flattery brought the master and apprentice even closer.

Li Che led the three into the cave, but stopped in front of the inscribed stone wall. Pretending not to know, he asked, "Master, is this Senior Feng Qingyang also a disciple of Mount Hua?"

The three had different expressions. Yue Lingshan waited curiously for what would happen next, while Ning Zhongze looked at her senior brother with some worry.

Yue Buqun's face turned somewhat bitter. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "According to seniority, you and Shan'er should call him Grand Uncle!"

He seemed to have forgotten the sword techniques from the cave, turned his back and took two steps towards the cave entrance. "A battle of sword energy, brothers killing brothers! In its heyday, even Shaolin and Wudang dared not underestimate Mount Hua. Now it has fallen to this state, how pathetic! How hateful!"

Ning Zhongze leaned over and stroked his arm.

Yue Buqun shook his head, patted the back of her hand, then turned around and looked directly at Li Che, saying, "Che'er, your martial arts have now reached a certain level. In your opinion, which is more important, swordsmanship or internal energy?"

"Senior brother..."

Yue Buqun raised his hand to stop Ning Zhongze from continuing, and waited for Li Che's reply.

Li Che frowned, feigning deep thought, but secretly thinking, "A death trap question? It's clearly an easy question!"

After a moment, he said, "This disciple is ignorant and inexperienced. If I have said anything wrong, I hope Master will not punish me!"

"A teacher's duty is to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts. If you are perfect in everything, what is the point of being a teacher? This is not a test. Just say what you think in your heart, Che'er."

"Yes!" Li Che bowed respectfully and said firmly, "In my opinion, Qi is the foundation and sword is the technique! Once you have mastered internal energy, you can injure people even by plucking flowers or leaves. Therefore, you don't need to be restricted by sword techniques. You can also master palm techniques, leg techniques, knife techniques, and so on."

However, if one prioritizes the sword and only excels at its use, while the sword may be sharp, without internal energy, it cannot last long. While the techniques may be quick, their potential is lower than that of cultivating internal energy!

"Good! Good! Well said!"

Yue Buqun was overjoyed and said "good" three times in a row.

Yue Lingshan saw this and felt that her father was even happier than when he heard about the Five Mountains Sword Techniques in the cave.

"Senior brother, the Huashan Sect has a worthy successor."

"Hahaha—!" Yue Buqun stroked his beard and laughed heartily, feeling incredibly happy. "Che'er, I was worried that you would be misled by the sword techniques in the cave and go astray. But now it seems that my worries were unnecessary."

Li Che was momentarily dazed. Yue Buqun in front of him was laughing heartily and speaking sincerely.

In the three years since he joined Mount Hua, he had never seen Lao Yue like this before.

In that instant, Li Che deeply understood Lao Yue's obsession with the sword energy contest and his determination to revitalize Mount Hua.

Perhaps he could have remained a "gentleman's sword." Recalling the original story, Yue Buqun gradually turned to the dark side after several setbacks, driven by desire and forced by circumstances.

Li Che suddenly felt that Yue Buqun was somewhat lonely, somewhat... pitiful and pathetic.

At this moment, his desire to change the course of Huashan's history grew even stronger.

"Che'er, do you know that this Senior Feng Qingyang was once the number one sword master of the Huashan Sect!"

Before anyone could reply, Yue Buqun recounted everything he knew about the sword qi dispute.

Half an hour later, Yue Buqun laughed and said, "Che'er, your martial arts talent is the best I have ever seen in my life. The internal energy of my Huashan Sect is profound and extensive. As long as you practice diligently, you will definitely have a place in the martial arts world in ten... no, five years."

"My master and mistress treat me like their own child. What does my personal honor or disgrace matter? I will certainly live up to my master's expectations and restore the glory of my Huashan sect!"

"good!"

......