Chapter 31 The Unexpected Trouble (Part One)


    Keller led Darren to a rather remote and secluded wooden cottage that was situated at the corner of


    Sword Mountain base and settled him down. Darren looked around the cottage. Although the space


    inside was limited, all of the essentials and other miscenies were present and would be able to


    provide its dweller with a cozy andfortable stay.


    Pleased with the good environment, Darren smiled politely at Keller. But just as Darren started to thank


    him, Keller went ahead and stopped him. "Don''t thank me, Darren. I still suggest that you leave this


    ce, for your safety. After what has happened today, I am very positive that they wille for trouble


    sooner rather thanter," he proposed solicitously.


    Keller was a short and stumpy young man. Although he was only in his twenties, the hardships and


    miserable experiences in the life had left imprints on his face. His face would always be scrunched up


    in worry, much like the one he was currently wearing on his face. Mismatching his age, his appearance


    looked more like that of a man in his forties.


    Darren didn''t respond but instead gave him a confused re. Keller instantly feared that Darren had


    misunderstood his meanings. Keller shook his head and waved his hands in the air. "Darren, please


    don''t get me wrong. I say this not to try to chase you away, but to help you. I had every intention to


    have you stay here, but I''m afraid that won''t be possible anymore. Given the recent turn of events, I


    thought I should let you know that it would not be safe for you to be here," he anxiously exined.


    Seeing how Keller was so concerned for his safety, a small smile formed on Darren''s lips. "I know you


    are concerned about me. But I don''t want to leave just because of what happened today. I don''t think


    running away would solve anything. Plus, I''m not exaggerating when I say that those bullies wouldn''t


    daree for trouble so recklessly," he said as he tried to console Keller.


    Darren seemed to have already made up his mind and Keller felt that he wouldn''t be able to change it


    anymore. There was no way around but to ept his decision. "All right then, I hope things will turn out


    for the best," he said, smiling awkwardly but sincerely at Darren. Keller gave the room onest


    cleaning. After the room had been organized and all the things positioned in their proper ces, he


    bade farewell to Darren and took his leave.


    As soon as Darren was left alone in the room, he did not take a respite.


    His mind had been upied by the current state of his cultivation. "I can''t just believe what they have


    said to me that easily. Why don''t I just have a try and see how hard it is to cultivate the sword skill and


    the de skill at the same time?" he pondered to himself. After he had taken those two seeds, Darren


    did not feel any side effects from it. He thought that this clear, lucid feeling devoid of any kind of


    dizziness must mean that his body had absorbed the seeds wlessly.


    He felt intrigued to practice his sword skill and see how far it had gotten.


    "Let me take a shot at trying the second move of the Profound Nine Sword Skills first," he said to


    himself earnestly, raring to find out the effect on himself.


    Concentrating his attention on the details of the second move of the skills, he had the whole procedure


    run down in his mind before putting the skill into action.


    Upon activating the sword skill, albeit gingerly, his vital energy was released and started to flow along


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    his energy meridians like surging water. Everything had gone smoothly and just as he had expected,


    until he felt a sudden change in his vital energy an hourter.


    To his astonishment, the vital energy that had been swirling around in his energy meridians gradually


    transformed into streams of purple mist.


    "Can this be the sword intent they have been talking about?" Darren shouted out in wonder. As more of


    the vital energy turned into the purple mist, the mist began to emanate streaks of icy blue sword light


    and provided him with vigor and fresh energy. It was the most vivid and at the same time, the most


    indescribable kind of freshness that he had ever felt.


    However, while Darren was drowning with fascination over the feeling the sword intent had granted


    him, an ominous, almost menacing feeling struck his heart.


    "Damn it!" he eximed with terror. A strange gust of green vital energy mist emerged out of nowhere


    and began tussling with the purple mist. As the sh between the two mists became more and more


    intense, he started to feel intense pain in his energy meridians. And even more troubling, he felt a weak


    and fragile part in his energy meridians begin to crack which caused even more pain.


    "What the hell? How do I handle this situation?" he cried out in panic.


    Recognizing that it was his de intent that generated the green mist, he immediately ceased his


    sword cultivation and started to activate his de skill over again.


    The result was the same as his sword cultivation. About half an hour after he had started practicing his


    de, the vital energy started generating green mist and shed with the purple mist. Only this time,


    the damage it resulted in was even more painful than the first one.


    Unable to endure the pain any longer, he stopped practicing the de as well. "This is terrible! Does


    this mean that I can practice neither sword skill nor de skill from now on? How will this affect me if I


    use my fist power?"


    The thought prompted him to test out a simple boxing form from a martial arts book that he learned


    in the past. Growing frantic, Darren half expected the shing of the two internal forces would not also


    take ce even when he was not using swords or des. Much to his dismay, testing out a different


    skill determined that the confrontation of the shing forces had in fact nothing to do with whether or


    not he was using his swords or des. The real cause of the sh was his own vital energy. Every


    time he practiced, his vital energy would automatically convert into those two kinds of internal forces


    without any provocations, as if on impulse, causing his energy meridians to get harmed in the process.


    He was very much disappointed and utterly devastated by his finding. "Have I really gotten wrecked?"


    he wondered ruefully. The failure clouded his mind. He could not dare to imagine how things would turn


    out if he continued to be weak again – he wouldn''t be able to defeat anyone in a fight.


    As Darren contemted over the extremely disadvantageous situation he now faced, trying and failing


    toe up with a solution, he heard a yammering.


    "Isn''t this the ck Degree talent disciple that has recently just joined our sect? Why am I getting the


    feeling that he is just an ordinary type? Have you caught anything outstanding out of his disy just


    now?" a shrill peculiar voice called out behind him, just outside his door. The remarks were followed by


    an obnoxious chortle that came from a second person.


    Darren turned around to see who it was. There were two young men who were standing at the door,


    observing him. Seeing that they were both wearing the same clothes as Keller''s, Darren assumed that


    they were attendant disciples of the School of Sword Skill.


    "Don''t say that, Shawn! He has the title of the super martial genius, after all. He may have deviated


    from my expectations, but I think he is still powerful enough to take you down," the other guy said in a


    same feminine voice. As the words escaped, both of them burst into a fit of loud convulsiveughter.