Why do I have so many masters?

The Fish Intestine Sword shattered.

The Jue Que Sword Master's martial arts were broken, and he spewed fresh blood, collapsing to the ground, unable to rise.

In an instant, the terrifying combination that had pushed Wang Anfeng and Gong Yu to the brink of death was directly broken, leaving two Hong Luoyus standing on the field.

The one beside Wang Anfeng, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, vanished without a trace.

Lv Baiping almost popped her eyes out, mumbling,

"What... what sort of trick is this?"

"Senior sister!"

Lin Qiaofu tugged at Lv Baiping's sleeve, glanced at the Fish Intestine Sword Master in front of them, and at Hong Luoyu, who was slowly retracting his fingers, and said softly,

"It's just that the elder's speed is too fast for us to see."

"What speed is too..."

Lv Baiping reflexively replied, then paused, her eyes widening as she realized what Lin Qiaofu meant. Although she couldn't describe it in words, she had a vague sense of the terrifying realm it implied.

Yuchi Jie struggled to his feet, wanting to stand, but his legs were still shaking, so he simply sat down on the ground, no longer caring about the grace befitting a scion of a noble clan. Resting his chin on one hand, his elbow propped on his knee, he sighed deeply and said,

"Miss Lv, if you don't quite understand,"

"you can think of it as the elder being in one place one moment and another place the next, operating two sets of martial arts within those moments, whereas our reaction speed is too slow. In such a scenario, for someone whose reactions are too slow,"

"like us,"

he pointed at himself and said,

"if the elder is half a moment here and half a moment there, but the shortest time we can perceive is a single moment,"

"then within the shortest time we can react, both elders are 'truly present', capable of killing with a flick of their fingers, with not the slightest falsity."

"They exist simultaneously."

He emphasized the word "simultaneously."

This 'simultaneously' is the limit of speed a common person can react to.

Although Taishu Jian's martial arts were high, his experience truly couldn't compare with Yuchi Jie, who had been disciplined by an elder in his family since his youth. Such a realm was a magnificent sight Taishu Jian had never even dreamed of, leaving him momentarily dumbfounded.

Hong Luoyu glanced at Yuchi Jie and smiled,

"The young one has a good eye,"

"just lacking a bit in martial arts."

Yuchi Jie could only smile wryly and make a fist-and-palm salute in plea, saying,

"I hope the elder will not blame your junior for speaking out of turn."

By now, Wang Anfeng had put his broad sword back into its scabbard, carrying the extremely heavy Jue Que Sword in one hand, and in the other, he was holding up the Jue Que Sword Master, who was barely alive with his meridians shattered, and walked over.

Gong Yu followed behind Wang Anfeng, still wearing a cold expression. Yet, as they passed by the Fish Intestine Sword Master, who stood rooted to the spot, daring not to move, the sword at Gong Yu's side sang as it was drawn, severing most of the master's dark hair and dropping it to the ground. Only then did Gong Yu sheath his sword without a look and continued walking.

The dark hair scattered across the ground, and the Fish Intestine Sword Master's complexion turned an ashen blue.

Wang Anfeng tossed the man at the feet of Hong Luoyu. This towering figure of nine feet, as large as a giant, had just been able to ignore most of Wang Anfeng's and Gong Yu's attacks, but now his breath was feeble and close to ceasing, his muscles and bones twisted unnaturally.

Wang Anfeng had already sealed several of his acupoints, locking his energy pathways and preserving his last breath at his heart before raising his eyes to the familiar man in front of him, a helpless expression on his face. But in the presence of other people, he still showed due respect and gave a bow, saying,

"Master, why have you come?"

Hong Luoyu remained calm, smiling lightly,

"If I hadn't come out, would any of you still be alive?"

In private, however, he sent a message directly into his ear,

"You little madman, it's not easy for me to come out."

"If you spoil my act, I'll teach that horse the Rushing Thunder Speed, and you can thoroughly enjoy it."

"Hey, weigh it yourself, kid."

Wang Anfeng's lips twitched slightly.

Looking up and seeing Hong Luoyu's composed demeanor and the slight smile on his lips, draped in a loose robe of a scholar, Wang Anfeng felt an even greater sense of helplessness. If it wasn't for the people around, he would have almost been unable to resist holding his forehead and sighing out loud.

Where in the world was there a master who threatened his own disciple like this?

Wang Anfeng's forehead throbbed, at a loss for words; Gong Yu looked at Hong Luoyu, first giving a courtesy to thank him for saving Lin Qiaofu, then paused, seemingly puzzled, and murmured in a low voice,

"Master?"

Beside them, Taishu Jian was holding his broken sword, a look of heartache on his face. Hearing this, he grinned wryly, his mind resigned to the fact that Wang Anfeng had misspoken, but it was best to act as if nothing had been heard. There was no sense in actively asking about it.

Only someone like Gong Yu, with a cold disposition and not concerned with scheming or human sentiment, would bring up the matter out of curiosity at this time. As Taishu Jian's thoughts were whirling, preparing to speak to gloss over the issue,

Hong Luoyu laughed and casually said,

"I am not the only master Anfeng has had."

"Above me, the first master led Anfeng into the path of martial arts, while the second master taught him many medicinal skills and often cooked for him."

"Without these two, Anfeng and I would likely have had no fate, and he would not have been able to learn my martial arts."

Everything Hong Luoyu said was true, which is why he was so at ease.

He hadn't lied, merely omitting some minor, insignificant details.

Gong Yu nodded slightly.

Placing a hand on Lin Qiaofu's head, he said no more.

Wang Anfeng gazed at his third master, who wore a seriously composed face, and his lips twitched slightly.

Taishu Jian, meanwhile, relaxed, composed himself, and couldn't help but smile inwardly, thinking that he had indeed overreacted and perhaps the recent scare was why he had made such a laughable judgment.

A Grandmaster's learning alone is enough for one to spend half their life studying—how could there be someone with the knowledge of three Grandmasters in this world?

Speaking of his own initiation into Martial Arts, it was an elderly Martial Master from a Martial Arts School; though not particularly strong, he had his own methods for laying a solid foundation. As for medicine, he dabbled in it, at least knowing how to stop bleeding and pain.

This is the case for most Martial Artists under heaven.

However, even he himself has already become grey-haired; the two masters who favored him in those years have likely passed away long ago. Thinking this, Taishu Jian gently stroked the Broken Sword, his face filled with a look of melancholic loss as he inwardly mourned.

Wang Anfeng could only pretend not to hear Hong Luoyu's words, holding the Jue Que Sword without completely letting down his guard, his eyes scanning left and right, and said,

"Third Master, are there only these two people here?"

Hong Luoyu replied indifferently,

"Of course, there are not only two people."

"There's also a man in his twenties holding the Zhan Lu Sword, hidden seven miles to the north of this place, and an old woman with white hair one thousand and three hundred steps to the southwest, carrying a sword on her back."

"The sword carries the image of a horned dragon, with the dragon's head broken three inches from the sword edge."

Wang Anfeng's expression shifted slightly.

Gong Yu, on reflex, stepped forward to shield Lin Qiaofu and Lv Baiping, with Qingfeng unsheathed by three inches in her palm.

Hong Luoyu waved his hand and said,

"No need to worry, those two have already retreated."

Wang Anfeng's expression changed as he said,

"Don't we need to capture them?"

Hong Luoyu spoke leisurely, "Capture them?"

"There are bigger fish to catch, would it not be a pity to capture them now?"

He raised his right hand, and only then did Wang Anfeng notice that Hong Luoyu's palm was wrapped with two strands of hair—one gray and the other seemingly dyed a faint green with some herb, quite peculiar.

The Fish Intestine Sword Master's expression fluctuated intensely.

But the fear and terror had left her eyes, replaced only by numbness, and she opened her mouth.

The sound was almost squeezed from her throat.

"What time..."

Hong Luoyu let the two strands of hair drift away with the wind.

With one hand behind his back and the right hand extended, he gently pressed his finger to the Fish Intestine Sword Master's brow.

Without giving an answer, he merely said lightly,

"Guess whether I took the opportunity to do something?"

The woman smiled bitterly, thinking of a lifetime of struggles for power and Martial Arts skills, never imagining even the Fish Intestine Sword was a fake; feeling disheartened, she closed her eyes and said,

"Please, senior, end it quickly."

"Alright."

Hong Luoyu's lips slightly curled, and as he pressed his finger down, the woman's breath vanished in an instant, her charming features void of life, and she immediately collapsed to the ground. Lin Qiaofu, not having witnessed killing before, was startled and stammered at the sight of the fallen woman,

"Shouldn't we... ask some questions?"

"Intelligence? Like who's behind this?"

"No need; we can tell from her readiness to risk her life for the sword that she wouldn't reveal anything, even under our means," Hong Luoyu said.

"Besides, how can we know if what she tells us is true or false?"

"The power to control a Fourth Rank Martial Artist, how could they not anticipate a mishap? There's a high chance that even what this woman knew was false."

"A sword, why bother with the truth?"

Hong Luoyu's voice contained a hint of mockery as he reached out to take the Jue Que Sword from Wang Anfeng's hands. The sword felt slightly heavy, its chill more penetrating than it looked. He flicked the blade with his finger, and a profound and long-lasting sword hum resonated.

Yuchi Jie, who was staring in shock at the collapsed woman, shivered at Hong Luoyu's flick. Seeing that the Jue Que Sword did not shatter under the flick, he exhaled deeply, feeling relieved.

The act of shattering the Fish Intestine Sword with a flick had seemed excessively brilliant, but when he came to his senses, he realized the price was one of the ten Famous Swords.

Even as an onlooker, the thought made him feel acutely distressed.

Yuchi Jie seemed to have the heartiest spirit among them, but in truth, he was the most fearful of Hong Luoyu, having been born into a Noble Clan. He was extremely sensitive to certain matters.

Now, a question incessantly filled his mind as he lost himself in contemplation.

If Hong Luoyu's speed was such that a Fourth Rank expert skilled in movement techniques could not catch with the naked eye, nor distinguish reality from illusion, what about ordinary Martial Artists? They would surely be even less capable.

Was this his fastest speed?

As Martial Artists undergo prolonged Cultivation, both their Inner Strength and Five Senses improve—a Fourth Rank Martial Artist, and even more so those of lower ranks, would struggle to see clearly or even catch a slower speed.

If Hong Luoyu fought at Full Strength, then for armies of various countries with basic strength at the Lower Third Rank, it would be virtually unsolvable; in an instant, he could become dozens or hundreds of afterimages, each one a real and solid Grandmaster to the battle-hardened soldiers in the time it takes them to react.

Yuchi Jie closed his eyes, afraid to betray his emotions, trembling with either fear or excitement in his heart.

One man could stand against a thousand troops.

Three years ago, the Great Elder of Qingfeng Edge brandished his sleeve and sent a sword three thousand miles away, with the Azure Dragon emerging from the water.

Today, someone casts Light and Shadow Division, becoming an army of one.

Above Fourth Rank are Grandmasters, and Grandmasters have three Realms: as vast as the heaven is, so is the earth, and so is man.

Apparently, one man becoming an army is the hallmark of a Great Grandmaster.

PS: Here comes the second update of the day...…