“Pu!”
Zhang Xuan spat out a mouthful of saliva, and he nearly cried on the spot.
Zhang Diaofei… Diaofei, like in the sense of hanging on a noose1?
Is this a name that a human should have?
As a father, is it really alright to name your son so carelessly?
“Appalling, right? Back then, I ignored him for days on end over the name that he gave you!” Sword Saint Meng harrumphed indignantly.
“It’s not as if you didn’t know the circumstances surrounding him! There’s a superstition that the more down-to-earth one’s name is, the more resilient one will be. I was also praying for an auspicious omen here! Besides, it’s just a birth name. We could always give him a more decent official name later on!” Sword Saint Xing retorted with an awkward smile.
Often, children who were born with poor health or natural defects would be given awful sounding names such as Gou Dan1, Gou Sheng2, Mao Dan3, or Er Pi4. It was believed that the more awful sounding a child’s name was, the more tenacious they would be.
Outsiders might have believed that his son had a bright future ahead of him, but Sword Saint Xing knew very well that was not the case. The least he could do for his son was give him an awful sounding name in hopes of bringing him luck to get through that difficult phase.
Besides, it was only a birth name. Once they had gotten past the difficult phase, they could simply give him a more decent official name, and the others would slowly forget his birth name with time.
“You still dare speak about official names! Why don’t you tell our son what the official name that you have chosen for him is?” Sword Saint Meng harrumphed coldly.
“This…” Sword Saint Xing scratched his head embarrassedly, seemingly finding it difficult to speak of the matter.
Staring at Sword Saint Xing intently, Zhang Xuan asked, “What is it?”
“Your official name is… Anbang!” Sword Saint Xing eventually caved in under the piercing gaze of his wife and his son. “Zhang Anbang1!”
“Pu!”
Zhang Xuan spat out another mouthful of saliva, nearly choking himself to death in the process.
This name did not sound as awful as Diaofei, but still, it was too old-fashioned!
“It really doesn’t sound awful at all! I am Zhenxing1 while you are Anbang2, how fitting!”
“Zhenxing? Your name is Zhang Zhenxing?” Zhang Xuan’s face twitched upon hearing those words.
He knew that the title ‘Xingmeng Sword Saints’ was derived from taking a character each from their names. All along, he had thought that his father had some kind of domineering name, but who would have thought it was… Zhang Zhenxing?
It was even more old-fashioned than Anbang!
Zhang Xuan clutched his forehead in despair.
It was fortunate that he had gone missing while he was still young. Otherwise, just the thought of having to introduce himself to Zhang Anbang to friends and foes alike… he would not have been able to live with the shame!
“I’ll just stick with Zhang Xuan. I think it sounds alright…” Zhang Xuan shook his head, firmly refusing the notion of using the names that Sword Saint Xing had decided for him.
Getting back to the topic at hand, Zhang Xuan asked, “Given that I was born with an exceptionally powerful bloodline, not to mention the fact that I’m a Connate Saint, it would make sense that the Zhang Clan would protect me carefully. Why would I…”
Hearing Zhang Xuan’s question, Sword Saint Xing fell into a moment of silence, unsure of how he should explain the matter to his son. A moment later, he stood up and said, “Dear, Yang shi, I think it would be better for me to talk to Xuan-er privately about this matter.”
“Alright then…”
Yang shi and Sword Saint Meng nodded in agreement.
“Alright, follow me!” Sword Saint Xing told Zhang Xuan before leading the way forward.
Soon, the two of them arrived in a massive hall.
The hall was a dark and gloomy, devoid of any light. There was a unique seal shrouding the area.
Sword Saint Xing walked right up to the seal and placed his palm lightly on it.
Hu la!
The torches within the hall abruptly burst into flames, lighting up the interior.
Zhang Xuan quickly looked ahead, but instead of a vast hall, what had appeared before him was a narrow passageway with innumerable relief carvings.
Walking into the passageway, Sword Saint Xing stopped before one of the relief carvings.
It depicted a white-beard elder battling ferociously against hordes of Otherworldly Demons. It was an intense battle with incredible surges of energy bursting forth from here and there, and it seemed almost as if the world would be burned down.
Behind the elder was a group of powerless civilians. If the elder fell, there was little doubt that the Otherworldly Demons would move on to slaughter them all.
“This elder over here is the first-generation ancestor of our Zhang Clan, and he’s also our very first clan head. He’s one of the few cultivators who managed to advance his cultivation to the level of Ancient Sage in his time, and he fought tenaciously in a total of thirty-seven deadly wars for mankind. In each war, he drove himself to the very limits, never hesitating to risk his life to strike a heavy blow on the Otherworldly Demons. If not for him, the Zhang Clan wouldn’t have survived the tragic war back then, and at least half of mankind wouldn’t have made it through the war. There’s no doubt that he’s a hero among us!” Sword Saint Xing explained with deep respect in his eyes.
Zhang Xuan nodded.
If not for the rise of countless hot-blooded heroes during that dark era, mankind never would have enjoyed the peace and prosperity that it had in the current age.
He had heard of the affairs of the founder of the Zhang Clan as well. While his radiance was diminished by the presence of Kong shi back in that era, there was no doubt that he was a highly talented man whose very presence brought his comrades courage back in that era of turmoil.
With just a sword in hand, he had barged into the camps of the Otherworldly Demons and slaughtered many of their emperors. All in all, the 9-star master teachers that he had rescued from the jaws of death numbered at least twenty!
There was even on occasion when the Otherworldly Demons launched a sudden assault, catching everyone off guard. He had fought desperately for three days straight, single-handedly keeping them at bay until reinforcements arrived, thus saving the lives of millions of people.
“This valiant middle-aged man over here is the second clan head of our Zhang Clan. He also managed to reach Ancient Sage, and all in all, he fought in more than a hundred battles with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Due to the severe injuries that he sustained over the years, he ended up dying a premature death. It was said that even at his time of death, there was a finger of the Otherworldly Demon buried deep in his chest, symbolizing the courage and tenacity that he had displayed in protecting mankind…”
“This is the third clan head of our Zhang Clan. In his early years, he ventured deep into the Subterranean Gallery, only to have his hand severed in the midst of a battle. He decisively used the talons of a saint beast in place of his hand in order to continue the fight, and eventually, he created a unique battle technique based on that…”
“This is the fourth clan head of our Zhang Clan…”
…
“This is the ninth clan head of our Zhang Clan…”
Every single carving along the passageway was a monument of a hero in their era.
“In the tens of thousands of years since Kong shi departed from the Master Teacher Continent, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has launched many attacks, only to be forced back each time. This isn’t just the credit of the Master Teacher Pavilion and Combat Master Hall; our Zhang Clan has played a vital role as well! In fact, it can be said that our title as the number one Sage Clan was forged through our flesh and blood!” Sword Saint Xing said.
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
Looking at the relief carvings as he listened to the stories of the past, he could imagine just how precarious a situation mankind had been in back in those eras.
The predecessors had unhesitatingly sacrificed everything that they had in order to forge an era of prosperity for mankind.
All along, he had thought that the Zhang Clan had abused its position as the number one Sage Clan to force others to do its bidding, leaving him a little skeptical about its title. However, upon seeing these relief carvings, he realized that the Zhang Clan’s position on the Master Teacher Continent was derived not just from their strength but the massive contribution that they had made as well.
“But around ten thousand years ago, the world underwent a massive change, and all of a sudden, no one was able to make a breakthrough to Ancient Sage anymore. It didn’t take long for people to realize that mankind might have reached the end of the line.”
With a grim look on his face, Sword Saint Xing explained, “In order to fend off the Otherworldly Demons so as to preserve the heritage of mankind, the Ancient Sages of that generation made an agreement to use a special temporal method to hibernate. They would only be awoken when a battle broke out, and after defeating their enemies, they would return to their hibernation. This was probably a life worse than death, but for the sake of mankind, they willingly chose it!”
“This…” Zhang Xuan widened his mouth in astonishment.
He had heard from Yang shi that there were human Ancient Sage cultivators who had survived the ages through using some sort of temporal secret art, but he still could not help but respect them for the sacrifices that they had made for mankind.
As Ancient Sages, they stood at the very peak of the Master Teacher Continent, enjoying unparalleled honor and prestige. As long as they willed it, they could have dominated that era with their strength and obtained everything that they wanted. Yet, for the future generations, they chose to hibernate so that they could protect mankind as long as they could.
Just some interesting trivia, Sword Saint Xing’s name was derived from a friend of the author in real life. Hopefully they are still friends.
