That martial artist probably thought himself fairly accomplished, someone of note, even if he couldn’t intervene in a battle at this level, surely he could speak up, right?
So he simply called out and asked.
Zhende’s gaze fell on this expert, who was at least fifth rank. He merely narrowed his eyes, no movement, no aura. The one who had called out from the wall suddenly toppled over and fell from the rampart.
His soul had been wiped out, dead without a sound.
The ramparts fell silent. Ordinary soldiers and martial artists alike all stepped back in unison, staring at “King Huai” in fear, then hastily looked away, not daring to draw this terrifying man’s attention, terrified of becoming the next silent, pitiful victim.
“Xu Qi’an, didn’t you claim to be the voice of the people? Aren’t you the conscience of the Great Feng? Didn’t your reputation alone outshine the whole court?”
Zhende’s gaze was icy, a mixture of jealousy, anger, hatred, and contempt. Wielding the six hundred foot long giant sword, he shouted,
“If you dare dodge this blow, do you know how many people in the city will die when this sword falls?”
The city massacre case had always been a thorn in Zhende’s heart. After scheming for years to refine the blood and soul pills, everything had been ruined by Xu Qi’an. King Huai’s body had died in Chuzhou, a total failure.
For a flamboyantly malicious “demon Daoist” like him, that was enough to drive him mad.
And Xu Qi’an had stormed the Meridian Gate, cut down two dukes, and publicly humiliated him, the emperor, before the whole city.
What did it feel like to be shamed so thoroughly by a nobody?
Then, the Jianzheng, Zhao Shou, and all the officials had forced him to issue the self-reproach edict, trampling his dignity again.
No matter how deep his scheming, anyone would rage, let alone one who never bothered to hide his malice, one who firmly believed, like the Earth Sect Daoist, that human nature was fundamentally evil.
“You could try to stop me gathering sword power, but you’d never catch me… Of course,” Zhende paused, then gave a slightly mad laugh, “You can always run away!”
As he spoke, more iron swords flew through the air and fused into the giant sword, its power rising even further.
On the ramparts, one trembling soldier tried to ready a cannon, loading a shot.
But a centurion kicked him over and shouted, “Run!”
Such divine figures, what use were cannons against them?
At once, the soldiers and martial artists scattered to either side of the wall like startled birds and beasts, the ramparts behind Xu Qi’an were soon empty.
The giant sword’s power was overwhelming, six hundred feet long, its sword energy tearing through the clouds. The energy it contained was the full might of a Human Sect Rank Two expert.
If Luo Yuheng’s talisman sword was a casual stroke from a Rank Two, then Zhende’s sword was the all-out attack of one who had gathered power for a long time.
The only reason Zhende had summoned so many iron swords was that ordinary weapons could not bear his sword intent, he had no choice.
Within this sword was not only blazing sword energy, but also the soul-cutting power of the Heart Sword.
Even though Xu Qi’an, merged with Shenshu, had driven his aura to the peak of Rank Three, facing a second rank Daoist master, a Human Sect sword cultivator no weaker than a martial artist in the arts of killing, he felt enormous threat and pressure.
If he took the blow head-on, perhaps his body would survive, but his soul might not.
Normally, he could dodge, but Zhende was using the city’s people as hostages, forcing him to take the strike.
This was why Zhende had forced him back outside the city.
Take it, and bear the full might of this world-shaking sword.
Don’t take it, and his reputation, even his martial heart, would be tainted, never again clear and pure.
Under immense pressure, Xu Qi’an racked his mind for a solution, Buddhist precepts were useless against Zhende, unless he too was second rank or above.
The zen meditation technique wouldn’t block this sword.
Confucian magic couldn’t be used, if he tried to nullify this sword with a laws follow commandments spell, the backlash would be no less than taking the blow itself.
The Jianzheng hadn’t intervened, he seemed to be truly tied up with Sarun Agu. Even though he had the home advantage in the capital, Sarun Agu, as a first rank who had lived for millennia, might not be able to defeat the Jianzheng in the Great Feng, but he could certainly keep him busy.
The last iron sword merged in, at last Zhende’s sword was ready. His sword fingers trembled, as if even he couldn’t fully control this vast power.
All of the capital, three million lives, quailed in terror beneath the weight of this sword.
Such was second rank.
Like the wrath of Heaven.
“Go!”
Zhende roared, face flashing with elation, and slashed the giant sword down.
Xu Qi’an’s eyes widened as the world-ending sword fell. He stepped forward, spread his arms, and roared,
“Sword, come!”
From the sky, a flash of clear light streaked forth, wrapped in rolling clouds.
The Confucian Sage’s carving knife.
The greatest treasure of Confucianism, the Sage had used it to inscribe the classics on bamboo strips.
The knife hummed, trembling with a joy it had never shown before, no longer appearing like a tool reluctantly fulfilling its duty.
This time, the knife sent a surge of strong emotion, it was cheering, exultant, blood-pumping, as if it had returned to its master’s hand at last.
Xu Qi’an gripped the knife, his eyes shining with clear light, and once more strode forward, thrusting the Sage’s knife straight ahead.
Sword energy and sabre intent clashed head-on.
At the instant of impact, a blinding blaze erupted between the two, two opposing fields meeting, sparking a violent reaction.
Boom!
The collision unleashed a terrifying explosion, space itself seeming to collapse as destructive force swept out.
On the ramparts, soldiers and martial artists dropped in droves, killed by the blast.
The wall behind Xu Qi’an first saw its defensive formation shatter, then cracks spread, and finally, it collapsed altogether.
Half the wall crashed down.
Dust was stripped away in layers, spiralling skyward in a boiling sandstorm.
Another thunderous boom, and a crater a dozen metres deep opened beneath their feet. Xu Qi’an and Zhende stood unmoving, hovering in mid-air.
Zhende’s face twisted, muscles bulging, veins pulsing in his brow, his right arm shaking violently as he gripped his sword fingers, barely able to control them.
Xu Qi’an’s eyes flashed clear light; he growled, “In this life, I believe in no king!”
With that roar, above his head, a thousand-armed demon image flashed and vanished, and the figure of a robed, crowned old man in Confucian dress also flashed and vanished.
Both the Sage and Shenshu were thoroughly pleased.
Crrrack… at the point where knife and sword met, came a tooth-grinding sound.
Iron swords shattered, splintering to fragments or melting to molten slag.
In the end, iron was just iron, when a Human Sect Rank Two’s sword energy was spent, they rapidly disintegrated, cracks spreading through the giant blade.
Through falling molten iron and crimson shards, Xu Qi’an pushed forward, plunged the carving knife into Zhende’s chest, and with a howl, lifted.
He prised out a body.
That body was torn to pieces by the blade’s intent.
Emperor Zhende’s fleshly form.
A Yang Spirit, wreathed in gold and black, fled the ruined body, a streak of clear light gnawing at his chest like a festering wound, impossible to shake off.
Zhende howled in agony.
Xu Qi’an was about to seize the chance to strike down the Yang Spirit, when suddenly a sense of danger flashed in his mind. He turned and swung the Taiping Sabre, bang bang!, and after a brief clash, the two figures separated.
King Huai slid back, and in that moment, Zhende’s Yang Spirit merged into his body, the last body remaining.
Xu Qi’an calmly swung the Taiping Sabre, chopping Zhende’s flesh to pieces, ensuring he could never reclaim his original body and cutting off any chance of resurrection.
“Luo Yuheng told me, for a transcending tribulation Daoist, losing the flesh is the worst taboo, because the essence of becoming a first-rank earthly immortal is the fusion of the Yang Spirit and the body.
“Zhende, without your original body, you’ll never ascend to first rank, even if you possess someone else, your Yang Spirit will never fully integrate, unless you’re willing to spend centuries slowly grinding it down.”
Xu Qi’an gripped the carving knife in his left hand and the Taiping Sabre in his right, expression calm.
Compared to fighting a third-rank martial artist, the Confucian Sage’s carving knife was even more lethal against the Yang Spirit, Zhao Shou had told him this.
The carving knife was one of Xu Qi’an’s trump cards, a key part of his regicide plan.
That strike not only cut off Zhende’s “future”, but also gravely wounded his Yang Spirit.
“Damn you, damn you, damn you…”
Zhende cursed through gritted teeth, his eyes oozing malice.
“Xu Qi’an, my greatest regret is letting you live this long. I should have done whatever it took to kill you when you murdered Duke Cao and the Duke Protector!”
This emperor, corrupted by the Daoist Leader of the Earth Sect, had completely lost emotional control and was in utter fury.
Xu Qi’an watched his breakdown coldly, chest heaving as he steadied his breath and restored his strength.
King Huai’s aura was no longer at its peak, and Zhende had been badly wounded by the carving knife. Though Xu Qi’an had spent a lot of energy and his aura was slightly diminished, the balance of victory was now tilting his way.
After a moment’s raging, Zhende regained a bit of composure, glaring at Xu Qi’an with venom:
“After stepping into second rank, I sought a way to quell karmic fire, just as Luo Yuheng did. Her idea was dual cultivation with the emperor, borrowing fortune to pacify the fire and pass her tribulation.
“For the first ten years, I shared her plan. But the Shanhai Pass campaign cost the Great Feng nearly half its fortune. I was both delighted and disappointed, delighted to see hope for immortality, for neither martial artists nor Daoists could control fortune.
“Even if I reached first rank and became an earthly immortal, I would still eventually die. It was truly Heaven’s blessing. The disappointment was that Luo Yuheng then refused any thought of dual cultivation, denying me the chance to seize her spiritual essence. For twenty-one years, no matter how I pressed, she never relented.
“So I changed my mind, since the Human Sect path was blocked, why not try another way? I could follow the martial path, use King Huai’s body as a base, refine blood pills, harvest the reincarnated Flower God, ascend to second rank, and then fuse the Yang Spirit, becoming the only martial artist of this era to achieve this.
“Martial artists have almost no weaknesses, and so naturally aren’t afraid of karmic fire. The price was that I must sever my Daoist heritage, and could never become an earthly immortal. Because my One Qi Transforming Three Purities splits only the spirit, King Huai and Yuanjing are my sons, but not truly myself.
“The bodies can never fully merge, so I must abandon my original body. Today, you helped me make that choice.”
He squinted, looking towards the palace, and said slowly,
“By now, it’s nearly time. The people of the capital see you as a hero, but today, I shall slay the hero of the Great Feng.”
He said no more, and began fusing the two souls in his body.
Earth, wind, water, and fire elements merged into murky energy, swirling around his body.
His blood and qi did not change, but his aura soared.
Yet Xu Qi’an still did not pay attention to this enemy who was rapidly growing stronger, but instead turned to look at the imperial palace.
…
Within the palace, officials, nobles, clan members, imperial guards, everyone at once heard a shrill dragon’s cry, coming from Emperor Yuanjing’s bedchamber.
Countless people turned at the sound.
In that instant, all the royals and clansmen felt a sudden, wrenching pain in their chests and an inexplicable sense of dread.
As if the end of the world had come.
In Shaoyin Palace, Biaobiao lay on her desk, brow tightly furrowed, clutching her chest and wailing,
“It hurts, it hurts so much…”
On the plaza behind the Meridian Gate, the Crown Prince clutched his chest, bent over, his face ashen and lips bloodless.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
The guards behind him panicked, and the officials looked back at the prince in concern.
Outside Jingyang Hall, Huaiqing gripped the white jade balustrade, the pain in her beautiful eyes plain to see. But she did not clutch her chest, her slender fist was clenched tightly, eyes fixed on Jingyang Hall.
“Aagh…”
With a deafening dragon’s roar, a golden dragon burst through Jingyang Hall’s roof, everyone in the palace saw it clearly.
“A dragon, a dragon?!”
Cries of astonishment everywhere.
The spirit of the dragon ley had risen from the earth, leaving the Great Feng.
In its mouth, the golden dragon carried a pearl, within which was an eyeball, its depths like a swirling vortex.
At a lake somewhere in the imperial city, the spirit dragon’s dark round eyes glared furiously at the golden dragon gliding across the sky.
At Sangpo Lake, the founding emperor’s statue, the bronze sword in its hand rang with a piercing note.
…
“Look, is that a river dragon?”
“Everyone look, there’s a dragon in the sky!”
In every street, passers-by stopped to watch the golden dragon weaving across the sky above the capital, letting out ringing dragon cries.
Ordinary folk only knew of river dragons, the northern Yao, often cast as villains in stories and illustrations.
“What on earth is happening?”
“What were those swords just now?”
“I don’t know, let’s see what the court has to say, everyone wait at the notice board.”
Everyone could feel the recent strange phenomena and that oppressive, heart-wrenching pressure, any living thing could sense it.
In the Star Observation Tower, the moment the dragon ley’s spirit appeared, the Jianzheng could no longer hold back. His usually calm eyes blazed with clear light.
He raised his hand to grab the golden dragon,
But caught nothing, the dragon and he did not seem to exist in the same world.
Sarun Agu gripped his shepherd’s whip, smiling,
“In the Great Feng, I might not be your match, but I can still stop you.”
The Jianzheng was silent.
…
Emperor Zhende soared into the air and shouted, “Come!”
The golden dragon responded to his call, twisting its body, riding the clouds as it flew towards him.
Zhende stood atop the dragon’s head, gazing down at Xu Qi’an from high above.
“Why are you standing so high up?”
Xu Qi’an rose into the air, facing Zhende from afar.
Standing atop the dragon spirit and bolstered by fortune, with the power of the Warlock God at his side, Zhende felt a confidence unlike any before:
“As long as the Great Feng endures, I am emperor. With fortune on my side, Xu Qi’an, what do you have to pit against me? You have the Confucian Sage’s carving knife; I have the Sovereign Sword.”
His voice boomed like thunder.
Now, an uproar erupted all over the capital.
People looked to the distant sky at the golden dragon. Though they could not see who was on its head, they heard Zhende’s words loud and clear.
“That man calls himself ‘We’, isn’t that His Majesty?”
“He’s fighting Silver Gong Xu…”
In the Great Feng, only one person dared use royal “We”.
“What do I have to fight you with?”
Xu Qi’an met his gaze and said calmly,
“There are things you should know, so that you die without confusion.”
His voice was not loud, only for Zhende’s ears, ordinary folk could not hear.
Zhende looked at him coldly.
Xu Qi’an smiled meaningfully: “Do you know why Luo Yuheng never agreed to dual cultivation with you? It’s because the man she truly fancies is me.”
Zhende sneered, “Trying to provoke me? Foolish. If you think such shallow talk could make me lose my temper, by all means, continue.”
Xu Qi’an looked at the emperor who had ruled for sixty years with a touch of pity and said,
“You’ve fought with me for so long and never realised I also know Heart Sword?”
Zhende’s expression darkened.
“Chu Yuanzhen and I are friends, but as a nominal Human Sect disciple, he can’t teach swordsmanship without permission. Back in Jianzhou, I summoned Luo Yuheng by talisman, of course she had to come, because her man was in danger. Otherwise, with her twenty years of seclusion at Lingbao Temple, never leaving or taking action, would she act for no reason?
“And you think she interfered in our fight to help the new emperor ascend, but what if I told you it was for me?”
With each word, Zhende’s face grew gloomier.
He had coveted Luo Yuheng for years, dreaming of dual cultivation for two decades, always rejected.
Now, Xu Qi’an told him that the icy goddess who spurned him had her heart set on Xu Qi’an and wanted to dual cultivate with him?
Even if his motives for Luo Yuheng were never pure, hearing this still lit a raging fire in his chest.
“And there’s one more thing.”
Xu Qi’an smiled. “You already know I killed King Huai, and that the thing sealed beneath Sangpo is inside me. So you must also know where the princess consort has gone.”
Zhende’s face abruptly stiffened.
Xu Qi’an said idly, “She’s my mistress now.”
A rush of blood hit Zhende’s face, if Luo Yuheng’s story was a slap, then the princess consort being Xu Qi’an’s mistress was naked humiliation, a trampling of his dignity.
The princess consort was his woman, his consort. Even if she had been given to King Huai, well, King Huai was also him.
As emperor of the nation, how could he endure such disgrace?
“Xu Qi’an, We will tear you to pieces, tear you to pieces!!”
Zhende went completely berserk, face twisted, hair bristling in rage, and roared, “Sword, come!”
In Chuzhou, that mysterious expert had wielded the Sovereign Sword, Zhende had wondered about it for ages, but once Xu Qi’an’s identity was revealed, he understood.
Just like how the demon monk beneath Sangpo was hidden from Heaven’s secrets by the Jianzheng, Xu Qi’an had probably only been able to wield the Sovereign Sword with the Jianzheng’s help.
But this time was different, then, King Huai was a prince; now, Zhende was the true emperor.
And he stood atop the dragon ley spirit, no one else in the realm had this fortune.
The Jianzheng was now entangled with Sarun Agu and could not intervene.
Boom!
At Sangpo, the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple exploded, and the bronze sword shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of light.
That light crossed the sky, reflected in the eyes of every upturned face, everyone tracking its path.
The Great Feng’s greatest treasure, the Sovereign Sword!
In the war at Shanhai Pass, the emperor himself had drawn the sword from the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple and given it to the Zhenbei King. That story was famous across the land.
The Sovereign Sword was a symbol of the royal house, every commoner knew that.
Outside Jingyang Hall, Huaiqing’s face suddenly changed. “The Sovereign Sword… no!”
“The- The Sovereign Sword…”
The Crown Prince’s face went pale as chalk, gazing at the Prime Minister in terror.
Everything happening now was far beyond his comprehension, the dragon bursting from the sky, his father suddenly exuding overwhelming majesty, and the Sovereign Sword, the ultimate imperial weapon.
Not long ago, he had closed the palace gates, but there was no way his father would not have seen through it.
The apocalypse had come.
The Prime Minister only nodded calmly at him, signalling not to panic.
In an inner city courtyard, a woman in a homespun skirt cautiously climbed onto the roof.
She peered into the distance, unable to see the battle, only hearing the thunderous booms.
I knew this day would come. After Wei Yuan died, I knew you’d try to slay the emperor… She clenched her fists.
You must survive.
…
In the suburbs, the utterly depleted Daoist Leader Heilian reformed once more, gazed at the fearsome, peerless beauty, and laughed maniacally:
“Luo Yuheng, did you hear? The Sovereign Sword specialises in breaking martial artists’ bodies. With the Jianzheng unable to act, in the capital, no, anywhere in the Great Feng, Zhende is invincible.”
Invincible? Luo Yuheng snorted. “I’ll let you live a little longer.”
She turned to look at the capital, narrowing her beautiful eyes.
After this battle, you’re mine.
A smile curled on her lips.
At the Bagua Platform, the Jianzheng watched the streak of light rise from Sangpo Lake, crossing half the capital.
Sarun Agu tightened his grip on his shepherd’s whip.
The two first ranks hadn’t exchanged blows, but their domains were colliding fiercely, silent and unseen.
All eyes followed that streak of light, in this ultimate clash, the Sovereign Sword was the key, the factor that could decide it all.
Xu Qi’an’s pupils reflected the approaching sword; his eyes widened, glazed, his attention scattered.
Images flashed through his mind: the commoners who fell in the Chuzhou massacre, the Zhenbei King’s death and the salute of the soldiers, Zheng Xinghuai’s lonely figure running for help in the capital, dying with eyes open in prison.
At the vegetable market, those eyes filled with respect; outside Yuyang Pass, the soldiers who yearned to defend their home.
And, finally, he thought of that figure in azure robes.
Reputation or self, none of it was what that man truly cared about.
All his life, he had lived for only two things: love and conviction.
The first was for himself, the second for the country, for the people.
And what about my own life, what is it for?
He reached out and shouted, “Sword, come!”
That streak of light whistled toward him, landing in Xu Qi’an’s hand.
It had never changed course; from the very start, it had chosen Xu Qi’an.
This peerless divine weapon that had accompanied the founding emperor in battle abandoned his bloodline and chose an outsider.
The Sovereign Sword chose Xu Qi’an… Everyone who witnessed it stared, eyes wide.
Xu Qi’an gripped the bronze sword. As Zhende’s face froze, he roared again, “Spirit dragon!”
Howl after howl!
Throughout the imperial city and palace, countless people heard the spirit dragon’s roar.
The spirit dragon broke through the waves, soared through the clouds. Purple qi sprayed from its nostrils, and its scales shimmered with violet light.
Its bones crackled as they transformed. Muscles bulged beneath its scales, its body lengthened, becoming more slender and powerful.
Horns split atop its head, a thick mane grew down its neck, its claws and fangs grew sharper.
Its button-black eyes contracted, lengthened, becoming vertical slits.
It looked more and more like a dragon, a true dragon.
The spirit dragon raced through the clouds, unbelievably fast, seemingly impatient to reach its “master”.
Xu Qi’an landed lightly on its back, Sovereign Sword in his right hand, Confucian Sage’s carving knife in his left, standing atop the spirit dragon.
“Impossible! This is impossible!”
Zhende’s face twisted, eyes wide, pupils trembling.
“How can you command the spirit dragon? How can you wield the Sovereign Sword?!”
He felt as though the whole world had betrayed him.
It was like the sharpest weapon stabbing straight into his heart.
The Sovereign Sword had been left by the founding emperor, said to be sentient, it recognised only the royal bloodline. The spirit dragon could only survive by clinging to the imperial clan.
Yet neither chose him.
Zhende was shocked, but even more stunned were others in the capital, the Crown Prince, Huaiqing, all the fourth-rank martial artists and imperial princes.
…
The Imperial Palace.
The Crown Prince led the civil and military officials up onto the Meridian Gate, peering from the ramparts to see the distant battle.
“Why- why did the Sovereign Sword choose Xu Qi’an, why did the spirit dragon choose Xu Qi’an?”
The Crown Prince looked around, voice sharp, “Who can tell me, who can tell me?!”
Especially the spirit dragon. As a child, he’d loved riding it, priding himself on how it only favoured the royal family, an exclusive privilege.
Not even the princes, lords, or noble heirs had such privilege, they could only watch enviously from the shore.
But now, what did he see? The spirit dragon willingly served a “commoner”, fighting at his side.
Xu Qi’an rode the spirit dragon, fiercely battling the emperor.
The shock to the Crown Prince was overwhelming.
Around him, the civil and military officials wore complicated expressions, but no one could answer.
Yes, why did the spirit dragon choose Xu Qi’an?
Why did the Sovereign Sword, summoned by His Majesty, also choose Xu Qi’an?
Just who was Xu Qi’an?
A string of questions flashed through everyone’s minds.
Xu Qi’an’s identity could not possibly be simple; otherwise, why would the spirit dragon and Sovereign Sword choose him and not the emperor?
“Who, who is he, really? Is he… the emperor’s illegitimate son?”
A civil official murmured, his face complicated.
The others actually fell into deep thought at this.
The Crown Prince’s heart jolted.
“No, Xu Qi’an is past twenty, and His Majesty has been cultivating for twenty-one years, actually, twenty-one and a half.”
“Then how do you explain what’s in front of us?”
The Crown Prince let out a breath; his recent loss of composure had sprung from that very suspicion.
“Because His Majesty is without virtue!”
All turned at the voice, it was the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister looked around and declared, “Everything Xu Qi’an said outside the palace was true. His Majesty colluded with the Church of the Warlock God, cut off the army’s rations, and joined with the Church to kill Wei Yuan. The emperor is without virtue, and Xu Qi’an rises against him.”
A stir swept through the crowd.
They could not deny the weight of the Prime Minister’s words.
His Majesty possessed unrivalled power, none could deny it. But the choices of the Sovereign Sword and spirit dragon confirmed the Prime Minister’s claim.
Sacred sword and spirit beast, both supposed to serve only the royal bloodline, now served Xu Qi’an.
That was proof beyond all else.
Tyrant!
The word flashed through everyone’s mind.
…
Outside the capital, Luo Yuheng swept away a mass of thick black liquid with a single sword strike and sneered, “How’s that?”
Heilian didn’t answer. His eyes were full of malice and madness, but mostly, fear.
He no longer fought with reckless abandon, just stalled, already thinking of retreat.
His fortune really is powerful, both spirit dragon and Sovereign Sword chose him… Luo Yuheng pursed her lips, her smile deepening.
…
In another spot in the outskirts of the capital.
Chu Yuanzhen sat cross-legged on the back of his sword, gazing at the distant battle. Even a faint hint of that terrifying power left all four of them on edge.
“So this is his trump card?”
Chu Yuanzhen glanced at the Heaven Sect Saintess beside him, his face extremely conflicted. “Just who… who is he, really?”
Once he’d thought Number Three was Xu Xinnian; later, he learned it was the playboy Xu Qi’an. Now, he thought Xu Qi’an might still be Xu Qi’an, but maybe not the Xu family’s Xu Qi’an.
“How would I know?” Li Miaozhen rolled her eyes.
She didn’t care about Xu Qi’an’s identity, she only cared whether he could defeat Zhende, whether there’d be any unexpected outcome.
“Incredible, it’s just incredible…”
Chu Yuanzhen muttered.
Zhende’s tyranny and betrayal explained the rebellion, but why did the spirit dragon and Sovereign Sword choose Xu Qi’an?
History had seen countless foolish tyrants, but never had these two powers taken such a stand.
So the issue still lay with Xu Qi’an himself.
In the tense atmosphere, Lina grumbled, “I’m so hungry.”
…
“Why? Because you are abandoned by all, because it was not the spirit dragon and the Sovereign Sword that chose me, but that they chose the Great Feng itself.”
Xu Qi’an finished gathering his power, and calmly thrust the carving knife, aimed at Emperor Yuanjing’s brow.
The Confucian Sage’s carving knife, One Blade from Heaven and Earth, Sword Heart, Lion’s Roar, Intent Cultivation, all fused into one.
Broken Jade!
A blinding, dazzling light exploded forth.
Those with nowhere left to retreat would rather break than bend.
This strike could not be dodged.
Earth, wind, water, and fire fused into a swirling, murky barrier in front of the carving knife.
From the spirit of the dragon ley’s mouth, the pearl’s eye, belonging to the Warlock God, fired a jet of black light.
“Roar!”
The spirit dragon spat out a flood of purple qi, infusing it into the carving knife, the purple and clear qi merging.
The black light was shattered as it struck the knife.
The force of earth, wind, water, fire collapsed.
Both Zhende and Xu Qi’an’s foreheads split open, blood streaming down.
“AHH!!!”
Zhende screamed.
His Yang Spirit was gravely wounded.
A pawn that crossed the river had nowhere to retreat, yet it could still kill the Emperor!1
Ignoring the blood pouring down his own forehead, Xu Qi’an raised the Sovereign Sword. The spirit dragon twisted and spat more purple qi, wrapping the blade.
The Sovereign Sword hummed and trembled.
“Spirit dragon!”
He roared.
The spirit dragon howled and charged the golden dragon, charged Emperor Yuanjing. Xu Qi’an, astride the beast, thrust the Sovereign Sword.
Broken Jade!
Again, Broken Jade.
Black light flashed again and again, the Warlock God’s eye firing bursts at Xu Qi’an, but it could not shake his will, nor the purple qi of the spirit dragon, and could only break apart on the Sovereign Sword.
Zhende’s Yang Spirit was wounded, and he could no longer control the power of earth, wind, water, fire. Instinctively, he lashed out with his fist, with all his martial intent.
Pff!
The Sovereign Sword ignored the black light. Xu Qi’an took the punch head-on, but forced the blade into Zhende’s chest, raising him like a cavalryman spearing an enemy.
Blood poured from Xu Qi’an’s chest, a gaping wound running through him.
He ignored it completely, pressed down on the hilt, and drove the Sovereign Sword deeper, its sword energy devouring the life force of the third-rank martial artist.
Xu Qi’an laughed, “Your Majesty, after twenty-one years of cultivation, have you ever heard the people’s cries in your dreams?”
He gripped Zhende’s throat, drew out the Sovereign Sword, and sliced off both his legs.
Zhende’s eyes burned red, and under this devastating assault, his Yang Spirit erupted with potential, his right palm gathered earth, wind, water, fire, merging them into a four-symbol sword, and stabbed it into Xu Qi’an’s chest.
“Your Majesty, on behalf of Duke Wei and eighty thousand soldiers, your servant has come to collect your debt.” He sneered.
The Sovereign Sword then lopped off Zhende’s right arm.
“You traitor!”
Zhende howled in agony and humiliation. After ruling the court for sixty years, today he was hoisted by a commoner on the ancestral Sovereign Sword, publicly berated.
Only his left hand remained, which he clenched and smashed into Xu Qi’an’s temple.
Boom!
The thunderous sound resounded across the land.
Xu Qi’an instantly bled from all seven orifices, the flame ring behind his head nearly snuffed out.
The Sovereign Sword fell and chopped off Zhende’s last arm.
Limbs all gone.
Xu Qi’an, face streaming blood, slowly raised a crooked, wild smile:
“I forgot to mention, Lin’an and I are already betrothed. Once I kill you, I’ll take the throne, replace you, and marry your granddaughter, well, your so-called daughter.
“Everything you had will be mine. Today, the whole capital is watching me kill you!”
Zhende’s eyes bulged, his pupils trembling.
Humiliation, bitterness, rage, hatred… all these emotions surged up. He had ruled through two reigns, enjoyed unmatched power, yet ended in utter disgrace.
Xu Qi’an pressed the blade to his throat, savouring the moment: “This time, I’ll destroy your body so you’ll never be reborn.”
A flick, the head tumbled down.
The Yang Spirit fled, Zhende roaring, “Come!”
The dragon ley spirit soared over, jaws open, and swallowed Zhende’s Yang Spirit.
“Xu Qi’an, I’ll never forgive you! I’ll pay any price to kill you, to slaughter everyone around you, to make you suffer forever!”
His venomous curses echoed from within the golden dragon.
The dragon ley belonged to the realm of fortune; Xu Qi’an could do nothing to it, nor could the carving knife or Sovereign Sword harm it, and though the spirit dragon could devour fortune, the dragon ley spirit was not pure purple qi.
Unexpectedly, the dragon ley’s special nature became Zhende’s final shield.
His body destroyed, but as long as his Yang Spirit survived, he remained second rank.
At that moment, from Xu Qi’an’s robes, the Earth Book fragment flew out. A slightly curved dragon fang shot from the mirror, its surface inscribed with dazzling, dizzying runes.
The dragon fang howled as it flew, easily catching up to the dragon ley spirit and piercing it!
“No!!”
Zhende’s shriek resounded.
With a thunderous boom, the dragon ley spirit exploded into fragments, scattering into streaks of light that vanished over the horizon.
With the dragon ley spirit gone, Zhende’s Yang Spirit had nothing to anchor to, and was already dimmed from the dragon fang’s strike.
Xu Qi’an charged forward atop the spirit dragon, driving the carving knife through Zhende’s brow and the Sovereign Sword through his chest.
Dazzling light and sword energy burst forth.
The Yang Spirit melted like ice beneath the blazing sun.
“Zhende, it’s time for your journey’s end.”
“Xu Qi’an…”
In a wail of bitterness and pain, the Yang Spirit vanished.
The emperor who had dominated the court for sixty years was completely erased from the world.
Standard pawn movements in Chinese Chess. Similar to pawns in western (international) chess, pawns cannot retreat. Other movement details are different though. ↩
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!