"Congratulations to the Daoist Sect on its reunification," Six-Fingered Black Hero said with a nod.
"No, no," Xiaoyaozi clarified, sensing their concern. "The Human Sect remains the Human Sect, and the Heaven Sect stays the Heaven Sect. This is just a personal matter between Wuchenzi and Xiaomeng." Whether they believed him was beyond his control.
"I've thought of two swords," Master Xu interjected, his focus always on blades. "They're not ranked on the Sword Registry, but they rival any listed. Zidian and Qingshuang. My father once heard Wind Beard mention them. Zidian, forged from heavenly thunder, is untouchable and invisible, a sword fit for emperors. Qingshuang, pure and chilling, gleams like frost. But they were buried with the fall of the Song state, so they never made the Registry."
Xiaoyaozi stared, dumbfounded. Buried? Are you suggesting we become grave robbers? We could just raid Taiyi Mountain's ancestral tombs—plenty of famed swords in those empty mounds. Don't you know the former top-ranked Zhanlu was ours, buried too?
Master Xu coughed, realizing the awkwardness. The Daoist tombs alone could terrify anyone with the swords they hold.
"Why not ask Lord Changping for Guanju?" Master Xu suggested.
Six-Fingered Black Hero rolled his eyes. "You'd have better luck forging a new sword than prying Guanju from Changping. No emotional intelligence, as expected from a craftsman." Lord Changping wasn't short on swords—he was collecting the Book of Songs Three Hundred Swords. The Daoists have Jianjia and Bailu and still came begging. You think Changping would part with his?
"What's this?" Xiaoyaozi asked, eyeing the sword box Master Xu had placed on the table.
"Lingxu, ranked tenth on the Sword Registry," Six-Fingered Black Hero said. "Acquired by chance, we offer it as a token of apology." Master Xu opened the box, revealing Lingxu. True to its name—ethereal and transcendent—its slender, radiant silver blade dazzled, impossible to stare at directly. Its verdant leather sheath, embedded with eighteen North Sea Jade Heart Pearls, seemed naturally formed. Wind Beard's appraisal rang true: A weapon, yet free of bloodlust, exuding an immortal grace. A rare blade that carries the wielder's spirit and clarity. Forged by a sage who saw through the mortal world, this relic of the late Zhou endures chaos, awaiting a worthy master. It is named: Standing in the Empty Valley, Transcending the Mundane.
"How's the sword?" Six-Fingered Black Hero asked with a smile. Lingxu, a renowned Daoist ritual sword, paired perfectly with the Carefree Wander technique, enhancing its wielder's prowess.
Xiaoyaozi eyed the Mohist leader, tempted to rob them blind. The Mohists are this rich? Handing over the tenth-ranked Lingxu like it's nothing? He dismissed the idea of offering it to the Heaven Sect. Pah, they wish. Daoist ritual swords were few: Qiuli paired with Ten Thousand Rivers of Autumn Water and Heart Like Still Water, Xueji with Snow After Clear Skies, and Lingxu with Riding the Wind and Exiled Independence. With two Daoist swords already in the Heaven Sect's hands, the Human Sect deserved one. Beimingzi's Youyu didn't count—it wasn't on the Registry, as he rarely drew it. Otherwise, swords like Donghuang Taiyi's Taiyi or Guiguzi's Yin Talisman would rank too.
If Li Haimo were here, he'd be floored, Xiaoyaozi thought. Isn't Lingxu Zhang Liang's sword? How did it end up with the Mohists, gifted to us? Unbeknownst to them, Lingxu had always been with the Mohists. When Yan Dan was sent to Qin as a hostage, the Mohist Giant gave it to him for protection. Yan Dan, unimpressed by its ornate appearance, found it unresponsive—Lingxu chose its master, and to the unworthy, it was just an ordinary blade, its brilliance dimmed.
Too proud to admit the sword rejected him, Yan Dan traded it to Zhang Liang at Han's Hidden Dragon Hall during a treasure appraisal. In exchange, Zhang Liang helped him evade Qin pursuers, and they allied against Qin. But before Lingxu could be gifted, the Mohists reclaimed it, deeming the Daoists its true home.
"Still one sword short for the betrothal," Xiaoyaozi sighed, signaling to Six-Fingered Black Hero that Lingxu was too precious to offer the Heaven Sect. Even if our leaders marry, the sects remain separate.
"You could seek the Kong Zhou Three Swords—Xiaolian, Chengying, and Hanguang," Master Xu suggested. "Someone spotted Hanguang in Sanghai. As brother swords, where one is, the others likely follow."
Xiaoyaozi nodded. "We could ask Little Sage's Manor." Sanghai was Confucian territory; nothing escaped their notice. The fear was they'd already claimed the sword.
"There's another," Master Ban added. "Caiwei, from the Book of Songs Three Hundred. A disciple saw it near Taiyi Mountain."
Xiaoyaozi and the others froze. Taiyi Mountain? Our own turf, and we didn't know? Then again, Daoists, with their laissez-faire philosophy, wouldn't recognize a non-Daoist sword like Caiwei even if it lay before them. Even Tianwen, the top sword, wouldn't register unless it was Daoist.
"Uh, what does Caiwei look like?" Xiaoyaozi asked awkwardly.
Master Xu, ever the swordsmith, sketched it in a few strokes. Xiaoyaozi's face reddened. "That's… Junior Sister Jingyunzi's sword."
The Mohists stared, tempted to flip the table. You call that ruthless swagger? One moment you're crying about having no famed swords, the next you've got Jianjia and Bailu, sought by all of Qin. Now you act clueless, but when we describe Caiwei, you casually say it's yours? Don't you recognize your own sect's weapons? At least sense their quality!
_
If you want to support me and read advanced 50+ chapters and also other stories: patreon.com/Caluem