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With a single sword strike, Xie Chengyun slew the black-clad woman. The clash didn't even send a ripple beyond a ten-zhang radius around the great locust tree—clear proof of the vast gap between them. No wonder the woman hadn't even wanted to try joining forces with Ji Ling against Xie Chengyun.
One reason was that she didn't want to risk her life to save Ji Ling. Another was that she truly stood no chance at all.
Faced with Xie Chengyun's teasing, Chu Yunsheng fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. As long as you like it."
"Hm?"
Xie Chengyun froze. His instincts told him this was probably not a good thing, but seeing that Chu Yunsheng had no intention of explaining further, he didn't ask. There were more important matters at hand.
"This woman was one of the Nine Holy Maiden of the Nine Immortals Palace—Ding Aoyu, the 'Snake-Hearted Woman.' She cultivated the Palace's Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring the Heart Art. Her strength wasn't impressive; she never made it onto the White Dragon Ranking, and her relationship with Ji Ling wasn't exactly close."
Walking over to the corpse, Xie Chengyun used his true qi to seal off the surroundings. As he spoke, he flicked his palm outward. A gust of wind swept through, flipping the body over and shaking loose all the hidden items tucked into her clothes and belt.
Among them was a tiny bamboo tube—likely used to store secret letters. Xie Chengyun picked it up and opened it, finding inside an encrypted message that hadn't yet been destroyed.
He made no move to hide the letter from Chu Yunsheng. Chu Yunsheng glanced over it briefly and saw that it came from the Nine Immortals Palace, addressed to both Ding Aoyu and Ji Ling, urging them to seize the Son of Heaven Sword as soon as possible and return to the Palace. Ding Aoyu clearly hadn't destroyed it right away—most likely she meant to show it to Ji Ling later, using it as leverage.
"What exactly is this Son of Heaven Sword?" Chu Yunsheng asked.
Even in the original storyline, from Rong Ange's perspective, this had never been mentioned.
Xie Chengyun shot him a look, his smile tinged with helplessness, as though he truly didn't know what to do with someone so detached from worldly affairs. He sighed lightly. "Hardly anyone in the jianghu remembers it now, but when you were young, you should've heard a nursery rhyme:
'Heaven and earth raise the banquet of ascent,
Since ancient times the Human Emperor stands first among immortals.
Roaming north and south across fourteen provinces,
A dragon transforms across ten thousand li—the Son of Heaven Sword.'"
Digging through the original owner's memories, Chu Yunsheng recalled that he had heard something like this when he was four or five—though only in fragments, too blurred to piece together in full.
"Before Great Xia unified the Central Plains," Xie Chengyun continued,
"the realm was split four ways: Zhou, Qi, Qian, and Xia. Among them, Northern Qi was the strongest by far—its national strength eclipsed the other three. If nothing unexpected had happened, Northern Qi would have spent time building its power, then, at the perfect moment, sent its armies forth, conquered the four directions, and taken the world."
Xie Chengyun's voice was cool and clear as he spoke, unhurried and steady.
"When the emperor of Later Zhou learned of this through his secret agents, he knew that if Northern Qi were to march, they would pick the weakest target first—and that would be Later Zhou. So, with the aid of a mysterious figure said to have come from overseas, he secretly gathered eighty-one renowned swordsmiths from across the land. By the side of Later Zhou's damaged dragon vein, they began forging a great sword."
(TN: A dragon vein is believed to be the flow of the land's qi and destiny—the spiritual arteries of mountains and rivers. Basically implies that Later Zhou's national destiny was already broken, The country was doomed by fate, even before Northern Qi attacked)
"The forging took more than nine hundred days—and even then, it was not yet complete."
"By that time, Northern Qi had already launched its invasion. Later Zhou lost thirteen cities in succession. Tens of thousands of Hanshen were slain, over a thousand Dingdan fell, and the major sects of the jianghu sealed their mountain gates, refusing to involve themselves in court affairs. Of Later Zhou's two Youxian, one was old and the other grievously wounded. They barely held the line on the battlefield against Northern Qi's three Youxian, exhausting every means they had. In less than a hundred days, they were already on the brink of death."
"With the fall of the nation imminent, the Zhou emperor charged straight into the sword furnace. With the fury and grief of a dying kingdom surging through him, he drew out the great sword that had yet to be fully forged."
"When the sword reaches heaven, heaven reaches man."
"In the capital of Later Zhou, heaven and earth changed color. Wind and clouds roiled. Within a thousand-li radius, people were driven by forces beyond their control to kneel and bow toward the capital. Fate and fortune surged. From the clouds above the border cities, the shadow of a colossal golden dragon emerged—and with a single strike, it forced back Northern Qi's three great Youxian."
"Borrowing the sword, the Zhou emperor broke through and became a Youxian himself. He took the title 'Human Emperor.' With the blade as the Son of Heaven Sword and dragon fortune upon his body, he was far stronger than an ordinary Youxian."
"A few days later, Northern Qi raised the banner of truce, sued for peace, and withdrew its troops."
At this point, Chu Yunsheng turned to look at Xie Chengyun. "One may wield a sword, but should not rely on borrowing one. The path of martial arts lies not in the weapon, but in the person. Since the world now belongs to Great Xia, I assume that even if the Zhou emperor became this so-called 'Human Emperor,' he still couldn't command the tides of fate or sit upon the world forever."
Xie Chengyun's casual expression paused. He lifted his eyes and studied Chu Yunsheng for a long moment, then curled his lips into a faint smile. "Your martial heart surpasses that Zhou emperor by quite a margin."
"Since ancient times, once one ascends the Nine-Five throne, worldly affairs become endless, and it is difficult to focus solely on cultivation. That's why almost no emperor has ever broken through to the Youxian realm. The Zhou emperor was the first. He showed later rulers a new path—but in truth, it was a dead end."
"After becoming a Youxian, the Zhou emperor changed."
Chu Yunsheng's brow twitched slightly. "Changed?"
Xie Chengyun nodded. "The Zhou emperor took the throne amid the mess his father and brothers left behind. Though he couldn't truly reverse Zhou's decline, he was at least a benevolent and clear-minded ruler. But after borrowing the sword to become a Youxian, his temperament changed overnight. Knowing full well that the nation was weak, he still pushed grand construction projects, building palaces on a vast scale. He had never been fond of beauty, yet he began gathering women from across the realm, even seizing the wives of his own ministers. Where he once ruled with kindness, he suddenly turned cruel—establishing the Nine Great Tortures, flaying skin, tearing out tendons, and slaughtering loyal officials."
"Inner demons?" Chu Yunsheng asked.
Xie Chengyun shook his head. "Not inner demons. At the time, the Youxian of the Four Great Daoist Observatories joined forces to investigate and confirmed that the Zhou emperor's primordial spirit was intact. Then, three years later, during the grand sacrificial ceremony at Wentian Peak, the Son of Heaven Sword suddenly slipped from his hand and pierced his body, killing him on the spot. The manner of his death was both bizarre and absurd."
"Some claimed the Son of Heaven Sword was incomplete and thus rebounded on its wielder. Others said the overseas stranger had deceived the Zhou emperor, that the sword was a demonic blade to begin with, inherently inauspicious. Rumors spread like wildfire, yet none could be proven."
"What followed is known to all."
"Northern Qi marched again. Great Xia, having used the years the Zhou emperor bought with his life to strengthen itself, entered the fray. The four sides fell into chaotic warfare, and in the end, Great Xia was the one that laughed last, unifying the realm."
"The Son of Heaven Sword was lost amid the chaos of war. But more than twenty years ago, that old rhyme from the Later Zhou era suddenly began circulating again, spreading through the jianghu. There were even whispers that for several years the sword had been hidden by the descendants of those swordsmiths, until Great Xia discovered it and it fell into the hands of the current imperial house."
"Because of these half-true, half-false rumors, the martial world was thrown into turmoil. Bloodshed followed everywhere—panic at every turn, shadows in the wind. The few swordsmith families that could be traced were wiped out overnight by some mysterious force. In the end, the court was enraged. The Flying Dragon Guard swept through the jianghu, killing many and arresting many more. From then on, the rhyme and the rumors slowly vanished. No one dared speak of them again."
A legendary past, all born of a single sword.
Xie Chengyun's account was brief, yet as Chu Yunsheng listened, he still glimpsed the vast, turbulent tides of a bygone age—wars of nations, vendettas of the jianghu.
"After all these years, for the Nine Immortals Palace to suddenly scheme for the Son of Heaven Sword—this is no simple matter," Xie Chengyun said gravely.
Chu Yunsheng glanced at him, turned while pressing a hand to the hilt at his waist, and spoke in a low voice, "You knew someone would come. The Nine Immortals Palace, the Son of Heaven Sword—you knew about all of this long ago."
The heaviness in Xie Chengyun's expression eased slightly, his eyes lifting, the corner of his gaze sharpening.
His robe hem drifted like pale clouds as Chu Yunsheng stopped half a foot in front of Xie Chengyun. "Ding Aoyu was all but certain that Ji Ling had already obtained the Son of Heaven Sword. When you fought Ji Ling, you clearly knew she was a demoness whom all under heaven had the right to kill—yet you didn't. You spared her life and imprisoned her instead. If you weren't trying to wring something out of her, then you were deliberately leaving her a chance to be rescued. Either way, it means you—or the Xie clan behind you—are already part of this game. You might even be the one who set the board."
"You kept me at your side, made me your sword attendant, and brought me openly to the Seven Great Martial Halls' gathering—nothing more than luring the snake out of its hole."
"Behind Ji Ling, there are at least two forces. One is the Youxian who rescued her. The other is the Nine Immortals Palace. The former knows she's already been saved, so they won't take the bait. But the latter doesn't—and naturally, they'll send someone to meet her."
"You killed Ding Aoyu, ensuring she would never return, yet you also allowed me to move about freely, treating me as a deeply trusted sword attendant. Once the Nine Immortals Palace learns of this, they'll inevitably suspect that Ji Ling has defected, that she's entered the Xie clan. Ji Ling's betrayal would be a minor matter—but losing the Son of Heaven Sword would be no small thing. The Nine Immortals Palace will surely send even stronger warriors to probe the Xie clan. And yet the Xie clan hasn't even obtained the sword. Standing in the eye of the storm for nothing—this is hardly worth the cost."
Chu Yunsheng paused, then said, "Young Master Xie, I wonder—what is it that you and the Xie clan truly seek?"
Staring into those pitch-black eyes only inches away, Xie Chengyun's otherwise expressionless face suddenly curved into a broad, open smile.
He took a step forward, closing the distance to three inches, and spoke softly, "Ji Ling carrying the Son of Heaven Sword—on this, the Xie clan truly knew nothing. We searched her body and found nothing. Sparing her life was indeed because we learned she had succeeded in stealing the sword from the inner palace, and we hoped to force out its whereabouts. As for what the Xie clan desires—it's no different from what many thousand-year-old families under heaven desire."
"Only… the Xie clan wants a little more."
Chu Yunsheng wasn't surprised by this answer. He also knew it wasn't the full truth. In Xie Chengyun's words just now, there were far more lies than truths, far more concealment than candor.
And though he had only stayed in the Xie residence for a single night, he had already developed a strange impression of this thousand-year-old clan.
With too little information at hand, he couldn't yet tell where that sense of unease came from.
"Is it the Xie clan that wants more," Chu Yunsheng asked,
"or is it Xie Chengyun himself?"
As if he hadn't expected such a question, Xie Chengyun froze for a brief instant, then let out a soft laugh and shook his head.
He turned slightly and leaned lightly against Chu Yunsheng's shoulder. Cool fingers slipped through the hair at Chu Yunsheng's temple, gently straightening a slightly crooked pearl hairpin. Their breaths mingled. Xie Chengyun sighed and murmured softly, "My dear Chu-Chu… those things, I can't tell you."
With that low call, the faint tension that had hung between them—sharp as drawn blades—eased at once. The true qi around them flowed again, mingling with the summer breeze, light and unburdened.
If answers could not be had, then there was no need to press further.
Chu Yunsheng thought for a moment, then said only, "If there's someone you need killed, I can go with you."
The pearl hairpin at his temple trembled almost imperceptibly.
Xie Chengyun withdrew his hand and smiled. "I bear no great hatred, and I'm no grand demon lord. Who would I want to kill?"
"We've been away from the arena long enough. We should head back, or Fang Wenmin will start laughing that your young master fled the field at the critical moment, unfit to be a friend who shares hardship and honor."
As he spoke, Xie Chengyun took out a porcelain vial, pulled the stopper, and tipped it over. A yellow liquid spilled out, and Ding Aoyu's corpse melted away as swiftly as ice beneath the sun.
Chu Yunsheng had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood; this stirred nothing in him. But righteous martial folk didn't usually carry corpse-dissolving liquid on their person—much less melt a body without batting an eye, a faint smile still on their lips. Xie Chengyun might not be some great devil, but he certainly had nothing to do with the image of a gentle, benevolent young lord of a noble house.
After tidying up the scene of the killing—and making a quick stop at the latrine to take care of more practical matters—Chu Yunsheng and Xie Chengyun returned to the martial grounds, one after the other, a quarter of an hour later.
Fang Wenmin didn't mock Xie Chengyun for taking so long at the latrine. Instead, he wore a look full of gossip, glancing at Chu Yunsheng, then waggling his brows at Xie Chengyun, as though he were privy to some unspeakable secret.
By dusk, the contest of the Seven Great Martial Halls came to an end. Chonghe Martial Hall laid out a flowing banquet across the training grounds, hosting the heroes of the jianghu who had gathered there.
Xie Chengyun showed none of the aloof pride common to young masters of great houses. He hitched up his robe and sat down, eating freely and in good spirits. Chu Yunsheng, on the other hand, had to mind a touch of feminine decorum—reining in his movements. After all, he had once been a film emperor; when acting a role, attention to detail came naturally.
Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two led their horses at an easy pace, following the brightly lit streets back to the Xie family residence.
Over the next half month, Xie Chengyun needed to prepare for facing many formidable opponents when the Sword Platform opened. He announced that he would enter seclusion in the quiet chamber of Heming Courtyard, polishing his state of mind and bringing himself into peak condition.
Aside from delivering three meals a day to the entrance of the meditation chamber—when Chu Yunsheng might occasionally hear a word or two from Xie Chengyun, or catch a fleeting glimpse of him—the rest of the time, he was nowhere to be seen.
With Xie Chengyun in seclusion, Chu Yunsheng did not idle away his days.
Following Xie Chengyun's daily rhythm, he rose before dawn each morning to practice his blade, and every night before sleep he would sit in meditation, circulating his qi. As he tempered and accumulated his true qi, making it ever more profound and powerful, he also slowly wove the principles of the Yin–Yang Crosswise Palm into his saber techniques—false and true complementing each other, round and seamless.
When he wasn't training, Chu Yunsheng would head out every few days to wander the capital.
Before entering seclusion, Xie Chengyun had not told others of Chu Yunsheng's true identity, nor had he ordered that Chu Yunsheng be confined to the residence. As a result, the people of Heming Courtyard all regarded Chu Yunsheng as a genuine sword attendant. Aside from a few restricted areas of the Xie estate, his comings and goings were unrestricted.
Chu Yunsheng knew this well: if Xie Chengyun truly intended to place him under house arrest, he would never have forgotten to issue the order within the Xie household. The fact that no such order had been given—whether because a sliver of trust had grown after the Ding Aoyu incident, or because there were other designs at play, or simply because Xie Chengyun was not afraid he might defect or flee—made the meaning clear. Xie Chengyun had returned his freedom; he was no longer bound.
Not wasting this unspoken permission, Chu Yunsheng moved in and out of the Xie residence and Upper Capital with great frequency.
It was through this freedom that he began to notice something strange.
The matter of Xie Chengyun capturing Ji Ling might be unknown to outsiders, but his father, elder brother, and the upper ranks of the Xie clan should certainly have been aware of it. Even if Xie Chengyun had reported the change in circumstances, as the days passed, were they truly not curious about this sword attendant of his? Did they not wish to see him, to probe him, to test him?
After all, this involved the Son of Heaven Sword. Chu Yunsheng did not believe that the Xie clan would place such trust in him based solely on his own words and a few investigations.
Yet the truth was that, aside from Xie Chengyun, Chu Yunsheng had not met a single member of the Xie clan's upper echelon.
And the Xie clan, a family founded upon the sword, had long since stopped sending its direct descendants into officialdom like other noble houses. It was as though they had made up their minds to devote themselves solely to the martial path, withdrawing from the affairs of the court.
One could excuse the reclusive nature of the upper ranks, but even throughout the entire Xie estate, Chu Yunsheng saw remarkably few servants, guards, or retained experts. Compared to other flourishing noble families, the Xie clan was so low-key as to seem almost austere.
Yet whether in the jianghu or at court, so long as the Xie clan still had a living Youxian, and so long as the famed sword Fuxue (Snow-Taming Sword) stood as its pillar, then no matter how simply they lived or how few their numbers, they remained a thousand-year-old house of unfathomable depth—one that could not be taken lightly.
"Miss Chu—over here!"
In front of the gates of the Upper Capital's Martial Alliance, the streets were packed tight with common folk, heads crowding together in a seething mass.
At the roadside tea stall, Fang Wenmin turned sideways and lifted the folding fan in his hand, raising his voice as he called out. Li Ming, the man with the heavy sword strapped to his back, spotted Chu Yunsheng as well and nodded from afar.
Over the past half month, Chu Yunsheng had been in frequent contact with Fang Wenmin and Li Ming, and the three had gradually become familiar with one another.
"Brother Fang, Brother Li."
His steps flowed like clear wind over running water. With a few light movements, he slipped through the crowd and into the tea stall, then took a seat.
At the table inside, besides Fang Wenmin and Li Ming, there was also Yu Dan, who had been going out from time to time lately as well. Though he did come along, Yu Dan remained taciturn and withdrawn—among the four, he spoke the least, only occasionally adding a word or two.
Fang Wenmin smiled and, as was his habit, launched straight into flattery. "Miss Chu's footwork is exquisite beyond compare—graceful as an immortal's dance. Ordinary eyes can hardly keep up. It truly fills my heart with longing."
Chu Yunsheng and Li Ming had long since grown numb to Fang Wenmin's offhand praise. Lacking both the patience and the inclination to trade compliments like Xie Chengyun did, one lowered his head to drink tea, while the other turned to look at the ten-zhang-tall stone stele by the side of the Martial Alliance gates. Fang Wenmin sighed, fanning himself, deeply missing his kindred spirit, Young Master Xie.
The Martial Alliance was a jianghu organization established by the court, its alliance lord a late-stage Dingdan cultivator. On the massive stele before its gates were engraved the Three Great Rankings, compiled jointly by Great Xia and several renowned sects.
Today was the first day of the seventh month—the day the rankings were updated.
On this day each year, the people of the Upper Capital and the folk of the jianghu would gather here without prior arrangement, all waiting for the latest rankings of martial experts.
It might be something far removed from their own lives, but watching the spectacle and gathering talk was simply human nature. What idle wanderer of the jianghu couldn't casually discuss the Three Great Rankings with a flick of the tongue, or speak at length about the heroes under heaven? To know nothing at all would mean falling behind even in idle boasting.
Chu Yunsheng was somewhat curious about the posting of the lists. When Fang Wenmin learned of it two days earlier, he had loudly insisted they come see the rankings together, just to join in the fun.
Seeing the news laid out on one's own desk was one thing; standing beneath the towering stele, craning one's neck to read the lists while listening to the loud debates rising all around—those were entirely different experiences.
"They're here! They're here!"
Someone suddenly shouted, and the crowd instantly boiled over, surging forward in an even tighter press.
Chu Yunsheng looked up to see the gates of the Martial Alliance swing open. A squad of guards emerged, went to the great stele, took down three scrolls, and replaced them with three brand-new ones.
Once the scrolls were hung, three guards pulled the red cords together. The massive scrolls unfurled like waterfalls, cascading straight down.
The first was the Ascension Immortal List, ranking twenty-two Youxian. There were no changes to the placements—only one new line added beneath the tenth-ranked, Shangqing Sect's "Heaven-Fixing True Man" Xu Zhige, recording that he had grievously wounded A Shida, the "Nightmare Lord" of the Eternal Life Divine Cult.
The "Nightmare Lord" A Shida, leader of the Eternal Life Divine Cult, ranked fourteenth on the Ascension Immortal List. His defeat at Xu Zhige's hands didn't affect the rankings.
"First under heaven among the Youxian: the Great Xia imperial house's 'Northern Dipper Heaven,' Li Youzhen… Second, Wugou Manor's 'Judge,' Pei Xinfang. Third, Kunlun Nine Mountains' 'Danqing Hand,' Wen Bi…"
Chu Yunsheng's gaze rested on the very top of the Ascension Immortal List.
Those names were, beyond any doubt, the top three beneath heaven.
"There's been a death on the Astonishing Gods List!"
Someone cried out in shock, drawing countless gazes to the second scroll.
"The one who fell was actually Sun Chengxue, the 'Soul-Hooking Envoy' of Grudgeless Isle! She was a late-stage Dingdan expert, famous for years—only a hair's breadth from breaking into the peak realm. She ranked seventeenth on the Astonishing Gods List, already one of the few top experts under heaven. How could she be wiped from the list in a single battle by Bai Haoyuan, the 'Azure Water Blade,' who was only ranked twentieth?!"
"After that battle, the 'Azure Water Blade' isn't ranked twentieth anymore—he's fifteenth now!"
"Jiangnan isn't that big to begin with. Grudgeless Isle and the Baili River Gang both want the top seat. Friction was inevitable. When they finally clash, losing a top expert isn't exactly surprising…"
The chatter before the great stele grew ever louder.
Fang Wenmin jumped up without the slightest concern for appearances to get a better look, then sighed. "The top ten of the White Dragon Ranking still hasn't changed, but by next month it probably will. With Brother Xie opening his Sword Platform, setting other things aside, taking a top-ten spot should be effortless."
Li Ming nodded slightly, eyes burning with battle intent as he stared at the top of the White Dragon Ranking. "Lin Ce, the 'Life-Severing Sword.' I've heard he's on the verge of stepping into the Dingdan realm. Before he breaks through, I'll definitely have a match with him!"
"The news of Brother Xie opening his Sword Platform has already spread across the land. These past few days, experts have been pouring into the capital. 'Life-Severing Sword' is obsessed with the blade—there's no way he'll miss such a grand jianghu event. When the time comes, you can spar however you like. Just don't lose too badly, or you'll drag my reputation down with you."
Fang Wenmin laughed teasingly.
As he spoke, he suddenly turned toward Yu Dan, who had been silent like a shadow. "Brother Yu, when the Sword Platform opens, will you challenge Brother Xie? I've heard your Flood-Dragon Spear has long been itching to test itself against the Snow-Taming Sword."
Yu Dan paused mid-sip, then shook his head. "Not yet. There will be time in the future. My spear is not yet complete."
Fang Wenmin snapped his fan shut and sighed with a grin. "Tsk, another martial madman. You, Li Ming, and Miss Chu—every one of you treats the martial path as life itself. Poor me. Born with a carefree, romantic heart, yet surrounded by friends who care only for the blade. Tragic. Truly tragic."
At his words, Yu Dan cast Chu Yunsheng a look tinged with something unreadable, but said nothing, simply lowering his head to drink his tea.
"Miss Chu, your Young Master Xie should be emerging from seclusion tomorrow, right?"
With the easy familiarity of the jianghu, Fang Wenmin lowered his voice, half-teasing as he smiled. "The mountain paths of Cangxi have been swept clean a hundred times over already. Everyone's just waiting for him to enter the mountain tomorrow. I won't fight then either—I'll go help guard the ground for him."
Chu Yunsheng nodded. "Many thanks, Brother Fang."
"Oh, come now—why be polite with me?" Fang Wenmin laughed.
After finishing their look at the rankings, the four went to a wine house for a meal, then parted ways.
The next day, the second of the seventh month.
Xie Chengyun emerged from seclusion. After bathing and offering incense, he took up his sword, left the Upper Capital, and ascended Mount Cangxi.
Following behind him, Chu Yunsheng faced the fierce mountain winds and caught sight, amid drifting clouds and mist, of a high platform perched upon the cliff.
The platform was hewn from stone—plain, rough, even crude in appearance—yet unshakably solid.
It was Xie Chengyun's Sword Platform.