Ch. 34
Chapter 34: Guess Right, and I’ll Spare Ten Dog Lives in Your Sect
The Great Dao of the Sword!
It was one of the Great Daos within the Dao of Weapons governed by the True Martial Emperor.
Under the influence of the divine weapon Demon-Slaying Sword, Cheng Yu had comprehended this Great Dao the fastest and the deepest.
His understanding of the Sword Dao was extraordinarily profound.
He grasped Liu Xiong’s longsword in his hand.
With a slight wave, the sword body trembled gently and let out a clear cry.
This was an exceptionally fine treasured sword among high-grade weapons, one already extremely close to the level of a Human Rank weapon.
It had already begun to display the spiritual qualities unique to the three ranks of Heaven, Earth, and Human.
It was a treasure of the kind countless people dreamed of obtaining.
Hearing the sword cry, Liu Xiong stared at the scene before him in disbelief.
After obtaining this longsword, he had treasured it beyond measure. He normally kept it wrapped up and hidden away, nurturing it for many years, yet he had never once managed to make it cry out on its own or truly acknowledge him as its master.
And yet the moment it entered Cheng Yu’s hand, it became this obedient.
The fire in Liu Xiong’s eyes burned even brighter with excitement.
So this was Lord Cheng’s realm in the Sword Dao?
If he could truly become his disciple, then forget receiving guidance—even if he could only witness Cheng Yu ascend to the heights of the Sword Dao with his own eyes, Liu Xiong would already die without regret!
Cheng Yu nodded and handed the longsword back to Liu Xiong.
“This is a good sword for killing. Only by drinking blood can it grow stronger and advance into the Human Rank. Don’t trap it in darkness.”
Liu Xiong widened his eyes and took back the sword.
On the spot, he slashed his palm with the blade, letting fresh blood smear across the edge.
He immediately discovered that the longsword had become sharper and more chilling, its spiritual nature drawing even closer to that of a Human Rank treasured sword.
Lord Cheng had truly been right!
His discernment of swords and his understanding of how to use them saw through everything as clearly as fire. Was this the realm of the Sword Dao?
“Thank you for your guidance, my lord! Liu Xiong will never forget it, even if his teeth rot away!” Liu Xiong hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude.
“What did you call me?”
With his hands behind his back, Cheng Yu asked indifferently.
Liu Xiong’s eyes widened with delight. “This disciple greets Master!”
......
Leaf Blade Mountain.
The sect, usually noisy and bustling with voices, was far quieter than usual.
Qingjiang Prefecture had been unsettled recently, and many sects had shut their doors and kept to themselves, afraid of provoking a terrifying figure.
As one of the three great sects, the disciples of Leaf Blade Sect were not actually afraid.
Usually, it was other people who feared them.
It was only because the sect master and elders had reminded them not to go out casually these past few days.
Inside the sect’s main hall, Bai Han and a number of sect elders were discussing something.
“Hmph! My Leaf Blade Mountain has dominated Qingjiang Prefecture for so many years. The entirety of Hongxi County has always obeyed us. Since when have we ever been afraid of anyone like this—much less some brat from the imperial court’s hounds? What a disgrace!”
“Sect Master, you only just returned, yet you’ve already sealed the sect and forbidden people from going out. Could it be that you’re afraid of that brat surnamed Cheng? How will the Jianghu look at us if that’s the case?”
“If we lower our heads, then that means the entire martial world of Qingjiang Prefecture has lowered its head. The other two families will surely mock us!”
“Besides, Nephew Zheng has already gone to deal with that bastard. There’s absolutely no chance he’ll fail, so why should we worry?”
Quite a few elders were deeply dissatisfied with Bai Han’s rule after his return that disciples were not to leave the sect.
Wasn’t this just cowardice?
They were not afraid of those so-called Jinyiwei. They were nothing but imperial hounds. If they dared come, then the sect dared strike!
“You fools—have you trained martial arts until your brains have gone rotten?”
Bai Han frowned at the elders around him and rebuked them sternly.
“Who told you I’m afraid of some mere Senior Banner Captain? When we were roaming the Jianghu, that brat didn’t even know where he was.”
“What my disciple has done may be ridding the people of a scourge, but that does not change the fact that he committed the crime of assassinating an imperial official.”
“If some great figure from the Jinyiwei truly comes to hold us accountable, are you the ones going to handle it?”
The moment he said that, the other elders who had been noisily complaining all shut their mouths.
Among martial artists like them, the Jinyiwei were just imperial hounds, something any martial artist could mock or ridicule with a few words.
But in the end, that was only because the tide of the Jianghu allowed it, letting them vent with their mouths for a while.
If they truly had to make an enemy of the Jinyiwei, that enormous behemoth, then even if someone lent them a hundred times more courage, they still would not dare.
Just the rumored Commander Lu of the Great Qian Jinyiwei, whose strength was said to have reached the Grandmaster Realm, was enough to make almost everyone in the Jianghu retreat.
If Zheng Ping had really killed a Jinyiwei Senior Banner Captain, and their Leaf Blade Mountain, as the culprit sect, then made a grand public celebration of it, that would truly be courting death!
Seeing that none of them dared chatter anymore, Bai Han stroked his beard in satisfaction.
A smile appeared on his face.
“What we must do now is wait for Ping’er’s good news and build momentum for him, so that he becomes a hero who killed a vicious and evil villain.”
“As long as we do not provoke the Jinyiwei too much, there will naturally be major figures in the martial world who will protect us.”
“Ping’er can also use this righteous deed to make his name known throughout the Jianghu. This is absolutely a great thing for Leaf Blade Mountain!”
The others, who had been dissatisfied earlier, all began nodding in approval.
Righteous deeds in the Jianghu always won praise and brought benefits!
“Yes, yes, yes! We’ll wait for Nephew Zheng to return, and then we’ll celebrate his merit!”
“As expected of the number one genius of our Leaf Blade Mountain!”
Hearing people praise his disciple, Bai Han nodded in deep satisfaction.
His disciple’s entry into the Human Ranking had already brought him more than enough glory. Now, by killing evil and earning fame, he would make Leaf Blade Mountain renowned throughout Jiangnan!
As for the possibility that Zheng Ping might somehow be unable to kill Cheng Yu—
He had never considered that second possibility at all.
No one else would think of it either.
A Human Ranking genius at the Fourth Rank dealing with a mere Jinyiwei Senior Banner Captain—there was absolutely no possibility of failure.
As for whether Zheng Ping using the strong to bully the weak was in accordance with righteousness—
Bai Han had no need to consider such a question at all.
When dealing with an imperial hound, no one in the Jianghu would think there was any need to speak of righteousness.
On the contrary, they would praise Zheng Ping for it.
To sacrifice his own reputation and use the strong against the weak, all to kill an evil villain—this would surely be hailed throughout the Jianghu as a righteous and noble act!
If they did not flatter and praise one another for using the strong against the weak, then what—were they each supposed to go out and use the weak against the strong?
The entire main hall of Leaf Blade Sect erupted in laughter.
Everyone there was imagining the benefits and bright future that would come once Zheng Ping succeeded.
But at that very moment, a shrill and frantic cry rang out from outside the door.
“S-s-something terrible has happened! The Jinyiwei have brought soldiers and surrounded our mountain gate!”
“What?!”
Bai Han and the elders, who had just been all smiles, instantly changed their expressions.
“Sect Master Bai, this is bad! The Jinyiwei say they’re here to raid and exterminate our Leaf Blade Sect! Please go take a look!”
The disciple reporting the news was panting heavily, trembling all over, his eyes filled with fear.
Bai Han and the others hurried toward the mountain gate.
At the mountain gate of Leaf Blade Sect, Cheng Yu stood with his arms folded, coldly watching as his subordinate Jinyiwei killed any Leaf Blade Mountain disciples who resisted.
Quite a few corpses of Leaf Blade Mountain disciples already lay on the ground in miserable condition.
This time, he had come for revenge and confiscation.
He did not announce his purpose.
He did not wait in the slightest.
He was simply killed!
The Jinyiwei who had already entered the ranks and possessed decent strength used their Profound Cold Heavy Crossbows to specifically shoot down martial artists with some ability.
Those who had not yet entered the ranks worked together to deal with the disciples.
In only the briefest clash, crossbow bolts fell like rain and saber light flashed like shadows.
They slaughtered the Leaf Blade Mountain disciples until they cried for their fathers and mothers and fled with their heads in their hands.
“Help!”
“I don’t want to die!”
“Where are the elders? Come save us!”
As disciples of Leaf Blade Mountain, every one of them could act like petty tyrants throughout Hongxi County.
In their eyes, the lives of ordinary people were no more than grass.
They had never imagined that a day would come when their own lives would be treated as grass by others.
At that moment, Bai Han and the others finally arrived in a rush, and the disciples finally felt a trace of security.
The sect’s experts had arrived. At last, they had the strength to fight back.
“Stop this at once! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Seeing the ground covered in corpses of Leaf Blade Mountain disciples, Bai Han roared in fury.
A mere few dozen Jinyiwei actually dared claim they were here to exterminate Leaf Blade Mountain!
He flew into a rage and struck out, sending one Jinyiwei Battalion Commander coughing blood and staggering backward with a single palm strike.
He was just about to kill in his fury and vent the hatred in his heart first—
When an incomparably fierce saber light flashed past, forcing him to dodge in haste.
Cheng Yu helped his injured subordinate to his feet and had someone give him a healing medicine.
Then he looked coldly at Bai Han.
“So you are the sect master of Leaf Blade Mountain—Bai Han, that old dog?”
“You!”
Being cursed as an old dog, Bai Han immediately flew into a rage. But when he clearly saw Cheng Yu’s face, his whole body shook.
“You are... you are Cheng Yu! How are you still alive? Then where is my disciple?!”
He had never once considered the possibility that Cheng Yu might still be alive, and for a moment he stood there as if nailed to the spot.
A deep unease rose in his heart.
“Your disciple?”
Cheng Yu sneered. “Take a guess. If you guess right, I’ll spare ten dog lives in your sect.”