Over a century ago, when the previous dynasty still stood, the people formed a militia to revolt against the ruler for his dream of conquest cost them their livelihood, peace and lives. Unsurprisingly, there were generals, marquises, Princes and more who weren’t happy, either. As a result of the rebellion, the ruler lost control over the military, economy and human resources.
During the turmoil, Li Clan, a military family, gave birth to a swordsman who surpassed his predecessors and would remain almost unrivalled even after he left. On the day he spearheaded the attack on the capital, he convinced everyone to serve him as his vassals when he exhibited his prowess with his iron sword.
Back in the day, there were plenty more Sword Spirit Realm swordsmen since it was a war-torn era. Ambitious swordsmen flocked to Li Dynasty’s patriarch’s door to challenge him daily. Despite how annoying it was for him, his vassals kept urging him to be polite and lenient. Eventually, he sneaked off alone one morning for Jiangnan, when he was too irate to continue entertaining his endless stream of challengers.
He returned three months later with three men – Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary, Cold Mountain Temple and Luo Sword Manor’s patriarchs. All three men had bruises on their faces, but nobody would forget the black eye Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary’s patriarch sported as it looked as though it’d take months to settle down.
Still in his late thirties, the founding Emperor pointed to the three and told a servant, “Provide the three with armour. It’s war.” The three famous swordsmen strapped up and went to war by his side just as every other soldier he rallied around his cause did.
In the one month he went missing, he challenged the three strongest sects in Jiangnan on his own. Ever since then, nobody challenged him again. The only person who could give him a run for his money was a man who he fought to a draw multiple times. After one duel on Mount Tian that neither of them disclosed the results of, his rival joined his cause. His rival would later be instated as the grand commander of his twelve generals and hailed as the greatest fighter.
The grand commander hung up his sword at seventy years of age and sequestered; however, his accomplishments weren’t forgotten. People eventually called him Hero Shenzhou – meaning, hero of the Central Plain.
The swordplay Li Dynasty’s patriarch employed to carve out their dynasty, Broken Sword Eight Layers Light, was locked in his tomb after he passed away, and a respected elder in their clan was entrusted with watching over it. For that reason, people often called his tomb Broken Sword Imperial Tomb. Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary’s Sword Immortal Grasshouse represented years and years of swordplay collected, while Broken Sword Imperial Tomb was the representative of unparalleled swordplay.
Because the location of Broken Sword Eight Layers Light and everything relevant were secrets of the imperial family, Emperor Yuansheng calmed himself so that he wouldn’t make the mistake of mentioning it again and asked, “Who… are you?”
Mr. An performed another bow with one leg crossed behind the other and one arm across his chest: “This peasant is the man with the most time on his hands and dabbles in every matter. According to the stars’ providence, a dragon was due to be born here. As such, this peasant came to investigate. To his surprise, both the real dragon and fake dragon have convened.”
The sincerity of a vassal worried for his monarch didn’t cancel out the snarky content, but it did calm Emperor Yuansheng down. Until then, Mr. An was a blob of mystery. The blatant distaste for him, however, guided Emperor Yuansheng.
“State Preceptor Lai!”
“Present!” Lai Jingzhen was already by Emperor Yuansheng’s side with his chest out. “Your subject is at your service. That being said, your subject would sever him limb from limb even without your orders because he is unacceptably hubristic. He will also crush his bones to ashes, pin him, gouge his ey-”
“’Kay, ‘kay, ‘kay, stop… State Preceptor Lai, is your chest wound all right?”
“Wound? You need not fret, Your Majesty. Your subject cannot be wounded. Even if he does, it would only be a minor wound.” As soon as he looked down to his chest, though, Lai Jingzhen exclaimed, “Eh?! Blood?! Who penetrated I, this one’s impregnable defence?!”
Truthfully, Emperor Yuansheng was worried about Lai Jingzhen’s chances as he was practically invincible when he was rational. When he was having another lapse of madness, unfortunately, he was as suicidal as he was strong. The key to killing him was never in his opponent’s hand but his.
Upon casting his eyes over to the daoist attired in a black garb, Emperor Yuansheng inquired, “You are…”
Shen Yiren stepped in right away: “This is Reverend Zha, the one I told you defeated Luo Ming. He survived being thrown into the cauldron and subdued Luo Ming.”
“I see…”
Despite having witnessed Reverend Zha in action, Emperor Yuansheng was bereft of confidence since he couldn’t imagine anyone present standing against a monster who could utilise Broken Sword Eight Layers Light.
If I let him escape, I’ll have to call Tianhu, no, I’ll also have to call Baima in order to kill him.
Using Voice Transmission, Shen Yiren asked Ming Feizhen, “He’s the mastermind you mentioned? What sort of mastermind reveals himself?”
The answer to that question was simple: it was because Ming Feizhen was also a character who couldn’t walk in the light.
“Your Majesty, you appear to have an answer to your query. It is a pity we cannot chat more.” Upon showing himself again, Mr. An was already under the moonlight. “Let us meet again when the dragon roars.”
“Where are you off to?” Ming Feizhen, out of nowhere, draped his arm over Mr. An’s shoulder as though they were buddies and even cracked a smile: “Let’s continue our chat.”
