Volume One: Autumn Sacrifice Chapter Thirty-Four: Sword Intent of the Stream River!

"Half-Day Leisure" is the largest inn in Huncheng.

It is said that one steals half a day of leisure from a fleeting life, and the ultimate taste of the human world is simple joy. No matter how busy or weary one may be outside, once inside this inn, one can find tranquility—this is the guiding principle of the Half-Day Leisure Inn.

Never since the inn’s founding had anyone dared to draw a sword in hostility like this man in white.

This was because the very first guest of the Half-Day Leisure Inn was the Marquis of Xunyang.

The rule against bearing arms in the inn was unwritten, but as more people followed it, it became a custom. Even those who came later and were unaware of the origin followed it as if observing local traditions, and no one had ever broken it.

In truth, the inn had no grand background. Encountering such a situation for the first time, the proprietor was as clueless as any ordinary innkeeper and had no idea how to respond. The innkeeper could only order the staff to report the matter to the Garrison Office and the Marquis of Xunyang’s estate.

Jiang Wang had never expected that when trouble broke out at the Half-Day Leisure Inn, it would actually come knocking on his door. Watching the flustered and desperate inn worker, Jiang Wang muttered to himself in disbelief.

*Am I the clown in all this?*

He had originally intended to refuse. However, the old steward quietly told him that the Half-Day Leisure Inn was, in a sense, an asset of the Marquis’s estate. The Marquis had contributed funds for its decoration when it was first built, and thanks to his influence, the inn enjoyed the patronage of the Garrison Office and thrived. Although the estate was not the true owner, it received annual dividends. If the inn's rules were broken and its business affected, the losses to the Marquis’s estate would be immeasurable.

The refusal died on Jiang Wang’s lips. So that was why the Marquis’s estate was so wealthy. He couldn't afford to go against money.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Wang summoned the two cultivators in green and white robes and ordered them to go to the inn.

Outside the estate, Du Yanruo, who had been hiding and watching the two cultivators leave, was utterly confused. She had been waiting for Xie Wuxing to trouble Jiang Wang so she could seize the chance to rescue her father and brother, but why was there no movement from the estate? Could it be that Xie Wuxing had been subdued at the very first encounter? Was he really that incompetent?

As she crouched in the shadows, her back aching, she hesitated over whether to leave. Just then, she saw the two cultivators returning, with Xie Wuxing following right behind them.

The Half-Day Leisure Inn was located on Panlan Street. By the time they arrived, the misunderstanding had been resolved, and no real fight had broken out. After the temple fair, the patrolling guards from the Garrison Office had arrived early, and upon learning the truth, Xie Wuxing felt both ashamed and filled with burning rage.

Jiang Wang lay on a rattan chair in the courtyard, watching the white-clad man and Shu Ni, who wore expressions of synchronized indignation, while Ning Shisi still looked completely bewildered. Jiang Wang felt a dull ache in his head.

"So you are Jiang Wang! You actually deceived me!"

Xie Wuxing had deeply experienced the character of the "Bully Jiang." If the guards hadn't arrived in time, he would have nearly injured an innocent person. If word of this got out, it would be a massive loss of face. His senior brothers had all returned from their first descent down the mountain with legendary tales of slaying demons and devils, yet he, Xie Wuxing, had been played for a fool by a local bully. It was a disgrace to the entire sect.

Jiang Wang smiled and said, "It was just a bit of fun, why take it so seriously? It’s a good lesson for you to realize that the world is dangerous and you shouldn't trust just anyone. Consider it a hard-earned lesson; you should be thanking me."

Xie Wuxing raged, "Stop twisting the truth!"

Shu Ni chimed in angrily, "Even if you wanted to deceive others, why drag us into it? You could have said anything, but you had to involve the Half-Day Leisure Inn! This was clearly intentional!"

Jiang Wang hadn't expected to provoke public anger. *I’m the aggrieved one here!* The inn was just a random thought; he hadn't planned that far ahead.

*But wait,* he thought, *I can't just let someone pluck my flower, can I?*

With that thought, Jiang Wang also retorted angrily, "If this man didn't have such filthy thoughts and try to sully my reputation, I wouldn't have lied to him! I am the one who is most wronged here, so why are you all shouting at me?"

Shu Ni froze. Ning Shisi was shocked. The two cultivators in green and white were stunned; they immediately stepped in front of Jiang Wang, looking at Xie Wuxing with extreme vigilance.

*Who would have thought?* This man looked refined and handsome, yet he was such a wicked villain! Even if Master Jiang was good-looking, one shouldn't have such thoughts!

Xie Wuxing laughed out of sheer fury. He had never seen such a shameless person in his life. To think he could come up with an excuse like that! Did he think everyone else was an idiot? He looked at the others. *What? You all believe him?*

Ning Shisi scurried far away. Shu Ni looked at Xie Wuxing with utter disgust; she had truly seen everything today.

Xie Wuxing was driven to a state of shame and rage. Instead of looking for a hole to hide in, he drew his sword.

Sword intent surged! The cultivator in the green robe nearly collapsed to his knees. The cultivator in the white robe gasped in shock, "Creek-River Sword Intent!"

Xie Wuxing said coldly, "You have some insight to recognize this intent."

Ning Shisi was also startled. "It is rumored that the Creek-River Sword Intent is the signature technique of the Sword God, who once used a single strike to make the Naihe Sea flow backward. No swordsman in the Sui Kingdom can surpass it. You are a descendant of the Sword Pavilion?!"

The two cultivators were terrified—a true disciple of the Sword Pavilion had appeared! To master the Creek-River Sword Intent, one must be a direct disciple of the Sword God. Compared to the Qingxuan Bureau, the Sword Pavilion, which suppressed the entirety of Kutan, was held in the highest esteem by all local cultivators. They feared the Qingxuan Bureau, but they held the Sword Pavilion in supreme reverence.

Jiang Wang curled his lip. "So what if you're a disciple of the Sword Pavilion? Does that mean you can just go around plucking flowers?"

The scene fell into dead silence. *Yes.* For a Sword Pavilion disciple to have such a penchant was essentially a slap in the face to the Sword God himself. While same-sex attraction wasn't exactly rare, it didn't sound good coming from someone of the Sword Pavilion. They only regretted being there; if this word spread, the few who knew the truth would be unable to defend themselves, inadvertently offending the Sword Pavilion.

Xie Wuxing’s face turned a deep, bruised red. His eyes widened, staring daggers at Jiang Wang. "To insult me so... you are truly detestable!"

The Creek-River Sword Intent suddenly turned manic, pressing the two cultivators to their knees. If Ning Shisi hadn't shielded Shu Ni, she would have been in a sorry state too. As a martial artist of considerable rank, Ning Shisi used his physical strength to hold his ground, but even then, he could only barely manage. His body stiffened, his face flushed with blood, and veins bulged as if he were about to burst.

Jiang Wang’s hair danced wildly, and his rattan chair seemed on the verge of levitation. If not for the fact that the sword intent was so powerful that it forced his Divine Kingdom to manifest in his mind, he would have lost face as well.

He pressed his hands onto the rattan chair, and everything returned to calm.

Looking purely at the sword intent, Xie Wuxing was far stronger than Tan Laoliu. Jiang Wang felt a stinging sensation on his face. It was the first time this had happened since his Divine Kingdom’s power emerged. Was Xie Wuxing too strong, or was it the nature of the Creek-River Sword Intent?

The Night-Wandering God’s voice emerged. "How did you provoke such a powerful enemy while I was sleeping?"

Jiang Wang asked in his mind, "You think he’s strong too?"

The Night-Wandering God replied, "He is not weak, but what is truly formidable is this sword intent. This man clearly has only learned the surface of it. If it were the perfect sword intent, even in my prime, I would have found it difficult to withstand."

Jiang Wang recalled Ning Shisi’s words: the Creek-River Sword Intent was the masterwork of the Sword God. If a disciple who had only learned the basics was this terrifying, what would it be like if the Sword God himself struck?

*This world is truly dangerous!*

Jiang Wang was relieved that he hadn't been too arrogant. There were many titans in this world who could kill him with ease, but this only deepened his desire to become stronger.

The Night-Wandering God said, "Nothing else to do, I’m going back to sleep. Watch yourself."

Jiang Wang frowned. Xie Wuxing was still a troublesome character. He waved his hand lightly at the two cultivators, and the oppressive sword intent vanished. "You need to break the habit of kneeling at every turn."

The two cultivators were deeply ashamed; they hadn't wanted to kneel, but the opponent was simply too powerful. Yet, they suddenly wondered: did Master Jiang’s words have a deeper meaning? Was he trying to mentor them? *Only by becoming stronger can we change this situation!* They felt a sudden surge of excitement.

Jiang Wang glanced at them, bewildered. *Is being forced to your knees by someone else a good thing? Why are they so happy?*

"M-Master Jiang, I can't hold on any longer!" Ning Shisi’s face was turning purple.

Jiang Wang waved his hand again. Ning Shisi flopped onto the ground, gasping for air, feeling an indescribable sense of relief. Although Shu Ni had been protected by Ning Shisi, she hadn't been unaffected. Now that the pressure had dissipated, she looked at Jiang Wang with shock and suspicion.

"What did you do?" Xie Wuxing was stunned.

Jiang Wang smiled. "Even if you have such tendencies, you’ve picked the wrong target. I am very straight, and I am very strong. I’m not discriminating against you, but if you can't control yourself, find someone with the same interests. If you dare to set your sights on me again, I will definitely beat you to death."

Xie Wuxing was furious. *Can we move past this already?* He couldn't be bothered to explain further and drew his sword. The Creek-River Sword Intent instantly intensified.

The rattan chair creaked and shattered in an instant. Jiang Wang barely managed to avoid falling on his backside. This was the second rattan chair destroyed in these few days; if a few more were ruined, he wouldn't have anywhere to lie down.

Jiang Wang was very angry. He drew the Long Night Blade, and the night sky seemed to deepen.

Seeing this, Xie Wuxing said, "I want to see just how much skill you have."

He stepped forward, his sword tip already before Jiang Wang’s eyes. The Long Night Blade swung out as casually as ever. But when blade met sword, they were evenly matched. Xie Wuxing gripped his sword with both hands, the sword intent passing through Jiang Wang and piercing the building behind him, sending plumes of thick smoke rising.

The old steward and Xiao Yu appeared shortly after. Jiang Wang’s robes whipped in the wind. Feeling the sting on his face, he narrowed his eyes and slashed horizontally. With a loud *bang*, Xie Wuxing was sent flying, but he immediately circled to Jiang Wang’s side, his sword striking from bottom to top. The Long Night Blade intercepted it just in time, colliding once more.

A gale swept through the courtyard. Apart from the old steward, everyone else retreated several steps, and the entire courtyard was left in ruins.

Jiang Wang looked down at his trembling hand. He had truly met a formidable enemy.