Volume One: The Divine Kingdom of Eternal Night Chapter Forty-Three: Blood Beneath the Blade Could Fill the Seas

Cai Tanggu looked at the old butler opposite him. Although he had learned from records concerning the Xunyang Marquis Mansion that Tong Ji had reached the peak of the Cave-Void Realm twenty years ago, he himself had achieved that level even earlier. He had never expected Tong Ji to be this formidable.

"I have followed the Marquis through countless battles. The blood spilled by my sword could fill nearly half of the Naihe Sea. You, sitting comfortably in the Yuyuan Academy, are far beneath me, even if we are in the same realm."

The old butler looked down at the sword that belonged to a white-robed cultivator and sighed, "It is a pity that my sword is dead. Without it, I am not the complete Tong Ji. The world calls me the premier expert under the Marquis, so naturally, I must live up to that title."

Tong Ji raised his eyes, gently stroking the sword in his hand as he smiled faintly, "At this moment, I am Tong Ji, not the limping butler of the Marquis Mansion."

He was like a sword that had been hidden in its scabbard for countless years; the biting killing intent he had accumulated surged out the moment he drew his blade.

Cai Tanggu’s wrinkled face rippled like water, "You have a lame leg and lack your most familiar weapon. How much of your true combat power can you actually unleash?"

Tong Ji laughed, "Try it and you shall see."

A cultivator's flying sword is naturally no ordinary object. No matter how low their realm or how poor their background, one cannot simply make do with any weapon. While the swords of the green-robed and white-robed cultivators were not common, their quality was not high—they were merely passable. They could not be mentioned in the same breath as Cai Tanggu’s sword.

But he was Tong Ji; the issue of weaponry could be ignored.

The sword was drawn, and the killing intent was piercing. It was as if a gale had appeared out of thin air, causing Cai Tanggu to lose his footing for a moment. With a solemn expression, he swung his sword to strike back. The two forces clashed head-on, then both soared into the sky like two meteors, colliding violently in the night.

Accompanied by the giant wooden kite hanging high over Hun City, the sparks from their clashing swords were as brilliant as fireworks, causing the people at the temple fair to stop, stare, and cheer.

Jiang Wang, who was also watching the scene, secretly sighed, "Uncle Tong is truly incredible."

Dong Chongyang raised his blade in silence. The strength of the young man before him exceeded his expectations; it seemed Cai Tanggu had not exaggerated. He would have to take this more seriously.

While two swords contended in the sky, two blades displayed their prowess on Qixia Street. Knowing he did not have much time, Jiang Wang began a fierce, reckless counterattack. He had no technique, simply swinging his blade back and forth. This left Dong Chongyang struggling to cope. Lack of technique aside, the power behind Jiang Wang's strikes was immensely formidable; even when Dong Chongyang blocked, the rushed nature of the defense left him at a distinct disadvantage.

Standing on a rooftop, Xie Wuxing raised an eyebrow and said, "Why do I feel like Jiang Wang has no cultivation at all? What sect would teach its disciples like this? It’s clearly like a child waving a wooden sword around at random."

The man surnamed Xiao remained silent. He felt a slight itch to fight and looked toward Xie Wuxing.

Xie Wuxing frowned, "Why are you looking at me?" He forced himself not to let his imagination run wild.

The man surnamed Xiao said, "I am very interested in the Sword Pavilion. Shall we have a bout?"

Looking at the scene on Qixia Street, Xie Wuxing replied, "If we fight now, it will make things too chaotic here."

The man surnamed Xiao said, "I have heard that Sword Pavilion disciples are fond of fighting. Does the occasion matter so much?"

Xie Wuxing’s expression turned serious, "Since you insist, I shall accompany you to the end."

Feng Linghuai retreated instinctively, nearly falling off the roof. The man surnamed Xiao curled his lips into a smile and drew his sword with great decisiveness. Xie Wuxing had always felt that the man surnamed Xiao was no simple person, so he chose to strike first.

Sword energy swept across the entirety of Qixia Street. The man surnamed Xiao raised an eyebrow, "No need for testing. Please, use your strongest sword."

Xie Wuxing was slightly stunned, then laughed, "As you wish."

The Stream-River Sword Intent swirled with the Qi of heaven and earth and poured down. The house beneath their feet crumbled instantly. Feng Linghuai, panicked, leaped to another rooftop, but the exertion of her internal energy left her body aching and her face deathly pale.

The man surnamed Xiao hovered in mid-air, looking at the ruins below, and smiled, "It is my turn to draw my sword."

He lightly raised his hand, and a surge of sword energy rushed toward Xie Wuxing. The Stream-River Sword Intent was shattered instantly. Before Xie Wuxing could react, the sword energy dissipated right before his eyes, and the man surnamed Xiao had already returned his sword to its scabbard.

Xie Wuxing broke out in a cold sweat. He stared at the man surnamed Xiao in disbelief, "What exactly is your realm?!"

The man surnamed Xiao replied, "I am not entirely sure myself."

Xie Wuxing gasped, "How can anyone not know their own realm?!" He had suffered a massive blow. He could accept losing to Jiang Wang, as they were evenly matched and he had only lost by a hair, but the man surnamed Xiao had only struck once—if one could even call it a strike—and he had lost inexplicably.

He had descended the mountain to slay demons and display the majesty of the Sword Pavilion, yet he had lost twice in a row. Xie Wuxing felt the deep malice the world held for him. He observed the man surnamed Xiao, his eyes gradually widening, "Where is your Yellow Court?!"

The man surnamed Xiao did not speak.

Xie Wuxing exclaimed in shock, "Could it be that you are not a cultivator, but a martial artist?!"

Only by forging a Yellow Court is one a true cultivator; without one, one is naturally a martial artist. Since Celestial Masters have no means other than talismans, being able to walk on air meant he had to be a master. However, martial artists are different from cultivators. No matter how high their talent, it is impossible for them to be young if they have reached the level of a grandmaster. Furthermore, if he truly were a grandmaster, while he might be able to suppress a peak Cave-Void Realm cultivator, Xie Wuxing would not have been defeated so quickly; he even had the ability to kill an ordinary grandmaster with one sword. Unless the man surnamed Xiao was a Great Grandmaster! But there were no such young Great Grandmasters in the entire world.

Most crucially, the man surnamed Xiao clearly possessed the aura of a swordsman; how could he be a martial artist? This was too strange! Xie Wuxing could not fathom it.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. He remembered his teacher saying that in the last ten years, a strange event had occurred in the world. A man calling himself the "Departed" had never forged a Yellow Court, yet possessed the abilities of a cultivator, gaining great fame within the Longchan territory of the Sui Kingdom. That man was also a swordsman, yet different from what the world understood a swordsman to be. That "Departed" carried a wooden sword—just an ordinary sword carved from bamboo—and no one could discern his realm, yet he possessed the strength of a great cultivator beyond the peak of the Cave-Void Realm.

This had led ordinary people in Longchan who lacked the qualifications to forge a Yellow Court to look up to him with extreme reverence. The Qingxuan Bureau had spent a long time searching for him, but he was like a dragon that shows its head but hides its tail, and they had found no trace of him, knowing only that his surname was Liu and his given name was Pian.

Xie Wuxing maintained his shocked expression, cupped his hands, and said, "May I ask your surname?"

The man surnamed Xiao was silent for a moment before saying, "My surname is Xiao. I am not who you think I am." Given the question and his demeanor, the man surnamed Xiao could guess what Xie Wuxing was thinking.

But Xie Wuxing was even more shocked. If the man surnamed Xiao before him was not the same person as Liu Pian, then it was possible that Liu Pian had truly opened a different path—one where one could practice without a hundred-day foundation or forging a Yellow Court? This would surely change the entire landscape of the world!

Because the path of cultivation was arduous, the hundred-day foundation alone discouraged most people, and even those who finished it might never find the opportunity to forge a Yellow Court, making the number of cultivators in the world scarce. If the initial steps of cultivation were made simple, it was not impossible for everyone to practice. If there was only one Liu Pian in the world, it could be explained as innate talent. But if more people like Liu Pian could be born, finding him would become more important than seeking immortality. After all, Liu Pian was a "treasure" placed right before them that could make the Sui Kingdom more powerful!

Although his experience after descending the mountain was humiliating, if this could be proven, Xie Wuxing could hardly imagine what a glorious era the Sui Kingdom would become.

He asked again, "Brother Xiao, are you practicing under Senior Liu?"

The man surnamed Xiao shook his head, "My Yellow Court is simply not in the inherent location."

Xie Wuxing was bewildered. Could the Yellow Court be elsewhere?

The man surnamed Xiao continued, "Just as some people’s hearts are on the right side."

Xie Wuxing understood, but still found it unbelievable. Was he just making up an excuse? "The Yellow Court is the foundation of a cultivator. If you are so unique, why reveal the truth so easily?" Xie Wuxing stared at him with a probing gaze.

The man surnamed Xiao smiled, "I only said that some people’s hearts are on the right side; I did not say where my Yellow Court is. My constitution is indeed special. Even if I told you it is not in the inherent location, you would not be able to find it." This was the longest sentence he had spoken.

Xie Wuxing looked at him deeply. In high-level realms, or even among peers, one could detect the location of the other's Yellow Court. Even if the man surnamed Xiao's Yellow Court had a special location, it should be detectable. Yet, the facts proved he truly could not find where it was.

But whether such a situation existed in the world was worth returning to the Sword Pavilion to ask his teacher. The safest way was to bring the man surnamed Xiao to the Sword Pavilion. Otherwise, if he left Hun City and could not find him again, even if he confirmed a connection between the man surnamed Xiao and Liu Pian, it would only lead to trouble. Because this matter involved so much, if the West Qin discovered any clues and found Liu Pian first, the Sui Kingdom would face a great crisis.

Xie Wuxing finally decided to stay in Hun City, keeping an eye on the man surnamed Xiao at all times to discover his secrets. Seeing Xie Wuxing’s reaction, the man surnamed Xiao had no intention of explaining further.

At this moment, Cai Tanggu and Tong Ji returned to Qixia Street. But it was Cai Tanggu who had fallen from the night sky. As he tried to get up, Tong Ji held his sword to his forehead.

Cai Tanggu’s face was gloomy as he said, "You truly live up to the name of the premier expert under the Marquis. Even crippled and without a proper weapon, you can still defeat me."

Tong Ji’s expression remained calm.