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Chapter Twenty Seven: Borrow Hand
writer:无罪      update:2022-07-21 15:26
  The Donghu monk did not think at all. After comprehending this sword move, or rather, at the same time he learned this sword move, he raised the staff in his hand and attacked with this sword move.

  Previously, when Emperor Yuanwu said that the Donghu monk could not win against him, he had said that it was not certain. The most important reason was that he had Ding Ning’s guidance and comprehended some usually powerful sword moves. So he felt that it was possible because of Ding Ning. In this world, only he and Zhangsun Qianxue knew Ding Ning’s true identity, so he had absolute confidence in him.

  But even so, he had not expected Ding Ning to teach him the sword right here and now. One would not just be able to teach him the sword right during battle just because of familiarity with an opponent like Emperor Yuanwu, he had to also be very familiar with his cultivation and body condition.

  A teacher could not be as familiar with a student as their own skin, much less that he had only come with Ding Ning this way, and experienced several battles. Ding Ning was able to pick out the sword moves suited for him to use, and the ones that he could comprehend immediately. Such a state surpassed all the grandmasters in the world.

  This staff made out of old wood looked like an ordinary staff, but this was the lifebond item of his cultivation, and the lifebond item of many monks before him. There were many powerful presences that had seeped into the staff. For a cultivator like him who cultivated such methods, this was a divine item. He used this most very smoothly.

  His staff stabbed at an angle towards the sky, and at the tip of the staff, a bright flame flashed and bloomed. At this time, the sky was obscured by the coldness of the Nine Hell King Sword, the ice and snow angry, and the heavy black clouds having been pulled over from distant mountains. As the battle truly started, Zhangsun Qianxue’s killing intent had grown. Feather sized snowflakes had started to fall, hitting the ground like heavy tiles with loud bangs.

  When the Donghu monk used his sword move, the layers of black clouds and the heavy snow seemed to have been penetrated by countless lines of flame. Bright golden fire fell from high up in the sky and caused explosions as they brushed against the cold clouds.

  In the sky, there were countless fireworks.

  The golden flames madly sucked in the energy of the swords like seal scripts on seal weapons. As they passed through these cold clouds, they had become thin but penetrating thin gold swords.

  For any cultivator, if such a sword stabbed through their body, then their flesh and bones would be corroded, and turn to nothing.

  Thousands of swords stabbed at Emperor Yuanwu from all directions. This scene was like a miracle.

  This sword essence was not unfamiliar to Emperor Yuanwu. It had once appeared in Changling, in that battle when the experts in the world had gathered together to kill Wang Jingmeng.

  Wang Jingmeng had once used this to kill many cultivators. Even though he was now realm eight, he did not dare to be careless. His bright yellow lifebond sword slashed upwards. The dazzling rays of light, brighter than the golden fire, were released from his sword with a pure and powerful aura.

  These dazzling bright lines of light formed an enormous phoenix around him, a legendary beast of myth. But in the next moment, the vast energy of a realm eight exploded out of his body. The sword phoenix was shattered by the power coming out of him, turning in finer sword threads and bright lines of light.

  This power caused the world to shake, like the divine Mountain Meru pressing down.

  Zhangsun Qianxue’s eyes flashed. Her right hand was almost uncontrollably flowing with deep blue black lifebond energy. The Nine Hell King Sword automatically appeared and slowly formed in her hand.

  Ever since the start of the Deer Mountain Conference, she knew that Yuanwu was not the Yuanwu she was familiar with. But now when she saw him in person, she still found it hard to believe.

  In this monument, Yuanwu used his lifebond sword to create a sword phoenix, and then used his body to form the Great Meru Sword of the Ba Mountain Sword Field. These two sword moves, in Yuanwu’s hand, became a new sword move, one that was invincible to all attacks in the world.

  “Abyss Of Misery!”


  Back when the Donghu monk was performing the “Corrosion of Heaven” he had just comprehended, Ding Ning shouted in a low voice. Then he used his right hand as the sword, and performed another sword move.

  The “Abyss of Misery” as a secret sword of the Donghu monk’s sword, like it was inscribed into his life. Hearing Ding Ning shout like this, he followed his body’s instincts, and casually performed this move.

  A gray staff shadow was like the sails of an enormous ship cutting apart the wind and waves, passing through the intangible and divine Meru Mountain, and heading at Yuanwu. Then the Donghu monk performed his third sword move, the one that Ding Ning had just shown using his fingers.

  This was a new sword move. As the surrounding air flowed, this sword move seemed to naturally flow through the Donghu monk’s mind. His staff shook again in his hand. Three swords formed one after another.

  There was a very strange buzz. There was a while ball above Emperor Yuanwu’s head that exploded outwards. A hole seemed to appear in space. The tip of the Donghu monk’s staff seemed to become blurry, but at the center of that white ball’s explosion, there was a clear sword tip attacking his enemy’s head.

  Other than Ding Ning and the Donghu monk, everyone changed their expression.

  Emperor Yuanwu’s body seemed to form countless heads and arms. Such a scene was because his movements were too quick, faster than what the eyes and senses could catch.

  Boom!

  A ball of golden flame shattered the scene everyone was seeing.

  There was a low grunt. Emperor Yuanwu’s body retreated out of that ball of golden flame. A faint bloody mark flowed down his forehead.

  Gasps sounded.

  The grandmaster level people present were certain that Emperor Yuanwu was not seriously wounded, but after the Donghu monk’s three moves, he had not gotten the advantage, and actually bled.

  “Neither Arise Nor Cease.” As the gasps sounded, Ding Ning’s voice sounded by the Donghu monk’s ear.

  Ding Ning’s expression was very solemn, his eyes seeming to flash with stars. Each time, the flash represented a thought flashing through his mind. At this time, it was like he was using the Donghu monk’s hands to control the sword. The Donghu monk was close to a realm eight breakthrough, and his mental state was at the most perfect time of his life. Were Yuanwu’s injuries more serious than the outside world had guessed after the Deer Mountain Conference?

  But all this did not form the possibility that they could win or escape the death trap today. In reality, what affected Yuanwu the most right now was Yuanwu’s own mentality. It was his shock at seeing the sword moves being performed. The more he was unrestrained in using these sword moves, the more shocks Yuanwu received, the more Yuanwu could not focus.

  So when he shouted the name of the “Neither Arise Nor Cease” sword, Ding Ning performed another sword. This time, his sword gave off the sword light of his lifebond sword.

  A simple, straight, and open sword essence stabbed forward, but this sword essence was very perfect, so much so that all the swordsmen present felt that they were unable to match this.

  The Donghu monk was slightly confused. This was a move of the Ba Mountain Sword Field that had no finesse, the “Army Breaker.” Anyone could learn such a sword move, and the more simple a sword, the more talent it took to make it perfect, and it had nothing to do with one’s hard work. The power of this sword was not great. Could it have an unexpected effect?

  He did not understand, but at this time, he sensed the disturbance in Emperor Yuanwu’s mind. Between cultivators of such level as him and Emperor Yuanwu, they seemed to know each other’s minds. He sensed an opening in Emperor Yuanwu’s energy.

  The Donghu monk suddenly understood. Only Wang Jingmeng had been able to perform such a perfect sword move in the past. But now, such a sword essence appeared again. How could he not be shocked?

  This sword was not for him to use, but to bring him a chance. His staff disappeared from his hand. His “Neither Arise Nor Cease” It meant that there was nothing in the world that would appear for no reason and nothing that would disappear for no reason. Neither arising nor ceasing, neither increasing nor decreasing.

  The staff that disappeared from his hand appeared in front of Emperor Yuanwu’s chest. And the primal energies in the space in front of Emperor Yuanwu had come to his hand, becoming a transparent long sword.

  Volume 5 27 - Simple to Overlook

  “Min Mountain Sword Sect has no arrangements for other people.”


  Nangong Caishu shook her head at Ding Ning and said, “If not for your request, even I would have been kept back at Min Mountain Sword Sect to cultivate.”


  Ding Ning seemed unsurprised. After a moment of silence, he said with satisfaction, “Min Mountain Sword Sect responded with a satisfactory attitude to the empress, and she has repaid them.”


  Nangong Caishu understood Ding Ning’s meaning. “You worry that she will treat us like she did Zhang Yi?”


  “She is most adept at separating one from friends and family,” Ding Ning said with a cold smile.

  Nangong Caishu stilled slightly. She thought of how Ding Ning had killed Palace Attendant Rong. That had been in retribution for the empress dealing with Zhang Yi.

  “To be able to let Xie Changsheng stay in Min Mountain Sword Sect …… and he seemed to have let many students who were injured stay in Min Mountain Sword Sect.” Ding Ning looked at Nangong Caishu and said, “Baili Suxue seems to have changed.”


  Nangong Caishu felt that she could not judge people of such a level like Ding Ning was doing so casually so she could not reply.

  Min Mountain was cold up high.

  Baili Suxue looked at the mountain snow and asked a Min Mountain Sword Sect cultivator in green robes behind him, “He has no other requests?”


  The Min Mountain Sword Sect cultivator respectfully shook his head. “Other than asking for those people to come along, he has no other requests.”


  Baili Suxue said coolly, “Since he has no other requests, this means he is confident.”


  The Min Mountain Sword Sect cultivator behind him was slightly reluctant. “We will let the empress do this?”


  “Burning ties at a needless time can only be called rash.” Baili Suxue said expressionlessly in a slow voice, “No matter how united, there are always some swords to make her and Yuanwu wary. No need to make it a life and death struggle.”


  For many people of Changling, a place colder than Min Mountain was the depths of the imperial palace.

  Deep in the palace, a grey-robed man knelt on the stone path in front of the empress’ study. He was tall so even kneeling on the ground, he appeared tall. His right sleeve was empty and it swayed in the breeze. He looked very miserable and humble. But none could connect him to the master of Great Floating Water Prison, Shen Xuan. He did not know how long he had knelt for

  From the study ahead, a cold voice finally sounded. “I only asked you to see me, why kneel?”


  Shen Xuan looked at the ground in front of his knees and did not look up as he said, “It is my failure that Great Floating Water Prison was broken in and Lin Zhujiu was lost, I came to receive punishment.”


  “If you feel no guilt and did your best, there is no need to kneel.” The empress’ voice came slowly through the study.

  Hearing this cold and authoritative voice, Shen Xuan did not argue and hung his head silently.

  “I originally thought you liked the Great Floating Water Prison.” The empress continued. “You can meet more cultivators there, and learn many cultivation methods from them. So your cultivation has increased greatly in those years. Do not forget, among the people of your age, many cultivators with better talent are far behind you.”


  “But now I know you did not like it, you are not as you appeared. If my judgement was mistaken, it is naturally my mistake and not yours.”


  “You should know, unless I do not speak, if I do speak, I will do what I have said. I can give you a promise.”


  The voice coming from the study was no longer so cold and started to turn peaceful. “If you like, you can accompany the army to Donghu …… If you can take the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art from the youth, you will be the fourteenth Qin marquis and I can let you choose your lands.”


  Shen Xuan’s body did not tremble at all, but his face twitched. He took a deep breath and then slowly stood up. He said, “I will go to Donghu.”


  The empress’ voice sounded from the study. “I hope you really like it this time.”


  Shen Xuan lifted his head and said, “I do.”


  Changling was always filled with numerous joys and sorrows. Some people were in joy while others in sorrow.

  Huang Zhenwei looked sorrowfully at Mo Shoucheng who was laying on the rattan chair and said in a trembling voice, “Teacher, wait for me.”


  Mo Shoucheng slowly lifted his head to glance at him and nodded.

  Huang Zhenwei turned and walked down the turret, moving in the direction of the imperial palace under the morning light. He knew his teacher had reached his last moments. How long he would stay in the world depended on his teacher’s will. If his teacher wanted to leave, he could leave at any moment. He knew that with his teacher’s condition, each moment was extra pain. But he wanted his teacher to wait until he came back from the imperial palace……

  He wanted to request some things from the empress. At least, his teacher should not be like the master of the Shang Family. At least, his master could have less of a bad name.

  This was his sincere wish as a student. He wanted to do that.

  Yet he did not know, when he left the turret, the cold general turned around Mo Shoucheng’s rattan chair at his indication. This way, Mo Shoucheng could see Huang Zhenwei moving away.

  “What is the meaning?” Mo Shoucheng seemed to be speaking to Huang Zhenwei and also to himself and the general behind him. “When you live to my age, you will understand there is nothing more important than life and death as well as doing as you please. When one is dead, everything is gone. You will reach inner peace. Why care about these matters left behind?”


  After saying all this, he pulled up his blanket and closed his eyes as though he was dozing.

  Huang Zhenwei walked quickly. He seemed to be a beam of light moving through Changling. At one place, he stopped for a moment.

  Here, he could see a desolate alley nearby, Falling Parasol. At this time, he did not think of anything about the wine shop youth except how he looked standing in front of Xue Wangxu’s corpse at the start of Min Mountain Sword Trials.

  The scene in his mind slowly merged with Ding Ning’s shadow. He thought that his emotions now were Ding Ning’s emotions back then.

  He stopped for a moment and then continued to advance. Then, he quickly stopped again.

  With his cultivation, he could hear many quiet sounds. He was used to hearing the sounds of the world rushing into his ears, he would then eliminate the disorderly sounds until he heard what he wanted to.

  What he heard now was what he desired. His body inexplicably trembled. The sound he heard accidentally was an ordinary conversation between two people in the alley.

  “Blacksmith Zhang’s daughter is looking better, exactly the same as her mother in her youth, the same mold.”


  “Her mouth is the same as Blacksmith Zhang. I think you are old and your memory is failing. Even if it is the same painter, no two people can look exactly the same.”


  “You are so serious ……”


  Hearing this conversation that would occur frequently in the alleys, Huang Zhenwei knew he had made a serious mistake, or rather, he had overlooked something.

  Sometimes, when one has been searching for a long time and had no clues, the clues, like the unremarkable grass on the side of the road, had already entered his sight.

  Many people had investigated Ding Ning. Long ago, after the storm when Ye Celeng returned to Changling, the Divinity Bureau had investigated Divinity Bureau, and his aunt Zhangsun Qianxue. Even the Divinity Bureau felt there were no problems and destroyed Ding Ning’s case files, but if someone important wanted to investigate Ding Ning, the information they would get would not be any less than the Divinity Bureau.

  Back during the Deer Mountain Conference, Huang Zhenwei had seen some of Ding Ning’s information. This information included Zhangsun Qianxue. Their births had no problems. He had even seen their family history.

  In the family history, there was Zhangsun Qianxue’s mother’s portrait. This mother in the portrait looked almost the same as Zhangsun Qianxue. Not just appearance, they were almost identical in expression.

  There could not be two of the same rivers in the world, or two people that looked exactly the same. This was a simple truth. Yet when he flipped through the family history, he had not made a serious comparison, and just thought that Zhangsun Qianxue’s mother was also an unforgettable beauty.

  If that portrait had been made based on Zhangsun Qianxue, then it was a fake.

  A fake was the biggest problem.

  Translator Ramblings: Finally, someone on the “other side” has found a clue.

  Volume 3 28 - Cage

  He clearly only had realm three vital energy power, but the sword marks criss-crossing in front of him released an essence that even realm seven cultivators could not understand.

  For cultivators, when they encountered a situation like this, they would first ponder why something like this would occur. They would consider what Ding Ning’s identity was and what secrets he was hiding. But to the blind dragon who had been trapped here for an unknown number of years, it could only feel the presence.

  It could not speak in human speech but it possessed high intelligence. When Ding Ning’s sword energy disturbed the formation of this blue structure and activated the blue lightning it was familiar with, it started to understand that it may be able to escape this cage.

  Thinking of how it could possibly escape this cage, it could not stop trembling all over. Thunderous roars rang through its belly.

  The rumbles in the stomach were because it was very hungry.

  It was a carnivorous spirit beast, and relied on consuming blood and energy to survive. But the powerful cultivator who had trapped it here back then knew its ability to endure hunger, and had not provided it with any food. Over the years, its food had only been the insects that had lived in this blue structure and some birds that had accidentally entered the blue structure. While this was enough for it to survive, the hunger of many years was the greatest torment, even more when it could not have freedom.

  It could see the blue sky outside, but could not leave.

  Forefather Zhou and the king of Chu had waited decades, but how could they have waited as long as it had? Many years of waiting in exchange for today’s possibility. It looked at Ding Ning’s calm and authoritative stance. It trembled all over, and then sprawled to the ground, even its head touching the ground.

  It was expressing its compliance.

  Seeing the blind eyes on its head change from viciousness to compliance, terror, and pleading, hearing the thunderous rumbles in its stomach, Ding Ning’s eyes flashed with sympathy.

  The blind dragon’s senses were many times more powerful than ordinary cultivators. It managed to sense Ding Ning’s sympathy, and immediately pressed itself deeper into the ground, as though it would bury itself under the rotten leaves.

  “I sympathize with your situation right now, and I will release you. But you must first help me rescue my friend.”


  Ding Ning looked at it, said these words and then added two simple words. “The Flesh Bodhi.”


  The blind dragon could not completely understand the meaning in the first few words, but it had heard the term ‘flesh bodhi’ many times. In the next moment, its head immediately swayed in shock.

  Ding Ning frowned slightly.

  He started to make some simple hand motions as he said, “You mean to say the flesh bodhi also has a powerful formation so you cannot get close?”


  The blind the dragon understood his meaning and started to nod.

  Ding Ning took a deep breath.

  He absolutely understood Forefather Zhou’s intentions.

  Forefather Zhou only wanted to use him to lure away the blind dragon for a moment, so he could enter the formation protecting the flesh bodhi. As long as the blind dragon could not stop him from entering the formation protecting the flesh bodhi, he could successively obtain the flesh bodhi.

  Therefore, Forefather Zhou was likely going to absorb the flesh bodhi within the formation.

  If he managed to do so inside, on his way back he would encounter this blind dragon. Even if he suffered a little, he would not die here, he could still escape.

  “Take me there.”


  Ding Ning looked at the blind dragon and said in an unrefusable tone, “I will defeat the formation.”


  The blind dragon lifted its head slightly.

  It was slightly doubtful.

  Ding Ning frowned slightly. He knew what he needed to do right now.

  So he slowly breathed out, and released the countless invisible little silkworms hiding in his body.

  The invisible little silkworms appeared out of his body, starting to absorb the surrounding primal energies of the universe.

  The air was filled with hissing.

  The scene in the blind dragon’s perception was completely different.

  It seemed to have seen an enormous being at the top of the food chain, something that could consume all things. This kind of presence and the presence showing in the sword marks was the same, enough to make it shudder.

  It no longer hesitated. It turned around, its enormous body travelling rapidly through the dense forest and creating a round path for Ding Ning.

  Ding Ning followed. After ten breaths, the blind dragon stopped.

  The trees and vines ahead of the blind dragon were the same as in any other part of the blue structure, but there was a clear green light ahead of it.

  Many green crystals poked out of the dried leaves.

  These green crystals gave off green light that formed a wave.

  Ding Ning frowned deeply.

  He closed his eyes, the countless little silkworms in his body once again flooded out of his body and gradually consumed the primal energies of the universe.

  The spitting of silk scared the blind dragon into lying on the ground again.

  As the invisible threads produced by the little silkworms spread through the air, some clear lines appeared in Ding Ning’s perception. A scene of cold wind blowing with snowflakes in the air appeared in his mind.

  But there were countless green crystals spread through this cold scene like numerous ghosts waiting to surge onto fresh flesh.

  “Starting now, we must trust each other.” Ding Ning opened his eyes and spoke, seriously and calmly to the blind dragon.

  Then he reached out and placed his hand on the blind dragon’s head like he was touching a friend.

  The blind dragon’s body grew slightly stiff, terrifying energies roiling instinctively around it. The air snapped and there seemed to be energy erupting out of the ground.

  But Ding Ning’s hand landed without any hesitation.

  The moment his hand made true contact with the blind dragon’s body, these terrifying energies disappeared. The blind dragon’s body was still stiff, but those blind eyes gave off more unusual lights.

  “I will definitely get you to leave this cage.” Ding Ning pulled his hand back as he solemnly reaffirmed. Then he said, “I will break this formation, but I do not have enough power. I need you to believe me, and use some of your power to help me defeat this formation.”


  The blind dragon was still stiff and did not seem to understand.

  Ding Ning glanced at it and then swung his sword.

  The Last Flower remnant sword left a sword mark on the ground next to him.

  He then shot out a wave of vital energy from his left hand that landed in the sword mark

  Then he pointed at the sword mark and said to the blind dragon,” Me.”


  Then he produced another surge of vital energy that entered the sword mark and said, “You.”


  The blind dragon was still for a long moment before …… its body moved. It nodded.

  Ding Ning flashed a hint of a smile. Even so, he was still in no hurry to act. He drew two figures using the remnant sword on the ground.

  One was the figure of Forefather Zhou, the other Fu Su.

  “Enemy!” He pointed at Forefather Zhou’s figure.

  “Friend,” he said as he pointed at Fu Su.

  The blind dragon hesitated for a moment, and nodded when it understood his meaning.

  Ding Ning raised his head, but then he seemed to think of something. He bent down and drew a round figure on the ground.

  This was the shape of the blind dragon.

  Then he pointed at this figure and said to the blind dragon, “Friend.”


  The simple word seemed to contain countless meanings to the blind dragon.

  A strange sounded within its body. Its blind eyes constantly flashed with light. It was trying to sense something.

  Ding Ning looked calmly at it.

  It seemed to be infected by Ding Ning’s calm. The surrounding presences calmed down.

  Ding Ning did not say anything else. He took several steps forward in front of it, and stood before the green line.

  This movement caused the blind dragon’s body to quiver again. It instinctively nodded.

  Ding Ning swung his sword.

  The Last Flower remnant sword spread along his movement like a flower in bloom. Countless sword energies shot out following the sword threads and created minuscule paths in the air ahead.

  Boom!

  Astounding cold energy suddenly erupted in the calm air ahead. A snowstorm seemed on the verge of forming, to destroy everything.

  At this time, the blind dragon suddenly leapt up.

  The flesh whiskers on its head danced. Dim yellow waves of energy surged out of the ground and entered those minuscule lines.

  Boom!

  An enormous roar, like two ships colliding, sounded in the air ahead.

  Crack crack crack ……

  Cracks immediately appeared in the numerous green crystals in front of it and Ding Ning. Then those green crystals split, the waves of light quickly disappeared.

  In the center of this formation formed by these green crystals stood a tall fig tree. Its leaves were all strangely purple. Hanging from the roots was a human-shaped purple fruit.

  This fruit looked like a curled up infant, its surface giving off light like jade but also flesh.

  At this time, Forefather Zhou was sitting next to this fruit. His only movable left hand’s fingers were stabbed into this fruit. Waves of vital energy were absorbing the essence of this fruit and flooding into his body.

  His countenance was that of avarice and ecstasy.

  Fu Su, forced to stand by the side among the dried leaves, looked at the expression crawling up his face and felt immense hate.

  Accompanying the terrifying roar was an astounding wave of cold energy.

  All the leaves on the fig tree fell off. Forefather Zhou’s hair was swept up. He shouted in disbelief, “What is this!”


  Translator Ramblings: Fig are naturally a dark blue/purple color. I imagine a purple fig tree would look very pretty but I don’t know of any truly purple trees in nature.

  Volume 6 28 - Inexplicable Words

  Ding Ning worried the most about what would happen in Changling, and the changes that would occur after the other dynasties learned of the existence of the Nine Death Silkworm. This did not just concern his life and death but that of the many people related to him.

  “What are those?”


  At night, Zhangsun Qianxue opened her eyes, and looked into the distant horizon. There were many shadows in the calm fight. The shadows were actually moving, causing ripples in her mind as she sensed them.

  “Night Demon Apes.” Ding Ning held her hands, her hands were soft but very cold. “A kind of demon ape with wings. They eat blood, flesh, and rotten things, they are a virus in personality. Some of the people in the islands call these beasts yaksha.”


  Hearing the faint sound coming through the air, Ding Ning slowly explained. “The reason that the Zheng Family could dominate Jiaodong Commandery at the start was because they had some ways of controlling the powerful ocean beasts. They could use some of the deep sea beasts, and on the ocean, they are more dangerous to the ship fleets than a realm seven grandmaster. But the most powerful ocean beasts cannot leave the water. It should only be these night demon apes that are able to fly and leave the water for a long time to fight.”


  “There are too many of them,” Zhangsun Qianxue said calmly.

  She had heard of these beasts before. Their hide was thick and hard to damage with weapons. They were also very nimble. While usually, these beasts that were so troublesome to ordinary cultivators were not much to her, right now, it was different. The Donghu monk and her had used too much energy. Also, the Nine Hell King Sword was akin to being a crippled sword right now. From a certain point of view, all of the hard work she put into the lifebond sword in Changling had been wasted. Even now her cultivation and some of her methods far surpassed ordinary realm seven grandmasters, but she had lost the power of the Nine Hell King Sword, and was both wounded and had not recovered. She could have a difficult time winning against an ordinary realm seven, or maybe, she could not win at all.

  There were too many. They could wear down the strength of her and the Donghu monk, and then delay them so they could not keep on fleeing. Of course, if there were grandmasters coming with the beasts, it would be even harder.

  Sensing the trembling of her fingers, Ding Ning gently held her fingers tighter, and said softly in a voice that only he and she could hear, “If I really die here with you, I am not afraid, and I do not have many regrets. My greatest regret in the past was not choosing to be with you.”


  Zhangsun Qianxue understood his meaning. She was no longer afraid, and did not feel helpless. She nodded lightly with a hint of inexplicable joy. No one could understand this emotion. Having gotten back after losing, being together in life and death. If they really died tonight, they could calmly go to death together.

  Ding Ning breathed in her faint fragrance, and saw the black shadows grow clearer. He slowly said, “There is some hope yet…… Yuanwu has still not come yet. This means that my speculation is correct, he fears death very much. As long as he does not come, we still have a chance because so many night demon apes cannot hide their tracks.”


  “In reality, I worry the most about Ye Xiao.” Ding Ning looked at her dazzling face, and then said, “A person like him who lives for revenge is more terrifying than Zheng Xiu. Because Yuanwu and Zheng Xiu will fear death, will consider their own safety and interests, but he is different, he will not care about his interests and the cost.”


  **

  Fu Su was looking up at the sky as well. He was very tired, but he had not gone to rest at all, much less sleep.

  Zhangsun Qianxue had been using her method to change her appearance all this time, and Ding Ning had continued wearing the black cloth on his face. So he could not directly relate Ding Ning to the wine shop youth of Falling Parasol directly. Everyone had told him that his friend had died.

  But for some reason, seeing Ding Ning and Zhangsun Qianxue whisper to one other calmly, he felt them increasingly familiar.

  Explosions started to sound in the air. The night demon apes covered the sky as they arrived.

  It was the first time he saw the beasts from the islands of Jiaodong Commandery. They were about the height of normal men, but their wings were over ten feet. They looked like apes, but they did not have any hair at all. They were slightly hunch backed, their heads similar to apes, but they had many exposed protruding fangs .

  What was most frightening was that in the darkness, these beasts had blood red eyes, just like the demons of legend. The night sky seemed to be taken over by the beasts. The explosions of the wing flapping caused his eardrums to ring.

  In the past, when he listened to Ding Ning and Zhangsun Qianxue talk, he had kept his silence, but now, he could not resist and turned to them. He said, “There are many. You have spent so much energy to catch me, but it seems that I am not of much use to you.” His tone was faintly mocking.

  Ding Ning glanced at him and said, “Soon, you will know what your use is.”


  Fu Su did not have time to respond when there were even louder tearing sounds coming from the air.

  The sky above had become boiling porridge, countless fleeting shadows diving down. The night demon apes had started to attack.

  Zhangsun Qianxue did not even stand up. She coldly swung her sword.

  The Nine Hell King Sword had become an empty sword nucleus, but even so, it still had much energy. A sword nucleus that could endure the great cold from hell was still very sharp.

  There were many soft sounds. Many night demon apes were easily cut by the transparent sword light in half. Their bodies, impenetrable by arrows, were no different from paper in the face of the sharpness of the Nine Hell King Sword. But lacking sufficient cold, the blood rushed out furiously, and caused the entire world to be filled with the tang of blood. The blood scent had a natural stimulating effect on the beasts. Countless savage howls sound covered some quieter ones.

  A slender flying sword came from high in the sky, hiding in the shattered fresh and blood, silently sneaking towards Ding Ning and Zhangsun Qianxue.

  At this time, the Donghu monk was motionless, sitting like a mud statue, seeming to have not sensed the danger.

  Ding Ning casually reached out.

  The words echoing in Fu Su’s ears, he felt he was lifted up like a shield.

  Ding Ning raised his body towards the flying sword. His timing was immaculate. The flying sword was just several feet away from him and Zhangsun Qianxue, but suddenly, Fu Su appeared in that space.

  The one controlling the sword was a grandmaster. He was holding onto the feet of a night demon ape silently in the air. At this time, sensing Fu Su in front of his flying sword, his breathing suddenly stopped. The accelerating sword suddenly froze, and stopped.

  Yuanwu could ignore Fu Su’s death, but he could not. He especially did not dare to kill Fu Su with his own hands directly like this.

  Just as he forcibly controlled his flying sword, and his vital energy was turbulent in his body, he sensed a thread of coldness from his back. A fatal terror spread in his body. When he looked down, he saw a remnant sword stab through his chest. Fine white flowers flashed on this remnant sword, and then were covered by his blood.

  This grandmaster’s body fell from high above, and smashed down in the stream in front of Ding Ning and Fu Su.

  Before this, the flying sword he had been controlling lost its life, and fell at Ding Ning’s feet.

  “You…… Shameless!” A stunned Fu Su grasped the happenings the next moment and shouted in fury.

  Volume 4 28 - Heavenly Mandate

  There were many people in Celestial Seal Sect who could defeat and even kill this Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth, yet those people were not of the same generation as this youth.

  “You lost.”


  Amidst the silence, the youth said seriously to Fang Shunyi. Then he swept his eyes towards all the Celestial Seal Sect members present. His gaze seemed to automatically filter through the older members of Celestial Seal Sect and landed on the young disciples instead. Then he asked, “Anyone else?”


  No one responded for a while.

  Fang Shunyi was among the top of Celestial Seal Sect’s younger generations. Also, when he fought this Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth, he had decisively used the true seals he had made over many years. The other people in the sect who could rival him thought they could not match his power at that moment.

  An unspeakable presence spread.

  Murong Xiaoyi felt ashamed.

  Seeing no one respond, the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth raised an eyebrow and said seriously, “If no one accepts, you have to follow the agreement and give this sect over.”


  Murong Xiaoyi paled and then she flushed red. Many young Celestial Seal Sect disciples had similar expressions.

  “Let me try.”


  A voice sounded at this time.

  This voice did not have a pure Yan accent and carried a Qin accent many Yan people hated.

  All gazes gathered on that person. Zhang Yi also turned to look.

  Just from the voice, he knew the speaker was Su Qin.

  Just like how Zhang Yi had passed the test to join Celestial Seal Sect, Su Qin’s admittance to Celestial Seal Sect was a mystery to most people. But unlike Zhang Yi who was an object of dislike, the latter had progressed quickly, so quick that it evoked jealousy.

  In a few short months, he had left behind the people who had entered the sect half a year ahead of him. Arranged by the teachers of Celestial Seal Sect, he was studying together with the Celestial Seal Sect students who had joined two years ago.

  In Celestial Seal Sect, he did not fit with the crowd. Even standing among the crowd, he appeared lonely. No friends stood next to him. His hands were tucked in his sleeves so no one could see his crippled left hand. His hair was very black, making his face appear exceptionally white.

  Su Qin was handsome to begin with. As a slight flush appeared on his white face, people witnessed an eerie beauty.

  But this could all be ignored in the eyes of the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth.

  “All right.” He looked at Su Qin who was standing on the stone steps nearby and nodded simply. “Then you can attack.”


  Su Qin smiled and nodded in courtesy.

  In the next moment, the dust on the path in front of him was blown away by the power surging out of his body. At the same time, a fiery red true seal flew out of his left sleeve.

  This true seal burned in the flying dust and disappeared like a fallen leaf without even leaving ash behind. A trail of red fire appeared in the air to the left side of the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth.

  At the sight of the fiery red fire, many confused sounds erupted in the surroundings.

  Su Qin had joined recently but had left behind most of the students present. In many people’s view, he could not be as strong as Fang Shunyi and could not represent Celestial Seal Sect in battle.

  The red fire of this moment was an ordinary true fire seal among all of Celestial Seal Sect’s true seals.

  Someone like Fang Shunyi who had thousands of seals was not a match for this Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth. Could this true fire seal be effective?

  The youth from the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect could not understand either. As such, he had no interest in even looking at the fire. His left hand moved minutely. A beam of yellow light fell from the yellow sky above, turning into a yellow stone that flew towards the true fire.

  Using stone to defeat fire was an ordinary tactic in Celestial Seal Sect’s seal path. Unexpectedly, just as the yellow stone was going to hit this true fire, the red fire suddenly twisted like it was alive. Numerous ruler-straight seal essences appeared.

  The fire suddenly condensed, and in five different directions.

  Among a wave of disbelieving gasps, this ball of true fire formed five small and thin swords. With multiple hisses, the five jade-like small swords penetrated the falling yellow stone and attacked five different places on the youth’s body.

  Zhang Yi exclaimed in shock. He was not shocked at Su Qin’s incredible tactic, but out of worry for the youth’s life.

  This was too close. There was less than ten meters. These five swords were akin to five flying swords.

  The Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth too had not expected such a transformation. With a howl, a yellow paper seal flew out of his sleeve and his body also flew backwards.

  There were multiple explosions. Dozens of streams of true fire surged out of a patch of yellow sand.

  Multiple streams of fire splashed on the youth’s body. All those present saw several blackened wounds on the youth’s body.

  The youth shouted, and managed to steady his stumbling body.

  But at this moment, the vital energy in Su Qin’s body was surging wildly out of his left hand. Five true fire seals flew out of his left hand. The fingers of his left hand were twisted unpleasantly, and disgusting to see. But the energy charging out of his fingertips flew chaotically in a distorted manner and hit those true fire seals.

  Streams of fire appeared in front of the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth and then spread into red true fire swords.

  The fire seals all disappeared. These swords flew quickly and fiercely. They were ordered differently and also came from different directions.

  As a result, the true fire swords formed a rain of fire.

  Murong Xiaoyi’s beautiful eyes were wide to their limits. She started to understand that this young person from Qin had used his crippled hand to create a different seal essence. He turned the ordinary true fire seals into a powerful sword seal.

  Thinking of her fellow student Zhang Yi who invoked dislike, as she felt admiration towards Su Qin, she felt even more hate for the former.

  Many people reacted faster than her. Back when Su Qin’s first true fire seal changed, the people around Zhang Yi looked at him with different gazes.

  But at this time, Zhang Yi did not notice the expressions and gazes of the people around him.

  The Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth was wounded and his movements clearly slowed. Su Qin was still evidently pursuing pure speed. He used speed so the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth had a difficult time in order to quickly end the battle.

  But he felt that it would not be so simple. His intuition was the youth from Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect would not be defeated so easily. He just felt that the disciple who came to Celestial Seal Sect after two centuries of silence from Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect would not be easily defeated by one changed true seal.

  Gasps sounded at this moment.

  His pupils contracted.

  The youth spread his arms apart, golden crystal lines appeared on his body.

  These crystal lines of light passed through his body, spreading upwards until they connected with the yellow sky above that seemed to be a giant kite pulled along by countless threads of light.

  Su Qin’s expression changed dramatically.

  The moment the crystal lights came off the youth, his fire swords started to shatter. When the true fire swords fell onto these threads of light, they were cut into countless pieces.

  When the shattered true fire advanced even more, they were cut into smaller pieces by the threads of light. In the end, they turned into thin heat that dissipated outside of the youth.

  The youth’s body trembled minutely in pain. He gritted his teeth and glanced at Su Qin.

  One thread of light in his hand seemed to suddenly snap. He appeared to pull a great power down from the sky. As the thread snapped, it swept in front of Su Qin.

  Air exploded. Su Qin’s body flew backwards, passing above all the onlookers and falling down far away.

  Volume 2 28 - An Agreement of Breakthrough

  This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.

  Bleak wind, icy rain, green vines, chaos.

  Chu Qifeng of Heavenly Works Pavilion, Spiritual Master Ku Yu of Humility School, Du Qingteng of White Rock Workshop, and Zou Yunluan of Bamboo Mountain Workshop were once the four strongest grandmasters of the Chu Dynasty. They even represented an era. However, when facing Demon Consort Zhao who supposedly only knew seductive techniques, one of the four grandmasters, Spiritual Master Ku Yu, was instantly defeated, so easily that even the palace remained unscathed. The scene looked less severe than that of a fight between low level cultivators.

  As one of the opponents, Spiritual Master Ku Yu knew better than anyone else the disparity in power between himself and Consort Zhao Xiang.

  Consort Zhao Xiang’s punch hadn’t just destroyed his body, but also his Taoist heart.

  "How is this possible?"

  He asked dazedly when he heard Consort Zhao Xiang’s words.

  "In the many years of the past, the strongest cultivators in the world never came from the Chu Dynasty. Using tools is the difference between being a human and an animal, but overeliance on material items is the greatest weakness of your generation of cultivators."

  Consort Zhao Xiang looked coolly at him and said softly, "Using objects beneficial to oneself is the correct path. That is the correct cultivation path. While this truth is easy to understand, and any cultivator of the Chu Dynasty understands, compared to the cultivators of the Qin and Zhao dynasties, you cultivators seem to lack a certain spirit from the start."

  If this was an ordinary time, Spiritual Master Ku Yu most likely would have sniffed at Consort Zhao Xiang’s words, and said that she was speaking nonsense. However, after seeing the other subdue him completely with a punch, he had a completely different understanding.

  He grimaced. "This is the so-called ’a truth easy to understand but hard to enact’?"

  Consort Zhao Xiang smiled brightly and said, "Since you have seen my power today, you should have some confidence in my and the Chu Dynasty’s future.

  Spiritual Master Ku Yu shook his head and whispered. "I still do not have confidence."

  Consort Zhao Xiang’s expression changed into a rare frosty one. She said in a slightly harsh voice, "My Chu will not have anyone stronger than me for a very long time. You have no confidence in me because of people from other dynasties? You are Chu, and you will listen to the opinions of foreigners?"

  Spiritual Master Ku Yu took a deep breath.

  This was the last breath he would take in this world, so the air that he breathed into his chest was exceptionally sweet.

  Consort Zhao Xiang’s expression grew uglier.

  She could see Spiritual Master Ku Yu’s intentions in seeking death, but even she could not stop a cultivator of his level from killing himself.

  A soft explosion sounded in Spiritual Master Ku Yu’s heart meridian. Then, this Chu grandmaster’s head dropped as he died.

  Consort Zhao Xiang clenched her fist hard before slowly relaxing.

  A ruler-straight bolt of energy appeared in the air on top of her head and shot into the sky like smoke.

  "Who could make people like you and Chu Qifeng believe that my king’s decision to make Li Lingjun the crown prince is wrong? That you will even die for this?"

  She could not control her emotions as she looked at Spiritual Master Ku Yu’s corpse. She really could not understand.

  The night passed, and the morning mists faded as a dim light silently landed from the clouds.

  The Endless Palace was the name of a palace within the Changling inner palace. At the same time, it was a secret cultivation place that the empress had set up. The empress had come from the Ba Mountain Sword Field, and during the wars with the Han, Zhao, and Wei dynasties, she had already been a legendary cultivator. The cultivation place she had set up naturally possessed astounding means that other ordinary cultivation places did not have.

  The half bird half fish steed of the master of Endless Palace, Pan Ruoye, was not an ordinary one. It had never appeared before in any cultivation records.

  Even with the addition of Ding Ning and Fu Su, this half bird half fish steed was still extremely light as it flew, not even tired after its long flight.

  High in the air, Mo Shoucheng released a presence to block the cold wind. Being high in the sky and on the ground were not much different, but when the steed finally landed, something also seemed to land inside Fu Su’s body. He made a decision, turning to look at Ding Ning and said softly in a guilty voice, "I must apologize to you. From the start, I purposefully concealed my identity."

  Ding Ning remained silent. He thought inside,

  He had originally thought it would be easy to use the power of the empress to deal with Forefather Zhou. But the situation had turned complex with the appearance of the king of Chu, with him and Fu Su ending up in a truly dangerous situation.

  "I know you must be very angry." Fu Su became slightly nervous when he heard Ding Ning’s silence. He did not know what to say, stiffening on his spot.

  Ding Ning looked up at his nervous features and said, "You do not have to apologize because I never asked about your identity."

  Fu Su stilled, and did not understand the meaning in his words.

  Ding Ning continued calmly. "I never look at people’s identity when making friends."

  Fu Su reacted. He looked with delight at Ding Ning and said, "You really do not care?"

  Ding Ning frowned slightly. "As long as you do not care."

  Fu Su understood Ding Ning’s meaning and nodded emphatically. "We will be the same as before."

  Hearing the conversation of the two youths, Mo Shoucheng smiled slightly. In his view, this was naturally a very childish conversation.

  High in the mountains, the wind was even colder. When people had high status, they would not have friends. This could not be avoided.

  It was possible to see Deer Mountain clearly by now. Looking at Deer Mountain which did not seem outstanding compared to the surrounding mountains, Fu Su couldn’t help but turn to ask Mo Shoucheng, his mood light. "Principal Mo, what are we going to do now?"

  Mo Shoucheng was the teacher of the Holy One, and was also the principal of the school responsible for teaching imperial members. However, in these recent years, other than Emperor Yuanwu, the empress, Huang Zhenwei and a rare few, not many were able to meet him. As a result, being called Principal Mo was a novel experience to him.

  This kind of title made him feel that he was slightly younger, reminiscent of the old days.

  He smiled in pleasure and said kindly, "We are going to ascend a mountain, but not Deer Mountain."

  Fu Su stilled. He could not understand Mo Shoucheng’s meaning. Even if they were going to ascend another mountain, why would they land below the mountains and not fly up?

  Mo Shoucheng looked at Ding Ning and said warmly, "That day, in the heavy snow, you and Xue Wangxu walked into my sight and I had some understanding of you. From the start, Wang Taixu valued you because you possessed astounding judgement. Can you guess what Palace Master Pan and I will do next?"

  Ding Ning thought for a moment and did not waste words. He said, "The Holy One is going to ascend Deer Mountain in person and so other people do not have to consider the matters on Deer Mountain, they just have to make sure there are no outside influences."

  A hint of emotion appeared in Mo Shoucheng’s eyes. He said slowly, "Later, when the four rulers meet on Deer Mountain, Deer Mountain will be sealed by the armies and cultivators of the dynasties. At the time, the closest distance to the peak of Deer Mountain will be the peaks of these various mountains."

  Fu Su seemed to understand slightly and said in surprise, "You mean, when the conference starts, people may fly over the peaks?"

  "This is an unprecedented conference, anything is possible." Mo Shoucheng looked at him and said, "But true experts need only a perfect opportunity. They do not need to fly over. They only have to make sure their power is enough to be near the peak of Deer Mountain at the right time……"

  Fu Su had completely understood, he said, "So the surroundings of Deer Mountain…… any of the mountains near the peak of Deer Mountain will be taken over by powerful cultivators. You need to pick a mountain you can ascend."

  "There are many grandmasters in the world. Who dares to think they are invincible? Also, Palace Master Pan and I have yet to reach realm eight. Even if we work together against the king of Chu, we will not have absolute victory. How can we guarantee that we can ascend any mountain we want?"

  Mo Shoucheng nodded. His gaze was on the silent peaks in the distance. "Naturally, we have to find a mountain we can ascend."

  The morning light was dim as the dew on the grass reflected a glowing light. Mo Shoucheng and Pan Ruoye slowly walked to the base of a mountain.

  Without any change in presence, the dew on the grass at the base of the mountain all fell off the tips of the grass at the same time.

  Each dewdrop was minuscule. Usually, when dew like this fell off, it would not make any sound.

  But when the dew drops on all the grass tips fell at the same time, it created an unimaginable presence. The air boomed, and an invisible wave formed in the forest, so enormous it could not be imagined.

  After the previous question, Fu Su knew that there would be astoundingly powerful grandmasters within these calm peaks, but when he sensed this kind of presence, his face still drained of blood and grew whiter.

  Ding Ning narrowed his eyes slightly. He was certain this mountain was one that Mo Shoucheng and Pan Ruoye could not get. He knew that Mo Shoucheng and Pan Ruoye wanted to use the smallest of costs so they could fight at full power during the Deer Mountain Conference.

  The moment he thought this, Mo Shoucheng and Pan Ruoye had stopped and walked towards another mountain peak.

  Translator Ramblings: I’m not sure how great this philosophy of "over-reliance on seal weapons" makes the Chu weaker than Qin comparing how much the Qin has been shown to rely on …… their swords.

  Volume 5 28 - Peacefully Leaving the City

  A simple and overlooked question was followed by countless questions. One thought caused everything to be understood. There was no need to think about the process. Once this point was recognized, then countless questions could be explained.

  Why Ding Ning’s cultivation was so fast.

  Why Ding Ning was able to travel with Forefather Zhou and still survive.

  Why Ding Ning could understand numerous sword manuals at a glance.

  Why Ding Ning was so serious.

  Why Ding Ning could fight above his realm.

  **

  In this instant, there seemed to be countless people chanting in Huang Zhenwei’s mind, changing Ding Ning’s name and the Nine Death Silkworm. Within the sunlight, he felt even more ridiculous and laughable, he was on the verge of tears.

  Was life this ridiculous?

  When he was not able to find in his search, when everything had already happened, it silently came to him.

  A black feather gently fell down from the sky.

  Trembling, Huang Zhenwei looked up. He had never found the sunlight so blinding. He saw a black pigeon fly from the direction of the imperial palace. The black messenger pigeon carried the empress’ decree.

  He was rushing back to the imperial palace now but the empress’ decree had already arrived. He took the letter scroll from the black messenger pigeon and opened the secret note for all bureau chiefs. Then his hands trembled more violently.

  At this time, he heard the sound of a horn from the distant turret behind him. He stiffly turned around and saw a white cloth.

  He was Mo Shoucheng’s only student after Yuanwu. He knew what the horn and the hanging white cloth meant. He knew that his teacher had not fulfilled his promise in the end. Or rather, his teacher was wiser than him and saw further. He knew that even if his student went to the imperial palace, he could not change a thing.

  “Teacher!” He shouted in pain. Tears poured down his face as he ignored the gazes of people around him.

  Nothing would change. His teacher was dead. The empress’ decree had been issued. He wanted to let his teacher know before death that notoriety would not be added to him, and he would receive some of his deserved glory.

  Yet his teacher could not see it. What he wanted to do could not succeed. After his teacher’s death, there would be more crimes and anger for his teacher to bear.

  He knew his teacher had calmly chosen to accept in his last moments. All of his efforts were for a peerlessly glorious empire, an unprecedented empire. Yet he could not accept calmly.

  The only sound in his mind was his teacher’s words: What he could do now was to choose.

  Huang Zhenwei stood in the middle of the street.

  Some of his subordinates did not want others to see his loss of composure and cleaned out the street.

  But as he stood in the empty street, the scene in his mind’s eyes constantly changed. He seemed to be standing in front of that enormous pile of corpses back then. He saw the invincible swordsman who had led the Qin Dynasty to destroy three dynasties finally die. His body had been turned to ash by countless sword lights. In the end, not even ash was left.

  He seemed to be standing back in front of Ba Mountain Sword Field. The enormous Ba mountain ranges were so tall he could not see the peak. Like a holy place, they pressed on him until he felt small and unable to breathe. But that Last Flower sword was broken in the end. When Ba Mountain Sword Field disappeared, he sensed the enormous Ba Mountain suddenly collapse and shadows fall onto him.

  Many people had spent their entire lives for this increasingly strong dynasty until they died. Yet they did not receive what they deserved.

  This moment Huang Zhenwei was facing a choice, he thought of that person’s gaze before death from within the pile of corpses.

  Who was wrong?

  Was the Nine Death Silkworm wrong?

  Huang Zhenwei closed his eyes in even more pain, yet the burning sunlight caused his eyes to see red.

  All choices originated from one’s true emotions.

  He understood the meaning of his teacher’s words completely. His teacher had made a choice he thought was correct and liked. But his teacher would not obstruct his choice, because he was the teacher who really loved his disciple.

  He squeezed his eyes closed, pursed his lips together and gritted his teeth. Because of too much force, blood seeped through his teeth dripping down the corners of his mouth, yet he did not feel a thing……

  **

  When Huang Zhengwei was making his choice, Ding Ning was calmly preparing his luggage. He had notified the Warden’s Office already.

  Usually, when cultivators without any military merit entered the army, they were just an ordinary soldier. But because of his special status, and because this was due to Min Mountain Sword Sect’s compromise, he received the treatment of an ordinary general. The Warden’s Office sent three carriages for his travel.

  Because he did not return to Ink Garden, there were no farewells. Other than the three carriage drivers the Warden’s Office sent and one servant girl, there was only him, Zhangsun Qianxue, Nangong Caishu, and Ye Zhengnan.

  This departure seemed slightly somber, but for Ding Ning, leaving the city so smoothly was a great relief. Any new problems would naturally displease him.

  When he was preparing to board the carriage of the Warden’s Office and saw the youth he entered his sight, his expression turned cold and frosty.

  Nangong Caishu came from a military family and had seen things like leaving for war many times. She had organized what was needed to be taken along and the three Warden’s Office carriage drivers were full of admiration. She was inspecting some of the spare medicines. Sensing this unusual presence, she turned around to look.

  “It’s An Baoshi?” the moment she saw the youth, she asked Ding Ning softly.

  This youth was not tall, but he felt taller than any other young genius Nangong Caishu had ever met.

  Even Jing Liuli did not feel this strong.

  Ding Ning had never formally met An Baoshi but he knew that this youth who seemed to be floating in the sky could only be An Baoshi.

  “I came to tell you some things.”


  There were no opening words or greetings. An Baoshi just walked until he was several dozen feet from Ding Ning and stopped. He looked at Ding Ning with a smile and said, “I have already defeated Jing Liuli.”


  Ding Ning looked at him but did not speak.

  “You are my only opponent now. I hope that you will not slack off after winning against Palace Attendant Rong.” An Baoshi smiled at Ding Ning. “Also, I will also be going to the Donghu border.”


  “You feel that I will slack off?” Ding Ning looked at An Baoshi and said.

  An Baoshi smiled and said, “That is good.”


  Nangong Caishu and Ye Zhengnan frowned at the same time, unhappy.

  The duo’s dislike was not because of An Baoshi’s pride and conceit, but due to Ding Ning’s response. They all felt that his response was too weak, and had none of his previous edges.

  But then Ding Ning spoke- “But what does my slacking off or not have to do with you?”


  An Baoshi stilled.

  “Your opponent is Jing Liuli.” Ding Ning started to board the carriage, not looking at An Baoshi. “Jing Liuli will naturally defeat you. She does not need me.”


  An Baoshi frowned deeply.

  He just said softly, “Since that is the case, then we will meet at the Donghu borders.”


  Nangong Caishu smiled as she boarded the carriage and said seriously to An Baoshi, “Do not keep on mentioning the Donghu border. You should know this is a secret of the Warden’s Office right now.”


  An Baoshi did not care about this provocation. He gave a small smile and turned to leave.

  The three carriages started to move and drive away from Changling.

  Translator Ramblings: It’s not the end of a volume but we are finally moving on to a new map.