“The Sword Collection palace… no longer exists?” Li Xiaoyao murmured.

  Li Xiaoyao found this to be surreal. The laughter and calls of his senior and junior brothers still seemed to echo through the mountains, but when he returned to his senses, they were merely ripples of memories. Before he knew it, tears had already begun running down his face.

  Even if the palace master and elders had been colluding with the Demon domain, all of his companions had been innocent!

  “Li Xiaoyao, are you still a disciple of the Sword Collection palace?” Yu Zijian asked suddenly.

  “I am!” Li Xiaoyao answered instinctively.

  “Then the Sword Collection palace hasn’t died out. At the very least, there’s still the three of us.”


  Yu Zijian’s eyes shone with violet light. The setting sun behind her wove into brilliant violets and reds, but under her influence, it seemed like the rising sun, filled with hope.

  Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao were both surprised. Was there still a point in saying something like that at a time like now?

  If the Sword Collection palace had been destroyed by enemies, then so be it. They could swear on revenge and reinvigorate the Sword Collection palace. However, the reality was the Sword Collection palace had colluded with the Demon domain and caused their own demise. All of the disciples had died to the Sword Collection peak. They could not even object to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga taking over their territory. If they still called themselves disciples of the Sword Collection palace, they would basically be asking to be humiliated.

  “Zijian, there’s a beginning and an end to everything. A rising sun comes with a setting sun. The Sword Collection palace is no different. Why must you be so stubborn?” Fu Qingjin sighed gently. All he wanted to do was travel far from here and roam the world now.

  “Yeah, senior uncle. Why don’t we just return to the Clear River prefecture and continue cultivating there? We can still live by our swords and uphold justice. I only said it out of habit just then. I think it’s fine even if I stop being a disciple of the Sword Collection palace!” Li Xiaoyao also shook his head.

  “We can forget about ever being disciples of the Sword Collection palace, but what about our brothers and sisters who died for nothing? They clearly did nothing wrong, yet they’ve all become fools and bad people, shouldering the infamy forever.”


  Yu Zijian clenched her fist firmly. Her voice trembled, and her eyes moistened, but she did not shed any tears.

  Fu Qingjin shuddered inside and gazed at Yu Zijian deeply. Given how kind she was, the pain she faced was even deeper than theirs!

  Sigh, before I’ve even realised it, you’ve already become much stronger than me.

  Li Xiaoyao had nothing to say either. He was ashamed.

  Yu Zijian shook her head and apologised. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said something like that. I’ve troubled you. However, I really don’t want to just leave like this. Senior brother Fu, thank you for all these years of care and concern, and Xiaoyao, you’ve cultivated arduously for all these years, finally undergoing the heavenly tribulation, so you should wander a little in leisure. Otherwise, you’ll be letting down your name.”


  Her smile flashed across her face, and she became determined again. She gazed at the Heaven Leaning peak in the distance. “The Sword Collection palace has committed many sins, so let me atone for them!”


  Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao gazed at her figure. Her skinny shoulders seemed like they tried to bear all the sins and infamy, shouldering a burden that did not belong to her. They could not help but exchange glances.

  Fu Qingjin let out a long sigh. “Zijian, oh Zijian!”


  “Hmm?”


  “You’ve left the two of us with no more dignity as men.” Fu Qingjin smiled.

  “I’m not…” Yu Zijian waved her hands around frantically, but she had no idea how to explain herself.

  “You know me. I’m just a piece of trash that only knows how to sigh and lament in a bunch of ruins. Without you, I basically have no idea how I’d live, so please let me accompany you for another journey.” Fu Qingjin bowed slightly.

  “Senior uncle Yu, I’ll continue with being a disciple of the Sword Collection palace! I might be the only disciple, as it seems, but I won’t disappoint you.”


  “You don’t have to go against your wishes…”


  “I’m not going against my wishes. I haven’t thought as much as you, but if I become a swordsman in the future, how am I supposed to answer if they ask me whether I’m from the Sword Collection palace or not? I might as well just admit it frankly. That way, I won’t let down my senior brothers and juniors, nor will I let down the sword in my hand!”


  “That’s… fantastic!” Yu Zijian cheered and hugged them together, diluting her grief and melancholy.

  “We need a leader. Since the Sword Collection palace still exists, then there should be a palace master.” Fu Qingjin smiled.

  “Yeah. We might only have a single disciple, but we still need a palace master.” Li Xiaoyao smiled at Yu Zijian.

  Yu Zijian hesitated. “Alright, I’ll be the palace master!”


  As a result, they had decided on the new master of the Sword Collection palace, a position once renowned through the Green province, in just a few words.

  “Greetings, palace master!”


  Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao bowed towards her together, both solemn and showing her plenty of respect.

  Yu Zijian wanted to avoid the bows instinctively, but she stayed put, which made her feel rather unnatural.

  “Palace master, if we want to rebuild the Sword Collection palace, we might have to find another place with rich spiritual qi. Fortunately, there are a lot of free locations in the current Green province, so it won’t be too difficult to find,” said Li Xiaoyao.

  “I do know a few places that are suitable, so we could take a look,” said Fu Qingjin.

  “No. We’ll go to the Heaven Leaning peak first.” Yu Zijian pointed at the mountains in the distance.

  Li Xiaoyao was surprised. What’re we going to the Heaven Leaning peak at a time like this for? Are we supposed to ask the monks to return the Heaven Leaning peak? That’s completely impossible!

  Though, it’s said that senior uncle Yu is extremely familiar with my uncle. If we have his support, perhaps there might be some hope.

  Fu Qingjin, however, seemed to understand what she was trying to do.

  The Dauntless monk turned around and said to the young acolyte, “Go pass on the orders. Prepare to receive the master of the Sword Collection palace.”


  “Yes, abbot!”


  The acolyte set his broom aside and jogged into the grand hall.

  A while later, the sounds of bells rose up throughout the mountains, together with the banging of drums.

  The monks gathered over from everywhere, all curious. Wasn’t the master of the Sword Collection palace dead already? Even if he were still alive, he would be the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga’s mortal enemy. Why were they still receiving him with such treatment?

  Yu Zijian and the other two climbed up the mountain, but they left the monks even more surprised. Their cultivations were far too low! And apart from the nameless fellow at the back, they were not even equipped with swords. What kind of sword cultivators were they supposed to be?

  Li Xiaoyao made his way along the familiar mountain path, surrounded by the monks, which made him feel very unnatural and very uncomfortable. However, he noticed that Yu Zijian up ahead was stern, without her usual gentleness, which did make her seem a little like a palace master. Perhaps she was trying to negotiate with the Dauntless monk?

  When they made it to the very top of the mountain, a large, solemn monk stood there.

  In the past, Li Xiaoyao’s cultivation had been far too low, so his senses were extremely limited. Only now did he properly understand slightly what a great cultivator meant. That aura basically resembled a mountain’s, stifling his breath. Then he recalled how his uncle looked when he glared at him and thought that this monk could not be any more impressive than that, and only then did he relax slightly. However, he dared not consider asking for the Heaven Leaning peak anymore.

  “Master of the Sword Collection palace, Yu Zijian, has brought elder Fu Qingjin and disciple Li Xiaoyao to greet the Dauntless abbot.”


  “Please come into the hall, palace master.” The Dauntless monk looked at her rather strangely, giving her sufficient respect.

  However, Yu Zijian declined. She expressed that they had not come as guests before apologising to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga publicly under the identity of palace master. At the same time, she gave all the mountains including the Heaven Leaning peak to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga as compensation.

  The sun set, and the afterglow dispersed. What followed was a lengthy night.

  However, it would still rise up once more, turning into the morning glow and heralding a return of the violet.

  Note: The last phrase (紫气东来) is rather difficult to accurately portray the meaning of in English. I think it’s made an appearance in many other novels before (often translated as “Violet or Purple Qi from the East”), but it basically signifies or heralds the arrival of a sage, so an auspicious omen. However, the “Zijian” in Yu Zijian also means “violet sword”, so there’s that connection too——

  Please Give Me Some Time

  This is the best time, as well as the worst.

  Li Qingshan’s journey in the nine provinces has finally arrived at a peak. Up ahead is a completely new journey, and I’ve also compiled a total of a hundred documents in the folder called “Legend of the Great Sage” now.

  I say this is the best moment because this novel has reached an all-time high in terms of readers, which also means your support. Three million characters of plot have laid a firm foundation for this world of Xianxia, as if everything is ready now, as if all Li Qingshan needs to do next is continue with his adventures, defeat powerful foes one after another, and he’ll be able to make it to the Nine Heavens.

  However, this is also the worst moment. With the rapid scaling of strength, the story will become less and less grounded, while a formulaic progression will leave people weary. In the beginning, even just killing a group of mountain bandits and obtaining an incomplete fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy could leave people excited and happy. Now, he’s killed several thousand times more demonfolk and obtained a supreme demonic sword like the Immortal Relinquished sword, yet it’s gradually turning into just a symbol.

  It’s always the easiest to lose your focus when you’re in such a free and light state.

  At a time like this, certain things become easy, while others things gradually become several times more difficult.

  Of course, we aren’t without a way to deal with this. The simplest way is through “satisfaction”, to climb higher, to climb faster, to grow stronger, such that the main character and the plot charges ahead like a mad bull, fighting and killing, until he uses up his final breath, and then we wrap up the story.

  Or, through “unexplained plot points”, raising various questions and suspense like in Approaching Science, one after another, until we reach the moment when we finally reveal the answer, only to find out it’s difficult to fill in all the gaps of the story, or downright just not presenting the answer in the end and saying stuff like “Call me whatever you want, but the novel is over already. There’s nothing you can do about that.”


  Note: Approaching Science is a Chinese documentary film program. Basically, a lot of the episodes cover “scientific mysteries” or “supernatural events”. If you want to be concise, these phenomena can be explained in probably just a few minutes, but the documentary has the habit of “stringing” along its watchers, basically to fill time I guess.

  I know exactly how to use these two methods, and I know they’re very effective too, very suited for the environment of webnovels. The former results in fast releases, while the latter results in a sticky audience. Unfortunately, neither is the best way to go.

  People chase after immediate benefit, so they look for shortcuts. It’s impossible for me to avoid thoughts like that either. Now that I’ve mentioned it, I haven’t blocked off all these boring shortcuts in the beginning to act all high and mighty, only because I believe I’m capable of much more than this. If you have a mighty ambition like a kunpeng, then you should dive to the depths of the ocean and brave the winds. How can you copy a mere sparrow?

  Note: A kun is a legendary giant fish in Chinese mythology, which can transform into a peng (or sometimes translated as a roc), a giant bird. That’s why you need to dive to the depths of the ocean as a fish and brave the winds as a bird if you have giant ambitions like a kunpeng. If you’ve found the patience to read the author’s notes, then I’d advise you to commit to memory what a “kunpeng” is.

  Even if I end the book here and leave behind regrets, I wouldn’t want it to decline with each passing day until people loathe it.

  But I’m still filled with confidence that I can finish this book. Ever since I finished Chronicles of Xu Xian, I feel like there’s basically no book in the world I can’t finish. The many difficulties I faced earlier were the best training and practice I could receive.

  Some people said I made a fair sum from selling the game rights, so my mind is no longer on writing the novel. All I can say is you don’t understand me at all. I’ve always been a pessimist, a depressed overthinker. I even find indulging myself to be troublesome. Even if this sum was ten times larger, it’ll be very difficult to give me a completely new outlook on life. What’s truly stopping me is exactly these flaws in my personality. They’re like a stubborn illness, making it particularly difficult to treat.

  This is my explanation, not excuse. I’ll bow my head and acknowledge my guilt to all those who judge me, and I’ll apologise shamefully to all those who spoke up for me. There are many, many aspects that I am just as bad with, just like writing novels, which brings me shame.

  However, perhaps every single person needs to continue battling against themselves, pacing between crushing defeat and reinvigoration. Perhaps it’ll be quite a sorry sight to behold, but I still can’t accept the peace that comes with failure. Please give me some more time.