The saber qi was as swift as lightning. In an instant, it had reached tips of his brows. But Shen Qiao’s breathing slowed, and he closed his eyes. He didn’t choose to flee; he raised his sword to meet it.
To know the world, one must first know themselves. Then they must forget themselves. Once they forgot both the world and themselves, never again would they be moved by worldly gains and losses.
Shanhe Tongbei transformed into a brilliant ray of light: a sword glare. Wrapped within it, Shen Qiao’s silhouette disappeared.
The confident smile curving Kunye’s lips suddenly froze.
His saber qi couldn’t advance even half an inch further.
Shen Qiao’s sword speared through Kunye’s saber qi and pierced straight at his chest.
No!
Abruptly, Kunye turned, swinging his Liusheng sabre with him horizontally. Sure enough, Shen Qiao appeared behind him, and his white sword intent transformed into two intersecting rays that managed to crush his saber qi entirely.
Impossible!
The refutation flashed through Kunye’s mind, but he didn’t have time to think anymore. Using his momentum, he leapt dozens of feet into the air, then turned and struck at the rocky wall behind him. The mountain stone immediately gave way, and with a thunderous roar, rubble of all sizes crashed down. With another leap, he landed atop of the cliff.
He swept his gaze downward, but he couldn’t find a trace of his opponent among all the falling boulders and debris. But just then an alarm sounded in his mind.
Kunye sent another slash behind him.
But his strike didn’t connect with his enemy. Instead, an excruciating pain burst in his back—Shen Qiao had been even faster, and it was clear he’d anticipated Kunye’s every move.
This was impossible! Impossible!
He’d thought Shen Qiao had achieved the echelon of sword intent, but this was clearly not sword intent!
To know others was to know oneself—when one understood the minds of others, one would understand their own. Where the sword was, the Dao was. It was a spiritual link, drawing together the immortal’s body and the buddha’s heart.
Sword heart!
This was unmistakably sword heart!
Shen Qiao had actually managed to attain it!
At this realization, Kunye fled forward like a madman. The prickling pain followed him like his shadow—it never stopped, as if securely tied to him by a string, and he was the puppet on the other end, unable to escape its control.
It was a horrific sensation. Kunye had never been so terrified, not even when Yan Wushi had been chasing him. Yan Wushi hadn’t wanted to kill him—he’d only done it to probe Kunye’s martial arts. Kunye had understood that, so he’d never used his full strength. But this time was different—he’d tried to kill Shen Qiao. Of course Shen Qiao could kill him too.
There was no luck to be had when both parties gave the fight their all.
Given some time, this Shen Qiao would surely become a terrifying enemy!
But the future was too distant to Kunye. Right now, he needed to escape.
Unable to help himself, he cried, “I’ve lost! I admit defeat! Don’t kill me!”
The prickling pain remained, but its intensity plummeted.
Kunye didn’t dare let down his guard. He babbled again. “I have to tell you something! It’s to do with Yan Wushi! He scorned and humiliated you! But his death is near at hand! Don’t you want to kill him yourself?!”
A sword glare swept past his hair and slammed hard across the trunk of the tree in front of him, splitting it in two in an instant.
Kunye could feel a wave of pain prickle along his ear and cheek—it was definitely from the sword glare. But if he hadn’t spoken up, the tree wouldn’t have been the only thing split in two.
His strength spent, he stopped, turning to slump against the stone wall behind him. He didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from his blade but simply thrust his saber into the ground, panting like mad. He could almost hear his heart thundering away in his chest.
“I’ve lost! You won!”
He never would have guessed that Shen Qiao could attain the echelon of sword heart. For now, all he could think about was how narrowly he’d escaped death. Lingering fear still gnawed at his heart.
He also knew that the moment he surrendered to Shen Qiao—someone who faithfully adhered to the martial code of honor—his opponent would give up his ruthless pursuit. Such a man would never strike him while he was down.
Qi Fengge or Hulugu would have done the same.
“Have you ever heard of the Coiled Dragon Assembly?”
Shen Qiao didn’t reply. It was obvious he was waiting for Kunye to continue.
Kunye gasped down another breath. “The royal capital of Tuyuhun, Fuqi, will hold a grand gathering on the ninth of September. That is the Coiled Dragon Assembly. Every year, merchants from all across the land gather there, and there are always rare treasures revealed and auctioned off to the highest bidder. I heard that one of this year’s items belonged to Yan Wushi’s late mother.”
Shen Qiao frowned slightly.
Sensing Shen Qiao’s confusion, Kunye sneered. “My shixiong told me that Yan Wushi’s original family name was Xie. Rumor has it he’s from Chen Commandery’s Xie clan.”
The Xie family rose to power during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Back then, they and the Wang family were the most powerful and influential clans in all the land, and the most famous person among them was Xie An. Still, with time came change, and the Xie clan’s glory slowly waned. Today, the Xie clan was in the midst of a gradual decline. But, as the saying went, a starving camel was larger than a horse—they still had a fair amount of renown in the southeastern regions.
And this type of reputation was completely unrelated to the jianghu—it was built atop the scholar class and imperial courts.
But Shen Qiao had made an even deeper connection. “This matter must be top secret. Your people spend most of your time on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, totally uninvolved in the Central Plains. How did you come by this information, unless…someone else told you?”
“That’s right,” said Kunye. “Yan Wushi has made a great many enemies, and none of them will be satisfied until he’s dead. On the ninth of September, many outstanding talents will gather in Fuqi. Five of the world’s most powerful experts will fall upon Yan Wushi and kill him. He might be a peerless martial artist, but he can’t save himself this time, not even if he grows wings. Yan Wushi had you dancing in the palm of his hand, so I trust that you’d be happy to head to Fuqi and witness his death with your own eyes, no?”
All of a sudden Shen Qiao said, “I finally understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Out of all the nations, Zhou has the best chance of unifying the land. Yuwen Yong allied with Chen to invade Qi, crushing them like a stalk of bamboo. Qi’s destruction is imminent. Zhou’s next target must be either the Khaganate or Chen Dynasty. Huanyue Sect is supporting Yuwen Yong, so if you want to kill Yuwen Yong, you first must kill Yan Wushi. That’s why you collaborated with Linchuan Academy—all for the purpose of killing Yan Wushi. Linchuan Academy is highly influential in Southern Chen, so of course they could look into Yan Wushi’s background for you.”
At this point, Kunye no longer tried to hide it. “You’re mostly right, but it wasn’t Linchuan Academy who helped us investigate Yan Wushi’s background—it was the Liuhe Guild. As I said, Yan Wushi has made a great many enemies. That night at Chuyun Temple, he ruined things for Dou Yanshan and destroyed the Zhuyang Strategy right in front of everyone. So, of course, Dou Yanshan hates him.”
“Then what about Linchuan Academy?” asked Shen Qiao. “Ruyan Kehui is completely devoted to restoring the Han people’s rule. If the opportunity to destroy Yan Wushi and break one of Yuwen Yong’s limbs arose, he’d never just stand by and watch. He dueled Yan Wushi in Chen months ago so that he could probe Yan Wushi’s strength. And to prepare for the group assault on the ninth of September.”
“Correct.”
“But Ruyan Kehui was injured in that battle, so he can’t attend the gathering in Fuqi. So who else will be there, other than Dou Yanshan and Duan Wenyang?”
“Your shidi, Yu Ai. Fajing Sect Leader Guang Lingsan. And the former State Preceptor of Zhou, Buddhist Master Xueting.”
Every name he spoke was more frightening than the last.
But, thinking about it carefully, they weren’t unexpected.
Yu Ai had already been collaborating with the Göktürks, so when Duan Wenyang invited him along on this, naturally he’d have been happy to help.
The three demonic sects had always been enemies. Once Yan Wushi was dead, Huanyue Sect would be leaderless. Hehuan Sect was suffering from internal feuds, so Fajing Sect would finally win the chance to lift their heads. Of course Guang Lingshan would involve himself.
And as for Buddhist Master Xueting, he’d once been Yuwen Hu’s state preceptor. But when Yuwen Yong took the throne, he’d repudiated Buddhism and dismissed Xueting. Buddhism’s standing in Zhou took a nosedive. So Buddhist Master Xueting would join in the battle as well—either for the sake of his school or to “eliminate demons.”
The idea of five killing one didn’t sound very honorable for grandmaster-level martial artists, but if it reaped such incredible benefits, who would refuse?
Shen Qiao was silent for a moment. “Why are you certain that Yan Wushi will come? He might have already heard rumors of the plan.”
“My shixiong once said that someone like Yan Wushi will still go, even if he knows it’s a trap. Because he has too much faith in his abilities, because he’s far too arrogant. He’ll believe that even if he can’t win, he can still walk away. Anything too rigid is more likely to break. Isn’t this a favorite saying among your people of the Central Plains?”
Shen Qiao understood everything now. “Ruyan Kehui dueled Yan Wushi specifically to draw out the flaw in his martial arts. Guang Lingsan is a demonic practitioner, so he must know how to actually kill Yan Wushi. That’s why you’re all so confident that you’ll succeed.”
“That’s right,” said Kunye. “I know you utterly hate Yan Wushi. It’ll be such a grand gathering. Surely you’ll come to watch the fun, even if you don’t participate yourself?”
However, as he was speaking and smiling, he suddenly swung his Liusheng saber, slashing at Shen Qiao!
He knew that Shen Qiao would be shaken by his news, and that when he was shaken, his guard would be at its lowest. He was absolutely certain this attack would succeed.
Shen Qiao would clearly be a fatal poison to both himself and the Khaganate! He couldn’t allow him to live!
Kunye had already decided to risk this when he’d admitted defeat. He poured a lifetime’s worth of power into his swing.
If he didn’t succeed, then he’d die an honorable death.