After Meng Sen stepped out of the rear courtyard, he called out loudly: “Everyone follow me to the front gate — bring your blades!”

In the front courtyard, the assembled staff of the Zhou Establishment Silk and Satin House all called back in response. Perhaps each of them already understood that today, trouble had come.

But Meng Sen had formed a plan the moment he stepped out of the rear courtyard: if the people blocking the front were numerous, he would surrender, and he would tell whoever was outside that Jieyi and the others were in the rear courtyard.

The group rushed out through the front gate — and found only two people standing in the street before them.

On the main road outside the Zhou Establishment’s front entrance, a chair had been placed. A young man who looked to be around twenty sat in it, watching them with a calm expression.

Standing behind him was another young man, holding an umbrella to shield the seated one from the westward-slanting sunlight.

The sun was not actually all that blinding. It was perhaps more a question of aesthetics — in other words, a question of affecting a certain air.

Earlier, when Meng Sen had been inside, he had seen the street was blocked by quite a few people. Now there were only two. He was puzzled.

For a moment, his plan to surrender the instant he walked out the door simply slipped his mind.

And precisely because there were only two people, his own staff didn’t know what to do either.

“Who are you?”

Meng Sen leveled his blade at the young man sitting in the chair.

Cao Lie glanced at him and said quietly, “In Yuzhou City, there are only two kinds of people — those who know me and those who don’t. Those who don’t know me fall into two groups: those who aren’t worth knowing, and those who are worth knowing.”

Meng Sen snorted. “Big talk!”

Cao Lie thought to himself with a mild sigh that he was already being rather low-profile about it.

Cao Lie said, “If you think that’s big talk, you’re welcome to guess — who in Yuzhou City can actually speak like this.”

Meng Sen said, “In Yuzhou City, even the once-unrivaled young lord Cao Lie, for all his fame and power, wouldn’t speak such wild words.”

Cao Lie smiled. “He would. Because I am.”

Meng Sen froze.

Cao Lie thought to himself: these people never failed to baffle him. If you pushed yourself to the limit to grow strong, only to keep a low profile about it — then why bother growing strong at all?

He might as well just stay a young lord.

If posturing freely is not an option, then becoming strong has no meaning.

A moment later, Meng Sen did something that startled every single one of his staff.

He threw the long blade in his hand to the ground, then dropped to his knees with a thud. “Young Lord, the people you’re looking for are in the rear courtyard. They probably haven’t had time to break through the back yet.”

Cao Lie rose and walked forward. “Note this man’s name. He doesn’t have to die.”

Meng Sen immediately began kowtowing.

Seeing him do this, not one of his staff had any fight left in them. They flung their blades aside and dropped to their knees one after another, following his lead and pressing their foreheads to the ground — because doing so meant they didn’t have to die.

Cao Lie stepped inside toward the rear courtyard. Cen Xiaoxiao said, “Let me go first.”

Cao Lie gave a small nod. Cen Xiaoxiao flashed forward and was gone — by the time anyone looked again, not even his shadow remained.

In the rear courtyard, Jieyi was still waiting for the sounds of battle from the front. The moment he heard the clash of fighting, they would break through the back.

But no clash came. Jieyi was growing impatient.

Just then, the rear courtyard door was gently pushed open. In that instant, two Sacred Blade Sect disciples flanked the entrance from left and right, ready to strike.

The door opened. Cen Xiaoxiao stepped inside.

After entering, he pointed to the left — the disciple on the left collapsed, never having managed to raise his blade — then he pointed to the right, and the disciple on the right collapsed as well, his blade having only made it as high as his shoulder.

Both men had a single blood-hole in their necks. As they fell, blood continued to well out in surges.

Jieyi reached out and drew the Sage Blade of the Master, then grabbed Yanzhi and pulled her. “You go first.”

Yanzhi nodded immediately. “Alright.”

And ran.

Jieyi turned back around. “Hm?”

His eyes went wide. He simply had not anticipated that the junior martial sister who had just been pouring out her feelings of devotion to him would actually turn and bolt the instant he gave her the chance.

Her reaction left even Cen Xiaoxiao briefly stunned.

The thought that flashed through Cen Xiaoxiao’s mind in that moment was: what a deeply loving relationship.

But he didn’t rush to give chase. If someone whom Young Lord Cao Lie had set his sights on in Yuzhou City could simply run off without difficulty, that would truly be a disgrace to every martial world faction in the entire city.

One slash.

It rang out like a dragon’s cry. It fell like a river of stars.

The slash was genuinely extraordinary in its power — and in his hand was the Sage Blade of the Master, the sharpest weapon in the world.

This world has always had no shortage of arrogant people. On average, at least one in ten is arrogant. But the Sacred Blade Sect was different — in the Sacred Blade Sect, everyone was arrogant.

The Sect Master had believed that Jieyi, his most capable disciple, already possessed the strength to sweep the entire martial world — which was why he had entrusted him with the Sage Blade, and why he believed Jieyi could kill the Ning King, Li Chi.

It sounded like arrogance taken too far. But the thing to remember is — arrogance without ability isn’t arrogance at all, it’s stupidity. True arrogance backed by real ability tends also to be genuinely terrifying.

The terror of this slash was enough to startle even Cen Xiaoxiao.

Cen Xiaoxiao’s hands snapped out, and in each he gripped a throwing blade. His throwing blades were longer than most — about a foot in length, not unlike a short dagger. He crossed them in front of him and caught Jieyi’s slash between them in the span of a lightning flash.

But an instant later, both throwing blades were cut through simultaneously. The Sage Blade, barely slowed, continued its descent.

Cen Xiaoxiao’s eyes flew wide open. Both hands opened and then closed together in one explosive motion—

Slap.

His bare hands clamped the Sage Blade between his palms.

Boom.

The flagstone beneath his feet shattered instantly.

But he could not relax even slightly — because he wasn’t stopping the blade, only checking it for a moment. The edge was far too smooth, and the force far too great.

At precisely this instant, a dark shape flew past Cen Xiaoxiao from the side — so fast the eye might not have been able to follow it.

Cao Lie surged forward, right elbow leading, and drove it straight into Jieyi’s chest. A dull thud, and Jieyi was sent flying backward.

Cao Lie stepped forward. Before Jieyi had even landed, the second strike was already arriving — right forearm again, sweeping upward to connect with Jieyi’s chin.

After two blows, Jieyi crashed heavily to the ground. The Sage Blade flew from his grip, spinning away and landing at a distance.

Cao Lie walked past him without a second glance and said as he went, “You handle the rest.”

Those four words, and he was already vaulting over the rear wall and out of sight.

Jieyi coughed up a mouthful of blood. He tried to struggle upright, but it felt as though something solid had been forced into his chest — breathing was difficult, and he couldn’t find his strength.

“You people… have no shame, two against one… cough, cough!”

Another mouthful of blood.

He craned his head painfully upward to look at Cen Xiaoxiao. “If I weren’t already injured…”

Cen Xiaoxiao grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up off the ground. “If you weren’t injured, it wouldn’t stop us from coming at you two against one.”

He flung Jieyi over the courtyard wall, then vaulted over it himself.

Outside the wall, the street was packed with people.

Jieyi crashed to the ground outside. With all those people surrounding him, not one person reached out to catch him — instead, when they saw someone come flying over, every single person took a step back.

Cen Xiaoxiao looked ahead. The woman of absurd beauty had already been intercepted by Cao Lie.

She really was remarkably beautiful — beautiful to an unreasonable degree, alluring to an unreasonable degree.

And so Cen Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but think: in any other circumstances, encountering a woman like this, he himself might also have been moved to a few extra glances, with somewhat less than perfect self-restraint.

“Y-Young Lord.”

Yanzhi looked at Cao Lie with a pitiful, delicate expression, her voice even more forlorn. “I don’t know why you’re trying to catch us. I only came to Yuzhou with them for sightseeing… Young Lord, please don’t frighten me.”

Cao Lie sighed lightly. “I’m not frightening you.”

Seeing his reaction, Yanzhi kept talking and pleading while stepping closer to him. “Young Lord, I truly know nothing. I can come with you — arrest me if you like — but please don’t let your people lay hands on me. They look so fierce. I’m afraid.”

This woman truly had allure woven into her bones. Even in this state of pleading, the captivating quality of her eyes and brow was enough to ensnare the soul.

Cao Lie said, “I’m not going to frighten you, and neither will they. You can come over now.”

Yanzhi felt a flicker of delight inside, while her face arranged itself into an expression of pure gratitude. “Thank you, Young Lord. Could you hold my arm? My legs have gone weak from the fright — I can barely walk.”

Cao Lie reached out and took hold of Yanzhi’s arm.

Then slapped her across the face.

The crack rang out sharply. The blow sent Yanzhi sprawling to the ground, that single strike sending her finely arranged features listing sideways as though they’d shifted out of place.

Cao Lie looked down at her. “If you knew who I was — if you knew how I grew up — you wouldn’t think a woman’s charms could work on me.”

He turned and walked back, looked at Cen Xiaoxiao who was grinning with undisguised amusement, and said, “Give her a beating, then bring her in.”

Cen Xiaoxiao said, “A face that pretty — I’m not sure I could bring myself to do it.”

Cao Lie passed him and said without looking back, “Then cover the face before you hit.”

Cen Xiaoxiao sighed. “If I cover her face, but the figure is still there — what then? Still couldn’t bring myself.”

Cao Lie: “Cover yours.”

—

At the same time, among the bystanders watching from a distance, Fourth Under Heaven — dressed in plain commoner’s clothes — stood looking in this direction, a glimmer of light in his eyes.

He was watching Cao Lie. He found that young man rather interesting.

Cao Lie left. Fourth Under Heaven turned and left as well.

—

Half a period later, at the Pine Crane Tower.

When Cao Lie entered, he found Li Chi sitting in the main hall drinking tea. He walked over and took the seat across from him. He had barely sat down before a cup of hot tea was pushed in front of him.

“Not the person you’re looking for.”

Cao Lie set the Sage Blade of the Master on the table. The blade’s surface was like a still pool of autumn water — and Li Chi’s eyes went straight at the sight of it.

Cao Lie said, “I seized it.”

Li Chi asked, “So… can I have it?”

Cao Lie said, “I’ll also be sending over a very beautiful woman shortly. Take your pick — the blade or the woman.”

Li Chi said, “A difficult choice. I’ll take the blade.”

Cao Lie let out a short laugh.

Before long, Cen Xiaoxiao came in gripping Jieyi and Yanzhi one in each hand, then gave a toss and dropped both of them on the floor.

Li Chi first looked at the woman — Cao Lie had just said a very beautiful woman was coming, so he looked a little longer — and then offered his assessment.

“Why does she look so strange?”

Li Chi raised a hand to cover part of his view. “This half of the face is quite nice.”

He shifted his hand to cover the other side. “This side won’t do. This side is ugly.”

Cao Lie: “…”

That entire half of her face had been swollen by Cao Lie’s slap into a high, red, puffy mass.

Li Chi asked Cao Lie, “You hit her?”

Cao Lie nodded.

Li Chi said, “You don’t seem like someone who could bring himself to strike a pretty woman. Doesn’t really fit your manner.”

Cao Lie said in a perfectly even tone, “Of every woman I have ever encountered, beauty is merely the baseline requirement. And her looks are only just barely at the threshold of catching my eye.”

At those words, both Yanzhi and Jieyi jerked their heads up and glared at Cao Lie.

Li Chi asked Cao Lie, “This blade is really being given to me?”

Cao Lie said, “Not given — traded. For three donkey-meat flatbreads.”

Li Chi said, “Make it four. Otherwise I’ll feel a bit uncomfortable carrying this blade around.”

At this, the two captives’ eyes went even wider. That was their Sacred Blade Sect’s sacred relic — that was the Sage Blade of the Master.

Li Chi looked at Cao Lie. “I just had a thought.”

He reached out and took his own black blade from his personal guard, then looked from it to the Sage Blade. “I want to try knocking them together.”

Cao Lie’s eyes went wide.