Who in the world doesn’t know this? If you take a piece of charcoal from the roadside and kick it with a hundred pounds of force, the charcoal will surely crack. Take a heavy iron hammer and smash it with the pressure of a thousand pounds, and you can crush the charcoal to powder. This is something any passerby knows—nothing rare about it.

Very few people truly know that once you apply the divine force of billions of pounds to a piece of charcoal, the charcoal will no longer shatter or explode, but will suddenly transform into a rare treasure.

“Diamond”—the hardest substance in heaven and earth. This is how it comes to be.

Graphite is soft, diamond is crystalline and hard. Both are the same piece of carbon, clearly made of exactly the same material—why are their properties so vastly different? This is the change of inner nature. For inner nature to change, it must reach the extreme boundary. Whether through divine fire or divine force, as long as it can impact the inner substance, the charcoal will gain mystical properties and become a divine object.

If charcoal can become divine charcoal, can iron become divine iron?

Iron block, iron liquid, iron gas—these are the three states of all matter. Red fire forges iron blocks to cast implements that can “split wood and chop timber.” Blue fire melts iron into liquid to forge swords that can “cut gold and sever jade.” When the furnace flames turn from blue to white, burning iron red and turning iron to liquid, then steaming the liquid into gas—this is when one can create the rare divine weapons that can “cut through a hair blown against the blade.”

Red fire, blue flame, white blaze—these are the three colors of flame. Being able to burn out iron gas is not only invincible in the world, but earth-shaking through the ages. But over thousands of years, whenever iron gas is burned out, many top craftsmen still raise doubts: can iron gas be burned further?

If you take iron gas and burn it again, what would come out? What properties would the cooled iron block possess?

This was an unsolvable riddle. Though some dared to try, they often found that once they burned to the iron gas stage, the furnace fire could rise no higher. White flame was already the highest temperature in the world—to forge iron gas, unless there truly existed the Three-Flavored True Fire in this world, everything else was mere empty talk.

Heaven took pity. In the thirty-third year of Jingtai, someone used sword light to ignite the heavenly furnace and burn out the Three-Flavored True Fire. This person was the world’s greatest madman—”Sword God” Zhuo Lingzhao!

The Sword God gathered heroes, first using unparalleled internal energy to drive the wind furnace, then adding the skillful hands and knowledge of the court’s foremost iron-smelting master, plus the might of treasures like “North Sea Iron Essence,” “Leize Xingtian,” and “Ruyi Eight Treasure Sand.” Under the convergence of wind and clouds, he finally made iron essence melt into liquid, liquid steam into iron gas, and after endless burning and forging, broke through heaven and earth’s mysterious barriers, finally allowing the “Sword God” to find what lay beyond steel.

The answer was a piece of divine iron. Its magnetism, malleability, hardness, and toughness all transcended extreme boundaries. This was the greatest divine weapon of all time, known in the world as the “Divine Sword Dragon Catcher”!

The Divine Sword Dragon Catcher was forged from iron essence diamonds, able to be flexible like water yet harder than steel, proclaimed as the world’s number one sword.

If the Divine Sword is so miraculous, what about the Karmic Fire Demon Blade? This peerless mad blade, born of the same mother, has already boarded a ship in Yangzhou and appeared in the world. What mystical abilities does it possess to rival the Divine Sword?

The large black cloth slowly rose to heaven, fluttering down, finally sinking into the river with the snow. As the Demon Blade was about to reveal itself, the ship’s bow suddenly became silent. The three great masters stopped fighting and each stepped back, lowering their heads to examine what lay beneath the black cloth.

For a moment, Mie Li’s face was full of bewilderment, the black-clothed strange guest’s thick eyebrows furrowed tightly, and even the many black-clothed men responsible for transporting the Demon Blade couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

The Demon King’s scepter, hidden for ten years, actually looked like this?

Before them was a large water vat. Eight feet in diameter, covered in black mud, it looked thoroughly filthy and didn’t resemble a blade at all. What was especially surprising was that the mud seemed to writhe faintly, with something clinging to the vat walls that people couldn’t make out clearly, yet felt vaguely afraid of.

Just as they were wondering, they suddenly heard continuous rustling sounds, and a large centipede actually crawled out from under the deck, coincidentally emerging right by Qiong Fang’s feet. Qiong Fang looked down and was startled to see the centipede was the length of a palm, with a five-colored purple-blue body and a red jeweled crown on its head—clearly extremely venomous. She had always feared filthy snakes and insects, and for a moment her hands and feet went soft as she screamed: “Bugs! Bugs!”

The centipede scurried about, causing a group of black-clothed men to hurriedly try to stomp on it, but the venomous insect crawled so strangely that no one could step on it. When it reached about a foot from the mud ball, it suddenly exerted force with its hundred legs, leaping up and actually climbing onto the large water vat.

The centipede’s leap was truly unbelievable—everyone’s eyes widened! Just as they felt amazed, they suddenly saw the black mud on the water vat peeling away layer by layer, and one after another, insect claws broke through the mud. Everyone could see clearly that the vat walls were crawling with venomous creatures—scorpions, centipedes, soldier ants, leeches—all kinds of poisonous creatures hidden beneath the black mud, all biting and fighting each other. At a glance, there were densely packed hundreds or thousands of them. Everyone’s scalps went numb, and they all stepped back. Qiong Fang had already covered her face and screamed.

Goose-feather snow fell, and all around was silent except for the venomous insects fighting each other. Suddenly someone said: “Snake treasure symbiosis, snake treasure symbiosis—what a Karmic Fire Demon Blade, truly extraordinary indeed!” Everyone turned to look at the speaker, who was Temur Mie Li, a famous general from the Western Region’s khanate.

The legend of “snake treasure symbiosis” originated in India and the Western Regions. Elders there passed down the tale that wherever there are peerless treasures, venomous creatures must follow. Taking the diamond-producing region of “Muftiri” in India as an example, the diamonds produced there are extraordinarily precious, able to generate fluorescent light in blue, yellow, blue, and green colors. In the black night, the eerie light gathers insects, and the insects attract frogs, so deep valleys hiding diamonds must have countless venomous snakes lurking and gathering, like guardian spirits. Mie Li was well-traveled and knowledgeable—seeing such a strange sight, he already knew that although this mud vat looked ugly on the outside, it contained rare treasures within.

Just as Mie Li finished speaking, they suddenly saw a black shadow dart out, spinning heavily on one foot and kicking toward the water vat. Everyone hurriedly looked to see who had acted—it was the black-clothed strange guest who had emerged from the water. Indeed, those who come with ill intent are not good, and the good do not come with ill intent. This skilled master was bold, being the first to strike and seize the Demon Blade.

The black-clothed strange guest had a robust physique, with one leg’s strength exceeding a hundred pounds. This kick would surely overturn the water vat. The six Tomb Guardian Beasts saw the situation was bad and were about to rise to intercept when they suddenly heard a loud buzzing sound. The water vat shook violently but remained unmoved. Without needing the Tomb Guardian Beasts’ protection, the tremendous counter-shock bounced the black-clothed strange guest back.

Everyone was greatly surprised to see the water vat so heavy and solid. Jin Lingshuang observed quietly from the side and said lightly: “How broad your shoulders are determines how heavy a burden you can carry… Child, don’t make your parents sad, understand?” Qiong Fang heard the warning tone in his words and was greatly surprised. According to Su Ying’s account, that black-clothed strange guest seemed to bear a large bird brand, suggesting he was also one of these black-clothed men’s gang. Now it seemed the two sides had another relationship, but the details were unclear.

Just as she was puzzling over the strange guest’s true identity, she suddenly heard him roar loudly, then angle his shoulder and with a loud crash, his upper body slammed heavily into the water vat like a wild bull striving to push it. Seeing his divine strength was amazing, he stomped the deck until it cracked and buckled, but the large water vat was truly heavy—even though he roared until his voice was hoarse and he was exhausted, the vat’s bottom remained unmoved by the wind. Jin Lingshuang watched and shook his head repeatedly, saying softly: “It’s useless. A shadow is just a shadow—no matter how hard it tries, it’s ultimately not the real body. Stop before you cause a great disaster.”

Jin Lingshuang spoke in a low voice of persuasion but didn’t order an attack. The other black-clothed men just watched silently. It seemed that strange guest had a different status from ordinary people, and without the superior’s command, no one dared harm him.

The black-clothed youth was hoarse from shouting but still couldn’t affect the water vat in the slightest. He suddenly cried out loudly, raised his right palm, leaned his upper body forward into the vat, and actually went into the water to fish for the Demon Blade. The six Tomb Guardian Beasts were greatly shocked and were about to act to stop him, but Jin Lingshuang just smiled lightly: “Don’t worry. Let him suffer a bit—it will benefit him in the future.” Before his words ended, indeed the insects on the water vat sensed the enemy and all turned to climb onto the black-clothed strange guest’s body, biting madly as if treating him as an enemy.

In an instant, the black-clothed youth withdrew his hand from the vat. His palm was empty—he had gained nothing but a body full of venomous insects. Unable to bear the itching and pain, he cried out miserably and finally fell to the ground rolling. For a moment, insect corpses flew about and sticky fluids splattered everywhere. Seeing such a disgusting scene, Qiong Fang couldn’t help but cover her lips and nearly vomited.

“Break it!” The second master appeared. The black-clothed youth returned empty-handed, but there was still Bā Dài Shā Jin on the scene. Hearing Temur Mie Li give a great roar, his eyes blazed with anger as he drew his blade. In the black-clothed men’s exclamations, the golden sabre came out with its sheath, striking straight at the large vat.

Facing the large water vat, one couldn’t fish—one could only break it. This was the life-saving method passed down by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty a hundred years ago. Now Mie Li only needed to chop through the vat wall, and with a splash, the Demon Blade would pour out like the child who had fallen into the vat and was drowning. This was the clever method.

A loud crash rang out, the large vat shook violently, but no sound of rushing water was heard. Naturally, Mie Li hadn’t broken through it.

Seeing Mie Li’s face full of amazement, Jin Lingshuang said lightly: “This water vat is made from iron essence residue, able to withstand the Demon Blade’s divine fire. Though your Topaz Jade is a treasure, it’s only mortal material from the human world—how can it compare with things from the heavenly realm?” Hearing this, Mie Li was furious. He had spent ten years seeking the legendary treasure blade—how could his “Topaz Jade” not even handle a piece of iron essence slag? How could the Khitan king endure this? He gritted his teeth and lowered his head. With a swish, the legendary treasure blade was already unsheathed.

Earlier, when “Topaz Jade” struck with its sheath, everyone hadn’t personally witnessed the edge of this “Emperor of Blades.” Now the Black Khitan prince wielded the blade like holding the imperial seal. Strange light burst forth on the deck like a great golden-winged roc spreading its wings in flight, actually dropping countless golden feathers. Seeing such magnificence, all the black-clothed men were greatly awed. Marshal Jinteng was about to step forward to protect the blade when Jin Lingshuang reached out to stop him, smiling: “Let him play. People are precious for self-knowledge—if they don’t play, they won’t know their own worth.”

Jin Lingshuang’s words of contempt for the “Emperor of Blades” were like pointing and cursing at Yelu Dashi to his face, but Mie Li didn’t point back and curse. At this moment, silence was better than sound—only the treasure blade could speak for itself. Mie Li said nothing, immediately turning and drawing his blade. Golden feathers flashed, and before the blade body even touched the vat wall, it already made the large vat hum and ring. The black-clothed demons were horrified—now they knew “Topaz Jade” truly had divine powers.

With a thunderous crash, the “Emperor of Blades” struck the “North Sea Iron Essence” like hundreds of pounds of boulder falling from heaven. The shock waves were deep and threatening, shaking the ship’s body and making everyone’s hearts pound, but their ears heard no sharp sounds—the situation was extremely strange. Before everyone could recover, Topaz golden light already enveloped the large black mud ball, the light spreading along the vat in all directions, not fading for long, appearing extremely dazzling and enchanting.

Seeing the “Topaz Jade’s” mighty force, everyone secretly felt fear, worried the water vat would crack under the pressure. But Jin Lingshuang’s expression remained unchanged—apparently he had great confidence in the “North Sea Iron Essence.”

After a long while, the golden feathers gradually dispersed, revealing again that black, dirty round thing. It looked like a big-bellied Arhat lying on the ground, seeming to mock that the “Emperor of Blades'” power was nothing special.

Mie Li had worked hard to strike but only killed a few venomous insects—naturally he was utterly disgraced. Jin Lingshuang comforted him: “Don’t be sad. The chief treasurer set up this formation to welcome his close friends. You bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals shouldn’t make a racket—go down and rest early.”

“Waaaah!” Though Jin Lingshuang was comforting him, the meaning in his words was more heart-piercing than mockery. The black-clothed youth was furious and actually banged his head against the iron vat. With a thud, blood already flowed from his forehead. He embraced the vat with both hands, and amid dragon roars and tiger howls, actually tried to overturn the large vat in one go. Jin Lingshuang smiled slightly: “Save your strength, child. This water vat weighs a thousand pounds.”

“Demon! Demon! Lend me your strength!” Purple lightning filled the air as the black-clothed youth looked up and desperately called the Demon Blade’s name. Mie Li on the side felt a resonance, and suddenly his left fist’s veins bulged. With one punch, he struck heavily on the vat wall.

With a hoarse crack, fire arm and purple light flashed at the same moment. The two masters joined forces, and the water vat finally swayed. The sound of water could be heard, and the Demon Blade seemed to have heard the desperate cry, finally lighting up with a red fluorescent blood light, looking like ghostfire in water—extremely eerie.

The dim, gorgeous red light brightened, instantly seizing everyone’s vision. This was the first time the Demon Blade shone with demonic light in the human world, even shocking Jin Lingshuang. The entire scene fell quiet. At this moment, whether martial arts were as strong as the black-clothed youth or status as precious as Qiong Fang, no one could look away. Even the six Tomb Guardian Beasts, though they couldn’t see, couldn’t help but softly exclaim—apparently their hearts had also sensed it.

The red light appeared in the world, and the Demon Blade seemed to blow a victory horn. From under the deck crawled out millions of warriors—the little ants and bugs residing in the ship’s cabin, unwilling to be left out, all marched in formation, and even the sky brought buzzing mosquitoes and flies to join the great battle.

No one could move. All the masters seemed to have had their souls captured by the Demon Blade, only able to hiss and gasp while watching the insects engage in a life-and-death battle.

Unimaginable slaughter and hand-to-hand combat erupted before their eyes. Leeches devoured their own kind, spiders showed no quarter to each other. The red-crowned centipede that had jumped onto the water vat earlier, relying on its large body, had already eaten over ten insects and was now in fierce battle with a yellow scorpion. Venomous juice and liquid shot at each other, shells and slime flowed with corpses. Compared to these insects’ ferocity, lions and tigers should be grateful for their large size—otherwise, if there were truly spiders a zhang in size, wolves, leopards, and tigers would be left without even their armor.

In the midst of their shock, they suddenly heard a splash—something had fallen into the vat. The Seventh Boss moved forward to look and was slightly startled. What had fallen into the water wasn’t black mud, but a palm-sized golden-haired spider. On its back was a demon face, terrifying in appearance. Though small in size, it relied on its fierce venom to defeat enemies from all sides, becoming the first to enter the water and the first big winner.

The big winner had come. Mie Li hadn’t gotten the Demon Blade, the black-clothed strange guest had also failed, but this big spider became the first big winner. It soaked in the vat, head down and feet up, swimming upside down like a scallion. Qiong Fang watched in a daze and murmured: “What is this doing? Is it trying to dive?”

Strangely enough, the young mistress’s words proved prophetic. That demon-faced spider seemed to have gone mad, desperately trying to drill downward into the water, as if there were hordes of female spiders at the bottom enchantingly calling its soul, making it learn to swim like a fish, single-mindedly diving and playing.

In less than half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the demon-faced spider struggled with its eight legs. Its body was too light—no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t dive down. Rising and sinking repeatedly, it actually drowned alive.

The big winner drowned, but the masses of insects were oblivious. Countless filthy things continued their fierce battle. With a splash, a red-crowned centipede relied on its long, fierce body to become the second big winner.

In the cold, icy water, the centipede jumped into this paradise vat, but as soon as it touched the water, it regretted being frozen by the ice water. It writhed constantly, trying to climb back to the vat’s edge, but the vat wall was too slippery—after several attempts, it couldn’t return. In an instant, its insect body froze, flipped over, and excreted venomous water and juice, once again following the footsteps of its predecessors to the Yellow Springs.

Dead, all dead. The demonic fire’s summons made all things like moths to flame. Though the big scorpions and small insects were still fighting fiercely, they simply didn’t know the real winners had already died. The result of standing out was advancing early toward the ghost gate, suffering the helpless embarrassment of drowning upside down…

Witnessing the fate of the winners, everyone broke out in goosebumps. Jin Lingshuang said eerily: “Do you understand now… why the chief treasurer doesn’t want this blade yet doesn’t fear others coming to seize it? Because it’s a curse itself…” In their horror, the black-clothed demons also understood the big boss’s thinking—why he would use the Demon Blade as bait. Because this was poisoned bait that could poison all enemies and traitors…

“Scram! All you cowards get out of my way!” Even with poisoned bait ahead, there were still fearless warriors charging forward. Since ancient times, who hasn’t faced death? This person planned to burn himself to illuminate the eternal darkness. The black-clothed youth roared like an angry dragon. With a thunderous crash, both shoulders struck the water vat, his whole body’s strength surged, and the large water vat actually slowly left the ground.

The vat body weighed nearly a thousand pounds. The black-clothed youth had only lifted it a foot before it was about to fall again. Just as it was about to crush his ankles, a red left arm blocked it, grabbing the vat bottom and shouting: “Rise!”

The second fearless madman had come. This person had no father or mother, no wife or children, and moreover no country or home, no name or surname—it was Temur Mie Li making his move. At this moment, the only reason that could make him hold back was that one innocent and beautiful person, but the reasons that could make him overturn the water vat numbered in the thousands and millions, countless.

One against a million—at this moment, should one choose to boil with hot blood and die in an instant, or serve as a slave and live a hundred years? The choice lay in a single thought. Amid heavy breathing, Mie Li had already made his choice. The black-clothed youth roared to the sky even more wildly. This one emitted purple light, that one waved fire fists. The two great masters, though strangers to each other, now shared the same will—they wanted to bring demonic fire down to the human world. As for the consequences, no one cared.

Roars continued without end. The large vat tilted away from the ground, dirty water spilled out, red light immediately rippled and swayed, exciting the black-clothed demons to step back together. Jin Lingshuang hadn’t expected these two would act together! He hurriedly shouted: “Tomb Guardian Beasts, form the array! Seventh Boss, step forward and intercept!” The Seventh Boss heard the summons and urgently stepped forward, when suddenly a furious roar rang out: “Niraya!” (Hell!)

Black qi filled the air, and forbidden divine arts struck—but toward the large water vat! Jin Lingshuang was shocked and shouted: “Stop!”

Three great masters exerted force to push—what tremendous power! With a great splash, dirty water flooded the deck, the large vat overturned, and the demonic object spilled out with it. It lay there before everyone, gently smiling.

They saw it… In the black night, something on the deck was glowing, making everyone squint and rub their eyes, each showing a smile.

Even Qiong Fang was stunned and dazed, only staring at the strange sight, actually forgetting to flee.

So beautiful… truly so beautiful… compared to the blue iron essence, it was truly much more beautiful…

A very, very large blade, six feet long, as if forged from hellish karmic fire, the entire body crystal black. The blade body and sheath were seamlessly integrated, showing not a single joint, and no human carving could be seen. That black-tinged-red scabbard emanated a circle of colored halo, bright enough to reflect people, crystal clear and delicate, like a deep, dark magic eye, profound and wise, flickering with the light, just examining each person on the deck…

Suddenly, the Seventh Boss was the first to jump up, his fingers trembling up and down as he shouted: “It’s looking at me!”

Yes… it’s looking at me… Not just the Seventh Boss—even Qiong Fang, who was accustomed to rare treasures, and Marshal Jinteng, who had guarded the Demon Blade for years, everyone eerily spoke these words. Only Mie Li was heard sighing deeply: “Red jade cat’s eye…”

Red jade cat’s eye—this demonic blade was also the world’s largest piece of cat crystal. No matter which direction you looked, that magic eye never left your sight, as if beckoning and smiling, or whispering softly, just wanting the timid self to come over and gently caress and carefully play with it…

On the deck, insects were dazed and people bewildered, but only one person remained awake. Jin Lingshuang gritted his teeth and commanded: “Tomb Guardian Beasts! Form the Six Path Array! Quickly!”

“Quickly your mother’s ass!” Before his words ended, his back took a sneak attack. The Fourth Boss groaned and had already fallen to the ground. In his confusion, he heard cursing from behind: “Gold old thief! Stop putting on airs! When your grandfather gets the Demon Blade, even the chief treasurer will have to call me daddy! Who are you ordering around?”

Jin Lingshuang, as the commander of this mission, was now the first to fall from a sneak attack. The scene immediately became chaotic. The attacker spoke with a Huguang accent, but it was unclear whether he was one of the Eighteen Scholars or Twelve Divine Generals. They saw him flying forward to seize the Demon Blade, but before he could grab it, his back took another punch. Someone roared: “Get lost! You think you can seize the blade? I’ll f*ck your dog ancestors!”

The Seventh Boss shouted loudly, shook off the crowd with his fists, and was first to pounce on the ground to grab it. The black-clothed strange guest followed close behind, and Temur Mie Li naturally wouldn’t yield. Several hands reached out, and together with the venomous insects on the ground, they rolled and fought.

“Mine!”

It came alive! All living things on the ship joined the blade-seizing battle. Everyone was brave and unmatched, each thinking they were the only one. Even Qiong Fang, whose martial arts were lacking, now cheered loudly and shouted desperately. Looking at that Demon Blade, seamlessly integrated, black as the night sky with inner fire hues, it incited all the ship’s masters to fight in pairs. For a moment, blade light and sword shadows, fists and feet flying, the Demon Blade flew up and fell down, fell down and flew up, accompanied by blood spattering and venomous insects crawling wildly. This ship on New Year’s Eve was just like an Asura slaughterhouse.

In the entire scene, only the Fourth Boss remained motionless. He hugged the ship’s mast and shouted: “Form the array! Tomb Guardian Beasts form the array!” Despite his repeated urgings, he saw the six blind men rolling on the ground, clutching each other’s clothes and fighting, as if they hated each other deeply.

At this moment, who cared about whom, who feared whom? Lifelong grudges all exploded, and everyone wanted to settle scores while they had the chance. The moment for ants to fight elephants had arrived. Marshal Jinteng picked up his blood lute and sang crazily: “Money comes, treasure good, power even better, born a bachelor with no worries, heaven forces me down this path, terrible ah terrible ah terrible… how can I escape? Can’t escape, can’t escape… serving country and people never ends, where did my wife go…” By the end he was crying loudly.

Jin Lingshuang climbed up the mast, gasping continuously. He was the only clear-minded person left in the scene, and naturally knew the only way to save his life was to stay far from the Demon Blade.

The Divine Sword was a “living dead thing”—its spirit could bend and twist like a living thing, but its essence was a dead object. Exactly opposite to the Divine Sword, the Demon Blade couldn’t extend or change its physical form. Though it seemed lifeless, with that soul-stirring magic eye and magic light, it could rival Dragon Catcher and was called a “dead living thing.”

All things in the world have dreams. As long as they live in this world, even those as noble as emperors, generals, and ministers have things they want but cannot obtain.

The power to fulfill dreams—this was the source of the Demon Blade’s divine abilities. Without needing internal energy, mental techniques, or mastering peerless martial arts, the closer one got to the blade, the more all kinds of emotions and desires surged in the heart: pupils dilated, heartbeat quickened, blood vessels swelled. The moment one drew the Demon Blade, the strength then was enough to shake mountains and seas. Desired beauties, enemies in the heart, all the obsessive desires one wanted but couldn’t obtain—the Demon Blade could inspire its master to bravely advance and seize everything in one breath.

Under Marshal Jinteng’s musical accompaniment, dozens of masters bravely stepped forward. The black-clothed strange guest was fastest, his lightning-like black shadow pounced, fingers about to touch the Demon Blade when suddenly a thunderbolt-like war cry rang out, and the Yelu family’s legendary treasure struck out, forcing the black-clothed strange guest back an inch. In an instant, Mie Li’s left hand grew violently long and seized the demonic object first.

“Great Liao sovereign, ancestors of all generations!” The cat crystal touched his body. The big winner embraced the demonic object with both hands, instantly receiving an electric shock. Crowds pounced on him, trying to pin Mie Li to the ground. The Black Khitan roared and swung his waist with wild force. Countless bodies were thrown out by the tremendous force. Several people with insufficient power were actually shocked out of the ship’s rail and fell straight into the canal.

“Mine!” Mie Li took a deep breath and raised his blade in a great shout. The Seventh Boss had originally been evenly matched with Mie Li, but now after receiving the divine dragon’s tail sweep, he also rolled away. Even the black-clothed strange guest, despite his superior martial arts, couldn’t withstand it at this moment and retreated five steps in succession, relying on his extremely solid lower body skills to barely stand.

The Demon Blade found its first master, and the scene quieted down. Not only did people stop moving, even the venomous insects stopped biting, as if all the karmic fire had gathered in Mie Li’s body and outsiders could no longer sense it. Marshal Jinteng was like waking from a great dream and said in panic: “This… what’s happening? Where did he get such great strength?” Jin Lingshuang climbed down from the ship’s mast. He wiped away cold sweat, gasped a few breaths, and said in a low voice: “The Ouyang family’s elders passed down the saying: ‘Divine sword gathers dragon qi, karmic fire meets demon blade…’ Whoever touches the blade body will have their blood boil throughout their body, and their strength will increase several times over.”

While the two were talking, Mie Li just held the Demon Blade, examining it up and down continuously. He was heard muttering to himself: “The legend is true… dead living thing… dead living thing… the Divine Sword is dead, but the Demon Blade is alive…”

Many people in the scene had seen the “Divine Sword Dragon Catcher” and knew it was an extremely agile iron essence. Though it appeared to be a dead object, under the drive of internal energy, it was as nimble as a living thing. Compared to the Divine Sword Dragon Catcher, the Karmic Fire Demon Blade couldn’t bend or flex at all, but everyone had just experienced the demon’s mighty summons. Hearing the words “dead living thing,” they could naturally comprehend the mystery within.

Marshal Jinteng became frightened and said in a low voice: “What should we do? This Western Region boy’s martial arts are so formidable, and now he’s gotten the Demon Blade—who can still defeat him?” Jin Lingshuang didn’t seem worried. He shook his hand and said quietly: “Don’t worry. He’ll be dead soon.”

Marshal Jinteng was greatly shocked and said in a trembling voice: “Dead?” Jin Lingshuang gave him a look, indicating he shouldn’t shout, and said quietly again: “The Demon Blade’s power hasn’t fully manifested yet. If he dares to draw the blade later, when the demonic power is fully unleashed, I’m afraid he’ll go mad and kill himself.” Hearing that the strong enemy would soon self-destruct, Marshal Jinteng patted his heart, but before he could celebrate, he heard his superior say: “Listen well. Though this person will commit suicide, before he dies he’ll see visions and inevitably become extremely vicious. If you hear roaring later, remember to run.” Everyone who heard these words was terrified, and even Qiong Fang became afraid. Except for the black-clothed strange guest, everyone else stepped back.

In the gloomy atmosphere, the Black Khitan’s lips curved into a smile. Completely ignoring everything around him, he picked up his legendary treasure blade and viciously stabbed it into the deck, not even glancing at it again. Then he embraced the Demon Blade as if completely satisfied, as if he had everything. Muttering to himself, his large hand reached out and lightly gripped the blade handle—he was about to draw the blade from its sheath.

It was hard to say what happened, but the moment he gripped the blade handle, Mie Li’s clothes billowed as if his entire body was filled with internal energy, and his long hair seemed to be blown by a mad wind, floating upward for no reason.

His hair dancing wildly, his tiger-like appearance entered everyone’s sight, and they all exclaimed in surprise. The face before them had a broad forehead and wide jaw, with a broad but not sharp nose bridge—his appearance was vastly different from Western Region people and bore some resemblance to Han Chinese features. Just as they were looking, Mie Li began to draw his blade. Light flashed, and brilliant demonic fire seemed to gradually shine through from within the sheath. When the blade was three inches out, they suddenly heard Mie Li laugh coldly: “By Heaven’s Mandate.”

These strange four words shocked everyone—they didn’t know why he would speak such odd words. Jin Lingshuang took a deep breath and said gravely: “Be careful—the Demon Blade is about to fulfill dreams.” Just as his words ended, they heard a voice say eerily and mysteriously: “The Emperor decrees.”

His fierce gaze swept over everyone on the ship as he hissed: “I command you all to kneel and you may avoid death.”

“By Heaven’s Mandate, the Emperor decrees”—this tone was exactly like an emperor issuing an imperial edict. The black-clothed crowd was greatly surprised and hesitating when Jin Lingshuang quietly ordered: “Everyone obediently do as he says—no one can defeat him now.” He was the first to kneel on the ground, appearing to bow to his superior. Since his superior had knelt, the other demons naturally followed suit. The black-clothed strange guest had always been proud and though unwilling to kneel, he also sat cross-legged on the ground. Qiong Fang knew her martial arts were vastly inferior to others, and to preserve her life, she understood to follow their example, half-lying and half-reclining to avoid unwarranted disaster.

Everyone on the ship either fell down or knelt. Mie Li was triumphant like a generation’s pride, unable to help laughing heartily. His left hand gripped the handle, his right hand held the blade, and in his joyful laughter he muttered a long string of words in strange tones that seemed like Turkic and also like Mongolian. Though everyone wanted to probe his thoughts, they couldn’t understand a single word.

Mie Li’s eyes were bright, his expression excited, laughing more and more joyfully. The red light on the blade also flashed more brilliantly. The fire edge left the sheath, the blade body was half out when suddenly Mie Li gave a great shout and angrily said: “Impudent! Who are you! How dare you stand before me!” At this time even the black-clothed strange guest was sitting on the ground—who else dared to stand? Everyone was shocked and hurriedly looked toward the ship’s bow, not knowing who had come.

There was no one at the ship’s bow, only a blade—the Topaz Jade blade. Earlier Mie Li had grabbed it with his backhand and thrown it to the ground. Now it naturally stood upright, looking like a loyal minister offering earnest advice, wanting only to stop his descendant from drawing the Demon Blade.

“So it’s you… you worthless thing, besides pestering me all day, what use are you…” Mie Li’s face was flushed with demonic fire. He looked at the Topaz Jade blade and spoke a few strange words. Mixing foreign and Han languages, he suddenly pointed and cursed: “Kneel down! Kneel down immediately! Otherwise I’ll kill you! Cut off your head! Do you hear?”

Not to mention that the Topaz Jade blade was a dead object unable to understand human speech—even if it were naturally spiritual, it couldn’t kneel on both knees at this moment. After all, it was the legendary treasure left by Yelu Dashi. Even if it could transform into human form now, it probably couldn’t kowtow to its own descendant for mercy.

“Kneel down! Kneel down! Kneel down!” Mie Li became even angrier. With a thunderous roar, the Demon Blade struck out still in its sheath: “Kneel down!”

The karmic fire hadn’t left its sheath but already slashed toward “Topaz Jade.” When the two blades collided, both were famous instruments of heaven and earth. Suddenly there was a strange sound like tearing silk. Poor “Golden Jade Blade”—after taking the heavy blow, its scabbard shattered and precious stones and gold scattered everywhere. Qiong Fang covered her face and screamed: “Fool! You’ve broken your own blade!”

Though topaz could ward off evil, how could it avoid the world’s greatest evil? In an instant the scabbard was already damaged and cracked, but this blade was the Khitan’s national seal. Even though the scabbard was damaged, the golden jade blade body still stood at the ship’s bow, its golden feathers spread like a majestic peacock. Mie Li’s anger didn’t subside as he sternly said again: “Slave of a fallen nation! Still won’t kneel?” Regardless of everything, he exerted all his strength to strike a second time. Demonic fire burned horizontally, golden feathers brightened on the deck, and suddenly the golden feathers flew swiftly eastward in one place while remaining in the original spot in another.

The “Emperor of Blades” was broken. The Black Khitan’s hundred-year-old divine object met catastrophe, its body separated this night.

Everyone’s hearts obviously shook, both awed by the Demon Blade’s sharpness and intimidated by Mie Li’s madness. The entire scene fell silent.

Having chopped down his strong enemy, Mie Li naturally beamed with joy and laughed heartily. He lifted the Demon Blade and was about to grip the handle to draw it. The Demon Blade left its sheath inch by inch, about to emerge completely when suddenly his toe stepped on something. Looking down, he saw the characters “Yelu” wrapped in gold thread.

Mie Li blinked and exclaimed, looking at the Demon Blade in his hand and then at the broken scabbard fragments on the ground. It seemed those two characters had some connection to himself, but he couldn’t understand clearly. The corner of his mouth curved as he wanted to draw the Demon Blade, but his whole body felt uncomfortable. Sometimes he raised the blade, sometimes he let his hand fall—he was quite troubled. Finally he crouched down to pick up the fragments and examine them.

“Yelu? Yelu?” Mie Li picked up that section of broken scabbard to look at, muttering to himself, his tone full of confusion. Just as he was about to throw away the broken sheath, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise: “Yelu!”

A tragic, miserable cry rang out. The Demon Blade at the ship’s bow fell to the ground and broke through the deck. Mie Li cried out loudly: “Yelu!”

The Demon Blade finally returned to its sheath, and Mie Li also awakened. His face was covered with tears, as if awakening from a nightmare, somewhat uncertain of where he was. Seeing Marshal Jinteng shake his head with a bitter smile and Qiong Fang looking at him with pitying eyes, all gazing toward his feet, Mie Li’s heart was confused. Looking down, he had already seen the legendary treasure blade with its body separated.

Shocked, the Black Khitan gasped: “Who… who was it…”

No one answered him, but everyone on the deck was laughing—Qiong Fang smiled bitterly, Marshal Jinteng laughed dryly, and the other black-clothed men either sneered, laughed coldly, or burst into loud laughter… Mie Li stared blankly at everyone when suddenly he saw golden fingers gently pointing toward himself. Jin Lingshuang’s gaze was pitying as he sighed: “It was you.”

“It was me?” The corner of Mie Li’s mouth showed painful, bitter lines. He tilted his head and neck and had already fallen to his knees.

The most painful thing in the world is when beautiful dreams come true, but you suddenly awaken from a death row cell. That’s not just falling from the clouds back to the human world—it’s falling straight into boundless hell. Pitiably, hundreds and thousands of years of ancestral glory were completely destroyed in this moment. What was more terrible was that it wasn’t destroyed by enemy hands, but by a descendant’s blade. The footprints left by the Black Khitan clan had reached their end here. Seeing Mie Li hold up the legendary treasure blade with both hands, his expression seeming like he wanted to drink tears or burst into laughter, everyone who saw this finally knew what someone in the depths of regret should look like.

As Mie Li sighed and lamented, he began muttering to himself again. Kneeling on both knees, he gently set down the treasure blade, then grabbed the demonic object with his other hand. This time when the blade edge left its sheath, it moved toward his throat. Qiong Fang didn’t want him to commit suicide like this and shouted: “Absolutely not!”

Just as she was about to step forward to stop him, she was held back. Jin Lingshuang said: “Don’t think of acting rashly. Before he dies, he’ll be possessed and might randomly kill at any time.” Though Qiong Fang didn’t know if these words were true or false, she didn’t dare act carelessly and could only restrain herself, watching helplessly as Mie Li attempted suicide.

The blade edge came to his throat, the blood-red demonic light about to drink the neck blood and take the life of this Eight Generation Evil Gold. Not to mention that the black-clothed demons had no connection to this person and no one was willing to act to save him—even if there were some friendship, it would be difficult to give him a blow to the head to wake Mie Li from his nightmare.

Just at the moment of death, suddenly with a whoosh, someone threw fragments of the Topaz Jade blade, instantly hitting the Black Khitan’s forehead. Mie Li angrily looked up to see a person standing with arms crossed, eyes showing slight contempt. Seeing this person so cold and proud, who else could it be but the black-clothed strange guest? Mie Li raged: “What are you doing?” The black-clothed strange guest gave no response, only lifted his toe to fiddle with the broken sheath on the ground. His gesture was contemptuous, and where his toe fell was precisely on those two characters “Yelu.”

With his ancestors insulted, Mie Li immediately felt evil fire burn his heart and angrily said: “I’m going to kill you!” Both hands reached out—one to rescue the “Topaz Jade” broken in two, the other to grab those “Yelu” characters. Unconsciously, the Demon Blade in his hand was cast aside.

He passed the test. Under the summons of his ancestral name, Mie Li abandoned the Demon Blade and finally saved his own life.

With great difficulty the Demon Blade fell to the ground. Jin Lingshuang saw the opportunity couldn’t be lost and was about to pick up the black cloth to cover it when the black-clothed strange guest was also clever, kicking the “Yelu” characters toward Jin Lingshuang. When the troublesome object reached him, Mie Li also turned to kill Jin Lingshuang. Jin Lingshuang laughed and was about to draw his sword to resist when, with just a glance, the black-clothed strange guest leaped forward first, pouncing straight for the Demon Blade.

“Get away!” The Seventh Boss was standing close and threw a punch at the black-clothed strange guest. The two fought like snipe and clam, rolling to the ground with neither able to spare a hand to grab the blade, letting all the black-clothed fishermen on the scene profit. One reached with claws to seize, another raised palms to strike, this one flipped up the Demon Blade with his toe, that one jumped up high to pounce. In the confused brawling, someone swept an elbow, knocking one person down unable to support himself.

The Demon Blade led its master into madness. With Mie Li’s natural martial courage and nobility, he was still corrupted and dispirited by it. The rest of the people were mostly chicken thieves and dog burglars who usually only knew wine, sex, wealth, and anger, venting their desires. Under such demonic influence, who wasn’t confused and mad? At this moment, desire made wisdom dim. There was no man in the world they didn’t dare fight, no woman they couldn’t touch. The seven emotions and six desires burned, teachings and rules were completely broken, and the human world became a hellish fierce appearance.

“Utterly unconscionable…” Qiong Fang was terrified and hurriedly shrank to a corner of the deck, deeply afraid of being implicated in the fighting. At this time the ship was full of madmen. Except for Mie Li collecting scabbard fragments everywhere and Jin Lingshuang defending himself with his sword drawn, everyone else was fighting.

In a flash, the Demon Blade changed hands countless times, but no one could hold it steadily. No matter who touched the Demon Blade, dozens of swords immediately chased after them, forcing the owner to hastily throw away the blade to seek self-preservation.

No one could hold the Demon Blade, let alone calmly draw it from its sheath. Seeing this object cause such trouble, why fight for it? Qiong Fang sighed deeply and thought: “These people are extremely bored—truly worse than beasts. I shouldn’t get mixed up with them. I’d better leave quickly.” She was careful not to alarm the ship full of madmen, slipping through from beside the ship’s rail. Seeing the shore wasn’t far, she was about to leap when suddenly something rolled in front of her, sliding all the way to her feet, forcing Qiong Fang to stop and avoid it.

In the darkness, something was glowing—it was the “Karmic Fire Demon Blade”!

Qiong Fang exclaimed in surprise. In all the chaos on the scene, this shining cat crystal had actually rolled to her feet? Qiong Fang was greatly amazed and didn’t know what to do when she saw a black-clothed man in front of her baring his teeth and grinning. His arm was being grabbed by someone, clearly unable to advance an inch, but his mouth was still shouting hoarsely, wanting only to reach out and grab it. Qiong Fang remembered Mie Li’s tragic state and shook her head, thinking: “This isn’t any good thing! I’d better not touch it.”

Just as she was about to turn and leave, she saw the magic eye on the scabbard blinking its divine light at her.

The cat crystal’s demonic fire created hidden, moving radiance. Qiong Fang thought: “This thing looks so beautiful—making it into earrings wouldn’t be bad.” Thinking this, she unconsciously crouched down and was about to touch the scabbard when suddenly her heart was startled and she thought: “Qiong Fang, oh Qiong Fang, what’s wrong with you today? You’ve been upright and bright since childhood, never coveting others’ things. How have you become so greedy?”

Qiong Fang came from a prominent family and had been proud since childhood, never coveting others’ possessions. Remembering her ancestors’ teachings, she immediately wanted to withdraw her hand. But in the blink of an eye, seeing that magic eye again, her heart thought: “Fool, you’re not taking this blade for selfish reasons! Su Ying lost to that black-clothed man, and the ship full of black-clothed villains are acting recklessly. If I take this blade, it’s not for personal gain but for country and people!”

For country and people, to become a great hero admired by the world, to seek fortune for all under heaven, to work for the common people—in her confusion, she saw Grandfather, her beloved, Juan’er, Master Fu, Zhe’er Dan and others clapping and cheering, surrounding her with cheers and praise. Qiong Fang touched her head, her face showing a joyful smile as she said shyly: “Don’t keep praising me—it’s embarrassing.”

Though these many thoughts seemed numerous and troubling, they all flashed by in an instant. When Qiong Fang thought of happy things, she finally made up her mind and joyfully reached out her hand to gently caress the Demon Blade.

When the blade touched her fingertips, her palm involuntarily grew hot and her mind felt slightly dizzy, as if there were some shadows before her eyes, but they were hazy and hard to grasp. Qiong Fang blinked and hurriedly released her hand, thinking: “Strange.” She had originally been holding that book “Records of Jingtai Personalities,” but now let the book fall to the ground, no longer caring about it.

At this time her palm was hot. Looking down at her palm, she saw it was already faintly emitting red light. Qiong Fang was secretly afraid. Turning to look at the scabbard, she saw that magic eye still gazing at her as if urging her to come over quickly. Qiong Fang pondered repeatedly, remembering Mie Li’s tragic state. Her heart was somewhat hesitant, but to abandon the blade and leave, she was also somewhat reluctant. She couldn’t make up her mind and could only bite her lower lip and think: “Fine, I’ll just touch it once. If something strange happens later, I’ll just let go.” Having this thought in her heart, she became bolder and reached out her hand again.

Her jade-white snow fingers slowly advanced inch by inch. For a moment, her petal-like pink fingernails stopped and finally gripped the blade handle.

This time there was no particular feeling—she just felt the blade handle was very rough, with grid-like patterns arranged like a honeycomb. If she wanted to use the blade to fight, it definitely wouldn’t be smooth. Murmuring to herself, she casually lifted the Demon Blade and suddenly her heart was greatly delighted: “This blade is so light!”

The blade looked heavy and huge, but who would have thought that in hand it wasn’t heavy at all—it seemed even lighter than her own iron fan. Qiong Fang giggled and thought: “How fun—this blade is so light, I can practice blade techniques in the future.” Just as she was thinking, her shoulder tightened slightly as if someone had grabbed her. Qiong Fang clicked her tongue and casually brushed out with five fingers. The hand that had grabbed her was immediately forced away by the impact.

Qiong Fang was currently in a daze and naturally didn’t know that the one who grabbed her was the black-clothed strange guest. She also didn’t know that her gentle brush had just forced back a peerless master three steps, making him fall into the crowd. Qiong Fang was immersed in the blade, playing with the scabbard by herself and laughing sweetly: “Demon Blade, oh Demon Blade, what do you actually look like? Are you very cute?”

Gripping the blade handle, karmic fire emerged from the sheath. Suddenly wind and snow swirled all around, and the pages of the “Records of Personalities” at her feet were continuously turned by the wind god, page after page, finally reaching page one hundred forty-seven.

The Demon Blade began to fulfill dreams. The surroundings became dim, the sounds of killing by her ears all ceased. Qiong Fang blinked her large eyes, feeling confused, when suddenly she heard an angry shout from behind: “Fang’er, let go of it!”

Who was that? So fierce? Qiong Fang murmured and turned her head, suddenly seeing that most familiar relative.

Qiong Wuchuan, the current dynasty’s powerful authority, the nation’s father-in-law, Imperial Uncle. He crossed his arms and sternly said: “Let go of it!”

Let go of whom… Qiong Fang looked bewildered and dumbly listened to Grandfather shout: “Go to your room. Your father is leaving.”

Qiong Fang’s whole body shook violently. Hurriedly looking at the Demon Blade, suddenly what she held in her arms was no longer a blade but a man.

Qiong Fang screamed and had already fallen to her knees, tears about to fall. The man before her lay fallen on the ground, opening powerless eyelids, his gaze gray and defeated. He wanted to reach out and get up but lacked the strength. Qiong Fang held him tightly in her arms and finally burst into loud sobs: “Father!”

Qiong Yi, courtesy name Daofu, from Tongzhou, Shuntian Prefecture, legitimate sixth-generation descendant of Taizu Duke of Ying. In the fifteenth year of Wuying he passed the imperial examination and was appointed to the Ministry of Revenue as a clerk. He served successively as Counselor in the Nanjing Office of Transmission and Junior Supervisor in the Hanlin Academy. In the twenty-sixth year of Jingtai he died of sudden illness at age forty-three…

Page one hundred forty-seven of the Records of Personalities contained the story of Young Master Qiong. Qiong Fang’s tears fell like rain. Fourteen years of bitterness surged into her throat, making her unable to stand. She could only tightly embrace her birth father, constantly kissing his cheeks. Father endured his abdominal pain, tears flowing from his eyes as he smiled with difficulty: “Fang… Fang’er, I’m sorry… Father didn’t mean to die, I’m sorry… Fang’er… my Fang’er…”

The father who died in the family temple lay before his daughter like this, still begging his beloved daughter’s forgiveness before death. Qiong Fang had no way to speak. She could only silently drink her tears, constantly kissing Father’s cheeks, kissing Father’s lips, but Father kept spitting up blood, staining Qiong Fang’s cherry lips red.

“Let go of him, let go of him! Don’t kiss him anymore!” Behind her, Grandfather kept pulling at her, kept pulling… kept pulling… there were always people wanting to separate the father and daughter… In the courtyard there were many, many more people. They held whisks and wore palace dress, dressed like immortals… Were they going to take Father away? Where were they taking Father?

“Ah ya ah!” Qiong Fang could finally speak. She let out a shrill, miserable scream: “Don’t pull me! Don’t pull! Someone save Father!” She cried and shouted continuously, turning to throw a punch behind her. Grandfather behind her slid backward and instantly fell down.

But Qiong Fang didn’t know she had punched the Seventh Boss. Though his power was profound, at this moment he couldn’t block her desperate punch.

“Grandfather! Father is going to die—quickly think of a way to save him!” Little Qiong Fang sobbed loudly, but no one paid attention to her. Everyone’s gaze was so deep, sorrowful, and mournful. In her wailing cries, over ten years of confusion she hadn’t dared think deeply about finally all exploded in her heart. Qiong Fang cried loudly: “Grandfather! You wanted Father to die! Right? Tell me! Tell me!”

Qiong Fang dragged Father’s grown corpse, crying and running. Everywhere were grandfathers, everywhere were bad people dressed like immortals. They kept chasing after her, causing Qiong Fang to cry and shout loudly, constantly throwing punches and kicks. Her dan tian seemed filled with burning charcoal—inexhaustible strength continuously surged from tens of thousands of pores into her body, beating away more and more grandfathers.

In the wild wind and snow, Qiong Fang fled and shouted, but no matter what she couldn’t escape. She steeled her heart and simply turned around to face the ship full of bad people with angry eyes, pointing and shouting: “Who forced my father to death? Speak!”

The bad people before her said nothing, only smiled coldly one by one—they were all accomplices. Qiong Fang also responded with fierce, cold laughter. She gripped the blade handle and gritted her teeth: “You bad people, I’m going to kill all of you. Regardless of men, women, old or young, I’ll kill you until not even chickens and dogs remain!”

The demon girl gasped heavily, revenge fire burning her heart. The heavy snow also became misty. At this moment there was no grandfather, no father—only a possessed little girl on the deck. Her snow-tender little hand tightly gripped the blade handle. That hexagonal honeycomb-shaped blade handle was dark and imposing, almost as long as the girl’s upper arm. Though the person was small and the blade long, making the appearance sudden, no one on the scene dared be careless.

Only Jin Lingshuang remained clear-minded in the entire scene, but unfortunately he could barely protect himself—how could he stop Qiong Fang from walking toward death? He understood in his heart that as soon as this girl drew the precious blade, the next step would be seeing her own death date. She didn’t have Mie Li’s deep concentration, much less Mie Li’s superior martial arts. She would commit suicide ten times faster than Mie Li, thus becoming a little girl with her body separated like that Topaz Jade blade.

Under demonic influence, Qiong Fang’s tearful eyes were already swollen red. She sobbed and muttered to herself: “Father… Fang’er loves you. Look, look… Fang’er is going to avenge you…” Slowly the blade handle lifted upward. The Demon Blade left its sheath, karmic fire inch by inch illuminating the ship full of people like ghosts and demons. The blade edge was about to emerge, hate fire swallowing and blooming. In just a moment, the scabbard would fall to the ground and the Demon Blade would completely bloom in the human world. Then the first to die miserably wouldn’t be anyone else, but this jade-snow lovely little mistress before them…

With a creak, the deck swayed gently—someone had boarded the ship. This person’s footsteps were light, passing through the ship planks almost soundlessly.

Jin Lingshuang was the first to become aware. He looked intensely toward Qiong Fang’s back and suddenly saw a human figure appear behind Qiong Fang in the flying snow. Jin Lingshuang’s heart was shocked as he muttered to himself: “The Demon King has arrived?”

The snowy night was hazy. The ship full of people quieted their vicious killing and all looked toward Qiong Fang’s back. No one knew what thing the demonic light had attracted—was he a late-arriving passenger or the legendary great demon?

The Demon Blade reflected Qiong Fang as infatuated and mad, while that person’s figure seemed to be bathed in demonic light, making it impossible to see clearly. In the silence, that shadow came behind Qiong Fang and said softly: “Child, put down the thing.” The gentle voice didn’t sound much like a demon’s call. Qiong Fang had already forgotten about everything outside herself. That shadow also stopped persuading and immediately reached out to place his hand on Qiong Fang’s shoulder.

When Qiong Fang’s shoulder was touched, she sensed an external enemy’s arrival. Her beautiful eyes flashed with rage as she quickly threw a punch in fury, angrily shouting: “Impudent!” The karmic fire accompanied her fist’s force with such tremendous power that even the black-clothed strange guest’s amazing skills and the Seventh Boss’s forbidden divine arts probably couldn’t withstand it. But that person raised his palm and traced a slight arc, deflecting the force gently and already grasping Qiong Fang’s small fist. Qiong Fang screamed: “Who are you!”

The late-arriving passenger didn’t answer, only lowered his head to gaze at little Qiong Fang before him. The two faced each other—those phoenix eyes before her were gentle yet firm, crystal clear and noble, subtly conveying comfort and persuasion. The little girl was greatly shocked, her heart stopped, and in her trembling, sobbing voice, she couldn’t help but reach out to touch that face.

Like the legendary treasure blade to Mie Li, Qiong Fang’s heart also had its attachments. In this dreamlike, illusory moment between real and false, everything in heaven and earth could be abandoned, even the Demon Blade…

With a thud, the Demon Blade slipped from her hand and fell, smashing through the deck. Qiong Fang screamed: “Father!” In her excitement, she immediately leaped into his embrace, rushing toward the bond in her heart.

The man before her raised his hands and held Qiong Fang in his arms. Qiong Fang leaned in his embrace, crying and jumping. She desperately tried to see the man’s face. Through her tearful, blurred vision, that person’s features entered her sight bit by bit. Only hearing Qiong Fang cry out, trembling and sobbing: “No… not you, annoying ghost… I hate you, Lu Yun…” In her great excitement, her hands and feet struggled desperately. The man, fearing she might hurt herself, casually rubbed her temple and made Qiong Fang faint.

Wind and snow filled the sky. The last passenger to board on this snowy night stood lonely and silent. He shouldered his carrying pole and held Qiong Fang with one hand, standing before both enemy and friendly forces.

Though Qiong Fang’s call wasn’t loud, Jin Lingshuang’s internal energy was profound and he had heard it clearly. His face full of surprise and doubt, he repeatedly examined that person’s appearance when suddenly he heard an exclamation and said again: “Lu Yun!” When the two words “Lu Yun” were spoken again, this time it made the black-clothed strange guest’s eyes widen. He had been fighting fiercely with the Seventh Boss, but now hurriedly leaped backward. That Temur Mie Li had originally been dispirited and lost, but hearing the call, he couldn’t help but raise his head. All the people on the scene infected each other, raising their heads together to examine the man before them.

The newcomer was indeed Lu Yun. When he first boarded the ship, the first thing he saw was Qiong Fang. He recognized this young lady as the National Uncle’s granddaughter. Seeing her holding a strange black large blade, fighting alone against dozens of men, he feared she might hurt herself, so he casually pulled her away.

As Qiong Fang had predicted—a tree may grow a thousand zhang high, but its leaves still return to their roots. Having barely kept his life, he wanted to return home. But life was unfortunate—on New Year’s Eve, the only passenger ship departing from Yangzhou was actually heading toward hell?

Lu Yun examined the large group of passengers before him. He saw these people covered their faces like bandits, with no good appearance whatsoever—apparently he had boarded a black ship. Looking again at the people glaring like tigers and leopards, all staring at his feet, Lu Yun’s heart grew curious and he also looked toward the deck. He saw a black blade lying not far from his feet. The scabbard was black as lacquer, faintly glowing with fire—it was the blade that had fallen from Qiong Fang’s hands earlier.

Lu Yun remained silent, first setting down the carrying pole from his shoulder, then placing Qiong Fang beside the pole, followed by removing his long robe and draping it over the little girl. He asked: “May I ask if this ship is still departing? I’m waiting to return to Shandong.”

Everyone looked at each other and couldn’t help but laugh. At this time the ship was in complete chaos—looking at the deck with many venomous insects lying dead, a broken sedan chair collapsed near the rails, and wooden planks everywhere cracked and damaged. Who knew if this ship could still sail? Just at this moment, they suddenly heard the Seventh Boss laugh heartily and shout: “Kill!” The other black-clothed men also echoed: “Kill!”

A large group of black-clothed men rushed past, once again competing and fighting for the prize. Their gazes shifted by inches, all targeting the Demon Blade at Lu Yun’s feet. The ship full of masters fought in pairs, everyone hoping to become the third big winner.

A black-clothed man crawled forward first, about to touch the blade handle when suddenly his body slid backward—he was being dragged back by someone. That person cried out loudly, desperately stretching his hand but still fell short by several inches. Just then, the hand dragging him from behind suddenly grew long, about to touch the Demon Blade when it was stepped on by an angry foot. The owner of the big foot was about to bend down to retrieve the object when suddenly a miserable scream rang out. That foot fell down, replaced by a crawling, hateful face.

Grabbing and killing, all that could be seen were fierce, hideous faces. Suddenly Lu Yun said in surprise: “Still not finished?”

Still not finished? Hadn’t the Zhengtong Dynasty already been restored? How were they still not done killing? Lu Yun looked on in confusion, and in a moment of daze, couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

After many years, the suffering people had grown old, but this vast human world was still the same ghostly appearance…

Seeing one black-clothed man being dragged back while another crawled forward, this one up and that one down, continuing endlessly, Lu Yun laughed: “Friends, seeing how hard you’re working—whose thing is this exactly?”

“Mine!” Just as the question ended, the ship’s bow immediately erupted with angry roars: “Mine!”

“Bullshit! You dare say this is yours?” “F*ck your grandmother’s butthole! This is naturally mine!” First they argued, then came to blows, then blade light and sword shadows in a fierce slaughter. Lu Yun now wanted to mediate but didn’t know who was right or wrong. He stepped forward, looking at everyone, and asked again: “Tell me whose this really is?”

“Mine!” The fighting at the ship’s bow was fierce, but everyone unanimously shouted together: “Mine!”

Just like the past decades when he could never figure out who was right or wrong—it seemed the wrong one was always himself. Lu Yun raised his eyes toward the night sky, suddenly gathering his true qi and roaring from his throat: “Answer me! Whose is it exactly!”

The thunderous angry roar made everyone’s ears ring and buzz. The qi from his mouth sprayed out, and a black-clothed man at the forefront actually fell over the ship’s rail—his eardrums were probably stunned, perhaps even knocked unconscious. Large numbers of black-clothed men covered their ears and crouched on the ground, everyone looking toward Lu Yun like children seeing their teacher, but with fearful eyes.

The ship’s bow was quiet, but no one answered him. Lu Yun sternly shouted again: “Answer me! Whose thing is this exactly!”

Under the heaven-shaking thunder, the water surface resonated and shook, actually making the ship’s body rise and fall continuously. Seeing no one speak, Lu Yun shook his head and bent down to confiscate the treasure in the students’ hearts.

The teacher’s large hand approached the Demon Blade. When still a foot away, the cat crystal seemed to respond to the teacher’s heart and instantly lit up with demonic fire.

The demonic fire reflected in all eight directions, specializing in hidden sufferings. The radiance first reflected the countless large and small wounds on Lu Yun’s hands—reddened scars from sharp stones, raised finger bones broken by rushing currents and rolling rocks… All the torments and sufferings of ten years in the heavenly prison were completely revealed before the Demon Blade. Lu Yun found this blade extremely strange. Though startled, he wasn’t frightened away and bent down to pick up the Demon Blade.

Just as the large hand was about to arrive, Jin Lingshuang suddenly came to his senses and shouted: “Stop! Don’t touch that thing under any circumstances!”

Too late. Under everyone’s gaze, Lu Yun’s fingers touched the Demon Blade. In an instant, his hair floated upward, revealing the knife scar in the center of his eyebrows. The second sensation appeared. Jin Lingshuang said in a trembling voice: “It’s over! He’s gone down too!”

Marshal Jinteng had been isolated from the world for years. Seeing Jin Lingshuang grit his teeth and wring his hands, and the Seventh Boss staring in shock, his curiosity was aroused. He saw Lu Yun had a round head and square feet, and except for a somewhat melancholy face, showed no signs of having three heads and six arms. He moved closer to the Fourth Boss and whispered: “What’s this guy’s background? How does he seem to have considerable connections?” Jin Lingshuang gritted his teeth: “Have you heard of ‘The Four Generals of Liu Gate, Observing Sea and Distant Clouds’?” Marshal Jinteng’s heart shuddered and he hurriedly said: “You mean this guy is… is…”

Jin Lingshuang sighed: “That’s right. He’s the Number One Scholar and Changzhou Prefect Lu Yun who disappeared ten years ago.”

Others might not know, but Jin Lingshuang, as the “Inn’s” first veteran minister, knew the Number One Scholar’s situation well. Ten years ago at the life-and-death battle by White Water River, Jin Lingshuang hid in the shadows watching. He saw Lu Yun master the “Sword Light,” using the former sect leader’s ultimate technique to battle the imperial army, naturally shocking his heart greatly. But at that time he had imperial orders and couldn’t conveniently intervene. He could only watch Lu Yun resist stubbornly all the way, fighting from the riverbank to the suspension bridge, then from the suspension bridge to the deep valley, finally perishing together with Sa Mo—one righteous, one evil, both falling into White Water River at the same moment, swept away by waves for thousands of li.

As a disciple of Kunlun Sect, personally witnessing the Sword God’s ultimate arts reappear in the martial world, then personally watching the Sword God’s successor fall into the deep valley, Jin Lingshuang’s inner shock and excitement couldn’t be described by outsiders. Now ten years had passed, and the Sword God’s successor had returned. No matter where he came from, looking at the Liu Gate colleagues one by one reaching the pinnacle of power and dominating various regions, yet he alone barely survived, his wife and children scattered—the pain and indignation in his heart must be exactly the same as Zhuo Lingzhao’s state of mind before death. Now that he had picked up the Demon Blade, he must have endless blood feuds to repay. With the might of demonic fire plus the hatred of sword light, who in the world had the power to block him? Or rather, who had the qualification to try to block him?

The night sky was dark, snowflakes fell one by one. Lu Yun silently looked up to heaven, his expression very stern. He picked up the Demon Blade and slowly raised it toward the night sky, left hand holding the sheath, right hand gripping the handle, about to draw it out. The deeper the hatred of the blade holder, the more it could stimulate the demonic nature. Under the gaze of everyone on the ship, when the Demon Blade emerged its first inch, the demonic light blazed greatly, looking like a great furnace—far beyond what could be compared when Mie Li or Qiong Fang held the blade earlier. It forced everyone to cry out and cover their eyes together.

The human world has dreams, the Demon Blade fulfills dreams. The wheel of karma had already begun turning. The scholarly teacher before them had extremely high martial arts, sufficient to mediate difficulties and resolve disputes. But if even he fell into hell, what could be done? Jin Lingshuang’s face was iron gray. Earlier, no matter who came to hold the blade, he would either coldly mock or quietly watch them die. But now that Lu Yun had arrived, he didn’t dare say another word and was the first to step back.

Perhaps to toy with people’s emotions, perhaps to warn of people’s ambitions, the Demon Blade liked to play jokes on people. If someone wanted to restore their country, it would demand that person offer their imperial seal as sacrifice. If someone couldn’t bear to part with father-daughter affection, it would demand that person sever their ancestral bloodline. But no matter how the Demon Blade stirred people’s beautiful dreams, once it encountered one type of person, it would willingly be driven by them.

People who had no dreams to dream—those who had lost everything. Lu Yun before them had suffered torment, that hatred that had died once, combined with the supreme sword light gained from hell, excited the demonic fire to blaze even brighter, all streaming out from the sheath, surrounding the Number One Scholar’s body, making him look like a ghost or god. Jin Lingshuang was greatly horrified and said in a trembling voice: “Heaven… can he control this blade?”

The Demon Blade was about to leave its sheath. The magic eye no longer scattered radiance but instead wept tears. The fire-red blood blade, inch after inch, brought scenes from the past leaping into his heart. Suddenly Lu Yun’s tears rolled down as he looked up to heaven and sang mournfully: “Ten years in bitter prison, ten years of achievement, in the end all comes to nothing. Name is empty, love is empty, the four walls are bare, even the nest is empty. Relatives dead, friends scattered, righteousness exhausted… Hatred not empty, revenge not empty, neither sad nor bitter, not in vain. Heaven and earth’s myriad things—kill them all!”

Sorrow attacked his heart. The Karmic Fire Demon Blade and the hell’s bitter prisoner stimulated each other. Thinking of the pain of his beloved wife remarrying and brothers betraying him, the sharp knife pierced his heart, paining Lu Yun until his hair and beard stood on end, bloody tears flowed, and his teeth ground with clicking sounds. Marshal Jinteng and others had abandoned their families and children, bitterly crouching in the heavenly furnace for ten years. At this moment, hearing the mournful song, they were greatly affected and also burst into tears, sobbing loudly.

Kunlun sword techniques were originally prone to possession by demons. The sword was a sword of anger, the way was a way of hatred. Lu Yun had practiced sword light for ten years with extremely deep power. Now the Demon Blade was fed by the peerless sword light, blazing brilliantly like the sun, stabbing eyes and hurting vision. The brighter the light, the more hatred excited the Demon Blade, finally about to completely leave its sheath.

At this moment, except for Qiong Fang who lay unconscious on the ground, everyone on the scene held their breath and waited for the Demon Blade to descend upon the world. Seeing the Demon Blade had found its true master, if unfortunately a demon was released tonight, under the impact of raging waves, heaven and earth’s myriad things would be angrily slashed to nothing.

Just as the blade body was about to leave its sheath, suddenly a hoarse, sad call was heard, saying softly: “Uncle Lu…”

“Save us…”

The blazing light scattered, the Demon Blade returned to its sheath, and the red heat under his eyelids immediately faded. Everyone still had lingering fears, one by one reaching to shield their eyes, craning their necks to steal glances. They saw Lu Yun solemnly looking up to heaven, his facial expression much more peaceful, but from the center of his forehead flowed a stream of fresh blood, hanging down his face.

Lu Yun set down the Demon Blade in his hand and closed his eyes for a long time. After a while, he raised his eyes and asked: “Who called me back?” He asked twice, but the black-clothed crowd looked at each other with no one answering. Lu Yun remained silent, looked at the Demon Blade in his hand, walked directly to the ship’s rail, then swung his arm. In everyone’s loud exclamations, the Demon Blade had already flown away from the ship and was thrown into the canal.

The Demon Blade fell into the canal—who knew how long it would take to salvage it ashore. The Fourth Boss was shocked and wanted to try to catch it, but he didn’t dare touch the demonic object with his hands. He immediately untied his belt and hurriedly tried to wrap it from a distance. But it was too late—a black shadow pounced toward the Grand Canal, iron chains flew out first and coiled around the Karmic Fire Demon Blade.

The newcomer was tall and strong, wearing a black hood. His movements were unbelievably fast—it was that black-clothed strange guest! He flew over the ship’s rail, and in mid-air his eyes met Lu Yun’s, those eyes full of affection. Lu Yun’s heart suddenly felt strange. Before he could call out, the black-clothed strange guest had already fallen into the water and sunk to the river bottom.

Jin Lingshuang grabbed his long sword and hurled it forcefully toward the water surface. The blade spun with strong wind, exciting the river water to turn into a whirlpool. The sword then broke through the water, shooting straight toward the black-clothed strange guest’s back. The Fourth Boss had powerful internal energy and extremely accurate aim, but the black-clothed strange guest was unhurried. The iron chain lightly lifted, the Demon Blade broke through the waves and emerged. With a buzzing sound, a water column broke through the river surface, the river water like fresh blood, shocking Jin Lingshuang’s long sword to fly straight up to heaven and disappear in an instant.

The Demon Blade’s small test—without needing to leave its sheath, its power was already so amazing. Jin Lingshuang was naturally greatly horrified, and the rest were even more stunned.

That black-clothed strange guest relied on the Demon Blade’s weight to stand firmly on the river bottom with both feet. He no longer lingered in battle, dragging the iron chain with both hands and running away from the river bottom. As the Demon Blade moved away, the demonic nature faded. The remaining people, even those who had been infatuated, now woke up one by one. Seeing red light swimming underwater, Jin Lingshuang immediately ordered: “Eighteen Scholars take the land route, Twelve Divine Generals follow the Seventh Boss into the water! Split into two routes and surround them!”

Splashing sounds continued without end. The Seventh Boss was first to jump into the water, followed by Marshal Jinteng, Gong Piluo and others who also went into the water one after another, surrounding from all directions. Jin Lingshuang walked to the ship’s rail and took one last look back, his eyes glancing toward Lu Yun. He seemed to want to ask something, but his expression was somewhat hesitant.

“The Four Generals of Liu Gate, Observing Sea and Distant Clouds”—Liu Angtian was dead, but his four great beloved generals were all still alive. For ten years, the world had been turbulent, all because these three great figures of Liu Gate had stirred the situation. Now even this cloud was about to return to the martial world—how the world’s situation would be stirred was very hard to say. Thinking of how the Kunlun lineage had long been destroyed, Jin Lingshuang’s throat slightly choked up. In an instant, his feet leaped out and he also broke through the water.

In a moment, not one black-clothed person remained on the ship. Even the ship full of insects jumped into the river water, following the red light at the river bottom.

Cold wind blew across the deck, heavy snow filled the sky. With the Demon Blade gone, the ship’s bow also quieted down. Lu Yun was standing there in a daze when suddenly he heard a sigh from behind asking: “Brother, are you Counselor Lu?”

In those days when making peace with the Western Regions, Lu Yun was a military staff officer, so everyone called him “Counselor Lu.” But ten years had passed—the dead were dead, the defectors had defected, the married had married. The word “Counselor” had long become smoke and clouds. Hearing this title, Lu Yun was somewhat puzzled. He glanced back and saw a big man crouching on the ground, hand stroking a broken blade. His gaze was deep—it was the Khanate general Eight Generation Evil Gold, Temur Mie Li.

The two great heroes examined each other. First, Mie Li had mostly traveled in the Western Regions; second, Lu Yun had long been away from the martial world—naturally they were completely unfamiliar with each other. Lu Yun didn’t recognize this person and his brow slightly furrowed. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Mie Li smile bitterly: “Observing Sea and Distant Clouds are indeed each remarkable… No wonder His Highness is so concerned about you. Mie Li has been outdone…”

The other party switched to conversational Turkic. Lu Yun hadn’t spoken the foreign language for a long time and was somewhat slow to react. His heart full of confusion, still wanting to ask, that big man had already collected his precious blade fragments into his pack and walked to the ship’s rail. Though this person had earlier broken his own precious blade, once he calmed down, he stopped crying and shouting, quickly recovering his composed, imposing manner.

Before leaving, Mie Li turned back and suddenly said: “Brother Lu, you and General Zhonghai are good friends, correct?” Hearing him mention this matter, Lu Yun’s eyes naturally widened greatly, but he didn’t know how to answer. Mie Li sighed and bowed: “Brother Lu, if you can meet the lame one in the next few days, please tell him that Princess Yinchuan is in Beijing and wants to meet with General Qin. I hope he won’t spare his precious steps and will certainly honor us with his presence.”

The princess had married into the Western Regions for many years without news. Now hearing she had crossed east to the Central Plains, the first thing she wanted was to meet the Master of Angry Cang Mountain. Lu Yun was naturally greatly surprised—first not knowing why the princess had returned, second not knowing what business she had with the Angry King. Just as he was about to ask more, Mie Li had already left the rail with both feet, leaping into the water like a fish-dragon, graceful and departing. Seeing this Evil Gold general enter the water without a splash, his water skills were excellent—clearly capable both on land and water.

Coming and going, going and coming—this ship hadn’t even departed yet, but not only had passengers disembarked early, even the boatmen and sailors had all fled. Lu Yun looked at the empty deck, his heart still confused.

Having his own destination but only being a lonely individual, drifting alone in the sea of humanity like a fish that escaped the net—no one was connected to him…

Life’s meaningless existence—he could only shrug and smile. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he saw little Qiong Fang on the deck again.

Lu Yun bent down, first shouldering his carrying pole, then holding Qiong Fang horizontally in his arms, and retraced his path to shore.

His lapel tightened as if grabbed by someone. Lu Yun was slightly startled, looking down into his arms to see the young lady’s face covered with pearl tears, still unconsciously asleep. Her small hand tightly clutched his clothing, seeming to have thousands of attachments and infinite reluctance… but he didn’t know what it was about…