Executing the hearts of those whose loyalty wavers!
Wei Yong felt a chill run down his spine. The State Preceptor of Yankang's reforms targeted the sects, reclaiming the supreme techniques of every school and great clan throughout the land, establishing primary schools and academies in every region, a Grand Academy in the capital, and vigorously suppressing the various sects in the jianghu.
If, having gathered so many resources, they still could not produce worthy disciples — if the disciples they trained were inferior to those of the sects — then what use were the Preceptor's reforms?
This Dao Child of the Dao Gate must be extraordinarily powerful, a genuine genius, or else the Dao Gate would never have sent him to deliver such a slap in the face!
The dignity of the Grand Academy was the dignity of the Preceptor, was the dignity of the Emperor. Blocking the gate was a slap in the face. Whether the State Preceptor of Yankang and the Emperor could preserve their honor remained to be seen.
Wei Yong's heart lurched violently. He suddenly laughed aloud and declared, "The Grand Academy gathers the finest talents under heaven — how could we possibly lose to a mere Dao Child from the Dao Gate?"
Qin Mu shook his head. He knew that most of the scholars here cultivated roughly the same techniques, and his confidence was not high.
Though the scholars of the Grand Academy practiced various arts, it was difficult for any to achieve true mastery. Without instructors at the Directorate of Education who specialized in each particular technique, the scholars could never grasp its true essence.
In his view, the Dao Gate had come fully prepared. The Grand Academy scholars would likely be trapped on the mountain.
If the Grand Academy scholars could not defeat this Dao Child, the sects across the land would have legitimate cause to revolt against the Preceptor. When that time came, if the Emperor did not execute the Preceptor, the Emperor himself would lose virtue and the hearts of the people — and all the sects would surely rise in rebellion!
The battle between the Dao Child and the Grand Academy scholars would be a struggle upon which the fate of the entire realm hinged. It could not be taken lightly.
"Come, let's go see what this Dao Child is capable of!" Wei Yong said eagerly.
Qin Mu descended the mountain with him. Below the Jade Cliff, before and after the mountain gate, Grand Academy scholars were gathered everywhere. The Grand Academy did not lack scholars — the Shiziju recruited only ten per year, but the Divine Skill Practitioners and the princes and princesses of the Imperial Academy numbered far more.
Qin Mu stood atop the Jade Cliff and looked ahead. Indeed, he saw two Daoists seated before the mountain gate. One was an old man of ancient, archaic bearing, as if he did not belong to the present age but had walked forth from antiquity itself. He wore a gray Daoist robe, his manner austere and primordial, possessing an air of transcendence beyond the mortal world. He sat there as though all worldly affairs had nothing to do with him.
One who bore such an air was no common mortal. This old man must hold a position of immense authority within the Dao Gate, the sect known as the foremost righteous school.
Beside the old man sat a clean-featured youth. A whisk rested in the crook of his elbow — its bristles snow-white, its handle cinnabar red. He wore azure robes and sat in perfect stillness, seemingly unaffected by the throngs of Grand Academy scholars around him.
Qin Mu silently approved. This pair, old and young, looked like Daoists devoted to cultivating body and spirit, possessed of an air that transcended the vulgar crowd.
The two Daoists sat squarely in the middle of the road before the mountain gate. The gate was broad and wide — they occupied but a small portion of it.
Yet if they could not be driven away, it would be a humiliation of the highest order.
Blocking a gate was uncommon in the jianghu. It was employed only when there existed a deep, abiding grudge — to let all under heaven know that this sect's entrance has been sealed by my hand, to strike at the sect's face, to erode its confidence, and to declare its techniques worthless.
In such situations, the outcome was typically a fight to the death.
But now, the old man and the young man of the Dao Gate blocking the gate were striking at the face of the State of Yankang — slapping the face of the State of Yankang and the State Preceptor of Yankang, seeking to destroy the Preceptor's reform movement that was blazing across the land!
Nearby, a prince in yellow robes murmured, "The Dao Gate was once the foremost sect, standing alongside the Heavenly Demon Cult. In recent years it had grown quiet, fading from view together with the Heavenly Demon Cult. No news of the Dao Gate could be heard. Now that it has revealed itself, its opening move is no small affair. If the Grand Academy cannot force these two to retreat, I fear that once they leave, the Dao Gate will rebel. And if the Dao Gate rebels, given its prestige..."
Qin Mu glanced at the prince and thought, "This man has no ordinary insight."
The prince suddenly sensed something. He turned, saw Qin Mu, and his eyes lit up. He quietly slipped away from the other princes and squeezed over to Qin Mu's side.
"Cowherd..."
The prince's face was slightly round with a babyish fullness. He smiled and whispered, "Did you really come to the capital just to see me?"
Qin Mu looked "him" over and realized this prince seemed familiar. He blurted out, "You're... the chubby Seventh Young Master..."
Before he could finish, he realized with a start that the "chubby Seventh Young Master" was none other than Ling Yuxiu, disguised as a man!
At these words, the prince flew into a furious rage, pulled a massive iron hammer from behind his back, and was about to smash it into Qin Mu!
Qin Mu quickly corrected himself and said with a smile, "Good sister, I simply didn't recognize you just now. Brother Wei, this is the Seventh Princess, Ling Yuxiu. Sister Yuxiu, this is Wei Yong, from the Duke's estate."
Ling Yuxiu could not very well kill him in front of everyone. She put the iron hammer back. Wei Yong was startled, his mind racing: "The Seventh Princess? Where on earth did Brother Qin pick up the Seventh Princess? A girl of the royal family — is that someone you can mess with? That's a beheading offense... I've heard the Seventh Princess is remarkably talented and quite ambitious, but why is even her weapon so rugged and unrestrained..."
Qin Mu, unaware of his thoughts, looked Ling Yuxiu over. The girl had grown even more beautiful. Though dressed as a man, she carried a spirited, upward-striving air about her, of commanding bearing. And though she wore male clothing, her chest rose as prominently as any woman's — she was well-endowed, and made no attempt to conceal it.
Back in the Great Ruins, her chest had not been so full.
Qin Mu caught a familiar scent on her — the fragrance of Heavenly Fragrance Silk. He said, "Sister, I haven't seen you in days. You look different now. When I was at the palace, I almost didn't recognize you."
Ling Yuxiu's gaze drifted, a hint of shyness crossing her face. She laughed softly, "Where have I changed?"
Qin Mu raised his hand to measure her height above her head and said honestly, "You're taller than before — taller than me, even. Prettier, too, and stronger. The muscles on your face and your chest..."
Ling Yuxiu was incensed. She kicked him right off the cliff.
Qin Mu tumbled through the air, looking quite innocent, and grumbled, "I didn't even say she was fat. Why is she angry?"
Hu Ling'er gloated happily. "You're absolutely right, Young Master. That woman is being completely unreasonable. Let's not bother with her!"
Thud.
Qin Mu landed on his feet, steady as a rock. He looked up, wanting to leap back up but afraid that Ling Yuxiu would kick him down again.
Beside him, Wei Yong stared straight ahead, not moving a muscle.
Ling Yuxiu glared at him savagely. A bead of cold sweat formed on Wei Yong's forehead — then he leaped off the Jade Cliff himself.
Ling Yuxiu snorted and jumped down after him.
A prince nearby frowned. Suddenly, his yuanqi transformed into a giant hand behind his head that reached down the cliff and snatched her back up. He said gently, "Seventh Sister, stop fooling around. Mind the dignity of the royal family."
Ling Yuxiu had no choice but to behave. She said, "Second Brother, that person just now is the divine physician who treated Grandmother the Empress Dowager. He is an old acquaintance of mine..."
The Second Prince's expression was calm. "I know. I also heard from General Qin that you met him in the Great Ruins and were quite intimate with him. Seventh Sister, we are children of the imperial house. We do not have the luxury of choosing for ourselves. Stop fooling around. Today the world is in chaos, and a great catastrophe looms just ahead. If it erupts, it will mean the destruction of the nation and the fall of the family. Our entire imperial house will become homeless vagabonds!"
Ling Yuxiu was startled. "Second Brother, what do you make of this Dao Child's abilities?"
"He has not yet made a move, so I cannot gauge his true strength. But if the Dao Gate dared to bring him here to block our gate, he must be no ordinary figure!"
The Second Prince looked down at Qin Mu below the cliff and frowned slightly. "Seventh Sister, though that man called Qin Mu may be a divine physician of his generation, he is after all an outcast from the Great Ruins. Do not get too close to him, lest people mock our royal family for not knowing proper rank and station."
Ling Yuxiu furrowed her brow.
Before the mountain gate, the young Heavenly Demon Cult Ancestor descended the mountain and stood before the Dao Gate's old man and young man, clasping his hands in greeting. The old Daoist and the young Daoist rose immediately and bowed in return.
The young Ancestor smiled. "Danyang-zi, what does it mean for you to bring the Dao Gate's Dao Child here?"
The old Daoist smiled in reply. "Fellow Daoist, why ask what you already know? Our Dao Lord, like you, has grown old. He does not wish to see the sects of the world become vassals of the State of Yankang, so he sent me. The Dao Child will block the gate for three days only. If he is defeated within three days, our Dao Gate will not rebel. But if no one defeats him in three days, then the world shall have a new master."
The young Ancestor sighed. "The Dao Gate has always remained above it all. Has it grown restless too?"
Danyang-zi gazed at his nose, his mind on his heart, and said, "The Dao Lord sees the great trends of the world, rolling forward like a tide. Those who follow them prosper; those who resist them perish. Our Dao Gate does not seek to revive our own sect. We merely seek a clear conscience. If the Preceptor wishes to destroy all the sects under heaven, so be it. But the Dao Lord wishes to see whether the primary schools, academies, and Grand Academy that the Preceptor uses to replace the sects are worthy of the task! Our Dao Gate has trained one Dao Child. The Grand Academy commands the resources of the entire world, far surpassing our Dao Gate. If the scholars it produces are inferior to our Dao Child, then the Preceptor's reforms have no reason to exist — and the world shall have a new master."
"I understand."
The young Ancestor turned and walked away. His voice echoed across the entire mountain, ringing out clear and strong: "All Grand Academy scholars, hear my command — regardless of your level of cultivation, you may descend the mountain to challenge!"
The moment these words left his lips, every ear on the mountain heard them.
"I'll go!"
A Divine Skill Practitioner strode out through the mountain gate, walking boldly toward the Dao Child. The Dao Child rose and bowed respectfully. "Senior Brother."
The practitioner was also a Grand Academy scholar who had entered the Academy years earlier. He returned the bow and asked, "What is the Dao Child's level of cultivation?"
The Dao Child answered at an unhurried pace, "The Hexagon realm."
The practitioner smiled. "I am also at the Hexagon realm. My name is Qu Ping. I face you today not out of personal enmity, but to restore the honor of the Grand Academy!"
The Dao Child nodded. "My secular name is Lin Xuan. Please, Senior Brother."
"Dao Child Lin Xuan, please!"
Qu Ping's eyes blazed with sharp light. He burst into motion — but his body did not surge forward. Instead, it retreated, drifting backward as his fingers pinched a sword pellet. With a hum, the pellet unleashed a brilliant pillar of sword light, thick as a column. One could faintly discern that it was composed of countless individual sword glows, spinning frantically around a central axis!
Qu Ping wielded the sword column like a single blade and brought it crashing down. Where it passed, sword wind howled and its momentum was overwhelming!
Qin Mu was visibly surprised, his heart shaken. "The swordsmanship of the State of Yankang — has it already reached this level? Is this a supreme sword technique from the Grand Academy?"
His keen eye could perceive the extraordinary nature of the strike. Though seemingly simple, Qu Ping's slash was in fact a feat of essence manipulation over the sword that reached the realm of the inconceivable.
This seemingly simple slash actually required essence to control every one of the countless sword glows within the column — and that alone made Qin Mu feel utterly outmatched!
This style of swordsmanship seemed to transcend the basic techniques of thrusting, flicking, chopping, and slashing, developing instead into a form of swordplay not encompassed by the fundamentals!
"The Hexagon Grand Sword Art!" Wei Yong exclaimed in alarm, his eyes gleaming. "That is the Preceptor's sword technique — a divine skill that only Divine Skill Practitioners can cultivate!"
"The State Preceptor of Yankang's sword technique?"
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. No wonder he had felt this swordsmanship transcended the bounds of basic sword arts — to think it was a technique created by the State Preceptor of Yankang himself!