Chapter 303: Wu Family Nine Swords

A young, inexperienced swordsman met an equally nascent swordswoman and was utterly defeated, forced to beg for his life. After sending Hong Shu back to rest, Xu Fengnian didn't expect to be able to engage in intimate activities on the dragon throne in the hall for the next few days. It would be too heartless to engage in daily intense encounters with a woman who had just lost her virginity. Xu Fengnian returned alone to the palace rooftop and sat in a daze. During this time, he nurtured his sword 'Profound Thunder' at midnight, followed by 'Spring Plum' and 'Childhood Sweetheart' by dripping blood on them. As dawn broke, the morning glow slowly bloomed magnificently in the eastern sky. Xu Fengnian gazed at the splendid sight above, just as the long, resonant morning bells of Juxian Palace began to ring, one after another, their sounds reverberating endlessly. For some reason, perhaps the battle at Changle Peak had completely released his pent-up aggression, Xu Fengnian felt a surge of righteous energy swirling within him, his internal energy flowing much faster than usual. Especially when he stood up and personally witnessed the morning light shifting from east to west across the world, a ray of morning glow illuminating his eyes, Xu Fengnian sat cross-legged, summoned his sword 'Morning Dew' from his sleeve, and its sword light burst forth.

This flying sword, 'Morning Dew', which was only of mid-to-lower quality among his twelve flying swords, flew out of his hand, uncontrollable, and spun joyfully.

It was like a mythical creature from a supernatural tale, achieving enlightenment and sentience after centuries of arduous cultivation.

The sword embryo was complete.

A sword came from the east.

Xu Fengnian was ecstatic. What he had sought tirelessly now came effortlessly. There was no need for energy guidance; with a mere thought, the flying sword 'Morning Dew' would flash away, reaching wherever his mind willed it. After playing with it for a long time, Xu Fengnian had only one thought, completely unlike that of a master: "Damn it, I can finally stop nurturing one less sword!" Xu Fengnian didn't rush to retrieve the sword. He sat quietly, observing 'Morning Dew's flight path, a look of growing astonishment appearing in his eyes. He pursed his lips tightly and gritted his teeth, saying, "What a Deng Tai'a! The marvel of flying swords isn't in the flying sword itself, nor even in nurturing it, but in the sword techniques it contains!"

Xu Fengnian self-mockingly said, "If I had known earlier, with my nature, I would have certainly tried to find a shortcut. It's better that I wasn't told."

Xu Fengnian smiled, his fingers moving as the flying sword circled around him, like a coy girl experiencing her first stirrings of love, making Xu Fengnian want to laugh more the more he looked at it. This was probably the joy of martial arts cultivation. On the path of martial arts, persistent effort is always rewarded by heaven. If one also encounters some fortuitous opportunities, there will be various unexpected breakthroughs, like suddenly finding a wide-open world after climbing out of a well. Xu Fengnian put 'Morning Dew' back into its scabbard, jumped off the rooftop, and walked through the Zijin Palace, returning to Qingliu Study. Using the only reliable memory he had before practicing martial arts—his sense of direction from above—he recognized the layout of the palace courtyards and wouldn't get lost. Perhaps because Hong Shu had given instructions, the early-rising palace maids and eunuchs were all extremely deferential. Although they didn't kneel, they stood with lowered heads and averted gazes, daring not to look directly at him.

Seeing her leaning against the courtyard gate, waiting for his return, Xu Fengnian was somewhat lost in thought.

Hong Shu softly said, "Young Master, I have prepared some light porridge and a few small dishes according to your taste."

Xu Fengnian tapped her forehead, "Don't you know anything about staying healthy? Can't you ever be lazy?"

Hong Shu laughed, "That's how young ladies live. I can't envy it, nor do I like it. Catching a cold from a breeze, getting sunstroke from a bit of sun, crying over a few palace poems – that's not the temperament of us Beiliang women."

After Xu Fengnian finished breakfast, in the current world, the wealthy typically ate three meals, and the poor two. As for those who could afford to keep palace maids and eunuchs, they were no longer ordinary wealthy families. Considering this, Hong Shu, who could even wear a dragon robe and impersonate an empress, was far more affluent than any young lady of means. She held the power over life and death for seventy to eighty thousand people in Dunhuang City, yet when it came to him, she still had the life of a maid, stirring soup with her bare hands. Xu Fengnian truly couldn't find anything to be dissatisfied with. He entered the study, which felt like the Wutong Courtyard of the Beiliang King's residence. The large rosewood desk was piled high with archives and secret manuals brought by Hong Shu, as well as her aunt's handwritten notes. Xu Fengnian noticed a scroll with brass rollers. He glanced at Hong Shu, who stood beside him, sleeves rolled up, grinding ink, and saw her lips curving into a smile. He opened it, and as expected, it was a portrait clearly by a court painter, depicting a woman wearing a brilliant phoenix coronet, posing with the bearing of a queen mother. Xu Fengnian looked back and forth between the painting and Hong Shu several times, remarking, "It really is alike. Seven and a half parts in form, six parts in spirit."

Seeing Hong Shu's fervent gaze, Xu Fengnian expressionlessly waved his hand and said, "Let's rest for two days first."

She turned her head and smiled.

Xu Fengnian slapped her bottom and chuckled, "Naughty! Outside Wutong Courtyard, you're absolutely wild. Wait until I've fully recuperated, and next time I'll make you beg for mercy."

Xu Fengnian didn't touch the secret manuals that martial artists dreamed of; weren't there enough in his own Tide-Listening Pavilion? Martial artists with decent aptitude were often worried about lacking resources, like a clever cook without rice. Without a renowned master to guide them or secret manuals to help them advance after being initiated, it was indeed difficult for them to make progress, their ambitions stifled, making it hard to achieve greatness. However, an excess of choices can be dazzling and lead to long-lasting problems. These two things—lack of renowned masters and secret manuals—were not uncommon for aristocratic descendants. On one hand, they lacked perseverance and couldn't endure the hardships of striving against the current. But to a large extent, there were too many paths leading to higher realms, making it difficult to know where to begin, or leading them astray, learning every martial art and reading every manual, yet failing to become a grandmaster. For Xu Fengnian, who had easy access to resources, he knew that biting off more than he could chew was unproductive. Therefore, he had always only selected manuals that benefited his saber techniques, and now with Wang Xianzhi's saber manual, he was even more focused. Xu Fengnian worked so desperately because he felt that if he didn't train his martial arts with such intensity, would he be able to face the guy who used to goof around with him, getting into petty mischief, and who now still carried a wooden sword? The next time they met, if his identity were known, Wen Hua might just carve him up with that wooden sword.

He put down the scroll and flipped through Hong Shu's aunt's notes. The handwriting was uniformly consistent, clearly written with a brush that had a badger hair core covered by autumn rabbit fur tips. While it's often said that one's calligraphy reflects one's heart, this isn't entirely accurate, as countless people have good handwriting. However, considering the type of brush used, especially for someone who meticulously sticks to one kind, one can largely guess her character with fair accuracy. This woman was indeed a formidable figure, one who competed with the current Beiliang Empress for favor and the throne. Although her writing was dignified small script with precise strokes, meticulously adhering to rules and style, each individual character seemed to be etched deep, as if desiring to penetrate the wood. Xu Fengnian somewhat understood how she had raised a woman like Hong Shu. He slowly perused the notes, which mostly detailed the famous deeds of various powerful figures and demonic masters from the previous generation of Beiliang's martial arts world. Just reading them, many thrilling parts were enough to make him marvel. Hong Shu, understanding his needs, brought a pot of "Green Ant Wine" transported from Beiliang. Xu Fengnian finally read about the battle of the Nine Swords of the Wu Family Sword Tomb. Hong Shu's aunt had also heard about it through hearsay, but compared to the exaggerated tales of ordinary people, the words of this "Second King" of Dunhuang City were far more credible. As a top martial arts expert herself, her few hundred words shocked Xu Fengnian, the later reader.

After reading it several times, Xu Fengnian, still unsatisfied, sighed, "So that's how it was."

The two generations of the Wu Family Sword Tomb from two hundred years ago were hailed as the most brilliant and talented period in the tomb's history. Nine sword dao grandmasters—one at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, two at the Finger Profundity level, one at the Vajra Realm, plus the remaining five minor grandmasters. It was conceivable that if the Wu family had been given another generation, even accounting for one or two deaths from old age, they could still have achieved an unprecedented and unparalleled feat: five first-rank masters in one lineage! Xu Fengnian had only heard from a pavilion guardian that the Wu family's Nine Swords had gone to Beiliang because a swordsman claiming to be a "Land Sword Immortal" had emerged there, declaring that there were no swords in the Central Plains. However, Xu Fengnian didn't take this claim seriously. Although the Wu family had always been arrogant, consistently looking down on swordsmen across the world, even in a moment of rash impulse, they wouldn't have gone to Beiliang en masse. He had once asked Li Chungang during his travels, but the old man in the sheepskin robe had merely muttered "Western swords drawing Eastern attention" and offered no further explanation.

Based on Hong Shu's aunt's writings, Xu Fengnian gained a general understanding: the Nine Swords battling ten thousand cavalry wasn't a free-for-all. Instead, the strongest individual, the Celestial Phenomenon Realm Sword Master, acted as the formation's core, while the other eight rotated as sword wielders and sword attendants, ultimately forming an awe-inspiring grand sword formation. One could imagine the dense, countless cavalry tightly surrounding the nine individuals—a desolate and bloody scene. Wave after wave of iron cavalry charged, coupled with thousands of flying swords decapitating foes. What a valiant and tragic display of soaring sword energy!

Xu Fengnian marveled repeatedly, leaning back in his chair and muttering to himself, "This sword formation requires top-tier swordsmen to create; it's impossible to use in battlefield combat. Can it be simplified, like that fist technique performed while riding an ox? Seems quite difficult. Martial arts experts are inherently impatient with rules and regulations. If they serve as gatekeepers for noble mansions, they do so solely for a stable path of martial cultivation. Only a fool would willingly engage in life-and-death combat. But it would be great if I could get my hands on a rough blueprint of that sword formation. Where would I find it? The Wu Family Sword Tomb? Seems unrealistic. Would the Beiliang royal court have secret documents? Even if they did, that's even more unrealistic; it's not something you can trade for gold and silver."

Hong Shu chuckled softly, "If Young Master truly wants it, you could use the hidden assassins loyal to you in the royal court to retrieve it."

Xu Fengnian shook his head, saying, "That would be too disregardful of human lives. It's not worth it."

Hong Shu simply said, "Oh."

Xu Fengnian didn't even lift his head, continuing to read, and said, "Don't get any crooked ideas, and you're not allowed to get involved in this. Did you hear me?"

Hong Shu hummed a soft assent through her nose.

Xu Fengnian looked up, laughing exasperatedly, "Don't try to fool me!"

Hong Shu, with boundless charm in her eyes, wrinkled her small, delicate nose, and in a rare, childish tone, said, "I know!"

In Xu Fengnian's impression, other than diligently performing her duties as a maid, she was also like a meticulous older sister, flawless and comforting like a spring breeze. The few second-tier maids in the courtyard, having spent a long time with the Young Master, knew his good temper and would sometimes be a little impudent or playful. However, only Hong Shu, who had never once shown anger or a darkened face, and the cool-natured Qing Niao, had remained consistent for over a decade, never overstepping their bounds in the slightest. Xu Fengnian lowered his head again, and as he read, he suddenly recoiled his hand as if it had been burned. Curious, Hong Shu looked closely and saw the four characters "Tuoba Pusa" (Tuoba Bodhisattva) appear, smiling knowingly. Having come to Beiliang, how could one avoid this Martial God, this Bodhisattva? Especially since the Young Master had even faced Tuoba Chunshun in a life-or-death struggle.

Three full pages were dedicated to this Beiliang military god. Judging by the handwriting and formatting, it was accumulated over several occasions; almost every time Tuoba Pusa advanced a realm, the female Dunhuang city lord would record her insights and experiences.

Xu Fengnian read it over and over, tirelessly. Hong Shu glanced at the dragon-spitting-pearl clepsydra on the table; it was lunchtime. She quietly left the room and soon returned with a food box. Xu Fengnian hastily ate his meal, continuing to read the three precious pages. Hong Shu pulled up a chair and sat beside him. Seeing a grain of rice on his lip, she reached out, picked it off, and put it into her own mouth. Xu Fengnian didn't mind. After many years of being with Hong Shu, it could be said that she had even handled the aftermath of his first nocturnal emission as a teenager. She was always so considerate in everything she did, and even last night's two intimate encounters had happened naturally, so what was there to be pretentious about?

Hong Shu took the food box, then sat down and softly said:

"If I were to die today, Young Master, would you remember Hong Shu forever?"

Xu Fengnian calmly replied, "Hong Shu, if you dare to die, I dare to forget you, completely. I mean what I say."

Hong Shu's eyes reddened, but she laughed heartily and said, "Young Master is truly heartless."