Should I Just Admit My Identity?
19: Chapter 19: Holding the Sword Makes the Mission Hard—Putting Down the Sword Makes It Hard Too!
Should I Just Admit My Identity?
Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor saw Zhang Xuan’s dejected expression and assumed he had taken the words to heart.
He continued.
“This is only the first issue.
The second is that Sword Venerable Cangming’s legacy is simply too tempting.
I don’t know the full details of the legacy, but the Chaos Infinite Sword Body alone could attract countless covetous eyes.” At this, Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor paused before continuing.
“Cultivation physiques—especially acquired ones like this—can potentially be seized.
My Guyue Family does not practice such dark arts, but other ancient powers may not be so restrained.” “Now, the news of the sword venerate’s legacy has already spread.
Though the information has been temporarily sealed by the ancient powers of the Taiyi Realm for certain reasons, it won’t stay hidden from other realms for long.” “A prodigy who hasn’t yet matured is still just a prodigy.” Hearing this, both Zhang Xuan and Yun Yao’s expressions darkened.
In his first life, Zhang Xuan’s Chaos Infinite Sword Body had been cultivated slowly.
By the time the sword body was fully realized, he had already stood among the ranks of the strongest.
No one dared covet his sword body.
But now, he had awakened the sword body while still weak and vulnerable.
That was dangerous.
Though the rules protected the weak and the convention was that competition should be between peers, the rules were set by the strong.
Under the temptation of such a powerful physique, some might not play by the rules and resort to underhanded tactics.
Yun Yao was powerful, but how could one guard against thieves for a thousand days straight?
What made it even worse was that they were coming for Zhang Xuan specifically.
His death would have nothing to do with protecting Azure Cloud Sect, which meant the mission wouldn’t count.
“Damn that system—why did it have to awaken the sword body?” Zhang Xuan cursed inwardly again.
Now things were really complicated.
If he grew stronger, the chance to complete the mission might arise but someone might not be able to kill him.
If he didn’t grow stronger, he might die accidentally and the mission would fail.
It was a lose-lose either way.
Truly—holding the sword made the mission hard, and putting it down made it hard too.
Yun Yao watched Zhang Xuan, her deep eyes unreadable.
Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor suddenly chuckled.
“These are merely this old man’s speculations.
They may not come true.” Zhang Xuan looked at him unkindly.
Then why the hell did you say all that?!
You came here just to spread negativity, didn’t you?!
But he only complained inwardly.
He had actually anticipated these situations for some time.
Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor had simply laid them all out explicitly.
Zhang Xuan’s original plan had been to complete the mission before any of this came to pass.
Then none of it would matter.
But now that Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor had seen these possibilities, things probably wouldn’t work out that ideally.
“I should take my leave now.” Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor spoke again, looking at Guyue Fangzheng.
“You shall remain at Azure Cloud Sect for a thousand years.
Cultivate in peace, and do not disgrace our Guyue Family’s name.” Guyue Fangzheng cupped his fists solemnly and nodded.
“Yes, Ancestor!” Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor then turned to Yun Yao.
“Daoist Yun Yao, should you ever need assistance in the future, feel free to send word.
The Guyue Family is willing to help within our means.” “Thank you, Daoist,” Yun Yao replied with a graceful bow.
Neither Zhang Xuan nor Yun Yao placed much weight on the Guyue Family’s goodwill.
The other party’s investment was neither too heavy nor too light.
“Within our means” meant that they retained full discretion over what that actually entailed.
The room for interpretation was enormous.
But that was simply how Eternal Families operated.
Expecting them to go all in was impossible, and their relationship hadn’t reached that level anyway.
Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor nodded and looked back at Guyue Fangzheng.
“Come.
There are a few more things I wish to say to you.” Guyue Fangzheng was overjoyed inside.
Was the Ancestor going to offer him guidance?
He hurried forward and followed Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor as they walked slowly into the distance.
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
What were these two grandfather and grandson whispering about that they couldn’t let anyone else hear?
Yun Yao also looked at Zhang Xuan and spoke.
“Master, we should have a talk as well.” Zhang Xuan’s expression shifted.
The little girl was finally done being angry?
Still playing the cold shoulder game—she finally couldn’t hold out anymore?
He was smug inside but maintained a panicked tone as he corrected her.
“Master, please don’t joke like that.
You are my master!” Yun Yao’s eyelid twitched.
She stared intently at Zhang Xuan and asked.
“Master, what exactly do you want?” “Now that you’ve returned, why won’t you acknowledge me?” “Does Master have some difficulty he cannot speak of?” Zhang Xuan was about to continue correcting Yun Yao, only to discover that her eyes had reddened once more.
He sighed softly in his heart and dropped his carefree act.
His voice lowered.
“Master jests.
What difficulty could I possibly have?
I’m truly just an ordinary person.” Seeing Zhang Xuan still refuse to admit it, Yun Yao slowly closed her eyes, seemingly suppressing her emotions.
She let out a long breath.
“If Master won’t admit it, then so be it.
As long as Master is still here, that is enough.” Hearing these words, Zhang Xuan felt a complicated ache in his heart.
Sometimes he wondered—what hardships had Little Yao endured over these hundreds of thousands of years?
How heartbroken must she have been when he perished in the Immortal Tribulation?
That well-behaved, innocent little girl had grown into the Azure Cloud Sword Immortal she was today.
It must not have been easy.
This was one of the reasons Zhang Xuan always arranged his affairs before leaving each life.
Every life he lived left behind people he couldn’t let go of.
Taking care of those around him was a form of solace for himself.
But Little Yao was the disciple of his very first life.
He had done too many things wrong back then.
Besides teaching her skills and leaving behind three life-saving sword intents, he hadn’t left her with anything else.
Looking back now, he truly owed Little Yao too much.
So sometimes Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but wonder—should he just admit his identity?
But the moment he thought about failing the mission and being forced to live his next life as a woman, his scalp went numb.
“Master.” Yun Yao opened her eyes again, her expression having returned to its usual cool composure.
From her sleeve, she produced a sword tassel.
Her eyes were full of memories as she spoke.
“This was something Master gave me all those years ago.” “Whether you are my Master or Zhang Xuan—I am returning it to you now.” The moment Zhang Xuan saw the sword tassel, he froze.
This was the very thing that had once hung from his sword.
The tassel itself was made of ordinary material, but because of the one who had carried it and the patina of ages upon it, it was no longer an ordinary object.
He remembered that the three sword intents he had left for Little Yao were hidden within it.
But when he sensed it just now, he found it empty.
This meant that the sword intent from the Spirit Testing Stele had been the last one.
The other two had already been used.
Little Yao had faced at least two life-or-death crises!
Zhang Xuan’s heart trembled.
He slowly reached his hand toward the sword tassel.
The tassel was spiritual.
It seemed to sense its former master and, without any wind, swayed slightly toward Zhang Xuan.
Seeing this, Yun Yao’s eyes sharpened.
“This sword tassel responds only to my Master.
You are my Master!” [Warning: Detected deepening of Yun Yao’s certainty regarding the host’s identity.
Exposure value +10%.
Current exposure value for Sword Venerable Cangming identity: 21%.] [Exposure value increased.
Sword intent revival!] Damn!
It was a trap!
In the next moment, sword intent erupted from Zhang Xuan’s body—heavy as a mountain, surging like the sea.
In the distance, Guyue Thirteenth Ancestor and Guyue Fangzheng both turned to look.
“The Chaos Infinite Sword Body—how terrifying!”