Chapter 21: The Sword That Shouldn't Exist
The first thing Ye Wuchen noticed that morning was that someone had stolen his seat.
The second was that Lin Qingyue was laughing about it.
"You're late," she said.
Ye Wuchen looked at the chair beside the window.
A small white cat was sleeping on it.
He looked at Lin Qingyue.
"Where did that come from?"
"The courtyard."
"Why is it here?"
"It followed me."
"And why is it sitting there?"
"Because you weren't."
Ye Wuchen stared at the cat.
The cat opened one eye, looked at him, and went back to sleep.
Lin Qingyue covered her mouth.
"Looks like you've been replaced."
Ye Wuchen considered the situation.
Then pulled out another chair.
"Apparently."
Lin Qingyue laughed harder.
For someone who had reached the absolute pinnacle of cultivation, Ye Wuchen was surprisingly willing to surrender a chair.
He simply didn't consider the matter worth arguing over.
Unfortunately, his peaceful morning was about to end.
Three streets away, a man was preparing to commit murder.
His name was He Cang.
He wore an ordinary brown traveling robe and carried a narrow sword wrapped in gray cloth.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance.
That was intentional.
He'd spent twenty years working as a hired swordsman, and he'd learned that the best way to survive dangerous jobs was to avoid attracting attention before the fighting started.
His current assignment was simple.
Find Deputy Registrar Meng.
Recover the letters and records.
Make sure the man never spoke about them again.
The employer had offered six thousand spirit stones.
A generous sum.
Almost suspiciously generous.
He Cang didn't care.
He'd accepted worse jobs for less.
He stood inside a rented room, examining a small paper talisman.
A faint red point glowed on its surface.
His target was moving.
"Finally."
He folded the talisman and slipped it into his sleeve.
Then picked up his sword.
At the City Administration Hall, Inspector Zhou was beginning to regret his career choices.
Deputy Registrar Meng sat across from him, looking pale.
"You said the letters were delivered anonymously?"
"Yes."
"And you never saw the sender?"
"No."
"Did anyone approach your family?"
Meng hesitated.
Inspector Zhou noticed immediately.
"Deputy Registrar."
Meng lowered his head.
"My younger brother received a message."
The inspector put down his brush.
"When?"
"Three days ago."
"What did it say?"
Meng's hands tightened around his cup.
"That I should remember who would suffer if I became troublesome."
Inspector Zhou's expression darkened.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was afraid."
"That much is obvious."
The inspector sighed.
Then called toward the door.
"Guards!"
Two armored cultivators entered.
"Yes, Inspector?"
"Arrange protection for Deputy Registrar Meng and his immediate family. Quietly."
Meng looked up.
"Sir—"
"Don't thank me. You should've mentioned this yesterday."
He turned back toward the guards.
"And no one leaves the administration compound without authorization until I've reviewed the security arrangements."
The guards bowed.
"Understood."
Unfortunately, by then, He Cang had already entered the western district.
Far above the Lower Realms, in a place where ordinary clouds could never reach, the Nine Heavens Sword Palace was holding an emergency meeting.
The reason was a stone tablet.
More specifically, the sword scripture carved into it.
Grand Archivist Gu Shixuan stood before the tablet with a deeply unhappy expression.
Beside him, Ji Wuhen watched several elders argue.
"This is impossible."
"Then explain the inscription."
"Someone must have tampered with it!"
"Inside the ancestral hall?"
"Perhaps an ancient formation—"
"The ancestral hall has been sealed for nine hundred thousand years!"
"Then how do you explain it?"
Ji Wuhen sighed.
They'd been arguing for two hours.
Nobody had accomplished anything.
He stepped forward.
"Enough."
The elders fell silent.
Ji Wuhen pointed toward the scripture.
"The inscription changed after the Immortal Tomb appeared."
Gu Shixuan nodded.
"That much is confirmed."
"And the corrected technique is superior to the original."
"Also confirmed."
An elder frowned.
"Superior is an understatement."
He gestured toward the tablet.
"The original technique contained nine hundred and eighty-one sword transformations. The corrected version removes nearly half of them."
Another elder nodded.
"Yet its power has increased."
Ji Wuhen looked at the inscription.
"Because the removed transformations were unnecessary."
Silence.
One elder looked offended.
"Unnecessary? Those transformations were created by our founding ancestor!"
Ji Wuhen turned toward him.
"Then our founding ancestor made a mistake."
The hall became deathly quiet.
Gu Shixuan closed his eyes.
He'd known Ji Wuhen would say something like that.
The elder's face reddened.
"Watch your words!"
Ji Wuhen remained calm.
"Would you prefer I lie?"
Nobody answered.
He continued.
"We've treated the scripture as perfect for generations. Now we have evidence that it wasn't."
He looked toward the tablet.
"The question isn't whether our ancestor made a mistake."
His eyes narrowed.
"It's who understood the sword well enough to correct him."
The demonstration took place an hour later.
A young sword elder stood in the center of the palace's testing grounds.
He held a simple iron sword.
Before him stood nine ancient sword-testing pillars.
Each pillar was made from a material capable of withstanding attacks from Immortal Realm experts.
Gu Shixuan raised a hand.
"Begin."
The elder inhaled.
Then executed the corrected sword technique.
One step.
One swing.
That was all.
There was no spectacular explosion.
No thunder.
No dazzling sword light covering the heavens.
The sword moved through the air with almost insulting simplicity.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the first pillar rang.
Dong.
The second followed.
Dong.
Then the third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
All nine pillars rang in succession.
The testing grounds fell silent.
An elder whispered, "Nine resonances..."
That was already extraordinary.
But then something else happened.
Behind the pillars stood an ancient formation that had remained inactive since the founding of the palace.
Its inscriptions began to glow.
Gu Shixuan's expression changed.
"Impossible."
The formation awakened.
A faint image appeared above the testing grounds.
Not a person.
Not a sword.
A single straight line.
It hung in the air for three breaths.
Then vanished.
Ji Wuhen stared at the empty space.
He'd seen that line before.
Not by itself.
As part of a symbol.
A circle crossed by a vertical stroke.
The same mark found among the records of the Assembly of Ten Witnesses.
Gu Shixuan turned toward him.
"You saw it?"
Ji Wuhen nodded.
"Yes."
"Then the correction..."
"May be connected to the older records."
One elder swallowed.
"Are you saying the person who corrected our scripture belongs to that forgotten assembly?"
Ji Wuhen shook his head.
"I'm saying we don't know."
He looked toward the silent pillars.
"And we should stop pretending we do."
Back in Lanyue City, Ye Wuchen was buying books.
Again.
The elderly shopkeeper from the previous day looked delighted.
"Back already?"
Ye Wuchen nodded.
"You mentioned old records."
"Ah! Those."
The shopkeeper led him toward a storage room.
Inside were several wooden crates.
Dust covered their lids.
"Most people don't want these," the old man said. "Old tax records, land disputes, road maintenance accounts..."
Ye Wuchen opened a crate.
Inside were stacks of yellowed paper.
He picked up a ledger.
The earliest entries dated back more than four hundred years.
"How much?"
The shopkeeper blinked.
"For the ledger?"
"For the crate."
The old man stared.
"All of it?"
"Yes."
"Young man, do you know what's inside?"
"Old records."
"Exactly!"
Ye Wuchen waited.
The shopkeeper scratched his beard.
"Twenty spirit stones."
Ye Wuchen placed the payment on the counter.
The old man looked at the stones.
Then at the crate.
Then back at Ye Wuchen.
"You're a strange customer."
"I've heard that."
He stored the crate away.
As he turned to leave, a distant bell rang.
Then another.
The shopkeeper frowned.
"City security bells?"
Ye Wuchen paused.
Outside, people were beginning to gather in the street.
Something had happened.
He Cang had made one mistake.
He'd assumed Deputy Registrar Meng would be easy to reach.
Instead, the man had been moved into a guarded administrative residence.
Four cultivators stood at the entrance.
Two more patrolled the courtyard.
He Cang watched from a nearby rooftop.
"Annoying."
He could probably defeat the guards.
But that would attract attention.
And he preferred quiet jobs.
He reached into his sleeve and retrieved a small talisman.
A communication talisman.
He sent a brief message.
Target protected. Requesting authorization for direct action.
The response arrived almost immediately.
Proceed.
He Cang sighed.
"Of course."
He unwrapped his sword.
The blade was dark gray, narrow, and completely without decoration.
Then he stepped off the roof.
The first guard noticed him approaching.
"Stop!"
He Cang kept walking.
"This is a restricted area!"
Still no response.
The guard drew his weapon.
"I said stop!"
He Cang moved.
A gray flash crossed the street.
The guard's sword flew from his hand. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Before he could react, He Cang struck him in the chest with the flat of his blade.
The guard crashed into the courtyard wall.
The second guard shouted.
"Enemy attack!"
The security bells rang.
He Cang frowned.
"So much for quiet."
Three more guards rushed forward.
He moved between them.
His sword struck wrists, shoulders, and weapons.
Within moments, all three were on the ground.
Alive.
But unable to continue fighting.
He Cang wasn't interested in wasting time.
He stepped toward the entrance.
Then a voice spoke from behind him.
"You're causing quite a disturbance."
He turned.
A man in black robes stood near the street corner.
Long black hair.
Silver eyes.
No detectable cultivation.
He Cang frowned.
"Move."
Ye Wuchen looked at the unconscious guards.
Then at the sword in He Cang's hand.
"You're looking for someone."
"Not your concern."
"Probably."
Ye Wuchen glanced toward the bookstore behind him.
The elderly shopkeeper had hurried outside.
Several civilians were standing nearby.
He Cang noticed them too.
His expression darkened.
"I said move."
Ye Wuchen didn't.
He Cang's patience ran out.
"Fine."
He raised his sword.
A sharp wave of sword qi shot toward Ye Wuchen.
It was meant to force him aside.
Nothing more.
At least, that was He Cang's intention.
But Ye Wuchen moved one step.
The sword qi missed him.
And struck the stone pavement behind him.
A deep crack appeared.
The nearby civilians screamed.
Ye Wuchen looked at the damaged street.
Then at He Cang.
"That was unnecessary."
He Cang narrowed his eyes.
The man had dodged.
Not by much.
Just one step.
Yet the timing had been perfect.
"Who are you?"
"A passerby."
"Then pass."
Ye Wuchen glanced toward the civilians.
"After you put the sword away."
He Cang laughed coldly.
"You think you can order me around?"
"No."
Ye Wuchen's expression remained calm.
"I'm giving you a chance to leave."
Shen Tieshan arrived just as He Cang attacked again.
The grand elder had been visiting the city administration when the security bells rang.
He'd rushed toward the disturbance with his disciples.
From the far end of the street, he saw a gray-robed swordsman facing a black-robed young man.
The swordsman's cultivation was at the early Golden Core Realm.
Not particularly impressive by Shen Tieshan's standards.
But his sword technique was unusual.
Fast.
Precise.
Clearly developed through years of actual combat.
The black-robed man, however, appeared to have no cultivation at all.
Shen Tieshan frowned.
"What's going on?"
Guo Ming pointed.
"Master, that man is going to get himself killed!"
Shen Tieshan stepped forward.
Then stopped.
He Cang's sword moved.
A sharp thrust aimed toward Ye Wuchen's shoulder.
Ye Wuchen shifted slightly.
The blade passed beside him.
He Cang immediately changed direction.
A horizontal slash.
Ye Wuchen stepped backward.
Another miss.
He Cang's expression changed.
He attacked again.
And again.
Each strike was faster than the last.
Yet none connected.
Shen Tieshan narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
The black-robed man wasn't moving quickly.
In fact, his movements were almost lazy.
A slight turn of the shoulder.
A small step.
A shift of his weight.
Nothing more.
But every movement happened at exactly the right moment.
Shen Tieshan felt his expression grow serious.
That isn't luck.
He Cang was beginning to panic.
He'd fought hundreds of cultivators.
He'd survived battles against opponents stronger than himself.
He knew how to recognize a skilled fighter.
But this was different.
The man in front of him wasn't blocking.
Wasn't counterattacking.
Wasn't even trying to escape.
He was simply standing in places where the sword couldn't reach.
He Cang gritted his teeth.
"Stop moving!"
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"That seems unwise."
He Cang roared.
His spiritual energy surged.
The dark gray sword released a sharp metallic hum.
"Gray Mountain Sword Art!"
A dozen sword shadows appeared around him.
Each carried enough force to split stone.
The nearby guards struggled to retreat.
Shen Tieshan's expression changed.
"Idiot!"
He stepped forward.
But before he could intervene, Ye Wuchen raised his hand.
Not to release spiritual energy.
Not to summon a weapon.
He simply extended two fingers.
Then tapped the side of He Cang's sword.
Ding.
A quiet sound.
Almost delicate.
The sword shadows vanished.
He Cang froze.
His spiritual energy continued circulating.
His technique remained intact.
Yet the sword had stopped.
Not because it had been overpowered.
Because the force of his attack had somehow been redirected back through the blade.
His wrist went numb.
The sword slipped from his hand.
It struck the pavement.
Clang.
Silence.
Ye Wuchen lowered his hand.
"You're finished."
He Cang stared at his empty hand.
Then at the sword.
Then at Ye Wuchen.
"What... did you do?"
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"Your grip was too tight."
He Cang's expression twisted.
"That's impossible!"
"Apparently not."
Shen Tieshan stood motionless.
He'd seen the entire exchange.
And he understood almost none of it.
That bothered him.
A great deal.
The black-robed man had touched the sword once.
Just once.
Yet he'd disrupted a complete sword technique.
Not by overwhelming it with greater power.
Not by exploiting an obvious opening.
He'd struck a point in the sword's movement that Shen Tieshan hadn't even noticed.
The grand elder slowly exhaled.
What kind of sword comprehension is that?
Guo Ming stared.
"Master..."
Shen Tieshan raised a hand.
"Quiet."
His eyes remained fixed on Ye Wuchen.
For the first time in many years, he felt genuine curiosity.
He Cang stumbled backward.
He looked toward his fallen sword.
Then toward the administration residence.
His target was still inside.
But he knew the situation had changed.
The black-robed man was dangerous.
Far more dangerous than his appearance suggested.
He Cang reached into his sleeve.
Ye Wuchen's eyes shifted.
A talisman.
Not an attack talisman.
A message.
He Cang crushed it.
A faint red light vanished into the air.
Then he turned and ran.
Guo Ming immediately shouted.
"He's escaping!"
Shen Tieshan moved.
A heavy pressure descended over the street.
He Cang stumbled.
Before he could recover, Shen Tieshan appeared in front of him.
The grand elder folded his arms.
"Going somewhere?"
He Cang froze.
Peak Golden Core.
The difference in cultivation was overwhelming.
Shen Tieshan looked toward the guards.
"Take him."
Several guards hurried forward.
He Cang didn't resist.
He'd already made enough mistakes for one day.
Inspector Zhou arrived shortly afterward.
He examined the damaged pavement.
The unconscious guards.
The captured swordsman.
Then he looked at Shen Tieshan.
"Grand Elder Shen."
Shen Tieshan nodded.
"Inspector."
"What happened?"
The grand elder pointed toward He Cang.
"That fool attacked the residence."
Inspector Zhou frowned.
"And the guards?"
"Alive."
Relief crossed the inspector's face.
Then he noticed Ye Wuchen standing nearby.
"Who is this?"
Shen Tieshan looked at him.
For a moment, he hesitated.
"I was about to ask the same thing."
Ye Wuchen spoke first.
"Ye Wuchen."
Inspector Zhou nodded.
"Did you witness the attack?"
"Yes."
"Would you be willing to provide a statement?"
Ye Wuchen glanced toward the bookstore.
The elderly shopkeeper was watching from behind the door.
He considered the question.
"Briefly."
Inspector Zhou looked relieved.
"Thank you."
Shen Tieshan studied him.
"Fellow Daoist Ye."
Ye Wuchen turned.
"Hm?"
"That technique you used."
"What about it?"
Shen Tieshan narrowed his eyes.
"Where did you learn it?"
Ye Wuchen looked thoughtful.
Then answered.
"Practice."
Guo Ming nearly choked.
Shen Tieshan stared at him.
Then laughed.
A deep, genuine laugh.
"Practice!"
Ye Wuchen nodded.
"Yes."
Shen Tieshan shook his head. New chapters come out on g.com first.
"You're an interesting fellow."
Ye Wuchen said nothing.
The grand elder smiled.
"We'll speak again."
"Perhaps."
Shen Tieshan laughed once more.
He liked this young man already.
Though he had a strong suspicion the feeling wasn't mutual.
In the Upper Realm, the Ancient Dragon Court was having problems of its own.
Long Tianque stood before a massive jade map.
Seventeen points glowed across its surface.
Each represented a Lower Realm where unusual fluctuations had been recorded after the disappearance of the Immortal Tomb.
An elderly dragon official stood beside him.
"Your Highness, we've completed the first review."
Long Tianque nodded.
"And?"
"Most of the fluctuations were minor."
"Most?"
The official hesitated.
"Three records are inconsistent."
Long Tianque turned.
"Inconsistent how?"
"The original observations and the archived copies don't match."
Silence.
Long Tianque looked toward the map.
"Explain."
The official retrieved two jade slips.
"These are the original reports."
He handed them over.
Long Tianque examined the contents.
Then compared them with the archive records.
His expression slowly changed.
The original reports described unusual spiritual fluctuations.
The archived copies described ordinary atmospheric disturbances.
The dates matched.
The locations matched.
But the descriptions had been altered.
Long Tianque looked up.
"Who authorized these changes?"
The official lowered his head.
"We don't know."
Long Tianque's voice cooled.
"Then find out."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And don't inform the central archive yet."
The official hesitated.
"Your Highness?"
"If someone altered the records, I want to know whether they did it before or after the reports reached the archive."
The official nodded.
"Understood."
Long Tianque returned his attention to the map.
Seventeen Lower Realms.
Three altered records.
Perhaps coincidence.
Perhaps incompetence.
Or perhaps someone didn't want the Ancient Dragon Court looking too closely.
He folded his arms.
"Interesting."
Elsewhere in the Upper Realm, within the Phoenix Sacred Domain, Feng Qingluan sat before an ancient flame.
The flame was pale gold.
It burned without fuel.
According to the Phoenix Court's oldest records, it had existed since before the current generation of ancestral elders.
Feng Qingluan held a feather above it.
An ancient feather.
Its surface carried markings that didn't match any known phoenix script.
She'd spent several days studying it.
Now, finally, she had found something.
A faint inscription appeared along the feather's edge.
Not a complete sentence.
Only a few words.
LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER REMEMBER.
Feng Qingluan frowned.
She'd seen those words before.
On the monument depicting an ancient gathering.
She lowered the feather.
"Remember what?"
The flame flickered.
No answer came.
A young attendant entered.
"Your Highness."
Feng Qingluan turned.
"Yes?"
"The Ancestral Hall has responded to your request."
"And?"
"They've granted you permission to examine the oldest flame records."
Feng Qingluan's eyes brightened.
"All of them?"
The attendant hesitated.
"Not quite."
Her expression cooled.
"Which records are restricted?"
"The First Primordial Era collection."
Silence.
Feng Qingluan looked toward the flame.
"Of course."
The attendant lowered her head.
"Your Highness?"
Feng Qingluan smiled faintly.
"Nothing."
She stood.
"Prepare the archive chamber."
"Yes."
As the attendant departed, Feng Qingluan looked once more at the feather.
The First Primordial Era.
Again.
Every path she followed seemed to lead toward the same missing stretch of history.
And every time she approached it, someone told her the records were unavailable.
She was beginning to find that extremely irritating.
Back in Lanyue City, He Cang sat inside a sealed interrogation chamber.
Inspector Zhou stood across from him.
"Who hired you?"
He Cang remained silent.
The inspector sighed.
"We have witnesses."
No response.
"We have your weapon."
Still nothing.
"And we know you attempted to attack a protected witness."
He Cang stared at the floor.
Inspector Zhou leaned forward.
"Your employer isn't here to help you."
He Cang finally looked up.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
The swordsman's expression was grim.
"I took the job because I needed the money."
"That doesn't excuse what you did."
"I know."
"Then tell me who hired you."
He Cang hesitated.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
"I never met them."
Inspector Zhou frowned.
"Then how were you paid?"
"Through a broker."
"Name?"
He Cang swallowed.
"The broker calls himself Black Crane."
Inspector Zhou's expression changed slightly.
"Black Crane?"
He Cang nodded.
"That's all I know."
The inspector studied him.
Then asked, "And the talisman you used before escaping?"
He Cang froze.
Inspector Zhou leaned forward.
"Who did you contact?"
The swordsman lowered his head.
"My employer."
"To say what?"
He Cang closed his eyes.
"That the job had failed."
That evening, Lin Qingyue heard about the incident.
She rushed into Ye Wuchen's room without knocking.
"Fellow Daoist Ye!"
He looked up.
"What?"
"Someone said you fought a Golden Core cultivator!"
Ye Wuchen considered that.
"Briefly."
Her eyes widened.
"Briefly?"
"Yes."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Was anyone else hurt?"
"Some guards."
She looked relieved.
Then immediately became suspicious.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
"How did you fight a Golden Core cultivator?"
Ye Wuchen looked at her.
"Carefully."
Lin Qingyue stared.
"That's not an answer!"
"It's accurate."
She sat down.
"Tell me what happened."
Ye Wuchen closed his book.
"He attacked a guarded residence. I asked him to stop. He refused."
"And?"
"He attacked me."
"And?"
"He dropped his sword."
Lin Qingyue blinked.
"That's it?"
"More or less."
She stared at him.
Then sighed.
"Why do I even ask?"
Ye Wuchen reopened his book.
"An excellent question."
Across the city, Shen Tieshan sat alone in his courtyard.
He held a wooden practice sword.
For the past hour, he'd been trying to reproduce what he'd witnessed.
A slight movement.
A precise touch.
A disruption of force.
It sounded simple.
It wasn't.
He swung the sword.
Stopped.
Adjusted his grip.
Tried again.
Nothing.
Shen Tieshan frowned.
He'd spent centuries studying martial techniques.
He understood how to break an opponent's rhythm.
How to exploit weaknesses.
How to redirect attacks.
But Ye Wuchen's movement had been different.
There had been no visible struggle.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Just one touch.
And the technique had ended.
Shen Tieshan lowered the sword.
For a long moment, he stood silently.
Then he laughed.
"Well."
He looked toward the moon.
"Seems I've still got plenty to learn."
He placed the practice sword on the table.
For the first time in decades, the thought of being weaker than someone didn't frustrate him.
It excited him.
Far above the city, the moon shone quietly.
Lanyue's streets had returned to normal.
The guards were recovering.
The investigation continued.
And the mysterious swordsman was safely imprisoned.
For most people, the incident would soon become another story to discuss over tea.
For Shen Tieshan, however, it marked the beginning of a question he couldn't easily answer.
Who was Ye Wuchen?
And how could someone with no detectable cultivation possess such extraordinary understanding?
He didn't know.
But he intended to find out.
Not through threats.
Not through force.
Through conversation.
And perhaps, if the opportunity arose, another exchange of techniques.
Meanwhile, Ye Wuchen had already forgotten about the confrontation.
He was reading.
Again.
On the table beside him lay the history book he'd purchased the previous day.
He turned a page.
Then paused.
A small note in the margin caught his attention.
It concerned an old road outside Lanyue City.
According to the author, the road had been abandoned centuries earlier after repeated attempts to repair it failed.
Ye Wuchen examined the accompanying map.
Then looked toward the window.
The road's location was familiar.
Not because he'd visited it recently.
But because he'd seen the same mountain range long before Lanyue City existed.
He studied the map for another moment.
Then closed the book.
"Interesting."
It wasn't enough to draw any conclusions.
But perhaps the old road was worth visiting.
Tomorrow.
End of Chapter 21