Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A pen could be used to write words and fantastic articles.
It could be used to paint pictures, depicting the splendid rivers and mountains.
And it could be used to draw amulets.
The One-Cottage House was famous for their calligraphy.
The magic performed by writing the calligraphy was the amulet.
Had these scholars not used their amulets to protect the Magic Army of the Jing imperial court, how could they have resisted the tide-like monster invasion of the Snowy Kingdom in the north?
A good calligrapher isn’t always a good person.
For instance, there was an old scholar of the One-Cottage House in the Old Ones.
His Cultivation state was quite high, and his background was a bit mysterious.
After the old scholar joined the Old Ones, he still used his pen the most.
Yet, he seldom used his pen to kill anybody. He spent most of his time recording and analyzing the files on the Cloud Platform, and was responsible for receiving a few newcomers whom he liked.
It was he who brought Liu Shisui to the Old Ones.
Yet, Liu Shisui didn’t know that it was due to the recommendation of this old scholar that he could stay on the Cloud Platform over the last few years.
In recent years, the old scholar’s pen had finally gotten some leisure time.
Maybe, it was because of this reason that the old scholar got involved with something which he shouldn’t be.
“In this case, there is no need to kill one more.”
The old scholar said this while looking at Xiwang Sun.
Xiwang Sun said, “Had you said so before, I would have grant your wish to save face, since I like this kid anyway; but I won’t do it today.”
“Why?” the old scholar inquired.
“If this were before, killing you would’ve proven difficult , or it would have taken some time to do so, as a result, my whereabouts would be revealed; but it’s different now.”
While Xiwang Sun was talking, he slid his right hand across the First Child Sword, and the blood dripped from the gap between his palm and the sword shaft.
The First Child Sword, stained with the fresh blood, showed more of the lethal energy, apart from its usual cold aura, exuding an awe-inspiring power.
Seeing this scene, the old scholar remarked sentimentally, “Is this the First Child Sword? You two are really the disciples of that person in the South Ocean.”
Xiwang Sun wielded the sword without uttering a word.
A cold and lethal sword will left the First Child Sword, turning into a curved light, and shot toward the old scholar.
The wrinkles on the old scholar’s face became deeper while being blown by the wind, appearing even more sorrowful.
A black brush pen, emitting the magic treasure light, flew out from his sleeve, traveling at an unimaginable speed, and it wrote a word in mid-air in the blink of an eye.
Liu Shisui and Xiao He didn’t know what kind of magic treasure this black pen was, and they couldn’t see what that word was.
Xiwang Sun knew this pen was one of the four principal magic treasures of the One-Cottage House, the City-Guard Pen.
It was mostly due to this pen that Xiwang Sun had to respect this old scholar, or at the very least, tolerate him.
Of course, he saw that word clearly. It was the sword “river”.
It was the river in the phrase “There is an iron chain across the grand river”.
It was also the river in the phrase “Spend one’s remaining life on the river and ocean”.
…
…
The City-Guard Pen emitted a precious light, and the word written by it was also emitting the precious light in mid-air, looking like the real iron chain, able to block any attack in the world.
The sword light fell on the word without making a noise. The sword light didn’t break through the word, instead being trapped among the strokes of the word and on the verge of petering out.
Xiwang Sun took one step forward.
The veil of pearls swung slightly, giving out a crisp ringing sound, and his yellow robe drifted forward with the wind.
This step was called the “Emperor’s Arrival”.
Pah!!!
The word “river” in mid-air suddenly broke into pieces.
The sword light broke through the word and arrived in front of the old scholar.
The old scholar retreated a few steps, his face pale.
Pah!!!
The City-Guard Pen dropped on the ground, the precious light growing dimmer.
This result didn’t mean that the principal magic treasure of the One-Cottage House wasn’t as powerful as the First Child Sword.
It was because the old scholar’s Cultivation state was inferior to Xiwang Sun’s .
Had the City-Guard Pen not protected its master, the old scholar would have been injured badly.
Xiwang Sun took another step forward, with even more intimidating intent.
Yet, the old scholar didn’t show any intention of backing down, looking at him silently, his eyes displaying a hint of liberation and freedom.
Xiwang Sun suddenly changed his expression, spinning around looking in the direction of east.
It seemed that he had sensed something. He wheeled around without hesitation, soon turning into a sword light and vanishing into the horizon.
Even though something unexpected occurred, Xiwang Sun hadn’t forgotten about punishing Liu Shisui. As he left the cliff, Xiwang Sun waved his sleeve lightly, a sword will darting toward Liu Shisui’s chest.
Liu Shisui had already been injured severely earlier, so he had no way to dodge the incoming sword.
Xiao He threw herself on him.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful after she came back to her senses a moment later.
It was either because the bracelet had influenced her mental state for too long or because she had been thinking about this matter for too long, it had already become her instinct to keep Liu Shisui alive; so she threw herself on Liu Shisui without even thinking about the consequence.
How come I become so stupid? If I died in the next moment, would it be because of my stupidity?
Xiao He thought of this wryly. Yet, she didn’t die in the next moment, and she didn’t even feel the pain.
She sat up and found that she wasn’t injured in any way, which baffled her; then she noticed Liu Shisui look at a spot behind her with a pale face.
Xiao He followed his gaze and spun around, seeing the old scholar stand in front of them.
The expression on the old scholar’s face was calm, as if nothing had happened, and a fan appeared in his hand from nowhere.
Liu Shisui had seen this fan before.
Back in the small village, when the old scholar shook this fan slightly, the dark soul of that highly achieved swordsman of the Mysterious Dark Sect had evaporated right away.
Yet, Liu Shisui saw it clearly that the old scholar only had enough time to take out the fan, and he didn’t do anything with it.
“Are you okay?” Liu Shisui asked in a trembling voice.
“I’m fine,” the old scholar replied.
Pah!!!
They heard this sound before the old scholar could finish his reply.
The old scholar was still wearing the same old blue robe, looking almost white due to the repeated washing.
A crack suddenly appeared on the front lapel of the robe.
The fresh blood gushed out.
…
…
It was raining ceaselessly in Zhaoge City. People were troubled by the drizzling.
The dark eaves of Taichang Temple looked brighter after being washed by the rain.
Yet, the crowd under the eaves felt distressed.
This was a busy day for the officials of Taichang Temple and the Pure Heaven Bureau. The suspects were captured everywhere in Zhaoge City, and many of them died.
And these officials were well aware that they wouldn’t get any rest the next day or so, and more suspects would be brought to Zhaoge City later and sent to the Fiend Prison, waiting to be interrogated by them.
Yet, most of the suspects brought to them were the corpses.
The assassins of the Old Ones were not only specialized in killing people, but also good at killing themselves.
The hardest part of wiping out the Old Ones was finding the moles deeply hidden in the imperial court and the orthodox Cultivation sects.
The problem was, those assassins would commit suicide the moment they were to be captured, so it was almost impossible for them to find any clues.
“Another thorny issue seems to be forgotten by all of you; it’s because nobody had dreamed of this opportunity before today.”
State Duke Lu looked at Jin Mingchen and continued, “It’s the opportunity to capture the behind-the-scenes mastermind of the Old Ones.”
Xiwang Sun was immensely mysterious.
It was said that he was the Young Brother of the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean and had tremendous power within the West Ocean Sword Sect; but few people had seen his face in person, except for those winners of the Four-Seas Banquet.
Even for those winners of the Four-Seas Banquet, there was no way for them to ascertain that the person they saw was the real Xiwang Sun.
If a figure like him disappeared into the crowd, it would be difficult to find him again.
“He should be in the upper state of the Broken Sea, or even higher. Few people in the entire Chaotian could defeat him, so he would most likely escape no matter how many people found and confronted him.”
Jin Mingchen said, “So the most important thing is to determine his position. At the beginning the Emperor only intended to place a leisurely pen in the Old Ones, without hoping for too much.”
By now State Duke Lu realized that the imperial court had prepared for this long time ago, saying sentimentally, “That is why that Picture of Mountain and River in the royal palace suddenly disappeared a few years ago.”
