Chapter 2: Meaning
“Shangdu is disordered, and it is not easy for out-of-towners to make a living here.”
A quiet voice sounded like a senior full of sympathy for a junior. But in the next breath, the voice suddenly turned harsh, and the words cutting like ice. “These seven streets and sixteen alleys are large, and it is easy to give up a small space. But who will give it up … this is a difficult matter for us, and may cause a disaster.”
The out-of-towner smiled faintly and said, “So after thinking about it, you decided to ally together and kill me. Then you will not have any difficulties.”
“Interesting.” The harsh voice quickly grew quiet again.
Then the shadows in the alley ahead separated, and an old man who appeared withered in the darkness came to the front, seated in a wheelchair.
“We know you are a dragon who has crossed the river before. This retainer of yours should be realm seven. Otherwise, Old Qi and the others would not have died inexplicably without a sound.”
The old man laughed quietly. “But the seven streets and sixteen alleys are so large. Wanting to intimidate us with one realm seven … something like this is not very possible.”
“If this is a discussion, you would not have blocked the path behind, and given a path of retreat.” The out-of-towner smiled and said, “I did not even see any patrols on the way here. You have such connections already taken care of. Then what is going to happen next is not interesting.”
The old man lifted his head in slight surprise. He looked at the out-of-towner. “You are very smart. But why did you not think how there are no patrols at all in these streets without General Zhang’s intentions? Since you understand General Zhang’s intentions, then why did you not leave in the middle of the night and come here?”
“Perhaps you have misunderstood General Zhang. If he did not want me to stay here, then he would not have given me a chance to come here.” The out-of-towner looked oddly at the old man and said, “Old Bi of Heaven Door. You have been on your seat so long you forgot how you got there in the past.”
“You should change your thinking.”
The out-of-towner paused and said regretfully, “Maybe you have forgotten, no matter how stable you are on your seat, it is the true powers in Shangdu who let you sit there. Your first priority is to satisfy them. I am able to appear in front of you tonight. Maybe the powers feel you have been on your seat for too long and do not know how to think anymore. Maybe they feel you are not good enough at management. This place needs a new housekeeper, or maybe they just want to see something novel?”
The old man did not immediately speak. He was silent for a long while. Then he nodded slowly and said, “If the powers have this idea, then the only way to dispel such thoughts is to prove I can still sit in this seat, to prove that I am stronger than they have imagined.”
The out-of-towner shook his head and said sincerely, “This is not the only solution. I hope that you can consider some gentler methods.”
“I am already old.”
The old man’s voice became quiet. “I am willing, but everyone in front and behind me is unwilling to let me give my seat to an out-of-towner like you. I need to prove my abilities to those powers, but you also have to prove your strength to my brothers.”
The out-of-towner thought for a moment and opened his mouth to speak. But in this moment, he heard multiple piercing sounds.
“The flying swords of the Yan capital are much worse than those of Changling.”
The out-of-towner sighed. He looked at the old man in the darkness ahead and said with more seriousness, “Since you are already so old, then why are you so impatient, why do you not leave any room to spare when you act?”
The old man on the wheelchair did not respond. To people like him, since he had made his decision, there was no need to say anything.
Multiple flying swords flew towards the out-of-towner in the darkness. The retainer behind him pulled out his sword.
Boom!
Multiple flying swords could not avoid being thrown backwards in a breath.
Gasps sounded.
The quiet old man on the wheelchair abruptly lifted his head, extremely stunned.
In his senses, the sword of this out-of-towner’s subordinate felt like an enormous hammer.
Those flying swords had not just been knocked away but completely destroyed!
What astounding power was this!
He knew the subordinate was realm seven, yet the power the other showed in moving his hand confirmed this was no ordinary realm seven!
“I hope you can change your decision,” the out-of-towner glanced at him and said seriously.
A green seal fell down in front of him like a falling leaf, and then released a presence only realm sevens could possess. Green flames ignited from this seal.
This seal was the true killing move.
Those multiple flying swords had been fierce, but they had only drawn away the sword of the subordinate for an instant.
To the utter shock of the old man and the many people blocking the alley in the darkness, a dark red sword appeared in the out-of-towner’s hand.
The sword flashed, and the out-of-towner’s body shook violently. The green seal was flicked away by the sword and snapped in half. The green seal was very thin, but unimaginable flames surged out.
All of the gathered energy sprayed out of the cut.
Two astounding flows of green flame collided in the air, and pushed the two pieces of the seal hundreds of feet to different sides.
The green and vivid flames illuminated the faces of everyone in the alley, including the old man on the wheelchair.
The old man’s wheelchair shook violently. He looked at the two rivers of fire in the sky. Even his wrinkles glowed green. He yelled in disbelief like a child who had been bullied when fighting. “How can you also be realm seven!”
At this moment, a sword light lit up behind the old man. It was dim when it first appeared, but in a flash, the light grew stunningly bright like a scorching metal rod.
One of the people behind the old man gave a furious howl, turned and drew his sword. His sword was very fast and very strong.
Those around him, including the old man he protected, believed he could stop this sword. But then, the burning sword suddenly changed direction and stabbed towards this retainer.
The retainer was stunned, and sensed the presence of death. He felt he would die, he pulled his sword back.
At a hiss, this retainer froze. He discovered this deathly sword essence fell towards him, but the blade itself did not change direction.
The burning hot longsword stabbed into the old man from the back of the wheelchair. The sword tip came out of his chest, steaming with heat.
This retainer screamed in madness and confusion. He did not know why he was not able to stop this sword.
The old man was also very confused.He realized that the retainer’s shocking smash and the out-of-towner suddenly exposing his realm seven strength were all to conceal this last blow. But he could not understand how this out-of-towner, who was not realm seven just a short while ago in battle, was now in realm seven. He also did not understand how this sword, not extremely powerful, could pierce his body.
“Apologies.” The out-of-towner bowed towards him from a distance, and apologized sincerely. “If you do not die, many people will.”
Sensing that the people in the alley were so shocked they could not move, the out-of-towner’s retainer put down his large sword and said softly, “Wang Taixu, you surprise me.”
“In reality, this is mostly due to something a person said to me in particular.”
The out-of-towner knew everything had concluded. He put away his sword and stood with his hands behind his back. “Before I left Changling, he said to me, the key to a breakthrough was not talent, but the strongest of emotions.”
The person behind him stilled slightly and seemed to realize something.
The out-of-towner said softly, “I did not understand at the start. Later, when you accompanied me, and I felt your sword essence at close distance, I gradually started to understand as we moved away from Changling. Cultivators like you frequently can reach a high level because of your grievances for country and home… your love and hate are more varied than ordinary cultivators. Your emotions are stronger than ordinary cultivators. the stronger the emotions … the stronger your perception. People’s emotions are the strongest power in the world.”
The person behind him thought seriously. He thought of the most outstanding and strongest cultivators from Changling and Zhao in those years. He thought there was almost no one who bowed down to everyone. They were all people with true emotions. He felt this was even more correct.
