They were called the Star Peak Guard.
They were a group of masters who all cultivated the Taiji Yin Yang Art, masters who had trained for nearly ten years. Only a small number remained in the manor undergoing the most basic training; the rest had already begun handling matters for the manor.
Half of them had reached the Innate Realm. Their only flaw was that there were too few of them. They could not compare to the forces of the Four Great Families, each with tens of thousands of private soldiers; the gap was simply far too vast. As for the Innate Masters within the Four Great Families, no one knew how many there were. On the surface, more than half the Innate Masters in the entire Ming Dynasty belonged to the Four Great Families, and only the Four Great Families had the means to support them.
Moreover, no one knew how many hidden forces the Four Great Families possessed. Would a super clan that had endured for centuries, even millennia, truly lack a few surprise troops? Who would believe that? The mastermind behind the attempt to seize Dragon Soaring that day alone was beyond anything my forces could match. What did two Second-Rank Experts mean? There were only four First-grade realm experts in the entire Ming Dynasty, and merely eight Second-Rank Experts. One had to understand that the Third Rank Realm and the Second-grade realm were worlds apart; they marked a dividing ridge. Yet the gap between a Second-Rank Expert and a First-grade realm expert was not quite so great.
From this, one could see exactly what two Second-Rank Experts represented.
Yet I could sense it, and I was certain: the Azure Dragon Continent could not possibly have only this many masters. Those figures were merely official statistics. How could reclusive masters who never emerged into the world possibly let themselves be known?
Leaving distant matters aside, it was known throughout the world that Demon Lord Shi Yi was a First-grade realm expert. Yet he was merely the sect master of the Illusion Demon Gate, one of the three branches of the Demonic Sect. What about the Yin Demon Gate and the most formidable Heaven Demon Gate? How high was their sect masters' cultivation? Who knew? Would one dare say their martial arts were certainly inferior to Demon Lord Shi Yi's? And what of the Demonic Sect's sect master? As the sect master of the Demonic Sect, could he be weaker than his subordinates?
Even if others believed it, no one in the Demonic Sect would. The Demonic Sect was a place where the strong reigned supreme. Whoever possessed the highest martial arts became sect master! If the Demonic Sect's sect master was stronger than Shi Yi, stronger even than a First-grade realm expert, then what realm had he reached?
And what of the Demonic Sect's elders? Those old immortals had once been the sect masters of the three branches and the sect masters of old. Could their cultivation possibly be weak?
Everyone knew this, but did the imperial court dare interfere? The Demonic Sect had been passed down for thousands of years. Ever since there had been a martial world, there had been the Demonic Sect. Its influence reached everywhere; perhaps even among the palace guards there were large numbers of Demonic Sect masters. If the court tried to interfere and the Demonic Sect turned hostile, the entire imperial palace would likely be washed in blood for a thousand miles.
The Demonic Sect did not oppose the imperial court, and the imperial court likewise did not wish to oppose the Demonic Sect, where masters gathered like clouds. Thus, the present semblance of peace had formed.
The righteous path's leading organization, Horizon Sea Pavilion, which stood against the Demonic Sect, and Shaolin, the birthplace of martial arts, also had histories spanning thousands of years. They had fought the Demonic Sect for millennia and kept it suppressed all this time. Could their strength possibly be weak?
The very thought frightened me. They were all super organizations with inheritances stretching back thousands of years! Who knew how many First-grade realm experts they truly had? There were probably even some who had reached the Golden Core Stage. After all, I had cultivated the Dao of the Blade to the Golden Core Stage myself; surely there were some geniuses among them as well. Why were they not famous? Because they never displayed their martial arts.
The Four Great Families had completely grasped the Ming Dynasty's economy in their hands without having it forcibly seized by the Demonic Sect. One had to know that the Demonic Sect loved nothing more than snatching what belonged to others.
Could they be weak? They openly possessed tens of thousands of private soldiers. What about in secret? How many First-grade realm experts did they have?
I knew part of the Zhang Family's strength. On the surface, my father's two bodyguards were both Second-Rank Experts, and the guards protecting the ancestral shrine were also two Second-Rank Experts. The Elder Council's enforcement group, which carried out family law, had ten members, all of whom had reached the Second-grade realm. Their leader had even reached the First-grade realm.
Most importantly, my father himself had reached the First-grade realm. I estimated that only those above the First-grade realm could see through Father's cultivation. As for what lay within the family's underground secret chambers, even I did not know.
The reason I did not dare use force against Li Tianxiang was because I knew that since the Li Family had remained seated upon the throne of the foremost aristocratic clan, it must possess terrifying strength, at the very least no weaker than the Zhang Family's!
Forget it. In my study of the Dao of the Blade, I had condensed every strike into a single move. It was probably already the ultimate limit. Those masters could at most reach the Golden Core Stage. But in my eyes, what did that amount to?
Even if they reached the Golden Core Stage, would they know how to use True Primordial Energy? Would they know every kind of technique? Would they know every kind of art formula? Would they know every kind of restriction?
They would not. How could they possibly? Everything in the Cultivation World had been developed based on the art formulas left behind by immortals, and only after several million years were all manner of cultivation art formulas researched. That was even with the immortals' assistance. After countless billions of years, the Cultivation World had finally achieved its present flourishing state.
Their martial world had existed for only a few thousand years. Ha! If they could truly create cultivation art formulas, then cultivators from the Cultivation World might as well all die! That was impossible. It was no longer a matter of ability or talent; it was the limitation of one's realm!
I could not help feeling greatly delighted. My Martial Way cultivation had already reached the Golden Core Stage, and in cultivation I had reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Most importantly, I had cultivated the even more formidable Golden Buddha Venerable. How could they fight me? This was no longer a gap that numbers could make up for. The difference was far too great. One Big Dipper Seven Star Sword Art from me could probably kill dozens of Golden Core Stage masters. Hahaha... My heroic spirit soared to the heavens. Looking upon the world, who could contend with Feng? Those words truly suited me!
My mind kept turning over every possible situation and how to resolve it. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the capital's most famous Bright Moon Osmanthus Bridge. Legend had it that in ancient times, a hero had fallen in love here with a fairy from the Moon Palace, beginning a love story that moved Heaven and Earth. In the end, they shattered the barrier of the immortal realm and came together.
Though no one knew whether this tale was true, many lovers now gathered here. That was reality, and it had also made this place one of the capital's great sights.
I stood on the bridge, gazing at the clear river below. The bright moon hung high in the sky, its faint radiance scattering into every corner of the capital. Heaven and Earth seemed covered in a pale silver-white sheen.
The shadows of the osmanthus trees beside the bridge swayed gracefully, drawing countless lovers here. I looked around. Couples stood together everywhere, intimate and close. For no reason, bitterness welled up within me. It seemed that only I was alone.
"The bright moon shone upon my shadow; drinking together, we became three," I murmured softly. I could feel the mood Li Bai, the Poet Sword Immortal, had felt then...
"Yun'er, stop here."
A kind, gentle voice, soothing to the heart and soul, rang out. In an instant, ripples stirred within my heart, and for a long time they would not settle.
Was it her? Her maid seemed to be called Yun'er as well. I was as excited as if I had broken through the Golden Core Stage and reached the Nascent Soul Realm. It had to be her. It had to be her.
I swiftly turned around and stared at the sedan chair before me. I was certain that the person who had just spoken was inside that sedan chair. It had to be her. In my heart, I silently prayed.
The curtain of the sedan chair slowly lifted, and a beautiful figure appeared before me. A wave of numbness surged up from the depths of my heart, and tears spilled from my eyes before I could stop them.
You were still as gentle as ever, still as captivating as ever. This time, I would never let you go again.
"Rou," I called softly. I no longer wanted to suppress myself. Why did I have to suppress myself? If I loved her, I had to tell her.
Rou's entire body trembled. Slowly, she raised her head and looked toward me. Her eyes suddenly lit up. I knew she had recognized me.
"Young Master Zhang, is that you?" Her voice was very low, as though she were speaking to herself. If my martial arts had not been so good, I probably would not have heard it. Yet I heard every word clearly. I could feel her attachment to me, as well as her deep longing.
Unable to restrain myself, I walked down from the bridge and headed toward her beneath the osmanthus tree.
"It is me. Long time no see. Have you been well?" I no longer wanted to be as weak as I had been before. I wanted to tell her what was in my heart.
Yuwen Rou's body suddenly trembled. Looking at me, her eyes gradually grew moist. How long had it been? How long had she missed him? Yet ever since that fleeting glimpse of him at the assessment grounds, he had seemed to vanish from the mortal world. After so many days of deep longing, she had finally waited until today.
"I have been well too, Young Master Zhang. You... how have you been these past years?" No matter how she turned the words over in her mind, Yuwen Rou did not dare pour out the longing in her heart to the man before her.
Seeing her slightly flustered manner, I felt a little happy. I walked before her and looked at her without moving at all. I wanted to look at her carefully, to take in every detail. It seemed like only yesterday, yet also like a lifetime ago. Back then, she had been so tender and youthful. Now, she shone with radiant beauty, incomparably lovely.