Qingzhou City, fifty miles north.
In the leftmost side hall of Red Maple Villa, a Brocade-robed Youth sat cross-legged on the bed. White bandages were wrapped around his chest, and his face was deathly pale. More than twenty empty White Porcelain Bottles lay scattered across the floor.
At that moment,
the young man's breathing was weak, and his eyes had lost their luster. His teeth chattered as though he might collapse at any moment.
Whoosh!
Just then, the wind stirred softly at the entrance to the side hall, and an old man appeared. He wore brocade robes, had a broad nose and wide mouth, and a long saber was embroidered across his chest. The instant he arrived, he looked into the hall, eyes widening in disbelief as he cried, "Rui'er!"
"Father..."
When Situ Rui saw his father, he could no longer hold on and began to topple backward.
Situ Zhan's expression changed. He reached out with one hand, and a streak of blue energy caught Situ Rui. The next instant, Situ Zhan appeared behind his son and pressed both palms against his back, pouring his cultivation into him.
An incomparably powerful aura spread through the hall.
Situ Zhan's black hair stirred though there was no wind. As he treated his son's injuries, his expression gradually darkened.
Half an hour later,
Situ Zhan stopped circulating his energy and rose from the bed. He looked at Situ Rui, his eyes flashing with shock and worry.
Situ Rui slowly opened his eyes, a little of their former light returning. He called softly, "Father!"
"Rui'er, tell me exactly what happened."
Situ Zhan looked at his son and spoke in a grave voice.
"Your son pursued that wretched Nangong Wan'er to Qingzhou City. After a great deal of trouble, I found her in a restaurant. I should've had no problem taking her alive, but I never expected a young man in the restaurant to hand her a black saber. With a single strike, my Startling Swan Saber was cut in two, and the Dragon Scale Armor you gave me was cleaved apart..."
"The most terrifying part was that the wretched woman could unleash Ice Blade Force with that saber. She never used Ice Blade Force in our previous fights... Your son suspects that saber may well be the Demonic Blade known in Jianghu legend as the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber!"
Situ Rui looked at his father and recounted everything that had happened that day. A trace of lingering fear appeared in his eyes.
"The Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber?!"
"Impossible, isn't it?"
Situ Zhan looked at his son, heart aching. Then his expression turned serious. "Rui'er, did you get a good look at that saber?"
"Your son only caught a glimpse of it, but it was about three and a half feet long, pitch-black all over. Oh, right, there seemed to be layers of fish-scale-like ripples along the blade... It was exactly like the description in the sect's records..."
Situ Rui thought for a moment, then spoke in a grave voice.
"The Dragon Scale Pattern! Black, with that terrifying, bone-chilling saber energy... Could it really be the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber?"
"The Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber disappeared more than a hundred years ago. How could it be in the hands of a young man?"
Hearing his son's words, Situ Zhan was so shocked he cried out.
As an elder of the Divine Saber Sect, Situ Zhan knew the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber inside out.
One hundred and ten years ago, Ji Yang, the Divine Saber Sect's most gifted Blade Dao genius, pursued Li Tianhen, who had obtained the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber, at the invitation of the reigning Holy Maiden of Pudu Jing'an Nunnery, a Martial Arts Holy Land. They fought, and Ji Yang was defeated and killed.
The Holy Maiden of Pudu Jing'an Nunnery called on the Jianghu's experts to hunt down Li Tianhen. But Li Tianhen was far too formidable. After slaying nearly three hundred Jianghu experts, he simply strode away.
For his record in that battle, Li Tianhen was hailed as the Blade Dao Overlord. Jianghu figures trembled at his name, and the Dragon Scale Pattern saber in his hands became known as the Demonic Saber, the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber!
However,
after that battle, Li Tianhen vanished as well, never to appear in Jianghu again.
"Rui'er, there's no time to lose. I'm taking you to True Martial Hall right now to find True Lord Nine Yangs!"
"At the same time, I'll send word to the sect!"
Situ Zhan looked at his son and spoke in a deep voice.
The most urgent matter was to purge the Ice Blade Force from his son's body!
Even with his cultivation, he couldn't eradicate this Ice Blade Force; he could only expend his cultivation to suppress it. To eliminate it, they needed an expert who cultivated pure yang energy, such as True Lord Nine Yangs of True Martial Hall!
As for the Yellow Springs Heavenly Saber's reappearance in Jianghu, he had to inform the sect and let them deal with it.
Before long,
a Divine Eagle soared into the sky from the villa. Immediately afterward, Situ Zhan carried his son Situ Rui and raced off in the opposite direction from Qingzhou City.
Qingzhou City.
West City.
On the banks of Clear Water River stood a broad stone plaza a hundred yards across. Along its edges stood dozens of grand halls, packed tightly side by side.
This was the headquarters of the Green Wolf Gang, one of Qingzhou City's two great gangs.
At that moment,
in the central hall, a sturdy man in brocade robes sat high on a tiger-hide chair. His arms were so long his hands reached past his knees. He wore a sleeveless vest and copper-studded bracers, and a terrifying aura radiated from him.
His eyes snapped open, and a sharp glint shot from them!
Nearly twenty men stood on either side of the hall, each with a formidable aura.
"Hall Master Jin, are you saying the Hall Master of the Azure Dragon Society is actually Qin Shuang, the young proprietor of Fusheng Restaurant?"
The burly man in brocade robes, Chen Qinglang, looked at the lean fellow standing first on the right and asked.
"That's right, Gang Leader. Qin Shuang is about sixteen or seventeen. The traitor the Divine Saber Sect is pursuing once hid in his family's Fusheng Restaurant. I suspect Yin Tianxing wasn't killed by Qin Shuang at all. It was actually the Divine Saber Sect's traitor who killed him!"
The lean man's eyes flickered as he stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"Mm, Hall Master Jin's deduction makes sense."
Chen Qinglang nodded. "Qin Shuang is only sixteen or seventeen. There's no way he could've killed Yin Tianxing! I was planning to wipe out the Flying Eagle Gang soon, but now... Keep the Azure Dragon Society under surveillance for the time being. We'll deal with it after the Divine Saber Sect's traitor leaves!"
"Understood, Gang Leader!"
Jin Fugui respectfully cupped his fists toward Chen Qinglang.
"The Green Wolf Gang's senior members have all gathered in one place. Perfect—I won't have to hunt you down one by one."
Just then, a calm voice rang out from the hall entrance.
"Who's there?"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At the sound, the Green Wolf Gang's senior members all changed expression and turned toward the entrance, aghast. Swords and sabers left their scabbards as they braced for battle!
They saw
a tall figure in green standing at the entrance, a black saber slung across his back and a Silver Mask covering his face. Two eyeholes pierced the mask, and a chilling light shone from within!
The instant he appeared, an invisible pressure washed over them, and every senior member in the hall took a step back!
"Who are you, sir?"
Chen Qinglang sprang to his feet. He narrowed his eyes at the green-clad figure in the doorway.
"I'll give you two choices: submit to the Azure Dragon Society and live, or refuse and die!"
Qin Shuang looked at Chen Qinglang and spoke calmly.
"The Azure Dragon Society? You want us to submit? What makes you think we would?!"
"This..."
"..."
As soon as Qin Shuang finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Ten breaths later, the Green Wolf Gang's senior members all looked furious. They tightened their grips on their weapons and began muttering among themselves.
Before you continue