The Mountain Lord's Sword Qi Mountain Opening Order, the Young Man Received the Bamboo Breaking Sword

Madam Hua thought of An Le, the young painter who had astonished Lin Manor with his ink sketches, who sought not wealth and rank but cultivation, and to whom she had gifted the "Sword Waterfall Diagram."

The "Sword Waterfall Diagram" was exceedingly precious, a top-tier Spirit Refinement Method. Had she not admired the young man's tenacity, Madam Hua might not have given it to him at all. In her eyes, beginning one's cultivation enlightenment at eighteen was truly rather late.

Though the young man had entered stillness in three quarters of an hour and formed Embryonic Breathing in merely two days, that talent for spirit refinement had indeed caught her eye.

Yet for a young man who had started so late to make a name for himself in this Spring Imperial Examination, rank among the Jia Bang Jinshi, and set foot in the noble Heaven Profound Palace was little more than wishful thinking.

If she wanted to reclaim Eldest Brother's Calm the Waves, she could only rely on herself, Hua Jiebing.

"The Old Madam is frail with age, and her limit of cultivation is near. She does not wish to stir up trouble at such a time, so for Lin Manor's future, she yields at every turn."

"But I, Hua Jiebing, cultivate a heart sword that rises above the dust of this world. If resentment grows in my heart and cannot be vented, my heart sword will gather dust, and I shall have no hope of breaking through. That is not what I desire."

"Therefore, if I cannot endure it, then I will not endure it."

Madam Hua let out a soft breath, came back to herself, and smiled as she continued drinking and savoring the fine dishes with Madam Ye.

The Ye Family was likewise a martial family of merit. Yet unlike Lin Manor, the founding general who upheld Ye Manor still lived. Though past his prime, his bearing remained all the more imposing. He was one of the foremost generals of the age, leading his army beyond the Canglang River to block the Yuan Meng Empire's cavalry. Time and again, he had won brilliant victories, making the Yuan Meng Empire fear him—and even hate him.

The words most often shouted by this General Ye, who had risen from humble beginnings with the power to swallow ten thousand miles like a tiger, were simply two words: "Cross the river!"

It was said that an old general whom he had once followed had spent his life resisting the enemy. Before dying with bitterness in his heart, that old general had shouted three times in succession: "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!"

Cross the river, launch the Northern Expedition against Yuan Meng, and reclaim the lost lands of the Central Plains!

This was the inheritance of will.

If Old Master Lin had sacrificed himself to hold the rear and block the Yuan Meng Army, it had been for the continuation of the imperial dynasty.

Then General Ye's resolve to cross the river and launch the Northern Expedition was a fire kindled for the dynasty's revival!

Madam Hua held General Ye in great admiration. He was a hero of his generation. Unfortunately, his ambition for the Northern Expedition had never received the court's approval. General Ye had submitted twenty-four memorials outlining the campaign, all of which had been suppressed by the sovereign seated high in Heaven Profound Palace.

The deterrence brought by the Yuan Meng Emperor, the strongest man under heaven, hung over every lord in court like a sharp blade suspended above their heads, including the emperor himself.

The nobles did not dare gamble, and neither did the emperor.

With the Canglang River's terrain as a Heavenly Chasm, they could block the Yuan Meng Empire's army. But once they were defeated and a breach was torn open, the prosperity and wealth built over several hundred years since the Great Zhao Southern Migration might face the charge and trampling of the Yuan Meng Iron Cavalry.

Thus, General Ye's life at the border was hardly easy. The pressure upon him was immense.

That was why Madam Hua had been deeply moved by Madam Ye's willingness to lend a hand.

A slanting stone path climbed the cold mountain; deep among white clouds, there were homes.

Sixth Mountain.

A quiet pavilion stood upon the broad clearing.

The night was desolate, the evening wind howled, and stars filled the sky.

Within the pavilion, the aged scholar in Confucian robes and the man carrying a Pine Wood Sword Box still sat playing Go. When the final stone fell, the game came to an end.

"The game is over. It is time to draft the Mountain Opening Order and send it into Lin'an."

The man in white rose to his feet. The enormous Pine Wood Sword Box on his back looked somewhat strange.

He walked beyond the pavilion and gazed over the pitch-black mountains beneath the night, his eyes as still as an ancient well.

The aged scholar in Confucian robes rose as well. In his hand was the Ink Wash Bamboo and Stone Painting painted by An Le. Looking at the man, he smiled. "Mountain Lord, are you truly opening the mountain to accept that young man who paints bamboo as a Mountain Guardian? If this old man recalls correctly, he would be your second Mountain Guardian, would he not?"

"When a Sacred Mountain Lord opens the mountain, it is an event of great import throughout the realm. It will surely stir up towering waves, and countless gifted young talents will come upon hearing the news, seeking entry into the mountain gate. Yet when the time comes, if you select only an utterly ordinary youth who paints ink bamboo from among all those outstanding figures, I fear you will invite needless criticism."

The old scholar smiled.

The man folded his arms over his chest, his expression as calm as the deep night. "Would I fear criticism?"

"I admire the youth's painting and praise the proud backbone of a gentleman contained within it, so I choose him as a Mountain Guardian. Who would dare criticize me?"

"If not for Sacred Mountain's rules, I would go fetch the young man and bring him into my mountain gate right now, to see whether his spine is truly as proudly upright as ink bamboo."

Hearing those domineering and proud words, the aged scholar smiled. "As expected of the Sixth Mountain Lord of Sacred Mountain. Since that is so, this old man shall not dissuade you further."

The man cast the old man a sidelong glance. "Dissuade me? You, Wang Banshan, merely want to pluck the peach. You admire that youth who paints bamboo as well, don't you? You want to compete with me for him?"

"Your Literature Academy has become increasingly dull these past years. A scholar should hold vast righteousness in his heart and upright qi in his chest. Yet look at your Literature Academy—how many still possess vast righteousness and harbor upright qi?"

"Even the Martial Temple is more pleasing to the eye than your Literature Academy."

After speaking, the man said no more. The Pine Wood Sword Box on his back smashed down onto the ground with a boom. He laid a hand atop it and opened it by an inch.

Boundless Sword Qi erupted from the crack in the box.

The man clenched his five fingers, using his fingers as a brush and Sword Qi as ink, writing in the air. Once he had finished, the Sword Qi transformed into a radiant written decree and shot swiftly toward Lin'an Prefecture.

That night, Lin'an could not sleep. Sword Qi streaked through the sky like stars falling upward through the void.

For the Sixth Mountain Lord of Sacred Mountain had written a Mountain Opening Order:

Three days hence, a Mountain Guardian would be selected beneath Sixth Mountain.

Ye Manor, the waterside garden.

Madam Hua and Madam Ye had just entered the courtyard. Both were powerful spirit refiners, and sensing something, they could not help raising their heads. They saw Sword Qi cutting across the night sky and shattering the clouds.

"This is... the Sixth Mountain Lord's Sword Qi Mountain Opening Order?!"

Madam Hua and Madam Ye were both astonished. The Sword Qi hung above the treetops like a silver waterfall.

The two looked at each other. Sixth Mountain was selecting a Mountain Guardian?

Why had it come so suddenly?

"Every Sacred Mountain Lord is a peerless genius. The Sixth Mountain Lord is the Sacred Master's sixth disciple, famed for Sword Qi of overwhelming dominance. To this day, Sixth Mountain has only one Mountain Guardian, correct? So he intends to select a second one?"

Madam Ye covered her mouth, unable to contain her surprise. What had caused such a momentous event to arise without the slightest warning?

"If I remember correctly, when a Mountain Lord chooses a Mountain Guardian, cultivation and talent are not what matter most. It depends more on fate and personal affinity... Three days from now, Sixth Mountain, once tranquil and secluded, will likely be packed to the gates. I wonder who will become the lucky one chosen by the Mountain Lord."

Madam Hua smiled as well. Though doubts lingered in her heart, she did not dwell on them.

Still, since the Sixth Mountain Lord was opening the mountain, perhaps Zhuifeng, Qingyin, and the young masters of the manor could all give it a try. If they could enter Sacred Mountain, even merely as Mountain Guardians, their status would become incomparably distinguished.

It was not only Ye Manor. That night, all of Lin'an Prefecture was shaken by a single Sword Qi Mountain Opening Order.

The many Duke's Manors, Prime Minister Qin's Manor, the Literature Academy, the Martial Temple, and even Heaven Profound Palace deep within Quiet Street—the most exalted place in Great Zhao—all turned their gazes toward the Sword Qi Mountain Opening Order in the starry night.

Every faction's thoughts began to stir. Some were determined to win, while others watched the spectacle in silence.

Yet everyone was curious: what had suddenly caused the Sixth Mountain Lord to open the mountain?

The next day, early morning.

A light rain fell from the sky.

The disturbance of the night had no effect whatsoever on An Le. He knew nothing of the Sixth Mountain Lord's Mountain Opening Order.

After contemplating the "Sword Waterfall Diagram" through the night, An Le only felt his mind grow much stronger. Perhaps the Innate Swordsman Dao Fruit gave him special insight into sword-related cultivation methods.

His mind, having only recently entered Embryonic Breathing, had long since stabilized and was improving at a perceptible rate.

The realm after Embryonic Breathing was Transcending Worldliness, an exceedingly important leap in the spirit refinement system. According to the method's description, the greatest feature of the Transcending Worldliness realm was the ability to release one's mind, leave behind the mortal body, and wander through heaven and earth!

At the Transcending Worldliness realm, a spirit refiner could act alone in slaughter and kill without form!

Though An Le Now had consolidated the Embryonic Breathing realm, Spirit Refinement Transcendence was still far in the distance. Yet that did not stop him from longing for it.

He exhaled like a sword, spewing out the stagnant qi that had gathered in his chest and abdomen through the night. It was as though his entire body had been washed clean, and he shone with renewed vigor.

An Le walked out of his room and into the courtyard.

At dawn came the patter of spring rain; an old Jiangnan dream stirred feelings beyond bearing.

The spring rain had arrived suddenly overnight.

The air carried a touch more chill. Hu Jingang's corpse still lay in the courtyard, but the pungent scent of blood lingering in the air had been subdued somewhat by the spring rain.

Glancing at the headless corpse, An Le's expression remained calm. One night had been enough for him to adjust his state of mind.

Dressed in white and bathed in spring rain, accompanied by the old scholar tree in the courtyard, he began practicing the Five Animals Body Forging.

His blood qi, having risen to perfection, rolled like a chariot and roared like bells and stone chimes.

The tiger form, bear form, deer form, ape form, and bird form shifted one into another. With the support of eighteen strands of Time Qi, his proficiency steadily climbed, and the forms gained ever more spirit.

"Not bad. Though Five Animals Body Forging is not a top-tier body-forging method, mastering it is exceptionally difficult. At such a young age, little friend, you have already grasped the spirit of the Five Animals. Your future holds great promise."

After An Le finished his practice and his blood qi settled, a faint laugh came from outside the small courtyard.

An old man in plain robes with wide sleeves entered the courtyard, holding an oil-paper umbrella, wearing straw sandals, and carrying a Tattered Bamboo Sword at his waist.

"Senior." The moment An Le saw the old man, he was pleasantly surprised.

The old man stroked his beard with a smile and gave a slight nod.

"Little Friend An, we have not met for a day. Have you been well?"

An Le cupped his hands and bowed. "Yesterday, I bought some Old Yellow Wine. Since Senior did not come, it all went into this junior's belly. After work today, this junior will buy more."

The old man waved a hand. "No matter. Did this old man not promise to give you a sword in exchange for taking your painting? Thus, I came early this morning to present you with the sword."

Once he had spoken.

The old man held his umbrella and smiled as he removed the Tattered Bamboo Sword from his waist, then handed it to An Le.

The spring rain fell in lonely silence. An Le stared at the broken Bamboo Breaking Sword speckled with a few drops of rain and fell silent.