Rebirth

To avenge his entire family, Gu Shenwei felt he had harbored a killing intent for a long time. All his efforts had been focused on hiding it, not awakening it.

But when he needed to transform that killing intent into killing aura, to imbue it into the wooden sword in his hand and the opponent before him, he discovered it wasn't easy at all. He couldn't even see the Shangguan Family's twins as enemies, let alone Qian Nu, with whom he had lived.

Hatred, however, arrived on call, unceremoniously devouring his insides and hurting its master to its heart's content, yet unwilling to turn towards the enemy.

Gu Shenwei gripped the wooden sword with both hands. To generate killing intent, he had to treat Qian Nu as the person he hated the most.

Shangguan Fa, the one who had ordered the massacre of the Gu family, but he had never met the Unrivaled King and couldn't imagine him.

Shangguan Nu, the ringleader who had directly killed his parents and elder brother. He had met and been close to this enemy, but the image of the Eighth Young Master brought more fear than anything else. Whether Gu Shenwei wanted to admit it or not, he was more afraid of this master who had lost an arm than he was of his hatred.

Han Shiqi, who had infiltrated the manor as a spy and likely killed his relatives himself. And yet, he had personally struck down this assassin. He was already a dead man. Gu Shenwei felt only hatred, no fear, towards him.

A strange feeling arose in Gu Shenwei's heart. The wooden sword was no longer a wooden sword but a part of his body. Although he held it for the first time, he felt twelve parts confident. The Qian Nu before him was no longer Qian Nu either; he was the stiffly moving "Han Shiqi," easy to strike.

A faint voice echoed in his ears, "Begin." It was like a hand releasing a bowstring, and he was the arrow nocked and ready.

The two youths struck almost simultaneously. Compared to their speed, their moves were incredibly plain. One brought his sword down like splitting a mountain, the other swung horizontally at the abdomen.

The spar ended with just one move. If these were two famous figures, or adults, the onlookers would have considered it a typical duel between masters. But these were clearly just two youths: one a bruised and battered servant, the other the weakest apprentice in the sect. Thus, the scene appeared rather comical.

"Huh? What's this? Why aren't you continuing? Who won?" Shangguan Fei was the first to exclaim, and most people felt the same.

On the field, Gu Shenwei knelt on one knee, his wooden sword held horizontally at Qian Nu's abdomen. Qian Nu remained standing, bent at the waist, his wooden sword pressing down on Huan Nu's left shoulder.

If these were real swords, both would have suffered fatal blows – one disemboweled, the other sliced in half. The key was who struck first. The one who struck first would lack the strength to make another move and would naturally be the loser.

The two separated and retreated. Neither was one to boast, so everyone's gaze turned to Hu Shining. He was the transmission instructor, experienced and with sharp eyes, who would never misjudge.

Hu Shining's expression was grave, as if the two youths had committed some grave error. He walked up to Qian Nu, wordlessly snatched the wooden sword, raised it high, and then, in front of everyone, used both hands to break the wooden sword.

Then, to everyone's astonished gaze, he walked up to Gu Shenwei holding the two broken pieces of the wooden sword. Wordlessly again, he presented the fragments.

Gu Shenwei was somewhat flustered; his killing intent had long since vanished. But Hu Shining's gaze was insistent, so he had to take the wooden sword fragments, glancing at his opponent, Qian Nu, at the same time.

Qian Nu's face was flushed red, his eyes fixed on his toes, as if he were completely naked under everyone's gaze but dared not cover himself.

"The Penglun Sect's outstanding disciple has won."

Hu Shining announced, and Shangguan Ru and the others jumped up and cheered.

"Again, again."

Shangguan Yushi urged, but Hu Shining repeatedly shook his head. "No need to continue. No apprentice in the Carved Wood Courtyard is his match."

The instructor's high regard for a mere servant puzzled everyone. The twins had sparred with Huan Nu and felt they were evenly matched, yet they hadn't received the same evaluation from Hu Shining, leaving them deeply confused.

"Hmph, if you don't want to compete, fine. Let's go." Shangguan Ru, thinking he was making excuses, turned to leave.

Gu Shenwei, holding a wooden sword and with two broken pieces in his hands with nowhere to put them, walked up to Hu Shining and respectfully handed them back.

Hu Shining took them casually and finally couldn't suppress his curiosity. "What's your name? Why haven't you joined the East Fortress?"

"My name is Huan Nu. I have studied internal energy."

Hu Shining shook his head regretfully. To possess such killing aura at such a young age, he was practically a born assassin. What a shame.

Gu Shenwei went to catch up with his master. Hu Shining still stared at his retreating back, shaking his head. Suddenly, a thought struck him: this young man was quite unusual. Keeping him by the side of the two young masters could be dangerous.

But this thought only flickered through his mind. He couldn't prove anything, so it was best not to cause himself trouble.

Behind him, the defeated Qian Nu suddenly clutched his stomach and vomited violently.

Outside the Carved Wood Courtyard, Shangguan Ru saw Huan Nu emerge and immediately landed a punch on him, laughing. "So you're skilled with the saber, and you've been hiding it from us all along."

Gu Shenwei knew she wasn't hitting him hard and accepted the punch with a smile. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he knelt down with a thud. "Master, how can my meager skills compare to yours?"

"Who's your master?" Shangguan Ru asked loudly, but her face bloomed into a smile, clearly not disliking the title.

"When I represented our Penglun Sect just now, the Ninth Young Master acknowledged me as his disciple."

Shangguan Ru tilted her head, scrutinizing Huan Nu from side to side with a serious expression, then suddenly couldn't help but laugh again. "Seeing as you didn't disgrace me today, I'll accept you as my disciple. Let me remind you, I'm a very strict master. Disciples who disobey or are not diligent will be punished."

"Of course. A strict master is like a father. My life is in my master's hands."

Such flattering words, just a few months ago, would have made Gu Shenwei blush if he heard them about himself. Now, they rolled off his tongue effortlessly, without a change in his expression.

Suffering and hatred were indeed capable of transforming a person.

With Shangguan Ru gaining a disciple, Shangguan Fei was displeased. "I'm the Deputy Sect Leader, and I'm also Huan Nu's master."

"There's only one master. If you want to be a master, go find someone else. Hmm, you two, become his disciples."

Those two pageboys were also clever. At Shangguan Ru's command, they immediately knelt before the young master, calling him "Master" with even more sincerity and affection than Gu Shenwei. Shangguan Fei became smug again.

Shangguan Yushi had been observing coldly. Now, she couldn't stand it any longer. "Hmph, he let you win on purpose. What's there to be proud of?"

She had been happy when Gu Shenwei won inside, but seeing him push his luck and try his best to curry favor with Shangguan Ru, she felt a pang of discomfort.

Shangguan Ru was in high spirits and pulled her cousin's hand. "This is your Senior Uncle Yu. Pay your respects."

Gu Shenwei turned to Shangguan Yushi. "Disciple pays respects to Senior Uncle Yu."

Shangguan Yushi tried to dodge, but Shangguan Ru held her tightly, receiving several bows.

Shangguan Ru, who had been dejected that morning due to Marshal Yang's death, was now increasingly excited about establishing her own sect. "Alas, the disciple-accepting ceremony is too simple. The Carved Wood Courtyard has its own territory; we should have one too. Where should it be?"

Everyone offered suggestions, some proposing the Penglun Courtyard, others the Star Picking Courtyard, and one even suggested an unused room in the Golden Peng Fortress. Shangguan Ru was dissatisfied with all of them, finding them not unique enough and lacking a sense of "territory."

Finally, Shangguan Yushi had the most ideas and came up with a brilliant one. Whispering a few words into Shangguan Ru's ear, Shangguan Ru's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "Excellent, that's the place!"

Afterward, she ran towards the depths of East Fortress with her cousin. The other four youths followed, utterly bewildered. Shangguan Fei chased after them, asking, "Where are we going? Where?"

Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi didn't seem to know the exact location either. They darted left and right through the alleys, seemingly going in circles, ignoring Shangguan Fei's questions. Frustrated, he jumped up and down, kicking his two "apprentices" a few times to vent his anger.

The six youths ran farther and farther. The courtyards on either side gradually became fewer until they finally saw a cliff at the end of an alley.

Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi's spirits lifted, and they continued to run forward. Shangguan Fei, however, stopped, his expression changing slightly. "I know where you're going now. I'm not going."

The two bookboys, who had been running, heard their young master's voice change and suddenly remembered something. They stopped abruptly and scrambled back to Shangguan Fei's side.

Only Gu Shenwei, unaware of anything, ran up to the two girls.

Shangguan Ru glanced back and said disdainfully, "Coward. You're not qualified to be an assassin." She then quickened her pace, and soon, the three of them reached the end of the alley.

It turned out this wasn't the cliff yet. A stone staircase slanted downwards. After descending several dozen feet, they reached a fan-shaped platform that occupied a considerable area. The end of the platform was indeed a sheer cliff, with no protection whatsoever.

"This must be it," Shangguan Yushi said, feigning mystery.

Aside from the peculiar terrain, Gu Shenwei couldn't see anything special about the place. However, strangely, he seemed to smell a familiar scent in the air, though he couldn't recall why for a moment.

"Hey, come back quickly! That's Rebirth Cliff. Let's go play somewhere else."

Shangguan Fei called out from behind. The two girls ignored him, exchanged a smile, and Shangguan Yushi turned to Huan Nu, "Do you know Rebirth Cliff?"

Gu Shenwei shook his head.

"This is where the Golden Peng assassins ascend to heaven for the last time. The dead are thrown from here."

Shangguan Yushi waited for Huan Nu to look terrified, but he merely let out an "Ah" of realization, looking around curiously without a trace of fear.

While tending to the injured in Kindling Courtyard, Gu Shenwei had thrown countless bodies down Ghost Cry Cliff. He had once wondered how those who died instantly were handled, as the severely wounded were sent to Kindling Courtyard. Now, he finally understood.

West Fortress also had a place similar to Rebirth Cliff. Gu Shenwei carefully avoided mentioning it, as Kindling Courtyard was not a glorious experience.

Shangguan Yushi was surprised by Huan Nu's boldness. Shangguan Ru was also somewhat impressed; she had mustered considerable courage to come here.

As if to welcome the intruders, a metallic clang echoed from a distance. Then, two figures in black emerged from the alley, carrying a corpse, and silently walked towards Rebirth Cliff.

Shangguan Fei and the two bookboys turned pale and quickly made way, pressing themselves tightly against the wall.

The pallbearers kept their heads down, not greeting their young master, and continued forward.

Shangguan Yushi and Shangguan Ru's faces also turned a little pale, but they only moved aside a few steps, standing by the roadside, watching the pallbearers descend the stone steps.

The two murmured incantations, repeating them incessantly. When Marshal Yang had killed several assassins outside the fortress, Gu Shenwei had also heard people chanting like this. He hadn't paid attention then, but now he understood the words:

"Souls rise to the nine heavens, spirits descend to the nine abysses. The living suffer hardship, the dead find peace."

Just these two lines, sixteen characters in total, they repeatedly chanted softly, as if it were an incantation to ward off evil.

Gu Shenwei was suddenly filled with emotion and couldn't help but ask, "What are you chanting?"

Shangguan Yushi continued chanting. Shangguan Ru lowered her voice, as if afraid of disturbing someone, and whispered, "Death Sutra."