Stealing the Heavens and Exchanging the Sun, Passing Off the Spurious as Genuine

"Young Master Wan, please sit."

Chen Xuan's voice pulled Wan Guiyun back from his thoughts.

Wan Guiyun regained his focus and sat down on the chair opposite the desk.

"I wonder what brings you here at this hour, Young Master Wan?"

Chen Xuan picked up his teacup and took a slow sip.

"I..." Wan Guiyun opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and tried his best to calm himself down. "I am here to report for duty."

"Report for duty?"

Chen Xuan frowned.

"After Master Wan and Gang Leader Sun discussed the matter, they decided to appoint me as the deputy helmsman here in Baishui Town to assist Helmsman Chen in managing the medicinal fields," Wan Guiyun explained. "I was supposed to arrive during the day, but there were some unexpected delays, so I arrived late."

"Deputy helmsman?" Chen Xuan glanced at him. "A direct descendant of Ten Thousand Sword Villa, coming here to be a deputy helmsman?"

"This is the Master's arrangement." Wan Guiyun lowered his head. "I... had no room to refuse."

Chen Xuan did not speak.

He picked up his teacup, took another sip, and let his gaze linger on Wan Guiyun for a moment.

He could roughly guess what was on Wan Guiyun's mind.

Whatever "Master's arrangement" meant, it was nothing more than an excuse. It was simply that he had lost to him in their previous duel, and being unwilling to accept it, he wanted to find an opportunity to challenge him again and regain his pride.

But now...

"Did you see it just now?"

Chen Xuan set down his teacup and said indifferently.

Wan Guiyun's body stiffened.

After a moment of silence, he nodded slowly. "I saw it."

"And yet you still dare to appear before me?"

Chen Xuan's tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Wan Guiyun looked up, meeting Chen Xuan's gaze directly. "You are not a practitioner of the demonic path; you wouldn't kill me without reason."

"Well said." Chen Xuan smiled slightly. "Wan Guiyun, your talent for the sword is indeed excellent, but you have a fatal weakness."

Wan Guiyun frowned. "What weakness?"

"You are too obsessed with victory and defeat," Chen Xuan said. "You lost to me once, and now you want to win it back. This mindset will prevent you from going far on the path of the sword."

Wan Guiyun fell silent.

He wanted to retort, but when he opened his mouth, he found he had nothing to say.

Because what Chen Xuan said was the truth.

He was indeed too obsessed with winning and losing.

Since he began learning the sword at the age of seven, he had never lost.

Among his peers, no one could last ten moves under his blade.

He was accustomed to victory, accustomed to being looked up to, and accustomed to standing at the peak.

That was why he had been so shocked and so unwilling to accept it when Chen Xuan caught his ultimate sword technique with two fingers.

He had come here indeed wanting to find a chance to duel again.

But now...

"You are only seventeen years old, and the fact that you became an outer disciple of the Guiyuan Sect suggests your innate aptitude is not particularly outstanding. So why is your cultivation... advancing so quickly?"

Wan Guiyun still couldn't help but ask.

"Fortune," Chen Xuan said calmly. "Everyone has their own fortune. My fortune is not something you need to inquire about, nor is it something you could find out."

"I was being reckless."

Wan Guiyun nodded and stopped asking.

Inquiring about someone else's fortune was indeed quite rude; their relationship had not yet reached that level of familiarity.

Besides, even brothers could turn into enemies over interests.

Wan Guiyun stood up and cupped his hands toward Chen Xuan. "Helmsman Chen, thank you for your guidance. From now on, I will perform my duties as deputy helmsman well and will not cause you any trouble."

"Good." Chen Xuan nodded. "I will have someone arrange your living quarters. Go and rest for now; tomorrow I will have someone show you the affairs of Baishui Town."

"Thank you, Helmsman Chen."

Wan Guiyun cupped his hands again, turned, and walked out of the study.

"Wan Guiyun..."

Chen Xuan watched his back disappear, withdrew his gaze, and whispered the name.

This direct descendant of Ten Thousand Sword Villa has a decent temperament.

He admits defeat when he loses and corrects himself when he is wrong; he doesn't pester others, nor does he harbor resentment.

Such a person is worth befriending.

However, there are more important matters at hand right now.

The manager of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect and leader of the Blood Wolf Gang, Qin Sihai—having let him live for so long, it is time for a reckoning.

The eighty-mile journey from Baishui Town to Lianshan City takes less than half an hour by horse at Chen Xuan's current cultivation level.

On his way to Lianshan City, Chen Xuan encountered a scout from the Blood Wolf Gang and dealt with him along the way.

He did not enter the city directly; instead, he stopped in a forest just before reaching Lianshan City.

"Huanri Technique."

Chen Xuan dismounted and tied his horse to a tree, then circulated the Huanri True Qi within his body, causing his facial muscles and bones to slowly shift.

His brow ridge lowered, his cheekbones protruded, his jaw elongated, and the bridge of his nose widened...

In just a few breaths, he transformed from a seventeen-year-old youth into an ordinary-looking man in his thirties.

He took out a set of grey cloth garments he had prepared in advance, wrapped the Hanfeng Sword in cloth strips, and slung it over his back.

He didn't have a bronze mirror with him, but Chen Xuan touched his face; it felt real, with no sensation of a disguise.

This is the wonder of the Huanri Technique.

It is not a mere mask, but a genuine transformation.

He stepped out of the forest and walked toward the north gate of Lianshan City.

By this time, the city gates were already closed.

But for a martial artist, there are naturally ways to come and go.

Chen Xuan walked to the base of the city wall, exerted force through his feet, and vaulted over the wall as nimbly as a wildcat, landing inside the city.

Beicheng, headquarters of the Blood Wolf Gang.

This was a sprawling residence; two stone wolf statues at the entrance bared their fangs, exuding a fierce aura.

Four guards stood at the gate, holding swords and blades, their eyes vigilant.

Chen Xuan did not use the main entrance.

He circled to the side of the residence and climbed over the wall.

The breath-concealing ability of the Huanri Technique was displayed to its fullest here.

His aura was suppressed to the extreme; his heartbeat slowed, his blood flow quieted, and he became like a walking stone.

Only those at the Body Tempering realm like Ma Wen would need to remain completely motionless to fully conceal their aura and avoid detection.

But Chen Xuan had reached the Zhuqi Realm, allowing him to perfectly suppress his aura even while in motion.

Chen Xuan even blended into a group of patrolling gang members, and not a single person noticed that an extra person had joined their ranks.

Chen Xuan proceeded without obstruction until he reached the back courtyard of the headquarters.

That was where Qin Sihai resided.

The lights were bright.

Chen Xuan leaped onto the roof, crouched on the tiles, and looked down through the skylight.

In the main hall, Qin Sihai was sitting on a tiger-skin chair, toying with two iron balls in his hands.

He was waiting.

Waiting for news from Liu Feng.

He had received word when Liu Feng entered the territory of Lianshan City, but because the scouts in Baishui Town had all been cleared out by Chen Xuan, he could not receive the news of Liu Feng's execution immediately.

If Qin Sihai knew that Liu Feng, a third-level Zhuqi Realm expert, had been killed by Chen Xuan with a single sword strike, he would never be this calm.

"Someone come here." Qin Sihai called his confidant and asked, "Is there still no news from Baishui Town?"

"No... none," the confidant replied. "The scouts in Baishui Town have all been cleared out, and the security for entering is extremely strict; any stranger is subjected to repeated questioning. Furthermore, there are people from the Red Sun Gang patrolling near Baishui Town, so our scouts are keeping their distance and haven't received news quickly."

"Trash, a bunch of trash. You can't even handle such a small matter."

Qin Sihai roared in anger.

A shadow flashed across his eyes, and he felt a faint, ominous premonition in his heart.

The confidant kept his head low, not daring to speak.

"What are you still standing there for?" Qin Sihai snapped. "Send people out of the city immediately to investigate. I want to know what happened in Baishui Town."

"Yes."

The confidant stood up and was about to turn away.

Just then, a faint sound came from the roof.

"Who's there?"

Qin Sihai jerked his head up, his gaze shooting toward the roof like a hawk.

His cultivation was at the fourth level of Qi Casting, and his five senses were sharp; although that slight sound was subtle, it could not escape his ears.

Chen Xuan did not hide any longer.

He leaped down from the roof and landed in the courtyard.

Qin Sihai immediately rushed out of the main hall and stood face-to-face with Chen Xuan.

"Who are you?"

Qin Sihai looked Chen Xuan up and down, his brows furrowed tightly.

The man before him was in his thirties, with an ordinary face, wearing gray cloth clothes, and carrying a long sword wrapped in cloth strips on his back. The aura on his body was unremarkable, making him look like an ordinary martial artist.

But an ordinary person could not have snuck into the Blood Wolf Gang headquarters in the middle of the night.

"Who I am is not important."

Chen Xuan spoke.

His voice had also changed; it was no longer the clear, bright tone of a youth, but low and hoarse, carrying a hint of world-weariness.

"What is important is that Gang Leader Qin will die tonight."

As his words fell, Chen Xuan reached his right hand behind his back, gripped the hilt, and violently drew the Hanfeng Sword.

The cloth strips shattered, and the blade shimmered with a cold, chilling light under the moonlight.

Blood-colored Qi surged out from his body and condensed on the blade; this was not the Vajra True Qi he cultivated.

When he clashed with Liu Feng, Chen Xuan had come into contact with Liu Feng's Blood Origin Technique Qi and intercepted a wisp of Guiyuan Technique Qi, so by circulating his Huanri True Qi, he was able to simulate the Qi of the Blood Origin Technique.

Stealing the heavens and changing the sun, passing off the fake as the genuine.