Gold Blade Acknowledges Its Master

The old man clutching his sword heard the words "Grand Elder" and first cast a glance at the Gold Blade.

"The formation sealing the ninth floor has already alerted the main peak; you can no longer hide this. The old man Qi in the side hall is two generations my senior. If he wants to seize it, drawing your blade will be useless. Take what you found on the ninth floor and don't let the scraps of paper left by Zhao Chong remain here."

Li Sanshun tucked away the paper scraps and the half-letter, then returned to the third floor along the wooden ladder.

After the narrow door clicked shut, the Mountain and River Map covered the wall once more. Had his clothes not been stained with dust, his recent experience would have seemed as if it never happened.

A messenger disciple waited outside the Scripture Library.

The two ascended the stone path of the main peak, passing the Law Enforcement Hall on the way. More than a dozen Zhao family guards stood outside the hall, Zhao Yuanqing among them.

Zhao Yuanqing had not slept all night.

Zhao Chong had already been detained by the Law Enforcement Hall. Han Zhao had confessed to accepting spirit stones, and the Zhao family steward had surrendered the formation talisman; all evidence pointed toward Zhao Chong.

The Zhao family had sent three letters of plea, but the Law Enforcement Hall had not accepted a single one.

Now that Li Sanshun had been summoned by the Grand Elder, Zhao Yuanqing felt increasingly uneasy. If Li Sanshun truly became the personal disciple of a peak master, it would only be harder for the Zhao family to suppress him in the future.

Zhao Yuanqing blocked the stone path, speaking through gritted teeth.

"My second uncle interfered with the test, and the sect will naturally punish him. This matter has nothing to do with your entrance results. If you continue to add fuel to the fire before the Grand Elder, the Zhao family will not let you slander us."

Li Sanshun did not stop.

"If your second uncle is innocent, the Law Enforcement Hall will naturally release him. Since you ran over to block my path, it seems even you don't believe he is clean."

Heat rose to Zhao Yuanqing's face, yet the Zhao family guards behind him dared not intervene. They lacked the courage to touch anyone summoned by the Grand Elder.

The stone door of the side hall was already open.

The black-robed old man sat behind a long desk, upon which lay the Mystic Bird Old Token and a dossier that had just been delivered.

The dossier only traced Li Sanshun back to the age of seven.

Before the age of seven, there were no household records, no relatives, and no traces of his life whatsoever. The village elders only remembered that a ragged old man had found Li Sanshun in the snow and brought him back to a ruined temple to raise him.

No one knew the old man's name or origin. The villagers simply called him the Old Rascal.

Three years ago, the Old Rascal left the village and had been missing ever since.

After reading the dossier, the black-robed old man became even more convinced that the Old Rascal's identity was suspicious.

An ordinary vagrant would not possess the complete Primordial Origin Art, let alone hold a Gold Blade from the Third Prince's estate.

"Sit."

Li Sanshun walked into the side hall but did not sit.

"My clothes are dirty, I would hate to ruin the Grand Elder's chair."

The black-robed old man sized him up.

To be able to stand in the hall and trade barbs after knowing about the ninth floor of the Scripture Library—this level of nerve was even more interesting than what was written in the dossier.

"I am Qi Shouxuan. Take out the Gold Blade."

Li Sanshun placed the wrapped short blade on the desk, still not removing the cloth cover.

Qi Shouxuan did not urge him, instead pushing the Mystic Bird Old Token toward him first.

"Have you seen this?"

"No."

"Who gave you the blade?"

"The Old Rascal who raised me. He left the blade behind before he departed, only telling me never to draw it in front of others."

"Did he also teach you the Primordial Origin Art?"

"Yes."

Li Sanshun answered quite crisply. He truly did not know the Old Rascal's name, origin, or whereabouts. If Qi Shouxuan could find clues, it would be to his own benefit as well.

Qi Shouxuan opened the cloth cover, revealing the hilt of the Gold Blade.

The Mystic Bird pattern at the base of the hilt resonated with the Old Token, and both simultaneously glowed with a dark golden light. The mark of the Third Prince on the back of the Old Token also manifested.

The messenger disciple standing by the door gasped as he saw the mark.

Qi Shouxuan waved his hand to send him out of the side hall, then closed the stone door.

"Do you know what the Mystic Bird represents?"

Li Sanshun shook his head.

"The Old Rascal refused to say. I asked a few times, and he only said that those who know too early live too short."

Qi Shouxuan's expression shifted upon hearing this answer.

Among the old subordinates of the Third Prince's estate, some had said similar things. However, the list of old subordinates had long been sealed, and no more than five people knew that phrase.

"Place your hand on the hilt."

Li Sanshun did not comply.

"The Grand Elder must first tell me what will happen. When the Old Rascal gave me the blade, he specifically warned me not to let outsiders touch it. I trust him a little more."

Qi Shouxuan did not grow angry.

The Gold Blade involved an old case regarding the Imperial Clan. Facing a Grand Elder whose cultivation far exceeded his own, Li Sanshun was still able to maintain his composure. If he truly was a child left behind by the Third Prince's lineage, this temperament might actually help him live a few years longer.

"There is a bloodline seal within the Gold Blade. If an outsider touches it, only the Mystic Bird will light up. If the holder is related to the old master's lineage, a second seal will appear within the blade. I will not take your blade; I only wish to confirm an old matter."

"And if a second seal appears?"

"I will tell you the origin of the Gold Blade."

Li Sanshun placed his hand on the hilt.

At first, the Gold Blade had no reaction.

Qi Shouxuan waited for a few breaths, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. Perhaps Li Sanshun was merely a successor chosen by the Old Rascal and had no blood relation to the Third Prince's lineage.

Yet, at this moment, the Mystic Bird on the hilt spread its wings.

A golden light traveled along Li Sanshun's arm into his energy channels, and his Five Elements spirit energy began to circulate on its own. The second seal, dormant within the blade, was awakened by the Five Elements aura, and two ancient characters emerged on the scabbard.

Obeying Fate.

Qi Shouxuan stood up from his seat, knocking over a teacup on the edge of the desk.

The direct lineage mark of the Third Prince's estate was indeed "Obeying Fate."

The dossier he had ordered investigated also stated that when Li Sanshun was found by the Old Rascal, there was a piece of broken jade in his swaddling clothes engraved with "Obeying Heaven and Following Fate."

The Gold Blade, the Primordial Origin Art, the Mystic Bird secret vault—everything matched.

Li Sanshun pressed down on the hilt, forcing the golden light back into the scabbard.

"Grand Elder, can you tell me now?"

Qi Shouxuan did not answer immediately. He walked to the door of the side hall, personally reinforced the soundproofing formation, and tucked the Old Token into his sleeve.

"First, tell me what you saw on the ninth floor of the Scripture Library."

Li Sanshun produced the Zhao-marked paper scraps and the half-letter.

"Someone entered the ninth floor fifteen days ago and took half a letter. There were traces of Zhao Chong on the paper scraps. The letter mentioned the Gold Blade and the descendants of the Mystic Bird, and it also mentioned the Foundation Establishment general outline of the Primordial Origin Art."

Qi Shouxuan took the paper scraps, anger pressing between his brows.

Zhao Chong was merely a Foundation Establishment deacon; logically, he shouldn't even know of the existence of the ninth floor. For him to enter the secret chamber while the formation was malfunctioning, someone must have been guiding him from behind the scenes.

More troublesome was the fact that half the letter had already fallen into the hands of outsiders.

Qi Shouxuan grabbed a communication jade talisman.

"Have the Law Enforcement Hall seal Zhao Chong's spirit power and hold him in solitary confinement. Investigate who he has been in contact with over the past month and how many letters he has sent out. Anyone who has entered or left the mountain gate today must also be re-examined."

The jade talisman remained silent for a long time.

Qi Shouxuan switched to another one, but there was still no news from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Suddenly, urgent bell tolls rang out from outside the hall.

One toll.

Three tolls.

Nine tolls.

These were the ceremonial bells rung only when the Tai Xuan Sect welcomed envoys from the Imperial City.

Qi Shouxuan pushed open the stone window and saw a cyan-gold flying ship rising from the direction of the mountain gate. The flag of the Shunchang Imperial Clan hung from the front of the ship, and a young man in a python-patterned robe stood at the prow.

A main peak disciple arrived on a flying sword and landed outside the side hall.

"Grand Elder Qi, the Fourth Imperial Grandson of the Imperial City has arrived at the sect by imperial decree, and his accompanying retainers have already taken control of the mountain gate. They have also brought a portrait and are looking for a new disciple named Li Sanshun."

Qi Shouxuan turned his head abruptly.

The Gold Blade inside the hall was still glowing.

Footsteps sounded outside the door once more.

"The Fourth Imperial Grandson of the Imperial City has arrived! Please, Li Sanshun, come out of the hall to meet him!"