The Expressionless Young Sword Cultivator

Clang!

The sound of a longsword leaving its sheath rang out.

The table and chairs before Sword Young Master were instantly cleaved in two. Yet he had long anticipated this; the incomparably sharp Sword Qi had only just reached him before it was dissolved into nothing by the Sword Qi surrounding his body.

"I'm your uncle!"

Sword Young Master leaped aside, his eyes widening as he looked toward the one who had drawn her sword.

She was a maiden in the bloom of youth, dressed in a pale violet skirt. She was as lovely as a painting, her eyes clear as freshly washed skies. Though her face was expressionless, it did not diminish her beauty in the slightest.

At that moment, a sheathed longsword stood beside her, with four or five centimeters of its blade exposed.

The Sword Qi that had split the table and chairs apart had been unleashed from that tiny strip of blade.

It was a spirit-linked magical artifact.

The finest of swords among magical artifacts, and also the flying sword countless sword cultivators dreamed of possessing.

After all, beyond this grade, there were only spirit-linked treasures.

"And yet you lumped me together with that devil?" The maiden widened her eyes without yielding an inch, glaring at Sword Young Master in great displeasure. When she had been little, she had not understood why the Dong Family's position as family head had gone to her father, a live-in son-in-law, rather than her uncle. But now, she thoroughly understood her grandmother and grandfather's decision.

This guy was truly unreliable.

"Then do you still want to read this letter?" Sword Young Master asked, waggling his brows.

"I do..."

The maiden said this with little confidence, for she did not know why she suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Maybe she had not fully woken up today...

"Then beg me." Sword Young Master grinned and tucked the letter away behind his back.

"Uncle, could you please stop living up to your title quite so well?" The maiden kept a wooden little face as she shot Sword Young Master a sidelong glance. Though her expression did not change, the meaning was clear—please stop being such a shameless bastard.

"What's wrong with my title?" Sword Young Master did not care. After all, the persona he maintained while traveling abroad was one of hatred for evil as though it were a personal enemy!

"Then I won't read it." The maiden spoke expressionlessly.

"Then I insist on showing it to you!" The instant Sword Young Master heard that, his brows shot up. He opened the letter and tossed it before the maiden.

The maiden still wore that wooden expression, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

Before long, after finishing the letter, the maiden fought the urge to twitch at the corner of her mouth. She looked at Sword Young Master and asked, "Uncle, isn't he afraid of being beaten to death, asking for money like this?"

Though she had been born into the Dong Family of Heavenly Sword Manor and had an expenditure allowance of several hundred Upper Profound Seals in her daily life, she was not someone who did not understand the value of an Upper Profound Seal.

A refining material called Grand Unity Essence Gold could be extracted from gold, though it was extremely difficult to obtain. On average, less than one tael of Grand Unity Essence Gold could be extracted from every ten kilograms of gold.

Yet for something as precious as Grand Unity Essence Gold, one only needed ten Upper Profound Seals to exchange for one tael from the imperial court.

It was precisely this exchange system that had made Upper Profound Seals the cultivation currency recognized throughout the twenty-five prefectures of the Jia Five Realm.

The Ning family, which dominated West Isle City, could collect ten thousand Upper Profound Seals every year. It was not that West Isle City was impoverished, but that the Ning family scraped it far too ruthlessly!

Even digging three feet into the ground could not describe it. In the lands of West Isle City, one had to raise one's head nine feet before finding the gods.

"When he went to Jian Gorge Sect, did he look like someone afraid of being beaten to death?" As Sword Young Master mentioned this, the corner of his mouth could not help twitching as well.

That was because he had helped make the printed copies of Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary.

Not only had he read the original, he still kept it in his collection.

At this, the maiden fell silent.

Because he truly had not looked like someone afraid of being beaten to death...

But at the mention of this matter, the maiden's two delicate brows furrowed slightly. "He killed Blackheart Elder. Wasn't Blackheart Elder one of those involved in Sword Disciple Mountain's grand plan for the righteous path? They even stationed quite a few Sword Disciple Mountain disciples in Clear River City to avoid losing track of Blackheart Elder."

After saying this, the maiden noticed that her unreliable uncle was looking at her with a meaningful gaze.

"Heh heh, and you still say he isn't your little sweetheart? You're already worrying about him so soon!"

The maiden kept her wooden little face and drew her sword again without hesitation.

Clang!

"You're a girl—why are you so fierce?" Sword Young Master hurriedly dodged. As an elder, he was too embarrassed to strike at a junior.

Of course, it would not really matter if he did strike... he was simply afraid he might not win...

"Demonic cultivators are all this fierce." The maiden remained expressionless.

"But you're a sword cultivator! Don't give up on yourself!"

Then the maiden slashed even more fiercely.

"Why hasn't the Ning family's money arrived yet?" In Clear River City, Tan Shuchang was somewhat puzzled. Luo Province was not far from Yue Prefecture; logically, it should have arrived first.

Yet of the three letters he had written, the other two had already returned with fifty Upper Profound Seals each.

Only the letter sent to the Ning family in West Isle City, Luo Province had yet to return with any Upper Profound Seals.

"Now that Lord Ning has become such a grand official, he really is different..." Tan Shuchang thought. Then, without hesitation, he took the letter he had prepared in advance and arrived before a household.

This household was not particularly conspicuous in Clear River City.

However, many people knew of it, because these were the people the Zixuan Dynasty had left here.

Clear River City had no county office, so cultivators who wished to contact the imperial court did so through this place.

Tan Shuchang knocked on the door, and it quickly opened.

Those inside were cultivators as well and had sensed his arrival long ago, so they came out to receive him immediately. Those stationed here naturally had quick wits and were adept at dealing with people.

"Young Master Tan?" When the door opened, the man recognized Tan Shuchang as well.

Just as Qiu Junlin was widely renowned, Tan Shuchang's name was also rather well-known within the imperial court.

The Zixuan Dynasty ruled seventeen prefectures, while the Tan family had once roamed unchecked across thirteen prefectures.

"You are too courteous, sir. There is no need to mention 'young master.' Today, Tan is merely a cultivator. If you think highly of me, we may address one another as fellow Daoists," Tan Shuchang said.

"Fellow Daoist Tan, my surname is Xu, and my given name is Zhanghe."

"Fellow Daoist Xu!"

"Please, come inside!"

"That won't be necessary. I have come only over a small matter. I ask Fellow Daoist Xu to deliver this letter to His Majesty the Emperor." Tan Shuchang took out the letter.

If they did not pay him, he truly dared to do this.

"For His Majesty?" Xu Zhanghe was startled, but then a thought stirred in his mind, and he hurriedly put the letter away.

When other cultivators wrote to the Emperor, unless they were exceptionally famous, the Emperor generally would not read their letters.

But if it was Tan Shuchang... then that was another matter entirely.

Tan Shuchang then departed. Xu Zhanghe first had someone carefully inspect the letter, and after confirming that it contained neither poison nor curse marks, he applied a sealing technique. He then immediately had someone send it overnight to Capital Prefecture through the Water Spirit Lord.

The next day, in the imperial palace of Capital Prefecture, the Emperor, still in the prime of his life, had already read the letter. Yet he said nothing. He merely summoned the Crown Prince and asked how this matter should be handled.

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