"Ah, This Old Man is washing his hands of this. As long as the Great Emperor agrees, This Old Man will undo the restrictions for you."
Qiu Shanyuan shook his head helplessly.
In his view, the Great Emperor would almost certainly refuse such an absurd request to borrow the sword.
Yet just as Qiu Shanyuan was waiting to see Xu Taiping and Zhang Tianze return empty-handed, the voice of Cang Ai, the current Emperor Youyun, suddenly rang out above the Sword-Suppressing Tower-
"Prefect Qiu, undo the Sword-Suppressing Tower's restrictions and let them go in to fetch the sword."
At these words, Qiu Shanyuan's face froze. He immediately looked up in bewilderment and asked:
"Great Emperor, surely this is ill-advised? The Cloud Emergence Sword's vicious, baleful aura has only grown stronger over the years."
But his objection earned only three words from Emperor Youyun-
"Undo the restrictions."
"Yes!"
Hearing the Great Emperor's firm tone, Qiu Shanyuan felt his heart jolt and hurriedly bowed in assent.
Then he turned to Xu Taiping with a solemn expression and said:
"Young Master Xu, I'm about to remove the Sword-Suppressing Tower's restrictions. Since you insist on borrowing the sword, please prepare yourself."
"Thank you for the warning, Prefect Qiu."
Xu Taiping bowed in thanks.
As he spoke, he began walking toward the Sword-Suppressing Tower's entrance, only stopping when he was twenty or thirty zhang from its doors.
At that moment, the old Martial God Zhu Huai arrived before the Sword-Suppressing Tower like a gust of wind.
"That senior of Taiping's still hasn't appeared?"
Seeing Xu Taiping standing alone before the Sword-Suppressing Tower, the old Martial God Zhu Huai immediately frowned.
He had thought the master backing Xu Taiping would appear in person to request the sword.
"From what Taiping said, that senior doesn't want to