Looking at the swordsman in front of him with a scar on his face and a longsword hanging at his waist, Xiang Rong felt as if he was in another world.
If it weren’t for the fact that the other party suddenly showed up, he would have almost forgotten that he had such a disciple here. After all, compared to the great cause of restoring the Chu Dynasty, a re disciple was really too insignificant to ntion — but looking at the familiar deanor of the other party and the seemingly familiar sword at his waist, so dormant mories inevitably surged to the forefront of his mind.
It was during the ti he was traveling the world, when he had co to Beiji, that he stumbled upon an orphan of bandits by chance. At that ti, he was planning to stay in Beiji for a while, so he raised him and taught him so things casually.
As for the content he taught, it naturally wasn’t the secret treasures of the Chu royal family. Being able to teach him sothing from the Imperial Academy was already him showing benevolence.
For those who live in this world, there’s always a ti when they feel soft-hearted—even the once-great Chu Dynasty studied this aspect while delving into the path of ascendance to immortality. After all, even those born with extraordinary talents, and even a prodigy of a generation, often fail to overco the seven emotions and six desires, becoming disturbed in their hearts, plunged into madness, or even transford into monsters.
So after thorough research across generations of the Chu Dynasty, the conclusion recorded in the royal family’s secret manuals was that releasing is better than blocking.
Forcing oneself to restrain is indeed remarkable—to say the least, it appears impressive—but in reality, it tightens one’s rational thinking into a taut string, ready to snap at the slightest disturbance. Therefore, to stabilize consciousness amidst the impact of sabers and evil qi, and to make the ntal state smoother and more flexible, occasionally following one’s heart and doing things beyond others’ comprehension is actually relatively necessary.
After all, for him at the ti, this kid really touched him sowhat nostalgically. Although he possessed the identity of a descendant of the Chu royal family, wasn’t living such a covert life no different from the orphan of bandits?
Furthermore, he had also heard about his old friend of yesteryears, who had already been sidelined by the court and had co to Yanzhou to live in seclusion, taking up teaching students.
"Then just raise one."
With a thought, the fate of this child nad Cui Yuan was changed.
But for Xiang Rong, it was no different from raising cats and dogs.
And in the subsequent years, he finally confird that the young emperor of Southern Chen had truly gradually diminished military defenses in various provinces so that his ho could rest easy. This also proved that the fate of Southern Chen was indeed running out—a stark reality at the ti when he felt alone and powerless, realizing that relying solely on himself, it was unlikely he could accomplish the heroic task of restoring the dynasty. So he set off northward to find the Desert North Royal Court, becoming the State Preceptor among the prairie people.
Even though there had been war between the prairie people and the Chu people in those years, in this world, there are no eternal enemies. Just like the Taizu of Southern Chen was willing to accept remnants of the previous Great Yu in order to attack the residual forces of the Chu people, the present prairie people and him, the last person of great Chu, also shared a common enemy.
And so, both sides ca to an agreent in one stroke.
Treating the world like a chessboard and all beings like pieces, such magnificent moves ant that his past leisurely pursuits were cast aside by him; these leisurely chess moves, after all, were irrelevant to him.
Just like Ruan Shantao, who thought that by taking hold of his disciple, he could make him fearful to act, but unbeknownst to him, this was the decoy placed outside to provide a target for those wishing to take him down.
Moreover, apart from being targets, these leisurely chess moves could also serve other purposes.
Just like now.
"My good disciple, you’ve grown into an adult, haven’t you?"
Facing his forr disciple, Xiang Rong first went up to strongly embrace him, letting him feel the warmth of Chu people while he also gauged the physical condition of the other party.
Not bad at all. He’s worthy of being chosen by him as a disciple; just by observing this sturdy back, it seems likely that during the past years after his departure, this kid never neglected practicing swordsmanship.
Excellent, truly excellent.
With such competent swordsmanship, this disciple has so value.
"Co in, co in! Let’s talk inside!"
Outside wasn’t an ideal place to converse, so Xiang Rong took Cui Yuan into the tent—and facing his forr ntor, Cui Yuan was also sowhat excited. However, along with excitent, he felt more bewildered, as the ntor in front of him felt sowhat unfamiliar.
The ntor of the past was lancholy, grim, and rarely smiled, naturally carrying a touch of scholarly air; but today’s ntor was flamboyant, enthusiastic, and spirited, exuding an aura of power and authority in every gesture.
Though it should certainly be his ntor, no mistake, and they even spoke about so past events between them, yet no matter how hard he tried to co close, it seed as though there was a thick barrier between them.
Even though at this mont, they’re sitting closer than before.
"So, you later gained so fa in Beiji and Yanzhou," Xiang Rong sighed after a brief casual chat.
"Then you should know all the experts in these two provinces, right? How are their skills?"
"...Very strong."
Cui Yuan paused for a mont but in his mind recalled the nurous bouts of combat between himself and Du Chengfeng.
"Really strong, not to be underestimated."
"Is that how you evaluate them..."
Xiang Rong slowly nodded, then continued to ask.
"Then do you know if there are any experts in these two provinces who are skilled in using fire blades?"
"...Fire blades?"
Cui Yuan was slightly taken aback.
Recalling the so-called battles between himself and the other experts, none seed to have used such odd and peculiar items like fire blades. Even during his nurous bouts against Du Chengfeng... The first ti, Du Chengfeng fought unard and with short blades; the second ti, he used a broadsword to cut through his sword; and the third ti, he defeated him, the original victor, using Liu Qingyun’s long knife to cut down horses.
In those three bouts, Du Chengfeng never used anything resembling fire blades.
"I don’t know, disciple hasn’t heard of it."
"Haven’t heard of it?"
Xiang Rong’s brow instantly furrowed.
His disciple being straightforward in character shouldn’t fabricate lies, which implies that the expert using fire blades nearly appeared out of thin air in Beiji.
Things are becoming odd; who knows where Ruan Shantao found this disciple from; it must be handled cautiously.
"Therefore, you should return to the city first — this is also considered a help to your master."
Thinking of this, Xiang Rong spoke.
"Moreover, if you encounter an expert skilled in using fire blades, you should deliver him a strike with your sword."
"Deliver him a strike?"
Cui Yuan couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
"But disciple holds no grudge against that person, not knowing even who he is..."
"But he is stronger than you, isn’t he?"
Xiang Rong raised his hand and patted Cui Yuan’s shoulder.
"My good disciple, the way you’ve practiced all this ti, your master has seen it in his eyes. Challenging the strong is itself part of the practice, isn’t it?"
"Part of the... practice?"
Cui Yuan’s heart suddenly thudded.
If it were before, he might have truly believed that challenging the strong is indeed part of the practice.
But now, after hearing this sentence, Cui Yuan instinctively felt that this respected ntor planned to trick him into dying.
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