Chapter 84: Female Sword God Shangguan Qing

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Female Sword God Shangguan Qing

First-Grade Hall.

With its rockeries and courtyards, its fish ponds and gardens, the entire complex exuded the lavish, noble air of a royal park.

After all, Young Master Qing possessed the purest bloodline of the Yuan Country’s Royal Family. Not even the current Emperor of Yuan Country had a lineage as pure as his.

Thus, even though he had not been able to ascend to the Emperor’s throne, Young Master Qing’s life within the First-Grade Hall—from his food and clothing to his residence and travel—was arranged in every aspect according to royal protocol.

"Whether or not to take this Blood-Forming Medicine is a decision you must make for yourself, Young Master..."

The words of Divine Doctor Yama’s Fear still echoed in his ears.

Inside the magnificent bedchamber, golden-threaded yellow curtains swayed in the breeze blowing in from outside.

On the bed, Young Master Qing’s pair of green eyes stared intently at the thirty-six blood-red pills in the box.

Peacock stood to the side, biting her lip. She said:

"Young Master, please take the medicine. Even if your cultivation is damaged, our First-Grade Hall is incredibly powerful now. It boasts numerous Great Grandmasters and dozens of Grandmasters. Although your cultivation will suffer some damage, the power of the First-Grade Hall will remain in your hands. You’ll still be able to command them."

Young Master Qing gave a faint smile. "If I were truly the Emperor of Yuan Country, then perhaps my own cultivation wouldn’t matter. But, after all, I am not..."

He held out a hand, letting Peacock help him sit up slowly against the headboard. He continued:

"In this world of Martial Arts, Fist Power is power. If I lack even the strength to truss a chicken, then even if I held immense authority, it would slip through my fingers like sand..."

"Of all the experts in the First-Grade Hall, how many are truly loyal to me? You should know full well why they chose to join us..."

Peacock was silent.

In just three or four short years, the First-Grade Hall had become a super-faction capable of wrestling with the top Major Sects of both the Black and White Paths. On one hand, this was because Young Master Qing himself possessed transcendent cultivation and Martial Arts, which he used to win over some followers...

On the other hand, it was because the First-Grade Hall was backed by immense financial resources, able to provide the glory and wealth many desired and satisfy most of their worldly cravings.

This world of Martial Arts is a bustling, crowded place. Even if your skills achieve Mastery of Creation and you reach the level of a Grandmaster, you are ultimately still just a mortal.

And all mortals have desires. The Jianghu is a stage for fame and fortune.

After mastering peerless Divine Skills, one expert after another would naturally be unwilling to live a poor and tasteless life.

But the wealth in the world is finite. Unless they resorted to robbery, how could they be like the heroes in storybooks, casually pulling out ten taels of silver...?

Yet, for those who had trained their skills to the pinnacle of the Grandmaster realm, who would be willing to resort to theft and bear the low-class reputation of a petty thief?

They were unwilling to stoop to being common thieves, yet they lacked the means to earn money themselves.

Thus, they had no choice but to find a faction to align with and become a high-ranking Honored Guest Elder, naturally receiving a hefty monthly stipend and rewards.

Learn the arts of scholar and warrior, and sell them to the house of an emperor.

Therefore, someone like Young Master Qing was the perfect patron to pledge allegiance to.

Not only was his cultivation superb, but he also possessed a fortune that could rival a nation’s. By joining the First-Grade Hall, they could have anything they wanted—glory, wealth, gold, silver, and treasures...

But as Young Master Qing had said, people won over by material goods had to be managed with both kindness and authority to prevent them from developing dissent.

If Young Master Qing lost his peerless cultivation and could no longer suppress these people, would they remain loyal?

No one could say for sure.

"But..." Peacock hesitated, wanting to say more.

In her heart, as long as the man she loved was alive, that was all that mattered. She didn’t really care whether the First-Grade Hall’s power grew or shrank.

"Set the medicine aside for now."

Young Master Qing said slowly,

"Shangguan... She should be arriving soon..."

Hearing Young Master Qing mention that surname, Peacock was momentarily dazed. She lowered her head and murmured, "En."

’No wonder he doesn’t want to take the medicine yet.’

’So that woman has returned from the Southern Border.’

At that very moment, Young Master Qing looked up slightly toward the doorway, a smile appearing in his eyes. He said,

"Shangguan, you still have a habit of showing up unexpectedly and catching me off guard."

Peacock’s expression changed slightly as she followed his gaze to the doorway.

Almost at the same instant Young Master Qing spoke, VMMMM~~, the sentient "Immortal Sword" Lingxiao, which had been hanging behind the First-Grade Hall’s plaque, suddenly broke free from its scabbard and transformed into a streak of light...

Above the First-Grade Hall, numerous Great Grandmasters and Grandmasters looked up in shock.

VMMMM~~

The naturally sentient Immortal Sword let out a clear, melodious cry like a dragon’s roar. It had taken flight on its own, as if it had sensed its master, and was now rushing toward the door of Young Master Qing’s room.

...

At this moment, a tall woman stood at the entrance to Young Master Qing’s room.

Inside, Peacock looked at the tall woman cradling a Sword Artifact at the door and exclaimed in pleasant surprise,

"Sister Shangguan, you’re back."

The woman stood with her back to the sunlight in the courtyard, facing them. Looking from inside the room, Peacock saw her silhouetted against the light, and for a moment, her features were indistinct.

But,

just that tall silhouette in the sunlight was enough to make both of them catch their breath, as if they were inhaling not air, but strands of razor-sharp Sword Qi...

This tall, mysterious woman was like a sword that was constantly radiating a sharp edge!

VMMMM~~

Just then, the ’Immortal Sword’ Lingxiao—the very blade that caused the downfall of the Immortal Sword Manor a century ago—flew to the woman’s side. It circled around her like a small dragon, letting out a whimpering cry as if it had missed her dearly.

The woman held out her hand, and the Immortal Sword immediately flew over obediently, coming to rest in her palm.

"Has it been this long, and you still haven’t found a new master to your liking?"

The woman spoke. Her voice was like a sound from heaven, yet it also carried the clang of clashing blades, letting any listener know that her personality was surely as unyielding and decisive as a sword.

Lying on the bed, Young Master Qing laughed. "You’re being too hard on it. In all the world, who besides you could make the cold and arrogant ’Lingxiao Immortal Sword’ pledge itself so completely?"

The woman shook her head and smiled. "A pity, but I don’t like using Divine Weapons. Go back and wait for your true master."

With that, she casually tossed the sword. It flew off at an angle and embedded itself once more in the First-Grade Hall plaque several hundred meters away.

The Treasure Sword whimpered on the plaque but ultimately didn’t dare to fly back. She had thrown it into deep valleys and mountain streams several times before...

After tossing aside the clingy Spirit-Connected Immortal Sword, the woman slowly walked to Young Master Qing’s bedside, cradling an ordinary Iron Sword in her arms.

This revealed her fine features. Though not as ethereally beautiful as Peacock, her looks still surpassed most women in the world.

"Shangguan, you’re injured?"

Only when the woman named Shangguan came closer did Young Master Qing’s expression change. He saw the bloodstains on her chest and asked:

"Who injured you?"

Peacock stared at the blood on the woman’s clothes in disbelief.

This woman, Shangguan Qing, was the most powerful woman she had ever met.

With a single Iron Sword, she had reached the First-Grade Great Innate realm at the age of thirty. She roamed the world unopposed, coming and going from the Queen Mother Sect—one of the Four Great Daoist Sects—as if it were deserted, earning her the title of "female Sword God" from the people of the Jianghu.

Of all the experts in the world, those who could injure her numbered no more than ten.

The ten strongest under heaven.

"When you sent someone to find me a year ago, I was in the Southern Border refining my sword, so I couldn’t get away..."

Shangguan Qing glanced at the blood on her chest and said,

"Not long ago, my Sword Qi made a breakthrough, so I prepared to return to the Central Plains. Unexpectedly, I met someone in the Southern Border. We fought, and I carelessly lost by half a palm’s breadth. Fortunately, the injury isn’t serious."

It is extremely difficult for Great Innate Experts to kill one another.

"The Southern Border?"

Young Master Qing frowned and said,

"The Southern Border is a Cold Land, full of poisonous miasma. As a sword cultivator, your techniques should be the perfect counter to theirs. How could someone actually beat you by half a palm? Who was it?"

Shangguan Qing smiled faintly. "That person wasn’t from the Southern Border. She was a woman from the Central Plains. Her martial art is the Celestial Demon Aura. You should be able to guess who it is."

Young Master Qing’s expression grew serious. "The Demon Queen, Yun Shouxuan. It was her?"