Heroine, don't turn back, I'm just a farmer.

She said no, but she didn't know why she couldn't refuse.

I don't know how much time passed, or how many times I fainted.

For some reason, she started crying while biting the boy's shoulder after it was over.

"You wretch, you've ruined my reputation! How am I supposed to face anyone now?"

A thought popped into her head: I might as well die.

But the man seemed to hear her thoughts and picked her up again. It was a young voice, "Since you call me your nemesis, then I'll let you die again."

"don't want!"

Her body tensed up immediately.

"you!"

"The Goddess of the Luo River..."

She didn't know how much time had passed when she saw her close friend, who was sleeping beside her, open her eyes.

"..."

I woke up at the worst possible time.

"you?!"

Gong Luoshen noticed that Ming Suxue seemed to be taken aback when she saw her.

"what!"

She was truly awakened by this.

Only when she could clearly see the scenery before her and the brocade quilt covering her did she realize that it was a dream.

But the dream felt far too real.

But it took her several more breaths before she slowly came to her senses.

But my body was still burning hot, and I was soaked in sweat.

"How could this happen!"

"Why would I dream about Su Xue, and that other person..."

It was described as a dream, but it felt too real. Gong Luoshen felt a soreness in her waist and her legs were weak and powerless.

She was the Empress Dowager of a nation, yet...

How embarrassing!

He reached into the bedding behind him and called to the maid outside, "Bring me a warmer one."

The maid outside quickly agreed, and someone else came in: "Regarding the matter arranged by the Empress Dowager, Qingzhou has replied."

"Hmm?" Gong Luoshen paused again, then quickly realized what she meant. "Bring it here."

……

While the Empress Dowager was far away in Luoyang, the capital, her mind was in turmoil, but Lu Guo was quietly practicing his swordsmanship.

In the secluded backyard of the Buddhist temple at Qingluo Manor, within a spacious and quiet courtyard, the faint sound of a sword clashing could be heard.

Lu Guo gripped the Green Dragon sword hidden in his sleeve and practiced the sword techniques that Ming Suxue had taught him.

These sword techniques differ from those of the Heavenly Blade, taking a light and graceful approach.

The knife danced between the alternating light and shadow, sometimes disappearing, sometimes reappearing.

A heavy sword is easier to practice with than a light one, because a heavy sword only requires force, and each move is very solid. Every strike has feedback, and it emphasizes momentum, like an open strategy with a predictable pattern.

The lightness of the blade emphasizes a free and unpredictable nature, with no fixed moves. Those without foundation and talent will completely miss the point, let alone create that ethereal feeling. This requires not only momentum but also intention.

However, as long as it's a knife, regardless of the type of knife technique, it's used to kill people.

The more beautiful the swordsmanship, the more dangerous the sword; on the contrary, the more dangerous the swordsmanship, the more magnificent it is.

"bass……!"

A crisp sound came from inside the courtyard.

Lu Guo stopped wielding his sword, and the light, ethereal sword intent faded away, leaving only a soft, trembling sound.

Ming Suxue walked into the courtyard with a complicated expression.

I just rested for a while, and for some reason I had a strange dream.

When Lu Guo saw her come in, he sheathed his knife and went over to her. "Aunt Liu, I have a favor to ask."

Ming Suxue remained calm and said, "Please speak freely."

"I have been practicing this ethereal blade technique for several days, but I still can't grasp its true essence," Lu Guo said. "I hope Aunt Liu can teach me."

"It's only been a few days, there's no need to rush." ​​Ming Suxue's gaze was complicated: "Mastery of techniques requires time to comprehend."

Her tone remained as calm as ever, actually because she had discovered that Lu Guo's swordsmanship was better than her own, and she didn't know how to say it, so she simply kept quiet.

"Guo'er just doesn't want to let Aunt Liu down with her knife, and besides..." Lu Guo thought for a moment, "I have some things I want to do recently."

"That elder of the Boundless Demonic Sect, is he... powerful?"

……

On an unassuming awning boat, someone was asking a similar question.

Wei Wuyuan, the Left Elder of the Wuji Demonic Sect, sat cross-legged on a futon, a long, narrow sword lying across his lap. The scabbard was dark and undecorated, and his fingers tapped it lightly, the rhythm carrying far across the lake.

"How strong is this successor of the Heavenly Blade Sect?"

Wei Wuyuan spoke, his voice low, with a hoarse quality typical of someone who is usually taciturn.

Sitting opposite him was a scholar in a blue robe, with a thin face, three long strands of beard, and a folding fan beside him, looking like a wise man.

If you saw him in broad daylight, you would think he was a teacher at some academy. But now, the candlelight in the cabin reflected in his eyes, making them appear a peculiar, eerie green, clearly indicating that he possessed some kind of special skill.

"Left Envoy, it's still hard to say whether he's powerful or not." The scholar in the blue robe unfolded his folding fan and shook it gently. "We only know that such a person exists. Seven days ago, he showed up at the manor. It is said that he is the successor of the Heavenly Blade. Apart from that, we have no definite name, no specific background, and no clear connections."

"It's rumored that he's a nobody, lacking everything." Wei Wuyuan paused for a moment. "Interesting."

"What's even more interesting is what he did." The scholar in the blue robe snapped his folding fan shut, the fan ribs tapping against his palm with a crisp sound. "On the first night after he left Qingluo Manor, he deliberately appeared somewhere, and the hall master of Tianyu Palace, along with three incense masters, was left on the roof of that abandoned courtyard. One of them was named Lei Heng, the nephew of Ba Dao, who was ranked in the top ten on Qianlong. But judging from the scene, the successor of Tian Dao killed him with only two strikes."

"Two cuts?"

"With a single strike, the man and the parapet behind him were cleaved in two."

Wei Wuyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I know Lei Heng's martial arts skills. He robbed our caravan on Qingzhou Road three years ago. To defeat him in two strikes, he must be at least at the peak of the Spirit Fusion Realm."

"That's why I said it's still 'uncertain'." The scholar in the blue robe placed his folding fan on his lap. "If it's just two strikes to defeat Lei Heng, then it's not something to fear. What really concerns me are two other things."

"explain."

"The first thing is that on the same night, the people from Tianyu Palace were originally heading for Ming Suxue, but they all perished on the roof. Gongsun Yu, the master of Xiangyu Hall, had his wrist broken by the Golden Phoenix Jade Dew. Although he survived by chance, it was no different from being dead. As for the others, they were beyond dead."

Wei Wuyuan frowned slightly.

He knew that Gongsun Yu had some strength.

"Golden Phoenix Jade Dew Palm." Wei Wuyuan pondered these words. "So, Liu Shi really is Ming Suxue."

"That's beyond question, Protector. But what concerns me isn't Ming Suxue, but that Heavenly Blade successor." The scholar in blue hesitated for a moment. "I learned from Gongsun Yu that Ming Suxue channeled Heavenly Demon True Qi into him, which enabled him to unleash that strike."

Wei Wuyuan's fingers, which were tapping the scabbard, suddenly stopped.

"Was Ming Suxue there to save him that night?"

"Indeed." The scholar in the blue robe nodded slightly. "Everyone in the martial world knows who Ming Suxue is. A traitor to Tianluoxiang, she killed her master and stole the scriptures. Back then, she joined forces with Gong Luoshen to massacre three major families. She turns on people faster than flipping through a book. She only trusts herself and never entrusts her back to anyone. Would such a person transfer her Heavenly Demon True Qi to someone she's only known for a day?"

Wei Wuyuan remained silent.

"This is the second thing that concerns me." The scholar in the blue robe unfolded his folding fan again and shook it. "As for why, either that successor of the Heavenly Blade is so skilled that Ming Suxue has no choice but to curry favor with him, or—he has something about him that makes Ming Suxue feel that he is worthwhile."

Which one is more troublesome?

"The latter." The scholar in the blue robe did not hesitate. "A person with high martial arts skills can surround and kill, can poison, can ambush, and if a direct confrontation fails, can find weaknesses, just like the Heavenly Blade back then. But someone who can make someone as ruthless as Ming Suxue feel 'valuable' means that he has trump cards that we don't know about, and the unknown is the biggest variable."

Wei Wuyuan resumed tapping the scabbard, this time at a faster pace.

"What about inside the villa?"

"That's bad news too." The scholar in the blue robe took out a secret letter from his sleeve, unfolded it, and laid it on his lap. "Three days ago, Ming Suxue personally ordered the cleanup of the manor. Many people died. Five of our spies were wiped out overnight, and the rest quickly escaped in the chaos. They've lost their value. I imagine the same is true for other forces."

"How were you exposed?"

"I don't know." The scholar in the blue robe pondered for a moment, "That night, Ming Suxue took that Heavenly Blade successor back, and the following night she took action directly, killing them all without exception."

A cold glint flashed in Wei Wuyuan's eyes.