People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Like the morning sun, bright and radiant.

The two figures were swallowed up by the yellow dust.

After a long while, when the dust settled, the Shark Tooth Sword was stuck diagonally to Gai Nie's left side. Half of Gai Nie's body was cut by the sword energy, and drops of blood dripped down, nourishing the almost fertile yellow earth.

Gai Nie's Lin Yuan sword stopped at Wei Zhuang's heart, dripping with blood that soaked through Wei Zhuang's black clothes.

Gai Nie slowly sheathed his sword, unconcerned that his white robes were stained red with blood. He calmly said, "Junior brother, you have won."

Wei Zhuang hissed, "Why not stab it in even half a step further?"

Such terrifying control is beyond anything he could ever achieve.

"The sword energy that swept across all directions just now flashed past my neck but didn't sever my throat. That can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"Hmph!" Wei Zhuang said proudly, "I just want to see if I can capture you alive after defeating you!"

Gai Nie smiled silently, looking at Wei Zhuang with a hint of indulgence, without refuting him.

"But you have ultimately defeated me, and you should succeed as the leader of the Ghost Valley School."

Wei Zhuang said arrogantly, "Who would want a sect leader who's been given away as charity!"

"This battle is still a draw. Once I break through to the Grandmaster level, I will fight you again and become the strongest sword in the world!"

Gai Nie listened for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you know what the strongest sword in the world is?"

Wei Zhuang replied without hesitation, "The one who defeats all swordsmen is naturally the strongest sword."

Gai Nie took the opportunity to slowly say, "I once asked my master what the strongest sword is."

Wei Zhuang was slightly taken aback. "What did Master say?"

"My master said that the horizontal sword attacks with skill to gain advantage, which is called 'opening'. The vertical sword attacks with momentum to gain substance, which is called 'closing'. In the contest between the horizontal and vertical swords, the strongest sword in the world will prevail."

Gai Nie remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the wounds inflicted by the sword energy.

Wei Zhuang said, "Master is right."

Gai Nie shook his head slightly, "I don't think so. I asked my master, must the alliances and counter-alliances, the vertical and horizontal alliances, always be a battle to see who wins and who loses? Even if it causes chaos in the world and displaces the people?"

Wei Zhuang took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress his violently pounding heartbeat.

"Did Master answer you?"

"No, Master told me to figure it out as always. So I went down the mountain with these questions in mind."

Gai Nie sat cross-legged, his back to the yellow sky and his face to the earth.

Wei Zhuang stood straight, like a sword, and asked, "Have you grasped the meaning?"

Although it was a question, Wei Zhuang's tone was absolutely certain.

The sword intent his senior brother just used was subtly different from the sword intent he was familiar with before.

It's not about hiding one's sharpness, but rather the most fundamental difference—the difference in the way of swordsmanship one chooses to practice.

"He must have understood."

Gai Nie spoke as if he were casually telling a story, recounting it in a gentle and detailed manner.

"After leaving Guigu, I traveled to various places and witnessed ragged disaster victims, emaciated old farmers with their families, beggars and hooligans holding chipped bowls and blackened earthenware pots..."

"This seems normal, yet something seems off."

"I entered Qin with questions in mind, and arrived in Xianyang, where I met Ying Zheng."

"He said he wanted to end the chaos, he said he wanted to save the people, he said he needed my swordsmanship..."

"At that moment, I seemed to have an epiphany."

"The greatest sword of all is not whether it is vertical or horizontal. If one's mastery of skills can bring peace to the world, then that is the greatest sword."

"Junior brother, do you understand your senior brother?"

Gai Nie looked at his junior brother with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, even though he knew that Wei Zhuang would never utter the word "understanding" even if he died. But he still hoped that his junior brother could understand him.

Wei Zhuang took a deep breath, looking at his senior brother with a mixture of resentment and pain.

"I don't understand!"

Wei Zhuang roared, "The people are in turmoil, the world is in chaos, among all the schools of thought, only ours reigns supreme! This is the true Ghost Valley, this is the true School of Diplomacy, this is... the path you should take!"

Gai Nie looked somewhat somber. “I have found my own path. The Way of Ghost Valley… I’ll leave it to you, Junior Brother.”

Wei Zhuang took deep breaths, then suddenly burst into laughter, a mournful laugh.

"Ridiculous...ridiculous!"

"Senior brother, do you really think Ying Zheng can end this chaotic world that has lasted for hundreds of years? Do you really have a reason to destroy the existence of Ghost Valley?"

"No, I'm telling you, it's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"As long as Guiguzi exists, Zongheng will also exist."

"Qin! Senior brother, I will prove to you that your choice was wrong, terribly wrong!"

Wei Zhuang roared wildly, as if venting his anger, trying to call back his former senior brother.

However, to his disappointment and even despair, he discovered that his senior's gaze had only become more resolute.

"I may fail, but there will be others who will follow in my footsteps, doing what I want to do and creating the world I want to build."

Gai Nie remained expressionless, as if stating a truth.

Wei Zhuang roared, "Who in this world would be as foolish as you!"

Gai Nie calmly replied, "Yes, Mr. Cao Ze is one of them."

"Him? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Wei Zhuang scoffed. "You think someone who is lustful, lacks ambition, and has no desire to achieve anything is the successor you're talking about?"

"No, he was a pioneer."

“And I…” Gai Nie stood up, as if sighing.

"That's the one who came later."

Gai Nie walked down the loess slope step by step, his figure radiating peace under the sunlight.

But to Wei Zhuang, it was so glaring.

"Senior brother, Cao Ze..."

Wei Zhuang stood alone on the loess slope, his whole body stiff.

Before reaching the gates of Xianyang, Gai Nie turned and glanced back at the direction of Shisanlipo.

Everything he said today is true and sincere.

Unfortunately, his junior brother ultimately chose to go against his wishes; perhaps this is just the cruel twist of fate.

"To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations..."

Gai Nie muttered to himself in a low voice.

He asked Cao Ze in the palace, "What is the strongest sword?"

Cao Ze countered by asking him what he considered the strongest sword.

He told Cao Ze about the swords of commoners, feudal lords, and emperors that he had heard from Han Fei.

Cao Ze shook his head and said, "That is someone else's strongest sword, not yours."

"Some people respectfully call you the Sword Saint. I think you should have your own Saintly Sword."

He earnestly inquired, "What is the Sage's Sword?"

Cao Ze only said four sentences to him.

To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations!

He vividly remembers that moment when he was deeply shaken, his ears ringing, as if he had grasped something in an instant.

Yes, it's peace!

He wanted to bring peace to all generations, and what he sought was the Sage's Sword!

It was at that moment that he successfully broke through to the half-step Grandmaster level and saw the path to Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster.

……

Starry night, Ganquan Palace.

After Zhao Ji tried to persuade him with gentle persuasion and emotional appeals, she finally used her beauty to seduce him, thus breaking Cao Ze's bottom line of not letting him stay overnight.

As long as Cao Ze stayed overnight, she would perform a erotic dance for him.

Cao Ze was successfully moved by Zhao Ji's sincerity.

The Empress Dowager, the mother of the First Emperor, was forced to perform a seductive dance for him in order to keep him company for the night.

That's thrilling, fucking thrilling!

If he continues to be perfunctory and find excuses to refuse, he might be killed by Zhao Ji!

The inner chamber of the palace was filled with ice chests and covered with a carpet of bright red golden chrysanthemums.

The ceiling of the inner room was Zhao Ji's ingenious creation. She covered it with dark blue velvet cloth and adorned it with pearls of all sizes, large and small, crystal clear and full. Under the illumination of the lamps, it seemed as if the starry night outside had been brought into the room.

Zhao Ji stood barefoot on the fungal carpet, her body slender yet voluptuous.

Her delicate face was covered by a light red veil, like the red headband a bride wears on her wedding day, revealing only her rosy and alluring little mouth.

Her lips curled slightly upward, carrying a charming and mischievous smile.

"Sir, are you getting impatient...?"

Chapter 423 Welfare Girl Zhao

Although it's called a bedroom, it actually spans about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in length, width, and height.

The surrounding area was draped with gauze curtains, and a soft couch was placed in the most prominent position. It was covered with mandarin duck pillows and a double-flowered quilt, and transparent red gauze curtains hung around it.

The dragon and phoenix red candles, with their antique charm and luxurious appearance, exude an air of ambiguity and romance.

If an uninformed person saw this scene, they would think that the Queen Mother of the Great Qin was about to consummate her marriage with the man on the bed.