The rain fell in a torrent.
The relentless downpour slapped against Su Chen's face.
「In the Library Pavilion courtyard.」
Wisps of Longevity True Qi emanated outward. The blooming Hibiscus Tree swelled in the wind, transforming in an instant from a small sapling into a great tree thirty feet tall—just the right size to make a coffin.
The coffin was made.
It was filled with shimmering silver Hibiscus Flowers.
The aged corpse, clad in a blood-stained Purple Robe, was withered and gaunt. Even in death, its spine was ramrod straight and a faint smile touched its lips. Only its deep, profound eyes held no trace of light.
'Zhang Gui is dead.'
Su Chen was in a daze.
'I knew long ago that Zhang Gui would die.'
'Even I couldn't save him.'
'I'm just a Longevity Cultivator. I can't alter fate, life, or death.'
'Maybe one day I'll grow accustomed to life and death, but I truly can't right now.'
"Oh, you..."
"I always thought you were too ambitious. That sooner or later, you'd take a great fall—one that would finally wake you up and make you abandon this Illusory Dream of overthrowing Great Liang..."
"I just never thought I'd be waiting nine years for it to happen. And the fall... it was too hard. It cost you your life..."
The daze in Su Chen's eyes deepened.
He seemed to see the moment he first met Zhang Gui.
「Outside the Library Pavilion.」
A young, handsome, and tall Zhang Gui, dressed in a green robe, walked in carrying a roasted chicken and a flask of White Confucian Wine. He smiled and said...
"You saved me. From now on, we're friends."
"I really don't know what you were thinking."
"Making me pull strings to get you transferred to a desolate place like the Library Pavilion."
The dream ended.
The Bright Moon disappeared.
The darkness outside the Library Pavilion was icy cold. The faint sound of a fierce wind mingled with the growing din of running soldiers and the scrape of armor and blades.
The auras of more and more Cultivators converged on the courtyard!
The Grand Ancestor of Liang had made his move!
The world trembled! On this night, over a dozen Junior Grandmasters had fallen!
Imperial power had won this round.
The Killing Martial Guard, stationed in the Imperial City, had come to clean up the battlefield!
"Zhang Gui, you castrated dog, you traitor! The Great Liang Royal Family and three generations of Emperors treated you with nothing but generosity, granting you immense power and unparalleled wealth! Yet you dared to harbor treason, colluding with the dregs of the Jianghu in a perverse attempt to overturn the heavens!"
"By the Grand Ancestor's own word, you were gravely wounded by a Grandmaster's single palm strike!"
"Get out here and face your death!"
"And we might even leave your corpse intact!"
A thunderous bellow echoed.
It was like a clap of thunder, shaking the heavens and intimidating all who heard it.
BOOM!
The gate of the Library Pavilion's courtyard exploded into pieces.
Three thousand Killing Martial Guards gathered!
The Empress of Great Liang, Dugu Yue, stood at the head of the army, staring coldly into the Library Pavilion.
But they did not dare to enter.
The name Zhang Gui—Peak expert of the realm, first on the Martial Arts List—was simply too terrifying. Even though the Grand Ancestor himself had declared Zhang Gui crippled, if not dead, none who had tracked him here dared to take a single step into the courtyard.
On this night, no one yet knew that the man who had just shaken the world, the number one on the Martial Arts List, had already died in silence in the small courtyard of the Library Pavilion.
Su Chen turned a deaf ear to the commotion outside the Library Pavilion.
He gazed at the corpse in the Purple Robe.
And spoke.
"You hated the Great Liang Royal Family that destroyed your country and slaughtered your clan, so I will bury you in the Cyan Mountain outside the Imperial City, so that one day you can personally witness the fall of Great Liang..."
"You once asked me why I live in seclusion, coveting neither power nor wealth. I'll tell you now..."
"I hate trouble."
"I don't want to offend people."
"I don't want to get involved in any bloodshed."
"But everything you did was trouble, was bloodshed, was a fight to the death. And this time, they'll probably demand I hand over your corpse..."
"I won't allow it."
"If it means trouble, so be it. If it means bloodshed, so be it. If it's a fight to the death, then let it be a fight to the death!"
"In that case,"
"tonight."
"I'll let myself be reckless for once..."
Su Chen removed the Asura Ghost Face and donned the new red robe of the Sixth Chief Steward. He placed the body of the world's greatest traitor, clad in its Purple Robe, into the coffin and sealed the lid. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked up at the sky, his face devoid of all emotion.
The Second Grade of the Path of Qi is called the Violent Qi Realm.
Upon entering this realm,
influenced by Violent Qi, one becomes manic and belligerent.
But Su Chen was the exact opposite. Upon entering the Longevity Second Grade Realm, his heart was as still as water, his mind detached, feeling neither joy nor sorrow.
BOOM!
At that moment, the three thousand Killing Martial Guards arrayed outside could no longer hold back. They smashed through the walls, swords drawn and crossbows nocked, and charged into the Library Pavilion.
"Zhang Gui, face your death!"
A Silver-robed General charged forward on horseback, long spear in hand.
His body blazed with fierce Anger Gang.
"Hm?"
The tense, fearful atmosphere vanished in an instant.
Everyone present saw the aged corpse in the Purple Robe lying inside the coffin!
"Hahaha!"
"Zhang Gui is dead! He's really dead."
Dugu Lie let out a wild laugh. His grip on his long spear, once tight enough to make his palms sweat, instantly relaxed.
He had gambled correctly.
Zhang Gui was really dead.
Unimaginable fortune was beckoning to him!
Just then, an indifferent voice rang out.
"Su Chen, Chief Steward of the Library Pavilion, is seeing a friend off tonight. I would appreciate it if you would all make way..."
Clad in a red robe and shouldering the coffin, Su Chen faced the three thousand elite, armored Killing Martial Guards and Empress Dugu. His expression was unchanged as he spoke slowly.
Wait. A red robe?
That's a Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace.
A Second-Grade Expert!
"A Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace..."
Dugu Lie's heart tightened, and he instinctively reined his horse back half a step.
The other Killing Martial Guards also felt a chill run down their spines, their hands and feet turning cold.
Second Grade!
'Besiege a Second Grade expert! How many of us would have to die?'
"What makes you a Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace?"
"You worthless Castrated Dog, who do you think you are!"
"The Sixth Chief Steward of the Library Pavilion? If His Majesty hadn't been considerate of Zhang Gui, what right would a Black-robed Eunuch who can't even cultivate have to wear the red robe of a Second-Grade expert?"
"Zhang Gui defied the Emperor's might. He is the greatest traitor in the land and deserves to be drawn and quartered! Do you, Su Chen, think you can escape his fate?"
"See him off? Make way for you? Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Castrated Dog!"
"You're one of his cronies, you'll die too!"
"Hmph!"
Empress Dugu coldly spat out a single word.
"Kill!"
In an instant, Dugu Lie's eyes turned cold, his face flushing with anger as he finally recalled the name Su Chen.
'So it was him all along, that "Sixth Chief Steward"!'
"I almost let you fool me!"
"You waste, you dare try to scare me?"
"You really think putting on that red robe makes you a Second-Grade Expert?"
"Die!"
Dugu Lie roared. Wild Gang Qi swirled and poured into his long spear as he thrust it through the downpour.
The rain.
It fell harder and harder.
'That suicidal Castrated Dog.'
'Does he really think he's a Second-Grade expert?'
Empress Dugu shook her head, her gaze mocking, and was about to sit back in her carriage and leave.
'The outcome of this battle is already certain.'
'I must return to the Imperial Palace and take command of the situation.'
"Alas!"
Su Chen sighed.
In the courtyard, the pouring rain instantly went quiet.
He extended a finger.
A clap of thunder exploded in the rainy night.
The rain-filled sky transformed into a single sword, slashing out in all directions.
"In the Year of Celestial Chaos, the second-generation Purple Robe once unleashed a sword formed from a blizzard under the moonlight."
"I, too, was inspired."
"What I have learned over seven years has finally, on this night, allowed me to turn the rain in this courtyard into a sword. I invite you all to test it!"
As Su Chen took a step forward,
a blood Flame soared to the heavens!
His bones and sinews sang in unison, creating a Thunderous Roar!
His Second Grade Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm was revealed for all to see.
"How is this possible?"
"Bone Marrow Cleansing!"
"A Second Grade Realm?"
"No! Aren't you unable to cultivate? And this isn't an ordinary Third Grade! What kind of Third Grade Marrow Cleansing on the Path of the Body can unleash a strike imbued with Heaven and Earth's Will—something only a First-Grade Minor Grandmaster should be able to comprehend..."
Dugu Lie's eyes widened in terror. He let out a hoarse scream, feeling as though he had plunged into a bottomless Hell. It was too late to retreat.
'Attack!'
He burned through all his Gang Qi, channeling it into a single spear thrust in a desperate attempt to block.
But it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
He could only watch as the sky full of rain coalesced into a torrent of Sword Intent that swept toward him.
True Intent!
It was actually Heaven and Earth's Will!
Turning a blizzard into a sword! That was a killing blow from the Path of Qi, one that required a First-Grade Minor Grandmaster to have broken through the Profound Gate and achieved Celestial Sense. Only then could one begin Seizing Heaven and Earth Power to perform such a feat.
And yet Su Chen, a mere Third Grade, could simulate a fraction of its true essence?
But even a fraction of that essence was more than enough to slaughter him like a dog.
BANG!
Fresh blood exploded.
The Dugu Family Head, Commander of the Killing Martial Guard, exploded. He and his steed below him burst into a fine mist of blood.
The Wind Rain Sword, its momentum unchecked, swept on toward the three thousand Killing Martial Guards!
"Don't be afraid!"
"He's just a Third Grade! We've surrounded and killed plenty of them before!"
"Formation charge! No retreat, no surrender!"
"Kill!"
"He's only a mere Third Grade!"
The three thousand Killing Martial Guards roared. Showing no signs of panic, they held their military formation and charged forward with furious cries.
BOOM!
The sword dissipated.
Outside the Library Pavilion, the three thousand armored soldiers were annihilated. The ground was littered with shattered armor and the mangled remains of bodies.
One sword strike had broken three thousand men.
"Third Grade?!"
Empress Dugu was beside herself with horror.
If not for the true Second-Grade Red Robe expert in her carriage, even she would have undoubtedly perished under that single sword strike.
"You are a Third Grade Marrow Cleansing?"
"How is that possible!"
"Aren't you unable to cultivate?"
Empress Dugu demanded angrily.
Su Chen paid her no mind.
In his red robe, he shouldered the coffin and walked on. He strode over the mountain of corpses and sea of blood in the courtyard, heading out of the Imperial Palace through the torrential rain.
"I must ask Chief Steward Wang to act!"
Empress Dugu angrily commanded the red-robed Chief Steward from the Inner Palace, who was seated inside the carriage.
Su Chen simply raised his eyes to meet the gaze of the Second-Grade Chief Steward in the carriage.
"The Wind Rain Sword. Can you block it?"
"Or rather,"
"How much lifespan do you have to squander against me!"
Silence fell within the carriage.
The Second-Grade expert sighed, closed his eyes, and allowed Su Chen to leave.
Su Chen shouldered the coffin and walked away.
His path was unimpeded. No one dared to stand in his way.
Those who tried were all dead.
Seeing a friend to his grave!
"Who would have ever thought... that the cowardly cripple turtled up in the Library Pavilion was actually a Third Grade Marrow Cleansing expert, one who could even unleash the Wind Rain Sword by borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth..."
"The world marvels at Zhang Gui's monstrous talent, but they don't know the truth. He merely acquired a Demon Technique that burned away his lifespan—a brilliant flash in the pan born of desperation. There is a true Demon in this Imperial Palace, but it isn't Zhang Gui. It's you, his friend... the cripple from the Library Pavilion, Su Chen."
At the foot of the Imperial Palace wall stood an old man. He wore a Purple Robe and looked ancient and frail. Watching Su Chen with great interest, he stepped aside, clearing the path to the Palace Gate and making no move to block him.
Seven years ago, on the Night of Celestial Chaos.
Here in this very Imperial Palace, he had turned a blizzard into a single sword to cut down the reigning number one expert of the era: the Peak First Grade Purple Star Daoist from the Celestial Master's Mansion. In a staged battle with the first-generation Purple Robe, he had welcomed back the 'Orthodox' Emperor Jianwu and set the world back on its proper course...
Tonight.
Below the Grandmaster Realm, he was the strongest.
"Su Chen, if you insist on burying this traitor, you will become a wanted man. The world is vast, but there will be no place left for you to hide. Why not abandon Zhang Gui? Stay here. Take me as your master. You've grasped a sliver of my Wind Snow True Intent's essence as a mere Third Grade. With my guidance, you might truly glimpse the Grandmaster Realm..."
The second-generation Purple Robe's words were patient and tempting.
Without turning his head, his face still a mask of emotionless calm, Su Chen stepped through the Palace Gate.
"Who cares!"
Tonight, Su Chen, the cripple of the Library Pavilion, stunned the world. He revealed his cultivation, shattered three thousand armored soldiers with a single sword, and intimidated a Second-Grade Red Robe. A Third-Grade expert, he had carved a bloody path through the Imperial Palace to bury his friend, escaping with the corpse of the realm's greatest traitor.
「The next day.」
Emperor Jianwu was enraged. He stripped Su Chen of his titles and declared him a fugitive wanted across the land. Su Chen had replaced Zhang Gui, becoming the new number one traitor in the realm!