The entire gate becomes silent.
Lu Jianheng looks at Long Shenyu in horror.
For one terrible moment, he feels death standing directly behind his neck.
The worst part is not the wound.
The worst part is that he cannot sense Long Shenyu's real power.
He can sense the sword. He can sense that terrifying Mid Heaven Rank aura. He can sense the cutting force still crawling through his meridians. But Long Shenyu himself remains indistinct, calm, almost lazy, as if the weapon had acted and he had merely allowed it to happen.
Lu Jianheng wants to say, That was not only the sword.
He wants to accuse Long Shenyu of hiding his real cultivation, hiding his aura, hiding some monstrous soul art.
But when he opens his mouth, blood comes out instead.
"Y-you…"
He coughs violently. Red stains his sleeve.
Long Shenyu watches him without moving.
Internally, he smiles.
This is the correct result.
It is nearly impossible for most cultivators to believe that personal strength can cross a full major realm gap, especially between Origin Core and Sky Lord. That violates their understanding of cultivation. But treasures are different. Weapons, talismans, pills, forbidden arts, blood ignition methods—those are known exceptions. Rare, dangerous, expensive, but believable.
A Low Heaven Rank weapon is already meant for Sky Lord-level power. A Mid Heaven Rank weapon touches the Sage Ruler range. If an Origin Core cultivator possesses a method to awaken even a fragment of such a weapon's true power, then wounding or killing a Sky Lord becomes something people can accept.
They will argue over how he activated it.
They will not question whether the weapon did the work.
Long Shenyu lets the silence stretch just long enough for greed to finish replacing fear.
Then he raises the narrowblade slightly.
Lu Jianheng stiffens.
Long Shenyu says, "Still standing?"
Lu Jianheng's face turns ashen.
Long Shenyu's smile vanishes.
"Then crawl back properly."
Lu Jianheng's fingers tighten around his sword. "You think Verdant Edge will let this pass?"
Long Shenyu looks bored.
"You are bleeding on my road. Speak less."
The insult lands harder than a slap.
The Qin captain, barely conscious, tries to drag himself away. Long Shenyu glances at him.
"Take that one with you. He is ugly enough dead. I do not want him staining the gate."
The captain's eyes burn with humiliation.
Lu Jianheng's hatred becomes almost physical, but he does not attack again. He knows that if the sword cuts him one more time, he may not leave alive. He forces his Sky Qi through the broken rhythm in his meridians, grabs the Qin captain by the back of his armor, and retreats.
Every step costs him blood.
Before leaving, he turns once and says through clenched teeth, "You will regret entering River Ridge."
Long Shenyu answers, "Really now? Then know this, I Long Shenyu is looking forward to it. Send someone worth remembering."
Lu Jianheng's face twists, but he leaves.
The crowd parts for him in terror.
No one speaks until he is gone.
Then the gate erupts.
Some people whisper that Long Shenyu is dead once Verdant Edge arrives. Others say the Qin Family will never allow him to live through the night. Some are staring at Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue with new fear. Others cannot take their eyes off the Sky-Severing Narrowblade.
That last group matters most.
The rumor is already forming.
A lower-domain madman has a Mid Heaven Rank sword.
…
After walking for a moment, Long Shenyu chose the Three Ridges Spirit Inn, one of the better inns near River Ridge's inner district. It is expensive enough to keep out ordinary wandering cultivators and neutral enough that the Qin Family cannot openly drag people out without damaging city face.
The innkeeper recognizes trouble instantly.
Not their names.
Their atmosphere.
Long Shenyu requests the best courtyard.
The innkeeper hesitates when he sees Qin Family cultivators whispering outside, already following them from a distance.
"Honored guests, the upper spirit courtyard is costly—"
Long Shenyu places a storage ring on the counter.
The innkeeper opens it, sees enough spirit stones to silence ten objections, and immediately bows.
"The upper spirit courtyard is available."
Long Shenyu says, "Good. No interruptions."
The innkeeper swallows. "Of course."
It didn't take long for them to settle in.
Long Shenyin takes one of the side rooms without asking. She throws her spear against the wall, sits cross-legged, and begins cultivating with brutal efficiency. Her killing intent sinks into the floorboards like a dark furnace.
Before closing the door, she glances at Long Shenyu.
"If someone comes tonight, do not stop me again."
Long Shenyu says, "If they come quietly, kill them quietly."
Long Shenyin barely smiles for the first time since the gate.
"That is acceptable."
Her door shuts.
Inside the main chamber, Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue stand near the window while Ning Huang remains near the doorway, as if keeping distance can preserve dignity.
Long Shenyu studies the room's formations.
"The Qi here is better than Moonwatch. Not excellent, but usable."
Shen Lanyue nods. "The privacy array is also decent. Enough for ordinary cultivators."
"Then we'll have a good time tonight."
Mei Qingxue already knows what he means and lowers her eyes.
Shen Lanyue's expression stays calm, but the faint tension in her fingers gives her away.
Ning Huang notices both reactions, and her own eyes shift.
Long Shenyu turns toward her.
"You can stay."
Ning Huang's body goes still.
Mei Qingxue's eyes widen.
Shen Lanyue gives him a look that says she expected this but still cannot believe he said it so directly.
Ning Huang's voice becomes dangerous. "Say that again."
Long Shenyu walks closer, stopping just far enough not to corner her.
"I said you can stay."
"I heard you."
"Then why ask?"
"Because I wanted to see if even you had a limit."
"I do. I rarely waste time lying to women I like."
Ning Huang's anger stumbles.
That is always the problem with Long Shenyu. If he were merely lecherous, she could dismiss him. If he were only arrogant, she could crush him. But he says shameless things with such calm sincerity that refusing him feels less like rejecting a crude advance and more like retreating from a direct confession.
She says, "You think a few words and one fight are enough?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I think you are proud, beautiful, dangerous, and lonelier than you admit. I think you have spent your whole life surrounded by people who either fear your status, envy your talent, or expect you to become a symbol for Heaven's Edict. I think you enjoy standing near me because I look at you as Ning Huang before I care about the palace behind your name."
Ning Huang's eyes tremble.
Only slightly.
But everyone in the room sees it.
Long Shenyu's voice lowers.
"And I think you want to know what it feels like to cultivate beside someone who is not intimidated by your lightning."
Mei Qingxue looks away, her face warm, but she is smiling softly now.
Shen Lanyue says nothing.
Ning Huang grips the doorframe.
"You are far too confident."
Long Shenyu smiles. "I am right far too often."
"You are impossible."
"You like impossible things."
Her lips part, but no answer comes.
For a moment, she is very close to staying.
Not because of dual cultivation alone. Not because of speed. Those reasons matter, but they are not what shake her.
He wants her. He says it. He lets her see it. And yet he does not force the final step.
That restraint, coming from a man so domineering, unsettles her more than pressure would have.
Finally, Ning Huang turns away.
"I will cultivate alone."
Long Shenyu says, "For now at least."
She pauses.
He adds, "I can be patient when the woman is worth waiting for."
Ning Huang's face reddens enough that even Mei Qingxue notices.
She says coldly, "Do not become too pleased with yourself."
"Too late."
She leaves quickly.
The door shuts harder than necessary.
For a few breaths, the room is quiet.
Then Mei Qingxue says softly, "You nearly convinced her."
Long Shenyu looks toward the closed door.
"No. She nearly convinced herself."
Shen Lanyue studies him. "You are serious about her."
Long Shenyu turns back, and his smile softens.
"I am serious about every woman I choose."
Mei Qingxue's embarrassment fades into warmth. Shen Lanyue's guarded eyes soften.
Long Shenyu steps closer to them.
"Tonight is not only for pleasure. River Ridge's Qi is stronger. The pressure from today should help stabilize your killing intent and combat comprehension. Qingxue, your needle control crossed a small threshold at the gate. Lanyue, your sword intent is already pressing against the Sky Lord boundary. We will use both."
Mei Qingxue nods. "I understand."
Shen Lanyue says, "You should also stabilize your own cultivation. You hid it well, but that sword strike used more soul power than you showed."
Long Shenyu smiles at her.
"My wife worries for me."
"I am making a practical observation."
"Worry can be practical."
Her composure cracks just enough.
"Long Shenyu."
He laughs and draws them both close.
…
Lu Jianheng returns to the Qin Family estate in a state that terrifies everyone who sees him.
His robes are cut open from shoulder to ribs. The wound is thin, but the skin around it is pale and dry, as if circulation has been severed beneath the flesh. Every few breaths, his Sky Qi stutters. When it does, blood leaks from his mouth.
The Qin captain is worse.
He is carried in half-conscious, chest frozen from Shen Lanyue's strike, sword arm ruined, meridians damaged. He keeps muttering about the sword, the women, and Long Shenyu's smile.
Qin Wanshan, the Qin Family patriarch, receives them in the inner sword hall.
He is a 2nd layer Sky Lord, stern-faced, broad-shouldered, with the bearing of a man who has spent his life dragging his family upward through violence and calculation. Beside him stands Qin Roujian, the peak 9th layer Origin Core First Sword Elder, whose failed Sky Lord breakthrough has made his aura sharp and unstable. Several elders gather behind them.
Qin Xuelan, their sword genius, stands near the side pillars.
She says nothing at first.
Lu Jianheng sits down heavily. He refuses assistance until another burst of blood forces him to accept a stabilizing pill.
Qin Wanshan's expression darkens.
"Envoy Lu. Who did this?"
Lu Jianheng's voice is hoarse. "The one called Long Shenyu."
The hall goes cold.
Qin Roujian frowns. "The Origin Core?"
Lu Jianheng's eyes burn. "With a sword."
That changes the room.
Qin Wanshan leans forward. "What kind of sword?"
Lu Jianheng closes his eyes, remembering the pressure.
"Low Heaven Rank at least. But when he activated it, the aura reached Mid Heaven Rank."
The elders inhale sharply.
A Mid Heaven Rank weapon is not a city treasure. It is not even a normal Sky Lord treasure. For a Lower Domain family, such a weapon could alter their entire future. If Qin Wanshan could obtain it, he could strengthen his status with Verdant Edge or even bargain for deeper sect support.
Qin Roujian's eyes fill with hunger.
"A junior at Origin Core cannot naturally activate a Mid Heaven Rank weapon."
Lu Jianheng says, "He used something. A talisman. A blood art. Maybe a soul ignition method. I could not sense it clearly."
Qin Wanshan asks, "Could it be his own strength?"
Lu Jianheng's pride rejects the idea before his reason can examine it.
"No."
The word is too quick.
Qin Xuelan notices.
She finally speaks.
"The wound was too precise for a treasure acting alone."
Everyone turns to her.
Qin Roujian's eyes narrow. "Explain."
Qin Xuelan steps closer, looking at Lu Jianheng's injury without flinching.
"The sword disrupted Envoy Lu's circulation hinge. That is not brute treasure pressure. Whoever made the cut understood where the Verdant Thousand-Leaf Severance joins together."
Lu Jianheng's face tightens.
Qin Roujian says, "Are you saying an Origin Core boy saw through a Sky Lord art?"
Qin Xuelan answers calmly, "I am saying the cut was placed there."
The hall becomes quiet.
Qin Wanshan studies her. He values Qin Xuelan because she is talented, but he also knows talent can become caution at inconvenient times.
Lu Jianheng says coldly, "A good weapon can guide the hand. Do not turn a treasure injury into a ghost story."
Qin Xuelan lowers her gaze slightly, accepting the rebuke without fully agreeing.
Qin Wanshan decides the political direction.
"Whether it is the weapon or the wielder, River Ridge cannot ignore this. Qin guards were killed. A Qin captain was crippled. A Verdant Edge envoy was wounded at our gate. If we allow them to stay, every family in the city will think Qin's sword has dulled."
Qin Roujian says, "Then strike tonight."
Lu Jianheng immediately says, "No."
That surprises the Qin elders.
Lu Jianheng's pride is furious, but his wound has taught him caution.
"Not openly. A Heavenly Edict Thunder Palace disciple is with them. She did not interfere today, but if Qin surrounds their inn with banners and formation troops, that disciple may treat it as a public insult. Also, if Long Shenyu truly can activate the sword again, an ordinary group will only feed him more corpses."
Qin Wanshan's eyes narrow. "What do you suggest?"
Lu Jianheng says, "Probe quietly. Confirm where the sword is. Confirm whether he can use it repeatedly. I will report to Verdant Edge and request a punitive team. The sect will not send a Sage Ruler for a treasure-reliant Origin Core, but they will send enough Sky Lords to take back face."
Qin Roujian's hunger sharpens. "If Verdant Edge takes the sword, Qin receives nothing."
Lu Jianheng looks at him.
"You receive survival."
Qin Roujian's face darkens.
Qin Wanshan raises one hand to stop the argument.
"We do both. Envoy Lu sends his report. Qin sends shadows, not soldiers. No banners. No family robes. They observe first. If there is a chance to seize the sword without exposing us, they take it. If not, they return."
Qin Xuelan says, "They will die if they underestimate him."
Qin Roujian snaps, "You are too impressed by outsiders."
Qin Xuelan meets his gaze.
"No. I am unimpressed by fools."
The hall stiffens.
Qin Wanshan's eyes flash, but he does not punish her. She is too valuable. Too talented. Too close to being accepted deeper into Verdant Edge.
He says, "Xuelan, you will not move tonight."
She frowns. "Patriarch—"
"You are Qin's blade for the public stage, not a thief in the dark."
…
Later on, Lu Jianheng writes his report to Verdant Edge before the night ends.
He makes sure to include the facts that protect his pride and Long Shenyu's disguise:
Unknown Origin Core group from Moonwatch.
Two women with abnormal combat skill.
Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace disciple was present but uninvolved.
Qin guards killed.
Qin captain crippled.
Lu Jianheng injured by a suspected Mid Heaven Rank sword activated through unknown external means.
He specifically writes; The weapon must be seized before other Noble Domain forces learn of it.
That sentence guarantees Verdant Edge will move.