In the southern city of Penzes, inside an unremarkable house, a plain-looking young man held a magnificent falcon. The bird was not large, but its eyes glinted sharply, and its talons were incredibly keen. The young man carefully untied a letter from the falcon’s leg, then picked up a piece of raw meat from beside him and tossed it into its beak. The falcon chirped happily a few times, swallowed the meat, and then flew away with a flap of its wings.

The young man carefully unfolded the letter. His expression changed slightly after reading it, and he frowned in thought for a moment. He then retied the original, untouched letter to a gray carrier pigeon, took up a brush to write a new message, and tied that to the pigeon’s leg as well. Walking outside, he glanced up at the clear night sky, savoring the salty tang of the sea breeze in the air. With a toss of his hands, he sent the pigeon on its way. Then he muttered to himself, "I love this salty sea air. Too bad I won’t have the chance for much longer. The Second Prince, he..."

In a military camp on the edge of Penzes Swamp, the Southern King, Li Wutong, stared intently at the two letters in his hand. After reading them, he let out a cold laugh, his face full of ridicule as he spoke to an old man sitting beside him with his eyes closed in meditation. "My dear brother certainly has a brilliant scheme. Penzes City? An empty city, all its wealth long since moved by me. Did he really think that was the precious den I’d worked so hard to build? If you like giving things away, then fine, I’ll let you give it away. I can’t afford to provoke him, but can’t I at least avoid him? Haha, Elder Peng, do you think my dear brother, the Crown Prince, is waiting for me to jump up and start cursing right about now?"

The old man opened his eyes, his expression perfectly calm. "The Beast Race’s attack on Cameron was likely their doing. The last time I was in the Imperial Capital, I snatched that Tier Five Magical Beast on a whim. That might have led him to suspect you, which in turn led to this collusion with the Beast Race. But speaking of which, the Crown Prince is quite audacious. I’ve always found it strange. There are two old undying ones in the Imperial Palace as well, so why has His Majesty..."

The old man trailed off, shaking his head gently and not elaborating further.

Li Wutong frowned slightly and said, "Ever since I was young, the only things I’ve sensed from my father are a lust for power and a greedy nature. As for being wise, I don’t find him particularly so. That’s precisely why I find it so strange. Why would he allow my brother to continuously gather ministers to his side, to the point where the Crown Prince now holds significant sway in the royal court? It got to the point where his scheme to use Cameron Town as a fiefdom to sow discord between me and the Ling Family failed. How pathetic, really! Still, my dear brother wasn’t one to dawdle. He gave Penzes City to that little guy from the Ling Family. Heh heh, Elder Peng, the letter also says that Qiu Chen has recovered, and that the Ling Family’s little guy actually broke through his Celestial Vein... Do you think there might be a connection?"

Elder Peng frowned in thought for a moment, then said, "Years ago, when His Majesty the King first started letting go of his power, I suspected he had been poisoned just like Qiu Chen. But so many years have passed without any unusual signs. This old man’s medical skills are terrible, even worse than a common physician’s, so I can’t say for sure if His Majesty was poisoned. But for the Ling Family’s boy to open his Celestial Vein just as that Qiu Chen kid was suddenly cured of his poison... I agree there must be a connection. I’ve also heard that the Ling Family’s boy has a Divine-level Sword Skill in his possession. Heh heh, to think that I’ve lived for over two hundred years and still only use a sword skill of the Upper Tier of the Celestial Level. A Divine Sword Skill... Tsk tsk, I’d really love to see that!"

Hearing the words "Divine Sword Skill," Li Wutong’s breathing hitched for a moment. He then chuckled twice. "Is there anything Elder Peng wants that he can’t obtain?"

Elder Peng shook his head, his tone growing serious. "To be honest, I’m not even afraid of those two old undying ones in the Imperial City! After so many years of cultivation, they’re not necessarily stronger than I am. When it comes to a one-on-one fight, this old man has never feared anyone! However... this little boy from the Ling Family... Wu Tong, do you really think a child who has mastered a Divine-level Sword Skill wouldn’t have a powerful faction behind him?"

"You mean, they...?"

The Southern King fell silent for a moment, then said with some frustration, "So it seems we have to lend that kid a hand?"

Elder Peng smiled. "Being friends is often better than being enemies, Wu Tong. In this respect, your son is better than you!"

Li Wutong suddenly broke into a laugh. As a father hearing Elder Peng praise his son, he felt no jealousy, only joy.

"So be it. We’ll gift that boy a city, then. In the future... it will all be mine anyway," Li Wutong said softly, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Elder Peng closed his eyes again, his ancient, deeply wrinkled face as placid as an old well.

...

For the past few days, the hottest topic in the upper circles of the Imperial Capital Yalan City was none other than the Ling Family’s third son, the once-ignored Ling Xiao.

One by one, the incidents surrounding him were dug up by the gossipy aristocrats.

"Late March, Imperial Calendar 1453: The Ling Family’s third son, Ling Xiao, attempted to molest his fiancée, Xie Xiaoyan, the eldest daughter of the wealthy merchant and Patriarch of the Xie Family. The attempt was unsuccessful. Subsequently, their engagement was dissolved. According to rumors, the Xie Family Patriarch personally went to General Ling Tianxiao to demand the annulment. Other gossip suggests the two were childhood friends and their families had always been close..."

"Early April, Imperial Calendar 1453: After recovering from the injuries inflicted by his father, Ling Xiao returned to the academy. He immediately had several verbal altercations with the only son of the Wulan Clan Leader. The two arranged a duel. Wulan Tuo, the Wulan Clan Leader’s only son, was defeated. It is suspected he sustained an injury to his groin, though this has not been confirmed. This was the first time people marveled at Ling Xiao’s good luck!"

"Mid-June, Imperial Calendar 1453: After a long disappearance, Ling Xiao reappeared at the Imperial Academy and defeated Qin Kang, the heir to the Bauhinia Clan from a Northern Aristocratic Family. Despite being a Tier Six Sword Master, Qin Kang was utterly powerless before Ling Xiao, unable to withstand even a single exchange! He was beaten to a pulp! News that Ling Xiao possessed powerful sword skills and cultivation techniques began to spread like wildfire!"

"Also in mid-June, the Imperial Academy organized a large-scale training expedition to the southern Mesopotamia Grassland. Along the way, Ling Xiao used some strange method to frighten a Demon Swordsman into dropping his sword, saving Teacher Shangguan. At the same time, he took that Demon Swordsman on as a follower. However, the Demon Swordsman vanished after arriving in Cameron Town. Ling Xiao, meanwhile, was tested and found to have reached the strength of a Tier Four Sword Master. This was shocking, as just a few months prior, he had still been a Tier Five Sword Attendant..."

"On the Mesopotamia Grassland, the training had to be called off due to the discovery of a powerful Magical Beast. Everyone retreated to Cameron Town, but Ling Xiao remained on the grassland with a few teachers for unknown reasons. During the Beast Race’s assault on Cameron Town, Ling Xiao’s performance wasn’t exceptional, but it wasn’t terrible either. The sword skill he used, however, was universally acknowledged as powerful!"

"Mid-July, Ling Xiao attended a royal banquet where he fearlessly talked back to the Princess. It is said he was even personally received by His Majesty the King for a long conversation! Despite having offended the Princess, he was still ennobled as a Hereditary Viscount and granted the southern port city of Penzes as his fief! According to a few powerful individuals who attended the royal banquet that day, Ling Xiao has already broken through his Celestial Vein, and his current strength should be around that of a Great Sword Master!"

Once this news began to circulate, the entire upper echelon of Yalan was in an uproar!

Everyone was astonished: ’Are they talking about the same Celestial Vein Master? The half-good-for-nothing who couldn’t make any progress on the path of the Martial Dao?’

More detailed intelligence on Ling Xiao’s activities over the past six months was dug up and placed on the desks of the leaders of every major power in the Imperial Capital. Even the fact that the two stunningly beautiful maids by his side were highly skilled couldn’t escape the eyes of the great families’ spies!

Fortunately for him, the spies had only tracked his journey to the Holy Mountain as far as Wutang Town. The two months in between were a complete blank! Nearly every major power believed that it was during those two months that Ling Xiao underwent his heaven-shaking transformation!

The most startling theory was that one of the thousand-year-old families, long hidden from the world, had re-emerged!

As a result, every major power immediately began making its own calculations!

Rumors that the Ling Family had the backing of a powerful faction ran rampant...

"Third Brother, I’m so annoyed!" Ling Yun’Er said with a troubled look, watching the carefree Ling Xiao lounging lazily in a rattan chair. "Everyone is talking about our family now, especially you! How can you just sit there so calmly? Honestly! It took me so much effort to become a Fourth-rank Great Sword Master, and now I have to pretend to be weak! I don’t even dare go to the academy. Who knows what that little bitch Wulan Minmin is saying about me!"

"That’s perfect. You can stay home and let your big brother guide you in cultivating the Jade Maiden Sword Skill," Ling Xiao said with a calm smile.

"Aren’t you afraid some maniac will try to steal your sword skill?" Ling Yun’Er asked, crouching ungracefully in front of him and tugging on his arm.

"Afraid? Of course, I’m afraid. Why else would I be hiding at home to cultivate?" Ling Xiao replied with a faint smile.

Just then, Chunlan and Qiuyue stopped their training, wiping the glistening sweat from their foreheads and breathing a little heavily. Ling Xiao had taught them another Cultivation Technique, and they had to practice their sword skills while simultaneously circulating it every day. Even though the three girls were already Fourth-rank Great Sword Masters, the training was still agonizing. In the beginning, they would be completely drenched in sweat after just one practice session.

If Ling Xiao hadn’t been lying in the rattan chair, gazing up at the grape trellis overhead, the girls wouldn’t have had the courage to continue. Fortunately, after a few days of practice, they slowly began to adapt and no longer sweat so profusely.

"But we can’t just hide at home forever," Chunlan said, her face flushed with a healthy glow. "Teacher Shangguan, Yisha, and Ye Zi haven’t dared to visit recently. It’s so boring."

Just then, a clamor erupted from the outer courtyard. "The master is back! The master is back!"

Ling Xiao stood up and said with a smile, "Alright. We’ll be able to return to our normal lives very soon!"