Martial Cultivator

The actual contents of the decree did not matter, what was crucial was that the Great Liang Emperor's will had been conveyed.

In reality, the Great Liang Emperor would not truly issue any decree to Sword Qi Mountain. Some things are better left unsaid; expressing them outright would be a loss of face.

Chen Chao handed the decree to Yang Furen and joked, "Mountain Lord, you wouldn't have the urge to kill this junior now, right?"

Yang Furen forced a smile, "How could I dare? If you die on Sword Qi Mountain, do you want Sword Qi Mountain to be buried with you?"

Chen Chao smiled bitterly.

Yang Furen took the decree and glanced at it, finally feeling a sense of relief. The worst-case scenario would have been the decree containing explicit commands from the Great Liang Emperor, which would put them in a difficult position whether they helped Chen Chao reforge his saber or not. With the decree being blank, it left Sword Qi Mountain some face. As for the decree's arrival at Sword Qi Mountain, Yang Furen sighed deeply, unwilling to dwell on this any longer.

Yang Furen put away the decree, looking at the swordsmiths before him and sighed, "Was this all necessary?"

The swordsmiths remained silent. At this point, they understood the meaning behind the Great Liang Emperor's actions. Since that was the case, what else could anyone say?

There was no room for choice, they could only comply.

"No matter what, this old man won't contribute."

Wen Hu said, waving his sleeves as he prepared to leave. His expression was extremely ugly, as he had been among the most vehement objectors.

Yang Furen asked, "And what of your previous claims about Sword Qi Mountain facing destruction? If you were so righteous and selfless, what was that all for?"

Wen Hu was stunned by these words. Indeed, earlier, they argued that reforging the saber for Chen Chao might bring disaster upon Sword Qi Mountain. Now, refusing to forge the saber might bring the same disaster.

Since that was the case, what grounds did he have to say he would not contribute?

His face flushed red, but he remained silent.

Yang Furen waved his hand dismissively. "Just go. I didn't expect much from you all anyway."

After the three sword immortals bowed to Yang Furen, they glanced at Chen Chao before transforming into sword light and dissipating.

Letting out a sigh, Yang Furen felt exhausted.

Yang Furen glanced at Chen Chao and said calmly, "Come with this old man."

Chen Chao nodded respectfully and followed Yang Furen towards the back mountain. Of course, he still did not forget to carry the green bamboo.

……

……

Sword Qi Mountain had always been divided into front and back. The front was for receiving guests and selecting swords, while the back was for sword forging and cultivation. Typically, ordinary cultivators had little chance of being invited to the back mountain. If it were not for today's events, he probably would not have had the qualification to enter the back mountain at all.

As soon as he stepped into the back mountain, Chen Chao suddenly felt a wave of heat wash over him. The sound of metal being hammered echoed everywhere. While many swordsmiths had gathered in front of the main hall earlier, there were even more in the back mountain who had not paid attention to the events of the day. They were fully dedicated to the art of sword forging, oblivious to anything else.

Along the mountain path, sword furnaces stood every few dozen steps. The mixed sword qi in the back mountain made people feel rather uncomfortable.

Occasionally, the sounds of sword cries could be heard, each unique. This was the true Sword Qi Mountain.

Yang Furen spoke softly, "Although Sword Qi Mountain has lowered its head, this old man still cannot guarantee that your saber forging will succeed. You understand the reasons."

Chen Chao nodded. "This junior understands. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, this junior will report back to His Majesty and explain the circumstances clearly."

Yang Furen's expression softened considerably, and he said, "After thinking over what you said, this old man realized there is some truth to it. It seems the whole world has underestimated that Emperor of yours."

Previously, the entire cultivation world had underestimated the Great Liang Emperor's cultivation realm. Now, the entire world underestimated the Great Liang Emperor as a person.

Chen Chao was silent. He actually did not understand this biological uncle very well.

Even if the two were connected by bloodline and shared the same blood.

The two continued walking and soon came upon a small path overgrown with weeds; clearly untouched for a long time.

Yang Furen led Chen Chao through the overgrown path, arriving at a vine-covered cave.

Yang Furen glanced at Chen Chao before proceeding inside, and Chen Chao followed closely behind.

The cave was long and dark, spanning several dozen feet. When they finally reached the end, they finally saw a ray of light. Yang Furen stopped at the entrance, and Chen Chao arrived next to him before discovering an entirely different world inside. It was vast and picturesque, like an otherworldly paradise. At the far end, there was a waterfall with a small stream flowing gently beside it. Many red maples were planted along the stream, and despite it being early summer, the maple leaves were vividly red. By the waterfall stood a quiet thatched cottage.

Chen Chao marveled, "What a beautiful sight!"

Yang Furen paid no attention to him and instead said softly, "Wait here for this old man."

Yang Furen then walked forward and soon reached the thatched cottage. Soon, an elderly man with white hair and beard walked out of the cottage. Unlike the muscular swordsmiths on the mountain, this old man was hunched over; somewhat short and frail. Seeing Yang Furen, the old man glanced at Chen Chao, who was carrying the green bamboo in the distance. Yang Furen cupped his hands in salute, "Grand Martial Uncle, this disciple has a request."

Yang Furen already held a very high status on the mountain, yet the elder before him was still his grand martial uncle. Who knew how many years this old man had lived?

The world knew Yang Furen as the number one swordsmith, but they did not know that Sword Qi Mountain housed such an ancestor whose swordsmithing skills far surpassed Yang Furen's.

Many years ago, the old man had been very famous, but after he sealed his forge and ceased forging swords, the world had forgotten his name. Nowadays, not many people even remember that this old man was still alive.

"Little Yang kid, this old man has sealed my forge a long time ago. Don't you know that?"

The old man glanced at Yang Furen, not showing much regard for this Mountain Lord.

Given the old man's seniority, everyone on Sword Qi Mountain was a junior in front of him.

Yang Furen steeled himself and began recounting the events that had transpired on the mountain earlier.

The old man raised an eyebrow slightly, "I was wondering what happened earlier, thought you juniors had forged an extraordinary flying sword. Turns out the whole mountain was nearly lost. Little Yang kid, is this all you can achieve as the mountain lord?"

Yang Furen smiled bitterly, "Naturally, it's not as impressive as when Grand Martial Uncle was overseeing Sword Qi Mountain."

The old man snorted, "Don't try to flatter me, this old man won't buy that nonsense."

Yang Furen sighed, "If even Grand Martial Uncle can't manage this, then this disciple will refuse the request. I'll say Sword Qi Mountain lacks the capability. I suppose that Emperor wouldn’t have much to say about it." The old man clicked his tongue, "Do you want to throw away our face? Sword Qi Mountain can't even repair a broken saber? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at us if word gets out?"

Yang Furen went all in, "In any case, this disciple doesn't have the ability, and if Grand Martial Uncle also doesn't have the ability, then Sword Qi Mountain deserves to be laughed at."

The old man was silent, staring at Yang Furen for a few moments before suddenly flicking this Sword Qi Mountain Lord on the forehead. Yang Furen did not dare to dodge, enduring it quietly.

The old man rubbed his brow and was not in a hurry to speak.

Yang Furen also did not dare to say anything and could only wait.

"Sword Qi Mountain doesn't forge a flying sword, but helping someone forge a saber now. Don't you find that laughable?"

The old man glanced at Yang Furen, pausing before suddenly sighing, "But truth be told, it's also not that Sword Qi Mountain has never forged sabers before."

This time, it was Yang Furen's turn to be greatly surprised. As the mountain lord, he had no knowledge of Sword Qi Mountain ever forging a saber. Growing up on Sword Qi Mountain, no one had ever told him about this piece of history.

The old man snorted, "It's not exactly something to be proud of. Does it really need to be documented for you juniors to peruse at will?"

Yang Furen tried probing, "What exactly happened back then?"

"It's an old story. Back then, this old man hadn't made a name for myself yet, and only heard about it from my elders. Sword Qi Mountain bowing its head today is not an unprecedented humiliation. The real disgrace was when we were forced to forge that saber that one time. A man came up the mountain, demanding we forge a saber for him. Our Sword Qi Mountain has always only forged swords, why would we forge a saber? Naturally, no one on the mountain agreed."

"However, that man was determined to forge a saber. No matter how many of our Sword Qi Mountain cultivators tried to stop him, they couldn't defeat him. He even boasted that if Sword Qi Mountain didn't forge a saber for him, he would erase Sword Qi Mountain from existence. The seniors had no choice but to lower their heads. They gathered the top swordsmiths of that time to forge a saber for him."

The old man sighed deeply, "That saber was probably sharper than all the flying swords of Sword Qi Mountain combined. Even the Hundred Year Swords paled in comparison."

"It was such a disgraceful event that it was ordered to never be mentioned again. To this day, probably only this old man still knows about it."

The old man looked at Yang Furen and said calmly, "I'm telling you this today so you can remember it, but you must not spread it. When the next Mountain Lord takes over, you can tell him and him alone."

Yang Furen's expression was complicated. This was the first time he had heard this story, and it left him deeply shaken. "Grand Martial Uncle, who was that man?"

The old man shook his head. "This old man doesn't know either. It's an old story, and that man is likely long dead. Why would any name be left behind?"

"Forget it, bring the young man over. Since we've already lowered our heads, failing to accomplish this would really make us a joke."

The old man waved his hand, looking a bit weary.

Yang Furen nodded, then turned and beckoned. Chen Chao saw Yang Furen's gesture and came over, carrying the green bamboo.

After putting down the green bamboo, Chen Chao bowed to the old man. Although he did not know the old man's identity, it was clear that he was an extremely important figure on Sword Qi Mountain.

The old man sized Chen Chao up for a moment and then calmly said, "Draw your saber."

Upon hearing this, Chen Chao grasped the hilt, and in an instant, the broken saber left its sheath.

The old man's gaze remained fixed on Chen Chao's broken saber the entire time. When he saw the saber drawn, his pupils contracted sharply, and his expression changed drastically, becoming extremely dark. He looked at the young martial artist before him and asked coldly, "Where did you get this saber?"

Chen Chao felt somewhat baffled.