Chapter 1024: The True Martial Sword Academy
The Dark Emperor walked with him into the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, summoned a divine being with a tortoise shell back, retrieved a divine whip, and instructed: "The Nether Abyss Crown Prince spoke too much, costing me ninety-nine Five Thunder Flasks. Take my divine whip and go, bestow upon him ninety-nine lashes."
The tortoise-backed divine being accepted the divine whip with both hands, turned around, and departed.
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment but did not plead for the Nether Abyss Crown Prince.
Dragon Qilin and Yan'er exchanged glances. Yan'er whispered, "Young master, why didn't you plead for the Nether Abyss Crown Prince? At least he showed us the way, and he had a good temper. Now, instead, he's going to suffer ninety-nine lashes."
Dragon Qilin murmured quietly, "The master's words carry little weight…"
Qin Mu shot him a glare, and Dragon Qilin quickly fell silent.
Ahead stood a stone statue, bearing some resemblance to the appearance of Kai Huang Qin Ye.
Qin Mu stepped forward and examined it. It was indeed a statue of Kai Huang, but much younger, carved with an air of spirited ambition, unlike his current mature and steady demeanor.
"Kai Huang had a decent relationship with our North Pole Heaven. In the early Kai Huang era, before the establishment of the Kai Huang Heavenly Court, he once came here."
The Dark Emperor said, "Around this stone statue was originally a sword academy, which he founded, called the True Martial Sword Academy. He opened the academy here to teach disciples, and many of the younger generation from our North Pole Heaven studied under him, learning swordsmanship. I exchanged knowledge with him here, learning his sword path, while he consulted me on formations. Now, nearly forty thousand years have passed, and there are still many sword path experts in our North Pole Heaven, known as the True Martial Sword Sect."
He led Qin Mu around, and Qin Mu indeed saw many foundation stones of the True Martial Sword Academy. The academy was vast in scale, suggesting that thousands of Black Tortoise disciples had studied there in those days.
"But after the Kai Huang era ended, the Heavenly Court ordered the demolition of the True Martial Sword Academy, leaving only this stone statue preserved."
The Dark Emperor said, "The disciples of the True Martial Sword Academy will surely be delighted to hear that you have come. Qin Ye also brought two girls and a woodcutter. One girl was called Di Yi Yue, the other Yan Yun Xi, and the woodcutter was called Wen Tian Ge. They were all very polite. Di Yi Yue studied the Black Tortoise Great Path with me, Yan Yun Xi cultivated formations with me, and the woodcutter learned mathematics from me. They were all extremely intelligent, and their later achievements surpassed mine. I also learned a great deal from them."
"Celestial Master Zi Xi and Teacher Woodcutter also came here?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he asked, "Did Kai Huang go to the East Pole Heaven?"
"Of course he did."
The Dark Emperor said, "In those days, Qin Ye also established an academy in the East Pole Heaven, called the True Dragon Dao Academy, which was also very famous. It was said that the one who followed him in cultivation there was a true dragon called the Azure Emperor, who was the incarnation of the dragon vein of the Kai Huang nation."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment. He had not seen any traces left by Kai Huang in the East Pole Heaven, presumably because the East Emperor had completely erased them.
This also revealed the different styles of the East Emperor and the Dark Emperor. The East Emperor was stubborn and self-willed, with a stronger desire for control; if he could not control something, he would erase all traces of it.
The Dark Emperor, on the other hand, was more mindful of old ties. Even though Kai Huang had fallen and the Kai Huang era had vanished, he still kept Kai Huang's stone statue, and many disciples in the North Pole Heaven still practiced swordsmanship.
In that era, Kai Huang had pushed the acquired great path of swordsmanship to its extreme, which was a form of reform. Besides swordsmanship, the paths of formations, forging, blade techniques, and many other acquired great paths were also developed during the Kai Huang era, gradually flourishing.
It could be said that the Kai Huang era was a period of eruption for acquired great paths, gradually competing with innate great paths!
And the Dark Emperor was proficient in formations and mathematics, showing that he did not reject acquired great paths, but he was limited by his innate nature and could not push these two acquired great paths to their extremes.
They continued forward, and Qin Mu saw more traces left by Kai Huang. There was a Sword Discussion Platform, a Sword Washing Pool, a Heavenly Earth Chessboard left by Yan Yun Xi, and a Black Tortoise Six Harmonies Sutra Wall left by Di Yi Yue.
"Kai Huang had such a good relationship with the Dark Emperor and the Martial Emperor, so why did he borrow the North Emperor's divine weapon to destroy the Kai Huang era?" Qin Mu asked.
The Dark Emperor said, "It was the trend of the times, and there was no choice. At that time, I thought that if the Kai Huang era could continue for three hundred thousand years like the Shang Huang era, the acquired great paths would be imprinted into the void, and the gods of the Kai Huang era would transform from acquired to innate, becoming new ancient gods. In this way, they could contend with the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu's mind shook violently. The ancient gods of that era had nurtured the Kai Huang era, and their original purpose was to create a batch of new ancient gods!
"By then, the interests of Kai Huang would be aligned with ours, the ancient gods. They would become new ancient gods, and we could join forces to eliminate the Heavenly Court. At that time, Kai Huang would become the new Heavenly Emperor of the ancient gods."
The Dark Emperor said, "Even without three hundred thousand years, giving the Kai Huang era one hundred thousand years would have allowed them to stand on their own, splitting the world with the Heavenly Court, preventing them from making a move against the ancient gods. But we never imagined that the Heavenly Court would only give them twenty thousand years. Under such circumstances, we had no choice but to compromise. If we didn't compromise, it would be a dead end."
He walked toward the Jade Platform, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly, muttering softly, "Only twenty thousand years… And as for Yan Kang, heh, eight hundred years…"
Qin Mu followed him, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Dark Emperor, there is a question I'm not sure if I should ask. Your relationship with the Martial Emperor doesn't seem very harmonious. Why is that?"
"You noticed that too?"
The Dark Emperor sighed and said, "The Martial Emperor and I were originally divine beings born from the Heavenly River, each governing a section of the river, with no interference between us. Later, as more ancient gods were born, the two of us were slightly weaker than those big shots like the Azure Dragon and the Empress, but when we combined our strength, we were a bit stronger than those fellows."
He led Qin Mu past the Jade Pool, where the Jade Pool of the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace was also split in two.
The Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace was much smaller than the Heavenly Court. Further ahead was the God-Slaying Platform.
Qin Mu's expression turned strange. This God-Slaying Platform had also been neatly cut in half, and even the two intertwined God-Slaying Mysterious Blades on the platform had been separated, leaving only a single strand of blood-colored baleful aura.
The Dark Emperor said, "For one, we wanted to protect ourselves and secure our positions, so we joined together. That's why others call us the North Emperor Black Tortoise. But later, we found that our temperaments didn't match. We had small fights every three days and big fights every five days; life became unbearable. Moreover, among the Four Emperors, the North Emperor Black Tortoise was the strongest, so some people stirred up trouble. Life got harder and harder, so when the Dragon Han era split, we simply split up as well."
He chuckled and said, "At that time, that shrew even clamored to cut the children in half, splitting them equally! Fortunately, the Nether Abyss had made a mistake and was suppressed at the time, otherwise, he really would have been cut in half."
Qin Mu's expression was strange. This couple were both stubborn and unyielding, even wanting to cut their own children in half and split them equally.
"Later on, the males came under my control, and the females under hers. Over time, the North Pole Heaven became what it is now."
The Dark Emperor said, "That shrew won't bow to me, and I won't bow to her. Over the years, we've been apart and together, and we've gotten used to it."
On the God-Slaying Platform, many young people were using the blood-colored baleful aura to temper their divine swords. Those young disciples of the Xuan Kingdom shuttled through the blade light of the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades, which was extremely dangerous, but they could use the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades to hone their swordsmanship.
The divine swords they tempered were not sword pellets. Instead, each carried a large gourd on their back. Inside the gourd was the Heavenly River sword energy. When the mouth of the gourd was opened, sword energy like a vast Heavenly River would fly out, ever-changing, combined with formations, and further enhanced by Di Yi Yue's Black Tortoise Six Harmonies Sutra, giving them immense magical power and formidable skill!
Qin Mu stood by the God-Slaying Platform, pausing to watch.
Using a gourd as a sword sheath was a unique feature of the North Pole Heaven, and the combination of swordsmanship with formations, paired with the unique great path of the Dark Emperor and the Martial Emperor, opened up a new perspective for him.
The Dark Emperor asked, "What does Celestial Venerable Mu think?"
Qin Mu nodded and said, "The swordsmanship of the North Pole Heaven indeed has its unique aspects. But it's the same as the swordsmanship of the Kai Huang era—outdated."
"I think so too."
The Dark Emperor smiled and said, "We ancient gods are most sensitive to changes in the Heavenly Dao and earthly laws. The Yan Kang National Teacher's reforms created the three fundamental sword techniques, pushing the stagnant swordsmanship of the Kai Huang era forward by three steps. Celestial Venerable Mu's reforms created two fundamental sword techniques, advancing it by another two steps. Not long ago, I felt the imprint of the sword path grow deeper and stronger, and someone created another fundamental sword technique. With this one technique, the sword path became almost comparable to the innate great paths. So the swordsmanship of our North Pole Heaven is inferior to that of Yan Kang."
Qin Mu said, "The one who created the Sword Twenty Style was Kai Huang. His swordsmanship is too strong. I even used his sword techniques to beat the reincarnated body of the East Emperor. He has now reappeared."
The Dark Emperor's heart trembled slightly. "Has the power accumulated in Carefree Village over twenty thousand years of lurking reached a level where it can contend with the Heavenly Court?"
Qin Mu shook his head and sneered, "There has been no accumulation of power at all; instead, the corruption is comparable to that of the Heavenly Court. If the swordsmanship of the North Pole Heaven wants to progress, the Dark Emperor can send some people to Yan Kang. Yan Kang has continued the academy and school system of the Kai Huang era. There, the sword experts of the North Pole Heaven can take another step forward."
The Dark Emperor hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, the divine beings of the Xuan Kingdom on the God-Slaying Platform each withdrew their Heavenly River sword energy, landed with a whoosh, and all looked toward Qin Mu.
A man said, "If you want us to go to Yan Kang to study, Celestial Venerable Mu must first prove that Yan Kang's swordsmanship can indeed surpass the True Martial Sword Technique of our North Pole Heaven!"
The Dark Emperor showed a smile and said, "Children being willful. Celestial Venerable, please don't take offense."
Qin Mu laughed heartily and stepped onto the God-Slaying Platform. The God-Slaying Mysterious Blade slashed toward him, but he cut it apart with a single sword strike. The mysterious blade, refined from baleful aura, reformed after being broken and continued to slash at him.
Qin Mu raised his sword and swung it. With a swoosh, the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade was sliced into thirty-three or thirty-four pieces by a single strike, unable to reconnect.
"Excellent swordsmanship!"
The divine beings of the True Martial Sword Academy below the platform cheered, but then said, "But it's Kai Huang's swordsmanship. It has nothing to do with your Yan Kang!"
Qin Mu sheathed his sword. The God-Slaying Mysterious Blade reformed again and continued to slash at him. Qin Mu pointed with his finger, and the sword in his hand transformed into the Drill Sword Technique, breaking the mysterious blade and shattering it!
The mysterious blade reformed again, and Qin Mu then rotated his fingertip, the sword light turning into the Wrap Sword Technique, nearly erasing the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade!
After the mysterious blade barely managed to reform, Qin Mu's sword technique changed again into the Wandering Sword Technique, moving parallel to the mysterious blade. No matter how the divine blade of god-slaying and demon-extermination shifted and changed, it could never touch Qin Mu.
Qin Mu then transformed into the Sword Eighteen Style, cutting the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade into a chaotic flurry, completely devoid of power.
When the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade reformed once more, Qin Mu executed the Sword Nineteen Style. With a single sword strike, this strand of blood-colored baleful aura was publicly annihilated, turning into nothingness.
The faces of the divine beings of the True Martial Sword Academy changed drastically. They all looked toward the Dark Emperor, their expressions pleading.
The Dark Emperor's face flickered with uncertainty, hesitant and indecisive.
Qin Mu sheathed his sword and stepped down, saying, "The blade path contained in the Dark Emperor's God-Slaying Platform is far too lowly, far inferior to Yan Kang's. If the Dark Emperor were to reforge the God-Slaying Platform and invite a blade path grandmaster from Yan Kang, I would not be able to break the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade so easily."
The Dark Emperor gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I cannot make the decision. I was wrong about Kai Huang once. If I am wrong again, the North Pole Heaven will face utter destruction! I cannot gamble with your lives. I cannot afford to gamble anymore…"
A divine being from the Sword Academy knelt on one knee, raised his hands high above his head, and said, "Hearing the Dao in the morning is worth dying in the evening! We have stepped onto the sword path in this life and cannot turn back. We can only walk this road, see the highest peak, and climb it. Please, Your Majesty, grant our wish!"
The Dark Emperor remained silent.
The other divine beings of the True Martial Sword Academy knelt down one after another, shouting loudly, "Please, Your Majesty, grant our wish!"
The Dark Emperor finally made up his mind and said, "You may go, but for the safety of the North Pole Heaven, I must expel you from our clan. You will no longer be my descendants! Are you willing?"
The sword gods of the True Martial Sword Academy exchanged glances, some hesitation in their eyes.
Qin Mu stood there with his hands behind his back. Dragon Qilin and Yan'er noticed that the hands behind his back were trembling slightly. His earlier act of erasing the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade with basic sword techniques had been somewhat reckless, and the muscles in his arms were nearly shattered.
Qin Mu maintained his composure, saying leisurely, "Kai Huang has gone to Yan Kang. You are his disciples. If you hurry over now, you might still see him."
"We are willing!" the sword gods of the True Martial Sword Academy said in unison.