Chapter 77: Telling Stories in the Imperial City
The silence before the hall was broken by Gou Hanshi. He looked at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Is that the tale recorded in the Guiyuan Dao Canon?"
Chen Changsheng nodded. "The endnotes of the second volume."
Gou Hanshi raised an eyebrow slightly. "The names of those four sword moves are indeed recorded, but the author didn't specify the order."
Chen Changsheng said, "Both the *Xijing Miscellany* and the *Youyang Local Gazette* mention a Taoist observer. According to that Taoist's account, the actual sequence matched what's in the Guiyuan Dao Canon."
Gou Hanshi thought for a moment. Those two scriptures did indeed contain such a record, but before Chen Changsheng brought it up, few would have connected it to the story in the Guiyuan Dao Canon. The main reason was that the Guiyuan Dao Canon wasn't an orthodox scripture ratified by the state religion. After centuries since its compilation, very few had read it.
The crowd was utterly confused, having no idea what he and Chen Changsheng were talking about.
Even the erudite teachers from various academies, or figures like the head of the Qiu Shan family, felt as if they were listening to a celestial text.
The Archbishop frowned slightly and asked the Prince of Chenliu beside him, "What Dao Canon are they talking about?"
The Prince of Chenliu wasn't sure. "It seems to be something called the Guiyuan Dao Canon."
The Archbishop was somewhat annoyed. "How come I've never heard of it?"
Only Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng remembered that the long-forgotten Guiyuan Dao Canon recorded a story. In the distant past, an ancestor of the Tang clan of Wenshui fought a bloody battle against a demon clan expert in Xinxiang County. Against all expectations of the onlookers, that Tang ancestor unleashed four consecutive sword moves and killed the demon expert on the spot.
Those four sword moves were: Overturning the Golden Vase, Sinking the Sea's Qi, Window Shadow and Lamp, and finally, Hanging the Sword in the Long Forest.
This battle became a story, recorded and passed down to the present, precisely because none of the onlookers could understand why those four moves could be used in succession. The transitions seemed stiff and abrupt, yet when they met the demon expert's chillingly powerful techniques, they suddenly became so fluid and effortless.
"Why did you think to use those four moves?" Gou Hanshi asked.
"I chose Overturning the Golden Vase as the first move because of Tang Thirty-Six's temperament. He likes this kind of unconventional technique. But you immediately countered with Mountain Ghost Splitting the Rock... too forceful."
Chen Changsheng explained, "Your three moves had their rising and falling momentum fully contained within them. In the end, splendor fades, frost covers the mountain ridges—the essence of 'bleak' and 'killing' lies in sheer power."
Gou Hanshi said, "Correct."
Chen Changsheng continued, "I couldn't think of any Tang clan sword moves that could withstand those three strikes, unless we used the Wenshui Three Swords again... but you probably know Tang Thirty-Six's temperament well. He'd rather die than do that, and there was no time for me to convince him."
Tang Thirty-Six was somewhat irritated. "What exactly is my temperament supposed to be?"
Chen Changsheng ignored him and looked at Gou Hanshi. "It was really a coincidence. Overturning the Golden Vase was something I said on a whim, but your response was so forceful and bleak that it left me with few options. So I naturally recalled that story from the Guiyuan Dao Canon and remembered those four swords used by the Tang ancestor."
Gou Hanshi thought for a moment and said, "The demon expert who was utterly defeated by that Tang ancestor back then also followed the bleak and killing school, with a cold and gloomy method. But it was still different from our Li Mountain sword techniques. I also remember those four swords from the Guiyuan Dao Canon, but I never thought to use them in that situation."
Chen Changsheng said, "I didn't know if those four swords would work either. It's just... you came on too fiercely, and Qi Jian's sword was too steady. I couldn't think of any other way to break through, so I had to try."
"Few people know about the Guiyuan Dao Canon, and even fewer remember those four swords. In that situation, to recall them and dare to try is even rarer."
Gou Hanshi looked at him and said, "You're quite impressive."
Chen Changsheng said, "I struck first, and I had one extra move. If you had struck first, the result might have been different."
Gou Hanshi said, "True. Fortunately, this is only the first match."
Chen Changsheng said, "I heard from Tang Thirty-Six that you've read through the Dao Canons and are a remarkable person."
Gou Hanshi thought for a moment. In this regard, he couldn't be modest. "As I said before, I've just read a few more books."
Chen Changsheng said, "And as I said before, coincidentally, I've also read a few books."
Gou Hanshi looked at him, silent for a moment, then said, "It seems you're quite confident."
Chen Changsheng's expression was calm. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Please enlighten me."
The night wind gently brushed, and starlight fell on his face.
Earlier inside the hall, Gou Hanshi had spoken those three words to him.
Now, it was his turn to say those three words to Gou Hanshi.
Only the order had changed, but it represented many things.
The crowd on the stone steps before the hall had been whispering among themselves when Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng first started talking. But gradually, the murmurs grew quieter until there was complete silence.
Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng hadn't deliberately put on a show of mutual admiration.
But to everyone, the fact that Gou Hanshi regarded Chen Changsheng as an opponent was already shocking.
The second match of the Li Mountain Sword Sect's challenge against the National Academy began calmly in this atmosphere.
The National Academy's representative was, naturally, Her Highness Luoluo.
Since Tang Thirty-Six had defeated Qi Jian, for Chen Changsheng not to have to compete, she needed to win this second match.
She was full of confidence about this.
But clearly, no one before the hall thought so.
Even Jin Yulu's brow was furrowed; he didn't think Her Highness could defeat her opponent.
Because her opponent was Guan Feibai.
The fourth of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom.
Also, the fourth on the Azure Cloud List.
Guan Feibai walked to the center of the field, bowed to Luoluo, and then raised an eyebrow slightly—not out of fear, but some frustration.
Luoluo understood what he was thinking and said, "Are you annoyed about fighting me? Worried about hurting me, so you can't go all out, feeling restrained and completely at odds with your proud and domineering nature? Do you think I'm taking advantage of you?"
"I wouldn't dare."
Guan Feibai said expressionlessly, "But Your Highness should be well aware that no matter what, I wouldn't dare to harm you."
"I'm a student of the National Academy. Since your Li Mountain Sword Sect is challenging the National Academy, it's only right for me to step forward. You can treat me like an ordinary student and go all out—that would be best. If you can't do that and fight with too many scruples, ending up beaten like a dog by me, you can't blame me."
Luoluo looked at him and said, "Because that's your own choice."
The little girl was very petite, much shorter than Guan Feibai, but she looked up at him with no expression on her face, yet it felt as if she were looking down on him.
A chill appeared between Guan Feibai's brows. "Your Highness speaks reasonably."
Among the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, his rank was in the middle, but his temperament was the most extreme—proud, cold, irritable, and quick to anger. Even facing Luoluo, he grew angry.
"Everyone says the rankings on the Azure Cloud List can change at any time, but people tend to forget one thing: before any change, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is never wrong."
He stared into Luoluo's eyes and said word by word, "Four is four, nine is nine. No matter what, nine can never surpass four."