After a night's rest on Eagle Peak Mountain, Li Chengfeng left his morning classes early in the morning. When he returned, Madam Xie and Green Bead were nowhere to be found. There was only a letter left in the room they stayed in.
Li Chengfeng opened it and glanced at it. There was a short seven-character ancient poem written on it.
What is the path of poverty,
Chaos and peace are the same.
Though our home is on the battlefield,
My son is far away enjoying the mountain breeze.
The shadow of the bamboo outside the window shakes on the table,
The sound of the wild spring flows into the pond.
A young man's life's work,
Don't ask time to waste.
At the bottom of the poem was a line of beautiful and neat handwriting: My son, don't worry about your family. When you go out, remember to wear more warm clothes. Don't have any dirty conflicts with your fellow apprentices. One more friend, one more road, one less enemy, one less wall.
The Li family is the only heir in your generation. If anything happens to you, the Li family, which has been passed down for more than five hundred years, will cease to exist.
But my son, I'd rather the Li family disappear from this world, for you to live a peaceful life.
Ever since you left home, I've been thinking about you every day. I've been deeply regretting and blaming myself for forcing you to learn this and that from a young age. I've forced you to do many things that you don't like. I've even forced you to cultivate.
Now, I deeply regret it. I would rather have my son be an ordinary mortal than to let him fight and kill all day and let me be on tenterhooks at home.
But now that things have come to this, what's done can't be undone. It's too late. My son, remember to put your safety first. Where there's life, there's hope.
Your father, Green Bead, and I will be waiting for you to come home for our reunion dinner.
Li Chengfeng's eyes welled up unknowingly as he read the letter that looked so ordinary.
"Senior Brother Chengfeng?"
A sudden shout came from the side. Li Chengfeng quickly folded the letters and wiped the corners of his eyes. He turned to look at the cautious Han Tianxing behind him. "Tianxing?
What's wrong? "
Han Tianxing looked troubled as he whispered, "Senior Brother Chengfeng, I'm going to build my foundation in two days, but … I still don't have a sword that suits me …"
Li Chengfeng understood. To Han Tianxing, this was indeed a big deal. He was about to participate in the assessment but not only did he not build his foundation, he did not even have a sword to acknowledge him as its owner.
If a disciple of Hidden Sword Court did not carry a sword with him, would he still be a disciple of Hidden Sword Court?
Li Chengfeng frowned and thought for a moment. "Wait here, I'll discuss this with Senior Brother."
It was obviously impossible to look for Grand Senior Brother directly. Li Chengfeng and Grand Senior Brother had already fallen out. If he were to look for Grand Senior Brother himself, he would be asking for trouble. He could only take a roundabout way and see if Senior Brother Ouyang had any ideas.
When Li Chengfeng found Ouyang Nan and told him about this, Ouyang Nan laughed and waved his hand as if it was nothing. "You can ask Senior Brother Qin about this. When Grand Senior Brother is not around, Senior Brother Qin is in charge. You can ask him to bring Tianxing to the Valley of Ten Thousand Swords to choose his own sword."
Li Chengfeng was delighted but his feet did not move. Although Ouyang Nan looked boorish on the outside, he was actually quite meticulous. He immediately understood and smiled. "No problem, I'll go with you. I don't believe that dead-faced guy would reject me!"
…
"No!"
Ouyang Nan had just finished bragging when Qin Mieqin's direct rejection slapped him in the face.
Ouyang Nan, who had never been on good terms with him, was furious. "Damn you, dead-faced guy! You're using this opportunity to take revenge on me!"
Qin Mieqin sat in front of his desk, expressionlessly marking documents as he replied coldly, "Can't you see I'm busy?
Who has the time and energy to take revenge on you? "
Ouyang Nan raged, "What do you have to do?!"
Qin Mieqin said, "As long as Hidden Sword Court exists, I'm still the administrator of Hidden Sword Court. All official documents related to Hidden Sword Court have to go through me. Even the laws of the Spiritual Mountain Sect have to go through me.
Do you think I'm like you, idling around all day? "
Ouyang Nan raged, "Bullsh * t, bullsh * t!
You stink!
I'm bleeding and fighting outside, I almost lost my life! You're just here, moving your fingers and touching your lips, and you think you have the right to judge me? "
Qin Mieqin glanced at Ouyang Nan and sneered, "You were the one who wanted to go. No one forced you to go!"
Ouyang Nan raged, "Qin, you can look down on me but if you dare to ruin Hidden Sword Court's reputation, I'll turn against you!"
Qin Mieqin looked up, his expression cold. "What do you think I'm doing now?
If I don't even deal with these official documents, then who can prove that Hidden Sword Court still exists? "
Qin Mieqin stood up and pointed angrily at Ouyang Nan. "Just because the few of you are fighting and killing outside …" He then pointed at Li Chengfeng. "Or because you ringing the Heaven Questioning Bell?
Or because we gather together every day and loudly recite Hidden Sword Court's laws?
Is that enough to prove Hidden Sword Court's existence? "
Ouyang Nan smirked. "Oh?
Do you think you can prove the existence of Hidden Sword Court just by hiding here and moving your fingers and talking to us?
Let me tell you, the Hidden Sword Court is built from sword after sword. It's not a f * cking glib tongue or a pen!
Hidden Sword Court's reputation is built from the blood and corpses of our Martial Uncles! "
Qin Mieqin stared at Ouyang Nan and yelled, "No, Ouyang Nan, let me tell you, Hidden Sword Court's true reputation is because it used to represent the Spiritual Mountain Sect's laws!"
"In your eyes, Hidden Sword Court represents power and glory. But in my eyes, it represents the Spiritual Mountain Sect's fairness, justice, rules, and faith!
If one day Hidden Sword Court no longer exists, if I can pass these things down, then even if Hidden Sword Court is dead, its spirit and symbol will not die!
One day, someone will see them, and know what the seniors of Hidden Sword Court have done, what they have fought for, and what they have sacrificed. This way, the spirit of Hidden Sword Court and Hidden Sword Court will never die! "
These words greatly shocked Ouyang Nan and Li Chengfeng. Ouyang Nan had come in a threatening manner, but at this moment, he was speechless, unable to speak.
Ouyang Nan had never experienced the most glorious era of Hidden Sword Court, but every disciple of Hidden Sword Court knew the history of Hidden Sword Court like the back of their hands. Of course, they knew that the things that Mieqin mentioned were once the beliefs that every disciple of Hidden Sword Court was most proud of.
The Twelve Hidden Sword Strikes represented Hidden Sword Court's fairness, justice, rules, and faith!
However, it had been passed down to this day. Not only was there no successor, but there was also a lack of faith!
Li Chengfeng asked himself, they recited the Twelve Hidden Sword Strikes every day but how many of them actually engraved it as a form of faith in their hearts?
Qin Mieqin stared at him. "Li Chengfeng, you're very good, much better than I thought!
Ouyang Nan sees you as Hidden Sword Court's hope but I know that Hidden Sword Court no longer has any hope!
You underestimate Shanxue too much, you have no idea how powerful he is. Making him your enemy is suicidal!
Now, please leave. I need to quickly approve all these documents and seal all the files. If we're lucky, in a few decades, or even a few centuries, someone will find them. "
Ouyang Nan shook his head at Li Chengfeng in despair.
Li Chengfeng sighed and said to Mieqin, "Senior Brother Qin, I know what you're talking about.
But Senior Brother Qin, have you ever thought that when you were waiting for death, stretching your neck to be chopped off, would there be a trace of regret in the depths of your heart? If I had resisted back then, if I had fought back then, if I had tried back then, even if this ending, this ending, this ending only had a one in ten thousand possibility, what if, what if it really happened? "
Li Chengfeng took a step forward and said sincerely, "If one day, Senior Brother Qin dies and you come before your Martial Uncles, they will ask you: Why didn't you try it in the first place?
Even if the chances were so slim?
But there's still a chance, isn't there? "