He narrowed his eyes at the arena, where two figures were locked in combat.
One tall figure looked familiar. Chu Yuan squinted to get a better look and recognized the face—Zhao Gongming, the eldest of the four siblings he had saved outside the city.
Chu Yuan hadn’t expected this God of Wealth to take the stage so soon. Before he could think further, Zhao Gongming forced his opponent back with a sword strike, then closed in and kicked the cultivator square in the chest. The man flew off the arena like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the stone steps at the edge of the viewing platform with a muffled grunt.
The referee, an old cultivator with a goatee, stood on a high platform at the edge of the arena and announced, “Zhao Gongming defeats Zhang San! That’s seven wins! Next challenger, please step forward!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd below.
Zhao Gongming sheathed his sword and stood tall, breathing slightly quickened, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead. He had been fighting for most of the day, stepping onto the arena from the very first match and holding on until now. Seven consecutive wins, each a hard-fought battle. His spiritual power fluctuations had begun to weaken. If he didn’t manage his energy well, he would soon be forced out.
From below, Chu Yuan muttered under his breath, ‘Seven consecutive wins? Next challenger? Is this a gauntlet match? If so, the God of Wealth stepping up so early is actually a disadvantage!’
As he lamented, Chu Yuan heard someone nearby shouting, “Those who want to sign up, come here!”
Chu Yuan turned and saw a row of long tables set up as registration booths, with a clerk bellowing at the top of his lungs, “Cultivators at the Clarity realm or below are welcome! Five spirit stones to enter! Five days of opportunity—miss it, and you’ll have to wait another hundred years!”
He hurried over and quickly learned the rules of the Ten Thousand Immortals Combat Competition: one gauntlet match per day. The one who lasted the longest would earn the right to enter the Mist Hidden Swamp. Losers could challenge again the next day. Each entry cost five spirit stones. To Chu Yuan, this arena was a good training opportunity. He needed more sparring partners to learn from their techniques and understand their insights into the Path of Emotion.
As Chu Yuan forged on, the shape of the sword embryo in his dantian finally became clear. It was a black rapier with a four-sided pyramidal blade, the grooves between the edges dark red like blood. Chu Yuan continued to pour his essence into it.
After an unknown amount of time, with a sharp zheng~, the sword embryo let out a clear, resonant ring. Three magic formations blazed with blinding light simultaneously, then quickly faded. As Chu Yuan flipped his hand, his personal Emotional Weapon appeared in his palm.
It was a black rapier. The wheel at the hilt turned slowly, flashing through seven colors before settling into stillness.
Chu Yuan pressed the trigger inside the handguard. The red emotional seed lit up, and the blade instantly erupted in flames, casting the entire chamber in a red glow. He released the trigger, and the flames dissipated. The blue emotional seed lit up, and a chilling cold spread, forming a thin layer of frost on the ground.
The seven colors cycled at a single thought.
The Emotional Weapon was complete. Chu Yuan couldn’t help but leap outside the courtyard to practice his sword forms. When he opened the door, the light of dawn fell on his pale face. In the distance, the morning bell of Xuanji City had just rung.
Chu Yuan’s eyes glazed over. ‘It’s already been one night?’
He took a deep breath of the sweet spring air, easing some of the fatigue on his face. In an instant, to avoid being detected by Fox Venerable, Chu Yuan activated the Phantom Ethereal Dharma Robe to conceal himself, then began wielding his sword. With each movement, his forms exuded an extreme sword intent. Crisscrossing sword marks appeared on the courtyard walls.
Seeing this, Chu Yuan sheathed his sword and marveled. Even in his weakened state, having exerted less than ten percent of his strength, his sword forms could still cause such damage—testifying to the power of the Emotional Weapon. No wonder so many sword grandmasters in his previous life had forsook ancient legendary weapons and divine swords in favor of cultivating their internal Emotional Weapon.
As he examined the rapier in his hand, Chu Yuan began to ponder a name for his Emotional Weapon. He considered himself poor at naming and murmured to himself, ‘Since I designed and condensed this Emotional Weapon based on the Myriad Emotions Sword Technique, I might as well call you the Ten Thousand Emotions Sword! Whether I can defeat Fox Venerable depends on you, brother!’
With that, he retracted the Ten Thousand Emotions Sword into his dantian.
Just as he was about to return to his room to rest and regulate his breathing, Chu Yuan sensed a fluctuation of spiritual power from his Warm Sun Jade. He extended his divine sense into it and heard a seductive voice echo in his consciousness sea:
【Your Highness, where have you been? I’ve been unable to detect your whereabouts all along?】
Hearing the displeasure in Fox Venerable’s tone, like a mother interfering wantonly in her child’s affairs, Chu Yuan rolled his eyes in annoyance.
【I’m fine! I’m currently undergoing a secret training and naturally don’t want to be disturbed. Does Fox Venerable have something to discuss?】
Su Xuanxuan breathed a slight sigh of relief and stated directly:
【In seven days, the Chu Clan will hold the Divine Hunt Selection. It will be a knockout tournament to select disciples.】
【Your Highness, I have arranged a sparring match for us!】
【I have spread word that I will be selecting disciples from the top ten contestants.】
【At that time, you and I will fight on the arena. What do you think?】
Chu Yuan understood the subtext:
【Fox Venerable, you mean to let me first participate in the selection, and after breaking into the top ten, then challenge you?】
【You aren’t planning to wear me down with a gauntlet first, just to win, are you?】
Seeing that he had laid it out so plainly, Su Xuanxuan feigned innocence:
【Your Highness, what do you mean by that? I don’t understand.】
【I only want to make it more legitimate for you to become my disciple. I have no ill intentions!】
【Or does Your Highness lack confidence in defeating the children of the Chu Clan branch?】
Though she said this, Su Xuanxuan indeed had such an intention. However, she was more interested in seeing what exactly her Holy Son was made of. What kind of sword technique had that old ring spirit, who called himself the “Chu Clan Ancestor,” taught Chu Yuan?
Faced with Fox Venerable’s poor provocation, Chu Yuan sighed and simply said:
【Fine, but I need to confirm one thing: is the only restriction in our sparring that we both seal our own cultivation?】
【Fox Venerable wouldn’t stoop to setting complicated conditions to make sure I, who am far weaker, lose, would you?】
Su Xuanxuan didn’t hesitate:
【Your Highness can rest assured! I have no need to play tricks on such matters.】
After all, she was a formidable barrier at the Dao Harmonization realm, and she had the confidence of a strong cultivator. As long as she figured out what sword technique her Holy Son used, Fox Venerable would have a way to break through.
Hearing this, Chu Yuan sneered and retorted sarcastically:
【Heh! Fox Venerable, by arranging it like this, aren’t you already playing tricks?】
Su Xuanxuan defended herself:
【I arranged it this way to avoid Young Master Yunlan discovering you, Your Highness.】
The moment Fox Venerable mentioned Chu Yunlan, Chu Yuan grew irritated. In his previous life, constrained by the system’s script, he had been forced to watch that fake young master run rampant over him. This life, he would exact proper revenge. Especially since he had already reunited with Fox Venerable, this matter had to be brought to the forefront.
Considering that at this point in time, he should know nothing, Chu Yuan feigned confusion:
【Speaking of which! Fox Venerable, since I am the Holy Lord’s son—】
【Then what’s the deal with this Young Master Yunlan? My biological brother?】
【But if he’s my biological brother, how come he gets to enjoy all the luxuries in the Sacred Realm?】
【While I’m stuck in a branch family as an orphan, despised by the branch’s offspring?】
Faced with the resentment in her Holy Son’s tone, Su Xuanxuan calmly recited a script she had prepared for years:
【Holy Son, don’t misunderstand. This was all arranged by the Holy Lord.】
Hearing this explanation, Chu Yuan wanted to laugh. It was this woman who had fabricated the whole story, yet she had the nerve to pin the blame on his biological father? Was she taking advantage of the fact that his old Holy Lord father was on his last legs and couldn’t refute her?
Well… actually, that was probably true.
Of course, no matter how much he cursed inwardly, Chu Yuan had to keep up the act of confusion:
【What do you mean?】
Su Xuanxuan explained:
【The Sacred Realm has developed for over a thousand years, accumulating countless enemies, both overt and covert.】
【The Holy Lord spent half his life and only has you as his sole son, so naturally he had to protect you with the utmost care.】
【To that end, he created the “Young Master Yunlan” as a decoy, to deflect most of the potential assassination attempts away from you.】
Chu Yuan pretended to understand:
【I see! So what happens next? After the Holy Lord formally recognizes me and brings me back to the Sacred Realm, how will that fake young master be dealt with?】
Su Xuanxuan replied with a smile:
【Young Master Yunlan has cultivated in the Sacred Realm since childhood. He will naturally assist you in ascending to the position of Holy Lord, becoming your most reliable right hand.】
At this, Chu Yuan couldn’t hold back a laugh:
【Ha! Right hand? Fox Venerable, are you joking?】
【Up until now, Young Master Yunlan has been calling himself the “Holy Lord’s sole son.” Everyone believes he is the future Sacred Lord of Taixu, the center of attention.】
【Now suddenly a brother appears and he’s supposed to step down? Will he be willing?】
【In my opinion, once my identity is made public, he’ll plot to kick me out, won’t he?】
【Having him by my side—isn’t that just setting me up?】
Hearing her Holy Son’s analysis, appreciation flickered in Su Xuanxuan’s eyes. She said apologetically:
【The Holy Son is truly perceptive. The Holy Lord has instructed: if the Holy Son wishes to eliminate Young Master Yunlan, you may do so yourself!】
【We elders will neither interfere nor offer assistance.】
【I trust the Holy Son understands what this means?】
With these words, she had pushed the training plan into the “struggle for succession between the real and fake young masters.”
Chu Yuan frowned:
【Even a clever woman can’t cook a meal without rice. I’m in a weak position now. If my true identity is discovered, I could be killed by this fake young master at any moment, right?】
Su Xuanxuan smiled:
【Therefore, Your Highness the Holy Son, you need to lie low and bide your time.】
【First, spend a few decades getting familiar with the Sacred Realm’s operations and building connections.】
【Rest assured, during this period, I will teach you everything I know, and no one will learn your true identity.】
As she spoke, her fox eyes narrowed, already envisioning how her Holy Son would stand on his own under her tutelage and lead the Sacred Realm to new heights. By then, she believed he would surely understand her good intentions.
However, in the dilapidated courtyard, Chu Yuan couldn’t help but grit his molars.
In his previous life, he had listened to Fox Venerable’s advice and bided his time. Over those decades, he had indeed built his own network, but that fake young master had also been solidifying his power base. This had left Chu Yuan constantly suppressed when he officially contested the succession. Moreover, Fox Venerable had refused to help, citing that “the Holy Son must stand on his own,” which left him constrained at every turn. Not to mention, he had that damned system at the time, forcing him to endure that fake young master’s antics.
This life, Chu Yuan had no intention of repeating that mistake:
【Fox Venerable, aren’t you overlooking one thing? According to your plan—】
【I can indeed lie low for a few decades, but that fake young master will also be growing.】
【When the time comes to reveal my true identity, my situation will only become more difficult.】