Chen Ping's Sword

Liiyang City.

Gaosheng Building.

The afternoon cicadas were still endlessly vibrating their wings and chirping.

The lingering heat of the autumn tiger had not dissipated, and the weather remained extremely hot.

Ji Mingyue sat in a private room on the third floor. Through the flower window, he could see the flow of painted boats on the Liu River below, which ran beside the street.

From time to time, young women giggled softly, waving at the scholars along both banks.

Bold scholars would stop to watch, their eyes filled with longing.

The timid ones would cover their faces and stagger forward, their eyes peeping through their fingers, greedily fixed on the figures of the girls on the painted boats.

From a distance, the sound of people swallowing their saliva could be heard.

"Young master, don’t leave, come aboard for a drink..."

Near the riverbank, a woman on a painted boat, adorned with eye shadow and rouge, poked her head out, shielding her mouth with a round fan, and softly called out to a handsome young master.

The young master blushed, took three steps back, and recited: "A man should not concern himself with the willows of the Zhangtai Bridge, for he should read through ten thousand books in a day..."

Such interactions.

Often elicited good-natured laughter from the surrounding people.

"Another year has passed, and it’s time for the autumn exams again."

Ji Mingyue wasn’t particularly fixated on the unique painted boat culture of Liiyang, but recalled that three years ago, around this time, Xingqing Prefecture was also so lively. He had pestered his mother to take him out to play in the streets and had bought two more sugar-coated haws.

On the way back to the mansion, he saw some scholars bearing lavish gifts standing at the gate of the Jinghai Prince’s Mansion, waiting for an audience.

’I wonder if my mother is doing well at Celestial Gate Pass. If Beizhou advances south again, she would bear the brunt, which indeed poses some danger.

However, near the Celestial Gate Pass lies Qingwei Mountain. My mother stationed there suggests she might not want to be too far from her sect, after all, it’s her [natal family].’

Thinking of the uncles at the Qingwei Sect, the Little Commandery Princess smiled knowingly.

Actually, she couldn’t quite understand why her mother, in her youth, was adored by many senior brothers, yet ultimately chose...

A face flashed through her mind, and Ji Mingyue’s eyes grew slightly dim. He quickly shifted his thoughts, refusing to dwell on it, and reached out with his porcelain-white jade hand to catch a Little Cyan Bird shooting down like lightning from above.

"A letter from Seventh Brother."

Ji Mingyue’s eyes flickered with a trace of joy, and the previous traces of sadness vanished without a trace.

Although these days, she often heard of King Ping capturing cities and advancing without encountering formidable opponents.

Reports of consecutive victories sounded quite invigorating.

However, she had yet to hear the news she most wanted—the battle with the Grand Governor of the Imperial Forest of Great Li remained perilous and unpredictable.

Until the final moment, she had no way to settle her mind.

If it weren’t for urgent matters in Liiyang City, she might have already left. Regardless of whether she could assist, being by Seventh Brother’s side would be quite gratifying.

"The Seventh Army crossed the river, a great victory at Wenshui..."

Ji Mingyue covered her mouth, and tears of joy uncontrollably welled up from the corners of her eyes.

Not caring about the people around her, she eagerly spread the letter open to read again, smiling even as her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"The Shenxiao Sword Sect finally sent down its most capable disciple, personally carrying a spiritual artifact to assist Yan Beifei, how risky."

"Spiritual artifact?"

Sitting not far away, Yangg Tao and Fang Shen were startled.

As the business of the Celestial Heart Pavilion expanded and spies spread out, the information they received naturally increased as well.

Information they could never know before, about hidden high-level secrets, they now heard bits and pieces.

Such as dharma instruments, spiritual artifacts, and the hidden black hands behind Beizhou’s invasion, as well as the Eight Gangs and Ten Sects, Thirteen Noble Families, and who propped them up.

"Is Sect Leader senior brother alright?" The young girl, Yangg Tao, had already shed her youthful innocence between her brows, seasoned by these days.

She had been on battlefields, fought assassins, and after joining Ji Mingyue’s command, followed the great troop from the Celestial Heart Pavilion in expanding territories, managing affairs...

Though young, her eyes showed a touch of shrewdness and cunning.

"He’s alright, but during the battle, he was slightly injured. After all, the opponent used a spiritual artifact, which is not easy to withstand." At this point, Ji Mingyue felt somewhat indignantly unjust.

In her heart, she was thinking.

’Wasn’t it said that experts of the Divine Martial Realm would not partake in the struggles for dynasty rulership? How come many of them disregard this, as if those rules exist only to bind honest people?’

Yes, they wouldn’t openly attack these mundane armies, but they could sneak around, often gifting powerful treasures to let their disciples take action.

When investigated, no one could catch their wrongdoing.

Another possibility is that such experts, shamelessly hiding and secretly obliterating leading figures, for powers unsupervised, one should not trust their supposed high virtues.

Since controlling the Celestial Heart Pavilion, Ji Mingyue had further delved into the incident where two Venerable-level experts had clashed in Yujing City, revealing the truth behind their mutual retreat.

The cause was Beizhou’s Venerable Mingxin secretly entering Yujing, stirring the dynasty’s fortunes, which the Ji Family’s ancestor sensed, and during their clash, a large section of North City collapsed, exposing their identities.

This news then shook the world.

No one knew if Ji Family ancestor Ji Tang deliberately released this news, positioning himself on the moral high ground. From this point, it seems Beizhou, whether in battle force or top-level experts, might already hold the upper hand.