The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 262 The Clumsy Master and the Clever Disciple (Part 2)

Gu Fangchen had some questions about the cause of death of "Military Genius" Li Kan.

Because his life did not end abruptly like the history of the "Great Age of the Furnace," his life and death were properly recorded in the [Tomb of the Military Immortal].

In other words, he should not have died suddenly along with the "Great Furnace Era" for some reason, but rather he was killed normally, after a proper beginning and end.

Gu Fangchen was also curious about who killed this "God of War" known for his brutality, which led to his inheritance falling to Gu Yuye and prompted the development of a series of subsequent plot developments.

Unexpectedly, it was the matriarch.

Although the matriarch was only showing murderous intent at this moment, given her strength, it was practically certain that she would succeed.

However, Li Kan was no pushover either.

As a close advisor to the Emperor, this guy may have already sensed Xiao Zhenwu's thoughts and plans, so he simply went with the flow and used the Ancestral Mother to arrange his own "fake death".

He will be reborn in another body at some point in the future...

And the unlucky one who was chosen later was obviously Gu Yuye.

Gu Fangchen looked at the matriarch, but he was more curious about another question:
"Why did you kill him?"

The matriarch withdrew her gaze, twirled her sword, gestured with her chin to show him the sword in her hand, and said irritably:

"fool!"

“He cultivates ‘a hundred weapons,’ while I cultivate ‘sword.’ Not only me, but all cultivators in the world who use weapons want to kill him as soon as possible.”

Gu Fangchen nodded in realization.

Indeed, Li Kan mastered the Way of "Hundred Weapons," which naturally made all cultivators who used weapons look inferior.

You are the god of swords, but he is the god of weapons.

If we don't kill him, wouldn't our own "Dao" be below his "Dao"?
This is clearly a battle for the orthodox tradition, no wonder they're locked in a life-or-death struggle!
Thinking of this, Gu Fangchen stroked her chin, and frowned again, recalling Li Kan's behavior in front of Ning Caiyong.

Ning Caiyong also used a sword.

Why was Li Kan so helpless in front of her, like a clay chicken or a clay dog, without any power to resist...?

Moreover, the Great Dao of the Sword has been confirmed to reside in the Ancestral Master.

In other words, Ning Caiyong's practice was at least not swordsmanship—even though her swordsmanship was still incredibly advanced and unparalleled.

At the same time, Ning Caiyong's cultivation level was far superior to Li Kan's, and he also said that he was not a first-rank official.

Therefore, her cultivation level should be at least on par with Xiao Zhenwu, the "Master of Hengchang," a True Immortal of the Infinite Realm.

With this thought in mind, Gu Fangchen looked up at Shi Qingguang and asked:
“Disciple, since you are setting up a arena to challenge all the sword cultivators in the world, you should know all the famous sword cultivators in the entire Ancient Dynasty, right?”

Shi Qingguang sheathed his sword and nodded his little head:

"It's natural."

She jumped down from the sword furnace and immediately guessed Gu Fangchen's thoughts:

"Silly master, are you looking for someone?"

Gu Fangchen nodded:
"A clever disciple, he understands immediately."

Shi Qingguang became curious: "Who are you looking for?"

"That person is called Ning Caiyong. She is a beautiful woman with high cultivation."

"that's it?"

Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow:
"Isn't that enough? How many people in this world can meet the latter two requirements?"

Shi Qingguang was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it made a lot of sense.

This information seems broad, but in reality, its scope is quite narrow.

A woman whose cultivation level Gu Fangchen considers high must at least be an "enlightened one," but there are only a handful of "enlightened ones" in the world today.

They are all people with names and surnames.

Shi Qingguang didn't think Gu Fangchen would be unaware of this, so he probably just wanted to try his luck and ask if there were any reclusive sword cultivators.

Unfortunately, Shi Qingguang simply shook his head.
"I've never heard of this name before."

Gu Fangchen sighed inwardly.

When he arrived in this southwestern region and met the Ancestral Mother, he had a premonition.

But when I actually heard the news, I was still a little disappointed.

Could it be that he entered the wrong time point by using the coordinates of that "Heavenly Gate"?
Ning Caiyong only mentioned meeting at the furnace, but never specified when or where they would meet.

Even he didn't know how long the "Great Age of the Furnace" would last, so naturally he couldn't just wait like that.

"but……"

Gu Fangchen thought to herself:
“If Mother is at least one level above ‘Master Hengchang’, then it’s impossible that she wouldn’t have considered this.”

"The wisp of cause and effect left with Xuanling is a key that 'Master Hengchang' deliberately left behind. The time he made me arrive must be the most crucial moment."

"Now that I'm here, I'm sure I'll be able to see her."

Gu Fangchen took a deep breath and said:

"Since you want to kill Li Kan, once the situation in the southwest is resolved, I will go to the capital with you..."

He joked:
"Now that I've become your master, I should at least stand up for you, right?"

Today, the imperial city of the ancient dynasty is called "Renhuang City," or simply "Imperial City."

Shi Qingguang looked at him, not believing that this guy was really going to stand up for him. He had been asking questions, clearly looking for that "beautiful female sword cultivator".

I don't know if she's his lover or someone else... but this kind of attitude definitely can't be his mother.

How frivolous!
Keeping him around to reform him was the right thing to do!

The girl snorted:
"Foolish master, if I, the number one swordsman in the world, need your support, would I still be the number one swordsman in the world?"

Gu Fangchen glanced at her:
"Then my clever disciple will stand up for me."

He lowered his eyes and sighed, revealing a complex and heavy expression.

"Master, I was terribly harmed by that Li Kan in the past..."

Upon hearing this, Shi Qingguang was first taken aback, then asked curiously:
"Does Master still have a grudge against Li Kan?"

Gu Fangchen nodded with a heavy expression, looking as if she couldn't bear to recall the past.

Although it was quite flamboyant, Shi Qingguang appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he was still young and very curious about these gossips, his eyes even brightening a little.

"OK then……"

Shi Qingguang pretended to stand on tiptoe, patted Gu Fangchen's shoulder, and put on a serious expression, saying:
“Foolish master, if you have any grudges, tell your disciple. When we meet Li Kan, I will avenge you.”

Gu Fangchen found it amusing and hummed in agreement.
"I was born in a faraway country called Great Wei..."

Then, he embellished his past experiences, adding details about how Li Kan manipulated and controlled Gu Yuye, causing his family to be destroyed.

The text emphasizes Li Kan's role in the story, attributing all the bad deeds committed by Gu Yuye to Li Kan.

Shi Qingguang listened intently, her lips pursed, her gaze momentarily dimming. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, oblivious to the whitening of her knuckles. Seeing this, Gu Fangchen knew her guess was correct—

Shi Qingguang's desire to kill Li Kan was not solely due to the struggle over the orthodox lineage.

When she drew her sword just now, her eyes not only held killing intent, but also a fleeting hint of hatred.

Shi Qingguang appeared out of nowhere, and even someone like De Yuanzi, whose intelligence network spanned the entire country, didn't know her background or past, and there wasn't even a trace of her.

Even if Shi Qingguang was born from a stone, Sun Wukong still had a registered residence in Huaguo Mountain, Aolai Kingdom, Dongsheng Shenzhou. She couldn't possibly have been born from nature.

The seed of the "sword" may be innate, but the difference between having someone teach you swordsmanship and not having someone teach you is like heaven and earth.

Gu Fangchen could clearly sense that although her swordsmanship had reached the level of a gazelle hanging its horns, it was the kind that someone had taught her.

In other words, her swordsmanship has been passed down through generations.

Then she must have a background and family.

But none of these could be found.

Based on Li Kan's style and deeds, Gu Fangchen speculated that she might be a survivor from a city-state that Li Kan had massacred.

The reason we've come to find Li Kan now is to truly avenge our grievances.

Therefore, Gu Fangchen deliberately said that she had a grudge against Li Kan and embellished her past experiences, which indeed resonated with Shi Qingguang for a moment.

"My clever disciple, what do you think? Do I have a deep grudge against Li Kan? Should I kill him?"

Gu Fangchen's expression was serious.

He wasn't lying in essence; he did indeed have a life-or-death feud with Li Kan, but not with the Li Kan of this moment, but with the Li Kan of the future.

Shi Qingguang, oblivious to Gu Fangchen's deceptive narrative, secretly clenched his small fist, nodded impassively, and said coldly:
"He really deserves to be killed!"

Her heart wavered. She had initially wondered how she could have cultivated the same sword-forging path as such a frivolous fellow, but now, because of their similar experiences, she felt boundless sympathy for him.

It turns out that he and I not only share the same views, but also have the same aspirations...

Given such similar experiences, with the country destroyed and the family ruined, how could this guy really be as frivolous and unreliable as he appears on the surface?

They must have hidden this deep-seated hatred beneath a facade of laughter and joking, suppressing their anger and remaining silent.

"Don't worry, my foolish master, I will definitely stand up for you."

The girl said solemnly and seriously.

Gu Fangchen was very pleased:

That would be wonderful.

In this harmonious atmosphere between master and disciple, Gu Fangchen suddenly looked around:
"By the way, my clever disciple, I will be discussing and instructing you on the art of sword forging. I will stay here with you for the time being?"

Shi Qingguang didn't think too much about it and immediately nodded.

Normally, forging a sword would take at least several days to start a furnace. Gu Fangchen only took a few hours, which is because the sword he forged was of a low grade, only a high grade, and because he was so skilled that he could compress the time into such a short period of time.

The swords forged by Shi Qingguang were at least rare, the kind that were used as wind chimes.

Once the sword furnace is set up, we need to stay here for at least a few days, so it's impossible to let Gu Fangchen stay anywhere else.

This mini sword pavilion is just a small building built on this mountain, small and exquisite, but not very big.

Gu Fangchen turned her head and looked at a bed behind the gauze curtain, feigning hesitation as she said:
"But it seems there is no place here for me, Master."

Shi Qingguang looked at his bedroom, his face suddenly turning red. He was about to scold his clumsy master, but then he pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I usually only forge swords here. You can stay in my room."

This change in attitude wasn't because she had changed her personality, but because she had just caught a glimpse of sadness and melancholy in Gu Fangchen's eyes.

She immediately thought of Gu Fangchen's words and the experiences he had just recounted, as well as the time when she was homeless.

The girl couldn't bear it for a moment.

He was a rogue cultivator, just like me, wandering alone, forced to hide from Li Kan, without even a place to stay...

It's just one room anyway, so it's no big deal to let him stay there.

She could have focused entirely on studying sword-making techniques...

Little did Gu Fangchen know that when she entered the young girl's boudoir, she looked around and smelled the faint fragrance of the girl, but her eyes were filled with a deep smile.

Allowing a man into her private area is a very important signal.

Going forward, it's simply impossible to clearly distance yourself from the situation.

The matriarch may seem guarded, but she's actually quite easy to fool... This is exactly the same as the dazed, beast-like spirit that was chasing me.

Gu Fangchen touched her chin, her expression turning strange.

Or perhaps he misunderstood, and the reason the old lady seemed dazed wasn't because of a lack of consciousness.

It was precisely because she lost her initial wariness and pretense that Grandma revealed her true personality.

Hmm... that seems quite likely!
Gu Fangchen seemed to be deep in thought.

……

In the following days.

Gu Fangchen temporarily settled in the Sword Pavilion, teaching the Ancestral Master how to forge swords during the day and meeting with De Yuanzi at night to keep track of the progress in the struggle for the Mandate of Heaven "Dao Seed" in the southwest.

“Senior, this Heavenly Mandate ‘Dao Seed’ has actually attracted the top three on the Heavenly Ranking to appear together. It’s really thanks to my caution that I spent two days carefully investigating it.”

De Yuanzi said with lingering fear:
"At this moment, those who are fighting for the second-grade items are all at a similar level to my cultivation, but they have become mantises in the eyes of others."

He sighed and said regretfully:
"This trip was probably a waste of time."

The old Taoist priest looked at Gu Fangchen, then rubbed his hands together obsequiously and said:
"By the way, senior didn't like the accommodations we arranged before, otherwise, I'll find a better one..."

He didn't say all that to complain; he was actually implying that Gu Fangchen should lend a hand.

Gu Fangchen shook her head:
"I have a place to stay now."

De Yuanzi was taken aback: "Where?"

Gu Fangchen said:

"Sword Pavilion".

De Yuanzi: "???"

De Yuanzi was shocked by the fact that Gu Fangchen was now living in Jian Ge. After a long time, he finally came to terms with it, and the way he looked at her changed, turning into a kind of male respect.

In his view, although Gu Fangchen was stronger than him, she was definitely not as strong as an "enlightened one".

That female swordswoman's strength is beyond doubt, and she is definitely stronger than Gu Fangchen.

It couldn't be that Gu Fangchen defeated the female sword immortal and thus earned her respect; it could only mean that he used his strengths to gain her favor.

"Just wait patiently and keep a close eye on it. I'll check the situation again."

After Gu Fangchen dismissed De Yuanzi, she returned to the Sword Pavilion, only to see an old man in a purple robe floating above it, emanating an aura of a first-grade expert.

"The enlightened one!"
Moreover, he comes with bad intentions!
(End of this chapter)