Wuxia: Become the 100-Victory Sword King at the Beginning

The plum rains in Jiangnan continued to fall incessantly, turning Taihu Lake into a vast expanse of gray.

Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping sailed downstream in a small boat, the Xuan Shuang Blade and the Meiwen Sword leaning against the gunwale, gleaming coldly in the rain.

The journey through the martial world is long and fraught with danger. Shi Feiyang's glassy skin reflected the water, occasionally revealing icy blue patterns, as if he had already sensed the lurking crisis.

Jiang Caiping gazed at the swaying water plants in the distance and whispered a reminder: "Shi Lang, something's amiss in the reed marshes ahead."

Before the words were finished, dozens of water columns suddenly exploded on the surface of the water, and twelve men in black emerged from the water, their three-edged bone-piercing nails gleaming with a ghostly blue poisonous light. The leader's face was covered with a bronze demon mask, and the end of the chain wrapped around his waist was an iron ball engraved with a wolf head totem.

Shi Feiyang burst into laughter, the sound sending raindrops flying. He grinned and said, "Perfect timing! I can practice on some scoundrels again. Haha! Great! My hands itch if I don't fight for a day! Come on, let's have a fight!" He activated his Mingyu Gong to the "Supreme Forgetfulness: Ice Soul Cold Prison," his skin becoming almost transparent, and a chilling aura spread along the ship's side, condensing into spiderweb-like ice patterns wherever it passed.

He transformed his palms into blades, unleashing the "Mountain-Splitting" strike of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique. The palm wind, like a tidal wave, crashed down, cleaving a waterway through the reeds three zhang away. A bone-piercing nail pierced the air, but Shi Feiyang used the "Flower-Shifting Jade" divine skill, his figure moving like a ghost, flickering and guiding. The poisoned nail instantly changed direction, piercing the throat of the black-clad attacker. The masked man roared and swung his iron chain, the force of the iron ball tearing the boat's awning to shreds.

Shi Feiyang lightly touched the mast with his toes, unleashing the ultimate move of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique, "Severing the Sky's Edge," mid-air. Amidst the crisscrossing blade energy, the iron chains snapped inch by inch, and the iron ball plummeted into the lake, exploding into a towering column of water. In the midst of the fierce battle, a strange flute sound suddenly echoed from underwater.

Jiang Caiping's expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm, "Shi Lang, this is bad! It's the soul-capturing melody of the alien race! Be careful!"

The lake surface churned and boiled as dozens of dark-skinned assassins emerged from the water.

They wielded poisoned harpoons, and hidden among the seaweed wrapped around their bodies were water spiders that could spray poisonous mist.

Shi Feiyang pulled her back hastily, saying with concern, "Madam, hold your breath!" His Xuan Shuang Blade transformed into a shield of light, and the "Demon-Slaying Cloud" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique roared forth. Wherever the blade's energy reached, water spiders exploded, their green, poisonous blood splattering onto the ship's deck with a sizzling sound. The assassins let out inhuman roars, their harpoons raining down like a storm, but Shi Feiyang used his "Flower Shifting Jade" divine skill to deflect them all, sending them piercing their comrades' chests instead.

Seeing that things were not going well, the masked man took out a bronze whistle and blew it loudly.

In an instant, a muffled rumble came from the bottom of the lake, and a dark shadow could be vaguely seen rapidly approaching from below the surface—it was a raft filled with gunpowder! Shi Feiyang's glass eyes flashed with a cold light, and he used "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles" to leap into the air. Xuan Shuang Blade used the ultimate killing move of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique, "Burning Heaven and Earth".

The blade's energy, carrying the combined power of ice and fire, cleaved the raft into pieces, and the explosion's flames illuminated the entire lake surface.

Shi Feiyang said decisively, "Let's go!" He grabbed Jiang Caiping and used his lightness skill to speed across the broken logs on the water.

In the distance, the outline of Guixu Island was faintly visible in the rain and mist, and on the watchtower of the island's water fortress, the wolf-tooth flag fluttered in the gale.

The water surrounding the fortress appears calm on the surface, but in reality, it conceals deadly dangers.

Shi Feiyang activated his Bright Jade Skill, and the icy blue light emanating from his glassy skin illuminated the underwater world—a dense array of mines linked together by iron chains, with barbed fishing nets wrapped around them. Even more terrifying, every ten feet there was a bronze trap box containing powerful crossbows ready to fire.

"Madam, please take care of yourself. Watch me break through his traps!" Shi Feiyang roared, stepping on the "Seven Steps of Dragon's Journey" and unleashing the "Hundred Victories Blade Technique: Viewing the Vast Ocean." The palm wind stirred up towering waves, throwing the water and mine formation into chaos.

The moment the mechanism was activated, Jiang Caiping's longsword flashed like lightning, and the "Snowy Plum Blossom Burial" sword flourish precisely struck the crossbow, sending the arrow flying ahead of time and embedding it into the opposite watchtower.

Just as the two leaped onto the suspension bridge of the water fortress, the gate suddenly burst open, and hundreds of assassins wielding long-handled swords swarmed out.

The white-haired old man at the head of the group held a nine-section steel whip, the tip of which was coated with a deadly poison that could kill on contact with blood. He roared, "Where did these treacherous dogs come from, daring to spy on military secrets? Hmph! Today, this will be your burial ground!"

He swung his whip, and the steel whip split into three in mid-air, attacking Shi Feiyang's face, chest, and lower body respectively.

Shi Feiyang neither dodged nor evaded, but activated the vortex of suction power emanating from his glassy skin. The steel whip was drawn towards his palm like a magnet to iron. The old man was shocked and tried to pull back, but it was too late. Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade, employing the "Slaying the Mortal World" move of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique, slashed out in one fell swoop, cleaving the old man and whip in two. Blood splattered onto the plaque of the village gate, staining the three characters "Tian Gong Fang" dark red.

Suddenly, a rapid gong sounded within the village, and the ground trembled.

Shi Feiyang's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "Oh no, they're going to blow up the workshop!"

He embraced Jiang Caiping and used his mysterious "Hidden Body and Name" lightness skill to move like a ghost among the buildings.

Sure enough, deep inside the workshop, several men in black were carrying torches into the gunpowder depot.

Shi Feiyang roared, "Stop!" His "Evil Blood Calamity" was activated in response, and the red light at his fingertips surged, capturing the man in black from a distance.

Those men immediately coughed up blood, their bodies visibly shriveling up until they shrank into withered monkey shapes and fell to the ground.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiang Caiping searched the workshop and found Yang Guozhong's ledger for privately manufacturing weapons and secret letters between him and the Turks in a hidden compartment. She said urgently, "Shi Lang, we have to leave quickly!" Before she finished speaking, countless torches suddenly lit up around the water fortress. It turned out that Yang Guozhong's reinforcements had arrived.

Shi Feiyang gripped the Frostblade tightly, his glassy eyes flashing with a cold light: "Perfect timing! I love a good fight, the more the merrier!"

Despite this, he pulled Jiang Caiping onto the roof, where swords flashed and shadows danced in the rain, like a Shura flower blooming in the night.

Behind them, the surface of Taihu Lake was stained dark red with blood, swaying gently with the waves.

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated over Chang'an, the bronze bells in the Taiji Hall rang out in the wind with a mournful sound.

Yang Guozhong clutched the secret report about the destruction of the Jiangnan stronghold, his knuckles creaking as he squeezed the Xuan paper. The jade inkstone on the table cracked with spiderweb-like lines from the force of his grip. Rainwater dripped from the eaves into the inkstone, staining the still-wet vermilion characters a hideous, blood-red hue.

His triangular eyes flashed with a cold light as he roared, "You bastards, Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping!" The python-patterned jade belt buckle hurt his palm, and he added viciously, "You dare to cut off my escape route? I'll make sure you all perish in this beautiful Chang'an!"

Before he finished speaking, more than ten officials in scarlet robes emerged from behind the screen; they were all his henchmen planted in the Six Ministries. Wang Rengui, the Vice Minister of Revenue, bowed and said, "Your Excellency, please calm your anger." His face was plastered with a fawning smile, and he said disdainfully, "Those two outlaws, even if they possess extraordinary abilities, cannot escape the court's law. All we need to do is forge a few secret letters to solidify their crime of colluding with the Turks..."

Yang Guozhong suddenly burst into wild laughter, the sound so loud it shook the swallows' nests on the beams, causing them to fall to the ground. He added insult to injury, saying, "Colluding with the Turks? Hmph! That's too lenient a charge!"

He grabbed a wolf-hair brush and wrote rapidly on the Xuan paper. Before the ink was dry, he threw it at the crowd and said sinisterly, "Just say that they are privately forging weapons, plotting a rebellion, and secretly communicating with An Lushan!"

The letter unfurled in the air, revealing portraits of Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping, with the note beside them: "Notorious bandits of the Jianghu, everyone has the right to kill them." Three days later, all four gates of Chang'an were plastered with wanted posters. Beneath the portraits, the large vermilion seals were glaringly obvious. In the mouths of Yang Guozhong and his henchmen, Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping were increasingly vilified; the righteous heroes were instead branded as "notorious bandits of the Jianghu!"

In a teahouse, a storyteller, striking his gavel and spitting as he spoke, said, "Ladies and gentlemen! This Shi Feiyang is outwardly a chivalrous knight, but in reality, he is An Lushan's top assassin! And Jiang Caiping is an even more so bewitching woman, skilled in using seductive arts to bewitch people..."

At this moment, Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping were hiding in a dilapidated temple in the west of the city. The beams groaned in the night wind, unable to bear the weight, and the cobwebs piled up among the broken walls were scattered by the draft.

Shi Feiyang leaned against a half-faded clay statue of a god, the Xuan Shuang Blade lying across his knees. The blade reflected the flickering candlelight, staining the faint ice patterns on his glassy skin with a strange crimson hue.

Jiang Caiping knelt on the broken bricks scattered on the ground, her plain white skirt covered in mud, and the forged secret letter in her hand trembled slightly in the air currents.

Facing all the unfavorable factors in the imperial court and the martial arts world, Jiang Caiping traced the forged seal of An Lushan on the secret letter with her fingertips and cursed, "That old scoundrel Yang Guozhong is ruthless." Her voice was chilling. The candlelight suddenly flickered violently, tearing her shadow into countless fragments on the wall. She added angrily, "He can even forge the vermilion annotations on the Ministry of War's documents so perfectly. The Censorate in the court has probably already been infiltrated by him."

"Haha!" Shi Feiyang suddenly chuckled, his laughter startling the owls in the rafters. He flicked the candle wick with his finger, and the sparks extinguished instantly on the blue bricks. He said mockingly, "Innocence? In this court, the truth is never determined by words."

As Mingyu Gong circulated, her glassy skin shimmered with a mother-of-pearl-like luster, and a flower of ice suddenly condensed in her palm. She calmly said, "Brother Li has sent word that Zhang Jiuling's former subordinates are willing to testify for us. But before that..."

The ice flowers shattered into countless ice crystals at his fingertips, and he said seriously, "We need to set a trap for Yang Guozhong."

Jiang Caiping's beautiful eyes darted around, and suddenly she drew her plum-patterned sword, using the blade to lift a dusty straw mat in the corner. Moonlight streamed along the sword's spine, illuminating the winding cobwebs beneath the mat. She offered a suggestion: "The secret passage of the silk shop in the East Market leads directly to a side hall of the Daming Palace. If we could…"

Before the words were finished, a soft clattering sound came from outside the temple.

Shi Feiyang moved like a ghost to the window, his Xuan Shuang Blade already drawn three inches from its sheath, his glass-like eyes gleaming with a ghostly blue light in the darkness.

"It's me." Li Bai's voice, mingled with the aroma of wine, drifted from the eaves. The white-robed poet, hanging upside down with his wine gourd dangling right above Shi Feiyang's nose, teased, "That was close! That scoundrel Cui Qi and his Imperial Guards have laid a trap on Zhuque Street, even checking the copper coins in a beggar's bowl three times."

When he rolled to the ground, half a crumpled manuscript of poems rolled out of his arms, the ink stains blurred by the rain, resembling bloodstains.

Shi Feiyang picked up the manuscript and unfolded it. His eyes swept over the five characters "An Lushan Rebellion Begins," and he exclaimed in astonishment, "Brother Li, this poem..."

Li Bai snatched the poem and said wittily, "That's wonderful!" He then scribbled wildly in the blank space with his wine gourd and said with a grin, "Yang Guozhong wants to use An Lushan's name to crush us. Why don't we turn the tables on him?"

His pen dripped with wine, and he added a ferocious wolf's head next to the character "An." "Just say that this old scoundrel forged the secret letter, attempting to incite a conflict between An and Yang, and reap the benefits!" Jiang Caiping suddenly pressed down on her sword sheath, the plum-patterned sword emitting a clear, resonant hum. She asked doubtfully, "But what evidence?"

Shi Feiyang scoffed, "Evidence?" He tossed the forged letter into the candlelight, watching the pages twist into the shape of a Turkic wolf's head in the flames. The icy blue light emanating from his glassy skin intertwined with the firelight. He then said solemnly, "The truth is more powerful than lies. Tomorrow morning at court, we will let this Chang'an city witness the true bloodshed."

He turned to look at Jiang Caiping, his eyes reflecting the flickering flames, and calmly asked, "Are you afraid?"

Jiang Caiping said firmly, "With you here, even a thousand mountains and valleys are like walking on flat ground." She gently inserted the plum blossom sword into the crevice in the rock. The silver bell on the sword tassel made a soft tinkling sound, which startled the wild cat outside the temple, causing it to let out a long, mournful howl.

In the distance came the sound of the night watchman's clapper, mixed with the bronze gong of the Imperial Guard, striking a heart-pounding rhythm in the rainy night.

Li Bai tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in the gourd, then suddenly smashed the gourd against the clay statue of a deity. Amidst the flying shards, a hidden compartment was revealed inside the statue's belly, and the deity solemnly declared, "Inside is the Beggars' Sect's bamboo token. Tomorrow at 3:45 AM, at the sugar painting stall on Zhuque Street..."

His words were interrupted by a sudden downpour, as rainwater poured down through the holes in the dilapidated temple, making the candlelight on the ground crackle.

Shi Feiyang put his arm around Jiang Caiping's shoulder. The chill from the Mingyu Gong he was circulating condensed into tiny ice beads in her soaked hair. He said in a low voice, "Let's go. It's time to experience the night in Chang'an." The moment he sheathed the Xuan Shuang Blade, the entire dilapidated temple suddenly fell into a deathly silence. Only the sound of raindrops falling from the eaves could be heard, like the drumbeats of a countdown, striking the carefully woven net of Yang Guozhong.

That night, a torrential downpour struck Chang'an. Yang Guozhong's henchman Cui Qi, along with over a hundred Imperial Guards, completely surrounded the Zuixianlou restaurant.

"Shi Feiyang! You have nowhere to escape!" Cui Qi roared, torch in hand, rain dripping from the tassels of his official hat onto his face. He continued madly, "Surrender obediently, and perhaps you can at least leave with a whole corpse!"

The carved window on the second floor suddenly burst open, and Shi Feiyang stood with his hands behind his back, his fair skin gleaming warmly in the rain: "Lord Cui, do you have any evidence for making such a fuss?" Before he finished speaking, Cui Qi had already swung his sword, the wind from the blade carrying rain and a faint, fishy smell. Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade flashed with a chilling light as it was drawn, unleashing the "Slaying the Mortal World" move of the Hundred Victories Sword Technique, his sword energy crisscrossing. Cui Qi's sword shattered inch by inch the moment it touched the blade energy. He watched in horror as his arm was enveloped by the icy blue blade light, and the next moment, he was sent flying, crashing into a stone lion on the side of the street, his blood splattering onto the "Fang" plaque, turning "Anxing Fang" into "Anxue Fang" (meaning "Peaceful Blood Fang").

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guards quickly drew their bows and nocked arrows. Shi Feiyang, however, remained calm and unhurried, circulating his Mingyu Gong to the "Supreme Forgetfulness: Ice Soul Cold Prison" level. The chill emanating from his glassy skin spread along the ground, instantly freezing raindrops into icicles.

With a knife in his left hand and a sword in his right, he deftly deflected the incoming arrows, displaying the "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade" divine skill. His figure moved like a ghost through the rain of arrows, deflecting each one. Amidst screams, more than ten Imperial Guards were pierced through the chest by the arrows they had fired themselves.

"Shi Lang, watch out for hidden arrows!" Jiang Caiping suddenly shouted. Three poisoned, bone-piercing nails flew from the shadows, their heads gleaming with a ghostly peacock blue light.

"A mere trick, not worth mentioning!" Shi Feiyang sneered, and the "Shocking Calamity" technique was born. Wherever his icy gaze swept, the air condensed into ice shards, and the bone-piercing nails froze in mid-air, shattering into dust upon landing.

However, more pursuers came from all directions.

Shi Feiyang, with Jiang Caiping in his arms, leaped onto the roof. His Xuan Shuang Blade flashed with a cold light as he whispered, "Let's go! To the East Market!" The two figures appeared and disappeared in the rain. Behind them, the pursuers held torches, illuminating the night sky of Chang'an City in a fiery red, like a burning giant python.

Inside the silk shop in the East Market, Li Bai was stuffing the last fake secret letter into a sandalwood box.

Hearing the soft clatter of the tiles, he smiled without looking up and said, "You two have come at just the right time."

Then, he lifted the wine jar, and the aroma of wine mixed with the smell of blood filled the air. He mocked, "Yang Guozhong thought he could silence the world by fabricating evidence, but little did he know..." He suddenly slapped the wall with his sleeve, revealing a hidden compartment filled with genuine secret letters seized from the Jiangnan stronghold. He said solemnly, "The truth is more powerful than lies."

Shi Feiyang picked up a sealed letter, his glassy eyes flashing with a cold light. He said decisively, "Tomorrow at the morning court, we will reveal the truth to the world. But before that..." He turned to Jiang Caiping, his voice full of tenderness, "Madam, this situation is extremely dangerous... you..."

“I will go with you!” Jiang Caiping interrupted him, her plum-patterned sword drawn three inches from its sheath, reflecting her resolute face. “The three hundred heroic souls of Hengshan have not yet dispersed, how could I be afraid of death?” Her long hair was blown by the wind, and in the candlelight it looked like a burning flame.

Li Bai clapped his hands and laughed heartily, pulling a bamboo tube from his robes. He exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! What a chivalrous spirit! This contains the Beggars' Sect's secret communication code; someone will surely come to our aid in a critical moment." He tilted his head back and drank the wine in the jar to the last drop, then inscribed on the wall, "How can I bow and scrape before the powerful and wealthy?" Before the ink was even dry, it transformed into sword energy. He then teased, "Tomorrow at the morning court, I'll definitely teach that old scoundrel Yang Guozhong a lesson!"

The rain in Chang'an was getting heavier, shrouding the three figures in darkness.

Meanwhile, in the Taiji Hall, Yang Guozhong was toying with the newly carved fake jade seal, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He said maliciously, "Shi Feiyang, Jiang Caiping, do you think you can escape my grasp? Tomorrow morning court will be your death day!"

He pressed the jade seal heavily onto the memorial, the vermilion seal resembling fresh blood.

Autumn in Chang'an was accompanied by golden leaves, and the bronze crane in front of the Taiji Hall seemed to weep in the wind.

Yang Guozhong, his python robe billowing, slammed the memorial impeaching Shi Feiyang onto the imperial desk. The four characters "a notorious bandit of the Jianghu," still wet with ink, gleamed with an eerie red light in the morning glow.

At this moment, inside the abandoned house in the west of the city, Shi Feiyang's glassy skin reflected the flickering candlelight as he unfolded page by page the secret ledgers seized from the Jiangnan stronghold.

Jiang Caiping said angrily, "Yang's cronies are spread throughout the three provinces and six ministries, and half of the censors in the Censorate are his protégés." Her fingertips lightly traced the dark patterns on the account book, and her plum blossom sword leaned against the mottled brick wall. She said worriedly, "With this evidence alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to shake his foundation."

Before she finished speaking, a clear and melodious aroma of wine wafted from the beam. Li Bai swung down upside down, his wine gourd hanging right on Shi Feiyang's nose.

Li Bai laughed loudly, "The brilliance lies in the fact that the foundation is rotten!" With a flick of his sleeve, half a cup of wine spilled, and he continued solemnly, "Although Zhang Jiuling's former subordinates are hidden in the court, they possess irrefutable evidence of Yang's corruption twenty years ago. What's even more remarkable is..."

He suddenly lowered his voice, dipped his fingertip in wine, and drew a wolf's head and a reed pipe on the table, analyzing, "An Lushan, that barbarian, has long harbored ambitions and is dissatisfied with Yang Guozhong's control over military supplies." A cold glint flashed in Shi Feiyang's glassy eyes, and his Xuan Shuang Blade was drawn three inches from its sheath, its blade slicing through the corner of the table. He exclaimed, "Using the enemy to fight the enemy? Excellent! Absolutely brilliant!"

He grabbed the tattered page in the secret letter that mentioned the arms deal and suggested, "Leak these secret letters from the Turks to An Lushan, and then have him present them to His Majesty. No matter how eloquent Yang is, he can't refute this irrefutable evidence!"

Three days later, the atmosphere inside the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace was as heavy as lead.

Just as Yang Guozhong was about to impeach Shi Feiyang for "colluding with foreign enemies," he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the palace. An Lushan's envoy, covered in blood, burst in, a secret letter in his arms soaked in blood, and said angrily, "Your Majesty! Yang Guozhong is colluding with the Turks, intending to cut off our army's supplies!"

Yang Guozhong's expression changed drastically. The jade belt buckle with python patterns dug painfully into his palm. He angrily cursed, "Nonsense! This is clearly a forgery by some江湖小士 (jianghu xiaoshi, a derogatory term for martial arts practitioners)..."

"Is that so?" Shi Feiyang's voice suddenly came from outside the hall. He put his arm around Jiang Caiping and slowly walked in. His fair skin glowed with a warm luster in the morning light, and the Xuan Shuang Blade, though not yet drawn, already caused ice patterns to appear in the air.

Li Bai staggered behind, his wine gourd still splattered with the spittle of a street storyteller. Suddenly, the Censor Chen Xuanli stepped forward, holding a yellowed ledger, and said, "Your Majesty, we have uncovered evidence of Yang Guozhong's cheating in the imperial examinations twenty years ago, which corroborates today's events!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Jiuling's former subordinates knelt in unison on the steps, the patches on their court robes glaringly bright in the sunlight. Yang Guozhong, veins bulging on his forehead, suddenly pointed at Shi Feiyang and said in a flustered voice, "Your Majesty, please be wise! This man is a villain from the martial world, possessing sorcery."

"Sorcery?" Shi Feiyang asked rhetorically, then suddenly smiled, his laughter causing the bronze bells on the beams to hum. He activated the Mingyu Gong to the "Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotions: Ice Soul Cold Prison," his glassy skin glowing with a transparent luster, and a three-inch ice lotus suddenly condensed in his palm.

The temperature inside the hall plummeted, and the breath of the civil and military officials condensed into white mist in the air.

Shi Feiyang then questioned, "Does Prime Minister Yang know what true 'sorcery' is?" He transformed his palms into blades, unleashing the "Viewing the Vast Ocean" move of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique. The wind from his palms whipped up memorials scattered across the floor, secret letters and account books fluttering in the air, each page reflecting Yang Guozhong's deathly pale face. Even more astonishingly, Shi Feiyang used his Mingyu Skill to concentrate his inner strength, resounding the contents of the secret letter word by word throughout the hall: "In the third month of the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, Yang Guozhong embezzled 300,000 strings of cash from the Northwest military funds." His voice echoed like a resounding bell throughout the nine-tiered palace, causing water to seep from the cracks in the floor tiles.

Yang Guozhong felt as if his eardrums were about to burst, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel on the ground. At this moment, Jiang Caiping had quietly placed the Five Sacred Mountains Token on the imperial desk. The bronze token and the wolf head totem on the secret letter echoed each other, causing thunder to roar outside the palace.

"Your Majesty!" An Lushan's envoy seized the opportunity to shout, "Yang Guozhong's actions are clearly intended to destroy the Tang Dynasty!" The emperor's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. His gaze swept over the evidence scattered on the ground, finally settling on Shi Feiyang's glassy skin. He asked in confusion, "Since neither of you are court officials, why are you doing this..."

Shi Feiyang knelt on one knee and solemnly said, "Although I am far removed from the world of martial arts, I know that every citizen has a responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation!" Xuan Shuang Blade struck the floor tiles heavily, and then said in a resounding voice, "If I can protect our land and rivers from harm, even if I am shattered to pieces..."

He turned to look at Jiang Caiping, her resolute face reflected in his eyes, and said firmly, "I will spare no effort!" Outside the hall, autumn rain suddenly fell, washing away the bloodstains on the steps.

The emperor said vaguely, "Court adjourned!" and then got up and walked away.

"Hahahaha!" Yang Guozhong laughed triumphantly, looking up at the sky.

Shi Feiyang stared at his contorted face, suddenly recalling the battle at the Jiangnan stronghold that night. Fine, icy patterns appeared on his smooth skin. He gripped the Xuan Shuang Blade tightly, and, with Jiang Caiping in his arms, left the Golden Palace. An Lushan's envoy was carefully putting away the secret letter, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

The setting sun above Chang'an City stained the clouds blood-red. Shi Feiyang and Jiang Caiping stood side by side beneath the wine flags on Zhuque Avenue. The Xuan Shuang Blade trembled slightly at their waists, and the Five Mountains Token in Jiang Caiping's hand gleamed with a deep blue light, yet it could not conceal the solemnity between the two men.

Just now, during the audience with the Emperor, Yang Guozhong's cronies used their silver tongues to distort the irrefutable evidence of treason into a frame-up by the underworld, making the Emperor's suspicious gaze feel like a thorn in his back.

Jiang Caiping said sadly, "Shi Lang, since the imperial court can no longer tolerate us, this martial world has become our burial ground." She gently stroked the hilt of her sword, and the plum-patterned sword emitted a clear and melodious sound, as if it shared the same hatred as its master.

As dusk fell, several dark figures darted across the distant rooftops—the Blood Hand Alliance's sentries. Shi Feiyang suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, the sound so loud it made the copper bells on the eaves tremble. He arrogantly declared, "A place of burial? No, a place of fame!"

His glassy skin rippled with icy blue patterns. He spun around and struck the stone lion on the street with a palm strike. He unleashed the "Mountain Splitting" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique. The palm wind was like a tidal wave. The stone lion broke cleanly at the neck, and its head rolled to the ground with empty eye sockets.

That night, arrest warrants were simultaneously lit at all thirteen city gates of Chang'an. Shi Feiyang, however, stood alone atop the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, his Mingyu Gong technique having reached the "Supreme Forgetfulness: Ice Soul Cold Prison" level. His skin was almost transparent, and a chilling aura spread along the eaves of the pagoda, condensing into spiderweb-like ice patterns.

He deliberately threw his jade pendant towards the south of the city, attracting dozens of dark figures to chase after him like ghosts—these were the assassins of the Blood Hand Alliance, unaware that the real Jiang Caiping had already taken the Five Sacred Mountains Token north to Hengshan.

Seven days later, deep within the Blood Hand Alliance headquarters in the Zhongnan Mountains, Shi Feiyang moved like a ghost through the poisonous miasma. His Xuan Shuang Blade remained sheathed, yet he deftly used the "Shifting Flowers and Jade" divine skill to dismantle the vine traps concealing deadly poison.

In the dark room, the leader of the Blood Hand Alliance, "Thousand-Faced Yama," was playing with poisoned silver needles when suddenly her pupils contracted sharply—Shi Feiyang had appeared behind her without her noticing, and the vortex suction force emanating from his glassy skin had attracted all the hidden weapons in her hand.

"You..." Before Granny Yan could finish speaking, Shi Feiyang had already unleashed "Evil Blood Calamity," his fingertips blazing with red light, capturing her major acupoints from afar.

Granny Yan screamed and spat out blood. Her body withered at a visible speed, turning into a curled-up, dried-up corpse in an instant, like a withered vine drained of all its sap. Shi Feiyang sneered and put the alliance leader's token into his pocket: "From this day forward, the Blood Hand Alliance's blade should change direction."

At this moment, Jiang Caiping raised her arms and shouted from the top of Hengshan Mountain.

The Five Mountains Token shone brightly, attracting dozens of righteous masters, including Master Wuran, the head of the Shaolin Bodhidharma Academy, and elders of the Zixiao Palace.

"Yang Guozhong has wreaked havoc on the court, and villains of the martial world have aided and abetted him!" Her voice echoed through the valley, and her plum-patterned sword flashed with seven sword flowers as she declared resolutely, "Today we form an alliance and vow to wipe out this corrupt world!"

Half a month later, a thrilling siege was unfolding in Luoyang.

Shi Feiyang deliberately appeared at Zuixianlou, attracting a joint attack from Huashan traitors and former members of the Blood Hand Alliance.

Dozens of assassins surrounded the restaurant, making it impossible to move. Lu Yuefeng, the leader and a former disciple of Mount Hua, drew his longsword, the sword energy mixed with the bloody smell of Turkic witchcraft. He roared, "Shi Feiyang, today is your death day!"

Shi Feiyang leaned against the table, leisurely drinking his wine. His fair skin glowed warmly in the candlelight. He sneered, "Death? I doubt it." Before he finished speaking, several figures suddenly burst open from the rooftop. They were the Blood Hand Alliance assassins he had been controlling.

These people had an eerie red glow in their eyes, and they shot poisoned hidden weapons at their former comrades.

Lu Yuefeng was shocked and unleashed the ultimate Huashan technique, "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source," with his longsword, intending to kill in one strike.

Shi Feiyang neither dodged nor avoided the attack. When the sword strike was close, he suddenly used the "Shifting Flowers and Replacing Jade" technique.

Lu Yuefeng felt a numbness in his wrist, and the longsword suddenly turned and stabbed towards his own chest.

He hastily used his internal energy to defend himself, but saw a cold glint flash in Shi Feiyang's glassy eyes. The "Shocking Calamity" divine skill was activated in response, and the icy gaze swept over him as if it were a tangible thing. Frost instantly condensed around Lu Yuefeng's body.

He let out a piercing scream, his body shattering into countless ice shards before the horrified eyes of the crowd. Taking advantage of the moment, Shi Feiyang unleashed his "Thousand Miles Without Leaving a Trace," darting towards the messenger pigeon like a ghost. His Xuan Shuang Blade flashed a crescent-shaped blade of light, and as he caught the pigeon, he discovered a secret message tied to its leg.

"I see." Shi Feiyang unfolded the secret letter, exclaiming with sudden realization, a cold smile playing on his lips. The icy blue light emanating from his glassy skin illuminated the words in the letter, "Let me show you what true fighting fire with fire looks like!"

He tucked the letter into his robes, then vanished into the night in a flash, leaving behind only corpses and the lingering flames of battle. (End of Chapter)