Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 85 The Mystery of Sword Qi
Duan Yanqing sought revenge in the two lakes region, wiping out more than twenty families, all of which were well-known sects and gangs. He spared no one, men, women, old, or even dogs, using extremely cruel and vicious methods, which earned him the title of the most evil person in the world.

Such a figure was considered a calamity by the Wuliang Sword Clan, yet he fled after a single encounter with Jiang Mingzhe. The crowd was stunned for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

"As expected of the Duan family's retainer, the old demon trembled with fear the moment the divine sword was drawn!"

"Hero Long is truly remarkable, a pillar of strength and a beam of support for the martial arts world of Tiannan!"

"If Heaven had not given birth to a great hero like Long Hero, the path of chivalry would have remained shrouded in eternal darkness!"

Zuo Zimu took the lead, and the others rushed to follow suit, showering him with flattery.

Jiang Mingzhe was slightly dazed, unable to distinguish whether he was in the Dali Kingdom or the Xingxiu Sect.

He smiled, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "You flatter me. In the end, what those wicked villains fear is firstly the prestige of the Duan family, and secondly the united efforts of our Tiannan chivalrous sect. How could it be due to my mere merit?"

He added, “This time, your sect fought against the four great villains of the world and helped the Prince of Zhennan. Once this is spread, your reputation will surely increase greatly, and the King of Dali will certainly reward you handsomely.”

Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing were overjoyed. Most of the civil and military officials of the Dali Kingdom came from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), even the most prestigious positions of the Three Dukes were no exception. In particular, Situ Huahegen was a tomb raider, yet he was able to rise to the highest position of the court, which shows that the Duan family did not adhere to any particular criteria in their selection of people.

In the past, the two sects of the East and West were arrogant and might not have been willing to submit to the imperial court. However, after suffering setbacks in recent days, they realized that the world was vast and the martial arts world was wide. Their own skills were really nothing. Even if they did not consider themselves, they had to pave the way for their descendants and disciples. Therefore, they were more determined to befriend Duan Yu and Jiang Mingzhe.

Zuo Zimu smiled and said, "We are all citizens under the rule of Dali Kingdom. It is our duty to serve the young prince. We are not greedy for rewards."

Jiang Mingzhe didn't even need to think to handle this situation. He blinked and said, "This one sentence shows that the heroes of the Wuliang Sword Group are humble and modest. I must convey this to the King."

Zuo Zimu was overjoyed to see how cooperative he was.

Jiang Mingzhe seized the opportunity to say, "There is one more thing I must make clear first. The stone cave in the valley below is the old site of my sworn brother's sect. If you want to explore it, I can't stop you. But the jade statue inside must not be damaged in the slightest, otherwise my brother and I will be afraid that we will have trouble with your sect again."

The Wuliang Sword Clan suddenly realized why this dignified young prince had come to their desolate wilderness; it turned out that this was their sect's old ancestral home.

Xin Shuangqing, who was just annoyed that Zuo Zimu had interrupted him, immediately shouted upon hearing this, "Don't worry, Master Long, from now on, Sword Lake Canyon will be a forbidden area. Any disciple of our sect who enters without permission will be put to death. Outsiders will not be allowed to approach without the authorization of Master Long or the Little Prince."

Duan Yu was delighted and thanked them repeatedly: "Sect Leader Xin, you are truly good people. I will remember your great kindness." He then bowed deeply.

Xin Shuangqing quickly said, "Oh dear, Your Highness, you mustn't do this. You're making me feel terrible."

While reaching out to help him up, he glanced smugly at Zuo Zimu.

Not wanting to be outdone, Zuo Zimu quickly invited several people to visit Jianhu Palace.

Jiang Mingzhe readily agreed, borrowed their ropes, lowered them down, and pulled Azi up. Although Zuo, Xin, and the others were curious about why they had climbed down the peak, they did not dare to ask any further questions.

The group then went to Jianhu Palace. After a meal and drinks, Jiang Mingzhe said he was tired, so Zuo Zimu had a beautiful courtyard cleaned up and asked them to rest.

After the Wuliang Swordsmen left, Jiang Mingzhe told Azi about the whole battle and also told Duan Yu and Zhong Ling about what he had seen in the Hidden Sword Cave. Duan Yu and Zhong Ling examined the sword closely and marveled at it. When they heard that the sword was called Seven Child, Zhong Ling said in confusion, "What a strange name. It doesn't sound good at all."

Azi immediately retorted unhappily, "What do you know about a nice-sounding name? I think this name is very good. 'Chi' means small. Ordinary swords are around three feet long, but these seven swords are only two feet long. 'Seven Chi' means seven small swords. How cute!"

Duan Yu, a man of great learning, laughed upon hearing this: "The *Sanwu Liji* records that numbers begin with one, are established at three, complete at five, flourish at seven, and reach their peak at nine; the *Suwen* also says that yang begins with one, is born at three, combines at five, becomes seven in its small form, and becomes nine in its great form. Therefore, seven is the immature yang number, and nine is the ultimate yang number. The ultimate means to reach its limit, and the immature means the initial birth. Thus, nine is old yang, and seven is young yang. Old yin gives birth to young yang, which is precisely the image of yin and yang in harmony. If we were to elaborate further, one is the birth of chaos, three is the interaction of yin and yang that gives birth to all things, five is the generation of the five elements, and seven is the interplay of yin and yang..."

Jiang Mingzhe nodded to himself, knowing that Duan Yu's words were probably correct. The Seven Swords were seven swords of seven colors. The black and white at the front and back corresponded to Yin and Yang, while the five colors in the middle mostly corresponded to the Five Elements: blue, green, red, gold, and yellow; water, wood, fire, metal, and earth...

Azi and Zhongling were already frowning deeply. Azi exclaimed, "Stop talking, stop talking, Young Master Duan. Although you are learned, you are not as good as my junior brother. I can understand his poems as soon as I hear them. What you are saying is making my head spin."

Duan Yu was not angry when she interrupted him. Instead, he looked at Jiang Mingzhe with surprise and said, "Brother, I heard that when the Hermit of Xiangshan wrote a poem, he would recite it to an old woman. If the old woman could understand it, he would record it in a book. If she could not understand it, he would change the words and sentences. His intention was to make it simple and fluent. It is quite similar to your idea, brother."

Azi frowned and asked Jiang Mingzhe, "What did your sworn brother say?"

Jiang Mingzhe had heard of this story before and laughed, "He said there was a great poet in the Tang Dynasty named Bai Juyi, who would read his poems to his old woman every time he wrote one, just like I read them to you."

Azi was furious and jumped up, saying, "I addressed you politely as Young Master Duan, and you called me an old woman? If that's the case, don't blame me for calling you a clown monster!"

Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Yu laughed loudly. A Zi was so angry that she didn't want to pay attention to them. She reached out and took her sword, saying, "I'll also release a sword aura for fun."

He then shouted at Zhong Ling, "You brat, watch out for my sword energy!"

With a feint, Zhong Ling jumped back in fright. Only then did A Zi become happy and laughed loudly, "What a fool! Would I really want to kill you?"

So she turned to a secluded spot, gathered her inner strength, and with a sharp cry, thrust out, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

Azi didn't believe it and asked Jiang Mingzhe how he released the sword energy back then. He tried it over and over again for a long time, but still couldn't release the sword energy. Frustrated, she said, "Big Jiang, this sword won't listen to me!"

Zhong Ling had been eagerly waiting and said impatiently, "I'll try, I'll try."

Azi hesitated for a moment, then handed it to her. Zhong Ling was overjoyed and tried to stab it for a long time, but there was still no reaction.

Jiang Mingzhe, observing this, secretly understood the situation and asked Duan Yu with a smile, "Brother, would you like to have a go?"

Duan Yu shook his head and said, "Now I know that weapons are instruments of violence, and sages use them only as a last resort."

Azi snatched it from Zhong Ling's hand and shoved it into Jiang Mingzhe's hand, saying, "Hey, big ginger, you're here!"

Jiang Mingzhe took the sword, gathered his inner strength, and slowly channeled it into his hand. He raised his eyebrows and was surprised to find that the meridians in his hand seemed to have been extended, and his inner strength could continue to move forward without any hindrance. Upon closer inspection, he found that there were seven paths leading to it.

Jiang Mingzhe recalled the white light that had been shot out earlier, and his heart began to race: Could it be that the sword energy shot out by these seven swords had different characteristics?
(End of this chapter)