The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 15

In the dim light, I vaguely saw four people sitting cross-legged in the four cardinal directions, forming a square shape, with me in the very center. Just as I was about to squint to see more clearly, I heard the four people chanting incantations like monks. Could it be a high-ranking monk performing a ritual to help my soul find peace? Damn it! But why do these four people seem so familiar? I quickly shook my head and blinked, hoping to regain my vision soon.

"Boss! Tenglong has woken up." Isn't that Shanji's voice? I'd recognize that kid's voice even if he turned to ashes.

"Pheasant, don't move! Quickly recite the Dharma Sutra! The demons on Tenglong's body haven't been exorcised yet!" This voice belonged to the eldest brother. Among them, only the eldest brother was serious when he was working; he was usually quite easygoing.

Although my vision was inexplicably blurry, my hearing was crystal clear. "The demon on Tenglong's body?" Was I possessed just now? Just thinking about the voice from the depths of the clouds gave me goosebumps. The voice sounded eerie, as if it had existed for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Although I have never been to the underworld, now that I think about it, even the Ox-Head and Horse-Face judges of life and death must be no more than that.

Looking at everyone's posture and the chanting of the Fa Lan Sutra, I knew they were trying to exorcise the demons from my body. According to the Tomb Raider's Manual, anyone who enters a tomb without permission and is possessed by a demon will have their eyes turn blue and then red, eventually going mad and becoming cold-blooded. In the end, they will slaughter those around them and become a mad, murderous maniac.

Damn it! Everyone must have seen my eyes glowing red just now, so they thought I was possessed. But wait! My eyes should have been closed. Thinking of this, I wanted to stand up and stop them from performing the ritual. I'm awake, what kind of exorcism are they doing? Aren't they treating me like a demon?

I fell down again and couldn't get up at all. What's wrong? Is this a sign of weakness? Could it be that I can't even speak anymore? In a panic, I quickly said, "Boss, please stop chanting! I'm almost like Sun Wukong being strangled to death by Tang Sanzang chanting the Tightening-Headband Mantra. You're cursing me!" As soon as I said this, I could hear myself. It seems that although I can't move my body, I can still speak.

The leader and the others stopped, looked at me but didn't dare to approach. The leader asked, "Tenglong, where did you get your name from?"

Damn! You even need to ask? It's just the name you gave me based on superstition, talking about feng shui and lucky stars, it's utter nonsense. Although that's what I think, I wouldn't dare say it like that. After all, my boss still gave me a really awesome name, which is better than having no name at all! So I replied with a sincere face: "It was my boss who racked his brains and came up with the name based on the feng shui, five elements, and eight trigrams. It's called Tenglong (Soaring Dragon)."

I didn't care what he said, I just said the most awesome and flattering things, and sure enough, the boss laughed heartily and personally helped me up, saying, "He really is my lucky star. I told you, no one in the Six Paths dares to take him in." The boss said to the other three with a smug look on his face.

"Tenglong is a god, even the King of Hell has to give way to him. If anyone dares to take him in, I, Shanji, will be the first to fight him!" Shanji patted his chest, looking very confident, as if he could kill any god or Buddha he encountered.

The know-it-all chimed in, "That's right! Tenglong is our boss's lucky star, and of course, he's also a lucky star for us underlings. If anyone dares to mess with him, hehe... we'll make sure his soul is annihilated and he's never reincarnated."

Seeing that both Chicken and Know-It-All had spoken, the tough guy got anxious. He felt he should say something too, but he was the kind of guy who was all brawn and no brains. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any good words. He just kept saying "I...I...I..." and then he couldn't say anything more.

I interrupted the muscular man and asked, "Boss, what happened just now? Did you see some valuable funerary objects?"

Only after asking did they learn that just as everyone opened the hidden compartment, a dazzling white-golden light shot out from the bottom of the coffin. Before they could see anything, they were instantly blinded by the white-golden light. No wonder they fell to the ground, covered their eyes tightly with their hands, rolled around and screamed. The scene was extremely terrifying, like the torture they suffered before death.

After an unknown amount of time, everyone woke up one by one, except for me, who was still lying on the ground with my eyes closed, my face pale, and a faint red glow emanating from my body. Everyone was dumbfounded and unanimously thought I was possessed. So they started using the Fa Lan Sutra from the Tomb Raider's Manual. Although they didn't know if it would work, they were just trying anything. Under such circumstances, no one abandoned me. Even the most knowledgeable person, who was most afraid of demons and monsters, stayed behind to recite the Fa Lan Sutra. I was really touched.

Upon hearing about valuable funerary objects, everyone hurried to the coffin. There, in a hidden compartment, lay a white sword about fifty centimeters long. The entire sword was pure white, even the hilt was white. Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Could the white light that had just shot out have come from this white sword?

Just as the pheasant was about to reach down and grab it, the boss hurriedly shouted to stop. The pheasant was also frightened by what had just happened, and upon hearing the boss's shout, he had already withdrawn his hand. Although the funerary objects were valuable, life was far more valuable than funerary objects. It was all in vain to have money but not be alive to spend it.

Unaware of the mystery surrounding the white sword that caused the leader such tension, he pondered for a moment and said, "Have you noticed that this coffin is a black coffin, yet a white sword is placed inside? This violates the secrets of black and white feng shui! If I'm not mistaken, this white sword must be a murder weapon. If anyone takes it, I'm afraid… hehe…"

The eldest brother beat around the bush and didn't continue, which piqued our curiosity, and we all asked in unison, "Afraid of what?"

The leader chuckled sinisterly, his expression terrifying, and after a long while slowly said, "I'm afraid he won't live past midnight tonight."

ah!!!

We were stunned. Should we take the white sword or not? After a moment of hesitation, I couldn't help but glance at the cave entrance. It was already pitch black outside. I didn't know when the sky had turned dark; it seemed that midnight was not far off...

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure of Heaven, Chapter 5: The Seal of the Ice Mist

Chapter word count: 2658 Update time: 08-02-29 18:02

Chicken couldn't help but ask, "Boss, should we take this white sword or not?" For a tomb raider, having a prize right in front of them but being unable to touch it is a very painful thing, not to mention that all the expenses they need in the future will depend on it.

After thinking for a moment, the know-it-all said, "Since the boss knows where the danger lies, he must have a good plan to deal with it. Everyone, don't rush, let the boss think about it."

The tough guy remained standing there dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at the white sword lying flat in the coffin, unable to discern anything. Was it really as terrifying as the boss had described? If the boss hadn't instructed them not to touch anything inside, the pheasant would probably have been the first to strike, and the tough guy would have been the second.

At this moment, my vision was fully restored. By the bright candlelight, I could see a white sword lying flat in the dark compartment. The blade was three centimeters wide, slightly raised in the middle, and curved down to the edge on both sides. The sword's edge shone with a cold, gleaming light, but the blade itself seemed somewhat dull and not as pure white as snow. The tip of the sword was semi-circular. I looked at it for a long time, but I still couldn't figure out which era the sword came from.

Everyone had been waiting for a long time, just waiting for the leader to say something. The leader suddenly became fierce and said, "Damn it! Since we're here, there's no way we're going to leave empty-handed. Let's do it!" As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to make a move. The leader continued, "The black coffin and white sword are taboos in feng shui. They disrupt the two meridians of heaven and earth, and use the techniques of wood and water to achieve the balance of yin and yang, thus becoming the top-grade among the taboos. And if I'm not mistaken, there is something else beneath the white sword."

"Something?" Everyone stared wide-eyed, straining to see, but no matter how closely they looked, there was nothing but the white sword. What on earth was the thing their leader was talking about? Just as they were beginning to doubt their leader's words and their own eyes, the leader glanced at them and said, "Damn! If you could see something like this, would it still be considered forbidden? Let me tell you, today I'll show you what it means to be outmatched!"

As he spoke, he came to the white sword wrapped in the coffin, pointed at it and said, “Look! This sword is lying flat, about five millimeters thick, clear and transparent but not as white as ice and snow. It is about fifty centimeters long, and the semi-circular tip is a wood-water mixture. Wood is below and water is above. We all know that water floats on wood, but now the natural laws are reversed, yet the way of yin and yang is formed. So there must be a barrier between the water and the wood.”

The leader spoke for a long time, leaving everyone completely bewildered, as if it were a book written in heaven. It took me a long time to understand it. However, the know-it-all asked, "Boss, is the wood you mentioned referring to this coffin? But I don't quite understand why you compared this white sword to water. All real swords are made of gold, iron, and copper. Look at its sharpness; it can't be a fake sword."

The eldest brother smiled and said, "This is the brilliance of the swordsmith! If I'm not mistaken, this sword was not made by man. Think about it, even the Kaiyue Empire, which has the highest sword-making technology today, could not have made such a sword. Even the seven sword saints today may not have a better weapon than this sword."

The leader's words left everyone speechless. A Sword Saint! What prestige and glory that was! If we could sell this sword to the Sword Saint, wouldn't we become the richest people in the world? The leader, having seen through their thoughts, shouted, "Brothers, we've struck gold today! This sword is a rare and exquisite piece. If we can sell it, we can become the richest people in the world!"

Dreams, luxury cars, beautiful women, money—my goodness! Everything is so attractive. Being rich is just too good. Just as everyone was getting carried away, "But...but how do we take out this sword?" Chicken's question brought everyone back to reality.

The eldest brother smiled and continued, "To be precise, this sword is not made of water, but rather forged from ice crystals buried underground and other rare materials. If you look closely, you'll see thin wisps of air about two inches above the white sword, condensing and lingering!"

Upon closer inspection, everyone indeed saw wisps of white mist swirling above the sword. "That's the seal of the ice mist!"

The Seal of Ice Mist! That's quite a name. I've never heard of such a strange thing before. Pheasant looked at me, and I looked at Know-It-All. What's the story behind this?

"The seal of the ice mist is actually to isolate the water from the wood above, turning the already reversed yin and yang state into a malevolent coffin. When everyone opened the hidden compartment at the bottom of the coffin, they triggered the mechanism, which is why white light shot out, causing temporary blindness. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. It seems that the person in the tomb is not an evil person, but just wants to use this signal to warn tomb robbers that greed will surely lead to death."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The leader patted the pheasant on the shoulder and continued, "The most dangerous thing about the seal of the ice mist is that anything that comes into contact with it will immediately be turned into an ice sculpture and will eventually weather away over time."

In a flash, the pheasant turned pale, raised his hand to look at it, and was speechless for a moment. If the boss hadn't reminded him in time, the pheasant would probably be a dead chicken by now. His face looked terrible!

The boss actually knows so much about feng shui secrets! This is the first time we've discovered that. How come he always pretends to be a master without revealing his abilities? After the boss said this, everyone was full of admiration and listened intently to him continue, hoping he would quickly reveal the solution so they could grab their things and leave.

"To break the seal of this icy mist, a wound must be opened with blood, and the blood must be of masculine energy." As he spoke, everyone looked at each other, all of them men. The thought of drawing blood, and specifically their own, was truly...

"Tenglong, you're the one to break this taboo. You have a red glow on you, and only your blood can break the ice fog." With the boss saying this, I had no more worries. For everyone's sake, and for my own chance to become rich as soon as possible, I was willing to risk my life. I shouted with great enthusiasm, "Okay!" and stepped forward to stand beside the boss, awaiting orders.

I saw the leader pull a dagger from his waist, then place my hand above the white sword. Just as he was about to slash, I quickly closed my eyes to prevent fear from making me instinctively pull my hand back. I felt a sharp pain as my wrist was cut by the dagger, and blood dripped into the icy mist. I heard a hissing sound as wisps of white smoke rose up, enveloping the entire tomb. The ethereal white smoke made me feel as if I had returned to that mysterious paradise.

I heard the boss say, "Alright! Tenglong, stop the bleeding quickly." Only then did I realize that I was seeing stars and my breathing was a little heavy. The boss quickly bandaged me up, patted my shoulder, and praised, "Good brother!"

After I rested for a while and regained my senses, the seal of the icy mist had been broken. I saw that the white sword was stained red with my blood. My God! How much blood did I bleed? The boss had already reached out and gently took the white sword in his hand. At this moment, the white sword had turned completely red. As soon as the sword was raised, the blood gathered at the bottom of the coffin and instantly revealed a map with peaks and clouds and jungle monsters. It was only the size of a palm.

Suddenly sensing something was wrong, the leader quickly handed me the blood-stained white sword and shouted, "Everyone, run to the entrance of the tomb!" Before we could react, the ground shook, and soil fell from above—an earthquake! In the blink of an eye, just a fraction of a second after the leader shouted, everyone ran for their lives without hesitation. Damn it! Because the entrance, which was only a dozen meters wide, wasn't wide enough for one person to pass through at a time, we scrambled out of the tomb, wishing we had two more legs.

The leader was still behind, and it looked like it was about to collapse. Everyone's hearts were in their throats as they shouted, "Leader, hurry!" Just two meters away, the leader suddenly lunged forward. I grabbed him and pulled hard, and with a loud crash, the opening behind us was buried. The leader stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and kept cursing, "Damn it! I almost lost my life here!"

By the moonlight, the eldest brother was holding that blood-red map in his hand...

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure, Chapter Six: Doing Business

Chapter word count: 2689 Update time: 08-02-29 18:02

What just happened was truly a brush with death. Everyone was panting heavily. The leader put the blood-red map into his pocket and urged everyone to hurry down the mountain. The mountains were really scary at night. They hoped that some monster or ghost would jump out. They couldn't take any more of this.

The place where everyone was staying was a rented house. Although it wasn't very big, it was more than enough to fit five people. They rushed back to their lodgings in the dark. After discussing it, they decided to go to the capital city first thing the next morning and then ask someone to find a buyer. If the deal went through this time, they would be rich.

We had a wonderful dream all night long. The sun was already high in the sky, but we were still fast asleep. When the boss stomped on us, it was quite a shock. Everyone quickly jumped up, put on their clothes, washed up for a couple of minutes, lined up, and then the boss gave the order to assign tasks for the day. Speaking of the capital city, it was a great place. It was the central city of the Kachaer Kingdom, and its commercial atmosphere was very developed and bustling. Of course, there were also many wealthy people in the Kachaer Kingdom. To get a really high price, you had to put the item up for auction and hold a bidding war. Big buyers would flock there like fish in water.

We're currently in a small town on the border of the county capital. We can reach the county capital before noon by taking the Maldives. This time, the boss didn't skimp on money, so breakfast was very lavish: eggs, milk, and pine nut meat noodles. Hehe... Although these things aren't much in the city, this is the best breakfast we've had since arriving in this town. For over a month, we've only had eggs without milk, or milk without eggs, just plain scallion noodles. It all felt so meager and miserable. But don't be ungrateful; if an ordinary family in this town had something like this, it would be like a New Year's feast.

"Why is this town so poor?" the boss asked. He narrowed his eyes and said leisurely, "Eat whatever you can find. Mind your own business and stay put. Just don't cause me any trouble. I don't want to go back to my old ways of fighting and killing. We're people of taste now. We should do things more elegantly and not resort to violence all the time. Don't you agree?"

Everyone was stunned. The leader's words were truly profound and enough for them to study for a lifetime. The leader laughed and said, "That's for sure. If you could understand it as soon as I said it, then you guys would be the leader and I would be the junior."

That was quite a brilliant statement. Everyone could only laugh awkwardly but dared not say anything more, for fear of offending the boss again, which would be troublesome.

Before we arrived, the boss had already hired two carriages. As soon as everyone boarded, the horses galloped towards the capital city. The capital city had a population of 500,000 and was a city rich in artistic expression. Its architecture was very famous, such as the Hanging Gardens, the sculpted theater, and the underground magic palace, etc., all of which represented the architectural prowess of the Kachaer Kingdom. To be honest, this was my second time visiting the capital city. If I had money this time, I would definitely buy a house in the capital city and bring back fifty or sixty beautiful female slaves to serve as servants. I would settle down here and never leave.

The carriage suddenly stopped. I peeked out and quickly pulled back to the boss, saying, "Oh no! Boss, there are knights and mages!"

The boss glared at me, thinking I was joking. He glanced sideways, frowned, and muttered, "Damn it! There really are knights and mages." The know-it-all panicked, saying nervously, "Boss, they're not coming for us, are they?!"

The eldest brother clenched his fist and said, "No, don't worry! So many years have passed, the Empire won't go to the trouble of arresting us for such a small matter. Besides, they've already made a mess of things with other important matters, they don't have time to bother with our affairs."

Even so, they dared not be careless. The leader signaled to everyone to be alert and not to cause any trouble. Then, the know-it-all made a gesture to the carriage behind. Just then, Chicken also peeked out and saw the gesture from the know-it-all. He knew what was going on and returned the gesture to indicate that he understood.

I looked around some more. Two rows of soldiers stood at the city gate of the capital. On either side of the gate stood a knight and a mage. The knight and mage were easily distinguishable by their clothing. The knight wore a silver-white armor, with a sword hanging on his back, a shield in his hand, and a silver helmet. The ordinary soldier wore only a simple gray armor and held a spear. The mage wore a black holy robe that reached his legs, somewhat like a skirt, and held a silver staff. From a modern perspective, the knight's clothes were fashionable and artistic, while the mage's were casual and unconventional.

Everyone and every vehicle entering the city was thoroughly checked before being allowed in, while those leaving were free to do so. This indicated that a very important person had arrived in the city. Since even members of the Imperial Court had come down, this person must be someone of great importance. I was about to ask my boss when he gave me a wink, and I swallowed back the words I was about to say. It turned out that the carriage had already entered the city gate checkpoint with the entourage. I saw the knight on horseback lift the curtain and look around, his imposing eyes sweeping over us before asking, "What are you doing entering the city?"

The leader stepped forward with a fawning smile, saying, "Swordsman, [being a swordsman is a symbol of chivalry and honor, and also a dream; a knight on horseback can never become a swordsman.] We're just coming into town to do business, could you please give us a break?" As he spoke, the leader pulled out some silver notes and stuffed them into the knight's hand. [Silver notes are the currency in circulation, basically universally accepted throughout the Star River Continent, with an equivalent value of 100 rubles = 1 silver note, and 1000 silver notes = 1 gold coin.]

The knight glanced at the silver notes in his hand; they seemed to be quite substantial. The leader's smile was natural and harmonious, revealing no trace of hypocrisy—a true businessman. The knight said, "The spirit of a swordsman cannot be measured by this. Seeing that you are a conscientious businessman, well, go in!" With that, he stuffed the silver notes into his pocket.

Upon entering the city, we were wondering why our boss would throw away so many silver notes, which made my friend and I drool. But then our boss said angrily, "Damn it! If we run into that knight again, I'll make sure he gets it back with interest!" My friend and I exchanged glances, realizing that we knew our boss's character quite well.

They quickly arrived at the largest antique auction house in the capital, but the leader waved his hand and didn't go in. Instead, he led everyone into the largest antique buying and selling shop. As soon as the owner saw customers, he knew they had connections and quickly stepped forward with a big smile, saying, "Brother! I've been waiting for you for so long! Why are you only arriving now!" Then, he pretended to look around nervously, and only when he made sure no one was paying attention did he ask in a low voice, "How did it go? Did you get any funerary objects?"

I almost burst out laughing when I saw it. It had a sly grin on its face. "I'll rip you off without drawing blood later. Usually, antique shop owners don't get a customer for three years, but once they do, they make three years' worth of profit in one go." The boss gave a thumbs up, and the owner excitedly pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, quickly inviting him into the inner room to discuss the matter.

The shopkeeper stared at the white sword, now stained with blood, for a long time, fiddling with it in his hands, looking completely dazed. Strangely enough, the sword, which was originally white, had turned completely red after being stained with my blood. No matter how much he wiped it, the blood wouldn't come off. It looked fiery red, like fresh blood, and gave off a strange feeling that made people afraid to look at it or get too close. Yet the shopkeeper kept touching and looking at it for quite a while.

The boss didn't say anything. Baishitong, Mengnan, Shanji and I were all a little nervous. Why hadn't he given an estimate yet? Whether we had the money or not depended on this. The boss, on the other hand, was leisurely drinking tea, as if he had plenty of time. "Take your time and look at it!"

Everyone was anxious and dared not urge them. Just as they were fidgeting, the shopkeeper spoke up, his face full of amazement and excitement, repeatedly praising, "What a fine sword! What a fine sword! What a fine sword!" The shopkeeper didn't explain what made the sword so good; he simply held out his hand to the leader and called out a price: "Five thousand gold coins!"

Five thousand gold coins!

Everyone gasped in unison, "My God! We've never seen gold coins before! Five thousand in one go! We're rich! We're rich! We're rich!" This was no longer just a dream. Just as everyone was immersed in the world of money and beautiful women, the leader suddenly laughed, a maniacal laugh. He stepped forward, grabbed the sword from the boss's hand, and started to walk away. The boss quickly shouted, "I'll offer ten thousand gold coins!"

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure, Chapter Seven: Princess Jenny Kay of the Empire

Chapter word count: 2509 Update time: 08-03-02 10:14

Ten thousand gold coins! This can't be a dream, can it?! The pheasant pinched the know-it-all's face hard, making him howl in pain. It's real! It's real!

The leader suddenly said coldly, "One hundred thousand gold coins!"

This time, not only were everyone dumbfounded, but even the boss stood there, wanting to speak but unable to utter a sound. The boss knew that even if he sold everything he owned, he would only have 12,000 gold coins. This 100,000 gold coins was an astronomical figure! Even if this sword was worth millions, tens of millions, or even priceless treasures, the boss was willing but unable to swallow this piece of fat meat in one bite.

The leader only said one sentence: "Spread the word about this sword through the underworld. Tell them I'm offering 200,000 gold coins, cash only. If you have that kind of money, come to my apartment in the capital. I'll be waiting for you for three days. First come, first served. I'll give you 10,000 gold coins as a reward for your trouble!" After saying that, he led everyone out, leaving the boss standing there dumbfounded, muttering to himself: 200,000! 200,000!

The Capital Apartments are the best accommodation in the capital city. The buildings here are laid out entirely in the style of a palace, and they have always catered to the wealthy and powerful. Of course, if you think you have too much money and are spending gold coins every day, then that's another story.

To show their status, everyone moved into the Capital Apartment with their boss. Good heavens! When did the boss become so rich? I remember before we started tomb raiding, the boss had a long face and told everyone to save money. Those days of going hungry were really inhuman.

The leader pulled out six gold coins and said, "Book a room, three days!"

A pretty girl dressed in a pure and innocent style stopped writing, looked up at the boss, then glanced at the six gold coins on the counter, tossed out a key, and said, "Fifth room on the right in the first floor." After saying that, she threw the gold coins into the cash box and continued writing without looking up.

The eldest brother didn't argue with her, took the keys and left. The tough guy was furious. How dare she look down on the eldest brother like that? He said angrily after her, "Damn it! When I become a rich man, I'll buy you and use all my skills in bed to torture you until you're half dead, to get revenge for the eldest brother."

I chuckled to myself. It seems the macho man is in heat. "Hehe." If I'm not mistaken, apart from the boss, the others are definitely still virgins. Don't even mention the macho man in heat; even if I became a rich man, the first thing I'd do is buy fifty or sixty beautiful women and have my way with them.

Two days passed by here before I knew it, and I didn't hear any news. All I can say is that when I was dreaming, I was still thinking, this bed is really comfortable, even better than those so-called sponge beds outside. I would rather sleep here for ten or eight years and never wake up again.

Just as everyone's snoring was deafening, a dark figure suddenly rushed out of the window, tearing through the night sky and rushing towards the outside of the city. In an instant, it flashed into a grove of trees. Looking back, the capital city was no longer in sight, indicating that it was already far away from the city. The man in black leaped several more times, his movements incredibly agile, leaving no trace and all done in one smooth motion.

Deep within the woods stood a swordsman, his eyes closed in meditation, arms crossed, a silver sword tucked into his back. The man in black frowned, thinking to himself: "Silver Swordsman!"

The man in black kept scrutinizing the person in front of him. The swordsman was only twenty years old, yet he had already surpassed the knight and become a swordsman. According to cultivation level, a smart person would need another five years, that is, twenty-five years old, to become a swordsman. The man in black had already arrived, but the swordsman remained calm and composed, which meant he was not as simple as a novice swordsman.

The man in black lacked the swordsman's refined taste, enjoying the moon and the wind in the secluded depths of the woods late at night. Just as he was about to ask a question, the swordsman's weapon suddenly drew its sheath. A flash of silver light, and the man in black shifted his position, the silver light cleaving the tree behind him in two. The man in black frowned. "Damn it! Are you trying to start a fight? I'm not afraid of you!"

The silver swordsman opened his eyes, his gaze as cold and sharp as lightning as he shone on the man in black. The shadowy figure exclaimed in surprise, "Soul-Seizing Shadow!" Before the man in black could react, the silver swordsman vanished with a whoosh. The shadowy figure quickly closed his eyes and listened intently, frantically waving two fingers of his right hand. Sparks flew from his fingers, accompanied by the clear clang of weapons clashing. The silver swordsman cried out in astonishment, "Finger Sword Encircling the Mountain!"

"Finger Sword Around the Mountain" is a super martial art of the sword department of the Magic and Martial Arts Academy. It is said that only a few teachers in the academy have mastered it. "Finger Sword Around the Mountain" means using your finger as a sword and your body as a mountain. The sword circles around the mountain, and the mountain spirals around but does not move in place. No matter how you attack from the outside, you cannot get in even a little bit. This is a defensive course of the sword department. The silver swordsman seems to be struggling to keep up.

Just then, a clear and melodious zither tune drifted from the depths, its sound like a dream, and the man in black was startled: the ultimate move, "Heaven and Earth's Ultimate Melody!" Damn it! What bad luck today? Why is it a killing move right off the bat? The man in black quickly calmed himself down, suppressing his earlier agitation and passion.

The zither music was clear and melodious, yet the lyrics were as sorrowful as a mournful cry, carrying a plaintive and plaintive tone:

You have left, the wind is howling, the rain is pouring, when will I be able to wait for your return?

For several nights, it cried out like a nightingale, how pitiful, how pitiful.