Chapter 459: Holy Sword Puppet

As the long sword was selected, the puppet leapt into the air and one could see its wordless back.

“Whoosh!” Zhangsun Jing only saw the sword dancing around vigorously in the air. With the state of his vision, he was only able to keep track of the sword’s tip, unable to perceive all of its variations.

In a short period of time, he was able to grasp the rhythm’s significance and what was really happening. Little by little it became clear that this was in no way a random act.

The puppet only went back into its box when the sword was put away. Coincidentally, it was face down now, so one could see that it had glossy black hair and that it was now inscribed with the words,

“I would never be so bold as to forsake your benevolence. Let the spirit of Taoism, along with my gratitude, be communicated through this blade.”

Zhangsun Jing was captivated by the calligraphy that seemed both relaxed and elegant. One could sense the charm of the sword art from the boldness and faintness of the brush strokes. It somehow managed to appear rough and fine, as well as clumsy and graceful, all at the same time. Yet, it was as if it had intentionally lost its purpose from trying to say too much. Each different stroke failed to adhere to structural norms, making it seem chaotic.

Yet, when one stepped back and looked at it from a distance, it seemed like the writing blended together harmoniously. Sword Will oozed from every part of it and you could not find a stroke, or structural form that looked out of place.

Sword Emperor’s book of war was a well-founded classic. “The person who wrote the reply would be a well-dressed peerless talent.” As such it had not lost any of its beauty from being overly adorned, on the contrary it set it off as all the more amazing.

“Evidently, they both had amazing talent!”

Zhangsun Jing sighed once more, “Yet another book on Supreme Swordplay…”.

The Wishful Monk’s gaze, like his, was fixed on the puppet, “If any sword art novice should acquire this puppet and spend time figuring it out, they may gain insight into a powerful sword art: A Martial Artist’s Community classic.”

To his keen eye, those 30 words contained within them the Sword Emperor’s and God-petrifying Sword’s understanding of sword art. It took the most basic and elementary, as well as the most charming varieties and portrayed them all through calligraphic strokes. Each character hid exquisite movements, with the first 14 and last 16 being possible to combine together to make an unbeatable sword art repertoire. It was like witnessing a huge dragon coming to life and taking flight, it was amazing!

To Sword Emperor and God-petrifying Sword, this might well just be them brandishing their sword art remotely across a distance. However, to someone who was not a Great Grandmaster, these Supreme Swordplay arts together could bring down a reign of terror on the Jianghu. How much one was able to discern from them would depend on one’s own physical abilities, as well as their understanding of sword art itself.

Zhangsun Jing, as a true warrior, spent the time and effort to absorb every calligraphic stroke and the charms that lay within. Only after a long while did he pull his eyes away with difficulty. He was elated from being able to perceive the mysteries of Jianghu, “This Holy Sword Puppet may not compare with a few of the great masterpieces, yet it would not fall short by much. Acquiring it was tantamount to gaining two heirloom grade sword arts. It was enough to establish a sect that could enjoy generations of impartation.

Feeling such surprise and deep admiration, he had entirely forgotten that the parties were next to him. Too much praise would only make people feel uncomfortable, like they were being fawned upon. He decided to name the puppet the Holy Sword Puppet, because even if it was only sword art and could not be used to cultivate the closing of the apertures, it could still be that this puppet was equal to a few of the classics.

“Amitabha. May the Buddha preserve us.” Wishful Monk had nothing else he wished to add.

Meng Qi smiled as he listened to the exchange between Zhangsun Jing and Wishful Monk without interrupting them. Once they showed signs of calming down a little, he instructed the imperial army general to deliver the puppet to Sword Emperor.

The general left the courtyard and was heading to the royal city when he suddenly veered off into a quieter area.

He was not deaf. How could he not have heard the exchange between Zhangsun Jing and Wishful Monk just now?

Nor was his Kung Fu that bad! It had been good enough to get him to the rank of general in the imperial army. Plus, he was a man with vision!

“Supreme Swordplay! Two sets of Supreme Swordplay…” His breathing sped up. His life had already stagnated and his body had aged somewhat. He was now past the age of making any major breakthroughs, but he had a daughter. Why not make plans and do something for his descendants?

One could command respect in Jianghu with this sword art, even without having mastered the other Inner Qi Force supreme art levels. If he could strengthen his shortcomings by going on some adventures, then possibly nothing short of a Great Grandmaster would be an adversary to him. There was even a chance of achieving the Devil Empress’ realm!

“When the time comes, it will be a glorious day to start my own sect, or to begin a noble family!”

As he hurried home, he picked up the relevant items he needed to make a rubbing of the puppet’s 30 characters with white silk. He did not dare steal the puppet for himself, nor would he make an imitation of it, even if it meant losing much of its original charm. After all, Sword Emperor’s intuition was sinister, and he might notice! He would just have to make do with what he could. Anyway, if he could just take away 70-80% of the magic it would be like having found treasure!

After he completed the rubbing, he considered things for a moment. Then next to the first 14 characters he confirmed with the words: Evil-subduing Swordsmanship.

He assumed this to be Sword Emperor’s abilities at subduing thieves, rascals and evil spirits.

The last 16 characters were easier to decipher, which he inscribed as ‘God-petrifying Sword Art’.

As he inscribed them, he had the feeling of being part of history. It was like his family itself would prosper from this day forward. When future generations studied their sword art, they would feel deep gratitude when they looked upon their ancestor’s calligraphy.

What he could not know at that time was that the Holy Sword Puppet, along with the two sword arts Evil-subduing Swordsmanship and God-petrifying Sword, would bring to Jianghu many good opportunities for Jianghu swordsman to make names for themselves in the days to come.

After he had completed the rubbings and removed any marks he had left from the puppet, he left his house and hurried for the imperial palace to complete the delivery.

The ancient Sword Emperor was knelt on the ground with the long sword placed horizontally in front of him. He took the puppet and examined Meng Qi’s written response. He looked and looked until eventually beads of sweat appeared on the imperial general’s forehead. Even with as careful as he had been, it was hard to avoid leaving behind any dirt marks after rubbing!

He had thought that Sword Emperor would just look at the response and then put down the puppet as God-petrifying Sword had. Therefore, as he was audaciously rubbing earlier, he could not have known that Sword Emperor would examine it as closely as he was.

“In just five years, he has reached such a point, no wonder I have dreamt of fighting him…” Sword Emperor looked at the imperial general for a moment, but said nothing. Then he passed the puppet to Sky-scaling Sword Song Ming.

Before Meng Qi had killed Living Buddha, he seemed to have already decided to fight him!

“Perhaps it is predestined.” Song Ming said in a low voice with a chuckle.

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Sword Emperor shook his head, it was as if there was something else that had been left unsaid.

Song Ming was about to enquire further when suddenly there was an “eh” sound. His gaze was frozen on the puppet. With a swordsman’s instincts, he looked upon it intoxicated.

“This represents the essence of your teacher and the God-petrifying Sword’s sword art, but if one considers it a little bit more it is not hard to notice as the teacher and student seldomly communicate with words, that without script they must be using this puppet as their conduit.” Sword Emperor’s old voice seemed to agitate the air. It constantly reverberated with Sword Qi. Many small holes opened on the puppet’s surface. They were exactly like the Aperture acupoints on a human, replete with the sword marks that guided the direction of flow for the corresponding sword art’s genuine Qi.

Finally, he heaved a great sigh, “It contains so much and I have learnt so much from this. However, if it were possible to reverse engineer God-petrifying Sword’s Genuine Qi flow paths and the secrets of Inner Qi Force, then perhaps this old man would feel more enlightened than he does. Sadly just looking at sword art alone is not enough…”

Song Ming gathered himself and gave a wry smile. “Master, as your disciple I always thought that sword art was a pinnacle of achievement. Now I realize that my outlook has been rather limited, and that there is yet again more to it than I’d first thought!”

The imperial general next to him almost fainted when Sword Emperor glanced at him. Fortunately, Sword Emperor did not say anything.

He gradually regained himself and then out of nowhere he recalled a Jianghu rumor that Sword Emperor has a soft spot for the talented, often giving regular Jianghu people opportunities…

“Very well, you can leave now, tomorrow may be this old man’s last battle, and I would like to have some quiet time with my old friend.” Sword Emperor’s voice carried in it tinges of fatigue that he must have been feeling.

…

Sunset Peak was to the west of the capital. Depending on the season, as the sun set it would take on the color of rich honey as the setting sun dyed it a beautiful crimson gold hue.

Devil Empress, dressed in white, stood next to a tree near the summit. She did not go up any further because she did not wish to distract the two figures on the summit.

It was a rare treat and a great opportunity to a Great Grandmistress, such as herself, to be able to spectate when two colleagues with similar abilities to her own battled. As such, on hearing the news that Sword Emperor and God-petrifying Sword would battle and had each made arrangements for their respective post-battle positions in case something went wrong, she wasted no time hurrying over.

Her beautiful eyes moved across a large rock nearby, and although she could not see anything there, she clearly sensed that the Royal Advisor was concealed to the boulder’s right.

The Royal Advisor, who had taken the royal grandchildren away after failing to assist the Crown Prince secure the throne five years ago, had also come to witness the battle today.

Only Great Grandmaster’s dared to get close to such Great Grandmaster-level battles. Consequently Zhangsun Jing, Wishful Monk, and the others could only just about see what was happening from the small pavilion they had chosen much farther away from the action on the summit.

The battle had not been publicized and only a few well-informed people had gathered, so it was by no means crowded.

Back at the Political Affairs Hall in the capital, the Right Chief Minister Wang Derang paced back and forth. From time to time he looked across at Sunset Peak. It was as if he itching to make his way over there.

However, he had the great responsibility of guarding the imperial city and could not just leave at will.

Into the Political Affairs Hall came an eunuch, “The emperor has decreed that his loyal servant should accompany him to Sunset Peak to witness the battle.”

Wang Derang’s initial glee soon turned into a frown, “How can the emperor put himself in such danger?”

The eunuch had his orders. “The emperor queried what kind of Disciple he would be if he should fail to attend a Master’s last battle.”

On hearing his elder’s words, Wang Derong’s tone finally relaxed. “Very well.”

…

Over at the Sunset Peak, Meng Qi met Sword Emperor once again. It had been many years.

He had aged quite a bit since the last time they had met, his face wrinkled with significantly more liver spotting. However, he still stood upright with no sign of needing to stoop. His physique was still as strong as that of an ox. However, the way he stood there was somewhat mysterious. It made one feel like he was detached, neither here nor there!

Meng Qi felt all the same pressure he had felt when he faced He Jiu and Wang Siyuan, without him even moving. Sadly, Sword Emperor lacked Dharmakaya and Exterior movements.

Meng Qi sighed considering this and asked, “I trust my elder has been keeping well?”

Sword Emperor replied calmly, “I’m at death’s door actually, so I cannot really talk of keeping well. Who would have thought that a whim from a few years ago could lead to this old man meeting such an opponent as yourself? The world can be truly amazing sometimes!”

Now, standing in front of him, Meng Qi could clearly sense Sword Emperor had his own External Devil. Rather than it possessing him, it seemed more like it was his captive.

He hesitated slightly and asked, “Is there something within my elder’s body?”

“Oh, that?” Sword Emperor gave a rare chuckle. “Don’t worry about that! If you are victorious, it will pass away with me. And if you are defeated, it isn’t long for this world anyway.”

He did not explain how it came to be and took on a solemn expression instead. “Prepare yourself.”

Meng Qi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He dismissed all irrelevant thoughts from his mind. The flow of his Inner World activated and his spirit spread out across the plains, mountain peaks and rivers. It encompassed the azure skies and the burning hot Grand Sun, as well as the scary gloominess of the Chaotic Hole; from there it ranged across the countless flickering stars beyond.

It was the feeling of being able to sense heaven and earth’s Vital Qi for Meng Qi, it surged like a great ocean with every breath he took. Likewise, heaven and earth’s power faintly appeared before him.

Sword Emperor only sensed that the person in front of him had morphed into a void like state, as if he embodied the depth of space and could contain all matter.

He raised his sword.