Chapter 78: Scattering the Gods and Buddhas

Chapter 78: Scattering the Gods and Buddhas

Zhao Changhe’s attack could really be said to be as fast as lightning, as mighty as the claw of a dragon or tiger. Unfortunately, even this incredible attack was not enough to take the young man’s life.

The Cui Clan elders standing as witnesses were not incompetent. Every one of them had at least reached the ninth layer of the Profound Gate. How could they let a youth murder one of their clan members before them?

Ping!

Countless fists hit the side of the saber at the same time.

Even with so many people striking the blade simultaneously, they were actually the ones to be flung back. None of them expected the force of the attack to be this ridiculous; it was more absurd than an adult hitting a child.

It was the rejection of the Dragon Bird of the Great Xia!

You mortals dare to touch Us!?

The elders, overwhelmed with shock, stumbled backward. There was even someone who was sent crashing into one of the walls of the copper pavilion by the force of the backlash.

However, the collective force of the backlash was still able to alter the trajectory of the attack. The saber just barely streaked across the lower hem of the young man’s clothes. He instinctively retreated, his body was drenched in cold sweat, having just avoided having his head lopped off.

“Zhao Changhe!” The young man, flustered and exasperated, leaped outside the pavilion and pointed his halberd at Zhao Changhe, sharply rebuking him. “Could it be that you were conspiring with my uncle!? To casually frame and murder someone and upheave the entirety of Qinghe!?”

“What happened?” Countless people outside rushed forth and surrounded him. “Why has a fight suddenly broken out?”

Cui Wenjue waded through the crowd and helped up the youth. He faced the pavilion and said coldly, “What is the meaning of this, brother? Are we letting the Qinghe sword weed out traitors, or are we watching this Dragon Bird flaunt its might?”

The young man was Cui Wenjue’s son, Cui Yuansheng.

Cui Wenjing stopped the elders that were hit back in the temple from surrounding Zhao Changhe and looked at him with a strange expression before shifting his gaze to his daughter, who looked like she was at a loss as to what to do.

He had not expected things to go in this direction. Though he had really intended to let Zhao Changhe secretly test his compatibility with the Dragon Bird of the Great Xia, he had not intended for him to participate in this matter of the Cui Clan. He also could not predict that Dragon Bird would show off its power. Oh well, not that it’s a problem. The outcome of this little accident is actually better than the original plan I had.

Cui Wenjing calmly brought out the sword and indifferently said, “I must apologize to everyone here. I have deceived you all.”

The witnesses’ voices rose up in a clamor.

No small number of elders frowned at his statement. “Wenjing, there is no harm in explaining to us what you mean.”

Cui Wenjing replied, “In the end, the sword is not a living thing. If we rely on it to judge our treachery, there will always be the possibility that it decides to kill someone because of something unrelated. We are all family here. How can I bear to part with any of you?”

An elder clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Then what is the point of having everyone tested, Wenjing? For your amusement?”

“It’s dark in the pavilion; the scabbard of the sword is also black. The younger generation’s cultivations are still low, so none of them can tell that I actually smeared a little something on the scabbard. If they had nothing to hide, they would naturally touch it and stain their hands. If they had something to hide, then perhaps they would have used their internal force to guard their hands. It would look like they touched the sword, but in reality, they would not have come into contact with it at all.” Cui Wenjing grinned. “This is my actual method for revealing the culprit. Well, maybe I should say this is ‘the’ method. I didn’t come up with it, I just read about it in a historical record.”

Fuck... Zhao Changhe was shocked. Many people knew the story, even him. But he had never thought of going about things this way.

Now, Zhao Changhe had a hunch as to why Cui Wenjing had gone about the test in such a tedious way. It was because he knew that the other party’s goal was to reveal whatever problem there was with the Qinghe Sword. From the start, Cui Wenjing had never intended to rely on the fantasy-like method he had initially explained to figure out who the traitor was. And with the actual method he had used, even if there was a problem with the sword, he would be able to cover it up without much trouble. Nobody would suspect anything.

In reality, Cui Wenjing wanted to bring out the Qinghe Sword to judge everyone so that he could create the scene that was playing out before them and openly prove to those that harbored doubts that the Qinghe Sword worked just fine. I’m not afraid of bringing it out before all of you and have everyone touch it. Everyone can stop questioning if there is a problem with the Qinghe Sword.

This was the main motive driving this series of actions. Revealing the culprit was only a nice bonus.

He’s so impressive, so how can his daughter be so dumb...and cute?

If this bandit wasn’t here, how could things have come to this!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, until he roared and attacked first.

Light shone off his sword, like moonlight reflecting off the Qing river, as his blade slithered about and pierced toward Zhao Changhe as if it was threading through mountains.

“How can the mountains block the stream? In the end, the river still flows eastward[1],” an elder said in a low voice. “Yuansheng’s sword is like the clouds and mists—undergoing myriad changes. He’s already obtained a deep...”

Before he could say “understanding,” his expression suddenly changed.

Clang!

Zhao Changhe unsheathed his saber.

The moment he drew it, it was already by Cui Yuansheng’s forehead. It was as if Cui Yuansheng, with his sword that seemed to coil through mountains, had presented his head to be lopped off.

“What a fast saber!”

I don’t give a damn about your myriad changes or whatever mountains blocking streams. If there’s a mountain in the path of my saber, then the mountain will make way for it!

Clang!

Cui Yuansheng quickly switched to a hard block, but the impact sent him reeling back in a pitiful state, and his sword was almost hacked into twain.

The sound of the wind rose before him. From all sides, people shouted, “Yuansheng, careful!”

As they began shouting, Cui Wenjue’s had already rushed forward to try and save him.

Cui Wenjing had prepared for this and smiled as he blocked the other man with his sword. “Wenjue, why are you so startled by the quibbling of the youngsters ?”

Cui Yuansheng looked up as he staggered back.

It was as if the imposing form of a great demon was descending from up high; in its hands was a sanguine moon, and its eyes glowed blood-red.

Scattering the Gods and Buddhas!

Cui Yuansheng would have been fine had he not looked at his opponent, but after seeing this, immense dread gripped his heart. His feet turned to jelly, and he felt that even if he were an actual god or a buddha, he would not be able to block this demonic saber capable of deicide!

He heard someone bellow into his ear, “When you tried to kill Yuanyang, did you think this day would come!?”

Cui Yuansheng, terror-stricken, shouted, “But she didn’t die! Spare me!”

No one made a sound.

Cui Wenjue’s face was ashen.

The sanguine moon dissipated and the glare of Zhao Changhe’s saber faded.

The cold point of his blade stopped right at Cui Yuansheng’s neck. Zhao Changhe smile was very much unlike a smile as he jeered, “So the son of a powerful family is nothing more than this. The Tome of Troubled Times doesn’t even care that I beat you.”

1. “青山遮不住,毕竟东流去” This is from another poem by Xin Qiji. ☜