Chapter 5: The Sword Homage Assembly

Inside a superior private room at an inn in Gujian City,

Chu Feng likewise stood by the window, gazing up at the bright moon high above. Although he had already lived in this world for twenty years, whenever he looked at the full moon at night, he still felt a faint sense of unreality.

That was because, in the sky of this world, there were no stars besides the moon. Even the moon itself never changed. Every single night, it was a full moon.

And after Chu Feng’s cultivation reached the Great Grandmaster realm, that unreal feeling only grew stronger.

After admiring the night scenery for a while, Chu Feng withdrew his gaze and sat down in a chair inside the room.

“Tell me, how do you want me to avenge you?”

“Should we settle accounts only with those directly responsible, or should I simply slaughter the entire Gujian Sect?” Chu Feng looked at Su Yanran beside him and asked calmly.

Su Yanran’s heart pounded in alarm when she heard that. She had not expected the refined and scholarly-looking Chu Feng to speak of exterminating an entire sect the moment he opened his mouth.

But seeing that Chu Feng did not appear to be joking in the slightest, Su Yanran immediately understood that he truly was capable of such a thing.

After thinking it over, Su Yanran lowered her eyes and said, “Young Master Chu, there is no need to exterminate the entire sect.’’

“My grandfather and the Sect Master of the Gujian Sect were close friends for many years. I trust the Gujian Sect Master’s character completely. He absolutely knew nothing about the disaster that befell the Su clan. The Grand Elder of the Gujian Sect did all of this behind his back. I only want the people of the Grand Elder’s faction to die.”

“Very well.” Chu Feng nodded in agreement.

Seeing how calm and untroubled Chu Feng looked, Su Yanran hesitated, wanting to speak yet stopping herself.

She had originally thought Chu Feng had some other plan in mind, but from the looks of it, he clearly intended to act alone.

It was not that she doubted Chu Feng’s strength, but Xiao Shan, the Grand Elder of the Gujian Sect, was, after all, a veteran Innate expert.

If Chu Feng fought Xiao Shan without complete confidence, then the final outcome was still uncertain...

After thinking for a moment, Su Yanran felt she could not let Chu Feng act so rashly, so she suggested, “Young Master Chu, two days from now will be the Gujian Sect’s triennial Sword Homage Assembly.’’

“When that time comes, let us go to the Gujian Sect then. Perhaps the Gujian Sect Master will uphold justice for the Su clan. If that happens, the pressure on you will be lighter as well.”

Chu Feng knew that Su Yanran was worried he would be no match for Xiao Shan. He smiled faintly and did not bother explaining further, though the Sword Homage Assembly did stir a bit of interest in him.

Chu Feng had long since heard of the Gujian Sect’s once-every-three-years Sword Homage Assembly.

Every three years, the Gujian Sect invited all sword-path experts within the Great Xuan Dynasty to attend the Sword Homage Assembly.

At the assembly, the Gujian Sect would bring out most of the high-grade swords it had forged over the past three years and gift them to those fated to receive them.

This had earned the Gujian Sect no small amount of goodwill and valuable connections.

“Fine. We’ll do as you say. After attending the Sword Homage Assembly, we’ll go settle the score with Xiao Shan,” Chu Feng said with a nod.

Su Yanran secretly let out a sigh of relief. After bowing, she turned and returned to her own room to rest.

The night passed without incident.

As the morning sun rose in the east, beams of light tore through the curtain of darkness and shone into Gujian City.

There was still one day left before the Sword Homage Assembly began, and more and more swordsmen were arriving from afar, pouring into Gujian City.

As soon as the sky brightened, noisy clamor rose from the streets outside.

On the bed in his room, Chu Feng slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of brilliance swept through the chamber.

Chu Feng exhaled a turbid breath and rose to his feet in a good mood.

After several days of cultivation and consolidation, he could finally control his Great Grandmaster cultivation with ease.

After washing up, Su Yanran knocked on the door while carrying breakfast.

Once the two of them had finished eating, Yue Chaoyang, the City Lord of Gujian City, came to call.

“This humble official greets Your Highness the Seventh Prince.’’

“Tomorrow is the grand triennial Sword Homage Assembly of the Gujian Sect. Imperial Prince Kun sent this humble official here early this morning to invite Your Highness to travel together,” Yue Chaoyang said, bowing at the waist as he explained his purpose.

After hearing this, Chu Feng considered it for a moment before saying calmly, “Go back and inform Imperial Prince Kun that this prince appreciates his good intentions, but traveling together will not be necessary.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Yue Chaoyang did not say anything further and promptly withdrew.

Chu Feng knew full well that Chu Jingshan wanted to draw closer to him, but he had no desire to have too much contact with him.

Chu Feng had lived in the imperial palace for fifteen years before, and he had already seen the true faces of those princes clearly.

To be honest, among all his brothers, only the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince were somewhat worth noting.

As for the rest, they were all hollow fools who merely looked formidable on the outside. They only knew how to form cliques, seek private gain, and fight for power, while understanding nothing about governing a nation or caring for the common people.

Even if Chu Feng himself had no interest in the imperial throne, he would never allow it to fall into their hands.

Thus, he and Chu Jingshan were destined to become enemies.

After Yue Chaoyang left, Chu Feng took Su Yanran out of the inn and began strolling through the city.

At that moment, a burst of commotion suddenly rose from the crowd, and a mass of people surged in one direction.

“Where are they going?” Chu Feng asked curiously.

“Young Master, it should be because the Token Contest has begun,” Su Yanran replied.

“Not everyone is qualified to participate in the Sword Homage Assembly. Aside from the honored guests personally invited by the Gujian Sect, the sect also issues one hundred participation tokens.’’

“As for the swordsmen who were not invited, the only way for them to attend the Sword Homage Assembly is to win one of those tokens through combat.”

“I see. Then let’s go have a look as well,” Chu Feng said in realization.

“Alright.”

The two followed the crowd and arrived at an open area.

At the center stood an arena. On top of it was a young swordsman holding a broad, heavy sword, his expression indifferent as he swept his gaze over the crowd below.

“Is there anyone else who dares come up and fight me?!”

As soon as the young swordsman finished speaking, the other swordsmen present all looked at each other, but no one dared step onto the stage.

Though this swordsman was very young, his strength had already reached the Fourth Rank. His broad sword relied on overwhelming force to crush all finesse, and his moves were bold and domineering, impossible to withstand.

Before this, he had already defeated five swordsmen of the same realm, and his momentum had reached its peak.

Seeing that no one dared challenge him, the young swordsman gave a contemptuous smile, put away his sword, stepped down from the arena, took a token from a disciple of the Gujian Sect, and turned to leave.

As the swordsmen present watched his departing figure, they began discussing him among themselves.

“Hiss! I really didn’t expect Li Xiao’s strength to be this terrifying now!”

“Indeed. I saw him two months ago, and back then he still hadn’t entered the Fourth Rank. And now he can already defeat Fourth-Rank martial artists with ease.”

“If you ask me, Li Xiao probably has no rivals left within the Fourth Rank.”

That remark immediately drew contemptuous looks from the others.

“You must not have seen what a real heaven-chosen genius looks like.”

“With Li Xiao’s current strength, at best he could only barely squeeze into the bottom of the Hidden Dragon Ranking. He is nowhere near comparable to those genius disciples from the major sects.”

“Sigh, but Li Xiao has neither sect nor backing. The fact that he has made it this far on his own is already very impressive.”

“That much is true.”

“...”

Amid the crowd, Chu Feng listened to the discussions with a calm expression.

The Hidden Dragon Ranking they spoke of was something put together by an intelligence organization known as the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s intelligence network spread across all five great dynasties. It was said that there was no secret in this world they did not know.

The Hidden Dragon Ranking contained two hundred names and included all heaven-chosen geniuses under the age of twenty-five from the five great dynasties. The ranking was updated once every month.

“What rank are you on the Hidden Dragon Ranking?” Chu Feng turned and asked Su Yanran.

“Young Master, I... I’m ranked somewhere around one hundred sixty-something,” Su Yanran replied somewhat ashamed.

Chu Feng nodded and said nothing more.

Now that Su Yanran’s strength had reached the late stage of the Fourth Rank, and with ‘Spring Chant’ in her possession, her strength was enough to place her within the top one hundred fifty of the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

That Li Xiao who had just left was no match for her.

After Li Xiao departed, two more swordsmen immediately leaped onto the arena and began fighting. Their strength, however, was far inferior to Li Xiao’s.

With a single glance, Chu Feng could tell that their swordsmanship was riddled with flaws and held no interest whatsoever.

After watching for a while, Chu Feng took Su Yanran and left.

As soon as they returned to the inn, Chu Feng saw a dissipated young master dressed in extravagant clothing standing at the entrance with a group of people behind him.

The moment that young master spotted Chu Feng and Su Yanran, his eyes lit up, and he immediately led his group over to surround them.

“Su Yanran, I truly did not expect you to have the nerve to come back,” the young master sneered, ignoring Chu Feng completely and fixing his gaze on Su Yanran.

Su Yanran looked at him directly, killing intent surging in her eyes as she said coldly, “Why would I not dare return?’’

“Xiao Yujing, do you really think the Gujian Sect is ruled by your father alone?’’

“I came back this time to avenge the more than one hundred members of my Su clan who died!”

“Avenge them? With you? Hahahaha!” Xiao Yujing threw back his head and laughed mockingly.

“But there is one thing you said right. At present, the Gujian Sect really is ruled by my father!”

“If you are dreaming of the Sect Master upholding justice for your Su clan, then I advise you to give up that notion.” Xiao Yujing gave a disdainful snort and waved a hand.

“Men, seize her for me!”

“Yes, Young Master!”

At his command, the group behind Xiao Yujing immediately stepped forward with vicious looks, closing in on Su Yanran.

A cold light flashed through Chu Feng’s eyes, and just as he was about to act, a sharp female shout rang out from the distance.

“Stop right there!”

A short-haired young woman with a valiant bearing strode over.

The moment Xiao Yujing and his group saw her, their expressions instantly became far less composed.

“Yueyue, why did you come out without telling me? I could have sent someone to protect you.” Xiao Yujing looked at the young woman with a fawning smile.

“My affairs are none of your concern.” Gu Yueyue shot back with undisguised disgust, then paid him no further attention.

“Yueyue, why are you here?” Su Yanran asked, a smile appearing on her face. It was obvious that she was quite familiar with Gu Yueyue.

“The moment I came out of seclusion, I heard what happened to your family, so I rushed out to find you at once. Thank goodness you’re alright.” Gu Yueyue took Su Yanran’s hand, her face full of concern.

Seeing this, Xiao Yujing knew full well that he would not be able to do anything to Su Yanran today. He could only leave in dejection with his men.

Once Xiao Yujing had gone, Gu Yueyue’s face immediately darkened. She asked, “Yanran, was your Su clan really destroyed by Xiao...?”

“Let’s go inside before we talk,” Su Yanran cut her off.

“Alright. This is...?” Gu Yueyue nodded, only now noticing Chu Feng.

“This is Young Master Chu Feng, His Highness the Seventh Prince of the Great Xuan Dynasty.’’

“Young Master Chu, this is my close friend Gu Yueyue, the granddaughter of the Sect Master of the Gujian Sect,” Su Yanran quickly introduced them.

After learning Chu Feng’s identity, surprise immediately appeared on Gu Yueyue’s face. She promptly bowed.

“This one greets Your Highness the Seventh Prince.”

“You should just call me Young Master Chu,” Chu Feng said with a calm smile.

After the three returned to a private room in the inn, Su Yanran told Gu Yueyue the entire sequence of events behind the extermination of the Su clan.

“This is outrageous! That father and son, Xiao Shan and Xiao Yujing, actually dared to commit something so cruel and immoral behind my grandfather’s back!

“Yanran, do not worry. Once my grandfather comes out of seclusion, I will definitely make him uphold justice for your Su clan.” Gu Yueyue slapped the table and sprang to her feet in fury, her eyes blazing with anger.

Su Yanran remained expressionless and did not hold much hope. She knew very well in her heart that no matter how much trouble Xiao Shan caused, Gu Yueyue’s grandfather would never truly move against him.

Because doing so would only weaken the Gujian Sect’s strength.

“Miss Gu, has something happened to your grandfather recently?” Chu Feng asked as he looked at Gu Yueyue.

Gu Yueyue’s expression changed. “Young Master Chu, how did you know something happened to my grandfather?”

“I guessed.”

Just from Xiao Yujing’s fearless attitude earlier, it was not hard to tell that something had clearly gone wrong inside the Gujian Sect.

At present, the one holding power in the Gujian Sect was the Grand Elder, Xiao Shan.

And Gu Yueyue had also mentioned that her grandfather was in seclusion. Putting all of that together, it was obvious that her grandfather must have run into some troublesome problem.

“That is an internal matter of the Gujian Sect, so there is no need to trouble Young Master Chu with it,” Gu Yueyue replied, fixing him with a meaningful look.

Though her personality was bold and straightforward, she still knew very well what could be said and what could not.

Seeing her reaction, Chu Feng said no more and simply sat to the side, calmly drinking tea.

After Gu Yueyue chatted with Su Yanran for a while longer, she left the inn.

Once she had been seen off, Su Yanran returned to Chu Feng’s side.

“Young Master Chu, if your guess is correct, then perhaps we should not go to the Sword Homage Assembly tomorrow,” Su Yanran said after hesitating for a moment.

“Why not?”

“If the entire Gujian Sect is now under Xiao Shan’s control, I am afraid something might happen to you tomorrow...” Su Yanran said frankly.

Chu Feng was strong, but he could not possibly stand against the entire Gujian Sect alone. For Chu Feng’s safety, Su Yanran was willing to give up this chance for revenge.

A trace of surprise flashed through Chu Feng’s eyes, followed by a calm smile.

“I already said I would avenge you tomorrow, so naturally I will do it.’’

“You need not worry about anything else.”

Seeing Chu Feng so confident, the worry in Su Yanran’s heart eased somewhat. After giving a soft acknowledgement, she left the room.