Li Shentong stared at him intently before turning around and grabbing Situ Xiao, "Let's go, there's a ton of things to be done. Who allowed you to keep eating noodles endlessly here?"

As Situ Xiao stumbled away, being dragged along, Yue Hongling finally laughed, "Situ's behavior in the Sect is vastly different from his behavior in the Worldly Society. He boasts heroically out there but turns meek and doesn't even dare to breathe too loudly in front of Master."

Zhao Changhe had not yet finished his mantou, but he continued munching: "It's because he's so suppressed by Master in the Sect that he acts so wild once he gets to the Worldly Society. He even recites poetry when making an entrance, better than some in terms of literary talent..."

Blind man: "?"

Yue Hongling nodded: "Sect Master Li possesses an overwhelming aura, with a glare of his tiger-like eyes, filled with killing intent, which most people can't withstand."

Zhao Changhe laughed, "But you didn't cower either."

Yue Hongling spoke, "So, your willingness to help him in the end was because you were scared?"

"It's because such a man doesn't bother with niceties when asking for help, and he treats you as a friend more when he does, which is a good thing," Zhao Changhe spoke. "Especially when he really let me organize the Demon Suppression Department, do you know what that means?"

"Organizing the Demon Suppression Department still means he controls it, what else could it mean? You surely can't say it's like the Great Han Demon Suppression Department's subordinate office in Ba Shu, can you?"

"That's different," laughed Zhao Changhe. "Because it's the Demon Suppression Department that I organized, it's only normal that it reports to me. Nobody can define what they can or cannot report to me; a lot of gray areas can be exploited. If they weren't allowed to tell me anything, there wouldn't be any point in having me organize the Demon Suppression Department. It would be like betraying me if they cut ties after using me; do you think he has that kind of intention?"

Yue Hongling was stunned for a moment, her complexion changed.

On the surface, it looked like deep cooperation with Zhao Changhe, but in some sense... could it be considered a sort of surrender?

Really? Just over these few words?

Zhao Changhe quickly finished his mantou and stood up, "I'm off to do a job for the Demon Suppression Department in Ba Shu, you rest first. Once we reach Chang'an, there might be bloody battles."

Watching Zhao Changhe energetically dash off, Yue Hongling shook her head and smiled, deciding not to follow and comfortably sat in a pavilion to cultivate.

She truly felt a bit of turbulence in her Qi and a sense of her Divine Soul condensing. Zhao Changhe had also noticed this, which is why he had told her to rest with ease.

Following him, indeed there were many things she felt she couldn't get involved in, couldn't help with, and couldn't even offer her opinions on, purely acting as a guard. Yet in her heart, she didn't feel this contradicted her preferences, nor did she find it boring. In terms of chivalry in the Worldly Society, he helped more people; in terms of increasing her knowledge, the stories by his side were much more novel than those of the Worldly Society; in terms of cultivating the Sword Dao, now with a broader vision, she felt this was more the right path than her own experience of breaking through.

Perhaps she might breakthrough to the Imperial Realm sooner than Zhao Changhe... after all, some things he mentioned casually were mind-blowing to others, and she gained too many insights.

Of course, the most important thing was, as long as she was by his side, she felt at peace. Watching him talk confidently with local leaders and seniors from the Heavenly List, persuasively making them her own people, Yue Hongling felt an even greater sense of achievement than winning a blood battle.

The Sword Dao is not the same for everyone.

Yue Hongling had once received part of the Sword Emperor Inheritance, possibly even from its later stages. There had always been a consensus about this, and maybe one day a trip to the Sword Emperor's Tomb would be necessary to verify these cause and effects.

And what exactly is the Sword Emperor?

Following the old paths, reaching the end might allow one to be called a Sword God, or perhaps a Sword Saint. But to be called a Sword Emperor... would it mean all swords bowing down to one? If so, could the swords of others be used by me?

Just like what Zhao Changhe is currently doing... is this the Emperor Sword?

As Yue Hongling cultivated, a dense Sword Qi enveloped her, slowly dispersing.

Out in the distance, the guards at the guest quarters suddenly felt their swords and knives begin to tremble and make noise, startlingly reaching out to press down on them, but the trembling became more intense, uncontrollable.

"Clang, clang, clang!" Numerous sharp sounds rang out simultaneously, within several miles all blades unsheathed themselves, shooting up into the sky.

He then turned toward the direction of the guesthouse and shivered slightly, as if bowing from afar.

All swords to the Emperor.

A colossal shadow of an Ancient Sword soared into the sky, and the horizon was engulfed by the crimson dawn. Within the sword, an infant that had formed just two days ago opened its eyes.

Yue Hongling had been stuck at the half-step Imperial Realm for some time, but on this tranquil and peaceful morning, she suddenly broke through.

Li Shentong, who was in the midst of escorting his apprentice back to the Zhao Mansion, was taken aback and turned around. Master and apprentice stared at the sword shadow in the sky, dumbfounded.

From where did this monster come? Just by overhearing a few words in these two days, you managed to break through?

Situ Xiao was also listening the whole time, so why didn't he even twitch a hair?

Are this couple sent by Heaven specifically to depress people?

Zhao Changhe stood at a corner and looked back as well, cracking a slight smile.

He wasn't too surprised by this, as Yue Hongling had been very close to breaking through that barrier. A breakthrough at any time wasn't unusual and only needed a catalyst. He just hadn't expected that these two days of conversation could serve as her catalyst... Truly a genius... People claim their own genius often with exaggeration, but if put aside external aids, he was not nearly as outrageous. Sister Hongling was the true genius, an extraordinary freak in this world.

"Chichi."

"What now?"

"Was it intentional when you brought me to Zhao Mansion and I first saw Hongling?"

The blind man responded irritably, "The location was picked by yourself; how is that my problem?"

"The location I chose was related only to the Emperor's seat, and possibly pertained to Chichi. But how to initiate and interpret that is up to you; our meeting didn't necessarily have to start with seeing Hongling at Zhao Mansion first."

"Well, aren't we thinking now," the blind man lazily said. "Anyone who's slightly skilled at observing Qi would know she's the main character of this era. Tossing you near the main character isn't strange. It's just that now your destiny as the main character is more obvious since you've gotten involved with her."

Zhao Changhe didn't engage with this indecent talk. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "If the Sword Emperor Inheritance relates to the main character, that means there are still important matters related to the Sword Emperor."

Caught off guard, the blind man inadvertently spilled a heavenly secret, then clammed up.

"Your Highness." A person emerged from around the corner and quietly greeted Zhao Changhe, "You summoned us secretly with the secret signal. What's the urgent matter?"

These were the elite agents from the Demon Suppression Department who had hidden in Chengdu without withdrawing. These were true elites, brave enough to stay hidden right under the eyes of great powers like Li Shentong. Not having received any organization or contact for the past two months, seeing Prince Zhao secretly reaching out felt like finding their mainstay.

Was the Imperial finally going to reclaim Ba Shu? But these days, we've gather hardly any intelligence as it's too dangerous here… Just last night, countless people were dragged out and killed, impossible to tally the numbers.

Their mainstay's first words frightened them immensely: "Come with me to meet Li Shentong. The Demon Suppression Department will reopen, and the first duty will be supervising the land and investigating illegal acts of officials."

The secret agents craned their necks looking around, what was that flag flying on the city gate?

Wasn't that still the Big Cauldron Flag of the Divine Brilliance Sect? It hadn't changed!

Returning to the topic, the big cauldron placed by Zhao Changhe at the city gate still remained unmoved. Passersby would often stop to watch, turning it into one of the city's spectacles, famously known as Prince Zhao's Cauldron.

Theoretically, this was both an obstruction to traffic and an affront to Li Shentong, harming his prestige. It would likely be easy for Li Shentong to personally remove the cauldron, yet it had remained untouched... Could this imply something by itself?

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