Age of Heroes, ten consecutive guarantees.

Chapter 875: Family, Country and the World, the First Sword Master (7 in K)

Luoyang City.

"Isn't it just cleaning up the garbage? How did it get to this point?"

Huo Haitang looked at Ren Nanbei, who looked listless, and couldn't help but ask.

"...I encountered some accidents." Ren Nanbei didn't really want to talk about the fact that he was almost converted into a bald head. It was rather embarrassing.

Mu Yaoxi succinctly recounted what had happened before.

Lin Haiya, who had been indifferent at first, froze after hearing this: "He has been canonized?"

"I don't have to lie." Mu Yaoxi raised his chin proudly: "This isn't incredible, is it? He was able to kill the Ten Evils, so why can't he be canonized before the age of 20?"

"Canonization too early often does not have a solid foundation and may leave hidden dangers." Huo Haitang asked worriedly, "Did he also go to help the capital?"

"He said that there might be some big changes in the capital, and he might be worried about our mother's safety." Mu Yaoxi directly called Bei Mingyao mother and treated herself as the daughter-in-law to be married.

No one at the scene cared about her self-indulgence.

"With the Sword Saint in the capital, nothing can go wrong." Ren Nanbei hummed while lying on the sofa, "He has a profound background. As the longest-lived Martial Saint in Daxia, his strength is enough to be ranked among the top three in the top ten."

"Blind confidence is not a good thing." Mu Yaoxi said with a sidelong glance: "I don't know much about the Sword Saint, but because of what happened in the past, I don't have much trust in him."

"You can rest assured about this." Huo Haitang said bluntly: "You may not know the old man very well. In his heart, Da Xia is the most important. Even if someone threatens the lives of our relatives, he will never compromise."

Lin Haiya looked at the senior sister of the Martial Saint Pavilion, somewhat surprised that she would comment on her own grandfather in this way.

"I have nothing to do now, so I can tell you about Huo Qiushui's past..." Huo Haitang said slowly, "Huo Qiushui was born in a humble family. The Great Xia Dynasty more than 200 years ago can be regarded as one of the prosperous times written in ancient history, but it was not the modern society we are familiar with. He was not born into the scholar-official class, but lived in a farmer's family. He became an orphan at the age of ten, lost his cultivated land, and was forced to beg for a living... He was illiterate before he was thirteen years old, but later he was lucky. When he was a thief, he stole the luggage of a swordsman in the rivers and lakes. Although he was caught on the spot, his true nature was also discovered. The other party developed a love for talent, and a wandering swordsman began to train him as a disciple."

"Huo Qiushui had been struggling in the martial arts world until he was 27 years old. He became the leader and darling of the martial arts world. No one cared about his humble birth and only wanted to make friends with this future martial arts giant. Then he met a man named Tong, who was as outstanding as him. The two hit it off and became close friends. The Tong family was a military family and should not have been together with martial arts heroes. The meeting between the two was really a coincidence... Huo Qiushui, as a martial arts hero, was originally a homeless person, but when he made his first friend, his life trajectory began to change..."

"Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. Because of Huo Qiushui's carelessness, Tong blocked a knife for him during a competition and died suddenly. Because of Tong's sudden death, Huo Qiushui also changed. He killed his enemies out of revenge, and his identity could no longer be used, so he made a decision. He would use Tong's identity and live in his place."

"He joined the army, and stayed there for ten years. Generals die in a hundred battles, and warriors return after ten years. Ten years of military life infused Huo Qiushui's sword with a powerful spirit. He could no longer get used to ordinary wandering in the rivers and lakes, and began to think more deeply about the path of his country."

"For the next fifty years, Huo Qiushui seemed to have disappeared into silence... Fifty years later, the 'Long Knife Snowy Night' case broke out in Daxia. When he appeared on the historical stage again, he had already been canonized. As a direct participant in the Long Knife Snowy Night, he achieved great political success and founded the Martial Saint Pavilion."

"At this time, Huo Qiushui was less than eighty years old, still an extremely young saint. With the power of the world in his hands, he could consolidate his power, cultivate his confidants, and become a great pillar of Daxia, but he didn't do so... The Wusheng Pavilion was in its infancy and was basically used as a royal guard. He completely treated himself as a knife, slashing everywhere, the knife light split the rotten flesh, and then new shoots grew."

“After everything was over, the Martial Saint Pavilion fell silent and was incorporated into the Divine Martial Division. Huo Qiushui began to recruit disciples and teach them martial arts and swordsmanship… Even though other Martial Saints joined the Martial Saint Pavilion and dispersed his voice, the Sword Saint never said anything was wrong.”

Huo Haitang said slowly: "For Huo Qiushui, Daxia is the greatest masterpiece of his life, even higher than his life and sword. The interests of Daxia always come first. He will never betray Daxia, even if he dies."

Mu Yaoxi asked: "If it is really as you said, then why did he want to cause trouble for Bai Yu when Wusheng Pavilion and Bai Yu had a conflict?"

Huo Haitang said calmly, "Because Bai Yujing had not yet shown such amazing talent at that time, and also because the old man had changed a little. He was already very old, and he wanted to leave something for the younger generations, so he acquiesced to the expansion of the Wusheng Pavilion's influence."

"Everyone will change as they get older... It's inevitable that people will become confused as they get older," said Ren Nanbei.

"It's not just because of his age. There is another thing, something from the past... This is the direct reason that prompted Grandpa to change." Huo Haitang's eyes were deep: "This matter is about Wusheng Pavilion... That was before we were born, about a hundred years ago."

"At that time, the Martial Saint Pavilion was thriving. The disciples revered the Sword Saint and often fought against him. Dozens of Martial Saint Pavilion disciples rushed forward and were knocked down one by one. The Sword Saint sat on the backs of the disciples, drank strong liquor and laughed loudly."

"At the same time, Huo Qiushui also had a child."

"Huo Guochang is Huo Qiushui's eldest son. He has been taught by example since he was young. The old man really hopes that he can inherit his legacy."

"Huo Guochang lived up to everyone's expectations. He won the title of Haoyue when he was just over 20 years old. He values ​​friendship over fame. He is known as 'Chilong Young Master' in the capital. This title comes from the Chilong sword in his hand, which was forged by Huo Qiushui himself when his eldest son was born. It took him a year and six months to make."

"Daxia is accumulating development potential, the times are advancing steadily, and everything is peaceful and good."

"Later, a Japanese woman named Sanqianyuan came to Daxia and demonstrated her superb swordsmanship and saber skills. She defeated dozens of Wusheng Pavilion disciples and finally fought against Huo Guochang, the Wusheng Pavilion's direct disciple. The two sides fought from sunset to dawn. Huo Guochang narrowly won by half a move. Sanqianyuan admitted defeat and joined the Wusheng Pavilion to learn swordsmanship and saber skills."

"Huo Guochang and Sanqianyuan got to know each other through fighting. They were in the same Wusheng Pavilion and spent every day together. They were a young couple, and even though they were of different nationalities, they still had feelings for each other, and even got to the point of getting married privately."

Mu Yaoxi couldn't help but interrupt, "Sanqianyuan is a Japanese, and Huo Qiushui himself was born in a humble family, so he shouldn't care about family background, right? I remember his two first wives were not from high-class families, but from ordinary families."

"Yes, the Huo family doesn't have such a saying. Our family tradition only has two things: serving the country with loyalty and practicing swords. The old man doesn't have any prejudice against family background... Therefore, there is no resistance for Huo Guochang and Sanqianyuan to be together. Originally, this was considered a good story." Huo Haitang continued, frowning deeply: "Originally, they were like a couple of gods, until Sanqianyuan's identity was exposed."

"Her real name is Tokugawa Chigozen. She is the younger sister of the shogun a hundred years ago. She came to Daxia not to learn martial arts, but to spy on the truth. She has been gathering a lot of intelligence through the Wusheng Pavilion and sending it back to Fuso."

Lin Haiya whispered, "Is he a spy?"

"The small country of Fusang sent a spy, and the shogun's own sister was sent as a spy?" Mu Yaoxi couldn't understand: "What does this mean?"

"The Great Xia of a hundred years ago was not the Great Xia of today. Back then, Great Xia had a lot of work to do and was undergoing drastic changes. It was in a dormant period, and the ten Great Xia departments had not yet been established. There were even warlords in several places..."

"At that time, Fuso was also facing many problems. Many Japanese pirates attacked the border of Daxia. It is hard to say whether Tokugawa Sengozen's actions were preparations for the subsequent invasion of Fuso. In fact, apart from Fuso, Tianzhu was not honest at that time."

Many people know the history that Huo Haitang talked about, but they don’t know how depressing it was because no conflict or bloodshed broke out in the end.

Because Da Xia relied on his profound internal strength to get through it.

"Because the political reforms brought about by the Long Sword Snowy Night have brought huge variables, the changes in the central government have brought huge pressure on diplomacy, so the only way Daxia can choose is to be tough to the end."

"The best way to deal with external prying eyes is to pluck out their eyes and chop off their outstretched claws."

"Tokugawa Chigozen has been confirmed to be a spy. According to the law, he should be executed. Even considering his noble status, he is doomed to be imprisoned and jailed."

"but……"

"Huo Guochang, right?" Mu Yaoxi could already guess what would happen next: "He must have fallen out with his father because of this Japanese girl."

"That can't be described in three words: a falling out." Huo Haitang sighed bitterly: "Both sides drew their swords against each other."

"The old man has worked hard for the country for most of his life. How could he tolerate a Japanese spy jumping around under his nose?"

"When she is exposed, she is doomed to face the full force of the Sword Saint's pursuit. This is his dereliction of duty and a scandal for the Martial Saint Pavilion."

"So in order to save Tokugawa, Huo Guochang, who was less than 30 years old, forcibly reached the realm of sainthood for an incense stick of time and almost killed his own father."

"Huo Guochang is indeed extremely talented. If he is given another stick of time, perhaps he can really take away the title of Sword Master from his father."

"What was the result?" Lin Haiya asked, "Who won, who lost, who died?"

"The old man won, Huo Guochang lost, but no one died... At the critical moment, Tokugawa Chigo returned and attacked Huo Guochang with a magic weapon, taking him away." Huo Haitang said: "At that time, Huo Guochang was already half dead, and even if he was well nursed back to health, he would not live more than ten years."

Mu Yaoxi said coldly: "Isn't that what he deserves? The spy should be eliminated. We are from Daxia, and the Sword Saint did nothing wrong."

"The teacher did nothing wrong. If there was any fault, it was Huo Guochang." Lin Haiya also said.

"Of course he did nothing wrong, but Huo Guochang's serious injury and disappearance caused his grandmother...his first wife to fall into a coma on the spot. After waking up, she hanged herself. She left a suicide note saying that she regretted not teaching her children well and that she was ashamed to face her husband."

"In fact, the grandmother knew the true identity of Tokugawa Chigozen much earlier, but she didn't say it, nor did she dare to say it, for fear of the tragedy of father and son killing each other. Once this happened, she would not be able to continue living."

"After that, Tokugawa Sengozen was also abandoned by the shogunate, and the Tokugawa family never found him again... The two of them disappeared completely."

Huo Haitang said slowly: "A father and son drawing their swords against each other is a tragedy in the world."

"In the past nearly a hundred years, no one is here anymore."

"Whether they were right or wrong, they all paid a heavy price."

"To insist on what is right, you will have to pay a huge price and endure the death of your loved ones... because perseverance always requires bloodshed, while compromise can be easy."

"In fact, I sometimes wonder if my grandfather had chosen to be more flexible and not have to kill Tokugawa, would the ending have been better?"

"But I also know that..."

"If he chooses to be flexible or compromise, he won't be Huo Qiu Shui."

"Because in the old man's eyes, in his heart, the interests of the country and family are more important than anything else."

"You can say it's inhumane, or you can say it's for the country and the people."

"I respect this kind of grandfather very much."

"But I don't like this kind of grandfather, and I am destined to never become a person like him."

Huo Haitang said to himself: "Maybe it's because I'm easily soft-hearted and selfish."

Mu Yaoxi stared at Huo Haitang and said, "Then you'd better find a man in China to marry. I don't want the Shen Ce Mansion to check the water meter and find your house one day."

"You worry too much." Huo Haitang shook his head and said calmly, "I have no complaints about Grandpa's actions, nor do I have any rebellious thoughts. It's just that people are always greedy, and it's difficult for them to make decisive choices."

"It is best for smart people not to make trade-offs."

"I can understand Huo Guochang because he is my relative, but Tokugawa Chigozen... this woman has brought disaster to Daxia and the Huo family. I will never forgive her even a little bit."

"So I hate all Fuso people equally."

……

Entrance to the lake.

Huo Qiu Shui lived for nearly five decades. He stared at the pair of swords in silence for a long time without saying a word.

He had two wives and only three children in his life.

His first wife gave birth to a son, and his second wife gave birth to a son and a daughter.

The eldest son was forcibly canonized, but his fate was cut off by his own hands. The second son did not learn to use a sword, and lived out his life in peace and passed away first. His daughter got married... In such a big Huo family, there are actually not many people left.

At his age, he actually doesn't care much about family inheritance. What he cares more about is who will take over the Martial Saint Pavilion. In the past, he hoped it would be Lin Haiya, but later Bai Yu appeared out of nowhere, and he was already satisfied. However, the subsequent changes made the Sword Saint quite tired.

Now, he met this young man who was most likely the child of his eldest son and the Tokugawa witch... How could Huo Qiu Shui not feel the slightest bit of emotion in her heart?

But he didn't show any emotion, only calmed down after a few barely perceptible tremors in his fingertips, like the slight ripples caused by a leaf falling on the water. "Don't you have anything to say?" Qianji Luosha drew his sword with both hands without rushing: "For example, ask where they are, for example, ask how their lives are?"

"There's nothing to say." Huo Qiushui said coldly, "Back then, my rebellious son drew his sword against me, and the kindness of raising me was cut off by the sword... If I must say something, I just regret not being able to save that witch's life."

"And they gave birth to a monster like you... It's such a misfortune for our family!"

"If you hate me, feel free to come find me, but you should never come to Zhonghu and act wildly in front of the adults!"

The Sword Master seemed to be condemning, but in fact he was feeling annoyed and regretful.

He sighed heavily. He didn't expect that after more than a hundred years, the person who had long been dead would turn into a residual shadow and come to harass him again.

But Huo Qiu Shui is not so easily shaken. He was canonized, not the Huo family's canonization, but the canonization of Da Xia. Standing here, he must fulfill his duties.

He said in a low voice: "If you want to see me regret, you are wrong... Even if you slaughtered all the members of the Huo family to vent your hatred for all these years of wandering, I might still frown; "But you came to Zhonghu, so what you see is not my tears, but my knife!"

"Hahaha, great! My eighty years of hard training paid off... If you really became an old and sickly willow, I would be disappointed."

Qianji Luosha smiled strangely: "It is said that Huo Qiushui was once the backbone of Daxia. Now I see that he is worthy of the reputation."

"I know you have looked down on my parents all your life, thinking that my father was a rebellious son with no country and that my mother was a disaster that brought disaster to the country and the people."

"So, I have no intention of plotting anything against you, because that cannot be called revenge."

He reached his hands behind his back and drew out two swords, the dragon and snake, in his left and right hands respectively.

The Chilong and the viper intertwined, rubbing against each other and producing a metallic vibrating sound.

"Revenge on someone like you must be done honorably."

"So I have painstakingly cultivated sword techniques for so many years, just to be able to pull you down from the position of sword master one day."

Qianji Luosha said these words with a faint smile, and there was both mockery and seriousness in his eyes.

"The things you are most proud of in your life are your sword skills and Daxia."

"Then I will make your swordsmanship unique in this world."

"Once I have broken your sword skills and killed all your men, I will break into the Central Lake and trample on the glory of Great Xia that you have defended your entire life..."

He took a deep breath, eager to try and wait.

"That's a real pleasure!"

The Sword Saint's gray hair fluttered in the wind. There was no joy, sadness or pride in his eyes. "The title of Sword Master and the head of the Sword Saint are all here. If you have the guts, come and take it!"

Qianji Luosha sneered and replied: "I will chop off your head later and comfort the spirits of your parents in heaven."

……

Beiming Mansion.

It was really an act of arrogance for Bei Mingque to try to stop the people from other families alone.

He dismissed everyone else in the family and stood alone in front of the combined forces of the three great families, refusing to retreat a single step.

Nangong Shan whispered: "It would be great if you gave up earlier. Why do you always turn a deaf ear to our words?"

"Just different paths." Bei Mingque said coldly.

"You have been wanting to escape the 27th day of death in your life. It is clearly possible and you have seen this opportunity, but you want to throw your life away here in vain?" Dongfang Hong held the paper fan in his hand, and the fan bones twisted slightly: "You and I are both descendants of a big family. We should know that sometimes giving up a person or ourselves for the family is an acceptable price and bargaining chip."

Bei Mingque said calmly: "What exactly do you want to say?"

"Only by staying alive can the Bei Ming family be preserved... Even if the Bei Ming Yao cannot be canonized as a saint, you are still here." Dongfang Hong said in a low voice: "Give up..."

As the words fell, a shadow rushed through the main hall.

Fu Yulou raised his palm and slammed towards Bei Ming Que. The young man who was not named Ximen but carried Ximen on his shoulders shouted, "I don't have time to waste here with you! We all have relatives still staying in Penglai Academy. Do you think you are the only one who has been wronged?"

"They have a friendship with you, but I don't. Either get out of the way, or I'll break your bones before you step over!"

boom--!
With his palms crossed, Fu Yulou wanted to make a strong move, but he was forced to retreat ten steps. He looked down at his palms, and saw the fingertips emitting a startling coldness. He raised his eyebrows and said in astonishment: "You..."

A strange object slipped from Bei Mingque's sleeve, and his hair turned white and long at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in just a moment it had grown to his waist.

At the same time, his cultivation and realm also skyrocketed.

"Don't you see the white hair in the mirror in the hall? It was black in the morning and turned into white in the evening..."

"As long as I don't give way, none of you will be able to pass."

Bei Mingque's eyes almost turned into white jade ice plates. An overwhelming cold air swept over, and hundreds of ice lotuses bloomed on the ground.

"How come his cultivation suddenly increased so much!"

"It's a rare thing." Nangong Shan gritted her teeth.

"What kind of magical item can quickly improve your cultivation?"

"He is not improving his cultivation!" Dongfang Hong said, "He is using the side effects of the magic item to speed up the passage of time... That magic item has the effect of healing injuries, but the price is that it causes life to grow and consume rapidly in a short period of time."

"Then why is his cultivation level soaring?!" Fu Yulou had been forced to retreat three times and had to set up a formation to block it.

“The 27th deadline…” Nangong Shan sighed, “The closer a Bei Ming family member is to the 27th deadline, the faster his cultivation will advance. But by doing this, he is burning countless lives.”

"Is it worth it?" Dongfang Hong asked.

"It doesn't matter." Bei Mingque said calmly.

"So you were gambling." Dongfang Hong understood: "You were gambling that Bei Ming Yao could be canonized... It's really strange, you clearly only believe in yourself, why did you change your mind? Don't say it's due to family affection, I don't believe it, and you don't believe it either."

Bei Mingque had a blank expression on his face.

"Then waste your time." Fu Yulou said, "You don't have that much time to overdraw."

So the scene froze.

Both sides stopped fighting.

Nangong Shan frowned slightly, because Bei Mingque's approach was no less than a fight to the death. Since he had decided to pay such a huge price, why could he continue to remain calm?
The right thing to do is to switch from defense to offense and suppress them, or is Bei Ming Que just a paper tiger at this moment that will fall down with a single push?
Or...

Nangong Shan suddenly realized that he was just delaying time!

Delaying time is to wait for external aid.

But who will come to save the Bei Ming family today?
The elite members of the Shen Ce Palace are not here, and the Wu Sheng Pavilion has also gone to the Xuan Tian Division. Now there are only people from the ten divisions of Da Xia in the capital... But they will not participate in the internal strife of the thousand-year-old family, because the authorities are happy to see it happen!
The only possibility is...

Om-!
A flash of sword light fell from the sky and cut directly into Bei Mingque's palm. Blood splattered and turned into ice.

The green sword light cut the strange object in his hand in half, and Bei Mingque's continuously burning life also stopped falling.

He clenched his right hand, froze the wound to stop the bleeding, and raised his head at the same time... Everyone's eyes also raised as he raised his.

In the moonlight after the clouds dispersed, the gentle breeze blew up the hem of her skirt.

He was wearing a simple yet elegant sword robe with a dark green base and moon-white edges, with clouds surrounding him behind him and a green flying sword under his feet, as if he was a fairy descending to the mortal world.

Almost all the important people who came could be recognized at a glance, although the image of the visitor had changed, such as changing her hairstyle and tying her long black hair up high, which gave people a brand new feeling, from a girl to a woman.

Su Ruoli from the Divine Strategy Mansion.

This girl who seemed only a pretty vase when Bai Yu was around, showed her talents in the half year after he left. She seemed to have the potential to revive the sword art of Da Xia and restore the world after eight generations of decline.

Her appearance here is both strange and reasonable.

As early as the palace examination, the whole capital city tacitly accepted that Su Ruoli was Bai Yu's future daughter-in-law; even though Bai Yu was gone, it was impossible for Su Ruoli to ignore Bei Ming Yao's safety.

Coincidentally, when the Shen Ce Mansion went out to Xuan Tian Si for team building to improve performance, the Su sisters both disappeared, suspected to be guarding Bai Yu's body.

Now that he suddenly appeared here, it was hard for Nangong Shan to doubt whether this had been planned in advance.

She secretly thought that Bei Mingque looked like an icy-faced innocent man, but in reality he was as bad-intentioned as a kitten!
Su Ruoli came flying on a sword, looking extremely impressive. Nowadays, swordsmanship has been weak for too long and few people can see the elegance of flying on a sword... Actually, this can also be blamed on Huo Qiushui for establishing the Martial Saint Pavilion and spreading its influence. From then on, swordsmanship is much easier to learn than swordsmanship.

"How are you?"

"I won't die." Bei Mingque said, "It's just that my cultivation base increased too quickly, and my meridians have frozen... I need to thaw it for a while."

"Running water never rots, but rotten grass turns into fireflies."

Su Ruoli shot out a sword energy that shot into Bei Mingque's back. The latter instantly felt relaxed all over his body, and the cold air around him gushed out hundreds of feet high.

Bei Mingque felt that the sword energy passed through his body without damaging his tendons and foundation at all. What a great control he had.

Then, incredible thoughts came to mind.

"You, have you already..."

"As you think."

Su Ruoli raised his head and drew his sword towards the sky. The sword instantly tore through the atmosphere above the capital.

"I am already a land immortal."

"From now on, I will be the number one swordsman in Daxia."

(End of this chapter)