Chapter 72 The New Master of the Sword

"What did you say? You want me to go?"

"That is correct, yes."

Yu Qingxian stared with wide eyes, looking at the person in front of her in sheer disbelief.

"Discard your disbelief. You are the only one who wields the Dragon-Slaying Sword. If we must choose someone capable of suppressing the Nine Heavens Divine Sword, there is no one else more fitting than you."

The person standing before her was a middle-aged man adorned with a thick mustache and an opulent black brocade robe. His expression was stern and grim, devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation as he coldly issued his command.

"But, Commander, I..."

"Hundred-Man Commander Yu..." The commander interrupted her coldly, continuing, "Do you remember what you said before you came here? You wished to sever ties with the Yu family, and you wished to sever ties with the Dragon Emperor. If you remember that, then you should understand the rules of the Demon-Purging Bureau."

"If you truly are unwilling, then please return to the side of the Dragon Emperor. I have no desire to bear such immense pressure only to harbor someone who throws childish tantrums."

She clenched her teeth, casting a gloomy look at another figure nearby who was bound in heavy chains.

That person wore a look of utter confusion and innocence, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Except for the sword strapped to his back—a sword that had descended from the nine heavens.

"Wang Yue, let's go!" Yu Qingxian said coldly.

This man was none other than Wang Yue, who had previously unraveled the major case in Fangcheng alongside Shen Chang'an.

When Shen Chang'an killed Zhang Hongyu, the first master of the Nine Heavens Sword, the divine weapon had sought out a new owner. To everyone's astonishment, that new owner turned out to be Wang Yue, who was far away in the capital.

As luck would have it, Wang Yue was attending a banquet hosted by the Dragon Emperor alongside officials of the Wang family at the time.

The Nine Heavens Sword fell into his hands, and without a second thought, he drew it from its scabbard and began executing a set of sword forms right on the spot.

By the time he finished dancing through the forms and finally regained consciousness, the banquet hall was already a scene of utter devastation.

That very night, many people had inexplicably perished beneath the edge of Wang Yue's blade. Even though Wang Yue was now the master of the Nine Heavens Sword, that grim reality could not be undone.

The Dragon Emperor was consumed by fury and immediately issued an order for Wang Yue to be executed on the spot.

However, several officials stepped in to dissuade him. Furthermore, the Wang family had historically been steadfast supporters of the Dragon Emperor, and the Nine Heavens Sword was of paramount importance for the protection of the realm. A sword master could not be easily killed by ordinary means; dragging him out for execution would likely fail to end his life while easily provoking unforeseen disasters.

With no other choice, the Dragon Emperor ultimately ordered that Wang Yue be escorted to the Heavenly Buddha Temple and suppressed within the Heavenly Buddha Pagoda.

Until he withered away inside and the Nine Heavens Sword sought a new master.

And the person assigned to execute this mission was none other than Yu Qingxian.

Yu Qingxian felt as though her head was about to split open. Escorting a criminal to the Heavenly Buddha Pagoda was hardly a momentous task, and since the escort was the wielder of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, she might not even need to fear whatever lay ahead.

Yet, knowing that the criminal was Wang Yue made her hands and feet grow cold.

Hearing Yu Qingxian tell him to move, Wang Yue hesitated for a moment before following behind her, walking away in slow strides.

"Select twenty men to accompany you."

"Understood."

Without turning her head, Yu Qingxian acknowledged the order, then summoned her subordinates, casually picked twenty men, and departed.

"Um, Yu, Yu..."

"Do not address me!"

Yu Qingxian snapped irritably, cutting Wang Yue off mid-sentence. Wang Yue froze once more, unable to utter another word.

After a long moment, Yu Qingxian managed to calm herself down. She looked at Wang Yue and said in an icy tone, "Listen to me, I am giving you a warning purely for the sake of our past. Do not speak to me along the way, and do not attempt any form of communication. Do you understand? If you dare to try anything of the sort, I will attack you directly."

Wang Yue sighed and said, "Qingxian, why must you—"

"Silence!" Yu Qingxian's face twisted in anger. Fixing him with a dark, venomous glare, she gritted her teeth and said, "We have no connection whatsoever, nor do we have any lingering ties. Wang Yue, I hope you recognize your current situation. You are going to die in the Heavenly Buddha Temple, and after that, we will have nothing more to do with each other! Do you understand? Stay away from me!"

A trace of sorrow flickered across Wang Yue's face. It was hard to imagine that a man who always possessed such effortless, natural confidence could ever wear an expression of such profound grief.

He had not flinched when facing the Abyss alongside Shen Chang'an; he had not shown fear when brandishing his sword before the Dragon Emperor. Yet now, upon seeing Yu Qingxian, he felt a heart-wrenching, piercing sorrow.

"I understand," he replied softly, saying nothing more as he silently stepped back a few paces.

Without sparing him another glance, Yu Qingxian waited for the rest of the troops to assemble before issuing the command: "Let us depart."

...

"Who are those people over there..."

A young novice monk gazed with intense curiosity at several figures dressed in practical, neat attire who were training alongside the martial monks within the temple grounds.

He had noticed these people for several days now. At first, he had merely assumed they were ordinary pilgrims, but they had remained for far too long to be typical visitors. Besides, pilgrims wouldn't be practicing martial arts, would they?

"Oh, those people? They came from the Great Qian Dynasty. They seem to be... ah, members of the Demon-Purging Bureau, yes, people from the Demon-Purging Bureau."

Mingxin scratched his head, unfamiliar with the term.

"Ah, you don't know the Demon-Purging Bureau? They're the official agency responsible for capturing spirits and demons. There are quite a lot of them," another monk nearby chatted idly with him.

He was not a martial monk, but rather a kitchen monk. Having finished preparing the meals, he was delivering them to the martial monks while taking the opportunity to slack off and steal a moment of leisure.

"Why would people from the Demon-Purging Bureau come all the way here?" the young novice asked.

The laid-back monk chuckled softly and replied, "The Demon-Purging Bureau handles troublesome matters. When they can't resolve issues on their own, they have no choice but to ask us for help. Judging by the person they've captured this time, it seems to be someone extremely dangerous, which is why they have to suppress him at the very bottom of the Heavenly Buddha Pagoda."

"The Heavenly Buddha Pagoda?"

Hearing those three words, the young novice immediately sprang up, holding no fond memories or impressions of the tower whatsoever.

"Yes, the Heavenly Buddha Pagoda."

"Is the person they captured a huge villain, then?" the novice inquired.

"Who knows?" The kitchen monk shook his head and said lightly, "Who knows what kind of person he is? He was captured by Great Qian, so you'd have to ask them."

With that, the kitchen monk packed up his utensils, shuffled his feet, and strolled back toward the kitchen.

Left standing there, the young novice stared at the group of people in brocade robes, his mind racing with a myriad of thoughts. After a moment, he finally let out a soft sigh, shook his head, and muttered, "Since he's being sent into the Heavenly Buddha Pagoda, he must be some sort of heinous evildoer."

Shaking his head, the novice decided to stop pondering the matter and instead began mimicking the movements of those practitioners, diligently following their routines step by step.