Listening to the words of this old geezer before him.
Gu Changqing was stunned and he suddenly looked up.
The light in his eyes blazed with unprecedented intensity!
“A sword cultivator?”
“Do I still have a chance to enter cultivation?” he asked urgently, his eyes both fearful and anxious.
The old man nodded with a smile. “You can no longer follow the mainstream cultivation systems of Beixuan Continent, but you can pursue the path of a sword cultivator.”
“We talk about sword cultivation, a sword cultivator— but what you cultivate is an invincible sword heart.”
“You possess a body born for this, a prodigy of the sword dao. With a little guidance, your future achievements would be unimaginable.”
“Having your dao foundation destroyed may be a misfortune for others, but for you it might not be. With that cultivation path cut off, you may be able to follow the sword dao and go much further.”
At that moment a divine light flickered in Gu Changqing’s eyes as he stared intently at the old man.
His voice trembled slightly, “Will you teach me?”
The old man nodded. “You are a once-in-an-eternity prodigy of the sword dao, while I am also a sword cultivator, so naturally I am delighted at the prospect.”
“I, Gu Changqing, never like to owe others. If you are willing to teach me, I will surely repay you in the future.”
The old man’s face brightened and he nodded lightly. “I like children who repay kindness—pure sword hearts that owe no karmic debts. Only such are worthy to be called sword cultivators.”
…
Outside the mirror.
The gathered cultivators were stunned.
“The Heavenly Emperor actually had a master?”
Everyone’s faces changed drastically.
The Justice Alliance had gathered almost all the top cultivators of Beixuan Continent and naturally had some understanding of the Heavenly Emperor’s past.
But no one knew that the Heavenly Emperor actually had a teacher!!
“Why did the Heavenly Emperor never reveal it? Not even to Jiang Minghuang or Gu Youwei, those so close to him,” a cultivator spoke up and asked.
Ye Chen pondered for a moment and said, “If you think about it this way, the Heavenly Emperor must have committed the crime of betraying his teacher and destroying his ancestors, which is why he hid this part of his past from everyone.”
“Do you remember Jiang Minghuang previously saying that the Heavenly Emperor’s sword heart was destroyed?”
“Now it seems he must have done something deceitful against his teacher and ancestors. His sword heart was destroyed by this old man!”
Everyone was suddenly enlightened.
Many doubts about the Heavenly Emperor’s past were resolved in their minds at this moment.
From the moment the Heavenly Emperor’s soul memories surfaced, the young Heavenly Emperor had displayed extraordinary talent in the sword way.
Afterwards, he even established himself in the forest through the way of the sword.
Yet such a prodigy, who later became a Great Emperor suppressing the Three Realms, never used a sword—this was indeed strange.
Now it appeared likely the Heavenly Emperor did something to betray his teacher and ancestors, prompting his master to destroy his sword heart.
In this cultivator world that venerated teachers and the Way, betraying one’s teacher and destroying one’s ancestors was the gravest of sins. Therefore the Heavenly Emperor strenuously concealed it, and even those close to him like Gu Youwei and Jiang Minghuang did not know of this past.
Seeing this, Ye Chen couldn’t help but let the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
Since the Heavenly Emperor’s past began to surface, it was as though his character was getting whitewashed. Impressions of him were gradually changing in people’s minds.
Gu Youwei even directly defected, taking an unyielding stance to stand by the Heavenly Emperor’s side.
The great resolve, great loyalty, and great fearlessness that the Heavenly Emperor displayed made even him pale in comparison.
And now, if this past were to be known by the world…
The mere words “betraying teacher and destroying ancestors” would be enough to make the masses loathe the Heavenly Emperor all the more, erasing any prior goodwill.
It was even quite possible Gu Youwei would be moved by this and return to his side.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen’s heart bloomed with joy. He grew more eager for the Heavenly Emperor’s carefully concealed past to be exposed before all.
“Heavenly Emperor, oh Heavenly Emperor, you probably never imagined that the shameful history you tried so hard to hide would be known to all at the moment before your death, did you?” Ye Chen murmured to himself, his heart leaping with joy.
Jiang Minghuang’s gaze flickered. “Could it be that your evil also began to awaken the moment your sword heart was destroyed?”
During his years wandering the mortal world, he could feel Gu Changqing’s sincerity toward him.
The way Gu Changqing had been willing to fight to death after seeing him trampled underfoot could not have been feigned.
But the changes in Gu Changqing later on were too great.
So great that even he felt that Gu Changqing was a complete stranger!
…
The old man led Gu Changqing to a secluded immortal sect.
After passing through layer upon layer of spatial formations, an ancient sect’s land appeared before Gu Changqing.
Rosy light filled the air, spiritual energy swirled, tigers and dragons roared in the mountains, and deer and apes raced through the woods.
On that vast plaza paved with white jade, many cultivators in snow-white robes were practicing swordplay.
The scene was magnificent and awe-inspiring.
The old man quietly uttered, “Our sect is called the Tianji Sect. It oversees the intelligence and secrets across the cultivation world.”
“I am the Sword Sect leader of the Tianji Sect. The world calls me Sword Saint, and over time that became my Dao name.”