This was the first time the old Sword Saint had seen his exceedingly obedient disciple defy his orders.
It was also the first time Gu Changqing had seen his once kind and gentle master erupt in great fury.
“How dare you defy me?”
“Now that your sword dao is perfected and no one in the world can stop you, do you no longer hold me, your master, in regard?”
“Have you forgotten the oath you once made? Forgotten what promise you gave me when I took you as a disciple?!”
The old Sword Saint thundered, roaring hoarsely, staring at Gu Changqing with eyes that were about to burst out of their sockets.
Gu Changqing’s sword heart was exceedingly pure, and because of that the old Sword Saint had never worried this fellow would disobey him.
But now, Gu Changqing had actually defied his orders for some inconsequential people, and this made him sense danger.
If his disciple truly intended to leave or make some other drastic decision, nobody could possibly stop this prodigy’s resolution, neither himself nor even all of Tianji Sect combined.
…
Gu Changqing returned to the loft once more.
This conflict drove him and his master further and further apart.
However, Gu Changqing had already made up his mind.
From now on, he would absolutely refuse to kill for the Tianji Sect.
His sword was a heaven‑cleaving blade. Serving as the Tianji Sect’s pawn to kill endlessly fundamentally violated his sword dao.
Gu Changqing resolved to follow his sword heart from then on.
But.
On one side was the true heart of the sword dao, on the other was the debt of gratitude to his master and sect.
In the world few things are perfect: choose your true heart and you betray your master’s favor, or choose your master’s favor and you betray your sword heart.
Gu Changqing was never one to like owing others. After that quarrel his heart felt like a towering mountain was pressing down on him, leaving him gasping.
He no longer involved himself in Sword Sect affairs, choosing to continue secluded cultivation in the loft to avoid everything.
Yet the furious cultivation speed he once rode like a rocket failed to yield him so much as an iota of progress.
He drew a circle around himself and imprisoned himself, meditating in the loft for a year.
But many things in the world have no answers, and after a year there was still little gain.
Until one day, the old Sword Saint’s personal servant, Caiyun, suddenly arrived.
Bowing respectfully to Gu Changqing, whose face was filled with grave sorrow and pain after just one year, Caiyun said, “Teacher has gone to the Tianji Sect. Before he left he asked me to bring a message to senior brother.”
“Teacher said he needs you to kill one last person for him. As for who that person is, it will be revealed after he returns from the Tianji Sect this time.”
“If you agree, after this matter everything will be settled and any karmic ties will be cleared.”
Caiyun’s words made Gu Changqing’s eyes brighten.
As if the dim world had finally welcomed the dawn.
“Kill one person, just one, and I will repay my master’s favor — everything will be over.”
“I can also break free of the Tianji Sect, go down the mountain, and seek the enemies who killed my parents!”
Gu Changqing’s expression finally shifted. These words gave him a way to both do what he wanted and made his sword heart clear.
He would finally no longer have to bear that overwhelming debt to his master!
In that moment, Gu Changqing felt an unprecedented lightness.
Thus he waited quietly in the loft.
He also knew that since the Tianji Sect could promise to restore his freedom, the person to be killed could not be ordinary.
It might even be a Great Emperor.
But Gu Changqing would not hesitate. However difficult or fatal, he would resolutely cut off the shackle that had bound him for a year.
…
Three days later.
Gu Changqing was still in the loft waiting for the arrival of the old Sword Saint.
But he did not know…
Below the loft, the old Sword Saint paced back and forth in the wind and snow, glancing up at the loft from time to time with extreme anguish.
After nearly an hour.
Heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs. The old Sword Saint, moving with weighty steps, finally climbed into the loft.
“Master.”
The loft opened. Gu Changqing saw the old Sword Saint and immediately took up his axe to meet him.
The old Sword Saint looked somewhat somber and waved his hand. “After this matter, I will no longer be your master.”
Gu Changqing heard the bitterness in those words.
Unfortunately their paths had diverged and he was drifting further from his master. He had no other choice.
“Who do you want me to kill this time?” Gu Changqing asked.
His heart felt unexpectedly uneasy because he noticed the old Sword Saint’s eyes hiding great conflict and unease.
Could it be that the person his master wanted him to kill was even more troublesome than a Great Emperor?
In his mind he subconsciously mulled over possible targets.
One figure after another floated through his thoughts.
The old Sword Saint pondered for a long while, then finally opened his palm.
In his palm was a crumpled wad of paper, clenched and wrinkled.
Gu Changqing eagerly unfolded the paper wad.
When he saw the characters on the paper, he was utterly stunned!
The large wad of paper in fact contained only three characters.
Jiang! Ming! Huang!