Chapter 914: Lofty Ambitions

Longyuan’s entrance had been magnificent.

Yu Huaping.

One of the Four Great Swordsmen of the past.

That night on Xiping Street in Yanjing, when Zheng Fan went to assassinate Zhao Jiulang, Yu Huaping had effortlessly held off Li Liangshen by himself and still found time to send out a sword strike that split the carriage apart.

Very few people knew about that incident.

It was scarcely spoken of even in jianghu.

Li Liangshen had first been trapped in the capital region for several years, then pushed around by the new Emperor for a while. Only recently had he finally managed to obtain an opportunity to lead troops to Nanwang City.

Whatever bearing he once possessed as one of the Four Great Swordsmen had long since faded.

A swordsman ought either to roam beneath Heaven with sword in hand, free and unfettered, unwilling to bow his brows and bend his back before the powerful... or else move like wind rising beneath the blade, climbing step by step until he soared straight into the clouds.

Li Liangshen fit neither path.

So his sword had only grown heavier and more burdened.

During the campaign into Qian... beside that little river...

Yu Huaping alone held off the Baili Sword and the Swordsmith for several days.

It was true that the Baili Sword ultimately died within the formation of the Yan army.

But nobody doubted Yu Huaping genuinely possessed the ability to hold off both men by himself.

Much like how Prince Pingxi had once been forcibly placed among the so-called “Four Rising Generals,” only for nobody to mention the label again later... the Four Great Swordsmen had now also become a thing of the past.

Yu Huaping... was the undisputed number-one swordsman of the present age.

Not long ago, the Prince had even teased him.

“Old Yu, you’re the number-one swordsman beneath Heaven now, aren’t you?”

The Sword Saint had answered modestly:

“The world is vast. There will always be people who do not care for fame.”

The Prince’s reply had been much more direct:

“If there really are one or two such fellows, then the day they decide they want fame, we’ll send an army over and make them famous!”

Prince Pingxi of Great Yan cared about appearances.

How could his own neighbor possibly not be number one?

But right now... this number-one swordsman truly seemed a little too... impatient.

The Swordsmith of Great Chu had once said that swords depended primarily upon people to nurture them.

Even if the number-one swordsman beneath Heaven carried a rusted scrap of useless iron, that would still become the number-one famous sword.

And Longyuan was nowhere near useless iron.

In both reputation and substance, it was a genuine divine weapon of the highest tier in the present age.

And just like that... it changed masters?

This eagerness to get ahead of everyone else was more than merely obvious.

It was not even simple impatience anymore.

There was a hint of forcing the transaction through whether the other side regretted it or not.

By ordinary logic, with Yu Huaping’s identity and standing, even the greatest noble or high official beneath Heaven would need to beg him to accept one of their children as a disciple.

And even then... it would depend entirely upon the Sword Saint’s mood.

Back in Shangjing, the Baili Sword had served as the Crown Prince’s martial instructor.

So for the Sword Saint to behave this way now... he had lowered his own posture to an almost absurd degree.

But Yu Huaping genuinely had no choice.

He could not wait any longer.

He did not want to wait.

To a great master of cultivation, a spirit child was like the finest uncut jade appearing before a master carver.

How could his hands not itch?

If Big Girl had shown no interest in the sword during the Grasping of Fortune, then perhaps the Sword Saint would have let the matter go.

But Big Girl truly had chosen that sword.

And... most fatally of all... she could even sense the emotions of the Baili Sword’s sword spirit!

The Sword Maid had been born a Sword Embryo.

That meant what other swordsmen might pursue for an entire lifetime—the realm of human and sword as one—had existed naturally within her since birth.

So long as she received proper instruction from a great master and grew normally without some accident, becoming a Third Grade swordswoman in the future was virtually guaranteed.

There were, of course, high, middle, and low distinctions even within Third Grade.

But even the lowest Third Grade swordsman was an undisputed grandmaster in jianghu.

Big Girl, however... leaving aside her spirit-child body entirely... had been born able to perceive the emotions of a sword spirit.

She could naturally resonate with a sword in heart and intent.

What did that mean?

It meant the path toward opening Second Grade that Yu Huaping had pondered for half his life... lay broad and straight before Big Girl.

Use the sword body in place of the human body.

Unite sword intent with human intent.

Let Second Grade power enter the sword.

Then let the sword return into the self and open Second Grade.

That was the Sword Saint’s sword path.

And Big Girl... fit it perfectly.

So Yu Huaping stopped pretending to be reserved.

He could not remain reserved.

If he missed this opportunity, he truly would go mad.

Old Yu’s voice arrived first.

But he did not merely throw out a line from afar and keep playing the mysterious expert.

He himself appeared very soon afterward.

There was a direct connection between the Sword Saint’s home and Prince Pingxi Residence.

For him, entering the Residence was as easy as wandering through his own back courtyard.

He came to the round table.

Looking at Big Girl sitting there, delicate as a porcelain doll, the Sword Saint felt his heart nearly melt with affection.

Big Girl leaned against Longyuan.

She looked up at the Sword Saint.

Instinctively... she revealed the kind of pure childlike smile that, at her age, rivaled Second Grade sword intent in destructive power.

The Sword Saint’s upper body leaned back slightly.

He was almost melting.

At that point... the biological father standing nearby finally could not bear to watch any longer.

The Prince walked behind the Sword Saint and poked his shoulder with one finger.

“Look, I’m saying—”

“Your daughter will be my final disciple.”

“But—”

“Until the day I die, your daughter’s safety is mine to guarantee!”

“However—”

“Every time you march to war from now on, I will accompany you and guarantee your safety within the army.”

“Daughter, quickly. Pay respects to your master.”

Zheng Fan walked forward and gently pressed Big Girl’s small head down.

Come.

Kowtow to your master.

In truth, Zheng Fan was more than happy for his daughter to receive the Sword Saint’s favor and become his disciple.

Tian Tian did not like swords.

He liked sabers.

Zheng Fan supported that.

In Zheng Fan’s heart, Tian Tian also seemed more suited to following Old Tian’s path: saber in hand, sweeping across battlefields.

As for his daughter...

Zheng Fan naturally did not expect her to stay inside the household forever as some quiet, gentle noble lady who never stepped beyond the inner gate.

But neither had he imagined sending her onto battlefields to become another Liang Hongyu.

That road was too bitter.

Too exhausting.

If, when bored, she could stay home and be a Princess... and when restless, leave home and become a wandering heroine... that would be genuine freedom.

The earlier “but” and “however” had merely been the Prince taking advantage while still pretending to complain.

There was no chance Zheng Fan would truly place some obstacle before the Sword Saint or treat his own daughter as a commodity waiting for the highest bid.

The Sword Saint naturally understood that too.

But the two men knew each other too well.

And the Sword Saint genuinely wanted this disciple.

So he cooperated with Zheng Fan and went through the little performance, simply to satisfy him.

Big Girl was still somewhat confused.

She had no idea her life plan had just been arranged by her father on the spot.

But the way she looked at Longyuan truly resembled the way a child might look at a pet cat or dog.

She liked Longyuan.

She liked the aura flowing from its blade.

Zheng Fan reached out and drew Longyuan.

He said to the Sword Saint:

“My daughter is still little. Why don’t you keep the sword for now?”

The Sword Saint shook his head.

“Since she can already sense the existence of a sword spirit from infancy, then let Longyuan remain beside her and nourish that connection. If her intent resonates with a famous sword from childhood, she will gain twice the result with half the effort once she grows older.”

Zheng Fan was genuinely surprised.

He had assumed the Sword Saint meant to give Longyuan to Big Girl once she came of age, or perhaps leave it to her as his inheritance before death.

He had not expected “changing masters” to mean exactly that.

Right now.

Immediately.

At once.

“What about you?” Zheng Fan asked. “What will you use?”

The Sword Saint waved one hand carelessly.

“At my present level, it makes no difference what I use.”

And so...

Big Girl lost the right to regret her choice.

She also lost any opportunity to choose a second object.

Her Grasping of Fortune ended successfully just like that.

Xiong Liqing’s eyes filled with tears.

This strong Princess of Great Chu always became especially emotional where her daughter was concerned.

But these were tears of joy.

Zheng Fan picked Big Girl up.

He asked the Sword Saint:

“Want to hold your disciple?”

Hearing that, the Sword Saint instinctively rubbed both hands against his clothes.

The awkward motion emerged before he could stop himself.

Then he shook his head.

“No need. No need. Once the child can walk on her own, I’ll begin teaching her some mental methods. Until then, let Longyuan take my place.”

“You make it sound like you’re about to leave on some wandering journey. You live next door. When can’t you come see her? Liqing.”

“I’m here.” Xiong Liqing stepped forward.

“From now on, every even-numbered day, take Big Girl next door to visit.”

“Yes. This concubine understands.”

As she spoke, Xiong Liqing walked before the Sword Saint and gave him a slight curtsy.

“Many thanks, Sir, for nurturing my daughter. From now on, I entrust her to you.”

“Princess Consort overstates it. This is Yu’s good fortune.”

Then... the Prince turned around and looked at Zheng Lin.

Big Girl was finished.

And you, brat?

What are you still sitting there staring for?

Zheng Lin remained seated in the center of the table.

He looked at one object.

Then another.

But his problem was not indecision over which one he liked most.

It was that very few of them seemed able to interest him at all.

Other children chose the object they liked best from a pile.

He looked more like he was trying to pick the one he disliked least.

Of course... at first Zheng Lin had wanted the cocktail.

Monstrous as he was, he was still only a child.

How much elaborate planning could a baby possibly do?

The Grasping of Fortune was simply supposed to be an instinctive choice based on what caught the eye.

All the other colorful things failed to interest him.

Only the wine did.

A’Ming had secretly fed him before.

He liked that strong, stimulating flavor.

But when he looked at the wine... then looked toward his mother standing in front of him... more precisely, when he saw that meaningful smile on his mother’s face...

Zheng Lin hesitated.

He was not afraid of his biological father.

Truly not afraid.

Even when his father spanked him, if he had been able to speak he might have retorted:

Come on.

If you’ve got the guts, beat me to death.

He could sense something like “good and evil.”

More precisely, he could sense good or ill intent directed toward his own existence.

He was absolutely certain that this man claiming to be his biological father would never truly harm him.

But... the woman claiming to be his “mother”...

Every Demon King uncle adored him almost to death.

Only his biological mother was an exception.

How to describe it?

In Zheng Lin’s instinctive perception, if he truly pushed this woman too far... she might actually lay hands on him.

And she would be willing to do it.

It was a very strange instinct.

Yet it felt incomparably real.

So Zheng Lin feared her.

Giving up his first choice, he began crawling toward the “Heirloom Seal.”

The corner of the Blind Man’s mouth curled upward.

Good.

Very good.

Every gaze in the courtyard now gathered upon His Highness the Heir Prince, who had finally begun moving.

When everyone realized his target was the seal, smiles appeared across their faces.

A good omen.

An excellent omen.

The people of the household knew how terrifying Zheng Lin’s innate gifts truly were.

But to the civil and military officials beneath Prince Pingxi Residence, none of that was necessary.

They only needed His Highness the Heir Prince to remain safe and secure and fulfill his role as heir.

Everything else... they would follow the Prince and conquer for him.

Zheng Fan did not interfere.

Creating a fake Heirloom Seal for this was certainly a little too much in the way of “wicked humor.”

But if his own son chose it... that still seemed acceptable.

And yet... just as everyone believed the Grasping of Fortune was about to conclude in perfect satisfaction, and people were already preparing to kowtow and offer their blessings to the Heir Prince...

Zheng Lin crawled before the seal.

Reached out.

And pushed.

Clack!

The Heirloom Seal dropped straight off the table.

He was tiny.

His strength had been sealed.

But a starving camel was still larger than a horse.

His strength remained far beyond that of an ordinary infant his age.

The seal hit the ground and rolled.

The Blind Man’s “gaze” instantly froze.

Yes.

He was blind.

But he did possess a kind of gaze.

At the very least, people could sense the emotion behind it.

For the first instant... the Blind Man became a little angry.

But then, as his mental power captured the tiny changes in Zheng Lin’s expression... the anger vanished.

In fact... he became delighted.

Heh.

Heh-heh-heh...

The Blind Man laughed inwardly.

He understood.

He himself had placed the fake Heirloom Seal beside the child’s bed long before this.

He had asked Demon Child to help.

Every day, Zheng Lin had been allowed to play with it.

Whenever Master or Siniang entered the room, Demon Child would hide it.

The Blind Man had taken it for granted that if a child became familiar with a toy over a long period, attachment would naturally develop.

Not merely children.

Adults were the same.

Zheng Lin did not understand what the Heirloom Seal represented.

He could not read.

Naturally, he did not understand the words “Mandated by Heaven.”

But the boy possessed one instinct.

He feared Siniang.

Because Siniang was his mother.

And the Blind Man understood why.

Siniang might appear endlessly gentle and obedient toward Master, but beneath that lay something resembling the bond a created being felt toward its Creator... perhaps more like a father.

Because for the Demon Kings, Zheng Fan occupied exactly that role.

Siniang had once said she did not like men.

Master was merely the one man she did not dislike.

At first glance that sounded reasonable.

Then absurd.

And upon deeper thought... profound.

So Siniang, as a mother, would love her son.

He was, after all, the child she had carried and given birth to.

But the way she loved might be different.

If the child refused to obey, or truly hurt her heart... then fine.

She could simply take the child and die together with him.

I brought you here.

Then I can take you back with me.

Such maternal love... was touching enough to be terrifying.

That was why Zheng Lin feared her.

But everyone else?

You dare try to influence him?

Hint at him?

Control him?

He did not understand principles.

But he knew how to resent them.

Break the shackles.

Break the ambitions others tried to force upon him.

That was his resistance.

The Blind Man suddenly felt everything was secure.

He knew this temperament well.

Every Demon King had once passed through a period of hysteria.

Lawless.

Unrestrained.

Unbound.

Good.

A child with this temperament... once he grew up, who could control him?

Master loved freedom too.

But Master also knew when to bend and when to stretch.

In his early years, when kneeling was necessary, he knelt.

When admitting weakness was necessary, he admitted weakness.

Even now, one reason he did not rebel was that he saw no real need.

Another was that too many bonds of affection and obligation tied him down.

But this little brat... once grown... might feel irritated merely because the Emperor sat on the dragon throne and looked at him.

And forget trying to bind him through emotion.

He instinctively rejected those sorts of tethers and shackles.

Whether he took the seal no longer mattered.

A person who picked up an imperial seal did not necessarily possess Heaven’s Mandate.

But with this temperament... combined with the identity and foundation his father and the rest of them would build for him... oh.

It was secure.

The Blind Man suddenly felt his own future overflowing with hope.

There was no game more interesting than raising one’s godson to become Emperor.

Then...

Zheng Lin began causing trouble in earnest.

The cocktail.

Books.

Abacus.

Paintings.

One object after another that had been placed on the round table... he crawled to each one and pushed it off.

Everyone present stared in disbelief.

It was difficult to imagine how a child this small—even a somewhat mischievous child—could be so stubborn that he insisted on crawling to every single object one by one and knocking each one down.

The Prince stood nearby without speaking.

But his expression was already turning ugly.

Compared with Big Girl... this son... was genuinely unlikeable.

The Demon Kings saw the things they had prepared pushed off the table too.

They did not become angry.

First, they genuinely adored this child.

Second... all beings were equal.

If everyone’s gift was being thrown down, then nobody felt particularly singled out.

“Mm... looks like Little Brother is angry,” the Crown Prince said.

Tian Tian nodded with some worry.

He had already seen his father’s expression darken.

Little Brother was probably about to get hit.

“Big Brother, I need to relieve myself.”

A new drink had been served at the earlier banquet.

Black.

With ice in it.

Very sweet.

And it left the lips slightly numb.

The Crown Prince had found it wonderfully refreshing and drunk too much.

Now the Grasping of Fortune had dragged on for so long that he could barely hold it anymore.

“Oh. Go ahead, Little Brother.”

Tian Tian was still focused on Zheng Lin.

So he did not accompany the Crown Prince.

The atmosphere around the ceremony... grew heavier and heavier as fewer and fewer objects remained on the round table.

“You! Have you made enough trouble yet?”

The Prince finally lost patience.

Everything became worse when comparison entered the picture.

Especially when the comparison was between two of your own children.

This child’s unruliness seemed carved into his bones.

Because the Prince had become angry, nobody around him dared step forward to mediate.

The person best suited to smoothing things over would have been Siniang.

But Siniang was already preparing to join the mixed doubles beating.

Zheng Lin crawled toward the edge of the round table.

Still smiling, he looked around.

Come on.

You want to arrange my life for me?

Come on.

Come on!

A small child possessed no real malice.

What he wanted was absolute freedom.

He did not even understand what the word “freedom” meant.

That did not stop him from pursuing it.

Seeing his biological father coming toward him, Zheng Lin continued smiling provocatively.

Then he saw his biological mother walking over as well.

Zheng Lin panicked instantly.

He did not understand.

Hadn’t he pushed the cocktail off the table too?

Instinctively, he crawled farther toward the edge in an attempt to avoid his mother.

He was about to fall.

The Demon Kings did not move.

They knew the child’s body was strong.

A fall would not hurt him.

More importantly, Master and Siniang were obviously about to discipline their child.

If any of them stepped forward now, they would become the meddling grandparents who interfered while parents were teaching a brat.

And in front of Master... they did not possess the seniority to act like grandparents.

The civil and military officials around them stood too far away.

Intimidated by the Prince’s aura, they also failed to react in time.

Then...

Tian Tian ran over.

He reached the table before anyone else and caught Zheng Lin at the edge.

“Dad, Little Brother means he refuses food handed to him in contempt. Whatever he wants, he intends to take for himself. Little Brother has very lofty ambitions.”

The Blind Man heard that explanation.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Very good.

Keyan Dongge immediately shouted:

“Your Highness started from nothing and built today’s foundation with your own hands! His Highness the Heir Prince has truly inherited Your Highness’s ambition!”

Jin Shuke spoke as well:

“A tiger father has no dog son. A tiger father has no dog son!”

Chen Daole added:

“One round table is far too small. How could it possibly contain the ambitions of our Heir Prince?”

The surrounding civil and military officials immediately understood.

They collectively dropped to their knees and cried in unison:

“His Highness the Heir Prince harbors lofty ambitions! This is our fortune, the fortune of Prince Pingxi Residence, and the fortune of the people!”

In eastern Jin... inside Prince Pingxi Residence... if they could avoid mentioning Great Yan, they avoided it.

If they could avoid mentioning His Majesty the Emperor, they avoided that too.

It was an unspoken understanding shared by the overwhelming majority of people here.

Zheng Fan stopped walking.

Siniang stopped as well.

For the Prince, if the brat’s earlier behavior could simply be covered over this way, then the ceremony could at least end properly.

If he kept digging into the matter... there might truly be no graceful way to finish.

After all, every commoner in Fengxin City... and every soldier and civilian across eastern Jin... was waiting to hear the story of tonight’s Grasping of Fortune performed by His Highness the Heir Prince.

The Prince smiled.

He pointed at Zheng Lin and cursed:

“This brat is probably going to grow into a lawless devil.”

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

How could the Heir Prince of Prince Pingxi be too obedient?

The military officers laughed the loudest and most uniformly.

They had already practiced tonight.

Everyone joined together and forced the incident toward a perfect ending.

At that moment...

Zheng Lin felt around beside himself.

He discovered that among all the objects that had originally been placed on the round table, there remained one small thing he had not yet pushed away.

He turned his head.

It gave off a sweet fragrance.

Zheng Lin reached out.

Picked it up.

Brought it to his mouth.

And bit.

It tasted quite good.

Almost nobody present noticed.

Everyone was busy kneeling and offering blessings.

Even anyone who did see it would probably assume the child was merely eating a snack Tian Tian had just handed him to soothe him.

But the Blind Man had been watching the two boys closely the entire time.

Under his mental perception, everything was perfectly clear.

The Demon Kings had secretly inserted things.

The Sword Saint had secretly inserted something.

And Tian Tian... had secretly placed something there too.

A piece of shaqima.

Zheng Lin had pushed every other object away.

Only that one remained.

Perhaps it was coincidence.

But coincidence itself often contained something that resembled...

Heaven’s will.

Ahhh...

Inside his own mind, the Blind Man felt so comfortable he nearly cried out.

He had spent years instilling the concept of shaqima into Tian Tian.

Plant melons and reap melons.

Plant beans and reap beans.

He had failed to use Tian Wujing’s growth to fully realize that plan through Tian Tian.

But now... an unintentional willow branch had somehow grown into shade.

And if he thought about it further...

Tian Tian’s performance in the prophecy had already been extraordinary.

In the future, once His Highness the Heir Prince Jingnan grew up... he would only be more outstanding and more powerful than the version from that prophecy.

Tian Tian watched Little Brother Zheng Lin eating the shaqima he had secretly placed there.

A brilliant smile immediately spread across his face.

He asked:

“Little Brother, tasty?”

Zheng Lin still could not speak.

But as a spirit child, he did not dislike Tian Tian.

And Tian Tian possessed the kind of temperament almost nobody could truly dislike.

So after hearing Tian Tian’s question...

Zheng Lin smiled.

Tian Tian patted his own chest.

“Then if you ever want some again, just tell Big Brother. Big Brother will help you snatch it.”

[End of Chapter 914]