Prelude to the Sword Trial Conference 1

Longyuan was in a very bad mood, which we could all understand. He hadn't transformed into his human form for three days, just lying quietly on the sword stand without even letting out a fart. We swords, deterred by the heavy resentment emanating from him—resentment so thick he was on the verge of turning into a vengeful spirit—were too embarrassed to even play mahjong. We spoke in hushed voices every day, and life became extremely stifling. We privately discussed that we should figure out a way to persuade Longyuan to look on the bright side, otherwise, if things went on like this, the entire room of swords would end up depressed.

Danzhu said Longyuan was showing classic symptoms of the third stage of lovelorn syndrome. The entire sword was decadent and depressed, unable to muster interest in anything, inextricably immersed in his pain. The best way to cure this problem was to let him see how low-key, luxurious, and profound his current master was, how many times better he was than his original master. Gradually, he would forget the former master who gave him away. Although none of us wanted Master to exclusively favor Longyuan, we had to make a sacrifice during this extraordinary period. Me especially; I always felt a bit guilty towards Longyuan in my heart. After all, I was the one who brought Qiu Muxue into the Shushan Sect in hopes that he would be taken away quickly...

Due to the incident of Guiche escaping from the Zhenming Pagoda, numerous Buddhist and Taoist sects came to the Shushan Sect to demand answers. Sects like the Donghua Sect, Maoshan Sect, Suoluo Hermitage, and so on—about seven or eight sects in total—each sent one or two envoys to inquire. By the order of Emperor Donghua, the Shushan Sect had guarded the Zhenming Pagoda for hundreds of years and held the Xuanwu Token, remaining the leader among the sects. Therefore, the triennial Sword Trial Conference (which could be called the Olympics of the cultivation world) was held at the Shushan Sect, allowing Shushan to make a killing in the tourism industry every three years. A tall tree catches the wind, and many sects had been displeased with us for a long time. Unfortunately, our Shushan Sect never really had any weak points to exploit, so they had no choice but to swallow their grievances. But now it was different. Shushan had made such a huge blunder; I was afraid those envoys, who superficially appeared deeply worried or righteously indignant, were actually blooming with joy in their hearts. However, up until now, everyone was just engaging in a battle of words and hadn't reached the point of coming to blows and harming relations. It was just tough on Master and Immortal Langya, who had to bite the bullet every time and face the inquiries from the envoys of various sects who stood by and talked without feeling the backache.

But I knew there would always be one or two hotheads who would get carried away and start a fight with our Master.

That day eventually came. I heard from Sword Attendant Heyue that an envoy from the Maoshan Sect led a group of disciples into Lingxiao Hall and spouted nonsense. They claimed that since the Shushan Sect couldn't even keep watch over Guiche, they were unworthy of holding the Xuanwu Token—a token bestowed by Emperor Donghua that could command all cultivation sects—and forcefully demanded that the Sect Master hand over the sacred token. Seeing the opponents coming in aggressively and realizing the situation would likely end badly, Master ordered a sword attendant to fetch me to meet the challenge.

I told Sword Attendant Heyue, "Um... I'm on my period today, so it's inconvenient. Why don't you take Longyuan instead?"

Heyue's brow twitched. "You are a sword, and a male sword at that. How could you possibly be on your period?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why can female swords have periods but male swords can't? Are you being sexist?"

Heyue insisted on grabbing me, but I just stayed put on the sword rack. He used the strength of nine bulls and two tigers but still couldn't lift me; after all, when this divine sword doesn't want to move, I absolutely won't budge an inch. Pressed for time, he finally gave up. Shaking his nearly sprained hand, he glared at me. "Don't you regret this!" Then he went and grabbed Longyuan.

Although Longyuan looked somewhat stunned that I had voluntarily given up the chance to fight alongside Master, he neither objected nor showed the slightest hint of joy when the sword attendant picked him up.

Watching Longyuan leave with the sword attendant, my heart felt sour and astringent, a truly bitter taste... Danzhu and Pojun also looked quite gloomy; they patted my shoulder and went back to daze out on their own.

It was about six hours later when Master finally returned. Aside from some dust on his clothes, he looked refreshed and high-spirited. He very carefully placed Longyuan back onto the sword stand, gently patted the blade, and said in a low voice, "You did very well today."

Hearing this, my heart was so sour... No matter how many times I watched Master take other swords out, this feeling remained just as intense...

I thought Master was going to just leave it at that, but he suddenly walked over to me, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked, "I heard from Heyue that you're on your period today?"

I poked my head out from the blade and chuckled awkwardly. "Well... I was just joking with him, wasn't I?"

Master gave a cold sneer and walked away, a sneer that gave me goosebumps... I only rejected you once, Master... Does it only allow you not to choose me, but not allow me not to choose you...

But thinking back to his look at that time, why did I feel like I was going to be in for some bad luck?

For nearly half a year after this incident, everything was peaceful. The major sects had found enough faults, and as we gradually entered winter, everyone from humans to demons became lazy. Once the heavy winter snow fell, another year passed. All the swords celebrated the New Year in the warm and cozy Sword Pavilion. Danzhu stole some rice cakes, dumplings, and other offerings from Lingxiao Hall, and I went to Liushuang Hall to ask Yin Fushu for help stealing some Pear Blossom Wine. We all ate and drank. In the middle of the night, Bixie Palace Master even put on a special fireworks display for Master at Liushuang Hall, and Master unceremoniously dragged a large group of us swords, along with his disciples and sword attendants, to sit on the roof and watch.

Watching the fireworks rise into the air and bloom in an instant, then silently wither away amidst the brilliance of the next one, I noticed Longyuan silently and slightly tilting his face up. The colors of the fireworks overlapped and transformed upon his resolute profile, and the icy night wind lifted his dark hair, which had a faint deep blue sheen to it, giving him a gloomy sense of loneliness.

I sat beside him, roughly guessing what he was thinking about, and asked, "Thinking of Qiu Mushuang?"

He slightly lowered his eyes and didn't answer.

I also looked at the fireworks and smiled faintly. "Actually, I've experienced this sort of thing too. I had it even worse than you; at least your master said goodbye to you and entrusted you to another master. My former master didn't even hand me over to someone else; he just threw me into the Beiming Sea and let a large Kun snatch me away. I stayed in the seawater for five hundred years. Aside from that Kunpeng who understood nothing and only knew how to randomly collect pretty things, there was only endless seawater around me."

I felt Longyuan's gaze fall upon me, seemingly with a trace of astonishment.

He probably never imagined that such a suave and handsome sword like me had also experienced a time of being abandoned, right?

I let out a long sigh. "Do you know what it's like in the depths of the sea? There is no light, absolutely no light at all. There is only endless darkness, and the occasional howling sounds echoing through it. Sometimes I would forget my own existence, forget that I was a sword, and forget that I once had a master. No matter how sentient a sword is, without a master, it's like losing its soul—unable to move, nothing more than scrap iron. So later, when Master held me in his hand, I finally knew that I still existed."

Longyuan asked, "Do you hate your first master?"

I smiled bitterly. "He turned into a handful of yellow earth long ago. What's the point of holding onto hate? Moreover, our current Master is different from other people. I am very glad to have been picked up by him."

Longyuan's voice was somewhat ethereal. "And how do you know Sheng Wenxiu is any different from the rest? Borrowing your words, we are nothing but weapons. No matter how much he likes us, deciding to discard us is merely a thought away. When that time comes, how will you deal with yourself?"

His question made me freeze. In truth, it wasn't that I hadn't thought of this question, especially in recent years, when Master had taken me out less and less. If one day Master gave me to someone else, how would I deal with myself?

After the New Year passed and spring arrived, it was time for the Sword Trial Conference to be held.

Due to the Zhenming Pagoda incident, the Shushan Sect's prestige had plummeted. Coupled with offending the Maoshan Sect a few days prior, the Maoshan Sect suggested that holding the Sword Trial Conference in the same place every year seemed somewhat unfair, and they should give the various cultivation disciples a chance to travel and see the fengshui of other famous sects. Thus, the Sword Trial Conference committee decided to draw lots, and ultimately drew the Donghua Sect on Penglai Island.

Although we didn't have to be the hosts, participating in the conference and taking first place to demonstrate that our Shushan Sect was still number one in the world was absolutely necessary. The rules for participating in the Sword Trial Conference were that each sect would select five representatives, of which only two High Immortals could be at the fourth realm, the Huiyang Realm, or above. The competition categories included sword riding, martial combat, pills and medicine, formations, and divination. Each representative could only participate in one category, and the final rankings would be based on total scores.

As the only High Immortal in the Shushan Sect at the fifth realm, the Qianyuan Realm, aside from the Sect Master, and with his swordsmanship widely considered the best in the world, Master naturally had to lead the charge. Although Shenxu had been reflecting on his mistakes facing the wall for a while, at a time like this when talent was needed, he still had to be brought out to win first place with those medicinal pills of his. The remaining three candidate spots naturally went to three outstanding disciples who had already reached the third realm, the Tengyun Realm. Master's eldest disciple Guisheng and second disciple Duan Yaxu were naturally going to accompany him, and the Sect Master's eldest disciple Lantian was also ordered to join the battle.

Inside our Sword Pavilion, everyone was gearing up for action. Fighting for the chance to attend the Sword Trial Conference with Master could almost determine your status as the top dog in the Sword Pavilion. The last one taken along was Danzhu. I hadn't been able to go into battle with Master for nine consecutive years; this time, I had to win!

I specifically flew into the pond to wash my blade thoroughly clean, and carefully sharpened my edge on the whetstone. The sword tassel was dirty, so I simply untied it, making myself spotlessly clean and gleaming bright. The other swords were making similar preparations. Especially that show-off Danzhu, who actually found a few rubies and inlaid them into his own hilt. Longyuan, however, looked rather sluggish, lying motionless on the sword stand just as usual.

Master finally arrived! Our room full of shining swords dazzled him so much he could barely keep his eyes open.

Master stroked his chin and paced back and forth, touching this and looking at that. It seemed his indecisiveness was acting up again. All the swords were incredibly anxious. Pojun straightforwardly poked his head out and confessed, "Master, I definitely won't let you down!"

Master smiled but still shook his head. Pojun obviously looked like he was about to cry...

Master walked in front of Danzhu. Danzhu continuously batted his eyes at Master, trying hard to exude his sword-mones. But Master still walked right past him.

I laughed endlessly in my heart. It seems my second spring has arrived! I watched Master walking towards me with a smile, his features as picturesque as a painting, his temperament resplendent. The imposing wind blew up the long hair at his temples, and even the breeze seemed tainted with the scent of lotuses on him. My heart raced, my face grew hot, and I welcomed his hands affectionately.

Who knew he wouldn't even stop in front of me...

Master picked up Longyuan, cast a slight glance at me, and went out.

I stared wide-eyed at his retreating back, feeling as though I was about to spew a mouthful of blood...

Bastard! Why Longyuan?! Do you know Longyuan is still pining for his former master?! Are you sure Longyuan will share such a telepathic connection with you like I do, and help you look cool?!!!

Master is definitely getting revenge! Taking revenge for when I deliberately refused to go into battle with him earlier!!

The swords were all sighing in lamentation; I alone couldn't even let out a sigh... This was simply a result I had brought upon myself. If it weren't for Master using Longyuan so smoothly that time, he definitely wouldn't have dared to rashly choose Longyuan, a sword that hadn't been fully tamed yet, this time.

Both Danzhu and I were indignant. Danzhu said Longyuan was just playing the pig to eat the tiger—superficially acting like he didn't care about Master at all, but actually seizing the right moment to fiercely curry favor with him. Danzhu also scolded me heavily, calling me brainless, making a wedding dress for someone else for nothing.

I actually couldn't refute it...

To think I even pitied Longyuan before... Am I a huge idiot...

My heart felt desolate, and inside the Sword Pavilion, it was a dismal scene of lamenting the passing of spring and grieving for autumn. Naturally, I felt even more depressed. So when night fell, I flew away from the Shushan Sect and arrived at the pear orchard next to Liushuang Hall. In the clearing within the woods, Yin Fushu was still there, persevering with his jigsaw puzzle. I spread my wings and landed. He looked up, saw me, and revealed a big smile.

At a time like this, that smile was truly healing...

I sat on the stone chair with an expression of deep, bitter grievance, poking at those paper scraps without saying a word. Yin Fushu blinked his big eyes at me. "Brother Hei Yu, what's wrong?"

I sullenly focused on the puzzle, not wanting to say a word.

Yin Fushu rested his round, smiling face in his hands. "Are you unhappy because your Master didn't take you to the Sword Trial Conference?"

I glared at him. "How do you know?!"

He helplessly spread his hands innocently. "My dad said so. Did you forget my dad has a Master Jixuan complex? My dad knows everything your Master does."

He sounded quite proud of it, not feeling at all that his dad's stalking behavior was somewhat perverted...

I slouched listlessly on the stone table and let out a long sigh. "My Master... probably doesn't like me anymore..."

Yin Fushu tilted his head to look at me, suddenly wagging his finger at me. "Brother Hei Yu, it's wrong for you to be so passive."

"...What's wrong? Am I not proactive enough?"

Yin Fushu sat upright, looking at me very seriously. "If your Master ignores you and doesn't take you out, you should go look for him yourself. If you just squat there wallowing in self-pity all day, your Master won't know."

I looked at this little brat in shock. How could someone so young say something so reasonable?

But... "I'm a sword. If Master doesn't take me, how can I go out?"

Yin Fushu gave an expression that said 'you're so stupid.' "If he doesn't take you, why can't you go out? It's not like you can't walk or fly. What era are we in now? Don't be so pedantic, okay? Can't weapons have a mind of their own?"

But as a weapon, the most important rule is to obey, because an insubordinate weapon will only bring danger to its master. Therefore, it is common knowledge among all swords: do not try to defy your master, otherwise one day you will either cause your master's death, or you will be abandoned.

That time, in order to help Longyuan step out of the shadow of his former master, I defied Master's orders. I already regretted it until my intestines turned green; was I going to make the same mistake now?

Seeing me stay silent, Yin Fushu suddenly told me to wait a moment and ran off. Not long after, he came running back, carrying two small jugs of Pear Blossom Wine.

"Wine can wash away sorrows. Brother Hei Yu, why don't you drink a little?" He handed me a jug of wine very obediently.

At a time like this, I didn't stand on ceremony. I tilted my head back and gulped the liquor, which exuded the clear sweetness of pear blossoms, down my throat. Their Liushuang Hall's Pear Blossom Wine was truly exceptional; sweet but not cloying, mild and lingering, impossible to stop drinking once started. I drained the jug in one breath, feeling a mass of heat burning and swirling in my belly. The world before my eyes seemed to change color bit by bit: green turned to blue, the silver moon turned orange-red, and the starry sky appeared sometimes distant, sometimes close, flipping endlessly.

I gave a few silly chuckles, smashed the wine jug on the ground, and cursed loudly, "Bah! It's just the Sword Trial Conference, who the hell cares about going!"

Yin Fushu also chimed in from the side, "Exactly, it's so boring!"

I cracked open the second jug, took a huge gulp, and earnestly looked at Yin Fushu's rosy little face. "Do you know? I'm a sword that has been with him for over fifty years! Since he was just a wet-behind-the-ears kid who barely reached the Tengyun Realm, I never left or abandoned him. Now he actually loves the new and abandons the old! What's so great about that Longyuan anyway? Isn't it just that he has seven stars on him?!"

Yin Fushu nodded forcefully. "Brother Hei Yu is obviously so good-looking! You'd definitely be even better looking with your mask off!"

I gulped down another half bottle, yanked the mask off my face, and lay down on the grass. My mind was a bit murky, and my eyelids felt heavy. "I'm so handsome, so considerate... Why wouldn't he choose me..."

Vaguely, Yin Fushu's face reflected before my eyes. Why did it look a little devilishly charming, a little mature, somewhat like the Bixie Palace Master? It seems I really am drunk...

But it doesn't matter anyway. We swords don't need to sleep. Taking this opportunity to have a sleep isn't bad... If only I could see Master when I wake up...

And so I groggily passed out drunk in the pear orchard, never expecting that such a thing would happen when I woke up...