Chapter 1412: The Blade of Law and Order
"Just so-so."
Qin Mu had barely uttered a modest remark when the Butcher knocked him on the head. He had no choice but to say: "Last time I entered the Dao through the blade, I comprehended a move called Knocking on the South Heaven Gate. After that, there has been no further progress."
The Butcher cast him a cold glance, and Qin Mu immediately felt as though he had been slashed by a blade, shrinking a notch.
"Your blade path has no advancement, so your sword path must also have no advancement, right?"
The Butcher sneered: "Medicine path, painting path, Buddhism path, formation path, the path of thievery, the path of forging—none of them have advanced either, am I right?"
Qin Mu was sincerely impressed, praising: "Grandpa Butcher's dharma eye is unmatched! You saw through my predicament with a single glance!"
The Butcher made a move as if to strike him, and Qin Mu hastily said: "However, I have already comprehended the Twenty-Six Heavens in divine powers!"
"You comprehended them from the innate paths, right?"
The Butcher suppressed the urge to beat him, saying: "The innate paths—countless elites throughout the ages have labored over them. The Ten Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court, the Daoist Sect—all have painstakingly studied the innate paths, analyzing the great Dao of the ancient gods. You only need to learn them, then you can use them, then integrate and fuse them, and you can enter the Dao. Even in the Ancestral Court, you can comprehend many divine powers and dharma techniques. But why have you not comprehended deeper levels of blade path, sword path, and painting path?"
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then said: "Because the blade path and sword path are both acquired paths. They require creating something from nothing, require self-enlightenment, require one to grope and organize on one's own."
"This is precisely the reason why even comprehending the great Dao of the ancient gods cannot help you advance further in blade, sword, calligraphy, and painting."
The Butcher said: "Mu'er, you have been away from the mortal world for too long. The acquired paths originate from the mundane world of dust and mortals. Since you ascended to the Heavenly Court, above the court you face the majestic gods, below the court you face the saints of all heavens, and those who scheme against you are the Ten Heavenly Venerables. In the mortal world, you could comprehend your Three Heavens of Sword Path in just a few short years, but once you reached the Heavenly Court, you made no further progress. Mu'er, you have drifted far from the acquired paths. I cannot be certain now whether you can still maintain the original heart of that youth from the Great Ruins."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow: "My Dao heart is firm. I cannot forget my original heart."
"Really?"
The Butcher drew his blade, intending to toss it to him, but thought better of it. Instead, he broke off a three-foot-long piece of scrap iron from the side of the pleasure boat and pressed it into Qin Mu's hand, saying: "Seal all your cultivation—the Heavenly Palace, the Divine Treasures, seal them all. Become a mortal again. I will take you to see your original heart."
"No need for such trouble."
Qin Mu let out a low shout, closing his Spiritual Fetus Divine Treasure, sealing even his primordial spirit within the divine treasure.
The Butcher glanced at him and said: "You still have your physical body unsealed."
Qin Mu's ten fingers flew, tapping various points across his own body, sealing all the hundred apertures of his physical form. He immediately felt his body grow heavy, with not a trace of primal energy remaining within.
The Butcher leaped out of the pleasure boat, saying in a deep voice: "Bring your blade. Follow me."
Qin Mu vaulted out of the pleasure boat, landing with a heavy splash and sinking to the bottom of the river. After a moment, he surfaced, then broke into a sprint across the water, finally rediscovering the feeling of treading the waves on the Yong River from years past.
Soon after, they reached the riverbank. Qin Mu was about to channel his primal energy to dry his soaked clothes when he remembered he had no primal energy to use.
The Butcher walked forward unhurriedly, and Qin Mu did his best to keep up. Gradually, he began to sense the flow of the wind again, his body growing lighter and lighter. Suddenly, he leaped into the air, treading upon the crests of the wind.
The Butcher arrived at a modest city. Qin Mu looked around—this should be a new city in Jiangling. He had no memory of this place.
In recent years, the Yan Kang nation had been changing with each passing day, with new cities springing up everywhere. If Qin Mu did not return to the Yan Kang capital for three to five years, he too would lose his way.
"Mu'er, there is a tyrant in this city. Go, take your blade, and kill him." The Butcher suddenly spoke.
Qin Mu frowned slightly, saying: "Grandpa Butcher, the nation has its laws. Since he is a tyrant, let the authorities investigate and deal with him. As the National Teacher of Yan Kang, how can I take a life on my own?"
The Butcher raised an eyebrow, looking down at him with contempt, sneering: "Your original heart has changed. Where is that Qin Mu from Xianglong City who, in a fit of rage, drew his blade and left the forbidden city, cleaving Fu Yueting in two with a single strike? National law, national law—if national law were truly all-powerful, then how could tyrants exist?"
Qin Mu shook his head: "That is the courage of a common brute. In the Great Ruins, there was no law, so the blade was used to eliminate evil. But Yan Kang has a legal system..."
"The blade path IS the courage of a common brute!"
The Butcher roared: "When you encounter injustice, settle it with one strike! Last year, when Jiangling was building a new city, there was a tyrant with connections reaching the heavens who annexed land. This place was originally a village with a population of one hundred and twenty-four souls. The tyrant forcibly purchased the land, forcing the villagers to relocate. Those who refused—six died, forty-nine were injured. You speak of national law? The villagers went to Jiangling to file complaints against him. That tyrant sat right in the government office, slamming the table and demanding to know who dared to accuse an official! Where was the national law then? Two more of those villagers who accused him were beaten to death with rods. Where was the national law? Your national law cannot reach here!"
Qin Mu frowned: "Why does the Jiangling government office tolerate a tyrant wreaking havoc?"
"Venerable Mu, you are too close to heaven and too far from the earth. You have lost your original heart!"
The Butcher sneered: "Your blood has gone cold, your blade has gone dull. You stand too high, and you can no longer see the darkness and filth lurking in the shadowy corners of the mortal world. You dwell in the high halls of power, commanding the grand currents of the world, but you cannot see the common folk. What would the Qin Mu of old have done?"
Qin Mu shook the three-foot iron piece in his hand, then strode toward the city, his blood and qi surging upward. He said in a deep voice: "I can still awaken my hot blood. Who is this tyrant?"
The Butcher walked behind him: "The son of Wei Yong—Wei Qinghe."
Qin Mu stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look.
The Butcher sneered: "What's the matter, Venerable Mu? Does the son of Wei Yong give you pause? Your blade is already covered in rust. You have become no different from the Ten Heavenly Venerables. You float in the sky all year round, never touching the earth, never touching the mortal world. You have gone dull. You are no longer worthy of wielding a blade. Get out of here. Go back to your Heavenly Court and be your Heavenly Venerable!"
Qin Mu's blood surged, killing intent soaring to the heavens. Gripping the three-foot iron piece, he strode boldly toward the bustling market in the city.
"Which one is Wei Qinghe?" He stopped a passerby and asked.
"You don't even know Wei Qinghe?"
The man laughed: "He's the famous Venerable Wei of Jiangling New City! Walk straight ahead—the young man in the red robe listening to music on the Lanque Terrace is him."
Qin Mu walked forward, hearing pleasant music drifting through the air. Amidst the jade pavilions and ornate towers, singing girls sang, dancing girls danced, and musicians played strings and flutes. Qin Mu looked up—on the high terrace, a man in a great red robe sat with women in his arms, surrounded by cultivators carousing with him, their laughter shaking the heavens.
Qin Mu walked up and began climbing the tower. At the base, a cultivator blocked his way, saying: "The master is listening to music upstairs. The Lanque Terrace has been booked entirely. Please turn back."
Qin Mu pressed forward, his shoulder muscles flexing with a single bounce. With a thunderous crash, that cultivator was sent flying backward, smashing a great hole through the Lanque Terrace.
Curses came from above as many cultivators poked their heads down. Qin Mu flicked his fingers repeatedly, and one cultivator after another was sent flying upward by his finger wind, crashing through the building with thudding sounds.
Qin Mu climbed the stairs, and suddenly heard the sound of swords. He casually tapped with his iron piece. The cultivator's flying sword was extremely sharp, while his own was merely a piece of scrap iron pressed from common metal. But when he tapped the flying sword, it exploded into pieces, while the iron piece remained unharmed.
He was not using any cultivation at all—only the simplest of techniques.
Technique. Method. Dao.
These three were the steps by which cultivators learned and progressed. First one learned techniques—sword techniques, dao techniques, blade techniques, formation techniques, medical techniques. When technique reached its peak, one learned methods—sword methods, dao methods, blade methods, formation methods, medical methods.
Only when methods were perfected could one awaken to the Dao.
The Dao cannot be learned—it can only be comprehended.
What Qin Mu used was the simplest blade technique passed down from the Crippled Elder Village, while his opponent wielded exquisite sword methods—classic sword arts passed down by Yan Kang, some even bearing traces of moves created by Jiang Baigui and Qin Mu himself.
But Qin Mu had already reached the level where great skill appears clumsy. Though he used the simplest blade technique, breaking his opponent's exquisite sword methods was simplicity itself.
He ascended the terrace, and dozens of sword lights came at him. The men carousing with Wei Qinghe all leaped up, cursing without end, driving their flying swords at him—all using the most exquisite sword arts of Yan Kang.
In Qin Mu's day, these sword arts were rare in the world—one could even call them sect-suppressing sword arts. But now, anyone could learn them.
Qin Mu held his iron piece, lightly parrying and tapping. Crackling sounds of explosions came from all around, but he did not stop walking, continuing forward. Before him, behind him, all around him, flying swords burst apart.
Suddenly, a divine light shot toward his face. The red-robed man Wei Qinghe suddenly activated a divine sword, pointing it straight at Qin Mu's face!
Qin Mu raised his iron piece and slashed against the wind. Ding—a crisp, clear sound rang out.
Wei Qinghe showed a delighted expression, jumping up and shouting: "You worthless beggar hired by those peasants—how dare you try to assassinate me! Don't you know who my father is? My father dotes on me, so he long ago gave me a protective divine sword..."
The iron piece in Qin Mu's hand had not a single nick, but the divine sword suddenly sprouted dense cracks, then burst apart with a pop, scattering into pieces on the ground!
Wei Qinghe was terrified beyond measure. Qin Mu walked up to him and asked: "Wei Yong's son, Wei Qinghe?"
Wei Qinghe hastily said: "Brother, you're still young. Don't do anything rash..."
Shiiing—
The iron piece in Qin Mu's hand erupted with dazzling, breathtaking blade light. The blade rose and fell, and a bloody line appeared from Wei Qinghe's left shoulder to his right ribs. Then his upper body slid off at an angle.
The terrace erupted in chaos. Singing girls, dancing girls, and musicians fled in all directions. Wei Qinghe's attendants soared into the air, shrieking: "Go tell Master Wei! The young master has been killed!"
Qin Mu flicked the blood off his iron piece, then sat down in a grand, imposing manner. He poured himself a cup of wine and waited quietly.
The Butcher showed an appreciative look, saying: "You've come back. I can feel that the youth Qin Mu who walked out of the Crippled Elder Village in the Great Ruins has come back! Mu'er, aren't you leaving? Wei Yong was a close friend of your youth. Your friendship runs deep. You killed his son—aren't you afraid to face him?"
"Killing one Wei Qinghe is completely useless!"
Qin Mu said with an expressionless face: "I'll invite Wei Yong for a drink and let him appreciate my Blade of Law and Order."
The Butcher tilted his head: "Troublesome."
He too sat down, pouring himself wine and drinking at leisure. Later, finding it too troublesome to drink from a cup, he simply tossed away the lid of the wine jug and drank straight from the vessel.
In the distance, over Jiangling City, divine light streaked through the sky, divine might overwhelming the heavens, racing toward them at tremendous speed.
Boom—
A massive, fat divine being descended from the sky, landing on the Lanque Terrace, shaking the entire structure violently. The fat divine being was majestic and imposing, bellowing: "Who killed my beloved son?"
At that moment, three or five more beams of divine light descended from the sky, revealing the forms of several divine beings who stepped forward, shouting: "What thief dares to commit murder here?"
"Killing a court official—no trial needed! Execute on the spot!"
But the fat divine being was staring at the youth sitting behind his son's corpse. His body began to tremble, the fat on his face jiggling along with it.
Those divine beings were about to step forward when suddenly Wei Yong spread his arms wide, blocking them. They were confused, thinking he intended to take personal revenge for his son, so they stepped aside.
Wei Yong strode forward, opening his mouth: "Brother Qin..."
"Brother Wei, please call me National Teacher."
Qin Mu raised his hand, saying flatly: "Your son—I killed him. You and I have years of friendship. When I first left the Great Ruins, the first friend I made was you. We crossed the Golden River by boat together, heading to the capital to take the imperial examinations. On the way, we encountered the Dragon Gate Sect's rebellion and fought through many battles. Ours was a bond forged in life-and-death struggle. I killed your son, and I feel deep guilt. So I poured a cup of wine and waited for you, to offer my apologies."
Wei Yong burst into loud weeping: "You could have disciplined him! Why did you have to kill him? Your wine—I will not drink it!"
"Whether you drink or not is up to you."
Qin Mu stood up, saying in a deep voice: "This world is full of injustices. I can act with the courage of a common brute, wielding my blade, taking your son's head and making his blood splatter five steps. I am the National Teacher—I have this ability. But common folk could only be bullied and oppressed by your son. This has made me realize that the courage of a common brute and the blade of a common brute only bring momentary satisfaction. They cannot pacify the world, cannot govern the world. So I have comprehended a move—the Blade of Law and Order. I ask Brother Wei for his guidance!"
His iron piece rose, and blade light filled the tower. Law and order were strict and solemn; the laws of the nation were like the heavenly net of the Heavenly Duke's Mystic Capital, like the chains of the Underworld in the Earth Lord's hands—capturing hearts and souls, exalting the righteous spirit of heaven and earth, extinguishing the arrogance of the wicked!
"Yan Kang must establish the nation upon law and order. Where there is law, it must be followed—no allowance for personal sentiment!"
The move finished. Qin Mu cast the iron piece, planting it before Wei Yong, then walked past him: "You failed to discipline your son, indulging him to plague your neighbors. Report yourself to the Emperor—your rank shall be reduced by three grades, and your salary forfeited for ten years. If such a thing ever happens again, I will cut you down with the Blade of Law and Order. Conduct yourself accordingly."