Chapter 113: The Night of the Full Moon, the Summit of the Forbidden City

September 15, the night of the full moon.

Gu Qing wore a wide-sleeved green robe, two swords in each hand, standing atop the roof ridge.

Ximen Chuixue had already arrived; the Ximen Chuixue who had married Sun Xiuqing now carried a gentle demeanor. Beneath the Taihe Hall, Sun Xiuqing and several members of the Emei Sect stood to support him. Ximen Chuixue tilted his sword upward, its blade cold as a mirror, reflecting the moon's radiance.

The warm heart gradually cooled.

Ye Gucheng had also arrived. Like Ximen Chuixue, he wore white robes, yet something seemed amiss near his chest.

Ximen Chuixue's gaze turned toward him.

Ye Gucheng tapped his chest and said calmly, "A minor wound. It won't affect the fight."

Gu Qing had poisoned Ye Gucheng. Afterward, to neutralize the poison, Ye Gucheng specifically used Tang Men's poison sand, jabbed himself once in the chest, then applied an antidote—the poison was fully purged. This wound was precisely placed by Ye Gucheng himself and would not hinder combat.

Let this wound be the price of lying.

Ximen Chuixue finally looked at Gu Qing, seeing the four swords he held—two in each hand—and said, "When intent is undivided, spirit concentrates. The essence of the heart is called sacred. Only by wholeheartedly devoting oneself to one path can one transcend the mundane. You, however, are insincere."

Ximen Chuixue became a master because of his unwavering focus.

"Kites soar, fish leap; ducks are short, cranes are tall. Each finds its own fit—who can blame Heaven?"

Gu Qing said calmly: everyone's path is different; there's nothing to debate.

Ximen Chuixue fell silent.

The bright moon shone upon the Taihe Hall, like a dream, like frost.

Suddenly, sword qi surged into the heavens!

Gu Qing shook his sleeves, and from each sleeve emerged a ribbon of light, wrapping the hilts of his swords, simultaneously thrusting toward Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. Each man raised his sword to block—just as they moved to cut the ribbons, the swords withdrew. Gu Qing's own swords then advanced.

One advance, one retreat; one thrust, one feint.

Gu Qing wielded four swords at once, deploying two sets of Jade Maiden Heart Sword Technique. Each movement flowed seamlessly into the next.

Ximen Chuixue's sword flashed like thunder and lightning, carving a rainbow beneath the full moon.

At that moment, Ye Gucheng shifted his blade—Heavenly Immortal's Flight was unleashed.

This was a sword strike destined to kill, destined to win!

No one could describe the perfection and dreamlike beauty of this strike. Ye Gucheng's swordlight merged with the moonlight, tracing a luminous arc through the air.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng were the two greatest swordsmen in the world. Now their swords moved as one, harmonized, flowing effortlessly.

"Dang! Dang!!"

Gu Qing's sleeve ribbons shot out, entwining the swords, instantly forming a perfect defense against Ye Gucheng's Heavenly Immortal's Flight. Simultaneously, Gu Qing leapt upward, changed his sword technique—now it was Heavenly Immortal's Flight—and pressed toward Ximen Chuixue!

The onlookers broke into cold sweat. Watching Gu Qing's swordplay, they saw him maneuver two distinct styles under the dual assault of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, yet the two styles remained perfectly harmonized. To them, it was unimaginable.

"Dang!"

Gu Qing's Heavenly Immortal's Flight met Ximen Chuixue's blade. His sleeve flared upward, activating the Ancient Tomb Sect's Graceful Azure Drift. The silk ribbons, still bound to the swords, lashed toward Ximen Chuixue.

Ximen Chuixue parried with his hilt, deflecting the blade. His sword spiraled upward in a thrust. Meanwhile, Ye Gucheng's blade danced lightly, circling one of Gu Qing's swords, spinning to slice through the silk ribbons—Gu Qing's four swords clattered to the ground, one falling free.

"Shu!"

Gu Qing's sword seemed possessed, tracing a vast arc from below upward, swirling toward Ye Gucheng's chest.

As Ye Gucheng knocked away one of Gu Qing's swords, he was already trapped within Gu Qing's encircling blade paths. Their swords entwined like cocoons. Gu Qing's strike left Ye Gucheng with no escape, no retreat.

Wei Ziyun, the Xiaoxiang Swordsman, watched in terror. He knew he would die if faced with this strike. Seeing Gu Qing, under dual assault, maintain perfect balance between offense and defense, attack and deception, as if he were fully focused against a single opponent, he felt even greater admiration.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang..."

In an instant, Gu Qing's sword curtain unfolded, striking Ye Gucheng's blade a hundred times in quick succession. To the onlookers, the hundred strikes sounded as one prolonged note, unbroken. Their swordlight wove tighter, their techniques grew more precise. A hundred lightning-fast strikes—clean, decisive. Gu Qing's blade surged like a silkworm's cocoon, a dead end—yet Ye Gucheng's sword, like a cloud from beyond heaven, drifted ethereally, finding a path out, retreating unscathed.

Gu Qing pursued Ye Gucheng, sidestepping Ximen Chuixue's sword. Close to Ximen Chuixue, the Graceful Azure Drift could not unfold, so Gu Qing switched rapidly—thrusting one sword, releasing it, seizing another, wielding it, repeating the motion with blinding speed. He employed the Gongsun Sword Art, leaving Ximen Chuixue dazzled and momentarily halted.

Lu Xiaofeng observed intently, deeply impressed. He felt Gu Qing's ability to split his focus was unparalleled. To Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, fighting Gu Qing felt like fighting two Gu Qings at once.

No wonder, after Gu Qing issued the challenge, even proud men like Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng accepted willingly.

Yet though Gu Qing could split his focus and fight two at once, his inner energy remained confined to one body. Pouring out his qi at this rate, he could not sustain it forever.

"Dang!"

In the frenzied exchange, Ximen Chuixue thrust forward and knocked one of Gu Qing's swords loose. It rolled across the smooth tiles of the Taihe Hall roof and clattered to the ground.

On the Taihe Hall roof, now wielding only two swords, Gu Qing's techniques shed their flourish, becoming purer. Every strike transformed fluidly—sometimes rigidly disciplined, sometimes steeped in demonic intent, sometimes two swords merging into a blur of speed. For a moment, it seemed as if two Gu Qings danced upon the roof, splitting and uniting, locked in a prolonged duel with Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. In this rapid exchange, over one hundred seventy moves had passed.

The old man Wu Ming was also within the Forbidden City, watching the spectacle. He saw Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng's qi growing impure from the relentless exchange. Yet Gu Qing's qi surged violently, steam rising from his body in thick white clouds. Still fighting two, he seemed to have more to give.

Zhang Wuji, who bore the Nine Yang Divine Art, had once unleashed his full strength against the Golden Vajra Circle. After two hundred moves, he too felt his qi grow impure and his strength fade. Yet Gu Qing, possessing multiple supreme arts, under the crushing pressure of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, his qi flowed ceaselessly, revealing hidden depths within his inner cultivation like treasures unearthed.

"Dang! Dang!!"

Suddenly, they reached the hundred seventy-eighth move, as the old man had foretold.

The old man squinted slightly.

Wu Ming had long known Gu Qing could wield two martial arts simultaneously and had anticipated this moment. But using two arts at once placed immense strain on the meridians. Under such extreme pressure, at the hundred seventy-eighth move, Gu Qing would tear his own heart meridian.

"Dang!" "Dang!"

Four swords clashed.

With all his strength, Gu Qing struck—Ximen Chuixue's sword, Ye Gucheng's sword, and his own swords all flew into the air.

!

Ximen Chuixue watched the swords rising. At thirty moves, he had already sensed his own sword slowing. Now, with his blade gone, death was certain. Yet as he gazed at the slow-falling sword, he recalled every moment of his sword training—and suddenly, he reached upward.

The sword in his hand was gone—but the sword in his heart remained!

If the sword is slow, then use a slow sword.

All his past became an obsession—then, suddenly, Ximen Chuixue "let go."

As his finger-sword met Gu Qing's blade, Ximen Chuixue saw Ye Gucheng do the same. Their techniques interwove. The swords in the air fell—and suddenly, all four swords reappeared. Ye Gucheng's sword was now in Ximen Chuixue's hand. Ximen Chuixue's sword was in Gu Qing's hand. Gu Qing's sword was in Ye Gucheng's hand.

None of them "clung" to the swords anymore.

Swordlight shifted, blades spun. Each wielded swords—but no longer bound by them. In the end, even sword techniques and palm techniques became indistinguishable.

Gu Qing continued striking, effortlessly surpassing the old man's predicted limit.

Wu Ming exhaled, his gaze toward Gu Qing now filled with something new.

Shangguan Xue'er watched the swords whirl and dart—sometimes in their hands, sometimes gone—faint shadows of the Hundred Flowers Misstep Fist visible. Finally, the swords fell, piercing the Taihe Hall's roof ridge. Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng sat upon it, gasping for breath.

They were utterly spent.

Gu Qing stood firm, white steam rising from his body, a drop of blood tracing down his brow.

Had Gu Qing been struck?

Gong Sun Lan and Lu Xiaofeng leapt to his side. They saw Gu Qing still breathing heavily, drenched in sweat. Gong Sun Lan gently wiped his brow—no wound. Yet thin droplets of blood slowly gathered there.

This was an aura phenomenon: his blood and spirit had reached their peak.

"Tell the Wood Daoist he can start making dumplings."

At that moment, Gu Qing exhaled deeply, sat upon the Taihe Hall's roof ridge, drawing in his qi, calming his blood.

The steam from his blood and qi left him momentarily dizzy.

…Maybe high blood pressure.

Gong Sun Lan supported Gu Qing, her eyes gleaming with wonder, urging him to sit on the roof ridge.

The night of the full moon, atop the Forbidden City's peak—Gu Qing faced Ximen Chuixue, shattered Heavenly Immortal's Flight, and walked away unharmed. This was the greatest miracle in the Jianghu.

From this day forward, the most renowned figure in the Jianghu would be Gu Qing.

And this battle would echo through the Jianghu for generations.

How could Gong Sun Lan not love such a man?

Lu Xiaofeng stood at the hall's corner, shouting for dumplings. The crowd below erupted in cheers. Mu Dao Ren, the Honest Monk, and Du Gu Yihe, among others, smiled in relief—but also grimaced. Making dumplings? That was beyond them.

Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Ximen Chuixue, then at Ye Gucheng, and felt a measure of admiration for Gu Qing. Yet he said: "Gu Qing, this roof is high. Unless you beg me, you won't get down."

Because the Emperor watched the duel, most were gathered beneath the Golden Throne Hall. Only five stood atop it.

Gong Sun Lan's lightness skill was great, but carrying Gu Qing still required aid.

Lu Xiaofeng looked up at the sky. Even if Gu Qing became number one, he'd still have to beg him!

Gu Qing looked up and said: "Do you believe that if I say one word, you'll crawl before me and kiss my shoes?"

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head, disbelieving.

Gu Qing smiled calmly and said: "Hua Manlou's eyes can be saved."

At those words, Lu Xiaofeng's triumphant expression froze. He stared at Gu Qing in shock—and before the Emperor and the entire Jianghu crowd, he fell to his knees, embraced Gu Qing's shoe, and kissed it wildly with joy.

(End of Chapter)