Chapter 678: Heavenly Being

The so-called Heavenly Beings refer to distinguished guests who come from above the Human World. But this does not refer to the front lines, nor does it refer to Qianjin City.

For people like the Gaoyuan Marquis, Qianjin City is merely an institution parallel to the Human World; the personnel of both sides can even be interchanged. She herself holds a position in Qianjin City and nominally commands Moyun City. The people of Qianjin City cannot be counted as any sort of Heavenly Beings.

The true Heavenly Beings are on a level above that. They are those powerhouses who tower over the major forces of the front lines and possess a chasm-like gap between themselves and the Sword Guests and Sword Heroes.

The Gaoyuan Marquis felt strange in her heart. Although she often goes to the front lines to fight, she has no intersection with those people. The major matter she is currently handling is entirely a matter of the Human World and does not involve the front lines. The news of the Jinwu Sword has also been kept tightly under wraps, so how did she provoke these people?

Her thoughts turned, and in an instant, she combed through everything that had happened these past few days from beginning to end, suddenly understanding how she had attracted attention.

Caiyun Gui!

Previously, Zheng Yun had risked danger to return to Caiyun Gui to steal the Shadow of Jinwu. Although with the help of Disappearance, not only was he not discovered, but he was even able to erase the fact that the Jinwu had been stolen, Disappearance—while miraculous—is ultimately just a Sword Technique. How could it completely hide from all high-level existences without leaving a trace?

Once a flaw was discovered, those people followed the clues to track it down, chasing all the way here to Yunzhou and dragging the matter of the Jinwu Sword into it; is there anything unbelievable about that?

Then, what have they come here for on this trip?

The Gaoyuan Marquis hurried back to the Dudu Mansion and saw two people in the living room. They both appeared to be young men, but one could tell at a glance who was the master.

Distinguishing master from servant does not require eyes like torches, because it was plain to see—one of them was standing, and one was sitting!

The sitting young man did not look particularly striking; on the contrary, his appearance was plain, his temperament was down-to-earth, and his clothes were practically coarse cloth. Even though the Gaoyuan Marquis knew his background was extraordinary, she could not see what profound strength he was hiding without specifically using Sword Technique to enhance her observation.

This is a powerhouse, a Sword Immortal!

The only one who could make her unable to see the reality of his cultivation must be a Sword Immortal.

The person who came is actually not an envoy sent by some Highness, but the Sword Immortal himself?

It is evident how much they value this.

The Gaoyuan Marquis further matched this person in her heart against the few big figures of the Sun Domain she knew, and found it difficult to make a match, which made her even more suspicious: which powerhouse is this, who would spare no effort to break the convention that Sword Immortals do not descend to the mortal world to make this trip in person?

The youth beside him was clearly extraordinary at a glance. He was not yet twenty years old, tall and slender, with clear brows and eyes, truly like a jade tree or an orchid; his bearing was rare in this world.

This person's strength was actually very easy to see: he is a Sword Hero.

Such a young Sword Hero is truly a heaven-favored child, but appearing beside an Immortal Sword, he is clearly a close descendant of a Sword Immortal, so it is not strange that he has this strength?

Or perhaps, the Gaoyuan Marquis has seen even more outstanding youths, so this young man could no longer give her a feeling of being brilliant and talented.

Although she had various thoughts in her heart, the Gaoyuan Marquis was still very polite and said, "Yunzhou Dudu Xun Xiangning pays respects to the Sword Immortal. Your Highness has descended to Yunzhou, and I have failed to welcome you from afar; I hope you will forgive my sin."

That Highness smiled slightly, bowed slightly to return the greeting, and said, "Gaoyuan Marquis, you are too polite. I heard of you while I was beyond the heavens; you are a very good rising star in the Human World. Seeing you today, you are indeed good."

Given the Gaoyuan Marquis's age and status, there are already very few people who can call her a "rising star." Hearing the other party speak to her in a tone clearly meant for a junior, the Gaoyuan Marquis felt it was quite strange.

But there was really no way to find fault with this; the other party's age might be several times her own. The Gaoyuan Marquis said politely, "Your Highness is too kind. As a mere small figure, how could I attract a noble person to descend to the world? I wonder what instructions Your Highness has?"

That Highness was quite forthright and said directly, "I came this time because I want to see a rather extraordinary young man. That is Young Lord Tang Zhao. I heard he is in Yunzhou; I wonder if I have the honor to see him?"

His way of speaking could not be called anything but polite, and it left the Gaoyuan Marquis feeling a bit dazed: is this Highness giving her so much face? However, she was also clear-headed in her heart: the heavens have indeed noticed this place, and even know Tang Zhao's name clearly; it seems the schemes on her side are of little use.

Fortunately, it is now time for a resolution; once a few days pass, the matter will be concluded. Whether it can be hidden or not does not matter.

The Gaoyuan Marquis then said, "Thanks to your special summons, Tang Zhao should have rushed over to pay his respects immediately. But he is currently in seclusion, making a crucial breakthrough. I wonder if Your Highness is willing to be accommodating? Or should I tell him to stop his breakthrough and come to pay his respects to you first?"

This sentence clearly had the intention of probing, testing this Highness's likes and dislikes regarding Tang Zhao.

That Highness might have realized this probing, but still easily gave a good answer: "No need. Let him focus on his seclusion. It is not a big deal for me to see him. This junior of mine heard that there is also a youth in the Human World with talent as outstanding as his, and he is unconvinced, wanting to come and take a look, to compare. I happened to be interested, so I came along."

This reason is really... perfunctory.

For a Sword Immortal to descend to the Human World actually violates some "unspoken rules." For him to make a special trip and specifically name someone to see, how could it be because of this trifling reason?

However, the Gaoyuan Marquis caught the youth slightly raising his brows, his gaze focused, his face full of eagerness; it seems this reason was at least not fabricated out of thin air—he really wants to clash with Tang Zhao.

It is perfectly normal for young people to be competitive.

The Sword Immortal continued, "Is he waiting until the matter is done to come out of seclusion? When will that crucial ceremony of yours be held?"

The Gaoyuan Marquis calculated the time and said, "Three days later."

The Sword Immortal said, "Alright. Three days is not long. Then find me a quieter place. Something more grounded."

The Gaoyuan Marquis was best at observing, and by now she had guessed his preferences, saying, "Very well. There is a manor by the Tongyang River, which is the quietest and has few people. It is surrounded by rice paddies, with paths crisscrossing, and the fragrance of rice flowers..."

The Sword Immortal laughed, "Excellent. Let's go there. Little Han..."

The young man called Little Han bowed and said, "This humble one would like to go out for a stroll."

That Highness said to the Gaoyuan Marquis, "That is fine. He rarely comes to the Human World, so let him see more of the scenery of the Human World. After all, this is our root, the land where we took root and sprouted. If one's feet are never on the ground, there will eventually be problems."

The Gaoyuan Marquis then accompanied the Sword Immortal to the manor, while that Little Han was accompanied by others, specifically the Deputy Commander of the Jing'an Division, Yu Ya.

The people of the Jing'an Division are adept at socializing and are the best at dealing with people; they are much more suitable for hosting than some Land Inspection Division.

Although that Little Han was proud, he did not lack politeness; he seemed to have a good upbringing. He gave his name as Han Shengyuan, is exactly twenty years old this year, and has been a Sword Hero for more than two years, which means he was not yet eighteen when he became a Sword Hero.

Yu Ya naturally filled her speech with praises like "a hero from a young age" and "a heaven-favored child," flattering him until he was comfortable. Han Shengyuan then asked straightforwardly, "How do you think I compare to that Tang Zhao?"

Yu Ya was slightly startled and said, "You are of golden branch and jade leaf, born extraordinary; how could Tang Zhao compare to you?"

Han Shengyuan first gave an 'en', then immediately said, "That's not right. You only evaluated my background and status, but you didn't say my strength and talent are better than his. Do you think I am inferior to him?"

Yu Ya said sincerely, "Since you asked me to evaluate, I can only evaluate it this way; any more would be me lying to deceive you. I have only met Tang Zhao once, and I have just met you as well. My vision is shallow; how could I make an accurate and fair evaluation?"

Because these words were very sincere, they left Han Shengyuan with nothing to say. He could only say with some disappointment, "You haven't really seen much of Tang Zhao? Isn't he the renowned genius here? He is also a subordinate of that Marquis and a colleague of yours; why are you not familiar with him?"

Yu Ya said, "Although we are colleagues, we don't work together. I spend a long time working outside, and as for him, he has to cultivate and cast swords, and he is also quite busy. We have no chance to work together, so naturally, we haven't seen much of each other."

Han Shengyuan hummed, "I heard that he is a Sword Smith, and he is also doing quite well as a Sword Smith, and his strength hasn't fallen behind. Therefore... people say he is better than me. Is there really such a person? I really want to see if he has three heads and six arms?"

Yu Ya was shocked in her heart and thought to herself: You actually know Tang Zhao is a Sword Smith?

As the Deputy Commander of the Jing'an Division who specializes in intelligence work, she knew far more than she showed. She was quite familiar with Tang Zhao and even knew why Tang Zhao had attracted the attention of the heavens, but she felt that what the higher-ups cared about should only be the Jinwu Sword. At most, they valued Tang Zhao as the successor of the Silent Eastern Lord, and that would be mainly to observe his strength, with character as a secondary consideration.

She did not expect that in just a few days, they had already investigated Tang Zhao in such detail? They even know about the Sword Casting?

Is the Jinwu Sword all that the heavens want?

Yu Ya turned her thoughts while saying, "How could he have three heads and six arms? He is just a young man."

For the next two days, Yu Ya accompanied Han Shengyuan to tour around Zhongtian Prefecture, first the famous historical sites, then the landscape scenery, and also the gardens and architecture. Han Shengyuan followed the tour, and although he did not show impatience, Yu Ya could see his heart was not in it.

On the last day, Yu Ya rented a boat and took him downstream along the Tongyang River to enjoy the scenery on both sides. It just so happened that they encountered Wang Sheng and Yun Xiyan also touring by boat. The two sides were traveling in opposite directions, and Yu Ya's heart stirred; she invited the two to board the boat to tour together.

Han Shengyuan was quite welcoming to this; although there was a large gap in strength, they were after all peers, and he could still talk to them. Especially since these two were easier to probe for information than the slippery Yu Ya, they were truly familiar with Tang Zhao, and their temperaments were quite good. Yun Xiyan was even better at making friends, and they really started chatting with Han Shengyuan.

Using Tang Zhao as a topic of conversation, the three of them actually became travel companions, almost becoming fast friends who hit it off immediately. With companions to travel and have fun with, Han Shengyuan also took some interest in sightseeing, spending an entire day enjoying himself on a boat on the Tongyang River, and then going to a tavern for a drink in the evening; as it turned out, neither of them could outdrink Yun Xiyan, and in order to avoid a headache at the important occasion the next day, they had no choice but to concede defeat.

This carefree happiness lasted until the next day.

The next day, which was the day of the ceremony.