[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-cursed-blade-s-walk":3,"chapter-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-708":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Cursed Blade's Walk",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263013,4415,"Chapter 708","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-708",708,"\u003Cp>\"The Qiankun Academy... contains something that can alter the course of human civilization!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Hui’s hoarse words exploded like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan’s pupils shrank sharply, a chill instantly surging up his spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Yan Jiuling’s casual words echoed clearly in his ears:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mo Men master Yuan Feng, though holding the title of Supervisor, had nearly vanished from the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His whereabouts were a mystery; he frequently entered the imperial palace and repeatedly led elite Mo Men members into disappearance, sparking widespread speculation—yet each time, supreme imperial edicts brushed it aside with effortless ease…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court’s funding for the Qiankun Academy had silently risen several grades, lavished to the point of drawing stares…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in several prior incidents, the court had launched massive campaigns to purge numerous officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could all of this be Emperor Xiao Qixuan maneuvering through the chaos?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using this cascade of storms to quietly cleanse the court?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Steam engine!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those three words detonated in Li Yan’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only this device could rightfully bear the name \"a lever to transform human civilization!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, his spirit reeled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fleeting glimpse he’d caught at Liangzi Lake, his subtle hint…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That seemingly insignificant idle move… had become today’s tidal wave!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had anticipated it, but never imagined it would come so fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Yuan Feng and the others must have already broken through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mo School’s secret arts—the power of water, fire, and steam…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intertwined with the colossal shadow of gears and steam he had seen that day…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This future Jiuzhou—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where will this \"device\" lead it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought sent a dizzying sense of heaven and earth turning upside down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those listening outside the cell were not just Li Yan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This case involved grave matters and implicated many in the capital, so officers from the Commandant’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Guard, and the Enforcement Hall were all present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Kong Hui spoke, every face turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rotting stench of blood in the cell clung like phlegm to their throats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This suffocating sensation rising from deep within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speculation about human civilization’s transformation had been whispered since last year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, few paid attention, dismissing it as the ramblings of fortune-tellers or the cryptic prophecies of schemers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after the Nine Cauldrons Rebellion in Chengdu and the strange celestial omens, it had been confirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is human civilization’s transformation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To ordinary people, it means dynastic collapse and universal chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To those of the Profound Dao, it means shifts in state sacrifices, earthly calamities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, no faction dared to ignore it; all were secretly preparing responses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demon was merely causing havoc in the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But tied to human civilization’s transformation, everyone’s hearts tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan, Vice Minister of Justice, was personally taking notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, he froze, ink blurring across the yellow hemp paper, unaware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eyes of this veteran legal expert, keeper of the Great Xuan Code, flickered with stormy shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He instinctively pressed the scroll with his sleeve, as if those ink stains were red-hot coals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wuliang Tianzun!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi swallowed hard, his palms sweating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Technically, he was of the Tai Xuan Zhengjiao, but given the gravity, he dared not act rashly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Zongti frowned deeply, staring into the cell and growling: \"Explain—what does he want that thing for?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes instantly fixed on the cell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Li Yan leaned in, ears straining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The steam engine, however vital, was still an inanimate object—he simply could not fathom why Zhao Qingxu would care about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the cell, Kong Hui slowly lifted his head, the bloody left eye splitting open into a grin full of mockery:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guess?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he spoke, his skull exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, all candles in the room turned blue-green; icy winds howled, swirling blood and flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black mist surged from his brain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mist coalesced into a blurred human form, lunging straight for the ceiling etched with talismans—as if a moth diving into flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bastard is trying to kill himself!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan didn’t hesitate—he flung his Soul-Grabbing Chain backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sssch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soul-erasing talismans carved into the wall bled crimson, their cinnabar flowing like a torrent of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black mist shaped as Kong Hui’s yin soul collided with it—and shattered instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the mist, Kong Hui’s final face appeared, his mocking smile still half-raised—then scattered into fragments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the yin wind calmed; the cell fell deathly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew the court would never let Kong Hui live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one expected him to be so decisive—to let his yin soul flee and die outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This… what do we do, my lords?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yan, Vice Minister of Justice, paused his brush and looked around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This must be reported to the Emperor immediately!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiao Wanbao, Commander of the Gold Guard, stepped forward in clanking armor, his gold-inlaid tiger-head hilt glinting coldly in the firelight; he scanned the group and growled: \"No one is to leak word of today’s events!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The commander speaks wisely,\" others chorused in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This matter was too grave—it must be reported to the Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whether it would leak privately, no one dared guarantee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Pei, I need this man’s head to honor my fallen friend.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan shook his head slightly, looking at Pei Zongti.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Zongti, his mind in turmoil, nodded absently, then took the testimony and headed with Jiao Wanbao toward the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan had already drawn his blade—but something stirred in him, and he turned to Wu Ba.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Ba said nothing, his face dark, stepped forward, seized Kong Hui’s shattered skull, and tore it clean off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood and flesh sprayed in the dim firelight; the severed neck revealed stark white bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others brought wooden boxes and lime, buried Kong Hui’s head, then exited the cell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Enforcement Hall’s bronze gate groaned open; twilight, crimson as blood, spilled over the archer’s tower of Chongwen Gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan and the others stared at the wooden box, feeling a strange absurdity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The infamous \"Rotten Scroll Master,\" Kong Hui, had ultimately chosen suicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this former master refused to endure further humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, several Daoists staggered toward them, half their faces blackened by smoke and fire:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhao Qingxu has been executed at Fuchengmen!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Impossible?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi frowned, clearly disbelieving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Daoist, though battered, wore a triumphant grin: \"Brother Luo, it’s true!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We found the mechanism left by the demon Kong Hui; just as we were about to decipher it, someone appeared to stop us—exactly as Li Shaoxia described: masked, holding a folding fan, wielding strange Dao arts. But he didn’t know the Commandant’s Office had gun squads waiting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thirty Divine Fire Muskets fired at once—left not even a speck of soul!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi shook his head: \"Nonsense—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could finish, Li Yan cut him off with a smile: \"Dead is dead. Brother Luo, report it to the Emperor for judgment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi instantly understood, waved the Daoists away, then whispered: \"Feigning death to lure them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe Zhao Qingxu had died so easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More likely, it was a ruse—to lull them into complacency and seize the Qiankun Academy’s secrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, this man is cunning—don’t alarm him…\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1197,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","df71cb2bc638c368c6f46b96537bfb59d7bc72a4a8778c948778186b93ee9237","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-709","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-707",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]