Chapter 505: The Envoy of Huishan, the Great Snow Decree

"Also, your son-in-law wants to see you."

Yu Liancheng held his long saber, a smile on his face: "He misses you dearly and specifically gave me instructions."

Qi Lianhua sneered, gripping his Snow Saber, his majestic battle intent surging into the sky: "Use whatever moves you have; although you are the number one in the world, you may not necessarily be able to send this old man down."

Yu Liancheng was stunned, then immediately laughed in spite of himself.

So this old fellow thought he was going to send him on his way.

"You misunderstood, Xu Xiao is not dead; he asked me to invite you over for a chat," Yu Liancheng explained.

"Hmph, a boring trick." The Blade Armor Qi Lianhua revealed a look of vigilance, a cold sneer hanging from the corner of his mouth; clearly, he did not believe a word Yu Liancheng said.

Now the whole world knew Xu Xiao was dead, and coupled with the fact that Yu Liancheng had attacked Qi Lianhua the moment they met, with every strike a killing blow, how could Qi Lianhua possibly believe the other party's empty talk.

"I don't care to listen to your nonsense, take a saber strike from this old man first."

Yu Liancheng was just about to continue explaining, but saw Qi Lianhua holding his saber with both hands, his killing intent like a physical substance, and with a thunderous roar that shook the nine heavens, he slashed down violently.

The Snow Saber tore through the sky, drawing out a deep sound of wind and thunder, and wherever it passed, it stirred up a cold, biting gale; the surrounding air felt as if it were about to freeze, showing that this Blade Armor's profound Ice Cold True Qi was truly extraordinary.

In the previous twenty moves, because Yu Liancheng had struck first and seized the initiative—as the saying goes, one step ahead, every step ahead—he had been crushing Qi Lianhua from start to finish.

Qi Lianhua was now brimming with suppressed anger; as the Blade Armor, he naturally had his own pride, and even if he couldn't defeat this Murong Wudi who lived up to his name, he at least had to gain the upper hand in swordsmanship.

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions.

Yu Liancheng's saber pierced through the void, the bright blade blooming with brilliant divine light, casually blocking Qi Lianhua's strike.

"Forget it, you aren't my father-in-law, so I won't bother being polite with you anymore. Once you see Xu Xiao, he will naturally explain everything to you."

Yu Liancheng's eyes narrowed slightly, his internal energy erupting. The long saber in his palm hummed, his divine intent merging with the saber momentum, and he himself seemed to transform into a divine saber that ruled over heaven and earth.

Facing such terrifying deterrence, Qi Lianhua subconsciously took two steps back, followed immediately by a surge of annoyance.

"Watch the blade!"

With another sharp shout, he poured his entire essence, energy, and spirit into the long saber; the bright saber light was like a strip of silk, and within a radius of ten zhang, the chill suddenly intensified. Grains of ice crystals floated out from the void, merging into the saber light as the strike was unleashed, enhancing its power and coldness.

Yu Liancheng grinned and swung his saber.

Clang!

A loud noise rang out between heaven and earth.

Although this battle had a great commotion, the moment Yu Liancheng decided to take it seriously, it proved that this battle would not last long.

After about ten breaths, another loud noise erupted. The sky-filling saber light shattered, and the long saber in Qi Lianhua's palm burst with a crackling sound, shattering into countless fragments that shot in all directions.

Qi Lianhua himself turned pale as paper, spat out a large mouthful of blood with a "wah," and his body flew sideways, slamming heavily onto the ground, already unconscious.

Yu Liancheng sheathed his saber and frowned: "Seems I was a bit heavy-handed. Oh well, I'll leave the headache to Xu Xiao." Having said that, he grabbed the old man by the collar and left before the experts of the Wang Mansion could arrive.

And when Qi Lianhua opened his eyes again, he saw a smiling face very close to his own, which gave him a fright. After looking closely at this face, he widened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise: "Xu Xiao!"

"

"Yes, it's me, old father-in-law."

Without a shred of the aura belonging to the Human Butcher, the Human Butcher Xu Xiao, who looked like a wealthy man, had a brilliant, smiling face.

"I, I died..." Qi Lianhua said in disbelief.

"Not yet." Xu Xiao, quite unethically, pinched his father-in-law hard to prove that he was indeed still alive.

Qi Lianhua swatted Xu Xiao's hand away, and recalling what Yu Liancheng had said earlier, a spark flashed in his mind: "Murong Tonghuang is a person of the Xu family; you were faking your death?"

"He is not a person of my Xu family; we are cooperating, for mutual benefit," Xu Xiao said, sitting on a chair nearby. "If you want to say I faked my death, you could put it that way. But the Human Butcher Xu Xiao did indeed die; however, a wealthy man named Xu Xiao has appeared in the world."

Qi Lianhua frowned and said: "Why did you fake your death?"

"If Xu Xiao doesn't die, how can this world fall into chaos, and how can the Xu family snatch chestnuts from the fire."

Xu Xiao said leisurely; this Great Pillar Kingdom who had fought wars for half his life and didn't have much ink in his belly, spoke in a somewhat pedantic manner.

Qi Lianhua, however, was struck as if by lightning: "The Xu family... wants to contend for the Central Plains?"

Xu Xiao scratched his head and said in surprise: "Eh, old father-in-law, why are you so smart? I never knew that before."

"Hmph, back then I compiled the history of the previous dynasty for Great Chu; I don't know how many times I've seen such things, what is there to be surprised about." Qi Lianhua first sneered with disdain, then sighed with a sense of loneliness: "It's just that how many people in the world remember that the Spring and Autumn Book Saint and the Blade Armor are the same person."

Xu Xiao said with a smile: "Who told you to be so low-key, old father-in-law? Your son-in-law has always admired it greatly."

Qi Lianhua glared at Xu Xiao and cursed: "I have never acknowledged you, this barbarian from Jinzhou, as my son-in-law."

Xu Xiao shook his head and said: "Old people are just stubborn; I don't mind."

"You still dare to mind, you uncultured barbarian..."

Qi Lianhua glared, suppressing his injuries, and proceeded to scold Xu Xiao for a full quarter of an hour.

This Blade Armor was born into a powerful clan and was a recognized, exceptionally talented giant of the literary world, later serving as a Western Chu Hanlin Compiler. He had only one daughter, yet she was abducted by this barbarian, Xu Xiao.

The old country of Great Chu was destroyed by the people Xu Xiao led, and his daughter also passed away early because of Xu Xiao; with the white-haired sending off the black-haired, how could Qi Lianhua have a good impression of this son-in-law.

Xu Xiao, just like any son-in-law being scolded by his father-in-law, didn't dare to talk back and just kept grinning foolishly.

In fact, this Great Pillar Kingdom had been quite overbearing when he proposed marriage back then, saying he wouldn't kneel to heaven or earth, but would kneel to this father-in-law once. A mere small Captain with a few hundred men under him, he dared to threaten that if he didn't agree, he would definitely lead troops to destroy Great Chu in the future.

Later, it was indeed Xu Xiao who led the troops to conquer Western Chu.

When Xu Xiao, who had become a Great General, accidentally met his father-in-law, he had even argued: "I said if you didn't agree, I would lead troops to destroy Great Chu in the future. But I didn't say that if you agreed, I wouldn't lead troops to destroy Great Chu."

That angered the Blade Armor and Book Saint Qi Lianhua so much that he almost drew his blade to chop off the Great General's head to feed the dogs.

When this Blade Armor Qi had scolded enough, Xu Xiao smilingly offered a cup of tea, then insisted on pulling the latter toward the depths of the small courtyard, saying there was someone who wanted to see him even more than he did.

When they arrived at the backyard, there was no one there, only a lush and flourishing locust tree.

Qi Lianhua thought Xu Xiao was playing tricks on him and was about to get angry, but then he saw an illusory female figure drifting out from the locust tree, her clothes fluttering, her body transparent, slowly drifting over, a look of joy on her face, yet she called out in a suppressed voice: "Father."

Qi Lianhua trembled all over.

Instantly, tears streamed down his face.

The person before his eyes, this phantom, was actually the protagonist of the Capital White Clothes Case, the daughter of Qi Lianhua, Wu Su.

It turned out that Yu Liancheng had already gathered a wisp of Wu Su's Residual Soul and condensed it upon this locust tree. Locust wood naturally possesses the utility of gathering heroic spirits and is of great benefit to things like yin ghosts.

Xu Xiao smiled slightly and took the initiative to exit the backyard, leaving the space to this father and daughter separated by life and death, the white-haired man sending off the black-haired one.

……

Atop the Listening Tide Pavilion.

Two figures stood leaning against the railing.

Both were peerless in elegance, standing aloof from the world.

They were none other than Murong Tonghuang, first on the Rouge List, and Nangong Pushe, second on the Rouge List.

Nangong Pushe's pretty face was slightly flushed, her flat chest heaving with light breaths, and her pair of Peach Blossom eyes seemed to hold a special affection; recalling the shameful scene from earlier, she couldn't help but glare at Murong Tonghuang in feigned anger.

"What about the Great Snow Order that has been stirring up the winds and clouds of the Edo recently? Let me take a look." Nangong Pushe broke the slightly ambiguous atmosphere and changed the subject.

Yu Liancheng tossed an object from his bosom and threw it to Nangong Pushe.

Nangong Pushe caught the object in her hand; it felt cold to the touch. Looking down, it was a bronze token the size of a child's palm, with three large characters written on the front in Qin seal script: Great Snow Order.

The token was faintly engraved with a mountain, towering and majestic, covering the firmament. There were even waterfalls cascading down and clouds swirling, indescribably magnificent.

Turning the token over, two lines of small characters were engraved:

The rain falls during the Qingming Festival, travelers walk the road in sorrow, people wish to break their souls.

The Master of Huishan sincerely invites the heroes of the Central Plains to drink at Daxueping; I ask the experts of the world, who dares to fight?

This line of writing was bold and vigorous, carrying a domineering spirit that looked down upon the world; just by looking at the characters, a sense of pressure rushed toward one's face.

Nangong Pushe examined it back and forth several times before finally saying: "What exactly do you want to do? Now the entire Central Plains Martial Arts World is boiling over because of this Great Snow Order of yours."

Yu Liancheng chuckled: "Isn't it stated very clearly? To invite the experts of the world to a battle."

Nangong Pushe said: "Even that old monster Wang Xianzhi was defeated by your hands, let alone other experts; I imagine they shouldn't be worthy of your notice."

"Although Wang Xianzhi was defeated once, that fellow, under the guidance of Huang Sanjia, found the 'Carefree' Heavenly Human from eight hundred years ago, Gao Shulu. Gao Shulu will likely bestow his Heavenly Human physique. When we meet again, Wang Laoguai's strength will be more than a notch stronger than it was back in Wudi City."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "As for the experts of the world, the only ones I can truly take seriously are indeed a mere few, such as Li Chungang, Cao Guanzi, and Deng Taie. Although they are not my match individually, could they not join forces?"

Nangong Pushe suddenly turned her head and stared fixedly at Yu Liancheng: "You want to fight all the experts of the world alone and become the world's number one, unprecedented and unrepeatable?"

Yu Liancheng smiled slightly: "Those who know me, it is Pushe."

Although Nangong Pushe had already guessed it, hearing Yu Liancheng admit it, she couldn't help but gasp: "What a bold claim, what a grand ambition. If you can really pull it off, even Lv Zu would be left in your dust."

Yu Liancheng said: "If I didn't have such ambition, how could I become the Martial Arts Alliance Leader of the Central Plains?"

"Martial Arts Alliance Leader?!" Nangong Pushe was even more surprised: "You actually want to become the Alliance Leader too?!"

Yu Liancheng rolled his eyes and said: "Isn't that stating the obvious? Who would plan to do something without any benefits?"

Nangong Pushe's brows furrowed slightly, and she said: "I truly don't understand, what exactly do you want to do?"

"Integrate the Central Plains Martial Arts World and gather the Luck that Huang Sanjia introduced into the Edo back then." Yu Liancheng did not hide much from this beauty who was ranked just below him on the Rouge List: "By the way, I will also gather martial arts experts to prepare for the future chaos of the world."

Nangong Pushe was stunned; after a long while, she shook her head and said: "You really have quite the ambition."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "How about it, are you interested in participating in this martial arts grand event?"

Nangong Pushe turned her head to look at the books in the Listening Tide Pavilion: "I haven't finished reading the books in the Listening Tide Pavilion yet."

"It won't take much time, and this time, by gathering the martial arts Luck, perhaps that fellow you want to kill will also show up. Besides, closing the door to build a cart is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles," Yu Liancheng said indifferently.

Nangong Pushe pondered for a long time before slowly nodding: "Fine, I will participate in this Great Snow Meeting."

"Since you are participating, why not also become a 'Hui Mountain Order Envoy'," Yu Liancheng laughed: "There are so many experts in the world; even if it's just inviting the sect leaders and First-Rank Experts of the major sects, Wuzhu and the others are a bit overwhelmed."

Nangong Pushe nodded: "Fine, I have also long wanted to meet the heroes of the world; this is a good chance to take a trip."

A playful smile appeared on the corner of Yu Liancheng's mouth as he used his hand to lift Nangong Pushe's chin and laughed: "Since you are now a Hui Mountain Order Envoy, you must listen to the words of this Master of Huishan. Come, give your master a smile."

"Smile your head." Nangong Pushe drew her blade and slashed toward Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng extended two fingers to flick the blade and laughed: "Let me see how your blade technique is now; you mustn't lose face for my Huishan Daxueping."

……

The matter currently causing a stir in the Edo is not the succession of the new King of Liang, nor the death of the old King of Liang, Xu Xiao, but a Great Snow Order from Huishan.

A month ago, no one had even heard of the so-called Great Snow Order. But in just one short month, the Great Snow Order has become a symbol of honor and recognition, and perhaps also a death warrant.

It is very simple; the Great Snow Order comes from the current Wulin Holy Land, Huishan Daxueping.

And those who can receive the Great Snow Order are either famous experts of the Edo or sect leaders who dominate a region.

If an unknown person suddenly receives a Great Snow Order, they might instantly become a hot figure in the Edo.

But once the Great Snow Order is accepted, one must rush to Huishan no matter what on the day of the Qingming Festival, otherwise, it is truly "travelers on the road wishing to break their souls."

Qi Jiajie, known as the Capital First Swordsman, holds a Great Snow Order in his hand, having received it just a few days ago.

Not far away stood a Hui Mountain Order Envoy.

The envoy was dressed in black, her appearance peerlessly beautiful, yet she carried a trace of cold, murderous intent.

Qi Jiajie recognized this woman.

Or rather, he had guessed the identity of this Hui Mountain Order Envoy.

The head steward of Huishan, a great beauty on the Rouge List, and also a descendant of the Xuanyuan family who once held power over Huishan—Xuanyuan Qingfeng.

……

PS: Only four thousand words today, apologies.