Chapter 32: Divine Weapon Awakens

The moment that title was spoken, Xue Shuangtao's expression froze—this was the Xue family home; the eldest daughter of the Xue family appearing alongside the youngest guest minister in thirty years was naturally a sight to draw attention.

Li Guanyi's cry of "Xue family sister" carried no concealment, naturally drawing a host of curious glances.

The girl had originally thought it meant nothing.

It was just a title.

She had been perfectly open about it.

Yet somehow, when all the surrounding eyes turned toward her, her cheeks burned.

Looking at the shy, innocent boy ahead, she knew this demeanor was entirely feigned—his response to her having claimed she was older—but still, her cheeks flushed, and she pointed a finger at him, teeth clenched, stammering "Y-you y-you y-you" several times before falling silent, then stamped her foot and said:

"Come early tomorrow—you'll regret this!"

She spun around, her skirt flaring open like a lotus before snapping shut; the girl sprinted off, sleeves lifting to shield her jade-white face, leaving only her eyes exposed, her forehead flushed crimson as she hurried away.

The boy smiled faintly, murmuring to himself: "Such youthful vigor."

"A cute little girl."

The onlookers watched this scene.

The spring light was perfect, the season of grass growing and orioles flying—heroic youths and blushing maidens.

They gazed at the boy with his bow slung across his back and a saber at his waist, and inwardly sighed: "Truly, the innocence and romance of youth."

Li Guanyi boarded the carriage; Zhao Da Bing drove along the Xue family's private carriage lane, exiting through a side gate onto a main road, the wheels turning as the carriage entered the crowd. Li Guanyi exhaled, unlatched his saber, and placed it on his knees.

His demeanor returned to its usual warmth and calm.

She was just a girl—but even so, doing something like this still made him slightly embarrassed, a warmth rising in him.

He reached up with his fingers and tugged at his collar.

"Today's too hot."

Zhao Da Bing lifted his head, glancing at the March third sun, still cool and mild.

He grinned but said nothing.

He pulled out salt-roasted peanuts wrapped in a handkerchief, offered some to Li Guanyi, then produced a large water flask filled with tea steeped with fat sea dates, fetched a teacup for Li Guanyi, and after driving a long distance, paused, then said: "Little Brother Li, let your elder brother say one thing—just listen."

"You and the eldest daughter are roughly the same age; her beauty goes without saying, and you're a young talent too—but…"

He hesitated, then said: "Don't entertain any other thoughts about the eldest daughter."

Li Guanyi smiled: "Why would you think I have such thoughts?"

Zhao Da Bing said: "Good. Though you're a guest minister, you're still only a guest of the Xue family. Guest ministers are divided into three tiers—even the highest-tier Upper Courtyard guest minister can only hope to marry a branch-line Xue daughter, and that's already extraordinary."

"Do you know who the eldest daughter's second aunt is? The old patriarch's own daughter."

Li Guanyi listened quietly as Zhao Da Bing recounted family gossip; Zhao lowered his voice: "Back then, she caused chaos in Jingcheng, befriended a spoiled young nobleman, and was severely punished by the old patriarch. But after she grew up, she still obeyed the family head's orders."

"She married Prince Jing, becoming a concubine."

"No one understood—Prince Jing was then a mere idle prince, and while the Xue family wasn't a great aristocratic house, they were still a prominent merchant clan. To become a concubine? Wasn't that a loss of face? But the old patriarch insisted. Back then, everyone assumed he was simply securing a quiet life for his second daughter."

"Later, the former Emperor passed away, and during those intervening years—well, eventually Prince Jing ascended the throne…"

"The second daughter became Imperial Noble Consort."

Li Guanyi said: "The Xue family are… Imperial Merchants."

"And what about the former eldest daughter?"

Zhao Da Bing hesitated, then whispered: "Don't you dare repeat this—it happened many years ago. The former eldest daughter wandered the Jianghu and eloped with a man—he was a general of Ying State. The old patriarch flew into a rage and publicly severed all father-daughter ties with her."

"It's said the man deeply cherished her for her kindness."

"Now he lives in Ying State and once clashed with Marshal Yue."

"Later, he drove north against the Tujue, expanded western trade routes, and struck fear into all four quarters."

"Now he's Ying State's Grand Marshal and Protector-General. During the years when Ying and Chen maintained good relations, he wished to return and pay respects to the old patriarch—but was driven out. The eldest daughter, pregnant, knelt in the rain all night, nearly fainting—but the old patriarch refused to see her."

"At the time, everyone in Jiangzhou said the old patriarch was heartless."

"Even the current Chen Emperor told the second daughter she might show some leniency—but the old patriarch refused, declaring that a daughter who married an enemy state was no longer his daughter. He even voluntarily turned himself in to prison, demanding official custody—until the current Emperor issued an edict to soothe him, and only then did he return."

Li Guanyi's chewing paused.

Zhao Da Bing described Xue Daoyong's fury with startling detail, full of sympathy for the former eldest daughter and confusion—and awe—toward Xue Daoyong. But Li Guanyi instinctively felt Xue Daoyong was acting—that his performance was meant to deceive the Chen Emperor.

Perhaps because he was an outsider; perhaps because his past life had let him see much history—he could now view Xue Daoyong's actions more impartially.

The old man had married his eldest daughter to Ying State's Grand Marshal, his second daughter to the Imperial Noble Consort, his sons controlled the trade routes from Jiangzhou to the Tangxi of the Western Regions—and the Chen Emperor trusted him, while the Ying Grand Marshal felt profound guilt toward his eldest daughter and cherished her deeply.

And he himself bore Bai Hu, and carried a divine weapon.

He built a lotus pond in the Xue estate, filled with blooming lotuses and koi, naming it Ting Feng Pavilion.

He dandled grandchildren, fished by the pond.

What wind did he listen to?

Zhao Da Bing brought Li Guanyi back to his residence.

The boy watched Zhao Da Bing's carriage vanish into the distance before returning to the courtyard, recounting his day to his aunt, reheating the yellow rice porridge he'd brought from the Xue estate. Suddenly, he recalled how, when he'd held the divine weapon and his mind had been in turmoil, he'd vaguely remembered his aunt's guqin melody. He'd never liked practicing the guqin before—but today, he took it up willingly.

Under his aunt's approving gaze—"My little lynx has grown up"—he was reminded it was time to play go. Then Murong Qiushui played the guqin for him while correcting his mistakes, simultaneously narrating the correct moves, utterly defeating Li Guanyi.

Murong Qiushui slowly finished the game, grinning slyly: "Your go is just as mediocre as ever—but better than before."

"Try harder to beat your auntie."

Li Guanyi: "…………"

Playing go was already a rare pastime in this age.

But losing every time was different.

Li Guanyi was called a terrible go player by his aunt—he'd never won a single game. She forbade him from playing outside, saying if even a mere woman like her could beat him, going out to play would only invite ridicule.

Li Guanyi had no rebuttal.

Holding the divine weapon and receiving its legacy had left him utterly exhausted; after his aunt played the guqin, his spirit felt hollow, and then the go game drained him further. After washing up, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep at once—when he awoke, the moon hung high overhead.

He sat up, breathed in and out, lifted the hem of his inner garment, and saw the bronze cauldron on it.

The Taigu Chilong and Bai Hu Dharma Idols were branded upon it.

Unfortunately, at present only one head could emerge, and when the Taigu Chilong came out, Bai Hu could not; when Bai Hu poked its head out, the Taigu Chilong would be slammed hard against the cauldron's body by the bronze cauldron itself, turning back into a brand.

Li Guanyi looked at that perfect Jade Marrow.

Nine-tenths of it came from Xue Daoyong, the remaining two parts from the divine weapon 【Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow】.

He wondered what would happen.

Li Guanyi closed his eyes, regulated his breath several times, and his divine sense touched the bronze cauldron.

The cauldron's body swayed, tilting to one side.

The Jade Marrow within suddenly poured down. The internal force of the "Formation-Breaking Song" within his body had already reached the twelfth layer's perfection; the Jade Marrow circulated without affecting the "Formation-Breaking Song." In Li Guanyi's mind, the characters branded after gripping the divine weapon today lit up once more—

【Treatise on Three Vehicles for Entering the Realm】! 【One Arrow, Light of Cold】! The second archery absolute art suddenly blazed bright, and the Jade Marrow fell into it.

The spiritual resonance transformed into a divine general, still demonstrating this absolute art, but this time it did not achieve Great Completion as easily as before, as if the path were blocked and the Jade Marrow could not enter. Li Guanyi gazed at the scene of the divine general demonstrating the martial art, gradually becoming immersed in it.

He watched that divine general draw the bow, watched the vigorous qi circulate, the Dharma Idol following along, and loose an arrow.

In the end, even the divine general disappeared, leaving only the lit acupoints and meridians.

Li Guanyi subconsciously mobilized the internal qi of the 【Formation-Breaking Song】 to circulate within.

After many attempts, he completed a change in the circulation of internal qi just like that within the divine general's body.

"So that's how it is—mobilize internal qi, coordinate with the Dharma Idol, use one's own internal qi to provide energy for the Dharma Idol, then rely on the Dharma Idol to attack, using the Dharma Idol as the martial technique."

When he comprehended this layer, the Jade Marrow seemed to encounter no further obstruction.

It fell swiftly, continuously completing the meridian circulation cycle of 【One Arrow, Light of Cold】 within Li Guanyi's body.

In his mind, there seemed to be thunder and a Bai Hu's roar.

Xue Family Dharma Idol Absolute Art · 【One Arrow, Light of Cold】.

Cultivated to completion!

Xue Family · Listening Wind Pavilion.

Thirteen fist-sized luminous pearls hung in the air, making the room as bright as day.

The old man was reading a letter, looking at the final content of his son's message—that a friend of his was coming to Yicheng to discuss a major business deal with the old man.

He finished reading the letter, clasped it in his palm, and it had already turned to ash.

Just at this moment, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. The air in the night was especially still; even the insects chirping at the end of spring had vanished. There was a heavy, water-like feeling in the air, making one's heart inexplicably uneasy. The old man appeared in the front hall where the divine weapon was kept.

The 【Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow】 was still safely stored there.

The old man breathed a sigh of relief, pressed his palm on the bow's body, and could not help but think of the youth gripping the bow today.

It had startled him; he had truly thought the boy could lift it.

The old man smiled slightly, but when his palm brushed the bowstring, he felt a sudden sting—fresh blood flowed from his fingertip. Xue Daoyong was slightly stunned, seeing the Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow tremble slightly, like a fierce tiger that had lain dormant with claws and fangs for many years finally stretching its body and opening its eyes.

The old man's eyes widened slightly.

"This is…"

The next moment, this heavy, condensed air was torn apart like brocade.

The bowstring of the 【Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow】 trembled violently; every drop of water in the lotus pond outside Listening Wind Pavilion was instantly shattered into mist, which then gathered, seeming to transform into a Bai Hu-like qi resonance, raising its head toward the heavens and letting out a thunderous roar.

The fierce tiger's roar shook the heavens and earth—

The bowstring's keen howl suddenly exploded, lingering on and on.

Number one on the Divine Weapons Ranking of the World, first among bows.

The Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow has awakened!

(End of chapter)