Chapter 153: The Sword of the People

At dawn, with sunlight spilling everywhere, Ji You went to admire the manor he had fought hard to claim.

Ruyi Shenü, Zhengxin Xianzi, and Yangshu Tianzun already held noble family status, but could join his family—no, his gang—by becoming honored guests.

But regarding population growth, he still needed to personally labor in the fields.

I wonder how many children the junior master of Lingjian Mountain would be willing to bear me—after returning, I’ll ask her in Xuwu Mountain…

But before asking, I think I should perform a few more micro-illuminations to strengthen my sinews and bones, lest the ox dies before I even till the soil.

Also, Yuan Caimei of Yu Danzong and Lu Qingqiu of Yunzhou seem willing to bear me children too…

This is the custom of Qingyun Tianxia: offspring have always been the paramount concern of noble families and immortal sects, just as in the mortal world—more children mean more land to till; even cultivators cannot escape this convention.

Ji You had once seen something even more absurd: a letter from a senior sister about to leave the academy.

In it, she didn’t ask to become his Dao partner—only to leave behind an heir, raise the child alone, and see it grow to adulthood—truly shocking.

“Kuangcheng, you and Wei Rui should have more children and join my gang.”

“Ji Brother, you really do ramble nonsense…”

“Hmph, if you’re so capable, don’t suppress that smirk.”

Ji You openly mocked the scholar’s timidity, then stepped out of Luoyue Shanzhuang; as he descended the steps, he couldn’t help glancing back.

Move away suddenly?

Is he truly the destined protagonist—what he wishes appears before him.

After much thought, he slowly shook his head and returned to Inspector Xiang’s residence, where he found Xiang Xuan leading Xiang Fu, and Inspector Liu leading Liu Jianbei; the four emerged together from the eastern wing.

When Ji You noticed the look in Xiang Fu’s eyes at that moment, his heart lurched, and he involuntarily held his breath.

He had seen this gaze many times after slaying Chu He.

Another woman wants to bear me…?

What’s going on?

It wasn’t like this when I left.

Kuangcheng also noticed Xiang Fu’s complex, indescribable expression: “Ji Brother, you truly are a beauty who brings calamity.”

“Sometimes I really wish I weren’t so handsome.”

“By the way, I heard the Princess of Chong Wangfu , Princess Lele, has taken an interest in you—but you didn’t respond. I think you handled it well.”

Ji You turned to look at him: “How so?”

Kuangcheng straightened his posture: “Princess Lele is domineering and autocratic. If you had responded, the other women would’ve been harder to approach. Now, by neither initiating nor refusing, you can play both sides, secretly entice them, until they’re with child—only then can you conquer the world with your superior physique.”

Ji You stared at him in disbelief: “Did the sages’ books teach you all this?”

“I thought of this myself.”

“When we left Yuyang County a year ago, if you hadn’t boarded the immortal ship with me, you’d have died on the road.”

Kuangcheng froze: “Why?”

Ji You chuckled: “Because I saw no Hao Ran Qi—only yellow hearts. How could someone like you pass the Top Graduate exam? If so, then I, Long Xiandi, could be emperor.”

The tea-offering ceremony was simple; within a cup of tea, the Tian Shu Academy gained two new students.

Then the group packed their belongings and prepared to depart for the next destination.

Inspector Liu and Inspector Xiang escorted the six out the gate, while Xiang Fu remained behind, her gaze still fixed on the white-robed scholar.

To the naked eye, he had a fine figure, handsome features, and an innate scholar’s aura.

Yet one could never guess he was the ruthless man who nearly killed a Rong Dao cultivator and shattered the Sword Forest.

This feeling felt unreal to her.

After all, Fengzhou was remote; Danshui Commandery, though called a commandery, was little more than a large county compared to the other Nine Provinces.

Some figures cannot be seen unless you leave Fengzhou.

“A Tong Xuan mid-realm cultivator at twenty-one…”

“The Ji family of Fengzhou…”

“Fu’er is among the most beautiful women in Fengzhou—she’s skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, refined and cultured. Perhaps she has a chance.”

Lady Xiang stood at the gate, gazing at the white-robed youth in the carriage, murmuring softly.

This is the timeless logic of Qingyun Tianxia: power, whether in the mortal world, immortal hamlets, noble families, or even immortal sects, always flows through sex, blood, and mother-child bonds—this is an eternal truth.

Hearing this, Xiang Fu’s face flushed crimson.

Looking now at the man before her, her eyes held new, unfamiliar emotions.

Yet among cultivators, attitudes are open; she wasn’t embarrassed by her mother’s remarks—instead, she openly felt longing.

Xiang Xuan, standing ahead, also heard his wife’s words and felt a subtle stir within.

Women like her usually held narrow views, yet now he felt she had truly been touched by divine inspiration.

If the head of Fengzhou’s first noble family truly married into the Xiang family, it would be far more solid and reliable than all their years of painstaking effort.

Only Inspector Liu watched the family of three, his expression odd.

He now understood: if one never leaves Fengzhou, even knowing a man’s past, one cannot truly grasp his worth.

Xiang Xuan noticed Liu’s gaze and spoke: “My wife’s words are mere womanly folly—I apologize for troubling you, Liu Brother.”

Liu waved his hand: “No issue—I managed not to laugh.”

“Still, my wife’s words aren’t entirely nonsense. Ji You must eventually choose a Dao partner; Fu’er is his age, and now they both enter the Tian Shu Academy…”

“Do you truly not know Ji You’s current status?”

Xiang Xuan paused: “What do you mean, Inspector Liu?”

Liu stood with hands behind his back: “Since Ji You slew the second son of the Chu family and entered the Inner Academy, many have shared your wife’s thoughts.”

Lady Xiang smiled: “That’s not surprising.”

“Including Princess Lele, daughter of Prince Chong, and Lu Daxiaojie of Yunzhou’s spirit stone noble family.”

At this, the three Xiangs were stunned.

Liu looked toward the carriage: “Yet now, he has yet to accept any of them.”

“It’s said he’s considering the daughter of Yu Danzong—one of the Seven Immortal Sects. Those are people we’ll never meet in our lifetimes.”

His words drifted into the wind as the Tian Shu Academy’s carriage began to move slowly.

Then the group proceeded in order to Guiyun Commandery, Changhe County, Wanlong Town, and other places.

The Governor of Guiyun Commandery had apparently already heard the news; Cao Jinsong needed no persuasion to gain another student.

The two students from Changhe County and Wanlong Town entered via military quotas and knew even less about cultivation—one was taken by the Chen Clan, the other had already received an invitation from Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion.

Cao Jinsong didn’t press further.

The Tian Shu Academy teaches from the Heavenly Book; everything follows cause, effect, and natural flow—those without destiny are simply let go.

Now their carriage headed southeast, passing sparse settlements, barren land stretching endlessly, and endless mountain ranges blocking the view.

Yet this scenery appeared unusually clear to them.

Yuyang County was right ahead.

In the fields, autumn harvest was in full swing.

But the laborers weren’t only strong men and women—even elderly men and women with white hair bent their backs, trembling as they swung their sickles, then stumbled and fell into the fields.

This wasn’t due to filial neglect—it was because taxes were divided equally per head.

Some elders were either buried alive or forced to work the land.

As the Tian Shu Academy’s carriage passed, many farmers looked up, then hastily dropped their hoes and knelt on the ridges, heads bowed.

Ji You had seen this scene many times before.

On the immortal ship going out, on the ship returning, along both banks of Nujiang River—it was everywhere.

Watching, Ji You felt a thought stir within him.

At that moment, Pei Ruyi and Cao Jinsong were meditating when they suddenly sensed rising sword qi; they instantly opened their eyes to see seven sharp swords hovering outside the carriage, alerting them instantly as they turned.

“What’s happening?”

“Haven’t you heard? Those who rule the world must still till the fields when they return home…”

“?”

Ji You sat in the carriage and murmured softly, then sharply flicked his white sleeve.

Zong!

A clear sword-song rang out; seven spirit swords flew toward the golden wheat waves, their blades slicing horizontally along the ground.

[Lingjian Mountain Dao Sword: Returning, the Willows Are New Again]

“Returning” is Elder Qi’s fastest sword technique; “Willows Are New Again” is its sharpest.

As the spirit swords flew, countless stalks awaiting decapitation were severed; the golden wheat ears never even reacted before falling across the ridges.

As the carriage moved forward, the seven flying swords returned and departed again and again, harvesting relentlessly—within moments, they had swept across a hundred mu.

Where the sword qi passed, harvests lay everywhere.

Seeing this, Cao Jinsong’s eyes went wide.

Ji You has entered the Upper Five Realms—he is now an Inner Academy student.

Not only common folk, but even Xiang Xuan, upon learning his identity, spoke with deep respect.

Yet no one would guess that the sword art that defeated Chu He now reaped autumn wheat in the fields.

What “innate farming holy body”…

“If Lingjian Mountain disciples saw you doing this, they’d accuse you of disgracing their sword art.”

“This is the Sword of the People—it’s my own sword art. What does it have to do with them?”

Ji You turned to Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi: “They kneel to us—we must earn that kneeling. That is the Immortal Dao. Otherwise, what right do we have to call ourselves Immortals?”

Kuangcheng listened for a long time beside him, his brows slightly raised: “Does this sword have a name?”

“Never thought about it. How about ‘Combined Harvester’?”

“?”

The carriage continued toward the city, while the old farmer kneeling before heaven and earth could not help rising to his feet. He stared at the harvested wheat, then at the flying swords crisscrossing beneath the vast blue sky, his gaze momentarily stunned.

Meanwhile, within the inner courtyard of the Heavenly Book Academy, on Tian Shu Peak—standing apart from the Five Peaks—immortal radiance surged in waves.

At the same time, over Lingjian Mountain, a vast expanse of golden auspicious clouds rolled in from afar.

(End of Chapter)