The dragon horses were pulling an imperial carriage.
On either side of the carriage stood an old man in long robes.
The dragon horses, seemingly intelligent, slowly stopped three meters away from the crowd.
The ground trembled, dragon roars and horse cries echoed together, and the imperial carriage landed smoothly.
“All of you are swordmasters, why must you press so hard?” came a voice from within the carriage, accompanied by a soft laugh.
“Xie Changliu, give me some face. Break one of his legs and spare his life, how about that?”
“Emperor Zhou, save us!” the two men known as the Nameless Twin Swords cried for help upon hearing the emperor’s voice.
“Your ‘face’? What is that worth?” Xie Changliu raised his head and sneered with disdain.
“How dare you!” the two elders at the sides erupted in fury, their auras overwhelming.
“Do you two also wish to test your strength against me?” Xie Changliu asked calmly, without a trace of fear.
“Stand down, don’t act rashly,” Emperor Zhou said from inside the carriage, his voice gentle.
The golden curtain of the imperial carriage was lifted, and a middle-aged man slowly stepped out.
Though not old, he gave off an aura of ancient decay, like a newly sprouted tree already on the verge of withering.
His long hair, half black and half white, was tied neatly into a topknot. His face bore many wrinkles.
Dressed in a dragon robe, he radiated grandeur and authority, exuding a sacred presence.
“Paying respects to His Majesty Zhou!” the disciples of the Sword Academy fell to their knees and shouted loudly.
“Rise,” Emperor Zhou said, raising his hand as he walked step by step toward Xie Changliu.
“I know you,” he said with a smile. “Once a disciple of Li Zi, later dwelling in Heaven's End, Ocean's Edge for thousands of years. You’ve only come out recently, haven’t you? You’re likely just like your master, nostalgic, and dissatisfied with the current Great Zhou.”
“I only came to seek justice. I have no interest in the affairs of Great Zhou,” Xie Changliu said evenly.
“If your master were to continue leading this academy, I would have no objection,” Emperor Zhou replied with a faint smile.
“Besides, if you wish, you may choose any position within Great Zhou. You and your master could serve together.”
“I’m not interested,” Xie Changliu said. “Before the duel, we made a wager. What’s this? Will Emperor Zhou stop me?”
He raised his sword slowly, its aura growing stronger by the second.
“Not at all,” Emperor Zhou said with a shake of his head. “I simply wished to meet such talents as you.”
“Then please step aside,” Xie Changliu replied.
Emperor Zhou smiled faintly and stepped aside.
The two elders at his side looked displeased but stopped when Zhou raised his hand.
“Your Majesty, you can’t just stand by!” the Nameless Twin Swords panicked.
“Yes, it was your order back then-!”
Before the man could finish, one of the elders beside the emperor struck him with a single palm.
A massive palm of condensed spiritual power slammed them away.
Their faces were bloodied and torn beyond recognition.
“Best not to speak of His Majesty’s affairs,” the hawk-eyed elder said coldly.
Xie Changliu turned to Li Zi. “Master, how do you wish to deal with them?”
“They broke my leg and left me to struggle in Everpeace all these years,” Li Zi said quietly. “I can’t be bothered to hold grudges. Just make it quick.”
“Then do it yourself,” Xie Changliu replied.
Li Zi limped forward, picking up the sword the Nameless Twins had dropped, the Blue River Sword.
“To kill you with another man’s sword would dishonor it,” Li Zi said. “So I’ll use your own. Fitting, isn’t it?”
The Nameless Twin Swords begged for mercy, their former composure gone.
But it was useless. Li Zi’s sword fell, blood sprayed, heads flew, and all returned to silence.
“Let’s go,” Li Zi said calmly, tossing the sword aside.
“My friends,” Emperor Zhou said as he watched them leave, smiling faintly, “the position of academy master will remain open until a worthy successor appears. You may return anytime.”
“These people are too arrogant,” one of the elders grumbled.
“No matter how strong Xie Changliu is, would he dare kill so freely in Great Zhou?”
“Do you think I fear Xie Changliu?” Emperor Zhou countered.
He coughed several times, his frail figure trembling.
“Then… could it be Li Zi you fear?” the elder asked in confusion.
“You haven’t noticed the young man standing beside them, have you?” Zhou asked.
The elder thought for a moment, indeed, the young man had barely spoken and was easy to overlook.
“Who is he?”
“Recently, I received intelligence from the Four Domains,” Zhou said. “The Mist Prime Emperor of Grandmist Mountain was slain. The killer was a young man named Xu Zimo. Grandmist Mountain has been hunting him ever since. A few days ago, I heard that the Brahma Monarch God Realm gained full control of Heaven's End, Ocean's Edge. It seems something changed there, something even they fear. Coincidentally, Xie Changliu emerged from that world, and that same youth appeared with him. Think about what that implies.”
After saying this, Emperor Zhou returned to his carriage, looking frailer than ever.
He could hardly stand for long.
“Your Majesty means… that the youth who killed the Mist Prime Emperor is this very Xu Zimo? And that the change in the Particle World is also related to him?” the elder asked hurriedly.
“If that’s the case, why not recruit him, Your Majesty? If he joined us, Everpeace would become far stronger.”
“He has slain an emperor,” Zhou replied, shaking his head. “He would look down upon us. If I were to approach him rashly, it would only leave a poor impression. Abandoning the Nameless Twins was merely to give him a token of goodwill. He’ll understand. Otherwise, Xie Changliu alone wouldn’t warrant my restraint.”
“Your Majesty’s foresight is beyond us,” the elder sighed.
“Though you’ve long dwelled within the palace, your eyes and ears reach all across the mortal realm, nothing escapes you.”
“Let’s return to the palace,” Emperor Zhou said, waving his hand wearily, unwilling to speak further.
“Master, what will you do next?” Xie Changliu asked Li Zi.
“I’ll leave Everpeace, find a quiet place, and live simply,” Li Zi said with a smile.
“At my age, a mortal life is all that suits me.”
“Take care,” Xie Changliu said solemnly, taking a deep breath.
After leaving Everpeace, the two parted ways.
Xie Changliu and Xu Zimo continued on to find Elder Zhuoqiu.
The colossal figure of Chaos vanished into the void, storms raging on both sides.
“That Emperor Zhou is no simple man,” Xie Changliu said suddenly.
“He recognized me,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let us go so easily. Everpeace is an interesting place indeed.”
“I owe you another favor,” Xie Changliu said.
“Traveling with me means constant danger. Don’t think twice about it,” Xu Zimo replied.
He knew well the kind of enemies he faced, and the risks that came with them.
“I fear many things,” Xie Changliu said, “but death is not one of them.”