Chapter 673: Chapter 676 The Purple and Green Twin Swords, Appear! [4th update, please subscribe]
"You... you..."
Clutching his chest in pain, the Second Prince staggered backward, weak and powerless. His eyes widened as he listened to Rui’er’s words. Even now, he found it impossible to believe that his eight-year-old sister had orchestrated all of this. She was just too young.
"Who... Who was it... Who put you up to this?" he asked weakly, clinging to his last breath. He was convinced his little sister was far too young, an unwitting puppet in someone else’s scheme.
To his surprise, Rui’er only smiled sweetly at his question. "Second Brother, don’t waste your energy wondering," she said in a soft, childlike voice. "I thought of everything myself."
"How could that be?" The Second Prince’s eyes bulged in horror.
"You and Eldest Brother are both too foolish," Rui’er snorted. "In your hands, this country can do nothing more than defend its walls. But in my hands, it will be different. I will strive to forge it into a Three-Star nation, a country that has a Sacrificial Spirit."
The Second Prince’s pupils dilated. His little sister, a mere eight years old, had just said such a thing.
"When I die... someone will surely suspect you," the Second Prince managed, gritting his teeth. "How did you open the window? Where did the poison come from? Once they investigate, Little Sister, you..."
He didn’t need to finish the sentence; the implication was obvious. Besides, he no longer had the strength. The sharp, agonizing pain in his chest told him he was about to die.
Watching the color drain from his face, Rui’er sighed. "Second Brother, since you’re about to die, I suppose I can tell you." She produced a piece of paper and held it before his eyes. "Does the handwriting on this look familiar?"
The Second Prince’s astonishment deepened.
"It’s your handwriting," Rui’er said with a smile. "Forged by Master Wang, the man who taught you how to write as a child. Are you wondering why he would help me? Well, Second Brother, that’s your own fault. He was your teacher, yet when his family faced hardship, you looked down on his humble position and refused to lift a finger to help. I, on the other hand, helped him. And so, Master Wang was willing to help me.
"As for the key? Chief Steward Qin gave it to me. He’s the eunuch closest to our father. Why would he help me? Because I treat him as a friend. You may have bribed him, but you only ever saw him as a servant. The difference is immense.
"Of course, Chief Steward Qin will claim that Little Linzi stole the key. And the poison? Little Linzi gave that to you as well.
"Little Linzi is your personal attendant. Why would he willingly take the blame? Because I promised his family a better life.
"Oh, Second Brother, Second Brother. You have always treated those who help you, those who follow you, as mere servants. I, however, see them as friends and consider things from their perspective.
"So, who do you think they would rather help? Isn’t it obvious?"
The eight-year-old girl’s thinking was sharp and clear, her plotting and manipulation hardly inferior to that of an adult. This revelation made the Second Prince’s eyes bulge with amazement. He had so greatly underestimated his little sister.
"I... I am defeated." With those final words, the Second Prince collapsed. He was dead.
「The next day」
News spread throughout the one-star country that the Second Prince had committed suicide out of fear of punishment for his crimes. Who had provided the poison? Little Linzi. He claimed the Second Prince had begged him for it relentlessly, and he had finally relented. It seemed the matter was closed, and everyone believed it was over. No one suspected Rui’er in the slightest. After all, she was only eight years old.
「Early the next morning」
When Wu Tian heard the news, he had little reaction. He wasn’t some bleeding-heart saint; the deaths of strangers were of no concern to him. Of course, if someone were to provoke him, they would find him utterly merciless.
As Wu Tian stepped out of his room, the sky was filled with a dim, gray light. In the royal palace garden, the little one was already cultivating the Wind and Cloud Overbearing Scripture. The sight made Wu Tian think of Ye Qingxian. He had no idea where she had gone. She also cultivated the Wind and Cloud Overbearing Scripture. Wu Tian had once asked Si’er about her, but Si’er had said Ye Qingxian was likely no longer in the Xiuyuan Realm, as no one there had seen her for a long time.
Snapping out of his reverie, Wu Tian looked at the little one again. She cultivated in quiet immersion. The morning sun had climbed above the horizon, its rays casting a warm glow on the cute little girl’s profile, making her seem even more adorable.
"Good morning, Sect Leader." Just then, the mad monk Dao Feng, Hong Ji, and Lan Niang came out to cultivate as well. When they saw that the little one was already deep in her practice, their jaws nearly dropped. They had lost to her many times before, always waking up later than she did. How shameful.
"How is your cultivation progressing?" Wu Tian asked with a nod, glancing over them. He had given them each a personalized method of cultivation, and since then, their progress had accelerated immeasurably.
"I’m doing great!" Dao Feng said with a happy grin. His strength had increased massively since receiving the Arhat Overturning Heaven Seal. Now, the thing he wanted most was to return home to the Artifact Domain and prove to his family that he was the most outstanding of them all.
Lan Niang and Hong Ji looked at Dao Feng with envy. Then, a hopeful look appeared in their beautiful eyes as they turned to Wu Tian. Lan Niang, the older sister, was too introverted to speak up. But Hong Ji, the lively younger sister, didn’t hesitate. "Sect Leader, you can’t play favorites! My sister and I have nothing right now," she called out.
Wu Tian nodded. He felt it was indeed time to give something to Hong Ji and Lan Niang. With a flip of his palm, two swords appeared. They were the legendary Purple and Green Twin Swords. As the blades materialized, two beams of light—one purple, one green—soared toward the heavens.
The Green Tether Sword was forged entirely of shimmering green metal. The Purple Ying Sword was cast from the pure, western essence of Taibai, making it impervious to all evil. Together, they were one of the Emei Sect’s supreme treasures. These swords were a matched pair of ancient relics, a male and female duo named Purple Ying and Green Tether. Their power, whether used separately or together, far surpassed that of the famed Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. Ages ago, they were obtained by the Founding Ancestor of the Emei Sect, the long-browed Daoist, who used them to slay demons. Before his ascension, however, he deemed their killing intent too heavy. He sealed the Purple Ying Sword inside a broken drum rack in the Xiang Divine Temple on Mangcang Mountain and locked the Green Tether Sword deep within the earth’s core beneath the same mountain, securing it with powerful talismans. He left behind a stone stele that read: "The male is Purple Ying, the female is Green Tether. When they find their worthy masters, the divine artifacts will emerge." In a later era, the swords would appear in the world three times. The Purple Ying Sword belonged to Li Yingqiong, while the Green Tether Sword belonged to Zhou Qingyun.
Now, Wu Tian handed the Twin Swords to Lan Niang and Hong Ji. "I have used my power to modify them," he explained. "They were originally meant to be wielded by a man and a woman, but in your hands, you too will be able to unleash their full potential. Of course, how much of that power you can draw out will depend entirely on you. The master leads you to the door, but the cultivation is up to you!"
"Yes!" Lan Niang and Hong Ji nodded happily, accepting the Purple and Green Twin Swords. The moment the weapons were in their hands, they could feel the immense power radiating from within them. Used properly, cleaving a mountain with a single strike would be no difficult feat.
"Thank you, Sect Leader!" Lan Niang and Hong Ji immediately bowed in gratitude, willing to entrust their very lives to Wu Tian.
Just then, Qin Yuhan also came out, but she shot Wu Tian a less-than-friendly look.
Wu Tian was frustrated. What on earth did I say wrong last night?
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