Master of Strange Dao

The initial material must not have been very good, but it had become decent only after a sword cultivator, through prolonged nurturing and refining.

Yu Ziqing did not refuse and accepted the White Sword.

He could tell that aside from being exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship, this fellow was quite average in other areas.

Discussing matters such as killing people without a change in expression or skipped heartbeat, and not even feeling there's anything wrong with that.

With just this fact alone, he was purer than most other sword cultivators.

For most sword cultivators, suggesting that they kill someone would likely feel like an insult to them; they are sword cultivators, not assassins or anything of the sort.

But aren't swords meant for killing?

If you don't want to kill, why practice swordsmanship at all?

Among the many cultivation paths, sword cultivators generally have shorter lives, not just because of the intense aura of killing that leads to easily falling midway during conflicts.

It's also because, in terms of cultivation, sword cultivation isn't aimed at longevity; even at the same realm, without disaster or difficulty, they still usually have a lifespan that's substantially shorter than many cultivators.

Compared to those cultivators known for their longevity, the lifespans of sword cultivators are not even one-third as long.

Their combat power is indeed strong.

Exchanged with their lives.

Yu Ziqing generously accepted the White Sword and expressed his thanks.

Han Dong visibly relaxed when he saw Yu Ziqing accept the gift.

Yu Ziqing was now even more certain that this guy probably had forgotten how normal social interactions worked.

Some topics he wanted to discuss weren't appropriate at the moment, so Yu Ziqing could only engage in light, cheerful chatter for a while before he left.

...

Back in the village, Yu Ziqing took out the Seventh Floor Ring.

But then, he felt something odd; whenever he thought about seeking advice on certain matters, Song Chengyue was the first person that came to mind.

On second thoughts, it was related to Daqian, who else but Song Chengyue should he ask?

A bit of outdated information, it would be alright to ask Old Yang.

But for current information, Song Chengyue was naturally the first choice.

Ultimately, Song had succeeded, and if this continued, Yu Ziqing might indeed find it difficult to refuse Song's requests.

Forget it, just let it be.

When Song dies, he would go check on those two children.

If there were any danger, he would take them away; if not, let them live there.

Upon entering the Seventh Floor Ring, he didn't wait long before Song Chengyue walked upstairs.

"There's something I'd like you to help check."

"Hey, just say it; if not, I still owe you quite a few pieces of information anyway."

Song immediately beamed, sat down, and waited for Yu Ziqing to speak.

Asking for information was simple; much of it was readily available.

But if it was something he needed help investigating, then it would surely involve intelligence from the Jinyiwei archives that might not even exist.

It had been so long, and Number Seven had finally come to him with a task.

"Here's the deal, I want to ask you to try and investigate whether, ten years ago, there was any expert carrying a sword who had visited the boundary between the Southern Sea and East Sea."

"That sword needs to be powerful enough to penetrate the Earth's crust with one strike deep beneath the sea bed for several miles and extract Earth Fire Magma, without causing too much disturbance."

"Hmm..." Song meditated for a moment.

This would not be easy to investigate.

It was an incident from ten years ago, and the distinctive factor wasn't even a person but a sword.

However, it was good news that it was not a sword cultivator; relying on a sword alone to exhibit such might without much disturbance seemed even more unlikely.

Even if it was a Magical Treasure, it would be tough to trace...

While thinking this, Song nonetheless nodded immediately.

"I can help look into it, but I can't guarantee that I'll find anything."

"No worries, but can you make sure to do it discreetly, so no one finds out?"

"Hm?" Song's eyebrows slightly furrowed, his expression solidified.

His thoughts shifted quickly, and he immediately understood, Seventh Floor must already know who he was.

The fact that he would still give such a reminder proved that this matter, even for the Jinyiwei Commander, was still somewhat troublesome.

Yu Ziqing thought for a moment, the issues related to Yang were definitely not to be shared with Song.

And looking at Han Dong's situation, it seemed that his existence was not a secret, and his return was even less so.

"It involves a former member of the Daqian Imperial Family. Over a thousand years ago, he was a prince, so..."

"Over a thousand years ago..."

Song's thoughts shifted, being a prince a thousand years ago and not now, indeed, the number was more than one.

But the most sensitive one should be just one.

Prince Han Dong, from back then.

"That is quite troublesome, I will be careful, after all, he was once a prince, and even though he later left the Imperial Family, he was never removed from the imperial genealogy."

"Yes, be cautious. If you can find out, then do so, but if not, or if there's danger, let it be. It's not essential information."

"Don't worry, I understand. Consider this one of the three pieces of information you owe me, and I still owe you several more. If you need anything, just call me."

Song left the Seventh Floor ring, opened his eyes, and happily slapped the table.

A face immediately materialized on the table, staring at Song.

"Song Chengyue, have you gone mad, daring to investigate royal secrets?"

"You sensed it wrong, I'm not investigating royal secrets, I'm just looking into a female Ba from over a thousand years ago, which involved a prince who had already left the Imperial Family."

Song Chengyue's expression remained unchanged, and he patted the table again.

The monster on the table, frowning, stared seriously at Song Chengyue for a good while before sighing.

"Song Chengyue, be careful. Recently, Daqian has indeed been peaceful, but that doesn't guarantee your safety.

If someone like you dies too soon, it would really be dull.

You'd better think about how you can stay alive."

"I understand, don't worry."

Song Chengyue opened the drawer again, and inside there was a thick stack of documents.

After reading through the documents carefully, he put them back in their place.

Yu Ziqing hadn't been very clear, but after reading the documents, Song Chengyue had a rough understanding of what had happened.

It was just that ten years ago, having only a sword made it a bit difficult.

Being difficult was good; difficulties could reflect its value.

...

Yu Ziqing opened his eyes; Yang was already waiting there.

He handed Yu Ziqing a piece of paper.

"This contains things I completely don't remember, you can jot them down first."

Yu Ziqing looked at the content on the paper, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Earth Pavilion, row one hundred eighty, rack thirty-seven, level five, number one eight zero three seven five four two.

Heaven Pavilion, row thirty-five, rack seventeen, level one, number three five one seven one two two.

Uh, what are these?"

"After the Silence Divine Spell is triggered again, what is remembered will become clearer, and what is forgotten will be completely forgotten.

But I have scanned almost all the books in the Langya Institute bookstore; even though I haven't studied many of them in detail, I would have some impression of them.

These are the numbers from the Langya Institute bookstore, and each number follows a certain pattern.

The parts missing from the bookstore I constructed in my mind, the numbers of those books are all listed here.

If you have the chance, meet someone from the Langya Institute, you might try to find them.

Forget about the ones in the Heaven Pavilion and Earth Pavilion; the Mysterious Pavilion and Ren Pavilion are accessible to regular scholars.

If possible, get those books, or at least find out what is in them."

Yu Ziqing was greatly shocked. Could this really be done?

"Have you been doing this all this time? Constructing the Langya Institute's bookstore in your own mind?"