Ch640 - The Breaking Sword Cliff

That night, the Sword Emperor hosted a grand feast to celebrate Jiang Xu’s successful contract with the holy sword left behind by the Murong Clan’s ancestors, Han Xing Sword.

“Nephew Jiang truly is a genius swordsman; it took you only two months to successfully contract Han Xing Sword. Truly, your aptitude for wielding the blade defies all logic.” The Sword Emperor admired Jiang Xu as he watched him intently.To be fair, this young man’s aptitude was indeed quite impressive! At least, it surpassed that of his five Sons and twelve disciples.

The Sword Emperor praised generously, “Nephew Jiang is truly gifted.”

Smiling, Jiang Xu modestly replied, “Your Majesty is overpraising me.”It’s thanks to your killing all the other geniuses who came before me, leaving me as the last remaining feather on the phoenix’s back.

Liu Mufeng turned to look at the Sword Emperor, then smiled and asked, “XiaoXu has been so fortunate to easily contract Han Xing Sword, which must also be due to the blessings of both the Sword Emperor and the ancestors of the Murong Clan. If the Sword Emperor does not mind, perhaps we may request your blessing to makeXiaoXu your Godson? This way, he can continue learning from his Godfather and improve his skills further. What do you think, esteemed Senior?”

“Uh…” The Sword Emperor was taken aback by these words.

Indeed, he had also intended for Jiang Xu to take him as his Godfather at one point. But now that Long Xingtian was here, it wasn’t appropriate to bring this up again. He hadn’t expected Liu Mufeng to bring it up himself at such a crucial moment.

Qing Chen smiled and said, “Mufeng is right. SinceXiaoXu has contracted with the Han Xing Sword, he is now part of the Murong Clan.XiaoXu’s life has been difficult; his Father passed away when he was only twelve years old. As his new Father-in-Law, I am unable to provide all the care he needs. Now that he is already part of the Murong Clan, it would be natural for him to call the Sword Emperor ‘Father’.”

At this, the Sword Emperor smiled as well. “Since both the Dragon Empress and my dear Nephew Mufeng have spoken thusly, then from today forth, I formally accept Nephew Jiang as my Godson. From now on, he shall be known as the Sixth Young Master of the Murong Clan, while Mufeng will become my Son-in-Law. What does His Imperial Majesty think?”

The Dragon Emperor rolled his eyes at the Sword Emperor’s question. “Sure, why not? You’re getting off easy. My Son-in-Law is great in every way; it’s truly unfair to be your Son.”

“Indeed, indeed!” Nodding, the Sword Emperor quickly smiled and bowed.

Jiang Xu stood from his seat and walked up to the Sword Emperor, though he was quite displeased with this turn of events, he knelt down and performed three bows and nine kowtows as per etiquette.

“Godfather, I bow to you.” Jiang Xu respectfully said while keeping his head lowered.

Ai, this Murong Clan, why couldn’t they just give me something free? Why did they have to give me their Father?!

“Very good, my dear child, please rise.” As the Sword Emperor spoke, he stepped closer to Jiang Xu and helped him up. Then, he retrieved a token of authorization, which he generously handed over to Jiang Xu.

“XiaoXu, here’s a pass for the Sword Arrays, my gift to you upon joining our family. This Father knows that you possess innate talent, and many wise sages’ sword intent resides within the arrays. By entering them, you will greatly improve your martial skills.”

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“Many thanks, Father!” Smiling, Jiang Xu accepted the token.

Upon seeing that Jiang Xu had formally recognized him as his Godfather, Long Xingtian shifted his gaze slightly. “Sword Emperor, since we’re now kin by marriage, then if my Son is married to your Son, shouldn’t you, as the Father-in-Law, contribute something to the dowry?”

“Ah…” Upon hearing the Dragon Emperor’s words, the Sword Emperor rolled his eyes and thought to himself,This bastard even came up with this excuse? Why didn’t he just say that his Son marrying my Son means he needs to top up the dowry?

“Father-in-Law, today is a good day; since ourXiaoXu has recognized you as his Godfather, I am now half of the Murong Clan too. I specially prepared ten medicinal pills for your five Sons, which can be considered as my meeting gift for them.” As Liu Mufeng spoke, he took out ten medicinal pills and handed them to the five Imperial Princes sitting across from him.

“Many thanks, Sixth Brother-in-Law.” The five Princes promptly expressed their gratitude after receiving the gifts.

“Sword Emperor, look, my Son has already given his betrothal gifts,” Long Xingtian pressed on, “so it’s time for you to give yours.”

Liu Mufeng looked at the Sword Emperor, who nodded. “All right, I have thirty jars of immortal wine, which I will give to Fellow Immortal Long, as a meeting gift for ourXiaoXu!”Long Xingtian, you asshole.

As the Sword Emperor reluctantly produced the jars of wine, the Dragon Emperor nodded in satisfaction. “En, much better.” He gave Liu Mufeng a knowing look before accepting the wine.

**********

After dinner, Liu Mufeng’s family sat together to chat.

“Mufeng, aren’t you being too generous with those level-11 medicinal pills?” Long Xingtian complained as he watched his Son.

“Emperor Father, we still have Sun Jian’s matter to take care of, andXiaoXu also wants to try his hand at those sword arrays, so we can’t offend the Murong Clan.” Smiling, Liu Mufeng helplessly explained.

“I understand; I know you always have your reasons.”

“Mufeng, there are some matters that need our attention on the Dragon Territory side, so my husband and I will be returning to the Dragon Clan tomorrow. You andXiaoXu must stay vigilant while you’re here. If anything happens, or if the Murong Clan harasses you, you must notify us immediately, okay?” As he gazed upon his Son, Qing Chen gave him a concerned warning.

“Don’t worry, Godfather, this child will protect himself andXiaoXu.” Liu Mufeng knew his Godfather was concerned about them being bullied by the Sword Emperor.

“Rest assured, Chen‘er, that old bastard Sword Emperor can’t beat me, and he wouldn’t dare harm my Sons or Grandsons. If he dares to lay a finger on Mufeng, I’ll beat him to a pulp.” Long Xingtian snorted coldly at these words.

“Yes, the Sword Emperor is indeed very afraid of our Emperor Father.” Nodding, Liu Mufeng also felt that the Sword Emperor revered Long Xingtian greatly.

“En.” Nodding, Qing Chen didn’t say more. There had been a problem with one of the Dragon Clans’ immortal crystal mines, so he and Xingtian needed to return as soon as possible, leaving Liu Mufeng to fend for himself. However, Mufeng was a smart child, so Qing Chen trusted him completely.

The next day, both Long Xingtian and Qing Chen left. With the Dragon Emperor gone, the Sword Emperor could finally rest easy, considering the thirty jars of immortal wine as sunk costs.As long as that asshole was gone, everything would be fine!

After their two Godfathers left, Liu Mufeng and Jiang Xu’s family accompanied the Third Prince to visit the Breaking Sword Cliff.

Breaking Sword Cliff was also open for free public access like the Sword Forest. The cliffside was covered with the sword intent of various cultivators who had passed by, as well as the problems that some immortals encountered while cultivating. These immortals would write down the questions they couldn’t understand or solve on the stone walls, hoping to find someone who could help them.

“Sixth Younger Brother, look, these sword intents were all left behind by senior immortals.” As a guide, the Third Prince smiled and introduced the sword cultivators to his companions.

“These sword intents aren’t particularly profound; whoever left them likely didn’t have much strength.” After scanning the area, Jiang Xu frowned continuously.

“Yes, the immortals who leave sword intent here are quite varied, so naturally some are rather poor.” The Third Prince chuckled. If every single sword intent here were exquisite, it wouldn’t be free to enter.

“The sword intent may not be impressive, but these questions are quite clever.” Jiang Xu found it interesting to see so many immortals’ queries about sword techniques.

“Sixth Younger Brother, if you’re interested, you can answer some of these difficult questions. The people who left these questions also left jade pendants behind; if you manage to solve their problems, you’ll receive the immortal crystals indicated after each question.” As he watched Jiang Xu, the Third Prince explained.

“Oh? Is there such a thing?” This was something Jiang Xu hadn’t anticipated.

“Of course. Who would waste time helping other sword cultivators solve their problems otherwise?” With a smile, the Third Prince continued.

“All right, then I’ll take a look and see if I can answer some.” Intrigued, Jiang Xu began examining those tricky questions.

Liu Mufeng noticed his wife had picked up a large number of high-rewarding questions, then took them all along with the jade pendants they’d left behind. Liu Mufeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, thinking to himself,My Xiao Xu is just a stingy little hoarder. He’s only picking the questions with the highest rewards.

Jiang Xu selected twenty questions from among the others, then followed Liu Mufeng and the Third Prince out of the pavilion.

**********

Half a month later…

“Jiang Xu only took half a month to answer twenty sword-related questions and earn 120,000 high-grade immortal crystals?” The Sword Emperor asked incredulously as he looked at his Third Son.

“Yes, Emperor Father. He correctly answered all twenty of the most difficult questions from Breaking Sword Cliff.” The Third Prince nodded in agreement.

“T-This brat truly is impressive.” The Sword Emperor hadn’t expected Jiang Xu to actually solve those problems within half a month.

“How did Jiang Xu explain to the Fifth Brother that his sword technique lacked power?” The Eldest Prince turned to ask his Third Younger Brother.

“Jiang Xu had Fifth Brother use his own sword technique right in front of him, then pointed out three areas for improvement.” The Third Prince replied as he looked at his Eldest Brother.

“And, according to Elder Meng, there were some parts within his self-created Wind Spirit Sword Technique that were unconnected; did Jiang Xu help him fix those parts as well?” The Second Prince asked incredulously while looking at his Third Younger Brother.

“Oh, yes, he helped fix them, and Elder Meng was very satisfied.” The Third Prince nodded affirmatively.

“Then, what about the others? My Cousin said she couldn’t understand the sword intent of the Yun Family’s old ancestor. How did Jiang Xu solve this problem?” The Fourth Prince turned to his Third Brother.

“That’s easy. Jiang Xu had Liu Mufeng refine a medicinal pill for her, which allowed her to gain enlightenment.”

“Third Elder Brother, where is that sword manual Second Elder Brother found? Does Jiang Xu also know how to translate it?” The Fifth Prince asked, still staring at his Third Elder Brother.

“It wasn’t Jiang Xu who translated it, but Liu Mufeng. It’s written in the language of a now-extinct race called the Heaven’s Eyes, so Liu Mufeng recognized it.” The Third Prince looked around before telling everyone the truth.

“These two brats are truly impressive.” The Sword Emperor laughed. Breaking Sword Cliff had many mysteries that have puzzled sword cultivators for years, yet these two young men managed to resolve them.