A Thousand-Mile Quest for the Flower

In this world, there are fierce and valiant warriors whose blades can shatter ten thousand suits of armor, and there are those who give their all solely to protect their loved ones and dearest friends. The commonality between them is that when faced with a formidable foe, they never retreat.

Song Linjie gripped his Forging Sky blade, deadlocked in the air against the Scarlet Tassel flying dagger. A moment later, beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. Having already exhausted much of his internal energy to unleash the true power of the Forging Sky blade, he had to grit his teeth to hold on, his eyes wide and beginning to bloodshot.

Du Haifanxin frowned slightly, surprised to see the momentum of his telekinetically controlled dagger waning. He extended a finger and flicked the Scarlet Tassel. With that single stroke, the two blades finally separated. Song Linjie was sent flying backward with his Forging Sky blade, sliding three yards across the ground as he dug the blade in, gasping for air. The Scarlet Tassel dagger also wobbled before falling to the ground, motionless.

As Song Linjie prepared to rise and fight again, Du Haifanxin praised him: "To face an overwhelming opponent without fear, to stand before a master without trepidation—what a heart of courage you have. You are excellent, and you have done your best. I shall not use this flying dagger again in this battle."

Seeming to have received the answer he sought, Song Linjie cupped his hands in a salute and turned to leave.

Du Haifanxin looked toward Song Qingtian and smiled. "You have a fine grandson."

Song Qingtian laughed proudly. "As if you needed to tell me. If you want to fight, then fight; stop wasting your breath."

Du Haifanxin tapped the four daggers at his side one by one and whispered: "Qinlan, Fengya, Ziyuan, Linhuo, go."

Song Qingtian stomped his foot and swung his scabbard in a circle. It was as if time had frozen; the four daggers halted at various points along the circle he had drawn, forming a precise arc. Then, bending his knees, he calmly punched the daggers away one by one. Qinlan, Fengya, and Ziyuan wobbled in the air before stabilizing, but Linhuo struck an apple tree planted by Li Dami, piercing straight through it and leaving a gaping hole, much to Li Dami's heartbreak.

Li Dami suffered in silence, unable to voice his misery.

Song Qingtian scoffed, "Let’s take this fight below. Don't destroy my academy. If you lose, I’ll make you replace every brick, tile, blade of grass, and twig yourself."

Du Haifanxin understood and flew toward the foot of the mountain on his blades, while Song Qingtian, disdaining such flashy displays, simply gathered his energy and surged forward, covering ten yards with every step.

***

At the mountainside, the crowd’s eyes lit up as they saw the two figures descend. Du Haifanxin hovered over a flat, barren patch of land and asked with a smile, "Brother Song, will this suffice?"

Song Qingtian nodded in silence and initiated a probe with a slash. Aside from the Scarlet Tassel left on the mountain, Du Haifanxin had added a new blade, Azure Frost, to the previous four. The five daggers pointed inward, forming a rotating circular shield that effortlessly deflected the strike.

The spectators from the mountainside arrived, relieved not to have missed the duel of the grandmasters. They soon saw the academy disciples following behind. Unlike the awe they felt for the two grandmasters, they looked upon these spirited young people with envy. Unfortunately, standing between them was a thick-headed fellow with no social graces, so they dared not approach, leaving those who had hoped to gain some favor from the disciples feeling quite discouraged.

Yang Shanshu stood in the middle, looking particularly conspicuous, which moved the Sword Saint to laughter: "Your academy certainly has a lot of oddities!"

Song Qingtian defended his disciples: "Oddities or not, they are geniuses. Ten years from now, they will surely dominate the scene."

Du Haifanxin began to maneuver his flying daggers in unpredictable patterns. The three blades that had remained stationary followed suit, settling into their positions. At times they formed a straight line, at others a winding river. Without realizing it, he had already cycled through a dozen blade formations. Du Haifanxin whispered, "Just watch. The landscape of the 'blade' for the next ten years lies in our hands right now."

Song Qingtian remained motionless. It was not that he was out of options, but he knew that every time Du Haifanxin fought, he would invent new blade formations, adding brilliant strokes to the legacy of his predecessors. These were formations he had never seen before, so he could only react on the fly as they were deployed.

The eight flying daggers broke from their original paths and descended upon Song Qingtian like a cascade of falling stars—dazzling and perilous. However, Song Qingtian had kept his eyes locked on the formations, memorizing every trajectory. Knowing Du Haifanxin's style inside and out, he used minimal movement to parry the first few sets. The subsequent ones were merely illusions meant to distract him. Song Qingtian was not fooled; he shifted his feet and side-stepped, causing the remaining formations to collapse on their own.

The onlooking crowd was dazzled. Those who had hoped to grasp a few secrets felt disheartened. Only Li Jingqiu, a disciple of the Sword King, was accustomed to the two masters' duels; he knew a thing or two and began to hold court, explaining the fight to his fellow disciples and the guests, so that they might not leave empty-handed.

The guests watched the grandmasters intently while listening to Li Jingqiu, all cupping their hands in gratitude: "You are a righteous man, brother."

As the fight grew more complex, Li Jingqiu found he could no longer follow it, and so he fell silent, not wishing to mislead anyone.

The two masters fought for a long time without a clear victor. Suddenly, they widened the distance between them. The eight daggers returned to Du Haifanxin’s hands, rotating into a disc, while Song Qingtian stood as firm as a rock, his eyes fixed on the sky, though his expression had grown grave.

***

Du Haifanxin smiled lightly. "Brother Song, you should be familiar with the next move. It’s just that without the blade intent nurtured over five years, I wonder if you can still block it?"

Song Qingtian replied impatiently, "Stop wasting your breath. Do you really dare to embarrass yourself with such an old trick?"

Song Linjie felt confused and asked, "Senior Brother Li, what move is the Sword Saint about to use? My grandfather sounds dismissive, but he looks rather uneasy!"

Li Jingqiu couldn't help but sigh: "The Sword Saint's ultimate technique, 'A Thousand Miles Seeking Blooms.' If Master were in his prime, he wouldn't be worried, but now... you should just watch for yourself."

The next moment, Li Dami’s face drained of all color.

Du Haifanxin flicked the three remaining daggers: "Phoenix Beak, Dragon Kiss, Hundred Flower Cry."

The three daggers dispersed and vanished into the horizon, followed by the other five, which hid in every corner of Mount Kongyao before diving into the earth. The crowd looked around, seeing no sign of the blades, only flowers on trees blooming out of season with visible speed. Trees that were already blooming grew even more lush, before their petals and leaves were stripped away, fluttering into the sky.

Li Dami was terrified—a year of hard work, gone in an instant.

Seeing this, Zhang Ling was moved by the scene, recalling the time he left Luochuan County and arrived at Qin Yi's Hundred Flower Manor, where he had witnessed a similar spectacle of blooming flowers. He surmised that Qin Yi's secret techniques must have been acquired from this man.