Chapter 522 – The Broken Sword, the Pill, and the Choice (1/2)

In particular, the fishermen who lived on their boats suddenly felt like they were in free fall. They darted into their cabins in fear and surprise, only to see the surface of the lake had suddenly fallen by a feet. A colossal hand composed of water reached into the air from the centre of the lake.

“Grandfather lake god is angry!”

Shock and fear was written across all of their faces. Someone bellowed out with that and everyone dropped to their knees, constantly lowering their heads.

On a small, stone bridge near the shore, a person stood alone as his green student’s robes drifted in the air.

Fu Qingjin pressed his hand against his sword and stared ahead. “Northmoon, have you already become like this?”

……

A few months ago, deep into autumn, on Benevolence island, by the Lake of Dragons and Snakes.

A lonely figure held a broken sword, sitting on the shore alone. There was no Green Ruins Illusion, nor was there a dangling thread.

“Why’s this Fu Qingjin acting like he’s lost his wits!?” Hua Chenglu arrived on Benevolence island to check on a Hawkwolf guard who had been injured during a mission. She spotted Fu Qingjin’s figure from afar.

Yu Zijian said, “Shh, Chenglu, be quieter. Don’t let him hear you.”

The conversation reached his ears clearly, but he behaved like he had not heard it at all. He stared at the severed edge of the Green Ruins sword. What had been severed was not just the edge, but all connections with the outside world.

The Daemon Suppression alliance had already become a matter of the past. Gradually, no one visited him anymore.

The Sword Collection palace neither punished him nor called him back. He only received two distant words from his master. “Take care.” It was two simple words, yet it left him stumped no matter how hard he thought about it.

His wounds had recovered a long time ago, but he had no idea where to go, so he simply stayed here. He remained in this foreign land like a lone soul.

“You don’t have a line, so how are you going to fish?”

The sound of footsteps grew closer and a voice rang. It was Yu Zijian. Fu Qingjin did not turn around, nor did he answer her.

In the past, he had once believed fate bound him to this young girl because of the Green Ruins sword. Now that the sword was broken, the tie no longer existed. No matter how he looked at her, she was merely a regular woman. Perhaps she really did have the talent to inherit the Violet Clouds sword, but what did that have to do with him?

Yu Zijian remembered how she was like in the past and let out a faint sigh, but her gaze had never been so calm and distant before. She asked a question, “Is this sword really that important to you?”

Fu Qingjin remained as silent as a rock.

“Coming!” Yu Zijian turned around and answered. Then she said to Fu Qingjin, “Someone had once told me that dilemmas will always exist in the world, and we always have to make choices. Nothing is perfect.”

It was a simple word of advice, but it shot through Fu Qingjin’s head like inspiration. The hand that held his sword trembled slightly. Only after Yu Zijian had left did he mutter with a voice that only he could hear.

“Nothing is perfect. All glory will be reduced to ruins at the end of the day!”

His master’s voice rang out beside his ear again.

“Qingjin, do you know about the origins of this Green Ruins sword? Our Sword Collection palace had a senior who was originally the monarch of a kingdom. Of course, Great Xia did not exist back then. The nine provinces were still littered with various kingdoms. In order to deal with the threat of an enemy kingdom, he went out in search of help, accidentally entering an immortal’s dwelling and obtaining an immortal’s legacy. He was utterly overjoyed, but by the time he left the dwelling, he discovered several decades had already passed.”

“His family and friends had all passed away, and his kingdom had already fallen to the opposing kingdom a long time ago. He wanted revenge, only to discover that the opposing kingdom had been destroyed in the chaos of war a long time ago too. He was filled with endless melancholy and merged this with the sword. That is the sword intent that the Green Ruins sword possesses. Endless prosperity will all be reduced to ruins one day, covered and hidden away by green moss…”

Fu Qingjin lifted up the Green Ruins sword and said gently, “Even you aren’t able to be an exception?”

The next day, Fu Qingjin left the academy. He passed by every single city that had been destroyed during the war, imagining their former glory. He seemed to have washed off the dust obscuring his eyes. The entire world had become different.

Day by day, the Green Ruins sword remained broken like before, but slivers of green light merged into it.

This time, it was not the sighs of the senior from the ancient times, nor was it the sighs of past masters of the Green Ruins sword. Instead, it was Fu Qingjin’s own comprehension.

After visiting who knew how many cities, he finally understood the Green Ruins sword was not actually broken. In that moment, the Green Ruins sword suddenly erupted with an unprecedented glow, and before he knew it, he was standing in the Green Ruins Illusion again.

A figure stood under the collapsed palace walls in the distance. He turned around and smiled faintly.

He was a rather dignified man. His appearance was very unfamiliar, but his expression was extremely familiar. His aloofness and melancholy had once appeared on his own face countless times.

Fu Qingjin smiled as well. He smiled very brightly, like before he had picked up the Green Ruins sword.

From then onwards, one of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace became a broken sword.

Having retrieved the Lightning Slaughter sword after so much difficulty, Zhou Tong was cultivating in peace in his dwelling, preparing for his breakthrough to Golden Core. Suddenly, he felt someone touch the formation, and he frowned, stepping out of his dwelling.

“It’s you?”

Zhou Tong had been slightly angry already. Seeing the visitor, he became very angry. “Fu Qingjin, what brings you here?”

Fu Qingjin opened his hand. A violet pill rested in there.