"Father, who could wield such a powerful, diabolic sword? Any sane cultivator of the righteous path would never attempt to tame that blade!" Xue Liang crept up behind his father, apologizing for startling the older man. He pulled his uncle closer to them although the doctor was hesitant and anxious. "Su Yong's energy has not yet been absorbed by the sword. Father, is that not odd?"
"I never said its late owner was from a righteous sect or a cultivator. He was the Demon King, a nasty brute who was not interested in the right way. He practiced necromancy, a master of the darkest arts known to man!" Xue Xian Tou shook his head, but seeing Su Yong standing strongly in front of him, he felt hopeful. "A beginner would have already fallen into madness, he has potential."
Wu Yong clutched Dark King Sword until his knuckles turned white and his fingernails painfully dug into his palm. He had assumed correctly, guessing the sword belonged to his predecessor. He wondered what became of the strong Demon, but he had not had the chance to ask around. All he could do was smile and nod in response to Xue Xian Tou's words of marvel.
All of a sudden, a dozen cultivators wearing assassin clothing jumped over Xue Liang's house to land in a neat row right in front of the house. Xue Liang, his father, and the doctor bowed and cleared an area for the newcomers. They drew a collective breath as swords were unsheathed to point at no one in particular.
"Forgive me for intruding, but we have felt strong diabolic magic while passing your house for our patrol. We know you are housing a Demon student and Dark King Sword, yet this power is different. Have any strange events occurred in your homes? What about strange people?" One of the assassins removed his black mask, revealing a handsome face. On his forehead was a birthmark the shape of a lotus.
"No," the master of Xue Sect shook his head. When the people moved towards Wu Yong who had his back to them, the old man stopped the people by raising a hand. "Yes, we have received a new cultivator who wishes to join us on the righteous path. The magic you all felt must have been the sword in his hand. He is our newest dark magic wielder."
"Whose sword did he choose to have such a dark aura surrounding him?" Lotus forehead cranes his neck in an attempt to get a glimpse of the man's side profile, but he could not see much. He did see the man wore Xue Sect's uniform, and he had long raven black hair. From the rearview, the man looked like the previous Demon King and hundreds of other cultivators. "Dark King Sword?"
"This is Su Yong, he introduced himself to me as Wu Yong, but we now know that he was mocking the lunatic. Whoever he is, I am confident that my student would never cross to the evil factions." Xue Liang stepped in between the assassins sent by the Cultivation Association* based in Tiantang Nation*. He starts to push gleaming blades away from his student, not happy when the leader pressed on. "Take one more step, I dare you!"
"Young Master Xue, we are Cìkè of Cultivation and we must eliminate those who have the potential to bring chaos. Mian Biaoqing proved to be tame, but this man is not predictable. Even if he is a member of your sect, we should at least interrogate him." The man who seemed to be leading the rest ordered his subordinates to drop their sword so that he may speak to Xue Liang. He held up a fair hand, "Do not glare at me so. It is our job."
"Right, a job that does not pay us with gold." Another assassin muttered beneath his breath. This assassin pulled down the fabric covering his mouth to speak properly. The cloth lifted as a breeze flew by, revealing a blue crescent moon tattoo on his neck. The tattoo told the cultivators that his hometown is Xingkong.
The man raked a hand through his dark blue hair, moving closer to his leader. His eyes briefly darted over to the Xue family, then to their new sect member. So far, the latter did not make moves that would reveal he was evil. "Lian Hua*, we should go. Division Seven* does not deal with interrogations and we do not accuse others of an evil conscience. It is unfair to the Xue Sect if we do! We do not make money, but staying and judging the man will not be beneficial."
Lian Hua, the one with the lotus on his forehead sighed. His pride was hurt when his right-hand man dragged him towards the archway. The leader shrugged his teammate off him, fuming internally. He turned around to call his subordinates to him and he bowed politely. "I apologize for being brash, I do not mean to offend you. Master Xue, if anything happens with Su Yong, you must report it to us!"
"Yes, thank you for your hard work, boys. Please do not worry about my household, we will be able to protect ourselves even if Su Yong is an evil person. He is not evil, I know that much." Eagerly, the sect master waved the assassins away. He carefully watched seven men exit his son's courtyard and they started to jump onto roofs.
"What beautiful men," Wu Yong breathed after they had left. He could feel three pairs of eyes stare at him, and he realized his mistake almost instantly. Standing in front of him were three men raising their eyebrows at him, hiding their disgust. Wu Yong screeched and shook his open palms at them. "Please do not misunderstand me, I am not attracted to men."
"Oh, what a relief!" Xue Liang held a hand to his chest and exhaled, relieved that his student was not a homosexual. His student did look confused, "Wu Yong was a beastly homosexual and we hope none of our students would be like him. You can admire men, but you must not fall in love with one. Ever!"
"I understand why Su Yong would be drawn to them. After all, those men hold titles of 'most beautiful man' in their hometowns. Lian Hua, the leader, is currently the most beautiful man of Jirong. We voted for him last year. Perhaps this year, Su Yong would win?" Xue Xian Tou had broken his serious personality to tease his son's apprentice. "I was having fun with you, but you should join the competition this year."
"Brother, before we talk about the Beauty Competition, can I speak to you about this letter? It is inviting our sect to see the Demon King's head being displayed in Zhengyi Pavilion. I do not know why I received the letter, but there will also be a banquet." Xue Qing Chu produced a thin scrap of paper from his pockets and held it up for the three men to see. He tucked the slip into his brother's outstretched hand.
"I do not think a Demon's head should ever be displayed in the sacred pavilion, but this is the Demon King's head! Such a demonic man had been slain so his head should be our trophy and a feast? They are doing too much." Xue Xian Tou nodded twice and pulled his son to his side. "Xue Liang, take this letter and show it to the sect. Show your mother, then the students. Tomorrow, we will be seeing the Demon King!"
Xue Liang nods and dashed right out of his house, excited to deliver the news. He quickly forgot he had ditched his student and like a busy bee, he ran around the Xue Sect grounds. While he was away, his father and uncle were watching his student.
"Su Yong, what do you think about attending the banquet tomorrow? You have been traveling and if you need to rest after today's tiring events, you may skip this gathering. We do need to introduce you to the Righteous Council as you have passed your Sword Test." The older man glanced at the roofs, where the assassins have been just moments ago. "They must be reporting you to the council. It will become a hassle if those gullible people believe you are demonic."
"I am demonic though, see this sword?" Wu Yong lifted the sword in his hand to remind Xue Xian Tou that their accusations were not baseless. He also pretended to be worried about his safety, playing the image of an innocent man. In his mind, he could not stop laughing at the Xue Sect. "I do not think it is safe for me to wield this powerful and dark sword. The Demon King held it, and he will be shown off tomorrow!"
"Yes, but you are not evil, the sword is. We shall prove to the cultivation world that you are innocent and full of potential. I know those people on thrones can be intimidating, but they like shows. If they suspect you, plunge the Dark King Sword into the Demon King's head to distract them." Xue Xian Tou's eyes glistened as he played the situation in his mind. The stunt would bring attention to Xue Liang, the teacher of the man who dared to harm the Demon King's head with his sword.
"He is right, Su Yong," Xue Qing Chu jumped into the conversation after being silent for the whole time. He had also played the moment in his mind, and the questions that would arise would give answers that boost the sect. Although Xue Sect is already the largest sect in Jirong, it must be bigger. "If you are somehow able to do such a thing, the whole world will be speaking about you. The Demons will fear you!"
But I don't want to be feared by the Demons, Wu Yong thought to himself. If they feared him before he becomes their leader, how would he ever become one of them? Despite this, the two old men continued to blab about the good things that will happen if Wu Yong stays with them during the banquet. Even if he does not do anything to the previous Demon King, he will be known as another dark magic wielder.
"If Su Yong cultivates quickly, he may become one of the best dark magic cultivators in the world!" The Xue's doctor clapped, excited for his brother and nephew. He paused to look at the student, "I may be hoping for too much, but imagine! Xue Liang, teacher of a strong diabolic warrior. Su Yong, the warrior. And you, my brother, the man who made it happen!"
"Xue Weifeng would not welcome Su Yong, she tries her best to ignore Mian Biaoqing's presence. Chuchu*, what do you think I need to do to persuade her?" Xue Xian Tou held a gray hand to his mouth, imagining his wife's furious face. He could remember her strong reaction when he brought the Demon child into his own house. "She would kill me with her Blue Serpent Whip, won't she?"
"The matron of the house truly loathes Demons, I assume." Wu Yong already witnessed her fits of rage when she finds Mian Biaoqing has committed small mistakes. Xue Xian Tou would not punish the poor girl for walking slowly, but he saw Xue Weifeng crack her whip thrice. Unbelievably, the Demon student recovered in three days. "Is it possible for me to switch swords?"
"No!" Xue Xian Tou snapped quickly and held out a hand to stop the younger man. He pressed his fingers to his temples and looked down at his feet, deep in thought. "I will find a way to get you into her heart. Brother, should I buy her the expensive Starry Ring she has been nagging me to buy? No, I don't think she would embrace demonic people for a mere ring. Su Yong, do you have brilliant ideas?"
Wu Yong shook his head gravely, acting as if he regrets having an empty brain. If he was to show his true emotions, he would be snickering at his father. He would have done just that if he was still the lunatic. To maintain his image as Su Yong, he smiled sweetly. "I would not know how to treat women, I have been single all my life despite my beauty."
"Why are you seeking answers from me? Weifeng is your wife, I would not know what would change her mind. Remember, I am only here to heal Su Yong's burned hand." Xue Qing Chu dragged his patient into his nephew's house and seated the man on a random chair. He turned to his brother, asking whether he should start or not.
Xue Xian Tou gave his sibling a navy blue handkerchief. He rolled his eyes after his younger brother stared up in confusion. With one hand, he motioned towards the paling man on his son's favorite chair. "Wipe his hand with the cloth. Xue Liang would not appreciate drops of blood on his floor and if he finds his student bled under his roof, we would never hear the end of it."
"Father, I am back! Mother is preparing her outfit and the whole sect is bustling." Xue Liang paused at his door, eyes widening. As if he had been frozen and unfrozen, he rushed over to his student in the chair. He pried the handkerchief out of his uncle's hands to personally clean his student's delicate hands. "Are you in pain?"
***
Tiantang Nation: Tiāntáng (天堂), translates to 'heaven'. Therefore, Tiantang Nation is Heaven's Nation. Based at the heart of the dominant kingdom is the two authoritative bodies of the entire cultivation world. I will delve deeper into these organizations later on, however, we have already seen both although briefly. There is the Righteous Council and the Cultivation Association. -Google Translate (Chinese, Simplified)
Righteous Council: Consists of the best cultivators in the world and only interfere with issues concerning moral issues. In this world, they are kind of like the leaders of religion who define what is right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable. The only issue with them is that they are a bunch of arrogant humans who loathe Demons and they love fighting each other. They also accuse anyone going against them of defying the laws of nature and turning to dark arts.
Cultivation Association: They are a group of powerful cultivators that includes most of the sect leaders from all over the world. Many are also members of the Righteous Council. Their purpose is to rush into battle if the Righteous Council allows them to. Once they enter a fight they must pick the side they believe is right. Each member specializes in a certain fight technique or weapon.
Cìkè of Cultivation: Cìkè (刺客), translates to 'assassin'. They are also people working for the Righteous Council, but they are not the Cultivation Association. The main difference is that assassins work in the shadows every single day without pay while members of the Cultivation Association only work when a war or internal conflict breaks. Ciké of Cultivation can be controlled by both organizations. -Google Translate (Chinese, Simplified)
Lian Hua: Liánhuā (蓮花), translates to 'lotus'. He is the leader of Division Seven of Ciké of Cultivation and the most handsome man in Jirong, the city where he works. The lotus birthmark on his forehead was the reason for his name. -Google Translate (Chinese, Traditional)
Division Seven: The seventh division of Ciké of Cultivation. They are the seventh group to be formed and there are always seven members at one time. Most of them are the most handsome men in their hometowns so, among the ciké, they are known as the Seven Deadly Sins Division. They often work with other divisions.
Chuchu: Xue Qing Chu's nickname given by his older brother, Xue Xian Tou. Doesn't it sound cute?