"Brother Pei, you are now quite famous. Your name is recognized throughout the Great Ming territory. Any formidable martial artist is likely to have heard of you. The saying 'Who in the world does not know you' seems quite fitting for you." Lin Qingyi said, brimming with joy.
By then, over three months had passed since Pei Xuanjing had slain the Infernal Realm's Southern Ghost Emperor atop the Nameless Mountain Summit and severely wounded the Black and White Impermanence.
During these two months, Pei Xuanjing and his team had been staying in Xuanfu. After that battle, Pei Xuanjing used the excuse of recuperating to remain secluded, admitting only a few close acquaintances.
However, his self-imposed isolation didn't prevent his fame from spreading far and wide.
Just as Lin Qingyi said, as a Second-Class martial artist, Pei Xuanjing had successively killed two First-Class martial artists. This news created a stir in the previously dormant Da Ming Jianghu.
The name Pei Xuanjing resonated in the ears of countless individuals, reaching an extent where virtually everyone knew him.
For some elite martial artists, they recognized that an exceptional powerhouse had emerged in the world.
Yet for some, they perceived Pei Xuanjing as merely a fortunate fluke, a puppet, a facade created by the imperial court of the Great Ming.
Even so, some people wanted to challenge Pei Xuanjing, either to debunk this alleged lie or to gain fame themselves.
Seated at the host's position, Pei Xuanjing chuckled. He didn't pay much heed to Lin Qingyi's words.
He interrupted Lin Qingyi from going on, asking, "Brother Lin, did you come to see me today just to talk about these things?"
Lin Qingyi, reminded by Pei Xuanjing's question, recalled the purpose of his visit. He sheepishly replied, "I got carried away and almost forgot about the main issue."
After saying this, he clapped his hands and shouted out to the courtyard, "Bring it in."
Following his command, a Brocade Guard walked in, carrying a five-feet-long brocade box.
Lin Qingyi smilingly said, "Brother Pei, would you like to guess what's inside this box?" Pei Xuanjing, having some idea, asked, "Has the item I requested been forged?" "Correct!" Lin Qingyi arose, lifted the lid off the brocade box, "Brother Pei, please have a look." Pei Xuanjing also stood up and walked over, seeing a long sword in the brocade box.
Lin Qingyi introduced, "This divine weapon has been crafted, a process that took two months, under the direct royal decree, by the divine craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, all according to Brother Pei's specifications. Although it wasn't forged ten thousand times, it is the best amongst the Thousand Refinement Divine Weapons. If durability is the only consideration, it could easily rival many of the Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapons. It could be deemed a quasi Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapon."
Pei Xuanjing picked up the divine sword from the brocade box, unsheathed the sword, ran his left index finger along the blade, then flicked the blade lightly, causing a gentle vibration.
He walked out of the house, swung the sword, slicing through the air and making a sizzling sound.
"Not bad, it's indeed the top-class amongst the Thousand Refinement Divine Weapons. It can certainly withstand my power." Pei Xuanjing nodded approvingly.
Towards Lin Qingyi, who had also stepped outside, he asked, "What is the name of this sword?"
Lin Qingyi shook his head, "The sword has not been named yet. His Majesty said you should be the one to name it."
Seeing the patterns etched on the blade, Pei Xuanjing suddenly thought of a name, "How about we call it 'Divine Sky'?"
Upon hearing this name, Lin Qingyi's heart skipped a beat, and he said with a strange expression, "Brother Pei, perhaps you should consider another name."
"Is there something inappropriate?" Pei Xuanjing asked, puzzled.
Lin Qingyi hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Perhaps it would be better if we choose a different name."
Pei Xuanjing shook his head dismissively, "Since I've already decided, there's no need to change it." This divine sword was not a royal reward; rather, it was exchanged for the Thousand Refining Divine Weapon Steel Whip that he had seized from Prince Ping, the Thousand Refinement Divine Blade he had seized from the Southern Ghost Emperor, and the divine weapon that the Emperor had originally promised him.
Seeing that his persuasion had been fruitless, Lin Qingyi gave up.
He instructed the Brocade Guard who had delivered the sword to leave and joined Pei Xuanjing back in the house.
"In addition to delivering this divine sword, the commanding officer also asked me to relay a message to Brother Pei." Lin Qingyi said in a low voice.
The commanding officer Lin Qingyi referred to was Jiang Bin.
"Hmm?" As Pei Xuanjing sheathed the sword, he turned to look at Lin Qingyi.
Lin Qingyi glanced around before saying, "Brother Pei, do you know who brought this divine sword here?"
Pei Xuanjing shook his head. Lin Qingyi said, "It was the commanding officer who personally brought it from Tiandu."
Huff!
Lin Qingyi perceived an immediate change in Pei Xuanjing's expression. An intimidating murderous intent flitted across, leaving Lin Qingyi in shock, even though it wasn't directed at him. The utter potency unintentionally released by Pei Xuanjing took him aback.
This truly was a powerhouse capable of defeating a First-Class martial artist while being Second-Class.
After the attack by the Mire Sect, he had fortuitously comprehended the true essence of martial arts and had recently ascended to Third-grade mastery, with the help of the Brocade Guards' resources.
He had initially thought the gap between the two of them had been closed. However, he had not expected that he would barely be able to withstand Pei Xuanjing's unintentionally released aura.
Fortunately, Pei Xuanjing's murderous intent, as fast as it had appeared, quickly dissipated.
In the blink of an eye, he had resumed his usual cheerful demeanor, "Isn't he supposed to be confined and reflecting upon his actions in Tiandu?"
Given the circumstances, he should have been in Tiandu, reflecting on his actions. So, how come he was currently in Xuanfu?
Lin Qingyi shook his head, "I'm not sure, but the commanding officer did ask me to remind Brother Pei to be extra cautious."
"Okay. I understand," Pei Xuanjing responded, nodding his head.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Lin Qingyi excused himself, "In that case, I won't stay any longer."
Understanding that Lin Qingyi was quite busy, Pei Xuanjing gave him permission.
After seeing Lin Qingyi out, Pei Xuanjing returned to his seat in solitude and began to ponder.
Pei Xuanjing had taken highly into account the claim Jiang Bin had made about Qian Ning's connection with his past assassination attempt.
Though not entirely trusting Jiang Bin's statement, having hints and a name was good enough for him to verify the truth through other means.
During this period, Pei Xuanjing several times visited the safe-houses of Bai Xiaosheng's organization in Xuanfu. He spent a substantial amount of silver taels to verify the information.
The conclusion drawn from the investigation was indeed that Qian Ning had an undeniable connection with the assassination attempt against him.
Since Qian Ning was in league with the Infernal Realm and was implicated in that assassination incident…
Was he also involved in the assassination attempt that occurred three months ago?
Having confirmed Qian Ning's involvement, Pei Xuanjing naturally would not let this matter go and kept an eye out for an opportune moment. Unfortunately, such an opportunity had yet to present itself.
If Qian Ning had remained in Tiandu, Pei Xuanjing wouldn't have been able to do much in the near future.
But now that Qian Ning had come to Xuanfu, Pei Xuanjing might have some room to maneuver.
"Qian Ning." Pei Xuanjing ran his fingers over the sword, his eyes cold and unyielding..
Despite Pei Xuanjing having resolved to deal with Qian Ning, the commander of the Brocade Guards, he clear-headedly assessed that he couldn't rush matters and needed to plan for the long term.
Picking up the Shenxiao Sword, Pei Xuanjing returned to his training room and continued to circulate his internal energy, refining his Blood Qi.
His battle against the southern ghost emperor three months earlier hadn't actually yielded much.
First and foremost, he had hoped to continue acquiring pages of the Netherworld Book. Regardless of its actual effects, alone the significant volume of Taoyun it could provide held an immense allure for him.
Unfortunately though, the southern ghost emperor, one of the five ghost emperors of the netherworld, did not carry any pages of the Netherworld Book, for reasons unknown.
Truth be told, besides close to ten thousand silver banknotes, only the southern ghost emperor's Thousand Refinement Divine Weapon and two superior martial studies manuals from the two others held real value.
Over the past three months, Pei Xuanjing seclusion's primary aim had been refining and integrating these two superior martial studies manuals.
At this point, Pei Xuanjing had accumulated enough Taoyun to support a simulation of life.
Just when Pei Xuanjing was preparing to initiate this simulation, Qian Ning, the Brocade Guard commander whom he had intended to deal with, slowly exited the Emperor's residence.
Exiting the residence, the amiable smile that Qian Ning normally wore on his face was instantly replaced by a cold, fierce demeanor.
He returned to his base in Xuanfu and sat himself down in the main seat.
"Sir."
A captain of the Brocade Guards entered the room.
Without lifting his head, Qian Ning asked, "How are the preparations coming along?"
"Sir , everything has been prepared, we are just awaiting your orders," the guard captain replied.
Qian Ning nodded, "Any movement on their end?"
The guard captain replied, "Today Lin Qingyi visited him under the pretence of presenting a Divine Weapon. He stayed for approximately two hours and only then did he leave. We did not investigate the contents of their discussion owing to fear of causing unnecessary disturbances."
"Keep a close watch on them."
"Yes, sir!"
Once the guard captain left, Qian Ning was left alone in the empty hall.
There was a trace of impatience and annoyance on his solemn face, "Unbelievable, what was mere plaything has turned into a dangerous tiger within a blink of an eye."
Needless to say, the person Qian Ning was referring to was none other than Pei Xuanjing.
He had never thought that his earlier recklessness could cause so much trouble now.
A martial artist from the border county, despite being a third-grade master, was never considered significant by someone in high -ranking position like Qian Ning.
Therefore, the initial assassination, regardless of who the target was, made no difference to him.
But who could've expected that within the short span of two years, that country bumpkin from the border county would grow to the point of being able to kill a first-grade martial artist.
This is akin to a harmless kitten growing into a formidable tiger to be feared.
Given the current situation, anyone witnessing Pei Xuanjing's genius would naturally try to get on his good side, and win him over.
But Qian Ning knew well that he no longer had any other options, especially after Jiang Bin discovered his wrongdoings. He was now an enemy of Pei Xuanjing.
He did not believe that Jiang Bin, who was constantly trying to win Pei Xuanjing over, would not tell Pei Xuanjing about the information he had discovered, even if the evidence was not concrete. But it was enough to sow the seeds of doubt in Pei Xuanjing's mind.
If it were him in Jiang Bin's shoes, he would have definitely done the same.
Thus, it was now inevitable that they were enemies, and in this conflict, one of them was fated to fall.
'What a pity, if it were a straight fight, I am definitely not your match. But in this world, often, to kill someone one does not necessarily have to do it personally," Qian Ning muttered to himself.
As far as Qian Ning was concerned, if Pei Xuanjing's existence posed a threat to him, then he would naturally resort to all methods to eliminate him.
The assassin from the netherworld had already proven that the price of an assassination attempt was far too great.
Given that, he had to resort to other methods.
"It seems that our esteemed commander has devised a strategy," a phantom-like voice sounded in Qian Nings ear.
His expression changed and he turned his gaze in one direction, warning harshly, "Don't play tricks on me again, or else, don't blame me for turning against you."
A middle-aged man had somehow appeared in the hall, and it was his voice that had just sounded.
From Qian Ning's tone, it was fair to assume that although familiar with each other, their relationship did not seem to be very cordial.
"It seems that our esteemed commander is scared of my appearances? You were not so scared when cartloads of silver were being carried back to your residence," the middle-aged man retorted unconcernedly
'You!" Qian Nings expression darkened, a flash of killing intent floated in his eyes. He said somberly, "King Chujiang, do you think I'm actually scared of your threats?"
Having been in a high-ranking position for many years, besides the Emperor, Qian Ning feared no one, even if it's a threatening King Chujiang, a royal from the netherworld.
Seeing that his threats were not only ineffective, but also sank Qian Ning into an even deeper rage, King Chujiang was taken aback.
But given his standing, if he couldn't resort to hard tactics, he would resort to softer ones.
"Commander Qian, you misunderstood! How could you call it a threat? I was merely reminding the Commander that we are partners," King Chujiang's tone softened.
At the end of the day, they were partners in crime, seeing the current situation, Qian Ning also did not wish for an outright confrontation, thus he decided to take the proverbial out.
"I'm only looking out for our interests. Xuanfu city is currently under strict watch. If your whereabouts are exposed and you attract unwanted attention, don't blame me for not sticking my neck out."
Since the assassination attempt on Pei Xuanjing at the Nameless Mountain Summit, all of Xuanfu's officials were greatly shocked. After all, the Emperor was also staying here, what if the assassins from the netherworld targeted the Emperor instead?
Because of this, Xuanfu city has been on high alert since then, and security is several times tighter than before.
King Chujiang neither agreed nor disagreed with this, he questioned, "I saw Commander Qian just now, you seemed to be in high spirits, as if you have figured out a way to deal with Pei Xuanjing. May I be enlightened?"
When talking about Pei Xuanjing, King Chujiang couldn't help but speak in a colder tone.
Perhaps there might be disagreements in other aspects of their partnership, but when it came to Pei Xuanjing, both the netherworld and Qian Ning had a common goal, which was – Pei Xuanjing must die.
Ever since the name Pei Xuanjing emerged, the netherworld's several assassination attempts against him have not only been unsuccessful, but also caused them heavy losses..