The grey sky of the Sword Grave did not just disappear it was like the whole thing was sucked in. The battlefield with millions of broken iron tombstones was pulled into Chen Qings palm leaving behind the day in Peach Blossom Village.
For a moment there was silence. The birds stopped singing the wind stopped blowing. Even the machines from Bureau 749 were quiet.
Then Chen Qing appeared again. He was standing in the place between the tomatoes and the wild ginger. He was holding the Sword of Flying Snow in his hand. The sword was shining much that it seemed to be eating up all the light around it and it was sending out a gentle pulse of white frost that made the dew drops sparkle like tiny diamonds.
Agent Li, who was standing at the edge of the village let out a breath she had been holding. Her lungs hurt as the strange pressure went away.
"The weird thing in the air has stopped " she whispered into her radio. "Alpha Team are you guys okay? Did anyone get hurt when the air got all weird?"
"We are okay Ma'am " a voice came back sounding tired. ". Something is wrong. Ma'am look at our equipment."
"What do you mean?"
Before the soldier could answer a new sound started. It was not a roar or a scary scream. It was a metallic clicking noise.
Click... Click... Clank...
It started small. The knives on the soldiers vests began to vibrate. Then it spread. The guns they were holding started to hum making the soldiers hands feel numb.
"Whats happening to my gun?" a soldier shouted, his voice getting louder. "It feels like its alive! It's not a magnet it's like the metal is trying to get !"
The Sovereign of Iron
Down at the film crews camp things were more crazy.
Teacher Huang was trying to calm down by chopping vegetables.. Then the big knife in his hand jumped up.
"Hey, my knife!" Huang cried out as the blade almost hit his nose.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
What happened next was something that the thirty million people watching the livestream would never forget. Metal things from over the village started flying up into the air.
The kitchen knives, the machetes, the iron shovels and the guns. Thousands of things rose up at the time. They did not fly around wildly. They went up to a height of twenty meters. Hovered in a perfect circle. Every blade, every gun and every sharp edge turned slowly toward the courtyard on the mountain.
Then like they were following an order they tilted down.
The knives, the guns and the machetes all bowed down. Thousands of things that were made to hurt or protect were showing respect to their master.
Agent Li watched in shock as her own gun flew out of her holster and joined the others. Its barrel pointed down to the ground.
"Weapons... They're worshipping him " Agent Li whispered, her face white as the snow on Chen Qings sword. She realized that Chen Qing was not a strong fighter. He was the master of all weapons.
"Oops."
Inside the courtyard Chen Qing was looking at his sword. He liked how it fit in his hand and how the swords spirit was talking to his spirit.
Then he looked up. He saw the sky filled with thousands of flying knives, guns and hoes all pointing at his door.
"Oops " Chen Qing said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I forgot to turn off my power. The Sword Grave must have made all the iron things sensitive."
He realized that if he did not fix this the village would not have any utensils for a week and Bureau 749 would have a problem.
He did not make a show. He just put his sword away. Stopped using his special power.
"Disperse " he said softly.
Clatter! Clang! Thud!
The metal things fell from the sky. They did not hurt anyone. Because of Chen Qings control they fell softly into the grass.
The valley became quiet again.
The Digital Kneel
The livestream was still on even though the Sword Grave had made a lot of interference. The people watching were donating a lot of money.
The chat was full of people worshipping Chen Qing.
One person donated 100 Super Rockets. Said, "I am kneeling in front of my computer. I saw it. The 'Ten Thousand Swords Return' is a technique. I thought it was a myth. This man is the Sword Ancestor!"
Another person said, "How much for the sword? 10 Billion? 50 Billion? I need that alloy."
Someone else said, "This is not fake. I am three villages away. I just saw my grandfathers scythe fly out the window. It's real."
Plan B is Dead
Agent Li walked to her gun. She picked it up from the mud and her fingers were shaking. As she looked at the gun her heart sank. The barrel was a bit bent, not from heat or impact. From Chen Qings special power.
She realized that their plan to contain Chen Qing was not going to work. It was like trying to stop a hurricane with a screen door.
She talked to her radio and her voice was not like before. It was the voice of someone who had seen something and realized how small they were.
"Command we need to change the threat level of Chen Qing to the highest level. Our plan to contain him is not good enough. It's actually very bad."
There was a silence before a voice responded. "Explain, Agent Li."
"If Chen Qing wants to fight us " Li said, looking at her gun "he doesn't need to use his sword. He can make all our guns and tanks useless with a thought. We have no power over him. None."
The Master's Peace
Back in the courtyard Chen Qing did not know about the plans being made about him.
He found a branch on an old apple tree that was blocking the sun from his garden. He took out his sword a bit.
Ting.
A faint sound came out. The branch was cut without the sword touching it.
" better " Chen Qing said, happy. "A bit flashy, for a gardening tool. It works."
He looked at the hoe he had used earlier. The handle was a bit burned from the Sword Graves power.
"I'll have to make a handle this afternoon " he thought. "Maybe I can find some wood in the back hills."
He walked back, into his house to put on a kettle of tea. The world outside was still trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that a man could prune his trees with the power to end civilizations. This was a big problem for the world to handle. The man was going to have a cup of tea and the world outside was going to have to figure things out on its own.
[End of Chapter 14]