The End of the Year

After fighting with the guy called the Number One Sword Saint of North Chu, Li Shiyin felt it was not bad. That guy did have some skills... Though it would be perfect if he did not call himself the Number One Sword Saint of North Chu.

The Number One Sword Saint? It's so funny. Li Shiyin covered her mouth, but still let out a "kukuku" sound.

Li Zhan looked back at Li Shiyin and asked, "Who won in the end, you or him?"

The fight between the two in the attic ended in an instant, with Li Shiyin's sword at Jiang Xiaobai's neck. Li Zhan saw it clearly that Li Shiyin had won.

But the battle between the two of them in the Imperial Garden was earth-shaking, with the heavens and earth changing color. The two extremely terrifying huge swords confronted each other in midair. Finally, everything became calm. Li Shiyin put away her sword and returned to the attic, while Jiang Xiaobai the Sword Saint stayed in midair. At this point, Li Zhan could not tell who had won.

"Oh, he won," Li Shiyin told Li Zhan. "He was at the Gold Core stage, so his spiritual power was more abundant than mine. I could not outlast him. Also, his flying sword was real while my sword qi was virtual, so it was not as good as his."

Although Li Shiyin said so, Li Zhan still looked at her a few more times. He really did not expect that she had made such progress after secretly going out to cultivate for just half a year... She could now confront North Chu's Number One Sword Saint head-on.

"You won one round and he won one round. That can be considered a tie," he nodded and said, "Quite impressive. I guess His Majesty would not make things difficult for us anymore."

Previously, the Li family had dominated the military in the North Chu court. Xiang Ji was propped up by the Emperor to check and balance the Li family, but he was far from enough. And this year, after Li Konghe passed away and Li Shiwen lost power, the Emperor took the opportunity to weaken the Li family, and by now, the Li family had lost most of its power.

If Li Shiyin had lost to Jiang Xiaobai today, the Emperor would have taken the opportunity to act wildly. In the future, the Li and Xiang families might have exchanged positions. At best, they could only check and balance each other.

But with a tie, the Emperor would not dare to act rashly anymore.

This was the influence that top martial power had on politics.

In fact, Li Shiyin did not think much about the political changes. She looked at Li Zhan, wanting to say that if she had wanted to kill Jiang Xiaobai, he would have become a corpse long ago. But in the end she did not say it.

"Why do you call him the Number One Sword Saint?" She just asked this question.

"It's just a title to deter evildoers," Li Shiyin's victory made Li Zhan quite happy. He explained to Li Shiyin, "Think about it. If a cultivator unfamiliar with North Chu hears that there is a Number One Sword Saint in the imperial palace, wouldn't they not dare to act rashly? It also serves to attract cultivators who covet power, status and wealth. After hearing about the Number One Sword Saint conferred by the court, wouldn't they come to seek an official position?

"Of course, Jiang Xiaobai is quite powerful. I've seen him in the palace before, sending out a flying sword that fetched the head of an enemy outside Danyang City. It really was an immortal technique."

"But Dad, the whole cultivation world is vast and boundless. A cultivator who truly fears the cultivation world would not call himself the Number One or Number Two Sword Saint. Because in the eyes of real cultivators, it is actually quite ridiculous." So Li Shiyin also seriously explained to Li Zhan about the cultivation world, "The cultivators you attract this way are mostly arrogant, incompetent and narrow-minded."

"Oh?" Li Zhan was surprised. "Is that so?"

"Yes, I'm just an ordinary cultivator in the Dao Sword Sect, and Jiang Xiaobai can't even beat me. And there are hundreds and thousands of cultivators like me in the Dao Sword Sect. Then there are five sects like the Dao Sword Sect in North Chu Country," Li Shiyin earnestly counted with her fingers for Li Zhan. "Think about it, how many more powerful sword cultivators are there compared to Jiang Xiaobai?"

Li Zhan had not thought that much about it. The matters of immortals were too far removed from him. He just looked at Li Shiyin, thinking that this kid who always made him worry had changed.

Father and daughter walked out of the palace. Outside the palace gate was a luxurious carriage, with a sleazy young man next to it. Seeing the father and daughter come out of the palace gate, he put his hands in his sleeves, shrugged his shoulders, and asked with a smile, "How was the battle? I could see your movement even from the outer gate."

"Eh! Li Shiwen, look at your sloppy appearance! I don't even want to tell others you are my brother." Li Shiyin shook her head in disgust and got into the carriage.

Li Zhan also glared at Li Shiwen with a speechless expression.

But Li Shiwen still noticed that Li Shiyin's face was pale. He asked into the carriage, "You didn't lose, did you?"

"How could I lose?" Li Shiyin's little head popped out of the carriage curtain, looking at Li Shiwen who was climbing up to drive the carriage. She smiled and said, "Dad said we tied."

"Dad said so?" Li Shiwen turned the carriage around towards home, glanced back at Li Shiyin, and asked softly, "What exactly happened?"

Li Shiyin wrinkled her nose and pouted, looking utterly disdainful.

Li Shiwen understood tacitly, and gave Li Shiyin a thumbs up: "Good little sister."

As the local bully of Danyang City who had just returned home, she had caused changes in the situation across North Chu with just her presence, with undercurrents surging in secret. Although she did not understand any of it herself, she really was quite busy, because on average there was a big commotion every three days.

It was not until recently, when the year was clearly coming to an end and the New Year was approaching, that she finally got some free time.

She no longer went out to cause trouble, and concentrated on staying home to accompany her parents.

She told them about her happy life in the Dao Sword Sect.

She said that in the Dao Sword Sect there was a Dan Peak formed from a single spiritual vein, with a black-bellied eccentric master on it, a talking cute white tiger, a little loli snake that could refine poison pills, a charming beautiful five-tailed fox;

She said that there was a cool sword cultivator senior sister in the same batch who had comprehended sword intent and was even more powerful than her, a trash man full of fire, a pretentious fan shaking idiot, and a pair of identical twins...

"Mom, I named the chasing wind, with the same name as the chasing wind in our family!" Li Shiyin leaned against Yang Yanqi and lazily said, "Chasing wind is especially cute. He is a big tiger, but he can talk. His whole body is white, only the king character on his forehead is black..."

She wrote the king character on her own forehead to show Yang Yanqi.

"His four paws are black..."

She stretched out her own hands and lifted her little feet to show Yang Yanqi.

"There are four black circles on his long tail."

She showed Yang Yanqi her butt.

"Hehe, I don't have a tail."

"I originally wanted to bring chasing wind back for you to see, but Master said he was too fierce. I'll bring him back to show you after he becomes smaller in the future. Oh mom, let me tell you, when I picked up chasing wind, he was this small..."

She circled her tender forefinger and thumb to show Yang Yanqi, "Even smaller than a kitten, but now he is so big, this big..."

She spread both hands apart, making a gesture that could not wrap around.

"Chasing wind is a tiger. He can talk?" Yang Yanqi was very puzzled.

"Yes, yes, isn't it amazing! Master taught him..." Li Shiyin's big eyes smiled into a slit, "Master said that people can learn to talk, so chasing wind can too. Then he taught chasing wind to talk, and chasing wind could talk."

"Your Master is really a marvelous person," Yang Yanqi said with a laugh. "Since chasing wind is so big, won't he hurt people?"

"He won't... He can't beat me," Li Shiyin said proudly, and then thought of something and laughed out loud, "But he would hurt Master! He just wants to play with Master, then he would crash into him, sending Master flying dozens of meters in an instant..."

"Is your Master okay?" Yang Yanqi asked with concern.

"He's fine. Master is so powerful," Li Shiyin said. "Master always says, oh, I can't fight, oh, I'm so weak, oh, run away quickly, be careful. But he is actually very powerful. Not only is Master powerful in fighting, he is also powerful in other aspects...

"Master is very smart, smarter than the old tutor, Master knows everything. Master can refine pills, set up formations, sword techniques. The pills I gave you were refined by Master, and my sword techniques were taught by Master. Master is the most powerful."

"Yes, it really is your blessing. Such an immortal of high virtue has lived for countless years and has infinite wisdom..." Yang Yanqi said, "You have to cultivate well with your Master."

Li Shiyin heard this and giggled, saying, "Master is not old at all! Master is only twenty-five! And Master is not an immortal sage, he is sly and naughty..."

As she spoke, she suddenly realized she had let something slip! She hurriedly covered her own mouth.

"Twenty-five years old?" But Yang Yanqi was no ordinary person, and instantly grasped the key point, "Your master is so young, and you two are together day and night in Dan Peak..."

With this lead, Yang Yanqi started working backwards, and everything became clear!

"Ah! Mother, I just remembered I have something to do!" Li Shiyin suddenly jerked up from Yang Yanqi's embrace, displayed the Feixian Question Dao, and vanished instantly.

And Yang Yanqi watched Li Shiyin's disappearing back, falling into contemplation.

After running away from Yang Yanqi, Li Shiyin went to find Li Shiwen.

Li Shiwen was nestled in a pavilion drinking wine. Li Shiyin came over and pulled him up, putting her arm around his shoulder and asking, "Do you want me to teach you a secret martial arts manual?"

"What secret martial arts manual? I don't want it." Li Shiwen simply rolled his eyes. He just wanted to drink.

"Let me tell you, the way you are now, you can't even beat Dan Peak's cats," Li Shiyin said.

"You call that a cat?" Li Shiwen's pupils shook in shock. "Are you bullying me for not having seen Chasing Wind?"

"That's what Dan Peak's cats look like," Li Shiyin said. "If you beg me, I'll teach you a secret Dan Peak martial arts manual that isn't passed down, and let you be unmatched under heaven in the future. What do you think, learn or not?"

"Get out, I'm not learning!" Li Shiwen pushed Li Shiyin away, wanting to lie down again.

Li Shiyin grabbed his shoulder again and pulled him up, asking "kindly", "Beg or not?"

Li Shiwen's back went cold, and he had no choice but to nod, "Lady warrior, I beg you to teach me the secret manual."

"That's more like it," Li Shiyin took out a stick from her heavenly bag and gave it to him, saying, "Actually, this is a martial art my master specially designed for you. It's a spear art called Li Family Spear Art. He said if you don't like it, name it yourself. It's adapted from a body refining art.

"I discovered my master seems to have foreseen your plight, specially urging me to teach you this spear art, saying it can help you turn the tide. What do you think?"

Holding the stick, Li Shiwen thought of Qin Ran and couldn't help feeling moved... This brother-in-law really was too amazing. Even if he didn't walk the cultivation path, in the mortal world he would definitely become a marquis or minister.

Li Shiyin also took out some pills from her heavenly bag, saying, "Body refining arts are too fierce. If you just cultivate skills without self-cultivation, it will harm your body. Your aptitude is too poor to cultivate. You can only use pills to nurture your body.

"When you practice martial arts in the future, you need to take these pills on time."

Li Shiwen received the pills as well.

"Alright..." Li Shiyin took out another stick, smiling devilishly, "Let's embark on our happy martial arts journey!"

Firecrackers and fireworks, these are indispensable for New Year's, without the smell of gunpowder and sound of firecrackers, it can't be called year's end. Delicious food and nice clothes, on New Year's Eve they're all waiting for these things. Without eating the delicious home cooking, without wearing new clothes, it just doesn't feel like New Year's.

After busy with rituals and ancestor worship all day, by the time they finished dinner, the sky was already pitch black.

Seeing other families' fireworks in the night sky, Li Shiyin hurriedly pulled Li Shiwen along to go set off fireworks, leading the Li family's servants in a huge procession.

One firework after another bloomed in the sky, like cotton balls under the sun, like dandelions in a breeze. Gorgeous lights lit up as fireworks crackled, and snowflakes drifted down from the night sky.

Leaning on Li Shiwen's shoulder, watching the sky full of fireworks, Li Shiyin suddenly thought of Dan Peak. Dan Peak, did it also have fireworks? Did it also celebrate New Year's?

Looking at the night sky, she wondered again, what was Master doing right now? She suddenly missed him so much...