Starting With The Martial Arts Holy Fire Order

“So that’s the origin of the Dragon-Slaying Saber and the Heavenly Sword!”

Ling Yihan continued, “When forging the saber and sword, Heroine Huang Rong created two black iron pieces. One piece had the name of the treasure island engraved on it, while the other showed the layout of the traps on that island.

“These two black iron pieces were hidden inside the saber and sword, respectively. Since the soft iron hiding the black iron pieces is about seven inches from the hilt, even if used in combat, the hidden iron won’t be damaged.”

Daiqisi nodded.

“So that’s why! No wonder you sliced open the Heavenly Sword earlier, Brother Ling. I thought you were just testing it! When I saw the sword split, I even thought it was a fake for a moment!”

Hu Qingyang agreed.

“Yes, I thought the same when you did that. I didn’t expect there to be such a story behind it!”

Ling Yihan continued, “After the saber and sword were forged, Huang Rong entrusted the Heavenly Sword to her youngest daughter, Guo Xiang, the founder of the Emei Sect. The Dragon-Slaying Saber went to her eldest son, Guo Polu.

“Guo Polu and Guo Xiang also had an older sister, Guo Fu. Because she was reckless and impulsive, Guo Jing and Huang Rong chose not to pass the saber or sword to her.”

Daiqisi asked, “If Guo Jing and Huang Rong intended to pass on the military strategy and secret martial arts, why didn’t they just give the map directly to their children? Why go to such lengths to hide it within the saber and sword?”

Hu Qingyang also nodded, equally puzzled by this approach.

Ling Yihan explained, “They feared that if the military strategies and martial arts were revealed too soon, it wouldn’t be the right time to drive out the Yuan forces.

“If a treacherous person were to get hold of the secrets, it could be disastrous, making the goal of restoring the Han dynasty even harder to achieve.”

Hu Qingyang’s face lit up in realization.

“So that’s how it is. But if the secret remained hidden for so many years, how did you come to know about it, Brother Ling?”

Ling Yihan had a prepared response.

“My ancestor had a personal friendship with Guo Polu. Before his death, Lord Polu revealed the secret of the saber and sword to my ancestor.

“In the world today, besides me, only the Emei Sect’s successive leaders and the descendants of the Divine Condor Hero from the Ancient Tomb Sect know this secret.

“Oh… and there’s another person who might know, which is the great monk Kongjian of the Shaolin Sect.”

In the original story, Kongjian was tricked by Cheng Kun. Before dying, he revealed the secret to Xie Xun, instructing him to find the Dragon-Slaying Saber to uncover its secret and seek revenge. However, whether he actually knew the secret remains uncertain.

“I never imagined the Dragon-Slaying Saber and the Heavenly Sword held such a twisted, extraordinary tale. If Brother Ling hadn’t told us himself, and if we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, we might never have known this secret in our lifetimes,” Hu Qingyang sighed.

Daiqisi frowned, examining the map on the black iron piece.

“Right now, we have the trap map, but we don’t know which island it belongs to. It seems we’ll still need to retrieve the Dragon-Slaying Saber from Grand Tutor Boyan’s residence.”

Ling Yihan chuckled and shook his head.

“The map on this black iron piece is enough to find the military strategies and martial arts secrets! There’s no need to risk retrieving the Dragon-Slaying Saber.”

Hu Qingyang was surprised.

“Does that mean you already know which island it is, Brother Ling?”

Ling Yihan looked at her with a mysterious smile.

“If you think about it carefully, it’s not hard to guess. Since the method of hiding the secrets in the saber and sword was Huang Rong’s idea, do you know where she came from?”

Hu Qingyang thought for a moment.

“I’ve heard the Three Lords and the Bright Left and Right Messengers mention that Heroine Huang Rong’s father was one of the Five Greats of the Central Plains, the ‘Eastern Heretic’ Huang Yaoshi, who lived on Peach Blossom Island… Could it be…”

“Exactly. The treasure is hidden on Peach Blossom Island, located near Mount Pudu in the east.”

Ling Yihan nodded with a faint smile.

“I initially suspected it was on this island. Now, seeing this map on the black iron piece with its coded reference to the Eight Trigrams formation confirms it beyond doubt.”

“In that case, should we go directly to Peach Blossom Island without seeking the Dragon-Slaying Saber?” Daiqisi asked.

Ling Yihan nodded.

“Yes. The Dragon-Slaying Saber isn’t particularly important to me right now. Tomorrow, we’ll leave the capital and head to Mount Pudu to find Peach Blossom Island.”

Daiqisi and Hu Qingyang both nodded, agreeing to his plan.

“Brother Ling, I have a question,” Hu Qingyang began hesitantly.

“For decades, countless martial artists have fought and died for the Dragon-Slaying Saber and the Heavenly Sword. Why are you willing to share the secret of the saber and sword with us? We know that with your skills, you could find the treasure on your own.”

Daiqisi shared the same thought and looked at Ling Yihan, curious to hear his response.

Ling Yihan paused, momentarily taken aback, but then he quickly regained his composure and smiled.

“What does it matter if I tell you? Don’t overthink it. It’s getting late—rest up. We have an early start tomorrow!”

With that, he turned and left, heading to his own room.

Ding! “Congratulations to the host for completing the task of retrieving the Heavenly Sword from Prince Ruyang’s mansion. You’ve earned the reward: the martial arts manual The Treasure of Admiring the Flower.”

Upon returning to his room, Ling Yihan took out The Treasure of Admiring the Flower and used the Memory Pearl within his body to thoroughly read and memorize its contents before storing it in his spatial ring.

He didn’t plan to give The Treasure of Admiring the Flower to Hu Qingyang just yet. He would wait until there was an opportunity to enter the imperial palace in the future, then hand her the manual.

The next day, Ling Yihan left the inn with Daiqisi and Hu Qingyang and noticed wanted posters on the streets, offering a reward for him and Daiqisi. It was undoubtedly Prince Ruyang, Cha Han Temoer, who had posted the notices in response to Ling Yihan’s theft of the Heavenly Sword the night before.

Fortunately, Ling Yihan had learned a disguise technique from The Treasure of Admiring the Flower, allowing him to alter the appearances of himself, Daiqisi, and Hu Qingyang, making it easy for them to leave the capital undetected.

Ling Yihan purchased a large carriage, and after making numerous inquiries, he finally arrived at the foot of Mount Pudu with Daiqisi and Hu Qingyang.

While Mount Pudu was easy to locate, Peach Blossom Island was much harder to find. Otherwise, its secrets would have been discovered long ago.

The three of them spent over a month gathering information before they finally found the location of Peach Blossom Island.

In the end, Ling Yihan purchased a large ship and hired a few sailors, ready to set sail for Peach Blossom Island.