Breaking the rules
Gu Yi's subordinate is Lie Changkong, the chief of the Junior Masters and the "Tianquan Master," who is also a member of the renowned "Tianquan Family."
Gu Yi had never interfered in her affairs so directly before.
A Qiu felt that Gu Yi was starting to change, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Gu Yi gazed at A Qiu and said softly, "Do you know what's most important in the struggle for the world?"
Without hesitation, A Qiu replied, "Winning people over with virtue and treating others with sincerity is why the Duke of Zhou spat out his food to welcome guests, and the world turned to him."
Her eyes immediately fell on the piece "Yan Shi Ning" composed by Gu Yi in her hand.
This was the second time today that Gu Yi had been amused by her. After a moment, he said, "I didn't teach you that way. So, did the Master of Lanling Hall teach you that way?"
A Qiu replied matter-of-factly, “Of course my master never taught me how to conquer the world. I am an assassin, not a powerful minister or prince. This is what my second senior brother always says; his nickname in the underworld is ‘winning people over with virtue.’”
Gu Yi tried his best to keep a straight face and said calmly, "If it is his instruction, then I am relieved."
Mo Yimingyue, the master of Xingfeng Hall, is a contemporary martial arts hero, skilled in both land and water operations, and adept at assassination, forced confessions, and double-crossing. His reputation in the martial arts world surpasses even that of A Qiu, the solitary and unassuming top-ranked immortal.
A-Qiu knew he must have more to say, so she waited patiently for what was to come.
Gu Yi's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I also hope that the Great Way will prevail, that the world will be for all, that the virtuous and capable will be chosen, and that trust and harmony will be upheld. However, based on my many years of practice, the hearts and minds needed to win the world are not quite what the people imagine."
A-Qiu asked, "What's the difference?"
Gu Yi said calmly, "To conquer the world, you don't need to win everyone's hearts. You only need to gain the trust of your allies and the fear of your opponents. With these two mindsets, that's enough."
A-Qiu understood and said, "But in A-Qiu's opinion, this is technique rather than principle."
Gu Yi gave her a deep look and said, "It's good that you know this. However, in this chaotic world, everyone is struggling to survive. If we want the Great Way to bring peace to the world, we need a long-lasting and unified world. I hope that on that day, you will still remember what you said today."
A-Qiu said brightly, "I don't remember. Master can remind me. Besides, with Master here, why should I worry about these things?"
Gu Yi did not answer, but after a moment he sighed and said, "All peace is bought with war." He then looked at the score of "Yan Shi Ning" in A Qiu's hand and said with a bitter smile, "Probably no one would have thought that behind this piece of 'Yan Shi Ning', there is a plot of murder and struggle."
The place where A-Qiu appeared in the night was outside the gate of Jin Guang Temple in Jianzhang East City.
The night was deep, and there was no one around; the long street was deserted.
"Tianquan Charioteer" Lie Changkong lagged a foot or two behind her and asked worriedly, "Miss, aren't you being too overconfident to face thirteen shadow warriors alone?" In fact, even with him, the Tianquan Charioteer, he didn't feel confident of escaping unscathed.
Lie Changkong only knew that he was on Gu Yi's orders to accompany A Qiu to deliver a message to the thirteen shadows of the Divine Weapon Hall, to give them a warning with both kindness and severity, but he did not know that A Qiu had to fight a life-or-death battle with the thirteen shadows beforehand.
A Qiu said calmly, "If I want them to continue to listen to me, they must pass this round of testing." He then revealed a confident smile and said, "I have fought against them many times before, and I have my own methods for dealing with group battles. Young Master Lie only needs to stand by and support me."
Lie Changkong, disagreeing, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said with a heavy heart, "If anything were to happen to you, I would have no way to explain to the Young Master."
Ah Qiu smiled and said, "Do you not know what my name used to be?"
Lie Changkong only knew that A Qiu was Gu Yi's newly accepted disciple and his only successor. As for A Qiu's past, he only vaguely knew that she was a dancer in the music academy.
He accompanied A Qiu to meet with the Thirteen Shadows, believing he was representing Gu Yi and accompanying his successor to discuss cooperation with the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall. He never expected that a fight would break out.
Even though A Qiu is Gu Yi's disciple and the successor of the young master, she has only spent a limited amount of time with Gu Yi, and it is impossible for her to become a martial arts master in just a few months.
A Qiu smiled and looked at him, saying, "My former code name in the martial arts world was 'Jing Ke'."
As Lie Changkong's expression changed instantly, A Qiu flew towards the central pillar of the long street, letting out a three-fold Lanling howl.
With that whistling sound, white figures flashed across the street corner, at the base of walls, and under trees. Lie Changkong glanced at them and counted them; there were exactly thirteen people, no more, no less.
The leader, his face hidden by a bamboo hat, appeared to float out of the shadows. He said in a calm voice, "It's been a while since we last met. Congratulations on your well-being, Master. I hope you pass the evaluation smoothly this time."
He glanced at Lie Changkong behind A Qiu and said, "I hope the hall master will not break the rules and allow outsiders to interfere again."
Ah Qiu smiled and said, "What if I insist on doing it that way?"
Lie Changkong was taken aback upon hearing this. A Qiu had just told him not to interfere, but now it seemed as if she was deliberately provoking the other person. For a moment, he didn't know what her intention was, nor did he understand whether he should interfere, so he was somewhat confused.
The leader, Scorpion Shadow, remained completely calm and said, "If the Hall Master insists on colluding with outsiders and breaking the rules, then I can only report to Xingfeng Hall and ask Hall Master Moyi to handle it."
A Qiu smiled and said, "Is that so? Last time, you deliberately took advantage of my weakened state and attacked me when I was alone. If I report this to Senior Brother Mo Yi, do you think he will protect you or me?"
Scorpion Shadow finally showed some emotion. He raised his head and said stiffly, "This subordinate was just conducting a routine test. I was unaware beforehand that the Hall Master's power had been damaged."
In Lanling Hall, some things are both rules and tacit understandings. Everyone knows them, but no one can say them out loud. Whether the Thirteen Shadows took advantage of someone in distress is not conclusive evidence. Even if they did, it might not constitute a violation of the hall's rules. However, whose side Mo Yimingyue chooses to stand on is entirely up to him.
Besides the externally unified propaganda of "winning people over with virtue," Mo Yimingyue's reputation also includes an internal reputation of "having no taboos."
He is the head of the Enforcement Hall, and who he wants to convict depends on how he does it.
Of course, Mo Yimingyue rarely acts arbitrarily and generally makes fair judgments. However, it cannot be ruled out that he might target one, two, or three of the Thirteen Shadows to avoid angering A Qiu.
However, in the end, these are all just possibilities, and Ah Qiu has always accepted the tests according to the rules before, and has never reprimanded the Thirteen Shadows like this.
A Qiu took a step forward, casually revealing the "Assassin Qin" tattoo on his right arm, and said with a smile, "I have never hurt you before, and I suppose you are not very grateful. Now my skills have just recovered, and they are not fully restored. If I have to kill a few of you in order to escape, I am sure my master will not blame me."
Scorpion Shadow was forced to take a step back by her advance, and the others had no choice but to follow suit. This single step back caused some disarray and openings in the formation.
At that moment, he suddenly realized something.
Master Qiu, you've come here today to break the rules.
It seems that the rules of the Divine Weapon Hall will have to be rewritten from today onwards.
Scorpion Shadow's mind raced, and he sighed, "As members of the Divine Weapon Hall, we only know to be loyal to the hall's rules and have no choice. Whatever the hall master wants, then so be it."
Holding the Moon-Shaped Sword, A Qiu focused his sword intent, his gaze becoming bright and compelling.
Strictly speaking, her swordsmanship was not taught by Gu Yi. Rather, it was because after mastering martial arts, she naturally knew how to handle a weapon, from which angle, and along which trajectory to strike.
Knives are for slashing, swords are for thrusting; this is the nature of weapons.
Gu Yi had given her some guidance. But what affected her the most was Shangguan Yuqi's Ice Bamboo Sword Dance, which she had personally witnessed at the Mid-Autumn Festival Palace Banquet.
Sword dance differs from swordsmanship in that its application is different, but the rhythm of the sword movement, the method of striking the sword, the adjustment of the angle of the sword, and the coordination of footwork and body movements are all included.
At this moment, what Ah Qiu felt most deeply was that the sword was indeed the gentleman among all weapons.
Even in a life-or-death duel, a swordsman possesses a free and unrestrained demeanor, a quality distinctly different from the assassin's determination to strike with absolute certainty or the killer's deadly tactics.
It is not only people who can forge tools, but tools can also forge people.
A Qiu slowly drew out the "Louyue" sword. Before the sword was fully drawn, all thirteen shadow warriors stared intently at the "Louyue" sword in her hand, and no one dared to move an inch, let alone launch an attack.
This was all because her aura and sword aura were perfectly integrated, her sharpness rising, and she herself was like a newly forged sword, its light flowing, and no one dared to challenge her sharpness.
In truth, even if all thirteen shadows attacked at once, no matter how fast she was with her sword, she couldn't possibly attack so many people simultaneously.
However, the perfect unity of man and sword creates psychological pressure: whoever strikes first will be the first to suffer the unparalleled ferocity of "Carved Moon's" attack. Of course, the price is their life.
With all thirteen divine soldiers and shadows appearing, almost none of them ever had to consider the possibility of losing their lives.
But this time is different, because Ah Qiu has already made his point beforehand.
She's going to make an example of someone.
Scorpion Shadow, who was the first to bear the brunt, felt the greatest pressure.
He knew almost without thinking that if A Qiu were to kill someone today, his first choice would be him.
He vaguely and absently recalled that in all the previous tests, he had always followed the rules of the hall and had never considered the possibility of any change whatsoever.
How could he not have imagined that one day the hall master would turn around and be determined to kill him?
Perhaps it was because the mechanism of Lanling Hall had existed for so long that he had forgotten there were other possibilities.
If he were to die today, what would be the point of following the rules of the monastery?
Before he could even figure it out, a sword flashed like lightning and thunder, opening up behind him and neatly slicing the other twelve people behind him away.
He didn't even know when A Qiu had appeared behind him.
The Thirteen Shadows always fought side by side, but Scorpion Shadow suddenly realized that he had fallen into a situation of fighting alone.
In his shock, he tried to subdue his enemy with his backhand, but a cold, sharp blade was already pressed against his throat.
Assassins are naturally sensitive to their weapons, and what he sensed at that moment was the rich aura of ancient weapons used in the assassination attempt on Qin.
With her right hand wielding the "Crescent Moon" and her left hand wielding the "Assassination of Qin," coupled with A Qiu's already unparalleled speed and ghostly agility, she now brought it to its fullest potential.
With the sharp edge of the assassin's blade pressed against his throat, Scorpion Shadow was forced to slowly kneel down. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
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