"Pfft..." Amidst the sparks flying from the clash of two swords, a splash of blood stained the floorboards. Who was it?

"Huuuh..." Ye Xiu knew he had failed. His hand trembled; the Muzi Sword seemed incapable of exerting any power, and he had been defeated by Chen Feng so easily.

"Hahahaha! This strike is for your life. Die." Chen Feng spun around, stretching his entire body, then, like an arrow loosed from the bow, he lunged forward in a great stride toward the injured Ye Xiu.

"Ye Xiu!" Hong'er called out sharply. She was deeply worried for him, crying out loud for the first time.

Ye Xiu gritted his teeth against the pain in his hand and once more raised the Muzi Sword. But this time, the Muzi Sword was different from before; the two grotesque dragons, having absorbed Ye Xiu's blood, were now almost completely entwined. That crimson substance dripped directly from the dragons’ tongues down to the central point of the blade, and an evil power surged forth.

"This is it!" Chen Feng decisively unleashed his ultimate move, his lightning-fast sword aimed directly at Ye Xiu's chest.

In that instant, a light dawned in Ye Xiu's mind. The scene of the autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves flashed brightly once more. With that one leaf drifting past, the Muzi Sword in his hand was ready to strike.

"Kacha..." Chen Feng’s Ghost Wail crashed heavily onto the ground. His eyes were filled with terror. In that last exchange, when he met the Muzi Sword, he felt as if he had struck an overwhelmingly powerful force, one he had never encountered before.

The Muzi Sword had pierced deep into Chen Feng's sternum. Since it was a wooden sword, it only delivered a massive shock to Chen Feng, without inflicting overly serious physical damage.

"You are no longer the foremost swordsman of Ghost Valley. Your sword has become far too slow." Ye Xiu knew that the Muzi Sword was not about taking lives; though designed for assassination, its nature was one of righteous and overpowering dominance, having nothing to do with schemes.

Chen Feng went completely limp, sinking to his knees. He mumbled blankly, "Why? Why is this happening!"

Ye Xiu slowly withdrew his sword, the demeanor of a great general instantly emerging.

"I will kill you!" Hong'er's hatred for Chen Feng seemed only payable in blood. She raised her sword and charged toward him. "Go to hell!"

At that moment, Chen Feng suddenly threw his head back, and a large cloud of smoke scattered from his sleeves, rapidly filling the entire area. "Cough, cough!" Ye Xiu hadn't expected Chen Feng to resort to such despicable tactics; he blamed himself for letting his guard down.

When the smoke finally dissipated, Chen Feng was long gone. He had escaped successfully this way.

"Damn it, he got away!" Hong'er was furious, unable to control her emotions at all. All her pain rushed over her; she couldn't bear it. "I will kill him. I will hunt him down wherever he goes."

"Alright, Hong'er, don't be like this." Ye Xiu understood the agony and loneliness in her heart; only he could truly comprehend her feelings. "I am the same as you. At least you have family to remember; I only had one older sister. It’s fine."

"Wuuuh..." Hong'er didn't know how she should react; what else could she do but cry now?

"It’s alright," Ye Xiu walked over and pulled Hong'er into an embrace. "At least I am here with you now. If you want to kill Chen Feng, I will go with you."

"Wuuuh..." Hong'er continued to weep, even beating against Ye Xiu's chest heavily.

Ghost Valley's Asura Courtyard—what a world detached from worldly affairs. But at this moment, that world had been utterly upended.

Ye Xiu stood quietly there, remembering the scene when he first entered the valley. Back then, Hong'er certainly wouldn't have stood meekly by his side as she was now.

"Sect Master, you truly intend to leave the valley?" The disciples tried to persuade him to stay, but their efforts were immediately suppressed by the intensity of Ye Xiu's desire to depart.

"While I am gone, you must practice diligently. Do not let Master's hard work go to waste." Ye Xiu glanced at the young man who had once tried to stab him with a sword but ended up taking a powerful kick—he gave him a nod.

"Don't worry, Second Senior Brother!" Hong'er didn't think too deeply about it and immediately mounted her horse. "I will definitely find that dog thief Chen Feng. Then I will bring back his head to honor Father."

"Let's go, depart!" Ye Xiu adjusted his shorts and short-sleeved top, though the casual shoes on his feet seemed almost incapable of withstanding the coming journey.

"Go? You aren't even getting on a horse, so how are you going? Are you relying on your feet!" Hong'er felt a surge of irritation. "Don't tell me... you can't ride, can you?"

"Hehe!" Ye Xiu grinned easily at Hong'er. "You guessed right. I truly cannot ride a horse. Where I come from, we use vehicles. Horses are just too slow."

"A carriage? Don't tell me you're actually some rich person!" Hong'er was convinced Ye Xiu must be some sort of reckless scoundrel; only officials in this day and age could afford carriages. "You can't even ride a horse, and you call yourself a man? What are we going to do? I'll walk with you!"

"No need!" With that, Ye Xiu directly grabbed Hong'er's arm, easily swinging himself onto the back of her horse, and tightly held onto her slender waist.

"Hey! You indecent thief. Let go!" Hong'er longed to turn around and whip Ye Xiu, "Do you believe I won't toss you off?"

"Giddyup..." Before Hong'er could react, Ye Xiu kicked the horse's belly, and the animal bolted away in a frenzy, giving Hong'er no chance to use her whip. "Toss off what? We need to hurry along."

"Hey, you indecent thief... let go, I'm mad at you!"

"Hahahaha." What should have been a heavy farewell turned, in the eyes of the onlookers, into the mischievous new beginning of these bickering lovers. What lay beyond the valley, no one knew; the end of the Qin Dynasty was an era rife with conflict, a time for heroes to rise amidst chaos.

...

The Qin power waned, chaos reigned supreme. The realm was no longer a kingdom, but a hell. Loyal ministers were dead, treacherous villains ran rampant, and righteous men fled everywhere, all to no avail.

"Where is this place?" Ye Xiu could barely stand the jarring ride; this horse travel was pure torture. "Enough, enough. I need a rest. I need a break."

"A rest?" Hong'er pouted again. "You, a dignified man, are less capable than me, a weak woman? Perhaps you should just crawl back to Ghost Valley and live your life away from all this trouble."

"Huuuuh..." Ye Xiu gasped for breath and spat out fiercely, "In my entire life, I’ve never met a 'weak woman' like you. What is this place! It’s a desolate wasteland!"

"What place? How would I know? This is my first time leaving the valley too," Hong'er looked equally wronged.

"What! You don't even know the way, yet you led me running everywhere!" Ye Xiu was nearly losing control, pointing incessantly at the surrounding mountains. "What is this mountain, what is that mountain, and what is that one over there? We’re lost! I can tolerate you, but after being around here for so long, you don't even know where we are."

"Hmph! When traveling the martial world, getting lost is nothing. The key is that this young lady misjudged the situation and only brought enough dry rations for one day! And now, most of it is gone," Hong'er said with a silly smile.

"Your sister," Ye Xiu was close to breaking down; there was no food now. "What are we going to do! Are you planning for us to starve to death!"

"You're carrying such a large, strange bag. What’s inside? Take a look and see if there's anything to eat," Hong'er was surprisingly pragmatic.

Ye Xiu thought that was true; he seemed to recall having some potato chips in there that he’d forgotten to eat these past few days. So, he pulled it open. Seeing what was inside was one thing, but the most absurd sight was the very "2B" pencil given to him by that mysterious old man on his birthday. What use was it now!

"Damn it!" Ye Xiu cursed. Didn't he break this thing and leave it at home? He certainly hadn't packed it securely, so how was it in his bag, and perfectly intact at that!

The most revolting part was that it had crossed over with him! A miniature "2B" who had crossed dimensions—what was he supposed to do, carrying a pencil? Heavens above, what was he going to do!

"Who are you cursing now?" Hong'er didn't understand the word 'Damn it,' but she knew every time Ye Xiu used it, he wasn't happy, so she concluded it was a curse.

"You wouldn't understand. A pencil! I can't be bothered to explain it to you." Ye Xiu had experienced too many bizarre things recently; this one small pencil was nothing in comparison. He tossed it lightly, flinging it toward the distance.

"Boom..." Suddenly, there was a tremendous roar, and a thick column of flames erupted far away, followed by a small mushroom cloud. The explosion effect was quite spectacular.

"Holy crap! In this era, someone actually knows demolition, and the power is this immense!" Ye Xiu was stunned. It was the end of the Qin Dynasty, right? Did China already have gunpowder in this age? But this stuff was ridiculously powerful.

"Ah, the Mountain God is angry!" Seeing this, Hong'er immediately dismounted her horse and began kneeling and bowing toward that direction. "We have offended the Mountain God! Quick, offer a sacrifice!"

"Hey, Mountain God my foot! You still believe in gods!" Ye Xiu found her action incredibly funny, but seeing Hong'er bent over, he also found her exceedingly sexy and cute, a wave of sleazy energy stirring in his eyes.

Hong'er felt uneasy all over. Glancing sideways, she saw Ye Xiu staring at her with lust in his eyes. "My father said that when the Mountain God is angry, the sky will be full of fire. Look, that's exactly what's happening; the god is coming. Quick, kneel down!"

"Kneel for nothing! Get up!" Ye Xiu would rather believe himself than any Mountain God. Though he didn't know the reason for the explosion, who cared? As long as it didn't hit them, everything was fine.

The primary goal now was to fill his stomach. Fortunately, he had a bag of potato chips left in his bag. So, Ye Xiu took them out, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began munching loudly. "Domestic potato chips are still the best."

"What are you chewing over there, crunching like wood?" Hong'er didn't know what Ye Xiu was eating, but it smelled especially fragrant, and she was hungry too.

Ye Xiu glanced at Hong'er and saw her swallowing hard. He decided to tease her. "How about this: call me 'Good Brother,' and I'll let you eat some. This is really delicious."