Song of Adolescence

Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu.

The older generation of heroes had either retired or left, and the new Four Guardians had gathered again. Among them, there were some who had never even met, but they would eventually meet each other.

The day they met would be the day heaven and earth turned upside down in Heavenly Revelations City. 𝐟re𝐞w𝐞𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝚎𝒍.c૦𝚖

However, all that turmoil was still hiding beneath the undercurrent.

The third day after their agreement finally came. All the swordsmen in Heavenly Revelations City, all the idlers with nothing better to do, and all the various parties holding the power of the city, had already surrounded the open space not far from the palace gates.

There were a total of four teahouses nearby. One was occupied by the Red Prince Residence, one was occupied by the White Prince Residence, and the third was occupied by the Yong'an Prince Residence together with the Directorate of Astronomy. The fourth and last teahouse was shared by the remaining high-ranking officials and nobles.

Outside the palace gates, nine hundred Brave Tiger Guards had gathered with Li Changqing leading them as he glared at everyone present, his hand resting on his sabre.

Lanyue Marquis rode on a horse next to him and grinned. "Commander-general Li, you look nervous."

Li Changqing spat on the ground. "Bah! How can I not be nervous! I think this Heavenly Revelations City is about to undergo a revolutionary change."

"One mere martial expert of the martial world can reduce all of Heavenly Revelations City to this state. Don't you think that's not giving us any face at all?" Lanyue Marquis shrugged.

"This is not the first time a martial expert of the martial world invaded Heavenly Revelations City. Back then, the White Feather Sword Immortal cut down the city plaque with one sword, the Snow Moon Sword Immortal came close to the Emperor on the execution ground, but all that was nothing. Because, no matter what, we had our own consummate martial experts propping up the foundation of Heavenly Revelations City. But now…" Li Changqing sighed softly.

"But now, His Majesty is critically ill, and he can't control these martial experts anymore. These martial experts have their own ulterior motives and they're all waiting for Luo Qingyang to turn this Heavenly Revelations City upside down. When that happens, they'll be able to gain their own advantage," Lanyue Marquis continued.

Li Changqing shook his head. "Where are we going to find people like us who are loyal to our country! Just look at the damn eunuch, Jin Xuan. At a time like this, where the hell is he!"

"Commander-general Li is very loyal to the country. That time, you even stood up against the Langya Army alone. That was heroic beyond comparison." Lanyue Marquis grinned.

"I really thought I was going to die that day, but I still survived. So, I'm not afraid of anything anymore. Today, if any of these people dare to make trouble, I will kill them all!" Li Changqing growled viciously.

"Since Commander-general Li is here, then I can rest assured to return to huang-xiong's side." Lanyue Marquis rode his horse back towards the palace gates. "Today, the little genius doctor Hua will be coming to the palace."

Upstairs in the teahouse, Xiao Yu murmured ambiguously, "A lot of people are here today."

Su Changhe scanned the crowd but did not see the figure with his umbrella. He responded softly, "After witnessing those two ultimate duels before, he still dared to challenge Luo Qingyang. Everyone here wants to know about this direct disciple of two sword immortals and the successor of the Sword Heart Tomb, and how capable he is."

"I've seen that Lei Wujie a few times. Is he really that capable?" Xiao Yu asked.

"At his age, his swordsmanship can be considered remarkable and absolutely talented. But, he's not as strong as Wushuang, let alone Luo Qingyang," Su Changhe said.

"Then why's he seeking his own death?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Maybe Sword Heart Tomb has some special core formula? Back then, during the fight on the execution ground, Li Xinyue was also able to use an extraordinary swordsmanship," Su Changhe said.

Inside the other teahouse, Li Fansong turned to look at the empty table beside him, and asked in puzzlement, "Where's everyone? Why isn't anyone here from the Yong'an Prince Residence?"

Xie Xuan suddenly smiled. "Looks like our little brother Lei is really going to play his cards against all conventions."

"How so?" Li Fansong asked.

"I think we should order some food. We all thought that when he said the third day, he meant the morning of the third day, but now that I think about it, it could also be at night. And this is something our Lei-xiongdi of Snow Moon City would really dare to do." Xie Xuan smiled and took a sip of tea.

Li Fansong was exasperated. "I should have asked him when I had the chance. By the way, where's that noble son of the Mu family?"

Inside the imperial palace.

Mu Chunfeng, carrying the medicine case on his back, hurried alongside Hua Jin as they headed towards Mingde Emperor's bed chambers.

"Shifu, have you really got it this time?" Mu Chunfeng asked eagerly.

"The medicine will cure the disease! The medicine will cure the disease!" Hua Jin walked forward excitedly.

Inside the bed chambers, Mingde Emperor suddenly opened his eyes.

Lanyue Marquis hurried forward to help him up.

Mingde Emperor's eyes were blank, and after a long silence, he murmured, "We just had a dream.

"In the dream, Heavenly Revelations City was on fire and we… were dead."

Lanyue Marquis was about to speak when suddenly he heard the inner eunuch at the door announce loudly, "Genius doctor Hua has arrived!"

Outside the palace gates.

After a long wait, everyone was getting impatient. The people in the teahouses were fine, but the people gathered on the ground were starting to complain in hushed tones.

"If he wants to chicken out, he shouldn't have made the challenge in the first place. What a waste of our time!"

"Why did His Highness Yong'an Prince become friends with such a coward? You really can't tell a book by its cover!"

"Let's just go. I'm afraid there's not going to be a show today."

"Would he be afraid?" Wushuang scoffed coldly. "I've never met anyone more unafraid than him."

Xiao Chong glanced into the distance and murmured, "But if he doesn't get here soon, I think everyone's going to march to the Yong'an Prince Residence and get him out."

"Shall I go down and fight another round?" Wushuang said quietly, his fingers stroking the Unrivaled Sword Casket beside him.

But no matter how noisy the people around him were, Luo Qingyang sat calmly in his tea shack, drinking his tea in an unhurried manner.

Soon, the sound of a horse's neighing came from a short distance away.

A lady in a green dress with a horse whip in her hand was driving a horse carriage towards the open space.

"That's Ye Xiaoying's daughter, Ye Ruoyi!" Someone recognised her immediately.

How could he let the daughter of the General-in-chief drive the carriage for him! This fellow with the surname Lei sure had some guts!

"Whoa." Ye Ruoyi stopped the horses, hopped off the carriage and lifted the curtain.

Then, a pair of clean and pristine purple-coloured boots stepped out.

Everyone was shocked.

Xiao Yu rushed to his feet and glared at the newcomer, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Wushuang tapped the sword casket excitedly. "It's getting interesting!"

Li Fansong started. "What…"

Xie Xuan slapped a hand on the table. "Serve some wine, serve some wine."

In an inconspicuous corner, a former martial expert with a full head of white hair and a young disciple of Tang Clan were also shocked. The news they had heard was that Lei Wujie would be coming to challenge Luo Qingyang, but the person who had arrived was…

The man was dressed in a gorgeous and luxurious fur coat and his entire person was hidden under the fox fur as he yawned lazily. Xiao Se walked forward slowly under the gaze of everyone present. He looked at Luo Qingyang, and said in a frail and languid voice, "Yong'an Prince Xiao Se. I've come to challenge your sword."

Luo Qingyang nodded. He did not seem upset about the other man's tone, nor did he show any surprise at the person who came. He asked faintly, "Very well. But, where's your sword?"

Xiao Se had his hands tucked inside his sleeves. He had no sword at his waist, and he did not even bring his Wuji staff. After hearing Luo Qingyang's words, Xiao Se smirked before he reached a hand up and flung aside his luxurious fur coat.

The entire crowd was in an uproar.

Xiao Se had nine long swords tied to his waist. He undid his belt and stabbed the nine swords forcefully into the ground.

"I've brought my swords. Is nine enough?"