Putting aside the issue of Zhou Qingmu’s suppressed flamboyance, the top priority was still condensing a Jiahao.
After all, as Zhou Qingmu had just said, a large number of Fifth Realm cultivators and even True Monarchs from various factions would be flooding into the capital in the coming days, all drawn by the wild Jiahao.
“Sigh, the affairs of the Night Guard Division will have to trouble Director Gu for a while.” Zhou Qingmu withdrew the hand she had just used to pour him tea, tossing out the remark half-jokingly.
Gu Chengming sighed, no longer intending to correct his superior’s choice of address.
As he stepped out of the side hall, the sun was slanting over the palace walls. From a street in the capital, the high-pitched recitation of a Jiahao phrase drifted over from some household once again.
Gu Chengming silently averted his gaze from that direction.
The way things were developing was baffling, but as True Monarch Jiahao had said, it was indeed moving in a direction favorable to him.
However, even now, Gu Chengming hadn't managed to figure out True Monarch Jiahao’s true purpose.
According to the Master, this entire affair was a layout by Great Qian; even without True Monarch Jiahao, the final outcome wouldn't have changed much.
Yet, True Monarch Jiahao had indeed played a critical role. If he hadn't used a vessel to seize the Dao-Supplementing Jade’s Dao Throne, Great Qian’s move would likely have encountered many complications.
The man had claimed he was “doing an old friend a favor.” But that old friend clearly wasn't on Great Qian’s side.
Gu Chengming slowly followed this thread of thought.
Speaking of “old friends,” the only person in this entire incident significant enough to make True Monarch Jiahao go to such lengths to play a risky move seemed to be True Monarch Wangyue, who had just been “invited” into the capital’s earth veins.
He noted this possibility in his heart and took the thought half a step further.
If that were the case, the current situation of Jiahao being everywhere in the capital might have been created by True Monarch Jiahao himself. Still, he couldn't understand why the other party would do such a thing.
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it.
Gu Chengming set the matter aside and returned to his residence.
However, as soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he found a guest he hadn't expected to see there.
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu.
Dressed in a moon-white robe, she sat on the old stone stool in his courtyard. At her feet lay a simple white jade storage pouch, so bulging that one could tell at a glance it contained far more than just a few changes of clothes—it looked like the volume of an entire household move.
Gu Chengming: “Senior?”
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu glanced up at him. “Little friend is back.”
“Senior, what is this?”
She tilted her head and spoke frankly, “I am moving in for a few days.”
“?”
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu didn't wait for his reaction, continuing on her own: “I am not familiar with the people of Great Qian and do not wish to be indebted to them. Since I know no one else here, I can only temporarily stay with you, little friend.”
Gu Chengming was momentarily speechless.
He couldn't help but ask, “Why does Senior wish to remain in the capital?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how low-EQ the question sounded.
Regardless of her reasons, didn't this sound like he was chasing her away?
He quickly tried to fix it: “I was just curious. Senior can stay as long as you like. Although this courtyard is small, it is quite secluded. If Senior finds it uncomfortable, I can look for another courtyard elsewhere.”
Only then did the faint look of grievance in True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s eyes dissipate slightly.
Why stay in the capital? Naturally, it’s for you, heartless little Gu.
She ran that sentence through her mind, but naturally, she could never say it aloud.
Suppressing the thought, she chose a reasonable excuse: “The Great Calamity has arrived, and the outside world may not be as safe as the capital. I have also stayed away from the Cloud Moon Sect for quite some time; I might as well take this opportunity to stay in the capital and see if I can find some opportunities within the rules left by True Monarch Wangyue’s remains.”
After helping True Monarch Liuyun Suyu settle in, he busied himself until the sky grew dark.
Then, Gu Chengming became somewhat curious; he had never seen True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s Jiahao before.
It was said that the outward manifestation of a Jiahao was a display of the person’s own arrogant thoughts. What would True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s be like?
Gu Chengming stared at the senior True Monarch, who was leisurely peeling grapes in his courtyard, and asked the question.
“Could I have a look at Senior’s Jiahao?”
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu was visibly conflicted. “Is it absolutely necessary?”
“I am merely curious,” Gu Chengming said honestly. “If it is inconvenient, Senior can act as if I never asked.”
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu sighed and reluctantly raised her hand.
In the next moment, a phantom that looked somewhat like her slowly materialized.
“The light of a firefly—”
“How can it dare to compete with the bright moon!”
Gu Chengming thought to himself that it was actually quite cute.
...
The process of condensing a Jiahao was not easy.
According to the Master, to condense a Jiahao, one must first call forth all of their own arrogance and desires, and then let those feelings fill an empty shell previously outlined in the heart.
Gu Chengming tried several times but failed each time.
However, through those failed attempts, he more or less grasped a pattern.
The more exaggerated the lines spoken by the Jiahao, the more powerful the Jiahao itself would be.
The Master’s line, “I say that autumn days surpass the morning of spring,” was Jiahao enough but lacked dominance, so the pressure it exerted wasn't very strong.
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s “How can the light of a firefly dare to compete with the bright moon” was stronger than the Master’s, but only by so much.
The one that gave him the greatest sense of pressure was actually Zhou Qingmu’s “If heaven did not give birth to me, Zhou Qingmu, Great Qian’s eternity would be like a long night.”
But looking at it closely, that line was still subtly restricted by the prefix “Great Qian.” If Zhou Qingmu’s Jiahao were changed to “The cultivation world’s eternity would be like a long night,” the pressure would likely be several times stronger.
However, such lines weren't something one could just change at will.
Wherever a cultivator’s arrogance and desires reached, that was where the Jiahao’s words would land.
Gu Chengming ran the deduction in his heart, and halfway through, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
By that logic, if the Jiahao he condensed was filled with Emperor Bai’s arrogance and desires, wouldn't that Jiahao be one that stands alone through eternity?
【Hundred Bones Resonating looks at you pitifully: Emperor Gu, you’ll choose me, right?】
【Hundred Bones Resonating says expectantly: If you choose me, I will definitely be the strongest Jiahao!】
【Although the Huiyuan Sword Manual also wants to make its presence known, it has to admit that in terms of being Jiahao, Hundred Bones Resonating is indeed superior.】
Gu Chengming was helpless; it wasn't that he hadn't thought of using Hundred Bones Resonating.
In fact, during his first attempt to condense a Jiahao, he had followed Hundred Bones Resonating’s arrogant thoughts, but the result was nothing.
Well, this matter couldn't be rushed.
He closed the files, preparing to try again tomorrow.
And it was during these days that some new “old acquaintances” arrived in the capital.
...
The inspections at the capital’s gates were stricter than usual.
The Night Guard Division had recently received instructions that all cultivators coming for the wild Jiahao must be registered.
Jiang Lu stepped onto the bluestone pavement, looking up and around a side street in the capital.
Spring had passed and autumn had come; it was finally time for Jiang Lu, now an Inner Sect disciple of the Wenjian Sect in the Second Realm, to descend the mountain for training.
The back of Senior Brother Gu, whom he had resolved to follow and look up to, was growing further and further away, but he was not discouraged.
Senior Brother Gu’s back was simply too difficult to chase; even with all his strength, he could barely catch a glimpse of it.
But without a doubt, he had already surpassed his former self. By the sect’s standards, being able to reach the Second Realm and enter the Inner Sect at his age already made him a minor genius.
Behind Jiang Lu followed six or seven female disciples of the Daoning Gate, all of whom were his peers descending the mountain for training this time.
These female disciples had been sent out by the sect to gain experience right after entering the Inner Sect. Along the way, they had been chattering incessantly, each voice louder than the last.
“Junior Brother Jiang, that pastry shop ahead looks good!”
“Sister Ning, don't just stare at pastries the moment we enter the capital. Let’s settle our inn first!”
“The inn was settled long ago—Luoyan Pavilion. I heard a sect elder picked it.”
“Oh, Luoyan Pavilion? Then it’s just around this street. Junior Brother Jiang, lead the way!”
Reaching an intersection, a senior sister wearing a pink silk hair ribbon suddenly paused and turned to the group.
“Speaking of which.” Her eyes twinkled. “Can we go find Senior Brother Gu now?”
“That’s right! Senior Brother Gu is in the capital!”
“I heard Senior Brother Gu is already a commander of the Night Guard Division!”
“Hey, commander was years ago, right? By now, he’s likely in an even higher position—”
The Daoning Gate of the Wenjian Sect had always produced many female sword cultivators.
Although the sisters of the Daoning Gate had different personalities, one common point they tacitly shared was having designs on Senior Brother Gu.
This commonality could be traced back to the time Gu Chengming spent in the Wenjian Sect’s Back Mountain comprehending his sword domain.
Since then, if you picked any female disciple in the Daoning Gate and asked her, “Have you secretly gone to the Back Mountain to watch Senior Brother Gu practice his sword these past few years?” eight out of ten would honestly say, “I have.”
The remaining two would stubbornly say, “I haven't!” but if you pressed them further, their faces would flush, and they would silently admit, “Fine, I only saw him once.”
The impact Gu Chengming had made while comprehending his sword domain at the Wenjian Sect was simply too great, so much so that almost all the female disciples of the Daoning Gate had become dream girls for Senior Brother Gu.
So, when this disciple mentioned Gu Chengming, the others all started chattering as well.
Jiang Lu was also moved by the suggestion. Speaking of which, he truly hadn't seen Senior Brother Gu for a long time.
According to recent news from the sect, Senior Brother Gu seemed to be a commander in the Night Guard Division.
Now that he was in the capital, going to see Senior Brother Gu first was indeed a good choice.
With the decision made, the group didn't delay any longer.
After quickly dropping their luggage at Luoyan Pavilion, the sisters straightened their clothes and urged Jiang Lu to hurry toward the Night Guard Division.
The late spring twilight in the capital arrived exceptionally slowly, the bluestone roads glowing warmly under the setting sun.
Cultivators passing by were either talking in low voices or walking hurriedly, and among them, one or two exceptionally Jiahao lines would drift out from time to time.
Jiang Lu was quite puzzled at first, until he saw a tea stall owner suddenly shout at his abacus while calculating the bill: “This stall’s tea cakes are a catty, and there is nothing else in the cultivation world!” before looking as if nothing had happened. Only then did he vaguely understand what the Jiahao fashion currently spreading through the capital was like.
The sisters from the Daoning Gate grew more excited as they walked, their voices rising several degrees without them realizing it.
Before long, the vermilion-lacquered gates stood before the group.
...
Outside the Night Guard Division.
Gu Chengming had just been struggling with condensing a Jiahao in his courtyard until his head ached. When the gatekeeper reported that several Wenjian Sect disciples had come to visit, he set the matter aside.
He changed into plain clothes and strolled toward the side hall, but before he could even step through the door, he found someone already sitting inside.
Purple-gold official robes, with a horizontal blade at the waist.
Zhou Qingmu had originally intended to just say hello and leave, but when she entered the side hall, she was carrying a pot of freshly brewed “Yunji White” tea she had brought from her own tea room, so she conveniently poured a cup for the visitors who were about to arrive.
Since that time, Zhou Qingmu had grown quite fond of “doing small things for Director Gu,” which amounted to nothing more than conveniently adding tea or water when passing by, or occasionally handing over miscellaneous files of the Night Guard Division.
In her eyes, this was “part of the job” between colleagues in the Night Guard Division.
But in the eyes of outsiders... that was a different story.
The moment Jiang Lu pushed the door open and entered, this was the scene he saw.
In the side hall of the Night Guard Division, Senior Brother Gu sat in the main seat.
The legendary Director of the Night Guard Division, whose blade skills were unmatched in the capital, who was rumored to be only slightly constrained by the imperial family, and whose name was known throughout the cultivation world—that Lady Zhou was currently smiling and leaning over, pushing a cup of tea in front of Senior Brother Gu.
She then waited patiently for a moment, making sure Senior Brother Gu intended to take it, before straightening up and stepping aside.
Countless old stories related to Senior Brother Gu suddenly flooded Jiang Lu’s mind.
There was only one version of this scene that could explain it.
—Senior Brother Gu has secretly taken control of the entire Night Guard Division! That Lady Zhou has likely been handled by Senior Brother Gu long ago!
At this moment, Gu Chengming himself was quite confused.
He looked up at Jiang Lu, who was frozen at the door, then at the sisters whose expressions were delicate, and finally at Zhou Qingmu, who was standing by with the teapot and nothing to do. He smiled and beckoned Jiang Lu in. “Junior Brother is here?”
Jiang Lu’s throat bobbed. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, Senior Brother!”
Although he wasn't sure exactly what his junior brother was misunderstanding, Gu Chengming still felt a bit of warmth at seeing an old friend. He led Jiang Lu and the sisters from the Daoning Gate into the side hall.
Over a cup of tea, Jiang Lu heard Gu Chengming casually mention that “affairs in the division have been busy lately,” and only then did he learn the major news that his senior brother had been promoted to Director of the Night Guard Division. The hand holding his teacup trembled.
“Senior Brother has become the Director?” Jiang Lu’s expression became even more delicate.
The eyes of the sisters behind him also underwent a subtle change. They looked at that face, which was as gentle as ever, and their gaze shifted from admiration to a “my senior brother is truly amazing” filter.
Gu Chengming himself was completely unaware of this, simply suppressing the directionless matter of “condensing a Jiahao” and asking about his junior’s recent situation.
Jiang Lu composed himself and recounted his cultivation progress over the past six months—reaching the Second Realm, becoming an Inner Sect disciple, and descending the mountain for training.
Gu Chengming offered his congratulations, and then, moved by the occasion, he raised a hand and led Jiang Lu into the courtyard. “Since you’ve come to the capital, I’ll spar with you to refine your sword skills.”
Jiang Lu felt a warmth in his heart and bowed in acceptance.
The eyes of the sisters behind him also lit up.
In the side courtyard, Jiang Lu’s sword-drawing posture was more steady than Gu Chengming remembered.
With a flick of his wrist, the sword light traced an oblique arc from his fingers, appearing ordinary, but halfway through the arc, it suddenly changed, the sword momentum plunging downward.
Gu Chengming raised his sword to block. In the next moment, Jiang Lu’s sword was directly knocked away. He retreated several steps before stabilizing himself, his wrist still trembling slightly.
Breathless, he looked up and actually smiled. “Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother.”
Gu Chengming smiled, and was about to explain the details of the parry he had just used, but then he seemed to think of something.
Jiang Lu’s sword style originally followed the orthodox lineage of the Huiyuan Gate of the Wenjian Sect, with clean and lofty moves that emphasized persistence without haste. His own created move, Fuhai, was based on this idea.
But the sword momentum just now was much heavier than before. Gu Chengming looked at his junior brother’s still-honest face.
“Has Junior Brother gained some insight into the sword recently?”
Jiang Lu was stunned, then smiled and scratched his head. “Senior Brother has a good eye.” He looked down and pulled his sword from the grass, casually wiping the grass clippings from the blade.
“I have indeed recently realized a shallow path... I have named it the Broken Hand Sword.”
Gu Chengming: “?”
Jiang Lu looked down, holding the second-tier sword across his palm.
“I have always had mediocre talent. A few days ago, while practicing at the Back Mountain of the Huiyuan Gate, I tried to place a shackle on myself.”
“Assuming I only had one hand left, and the other was already broken.”
“In that case, every strike must use the strength of the entire body. A strike delivered with the strength of the entire body can produce power far exceeding the norm.”
“I call this state the ‘Broken Hand Sword.’”
Gu Chengming looked at the honest junior brother before him, feeling a subtle sense of admiration in his heart.
For Jiang Lu to reach this point, putting everything on the line had already become a cornerstone of his sword path.
After exchanging pleasantries and insights for about fifteen minutes, Gu Chengming saw them to the door.
Reaching the vermilion-lacquered threshold of the Night Guard Division’s gate, Jiang Lu suddenly stopped, turned, and gave another respectful bow.
“Senior Brother, take care.”
Gu Chengming was somewhat amused by this sudden “take care.” “Junior Brother, you take care as well.”
He watched Jiang Lu and the others walk down the long street and turn the corner. That group of chattering sisters didn't hold back their words until they reached a spot where they could no longer see the Night Guard Division’s gate.
“Senior Brother Gu is truly...”
Gu Chengming thought the sisters of the Daoning Gate were going to gossip about him behind his back, but he didn't expect the next sentence to be: “...He’s really so good to look at that it makes one want to commit suicide.”
Gu Chengming’s face darkened.
...
By the time he returned to his residence, it was already late.
But as soon as he reached the courtyard gate, he sensed something was wrong. Spreading his spiritual sense, he saw several heads peeking over the courtyard wall one after another, looking toward his bedroom.
Gu Chengming reasonably suspected that these sisters from the Daoning Gate had set an ambush from outside the Night Guard Division’s gate, used the darkness to slip through several alleys, and made their way directly here.
He was planning to pretend he hadn't seen them, close the courtyard gate, and push this annoying matter to tomorrow.
Unexpectedly, on the other side, True Monarch Liuyun Suyu looked up and glared at those sisters from the Daoning Gate.
How could those sisters withstand the intimidation of a Sixth Realm True Monarch? They scattered like startled sparrows.
Jiang Lu was waiting for the sisters to rejoin him at the street corner outside the courtyard when he heard a gust of wind. His senior sisters tumbled from the wall one by one, gasping for breath.
“Who... who was that?”
“Whoa, so scary!”
Following that, a flurry of scurrying footsteps faded into the distance. True Monarch Liuyun Suyu gave a soft huff, laced with a bit of a cat-protecting-its-food dissatisfaction.
It was very much like an old cat hissing to scare away a group of ungrateful wild cats trying to covet its treats.
True Monarch Liuyun Suyu withdrew her gaze and sat back on the stone stool, as if that glare just now had been nothing more than a casual action.
She raised her hand and popped another grape into her mouth, mumbling something indistinctly. Gu Chengming didn't hear it clearly and didn't intend to investigate.
He cupped his hands to the senior and returned to his study.
...
As the night grew deeper, the matter of condensing a Jiahao was still stuck for Gu Chengming.
He had tried the arrogant thoughts of Hundred Bones Resonating, the Huiyuan Sword Manual, the Unfettered Freedom Art, the Qingxin Art, and the Cangxian Wine Sword Art; all failed without exception.
Gu Chengming pinched the bridge of his nose and pondered for a long while. Hundred Bones Resonating’s arrogance was sufficient; if it couldn't be condensed, it wasn't a problem of arrogance but some other missing link.
He changed his perspective and looked at the cases where Jiahao had been successfully condensed. True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s “How can the light of a firefly dare to compete with the bright moon,” and the Master.
Gu Chengming repeatedly chewed over the Master’s line, “Since ancient times, autumn has brought only sorrow and loneliness.” Logically, its arrogance was far inferior to Hundred Bones Resonating.
At this thought, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he finally realized he had been making a common-sense error.
He was trying to strip the arrogance from the techniques and stuff it into an empty shell belonging to Gu Chengming.
But the essence of a Jiahao was the self-projection of a cultivator’s own subconscious. This set of rules from True Monarch Wangyue’s remains was rigid and recognized its master.
The point wasn't how thick the arrogance was, but whether the arrogance was “self” enough.
Gu Chengming slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his furrowed brow gradually relaxing. Since he couldn't pull one out to take the fall, he might as well not distinguish between them.
At this moment, as Gu Chengming completely opened his heart, these originally distinct thoughts were like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, all converging into his natal soul.
The various arrogant thoughts boiled and merged within his body, flowing backward along his meridians and crashing without hesitation into that withered empty shell.
Boom—
Like parched earth meeting a long-awaited rain, the empty shell instantly and greedily swallowed this massive and mixed arrogance whole.
The air behind Gu Chengming began to distort, and a figure gradually took shape behind his back. It was none other than Hundred Bones Resonating’s appearance of the “Primal Boundless Sovereign of Myriad Daos, Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Supreme of the Universe.”
...
At this moment, at the other end of the capital.
Deep within the Imperial Academy, the lamps had not yet been extinguished.
The study was filled with the scent of aged ink. The Master was standing by the window, holding a roll of yellowed files. The old man’s fingertip had just touched the edge of a page when his movement suddenly stopped.
He raised his head, his aged gaze crossing the window frame, piercing through layers of palace walls and neighborhoods to land above the side courtyard of the Night Guard Division.
The Master was not an exceptionally curious person in the usual sense, but there was one thing he had indeed kept an eye on.
—And that was Gu Chengming’s Jiahao.
After all, this “Jiahao rule” was exceptionally picky about a cultivator’s traits; the more flamboyant and idiosyncratic the cultivator, the more exaggerated and powerful the condensed Jiahao would be.
Based on his observation of Gu Chengming lately, the kid’s arrogance wasn't obvious, but that knack for “picking trouble but not picking people” was very real.
The Master had previously thought that given the kid’s sword cultivator foundation, he would likely condense a Jiahao with sharp sword intent, something like “I am a sword immortal, slaying all enemies.”
Furthermore, the Master clearly remembered that clue related to the future—Gu Chengming was the key to breaking the situation in a certain future calamity.
He couldn't just wait in the Imperial Academy.
The Master casually set the old files on the desk and dusted off the corners of his wide sleeves.
He took a step. Shrinking the earth.
One moment he was in the Imperial Academy; the next, the old man’s feet had landed soundlessly outside Gu Chengming’s small courtyard. By now, the courtyard was already filled with strange phenomena.
The Master looked up slightly, peering into the courtyard over the low wall.
The phantom had already finished condensing and was standing steadily behind Gu Chengming.
Hmm. The Master’s heart stirred slightly; it was somewhat as expected.
—This kid’s Jiahao was indeed of the dominant lineage, rare among his peers.
He could almost guess what kind of lines would jump out of this phantom’s mouth next, but then the phantom opened its mouth.
“He who recites my true name—”
“Shall attain eternal life on the path of reincarnation.”
The Master: “?”
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