Chapter Forty-Five: Palace of Radiant Light

The full name of the Shushan Sword Sect is the Shushan Immortal Sword Sect, often simply referred to as the Shushan Sect. In “Dynasty,” Shushan is located in the remote northwest of Chuanzhou. Its main headquarters is a massive floating mountain, formed by a divine transformation in the earth’s energy, and the entire sect appears as a celestial palace soaring deep within the blue sky.

The Shushan Sword Sect is predominantly Daoist; aside from a few secular disciples, all Shushan players are cultivators. According to the game's lore, mastering even a fraction of their martial arts is enough to stand out in the world of martial arts, and learning half of it allows one to traverse the three realms with ease. The sect also bears the sacred responsibility of vanquishing evil and upholding the Dao, earning reverence and admiration throughout the land.

Arriving at the gates of this immortal sect, Zhang He and Fatty both felt as though they were suspended between the blue sky and white clouds, invigorated and refreshed in spirit. Ma Junmei was already waiting at the entrance. “Sister Hua!” Hua Feihong nodded calmly, indicating her return after completing her mission.

In the game, Ma Junmei is known as Thousand Leaf Butterfly. She too wore blue and white Daoist robes, with a long sword at her waist. Her beautified, round face had a fresh, captivating charm, but she had thoroughly mastered Shushan’s etiquette. “Honored guests, please halt. Without an invitation from the elders, non-members are not permitted to ascend the mountain. Please wait in the Guest Pavilion and enjoy some tea.”

Fatty nearly wanted to shout, “President Ma, I’m here to pay the water and electricity bills for Shushan!” Ma Junmei led Zhang He and his companions to the Guest Pavilion below the gates. Along the way, disciples in Daoist attire and wielding long swords practiced martial arts among pavilions and verdant shade, creating a scene both sacred and awe-inspiring. Yet the eyes cast toward Zhang He were complex and variegated, most carrying murderous intent as if they could kill him thousands of times over.

Seeing Ma Junmei covering her mouth to stifle a laugh, Zhang He could only marvel at the tenacity of a woman’s gossiping spirit. Clearly, before their arrival, Ma Junmei had already spread the news throughout Shushan—Sister Hua had been won over. Such a bombshell! This calamity caused countless male disciples to hate Zhang He with a vengeance.

Even Fatty noticed something strange: while a male disciple serving tea was polite to Fatty and his wife, his attitude toward Zhang He was distinctly unfriendly.

Fatty could only sigh to Zhang He, “Why does it feel like this guy hates you as if you’d stolen his girlfriend?”

Zhang He sipped his tea slowly, replying languidly, “If I ever get the chance, I’d like to try, since I haven’t yet.”

Fatty almost spat blood. You dare try something like that? Truly worthy of being my brother.

While waiting, Zhang He checked his status bar. Since completing the Flying Rock Manor quest, the reward experience had raised him from level 20 to 23.

In fact, leveling up in “Dynasty” isn’t difficult; every level requires nearly the same amount of experience. If you’re willing to grind monotonously, leveling up is not much of a challenge.

Of course, leveling specialists aren’t necessarily favored. At certain levels, without the right equipment, martial arts, cultivation methods, and internal skills to support your level, even a high level makes you easy prey.

This still follows the principle of “If you meet the Lord.” The strength of every “Dynasty” player is a composite; there’s no single attribute or piece of equipment so powerful as to make someone invincible. Only by perfectly combining various attributes and gear can one achieve unexpected results.

The rewards from the Flying Rock Manor quest, “Flying Rock Sword Technique” and “Ripple Crossing,” excellently complemented Zhang He’s previous martial foundations.

“Flying Rock Sword Technique”—Requirements: Power and internal skill at the Initiate Stage. Effects: Attack +10%, Critical hit chance +5%. Once this sword technique is unleashed, even grass, wood, and stones can be manipulated to subdue enemies. It is a sword technique of ultimate strength and masculine energy, without fixed moves.

From the perspective of practical effect, this manual is actually quite ordinary—it merely boosts attack power and lacks set moves. But when combined with the previously learned “Strike and Kill Sword Technique,” using both simultaneously has formidable lethality. Stacked, it boosts attack by 40%, and critical hits are triggered smoothly, resulting in an actual output of attack power *280%. This is practically a god of slaughter among first-turn players.

Because “Ripple Crossing” is a lightness skill manual, Zhang He had to allocate all 18 newly acquired attribute points to agility, raising it to 42. With this agility, when faced with danger, activating his lightness skill might just allow him to escape alive.

“Ripple Crossing”—Its requirements are higher than “Song Stride”: Agility 40, Internal skill 40. The effect must be discovered through practice: “Crossing myriad waters on wind, treading the path of clouds.”

The only downside to the Flying Rock Manor quest was that Zhang He’s evil value inexplicably increased by 5, bringing it to 19, which is the inverse of his 4 points of chivalry.

Zhang He couldn’t figure out why this quest raised his evil value. Was it because he indirectly caused the deaths of Feng Fei and his wife? Or was it because the constable targeted Flying Rock Manor?

Lost in thought, Ma Junmei entered the Guest Pavilion: “Everyone, Master Lingyin requests your presence. Please follow me.”

The Seven Palaces of Shushan are situated atop the mountain, floating among the blue sky and white clouds. With pavilions, water, birdsong, and fragrant flowers, it is a veritable paradise. The seven palaces are: Yaoguang Palace, Kaiyang Palace, Yuheng Palace, Xingmeng Palace, Taixu Palace, Immortal Sword Palace, and Tianshu Palace.

Yaoguang Palace occupies the foremost position, its interior carved entirely from yellow jade. The central platform features a Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram, exuding a Daoist, immortal atmosphere.

On the main seat sat a mysterious woman, dressed in white and blue Daoist robes with a jade flute at her waist, radiating a dignified yet fresh aura. The pink gauze scarf covering her head concealed her true appearance, but not her extraordinary beauty.

Hua Feihong respectfully stood by her side; clearly, this was the renowned Lingyin Fairy, one of the Seven Saints of Shushan.

“Honored guests, I am aware of the events at Flying Rock Manor,” Lingyin Fairy finally spoke. “Young Lord Wu, did the leader entrust you with anything before his departure?”

Zhang He shook his head. “He only asked us to inscribe a sentence on his tombstone.”

Lingyin Fairy asked, “What words did the leader leave behind?”

Zhang He replied, “He was once a lonely man.”

Upon hearing this, Lingyin Fairy remained silent for a long time. Though veiled, Zhang He and his companions could sense her sorrow. Feng Fei had ultimately departed before her.

After a while, Lingyin Fairy took out the jade flute and played it in Yaoguang Palace. The melody was the same one Hua Feihong had played atop Flying Rock Manor the previous night, but from Lingyin Fairy’s flute, it sounded tranquil and elegant, like a nameless mountain valley filled with blooming flowers, with a gentle stream flowing by. Standing high above, one could gaze upon the world’s desolation. Yet, listening closely, an undercurrent of deep, piercing sorrow could be heard, evoking an uncontrollable sadness.

In that moment, she was no longer the lofty Lingyin Fairy, but Miss Lanlan of old, mourning her lost beloved. The image of the youthful swordsman practicing in the Feng family courtyard seemed to dance within the flute’s melody. Zhang He and the others listened spellbound.

When the song ended, Lingyin Fairy set down her flute and spoke slowly, “When the leader retired years ago, he journeyed to Chuanzhou, sacrificing many subordinates. His descendants endured hardship for half a lifetime. I know the Wang family hid near the northern border of Xinzhou. If Young Master Feng and Miss Dong are willing, could you deliver these relics for me? I promise generous rewards upon completion.”

Fatty was overjoyed. The Flying Rock Manor quest really needed refinement, and now the next quest had arrived!

Excellent!

“Rest assured, Ma’am, I guarantee to fulfill the task! What’s the reward upon completion? Ten thousand taels or fifty thousand?” He could only think this to himself; he wouldn’t dare say it aloud.

Faced with a high-level NPC like Lingyin Fairy, proper etiquette was essential, lest one accumulate evil value—a poor bargain.

Seeing Fatty and his wife so delighted, Zhang He felt uncomfortable. He’d traveled miles, yet gained nothing, while Fatty got all the benefits?

Yet Lingyin Fairy did not disappoint him. She soon said, “When the leader was in office, he passed through Chen Prefecture’s Fengling Crossing. With the name of Tianshan Sword Sect, he eradicated the local tyrant and gifted the famed Nightglow Sword to Zhou Village at Fengling Crossing. It has been twenty-eight years since. Young Lord Wu, the leader chose you for the Shushan duel. Now that the leader has ascended, surely you won’t refuse to fulfill his lifelong wish?”

Ha! That’s more like it—I should have my own quest.

Zhang He’s acting skills surfaced; he cupped his hands and declared, “I await your instructions, and will not shrink from duty.”

Lingyin Fairy’s tone was slightly worried. “If you reach Chen Prefecture, please retrieve the famed sword and bring it back to Shushan. I promise generous rewards. However, the journey is long. Feihong, accompany Young Lord Wu and assist him in retrieving the sword. Take this ‘Flying Immortal Heart Method’ to study and practice diligently; it will aid you along the way.”

She still seemed uneasy about Hua Feihong venturing far, so after some thought, she added, “Thousand Leaf, you may assist Feihong as well. If you return successfully, you may enter Yaoguang Palace to cultivate in the future.”

Ma Junmei hadn’t expected such good fortune to come her way and nearly jumped with joy. “Thank you, Master, for your grace! Thousand Leaf will serve you with all her might. I vow not to return without the famed sword!”

Zhang He and Fatty simultaneously cast her a look of disdain. Before us, you’re the boss, but in front of the fairy, your flattery is shameless.

Leaving Yaoguang Palace, Zhang He and Fatty were both elated. To be questless is shameful, yet Zhang He’s joy was tempered by the sense of peril he gleaned from Lingyin Fairy’s brief words. Retrieving this famed sword would be harder than any previous quest. The Qingluan Peak quest was opportunistic, robbing Ghost Rain Maple was akin to snatching meat from a tiger’s jaws, offending the Qingcheng Sect was sheer luck, and the Tang Clan’s quest was won through wit. But this quest, spanning thousands of miles to retrieve a sword, might be as arduous as the long journey to the West. Along the way, there would be many tough battles—and just as many wonders waiting to be discovered.