The sky full of sword light had already dissipated, and the evening glow stretched across the horizon.

Within that glow, the young martial artist solemnly bowed toward the direction of the Sword Sect, then turned and left, leaving behind a lone black silhouette.

This time, coming to the Sword Sect to seek out the Sword Sect's Sect Master, if he could have broken through in one go, that would naturally have been ideal. But since he had not, so be it. At the very least, he had gained something, and Chen Chao did not feel any disappointment.

Moreover, on this trip, perhaps the greatest gain was not in his own realm, but that the Sword Sect's Sect Master seemed to have come to understand something.

Chen Chao had actually understood long ago what the Great Liang Emperor had always been pursuing—that no matter the time, fellow Daoists were always better than allies.

Those who walk the same path would never change their beliefs, no matter the time, the reason, or the circumstances. But alliances were filled with uncertainty.

If the Sword Sect's Sect Master had now become someone who walked the same path, that was the best outcome,there was no longer anything to worry about.

At this point, Chen Chao was very clear that the reason the Sword Sect's Sect Master could change his way of thinking was definitely not because of himself, but because of his uncle.

Over those ten-odd years, the things his uncle had done, some Chen Chao had not understood before, some he only understood now, and there were certainly many more he still had yet to see.

Now the world said that it was Chen Chao who was holding up the Great Liang Dynasty, but in truth, Chen Chao knew clearly in his heart that the one holding it up had never been him, but the Great Liang Emperor,his uncle.

When he was alive, he held it up. Now that he was gone, he was still holding it up.

That invisible pillar, was him.

Thinking this through, Chen Chao smiled faintly. No wonder some people were so worthy of respect, both in the places you could see and those you could not, they had done so much.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Chao walked on, his steps firm.

......

......

Northern Frontier.

Yu Xiyi brought his disciple Jiang Xiao'an and Yu Qingfeng south, returning to the Divine Capital.

Jiang Xiao'an looked back somewhat reluctantly at the Northern Frontier Great Wall as it gradually grew smaller, and softly asked, "Master, when will I be able to come here again?"

Yu Xiyi glanced at his youngest disciple and teased with a smile, "What, have you grown fond of this place?"

Jiang Xiao'an nodded a little shyly. "I don’t know why, but it just feels very comfortable here. It’s like everyone isn’t thinking about anything else, they all share a single thought."

Yu Xiyi stroked the bit of stubble that had grown on his chin, thought for a moment, and smiled. "Actually, I feel the same. It’s just that we’ve only seen it for a short while, but they’ve maintained that mindset for over two hundred years."

The Northern Frontier Army was certainly not perfect. In earlier years, there had even been cases of corruption. But this place seemed to possess a kind of magic, once people came, they no longer wanted to leave.

"I suppose I understand now why Sword Immortal Liu, after coming from the Divine Capital to the Northern Frontier back then, never wanted to go back. What a great place this is, you can entrust your back to a complete stranger at any moment without worry."

Yu Xiyi smiled. "I almost feel like dying here myself."

Jiang Xiao’an frowned and said unhappily, “Master, you can’t think like that. You still have to live for many, many years. You still have to teach me to become a great sword immortal.”

“My good disciple is so clever and so talented. Even without much teaching, you’ll become a great sword immortal anyway, what’s there to worry about?”

Yu Xiyi chuckled, but seeing his disciple’s expression turn unpleasant, he quickly changed the subject and asked, “When you were at the General’s Office, you saw that female general, didn’t you say a few words to her?”

Jiang Xiao’an smiled and nodded. “Of course I did! I said quite a lot. She was really gentle. Too bad she’s not my master’s wife. What a waste, letting Martial Uncle Chen have her.”

As soon as she said this, Yu Qingfeng became somewhat dissatisfied. “Xiao’an, what are you saying? If my master’s wife became your master’s wife, then what happens to my master?”

Jiang Xiao’an stuck out her tongue and couldn’t be bothered with him. She had just said it casually, why was he getting so worked up?

Although Yu Qingfeng wasn’t super fond of his master’s wife either, she was still his master’s wife. If anyone dared to compete with his master for her, he would have something to say about it!

He looked at Yu Xiyi and hesitantly asked, “Yu... Martial Uncle Yu, you wouldn’t happen to like my master’s wife, would you?”

Yu Xiyi rolled his eyes. “You silly boy, what nonsense are you talking about? If I had such thoughts, wouldn’t your master beat me into minced meat?”

Yu Qingfeng said smugly, “Good that you know!”

But then Yu Xiyi changed his tone, smiling slyly. “But you little brat probably didn’t notice, there’s that fellow named Gao Xuan. He definitely likes your master’s wife. The two of them spend all their time together in the Northern Frontier. Who knows, maybe one day your master’s wife will be tricked away by him.”

“Gao Xuan?"

Yu Qingfeng frowned, trying hard to recall Gao Xuan’s appearance. Once he did, he gritted his teeth. “If that old punk really dares to be so bold, I won’t let him off. At most ten years, I’ll be able to pin him down and beat him!”

Yu Xiyi clicked his tongue and laughed, but for once did not refute him. On one hand, Yu Qingfeng was not just boasting, although Gao Xuan was quite capable at leading troops in battle, in terms of cultivation, he was actually quite ordinary. At Yu Qingfeng’s rate of progress, ten years might indeed be enough.

On the other hand, Yu Xiyi was rather pleased with Yu Qingfeng’s attitude of standing up for Chen Chao. He didn’t have many friends, Chen Chao was his best one. Since his good friend’s disciple cared about that friend, it was a good thing.

“But actually, it’s impossible.”

Yu Xiyi rubbed his cheek.

Jiang Xiao’an sensibly asked, “Why, Master?”

Yu Xiyi looked at his disciple, reached out to rub her head, and smiled. “Because some women are destined never to change their hearts. Once they’ve chosen someone, that person is the one.”

Xie Nandu was clearly such a woman.

Jiang Xiao’an asked curiously, “Master, when you were young, didn’t you ever meet a woman like that?”

Yu Xiyi put on a stern face. “Is master already that old now? What do you mean ‘when I was young’? Say it again.”

Jiang Xiao’an made a face. For trivial matters like this, she didn’t care whether her master was angry or not, there was no real reason for him to be.

Yu Xiyi didn’t pursue it further. He simply looked at Jiang Xiao’an before him, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.

A woman like that, he seemed to have once had one too. It was just that back then, he was young, and there were many things he could never quite understand.

And so, he missed it.

Now that he understood, it was of no use anymore.

The light boat had already passed through ten thousand layers of mountains.

Yu Xiyi took a deep breath and smiled. “From now on, having the sword as my companion is enough!”

Jiang Xiao’an immediately dismantled that statement without mercy. “Master, a flying sword can’t warm your bed, and it won’t give me red envelopes during the New Year either.”

Yu Xiyi said helplessly, “Xiao’an, in your eyes, is a master’s wife only someone who gives you red envelopes during the New Year?”

Jiang Xiao’an replied matter-of-factly, “Of course. After all, my master is stingy.”

Yu Xiyi said nothing and simply laughed it off.

But soon after, Jiang Xiao’an said seriously, “But I still want a master’s wife. If you had a wife, Master, then when you’re unhappy, she could hug you and listen to you talk about what’s troubling you.”

Yu Xiyi froze for a moment, and his gaze suddenly softened.

Yu Qingfeng, completely out of place, mocked, “Xiao’an, if your master had a wife, he probably wouldn’t sleep well at night. After all, his snoring is really loud!”

As expected, Yu Qingfeng was immediately sent flying by a single sword strike from Yu Xiyi.

Knocked several dozen feet away, Yu Qingfeng scrambled back up, covered in dust, and cursed through gritted teeth, “Surname Yu, you’ve got no martial virtue, huh? Come on, suppress your realm and fight me! Let’s see if I don’t beat your teeth all over the ground!”

Yu Xiyi gave a half-smile. “Oh really? Then come at me, Lord Yu. Since I’m in a good mood today as your martial uncle, I can reward you with a few strikes. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t beat you to death.”

Yu Qingfeng kept grumbling, but in the end, he still didn’t have the courage to fight Yu Xiyi here.

In his heart, however, he had surely cursed Yu Xiyi countless times. This guy was just relying on being a great sword immortal. Otherwise, he would have long since vented this anger!

But even if you’re a great sword immortal, it doesn’t matter. One day, Your Father will still beat you until your teeth scatter across the ground and have you begging for mercy!

Jiang Xiao’an turned her head to look at her master and asked worriedly, “Master, if you had a wife, would she really dislike you for snoring?”

The little girl’s concern came from herself. After all, her mother had once said that when she snored, it sounded as loud as thunder in summer.

Yu Xiyi looked at the girl before him, reached out to rub her head, and smiled. “Silly child, someone who truly likes you, how could they dislike you for something like that?”

Someone who truly likes you will always see the shining qualities in you that even you don’t notice, and will forever be captivated by them.