Chapter 878: Feather Plume

Chapter 878: Feather

The very instant her hand gripped the hilt, the lingering dread of a slow, agonizing execution—a fate Ling Ruoyu had feared would be even more wretched than Tang Buqi's—vanished without a trace.

In its stead came an intimate, deeply ingrained familiarity, as though flesh and steel had fused, and the sword had always been an extension of her own body.

She could feel the blade's joyful quivering, vibrating in perfect resonance with her own joys and sorrows. The terrifying energy coiled within the sword obeyed her slightest whim, flowing as naturally as her own lifetime of cultivation.

The sword had originally been invaded by a demon spirit, which had not even managed to fully possess the vessel. Suddenly, the entity found itself squeezed out completely. The divine sword possessed a soul; its true spirit had returned to its proper seat, blending into a seamless, flawless whole.

Before the demon spirit could comprehend what was happening, it was inexplicably ousted from the blade, exposed to the glaring eyes of the public like a dazed bird.

Just then, Ye Wuming’s capturing hand descended, its immense suction drawing both Ling Ruoyu and the demon spirit into the universe of her palm.

The demon spirit sought to flee, but it could never break free from the spatial shackles of Ye Wuming's cosmic domain. No matter how it contorted and struggled, it could not budge an inch. In the next breath, the Star River Sword ground over its form, tearing the demon spirit to shreds.

Ling Ruoyu raised her head to look at Ye Wuming in the sky, her eyes a swirling vortex of complex emotions. This thrust of hers was never meant for the demon spirit; the creature was merely an ant crushed along the path. Her strike was aimed squarely at Ye Wuming’s palm.

In those eyes lay the cold, isolated detachment expected of the starry heavens known to mankind, yet there was also a faint trace of... melancholy?

Ye Wuming’s heart gave an unbidden shudder. She felt as though a child were looking at a mother—a mother who had abandoned her child for many long years.

—Did her struggle against Zhao Changhe for control of the Star River count as a custody battle over their child?

The fleeting thought crossed her mind just as their energies collided.

"Clang!" Ye Wuming shifted her palm into a single finger, flicking it directly against the tip of the Star River Sword.

Ling Ruoyu's internal organs surged with turbulent energy. She attempted to use the impact to retreat, but instead stumbled slightly forward. Ye Wuming’s assault was never meant to strike, but to capture; layers of qi spiraled around her body, threatening to bind her and bear her away.

"I won't go!" Ling Ruoyu cried out.

"Boom!" Myriads of sword qi erupted around her, transforming into stars that blasted against the cage binding her.

Though it seemed a prolonged exchange, it occurred in the span of a single heartbeat. Just as Ye Wuming prepared to carry her off entirely, a fierce surge of sword qi erupted behind her as Yue Hongling attacked once more.

Ye Wuming thrust out her left palm to ward off Yue Hongling's sword, suddenly struck by a bizarre, unbidden thought from Earth—did this count as enjoying a master-and-disciple combo meal? Damn it... she had read too much trash on Earth, and her mind was utterly ruined...

Before she could dwell on the thought, a brilliant blade light flashed from her flank as Zhao Changhe hacked down in a furious rage.

Below, the ethereal Tang Wanzhuang soared up simultaneously, while over yonder, Ye Jiuyuan was wrapping up her own battle, turning her gaze over.

A string of ellipses ran through Ye Wuming’s mind. If she lingered any longer and allowed Jiuyuan, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise to surround her, she wouldn’t even have to wait for them to storm the Night Palace; she would be finished right here.

Retreat for now. She could find another opportunity to fight for custody.

Ye Wuming cast one last deep look at Ling Ruoyu, whose pretty face was flushed crimson from unleashing her full strength. Then, her slender silhouette blurred. Zhao Changhe’s blade cut through nothing but a phantom; Ye Wuming had already vanished into the vast blue yonder, leaving no trace behind.

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky, his brow furrowing slightly.

Ye Wuming had merged with the complete Heavenly Book; one could say she was now the Heavenly Dao itself, while the original Heavenly Dao had been usurped and branded a "Fiend from Beyond." So long as she remained within this realm, she was every breath of air, every element. She could shift and depart however she pleased, entirely impossible to capture.

To deal with her, they still had to strike at her root—the location of the Night Palace. The monk could run, but the temple remained.

Turning his head, he saw that Ye Jiuyuan had completely obliterated the shadow of the Heavenly Fiend. Below, the demon disciples were being escorted away by the forces led by Cui Yuanyang. The oceanic Heavenly Fiend that had just begun to take shape in the Eastern Sea had also been whipped clean by Huangfu Qing and Sanniang like a spinning top, leaving no remnant behind.

It turned out Sanniang had also reached the third tier of the Grandmaster Realm. When she joined forces with Huangfu Qing, no one of the same tier could withstand them.

Everyone turned their eyes toward Zhao Changhe's position. Some wore faint, knowing smiles, while others pouted slightly.

No one had anticipated that Zhao Changhe would awaken early for this battle; everyone had devised their strategies assuming his absence. The facts proved that even without him, the dying schemes of the original Heavenly Dao within the realm had been thoroughly shattered by them. Through this campaign, the original Heavenly Dao’s influence over the world—accumulated across two eras and countless years—had been purged to its absolute nadir. Though a few minuscule remnants might still exist, they could no longer whip up any significant waves.

Zhao Changhe's self-important attempt to hide his tracks and play the hidden card had ultimately been entirely unnecessary. The greatest adversary his intervention had targeted was actually Ye Wuming, who had long since watched him awaken.

It vindicated the ethereal Tang Wanzhuang’s words that "the world will not stop turning without you," and echoed Jiuyuan’s assertion that "the three realms belong to us."

These were the most outstanding figures of the contemporary era, each formidable enough to give any enemy a bitter time. Now that they were bound into a single rope through this man, the solidity of the three realms was incomparable to the days of old.

It was as though their actions were silently questioning Zhao Changhe: Are you still going to be so self-righteous? Do you still think you need to abandon us and use your own life to accomplish something?

At the end of the day, it was still a lingering grievance...

Zhao Changhe understood the meaning in everyone's eyes and cupped his hands, executing a sweeping bow to the circle.

Ye Jiuyuan stretched lazily and smiled. "Let us disperse for now. We have plenty of time, and we can speak of things slowly. The one he wishes to speak with most right now should be Hongling."

Tang Wanzhuang smiled. "Buqi, a clear breeze and a bright moon—this is the perfect time for a birthday banquet. Why haven't you arranged for the wine yet?"

Tang Buqi: "..."

I was just subjected to a horrific execution, and right now I'm wrapped up like a mummy. It's clearly you all who want a family dinner, so why use my birthday banquet as an excuse? A perfectly good birthday banquet has been turned into an absolute mess by you people. The guest of honor is bundled up like this, and you still want to put me on display? Is that how human beings talk?

Forget it, there was nothing to say to the world's largest gang, especially when one of the gang leaders happened to be his own aunt.

Tang Buqi disconsolately went to arrange the banquet. The guests, having witnessed a semi-final battle that decided the fate of the world, left Tiger Hill thoroughly satisfied to continue the feast. The Tiger Hill Sword Pool suddenly grew very quiet. Just as Tang Wanzhuang had said, the clear breeze and bright moon reflected upon the deep, dark pool.

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling stood by the edge of the pool, remaining silent for a time. A young girl followed behind them, twisting the corner of her clothes, utterly at a loss... Ling Ruoyu didn't know whether she should follow the large crowd to the banquet or stay here with her master like an awkward third wheel.

Zhao Changhe turned his head to look at her, finding it somewhat amusing. "I did say you were the protagonist... The true protagonist of this battle was you. Everyone else was merely setting the stage for you."

Ling Ruoyu stole a swift glance at him, then lowered her head again, remaining silent.

Recalling the words she had previously spoken to him—things like "Do not speak disrespectful words to my master," or "What do you like about my master? I'll have her change it"—the young girl's face burned so fiercely she wished she could dive straight into the Sword Pool and bury herself there forever.

Thank goodness she hadn't met her master before his identity was exposed. If she had actually run to her master and said, "Don't pay any mind to that lecherous senior," would her master have buried her in the dirt, leaving only her backside exposed to be soundly thrashed?

Seeing her expression, Zhao Changhe found it even more amusing. "What do you call me now? Are you still going to call me 'Lecherous Senior'?"

Ling Ruoyu peeked at Yue Hongling. "Grand... Grandmaster."

"Hmm?" Zhao Changhe barked in mock anger. "You brat, I'm your father!"

"I..."

"What, have you not awakened the memories of Star River yet?"

"I... I have," Ling Ruoyu murmured timidly. "But the key is that Star River doesn't have that many memories. It can't possibly compare to Ruoyu's sixteen years of a complete life."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

True enough. Star River had only been born for about a year. Though it was born with awareness and had accompanied Zhao Changhe through his northern expeditions and southern campaigns, witnessing many high-level conflicts, that was only a single year of experience at most. What kind of life was that? To Ling Ruoyu, those pitifully few memories of the Star River Sword were like a dream. In that dream, aside from her father's sparse companionship and chats, her only friend was that very noisy Dragon Sparrow.

Ling Ruoyu stole a glance at the Dragon Sparrow currently sheathed on Zhao Changhe's back, her eyes clearly conveying the message: *Wait for me after school.* Star River only knew how to poke people in the backside? Star River was a small fry? You just remember this.

The Dragon Sparrow stared blankly at the sky.

Zhao Changhe unfastened the Dragon Sparrow and handed it over. "Go play with Dragon Sparrow for a bit. I need to speak with Hongling."

Dragon Sparrow: "..."

Ling Ruoyu bared her teeth in a grin, her eyes gleaming with mischievous intent as she snatched the Dragon Sparrow and ran off.

Watching the child run off clutching the blade, the young couple laughed simultaneously.

Zhao Changhe asked, "Tell me, what's the story here? It doesn't quite look like reincarnation. Star River didn't die back then, so it shouldn't have reincarnated."

Yue Hongling said, "As you saw, Star River never broke its master-recognition bond with you; it even shared life and death with you. It lay dormant in the void, and the day you awakened was the moment Star River would manifest in the world. Anyone skilled in divination could have deduced this—the original Heavenly Dao, the Ye sisters, and Wanzhuang all knew it."

"Yes, I understand that now. But why couldn't I sense Star River?"

"Back then, though the spirit of the Star River Sword was dormant, it hadn't severed the bond, so it would naturally and instinctively seek out your location. But at that time, your presence had been hidden by Jiuyuan within chaotic time and space. Star River had nothing to rely on, wandering aimlessly through the void for some years, until it ultimately sought out the person it was most familiar with."

"It found you?" Zhao Changhe said. "In terms of connection, reasonably speaking, Star River should have been more familiar with Qing'er. After all, Qing'er assisted in forging the sword back then."

"But after the sword spirit was born, it didn't have much contact with Sister Huangfu. It spent far more time with me. Have you forgotten that back then, in order to inspire my own sword to birth a spirit, I borrowed Star River from you to study it for a long time? So, aside from you, Star River interacted with me the most. Not to mention, I am a swordsman."

Zhao Changhe suddenly remembered that such an incident had indeed occurred. In private, Star River was indeed the most familiar with Hongling.

No wonder.

"Since the Star River has found me, it has also manifested in the world from the shattered void, naturally sensed by the Nine Nether and the Ethereal, who came knocking at the same time. We discussed it and all felt that this could not be hidden from Night Nameless—she would surely contend for the Star River. By rights, the Star River sword blank was forged by her in advance, making her the mother of the Star River. The Nine Nether wanted to vie with Night Nameless in everything, but admitted they could not surpass her in this regard, so it was better to change the plan so that even Night Nameless could not find it."

Zhao Changhe laughed.

Yue Hongling said, "Ethereal, having experience in reshaping bodies, suggested extracting the sword spirit and remolding it into a human, letting it re-cultivate like its father, which would also be a step to completely break free from the influence of the original Heavenly Dao. After all, according to the original Star River's design, it was somewhat inseparable from the Heavenly Dao's influence; if it continued, it might become a second Night Nameless. Now, there should be no more hidden worries."

Zhao Changhe nodded. That was true. He had thought before that perhaps using Dragon Sparrow and the Star River against the Heavenly Dao might not even cause harm, but now if Ruo Yu returned to the sword, that problem would certainly not arise. Ethereal's considerations were obviously correct, but now Zhao Changhe was reluctant to let Ling Ruo Yu go back into the sword...

Then Yue Hongling continued, "According to the original little girl form of the Star River, shaping a mortal human body without cultivation was not difficult for the Nine Nether and Ethereal. We thought it was quite good, and maybe the child wouldn't even recognize Night Nameless..."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Probably the Heavenly Dao was secondary; this was the real point... So it was said that palace intrigue was the most terrifying; women could display far more intelligence and malice in such matters than in anything else.

Yue Hongling said, "At that time, the sword spirit was dormant, forgetting the past, and the newborn little girl only grew close to me. Naturally, I had to raise her. Coincidentally, she was originally a sword, so the legendary innate sword heart and sword bone were not exaggerated—she was simply the disciple qualification I had dreamed of. From then on, I had an extra disciple, and I even named her."

Ling, Yu. No wonder.

Zhao Changhe finally understood and laughed, "So it also fulfilled the bond between you and me as master and disciple, didn't it?"

"Don't flatter yourself. Taking you as a disciple is nowhere near as good as Yu'er. Do you have Yu'er's obedience and cuteness? Though your talent is good, it can't compare to Yu'er's—she is the most cheating talent in history, alright?"

Zhao Changhe chuckled.

If Ruo Yu had talent, it was forged by him. Being outdone by his own daughter was no big deal; it was better that she surpassed her father.

When she was still a sword spirit, it wasn't intuitive—especially since the Star River was so aloof, with little communication, more like raising a figurine than a daughter. Now, with a lively little girl before him, who could laugh and play, the feeling was completely different.

By the way, the original Star River had a round face and big eyes, like a porcelain doll. Now Ruo Yu had an oval face and phoenix eyes—no matter how you looked, you couldn't see the original... "So was Ruo Yu's appearance molded after the Star River's original form? Why doesn't she look like it?"

Yue Hongling laughed, "At that time, the Star River was only five or six years old... A girl changes eighteen times by adulthood. This is indeed how the Star River would have grown naturally, with no interference."

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!" From behind a distant tree came the explosive clash of blades. The couple extended their divine senses and saw Ling Ruo Yu holding the Star River, locked in battle with the Dragon Sparrow before her.

They had no idea what quarrel the sisters had just had.

Yue Hongling coughed dryly, "Another great advantage of doing this back then was that since the sword spirit was extracted from the sword, the empty shell of the Star River sword would no longer make us hesitate to use it. We could deploy it freely, whether to lure Night Nameless or the remnants of the original Heavenly Dao—it made an excellent bait. In the end, you saw what happened. But now..."

She paused, pointing to where the swords were clashing, a bit embarrassed, "Now, is there a side effect? How is Yu'er supposed to return to the Star River? Has she become a secret realm maiden wielding an empty Star River shell to fight? What will you do when you need to use the Star River?"

Zhao Changhe didn't care at all, "What's the big deal? Do I absolutely have to use the Star River? Seeing Ruo Yu so adorable, I'm overjoyed."

Yue Hongling also smiled. Why dwell on it? Nothing was more important than this living little Ruo Yu.

Zhao Changhe laughed, "By the way, why is her temperament no longer like the Star River's? It's more like yours... Has even her nature changed?"

"Since she was reborn as a human, she no longer has the sword spirit's mindset, and naturally gained more of a human girl's nature. In truth, she is still aloof at heart, but what of it? That's how swordsmen are. Do you think Wu Bing and I are not aloof?" Yue Hongling smiled, "After all these years of teaching, with a lot of guidance on how a swordsman should act chivalrously and uphold righteousness, and with her natural admiration for her father's deeds, she learned and acted accordingly."

Zhao Changhe was moved to tears.

This was a good mother and good teacher. Look at how he had raised Dragon Sparrow—what a mess. See how well Ruo Yu had been raised.

"How is it?" Yue Hongling said with a smile, "I haven't let down your Star River, have I?"

"Of course." Zhao Changhe spun her around in his arms, "You're always the most reliable, Hongling."

"Stop." Yue Hongling snorted coldly, "I'm a wicked stepmother, always finding excuses to beat her. Thinking that I raised her so big, yet she might call Night Nameless 'mother' makes me very uncomfortable."

Zhao Changhe stroked his chin. The origin of this child's birth was mysterious. Night Nameless, who observed the world, couldn't have failed to notice a strange girl with no roots appearing out of nowhere. With her divination skills, she had probably long guessed that this was the Star River.

So although the girl's combat experience was clearly lacking, the Chaos Book had pushed her to the top of the Hidden Dragon list, with gossip calling her a backdoor connection. It turned out to be true... Hidden Dragon Class One, Ling Ruo Yu, award-winning essay title: "My Heavenly Book Mother"?

Later, there were flashes of Heavenly Numbers, seemingly setting her up, but in reality, it was like an old mother showing off her child on social media—look, my daughter won first prize in piano and first place in math Olympiad again.

Ling Ruo Yu's head poked out from behind the tree.

Yue Hongling: "..."

Awkward. When Ling Ruo Yu merged with the Star River's essence, her aura became undetectable by anyone in the world. Even Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling couldn't sense her spying.

Had she heard what they just said about the wicked stepmother abusing the child?

The girl was trembling with fear, "Master, I buried Dragon Sparrow. Will something happen?"