Those realm seven and above were grandmasters that could rule an area. The great rebels had extraordinary presences. The majority of realm seven grandmasters in the world had never met Bai Shanshui and the legendary Fourth Mister Zhao, but most of them knew that they would not be a match for either of those people.

This was not just due to the sword manual they cultivated. There was never the strongest sword manual, only stronger people.

The Wei and the Zhao dynasties had had countless cultivation places. The reason that only Bai Shanshui of Cloud Water Palace and Fourth Mister Zhao of the Zhao Sword Furnace were publicly accepted as extraordinary was due to themselves as they contained a spirit that ordinary men could not imagine.

Would the meeting of Bai Shanshui and Fourth Mister Zhao be an ordinary fight of realm sevens?

Upon hearing Bai Shanshui’s slow words, Zhao Si stood with his hands behind his back. But the white clouds above the river had suddenly turned red, as though it was burning with fire.

Bai Shanshui, impassively, reached out. The surging surface of river suddenly stopped flowing in front of him.

The river water was cut off in half, not because it had been separated by a powerful force, but that a mountainous amount of primal energies of the universe had pulled the water to form a swirling blue pond in front of him.

Water grass on the riverbed was exposed to the sunlight. The fish and prawns jumped in the dry sand in fright, ignorant of what had happened.

Seeing half of the river’s water forming a blue pond, and the bottom of the river turning into a grass plain, Fourth Mister Zhao’s gaze showed admiration.

“My generation likes to learn the sword, reside by the cold pool for a decade …”

He sang a line from the song Bai Shanshui had sang when rampaging through Changling. Looking at the blue pond that was giving off astounding sword essence, he praised. “It appears that you used this decade to form your lifebond sword.”

Bai Shanshui did not answer. A thick green flare seemed to rise inside the pond. A green longsword was pulled out of the blue pond.

When this sword was pulled out, the whirlpool around him seemed to lose its soul, turning into ordinary water that returned to the dry riverbed.

The fish and prawns sensed their world being once again filled by the water they relied on for survival. They did not feel joy at this, rather fled in terror from the region of water.

The thick green color of the longsword was brighter and deeper than any jewel, but inside, it had black and white color like a white mountain and black water.

Bai Shanshui held this sword and looked coolly at Zhao Si. He said, “My sword is in hand. Now you should let me see your sword.”

Zhao Si nodded. Then he looked up towards the boundless sky and said, “Then you will receive my sword.”

Bai Shanshui sensed something and also looked up towards the endless sky.

No one was able to go above the sky. The higher the elevation, the thinner the primal energies of the universe were. At a height where the primal energies of the universe were so thin they were almost non-existent, there were many inexplicable crescents of light, chaotic star vital energies, the true fire of the sun, and extreme hot and cold.

A small red sword was floating silently within, being cleansed by the extreme heat and cold. It followed a set track like a star, yet it was mentally connected to Zhao Si.

His thoughts were so far that even his lifebond sword could fly in the endless sky like a star. Naturally, not many people could understand the path that Fourth Mister Zhao talked about.

In a flash, the little sword seemed to wake up. It started to erupt with crimson flames before falling at a terrifying speed. The friction between the crimson red flames and primal energies of the universe created even stronger flames.

In a fraction of time, the true fire layer outside the sword became pure and colorless. Under the power of the terrifying speed and the pressure of the surrounding primal energies of the universe, it turned into a crystal-like material that stuck close to the blade.

The light around this sword turned deep red and was growing even stronger. When the sword passed through the fire clouds above the river, what appeared in Bai Shanshui’s gaze was an enormous deep red flaming ball with a tail ten miles long. This kind of fireball could be seen from many an elevated places across Changling.

On a star-viewing platform in the Qin Dynasty, a historiographer saw this meteor in the sky, his demeanour underwent a change. “A falling star during day with red color is a demonic star!”

A powerful gale blew across the river surface.

Fourth Mister Zhao’s sword was still dozens of meters away from the surface, but the river water underneath Bai Shanshui’s feet was vaporizing in layers.

Bai Shanshui’s gaze showed true shock.

Seeing such a sword, he finally believed the rumors that the former grandmaster of the Zhao Sword Furnace had burned a lake with a sword during the Qin-Zhao War.

This was a sword that contained a furnace of the world and the true fire of the stars. However, he did not think he would be defeated.

This was a great river connected to the sea, and not a sealed off lake.

He took a deep breath. He released a unique wave of primal energies of the universe quickly, that went into the river water at his feet. He seemed to become one with the entire Wei River.

He swung his sword towards this sword that was like a demonic star.

Vast blue waves rose from the river surface. Terrifying primal energies were summoned from afar. They did not move through the air, but through the deep water like a serpent sneaking through the water before merging with the green longsword in his hand.

The white mountain and black water shone through the blade and seemed to form a unique world.

Quickly, a dual colored sword energy transformed in front of him. First, it formed an enormous white snake coiled up, its large mouth open as though it was going to bite the falling fireball. After the white color was the black color that formed an enormous black turtle.

The vitality of the white snake and black turtle resonated with the distant stars in the sky. The turtles were yin and yang, reflecting the legendary serpent-turtle that could both attack and defend.

The moment the white snake opened its mouth, a cold green sword energy immediately extinguished half of the crimson fireball.

Zhao Si’s eyes started to shine with heated light.

The small sword at the center of the enormous red fireball suddenly cut countless paths in the sky. Immediately, heavy crystal-like light fell down and upon contact, it erased the cold green sword light.

Crack!

The white snake immediately caught the small sword in its mouth, but was unable to stop it. The snake began to shatter, starting with its head.

Bai Shanshui gave a soft moan.

Black fiendish energy rose like clouds. In a flash, the light of the water and the fire all disappeared, leaving behind only a thin mist spreading on the surface of the river. Bai Shanshui held the green longsword and was already in front of Fourth Mister Zhao.

Bai Shanshui stabbed forward.

The sword he was piercing towards Fourth Mister Zhao had no blinding light, but in this moment, all the waves on the river surface disappeared, and the entire river became silent.

This was his most powerful strike. It contained the strongest of his spirits and also the natural law of flowing water.

Fourth Mister Zhao let out a soft exclamation.

But that was the only sound he made. The small sword flowing with a layer of crystal fire had fallen in front of him. He gripped this small sword simply and also stabbed towards Bai Shanshui.

A great boom!

When Fourth Mister Zhao’s sword came into contact with Bai Shanshui’s green longsword, it released many flows of heat. Fourth Mister Zhao wore a cold expression, and his body seemed to be back in that smithy.

Facing the water flow of an entire river, all of the fires in the smithy seemed about to puff out, when a scene from the past resurfaced in his mind.

Under a torrent of rain, an old and unbridled man held a burning hot hammer and swung it repeatedly, causing sprays of sparks. In the next moment, he put the burning hot hammer and the sword block back into the water under the eaves.

Zzt!

The red hot hammer and the sword block turned black and cold. At the same time, in front of Fourth Mister Zhao, with a sound, the heat from the small sword in his hand completely disappeared, becoming a black and cold metal that continued to advance.

Bai Shanshui’s green longsword suddenly vibrated and he flew backwards. However,his feet did not leave the water surface. As his body floated up, an enormous wave suddenly swept up behind him.

Fourth Mister Zhao did not move. The little red sword in his hand slowly returned to its red color, and slowly fell down.

His robes were messy and his black hair fell back freely behind his head. Shockingly, he looked like a woman.

But even more shockingly, as Bai Shanshui’s fox fur robe split open, his chest showed a swell.

As he took several steps back, the fox fur robe fell apart. He had none of his usual masculine air. This was clearly a tall and beautiful woman.

Fourth Mister Zhao’s expression did not change and he spoke to Bai Shanshui. “So the greatest rebel of the world is actually a woman.”

Bai Shanshui’s breathing was chaotic. As she showed her true appearance, her expression turned frosty, and she said, “Aren’t you the same?”

Zhao Si glanced coolly at her and said, “The Zhao Lands have many widows. The men of the Zhao were pretty much all dead before the Zhao was destroyed. It is normal for the remainder to be women.”

Bai Shanshui took a deep breath. While she no longer used vital energy to control her body and had the figure of a woman, she still looked handsome and had an indescribable charisma.

Her expression calmed. She looked coldly at Zhao Si and said, “It seems that I can only call you Fourth Miss Zhao.”

Zhao Si shot back. “Before joining the sect, I was Zhao Miao. What was Miss Bai called? Your name come from the white mountains and black water, and it is not your true name.”

Bai Shanshui’s eyes immediately showed some fury but she still gritted her teeth and said, “I was called Bai Lu.”

Zhao Si said calmly, “White dew as frost. A good name.”

Bai Shanshui sneered. “While you won by a whisker against me, it is impossible for you to keep me here. Do you think that you can humiliate me verbally?”

Zhao Si shook her head and said calmly, “I am just surprised.”

Having spoken, she looked towards the distant Changling and slowly continued. “They all say that Changling is the place to raise true dragons. The strongest cultivators of the world come from Changling. Maybe this saying has some truth … it seems that you have had some opportunities during your time in Changling. Otherwise, I think I would have not just won slightly against you.”

Bai Shanshui’s lips trembled. She knew Zhao Si spoke the truth.

The river water surged, mirroring her mood. But on the surface of the river, another white figure appeared.

Translator Ramblings: Both Bai Shanshui and Zhao Si have very feminine names. Miao means clever and wonderful, and the Chinese character for “woman” is written as part of the miao character.