Chapter 1280: Tales of the Sword Furnace (Part 2)

Chapter 1280: Chapter 1280: Tales of the Sword Furnace (Part 2)

"The ancestors have passed, and as a descendant, it’s not my place to judge right or wrong. However, from a standpoint of interest, although our Liu Family has no intention to seize the Sect Leader position, we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of others. Mo Baiqi, having familial ties with the Liu Family and years of friendship, who is this Liu Yunpeng to us? Hence, even though my father had the kindness of teaching him and recognized his talents, in this matter, whether for personal interest or due to my mother’s persuasion, he ultimately sided with my aunt."

Lowering his head and lightly rubbing the wine cup on the table with his fingers, Liu Xuanji continued to recall the past, "For reasons like these, before that competition, my father secretly explained to my brother and me the sword moves Liu Yuanpeng had learned and his usual habits and characteristics in making moves. At that time, my father didn’t mention the person using these sword moves was Liu Yunpeng, just told us to pay attention to how to deal with such an opponent. Moreover, my mother and aunt, who had not wielded weapons for many years, personally showed up to teach us brothers the essence of the Li Family’s ultimate martial arts."

"Hahaha, know yourself, know your enemy, fight a hundred battles without defeat. Liu Yunpeng started learning martial arts later than you and was thoroughly figured out by you! Not only that, you even learned cultivation techniques he didn’t know; how could he not be defeated?" Pei Yan sneered coldly upon hearing this, disgruntled.

"Indeed! On the day of the competition, as soon as I engaged with Liu Yunpeng, I understood my father and mother’s intention. They wanted to use my hand to directly eliminate Liu Yunpeng, preventing him from even having the chance to face my cousin, Mo Baiqi! At that time, I was also torn. Before facing me, Liu Yunpeng had already defeated many skilled fighters within the sect, even Wei Yiyun of the Wei Family lost to him; his fame was at its peak. When I fought against him, I found that he was indeed a talent. In just over a month of competition, his Sword Dao had advanced by leaps and bounds, and he had a new understanding of his practiced swordsmanship! Unfortunately, even so, it still couldn’t change his fate of having his patterns completely grasped by me. I found it not challenging to defeat him but felt it would be an unworthy victory. However, my mother and aunt kept pressuring me with meaningful glances from outside the arena, hoping I would make my move. Torn between choices, I finally decided to compromise."

"Did you defeat him?" Pei Yan sneered at Liu Xuanji’s lengthy explanation and merely cared about curiously inquiring after the outcome.

"No, it looked like a draw on the surface! But in reality, he sustained internal injuries that couldn’t heal within a month or two and naturally couldn’t partake in the match with Mo Baiqi. However, I underestimated Liu Yunpeng’s perseverance! I didn’t expect that, even after I had tied him and announced my withdrawal from the contest for the Sect Leader position, he still insisted on battling Mo Baiqi despite his injuries! You know the whole cause and effect: with injuries and multiple setbacks, how could he be a match for Mo Baiqi? That duel was a tragic yet magnificent defeat for him."

Liu Xuanji said with a hint of regret, "Mo Baiqi, although not overly fond of this younger brother, wasn’t cruel either but felt that such a victory was not honorable. Yet, the family’s burden and the mother’s exhortation left him no choice but to accept it! In the arena, Mo Baiqi could say he held back against Liu Yunpeng everywhere, repeatedly advising him to withdraw from further challenges. But those words seemed to Liu as the greatest mockery and ridicule, so even after being knocked down time and again, covered in blood, he refused to admit defeat, each time standing up to launch another offensive against Mo Baiqi until exhaustion overcame him and he could no longer rise. As you know, Mo Baiqi got his wish and became the Sect Leader! While Liu Yunpeng spent an entire year bedridden recuperating, and afterward, out of recognition for Liu Yunpeng’s capability, as a compensation or reward perhaps, the sect conferred upon him the position of Outer Elder, which was an exception for someone of his age. Had he remained content with this role, by now he might well have risen to my equal."

"But the seeds of resentment in his heart have already been sown; reconciliation is easier said than done! Initially, Liu Yunpeng bore it silently because Elder Sect Leader Mo was still around, so he behaved well for a while, showing no flaws inside or outside the sect. That was until decades later when Elder Sect Leader Mo and my father successively expired; he began to have thoughts. After an external sect mission, he vanished without a trace. The sect endeavored to seek him out but ultimately could find no trace. The matter was left unresolved, until two hundred years later when Jue Liunian emerged unexpectedly. How could I not desire to meet such a Sword Dao master? But when I found him, although his appearance had changed somewhat, I recognized him at once as the Liu Yunpeng from before. It was then he told me the reason for his name change, declaring Jue Liunian had thoroughly severed any sentiment for Hongjun Sword Furnace, and henceforth, he and Hongjun Sword Furnace would remain separate entities."

Having finally finished recounting this past incident, Liu Xuanji poured himself another cup of wine, drank it in one go to moisten his parched lips, then looked at Pei Yan and asked, "Now, do you understand why I was hesitant to tell you when you came searching for him? This involves the reputation of the older generation, and indeed, we were guilty towards this person. Be it due to not wishing to air family scandals or our inner guilt, we did not want outsiders to resolve this matter but rather hoped to find him ourselves and then give you an explanation."

"I understand! Oh well! Elder Liu, what I say may sound harsh, but if I were Jue Liunian, I might also harbor resentment against you, it’s how things were handled after all, hahahaha!" Pei Yan sneered for a while and then shifted the conversation, "When you found Jue Liunian to be Liu Yunpeng, didn’t you have any reaction? No thoughts of weeding and uprooting then?"

Liu Xuanji heard the scorn in Pei Yan’s words and didn’t respond to it. Instead, seeing Pei Yan switch topics, he replied, "We did! But later gave up due to many reasons. Besides the aforementioned hidden reasons, when he reappeared, he neither used the Hongjun Sword Furnace name nor displayed any Hongjun Sword Furnace moves. This was the main reason we showed restraint towards him. Also, by then, his strength was already considerable, making it necessary to dispatch more people for a siege if we intended not to lose something. But this man was as slippery as an eel; he would vanish at the slightest movement. At that time, I was pondering where he learned skills not from our Hongjun Sword Furnace and how he, repeatedly heavily wounded from being besieged, recuperated to return stronger. I couldn’t figure it out then! But after these recent events, hahahaha! Finally, I’ve come to understand."