Why do I have so many masters?

At the end of May, as the weather became warmer, the atmosphere at Fufeng Academy gradually returned to its original state.

The matter of Ni Tianxing was forbidden to be spread, and the students only knew that the Master, who had appeared indolent and carefree, was actually an utterly heinous evil demon. In addition to their fear, they spontaneously wrote many declarations to denounce such heretical actions.

Inside the Wind Character Tower, Wang Anfeng silently looked at the article in his hands.

Brilliant writing sprang to life.

It was filled with ideas of benevolence and righteousness, contempt for Ni Tianxing, and praise for Zhao Zheng and the Great Qin, extrapolating the notion that evil cannot triumph over righteousness. The hurried heretics could only flee before the vast might of the Great Qin and would inevitably be caught in the net of the law.

But things were not so simple.

The Master, in his eyes, had done wrong. But could he have done better if he were in the Master's shoes?

And Zhao Zheng... and the Great Qin.

He suddenly recalled the Master's final words amidst mad laughter.

It turns out that the mouth of the vast Great Qin belongs only to the Noble Clans.

Whatever was spoken by that mouth, many people could only hear these things. There were plenty of talented individuals within the Noble Clans, people capable of speaking just like the truth itself. Those who had never seen the truth took it for what it was.

Am I also one of them?

Was what is known only what those high above wanted me to know?

Suddenly, the young man's heart was filled with irritation.

"Brother Wang, you seem to be in a troubled state of mind..."

A gentle voice arose in the young man's ear, interrupting the turmoil in his heart. Wang Anfeng was slightly startled and looked to the side, seeing the clean-shaven face with soft contours, belonging to the young man with tender and teasing eyes, always smiling. It was the Legalist disciple he had seen before at Tianfeng Tower, Jiangfeng Yiqing.

He smiled at Wang Anfeng, sat down cross-legged next to him, took a book of Legalist classics, and said softly:

"Some things weigh heavily when kept inside."

"Since we are acquainted, why not speak them out? It will feel much better once you do..."

Wang Anfeng fell into silence, then again sighed:

"Is it that obvious?"

During the turbulent time of his fourteenth birthday, Wang Anfeng's voice had begun to change. No longer boyish, it had taken on a slightly hoarse and deeper tone. Jiangfeng Yiqing smiled, shook his head, and said softly:

"Not really, Brother Wang. Your face is calm, and ordinary people can't see anything unusual."

"But to people like us, it's quite clear."

As Jiangfeng Yiqing spoke, a smug smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, he pointed to his own eyes, and said:

"After all, I am a Legalist disciple."

Wang Anfeng was momentarily taken aback, then laughed.

He didn't plan to tell Jiangfeng Yiqing about this matter, which involved things that could not be openly discussed, but there was still a feeling of oppressive gloom roiling within him. He silently flipped through a few pages of a book, then said softly:

"Jiangfeng, you are a Legalist disciple..."

"What is law? Laws and regulations are clear and strict, and the ancient Legalists considered almost every detail. Why then are there still injustices in the world?"

Jiangfeng Yiqing's smile gradually faded, and his captivating eyes narrowed slightly. He too fell silent, as if pondering or unsure how to answer. After a long time, he finally said:

"Law is as impartial as water. Law cannot have emotions, but it also has no life."

"Therefore, the implementation of the law still depends on people. Law has no emotions, but people are the most emotional beings. People, using human bodies to wield the power of law, will naturally become corrupted. I don't believe in Saints because I've never seen one. All I know is people corrupted by power."

"Once they were full of fiery ambition, but in a short time, they rotted to the core."

Jiangfeng Yiqing closed his eyes slightly, fell silent for a long while, then spoke with a complex tone:

"The ancestors of the Legalist school calculated every possible evil, yet they still could not account for human nature. They were cold, referred to by the Shi Family as cruel officials, but still naïvely pitiful, naively believing that those who came after them could live by the law their entire lives."

Wang Anfeng remained silent, many thoughts swirling in his mind that he couldn't share, ending only in a sigh.

Jiangfeng Yiqing seemed to recall some unpleasant memories as well. He sat for a moment, picked up a book, and then left on his own. Wang Anfeng stayed as usual, continuing to read in that place. He was reading commentaries compiled by contemporary scholars, but the more he read, the more distasteful it felt, filled with glorifying praise.

The young man put the heavy books, reeking of faint ink scent, back in their places. Dressed in blue robes, he slowly ascended the wooden stairs that reached to the sky, step by step, thousands of them, to a place rarely visited by people.

He reached for a book that was placed high up as if it was enshrined, yet hardly ever read by anyone, dusted off the cover, and slowly opened the title page.

That night.

Wang Anfeng, as always, waited until all the others had left, and the figure of Lao Ren had disappeared. Only then did he carefully sweep the thousand steps. Finally, he closed the wooden stairs of the Wind Character Tower and walked alone to his own narrow wooden hut.

In the stillness of heaven and earth at this time, Wang Anfeng's thoughts were in disarray, flights of fancy seizing him.

It seems that neither Baili Feng nor Miss Xue has been seen for several days.

Could it be due to the aftermath of the Master's incident?

Or might it be...

Wang Anfeng suddenly shook his head vigorously, his black hair flailing, as if trying to throw the thought out of his mind. He tapped his forehead lightly and his face showed a frustrated expression.

In any case, it shouldn't be so.

After all, the Great Qin wouldn't stoop so low, and there was no news of any misfortune befalling the two of them.

The young man scorned himself for suspecting his own country with such malice. The wind rustled through the sparse bamboo, causing the leaves to whisper, but his steps halted, and his pupils contracted sharply.

This was... murderous intent.

A barely perceptible Qi Mechanism locked onto him, causing his scalp to suddenly prickle as his figure instantaneously returned to normal, continuing to walk forward as usual. But beneath the surface, his Inner Strength had already begun to circulate faster.

At that moment, a fierce sound of slicing through the air suddenly erupted, without the slightest intent to conceal, directly slashing down toward Wang Anfeng. The young man's footsteps shifted, and from behind him, the Eight-Sided Han Sword was drawn from its sheath, clashing with the incoming blade. The wooden sword collided with the saber, and to his surprise, a shower of sparks erupted.

The saber was naturally unharmed, and astonishingly, not a single mark appeared on the wooden sword either.

Wang Anfeng burst backward with a movement technique, his wooden sword held horizontally in front of him, watching the masked person with wary eyes. His pupils dilated slightly, no longer conveying their original gentle calmness, but sharp and compelling like a drawn sword, he said in a cold voice,

"...Here to silence me?"

The person did not reply, but simply raised the Great Qin saber in hand and fiercely assaulted Wang Anfeng. The attack was grand and upright, the saber tracing a cold and domineering path. Wang Anfeng clenched his teeth, advancing instead of retreating, his wooden sword executing a seventy-two-stroke attack in the style of the Crane Dancing in the Breeze.

Although his fist techniques were stronger, the adversary wielded a sharp blade, and the fist wraps that Qin Fei had once given him were not on hand, leaving him no choice but to counter with swordsmanship.

The Sword Momentum unfolded like a Crane Stirs the Wind, graceful yet fierce, with a hidden intent to kill. At this point, the opponent had clearly directed killing intent toward him; in a life-or-death situation, there was no room left to hold back. His swordsmanship, whether in terms of speed or power, was many times stronger than what he had shown before.

He engaged the battle saber without losing ground, but it was also difficult for him to gain the upper hand.

The Golden Bell Shield Inner Strength within his body, which had been refined until it could circulate without problem, churned relentlessly due to the intense battle, as if waves were surging within him, vibrating and spreading.

It made his body increasingly swollen and painful, while the enemy's saber was held diagonally, slashing down fiercely like a thunderbolt, leaving vivid traces in the eyes of the youth.

The surging Inner Strength within him suddenly paused and then surged violently.

The next moment, starting from between his eyebrows, characters began to emerge on the youth's skin, as if passed through raging flames, burning with a reddish-gold luster, interconnected to each other. Silently, a Qi Bell manifested and collided heavily with the saber's shadow. The saber shattered, and the illusory bronze bell dissipated, too.

Amidst the sonorous bell tolling, the young man, wielding his sword, instantly gathered his spirit, then thrust forward vigorously.

And thus, a thunderous rumble echoed around them.

The azure lightning of ultimate Yang and ultimate firmness flickered, Vigorous Qi coiling around the blade, turning the lightning into a very real Sword Qi as it thrust forward. Wang Anfeng's body suddenly went limp, his breath slightly hurried. The adversary appeared not to have anticipated Wang Anfeng's emission of Sword Qi and stumbled, narrowly avoiding it.

Capitalizing on the momentum, the adversary grabbed and crushed the lightning Sword Qi in an instant; electric currents twined around his palm, yet they had no effect and were simply dispersed by a shake of the hand, dissipating into the air. Read latest chapters at empire

Wang Anfeng's pupils abruptly constricted, almost unable to believe the scene he witnessed.

However, the masked person did not continue the attack and simply stood there, lifting a hand to gently remove the Black Iron Mask covering his face, revealing a fair and soft countenance. Those eyes remained gentle yet also flashed with a cold light, more like two slender and graceful battle sabers.

Wang Anfeng's expression showed utter disbelief as he murmured,

"Jiangfeng..."

The youth across from him nodded slightly, saying warmly,

"Yes, it's me, but you may also call me by another name."

His voice paused, and his thin, pale lips parted slightly, saying,

"Wuxin."

Wang Anfeng opened his mouth, but in his mind, the words from their first meeting resurfaced—he had taken the initiative to ask whether Wuxin would come, only to now realize it was all a misdirection...

That Wuxin was merely a bait.

He had deceived everyone under Heaven.

Master Ni's affair had yet to be cleared, and was he already to be thrown into prison?

With complex feelings of unwillingness, Wang Anfeng said softly,

"The school of Legalism... Wuxin."

The young man in front of him nodded again, glancing at Wang Anfeng who was still gripping the longsword tightly, surrounded by lightning, and spoke indifferently,

"To forget is difficult for the immortal, spiritual communion has been long-established."

"But you need not worry, I did not come to capture you."

Wang Anfeng was briefly stunned, then looked at the person in front of him, harboring many secrets, standing leisurely with hands behind his back and said,

"I will say that Yi Nanping fell off a cliff and his whereabouts are unknown."

Wang Anfeng fell silent, looking at the familiar yet strange friend in front of him, and slowly, reverently sheathed his sword, saying,

"But you come from a Legalist background, why would you..."

Feng Yiqing looked at him, his smile fading, then calmly said,

"I have already told you..."

"People's hearts are corrupt, I have never believed in any so-called saints. Everyone has desires, only a sword hanging over their heads, deterring them, can make them understand the concept of a bottom line."

"Seven years ago, I wanted to become the sword that keeps check on the human heart."

"But three years ago, I realized, I was not enough."

"In the end, I even feared that someday, I would become corrupt myself."

"Only the swordsman of Jianghu, the true and genuine hero who does not hesitate to risk his life, can cut away the corrupt things, ensuring that this world remains as usual, eternally vibrant. And in the time I knew you, especially in the case of Ni Tianxing, I have seen that you are that kind of hero."

Wang Anfeng's heart shook slightly upon hearing this, and looking into those eyes, he said,

"You... are you betraying Legalism?"

Feng Yiqing shook his head, saying calmly,

"I have never betrayed Legalism!"

"Hunting down criminals across the world three years ago was for Legalism."

"Arguing for his reduced sentence was for Legalism."

"Today, I, Wuxin, act contrary to the ancient principles of Legalism, it is still for Legalism."

"If ancient principles have been passed down for a thousand years, does that make them correct? I think not. The world changes, people's hearts decay, those who do not change and progress, are only bound for death!"

PS: A long chapter for you.

PS: For any questions, please see the subsequent chapters... After the story ends, then make your judgements.

Thank you to Chu Xuan Pious for the generous rewards, thank you.