Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

The ancestral ceremony of the Lian family unfolded amidst a bustling crowd, a grand event unseen in Nan Yao City for many years.

This ceremony, named Ancestral Sacrifice, was actually to declare the unshakable status of the Lian family as the Holy Land of Weapon Forging.

To proclaim to the world that the Lian family still possessed the ability to forge renowned weapons.

Lian Que, as the master weapon forger, was undoubtedly the protagonist of today.

He knelt on the high platform from beginning to end, like a clay puppet, allowing himself to be dressed and worshipped.

Jiang Wang, as a guest, watched the entire process from the sidelines, comfortably seated on a chair, silently enjoying the expressions on Lian Que's ugly face.

From joy and contentment to numb exhaustion, it was only a morning's time.

After a tedious ceremony that lasted the entire morning, the first phase was finally completed.

Only then was Lian Que allowed to act.

Once it was secure, the Lian family members presented the specially crafted scabbard for the master weapon.

Lian Que sheathed the sword. The master weapon, like a dragon swimming in the sea, emitted a clear and melodious chant. The precious sword was hidden away, concealing its brilliance.

At this moment, Lian Zhuping took over the master weapon and personally placed it on the altar after praying to the heavens and earth, officially entering the ancestral sacrifice phase.

After the busy proceedings, another set of rituals took up another two hours of time. Lian Que rubbed his legs and stood up, ready to invite the master weapon down and hand it over to Jiang Wang, completing the final step.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from afar, announcing, "The Fourteenth Prince has arrived!"

The crowd quickly made way, bowing in salute.

Lian Que furrowed his brows upon hearing the announcement and quickened his pace.

However, an elder calmly blocked his path in front of the altar and reprimanded, "The prince has arrived, why haven't you greeted him? Where is your decorum?"

Lian Que shifted to the left and squeezed forward, saying, "You can greet him if you want. The master weapon is in front, and I will complete the ceremony first."

"Insolent!" The elder angrily retorted, "You dare to be so disrespectful after forging a renowned weapon by chance! Have you forgotten about our family and the court?"

Even if Lian Que was slow-witted, he knew something was wrong and did not argue with the elder. He turned around and looked at Lian Zhuping, asking, "Clan Leader! Is this your decision?"

But Lian Zhuping did not speak and instead bowed, saying, "Greetings to the Fourteenth Prince!"

Jiang Wang, who was watching from a distance below the stage, sensed that something was amiss and was about to come up and inquire about the situation when a sedan chair approached the stage.

There were a total of ten sedan bearers, and surprisingly, each of them had the cultivation level of the Soaring Dragon Realm.

The sedan curtain was lifted, revealing a man in a purple robe with a face covered in gold powder.

He was most likely the Fourteenth Prince of the current Qi Emperor, Jiang Wuyong.

Purple was highly esteemed in Qi, and those who wore purple were mostly royal nobles.

The man got off the sedan chair without paying any attention to the crowd and walked towards the high platform.

With his sleeves fluttering and his steps calm, he exuded an air of royalty.

He ascended the high platform and immediately spotted the master weapon on the altar, his expression filled with joy. "What a great sword! I am greatly pleased!"

As he spoke, he wanted to continue forward.

Lian Que stepped forward and blocked his path, calmly saying, "Your Highness, this sword already has an owner."

Before the Fourteenth Prince could speak, the same elder as before, directly reached out to grab Lian Que and scolded, "Do you have the right to speak when the Fourteenth Prince is here? How dare you be so insolent!"

Lian Que turned around and threw a punch, and the gates of heaven and earth opened, with a gust of wind swirling within his body as if a furnace fire was leaping.

"You old man, Lian Luyue! Are you never going to die?"

The Lian family was not known for their combat strength, and this elder was only at the peak of the Soaring Dragon Realm.

Their clash resulted in an even match.

Lian Luyue, the elder, did not expect Lian Que to fight back and his face immediately turned unsightly. He became furious, saying, "How dare a young brat be so disrespectful!"

"Old man, calm down!" Lian Zhuping, of course, could not let the situation escalate again and immediately stepped in, standing between Lian Que and Lian Luyue.

At the same time, he scolded Lian Que, "You better behave yourself!"

"Who's not behaving?" Lian Que's face turned red with anger. "This renowned weapon has nothing to do with you. It was made for Jiang Wang as a goodwill gesture. What right do you have to decide its ownership?"

"Aren't you a member of the Lian family? Isn't everything you've learned from our Lian family's secret teachings? Aren't the resources for forging the sword provided by our Lian family? Isn't the ancient furnace used for forging the sword passed down through our Lian family?"

Lian Zhuping asked sternly, "Now you're saying it has nothing to do with our Lian family?"

"From the beginning, I was forging the sword for Jiang Wang! Jiang Wang was involved from start to finish. A renowned weapon is heaven-forged, and human effort is limited! This sword belongs to Jiang Wang from the beginning! It doesn't belong to you, nor does it belong to me!"

Lian Luyue coldly interjected, "You did promise to forge a weapon for him, but you didn't specify which weapon. You can just put down this longxiangsi and wholeheartedly forge another weapon for him. That wouldn't be considered breaking your promise."

Lian Que looked at him in shock and anger. "Can things be done this way just by saying it? Are we going to throw away the face of the Lian family?"

Smack!

Clan Leader Lian Zhuping slapped Lian Que, knocking him to the ground. "Is this something you should say?"

"Enough." Jiang Wuyong smiled. "This prince only came to see the new renowned weapon of Qi's Holy Land of Weapon Forging. Why are you all so agitated? Step aside and let me take a closer look."

Elder Lian Luyue immediately stepped aside. "Please enjoy, Your Highness."

Jiang Wuyong calmly took a step forward. At this moment, a voice sounded from behind him, "You better stop right there."

The voice was not loud, but it was extremely firm.

"Who are you?" Jiang Wuyong turned around, looking at Jiang Wang with a playful expression.

The Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm had just ended not long ago, and he had come specifically for the longxiangsi. It was impossible for him not to know Jiang Wang.

Asking this was purely an expression of disdain.

Even if he had the Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm, he was not considered a significant figure to the Qi royal family, let alone just a seed in the Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm!"You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know..." Jiang Wang stood up from his seat, pointing at the Longxiangsi on the altar, "That is my sword!"

Upon the altar, Longxiangsi suddenly rang out on its own!

Jiang Wuyong was not angry but delighted, he couldn't help but praise, "What a good sword!"

"Mine." Jiang Wang added.

"What do you mean yours? The land you're standing on is Qi soil, the place you're in is Qi country. Everything in Qi country belongs to the Jiang family!" Jiang Wuyong said indifferently, "It's the Jiang surname passed down from the ancient sages of Qi country. Not some mixed bloodline that popped out of nowhere... You think you're worthy of the Jiang surname?"

"Indeed, everything in Qi country does belong to the Jiang family, it's just a pity that it's not your Jiang, Jiang Wuyong." Accompanying this voice was a fat man with his eyes almost squinted shut.

He seemed to have rushed here, his clothes slightly wrinkled.

His plump figure didn't seem to carry much intimidation when he spoke.

But as he walked, the crowd parted for him.

He looked at the fourteenth prince, Jiang Wuyong, with a smile, showing no reverence, "You want to represent Qi country, aren't you afraid your brothers and sisters will spank you?"

It was Zhongxuan Sheng!

When he was in Qidu Linzi dealing with affairs, he heard that Jiang Wuyong was coming to Nanyao City. He immediately dropped everything and came in person.

Finally, he arrived in Nanyao City in time to back up Jiang Wang!

Before he spoke, he had already quietly communicated with Jiang Wang.

Therefore, as soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wang cooperatively asked, "Is this the fourteenth prince? How dare you speak to him like this?"

Zhongxuan Sheng deliberately covered his mouth with his hand, leaned towards Jiang Wang, and pretended to whisper, "The imperial family is indeed noble. But our king has nine daughters and seventeen sons. Apart from the crown prince, the most outstanding ones are the third princess, the ninth prince, and the eleventh prince. There's no place for a fourteenth prince."

"And I'm different! The entire Zhongxuan family is now just Zhongxuan Zun and me competing, so I have half of the Zhongxuan family, while Jiang Wuyong only has the identity of a prince. The royal family is noble, but only one person can be supreme. This guy doesn't even have a root hair, do you think I'm afraid of him?"

He pretended to whisper, but his voice was clear enough for everyone to hear.

Jiang Wuyong's face, covered in gold powder, turned green and white with anger.

But what Zhongxuan Sheng said was true, at least in his part, Jiang Wuyong.

The struggle for the throne was fierce, and with his strength, how could he admit that he wanted to represent Qi country?

Fortunately, as a prince, he naturally had loyal servants to protect him.

"This is my Lian family's sword." Lian Luyue, the elder of the Lian family, spoke up, "The fourteenth prince is not just admiring it, even if he wants to collect it, my Lian family is loyal to the imperial family, how could we refuse?"

At this time, Lian Que had already gotten up from the ground, the anger in his eyes had not subsided, and now it was even more substantial, almost burning out of his sockets.

He saw him cut his palm with his fingers, raised his bleeding left palm high, and loudly declared, "I swear on the name of a swordsmith! This Longxiangsi is Jiang Wang's sword! It has nothing to do with me, Lian Que, and even less to do with the Lian family! The Lian family has no right to decide its ownership!"

Lian Luyue scolded, "The clan leader is still here! It's not your turn to declare anything for the Lian family! Get back!"

"Hehehe." Zhongxuan Sheng couldn't help but sneer.

When Jiang Wang initially refused to listen to advice, unwilling to maximize his benefits, and insisted on returning the life token, he couldn't say anything. In the end, Lian Que forged a famous weapon, which was a happy ending for everyone.

But the Lian family messed things up, causing many waves. They held a grand ancestor worship ceremony and offered a sword out of nowhere.

These Lian people were simply regressing. Zhongxuan Sheng had long been disgusted.

At this moment, he didn't hold back at all, and coldly said, "No need to play dumb here, no matter how you Lian family perform, I just want everyone to remember one thing: whoever dares to snatch Jiang Wang's things, I, Zhongxuan Sheng, will risk everything to slap his face!"

As one of the heirs of the Zhongxuan family, the weight of Zhongxuan Sheng's words was unquestionable.

"I didn't play dumb with them!" Lian Que suddenly shouted, his expression full of inexplicable grief and indignation.

He looked around from the high platform.

What he saw was the misunderstanding of the Lian family, the anger of the Lian elders, the ridicule of the visiting guests, and the contempt of people like Zhongxuan Sheng.

Yes, how could he not know? Everyone would think so. As the only weapon smith who has forged a famous weapon in the Lian family in nearly fifty years, and the one who personally forged Longxiangsi, how could he, Lian Que, not know that the Lian family wanted to offer the sword to Jiang Wuyong?

Everyone would think so.

Just like before, everyone thought that he survived from the Tianfu Secret Realm by begging for mercy.

No one would listen to his explanation.

No one would believe him.

All the despicable, treacherous, and shameless acts that should be attributed to the Lian family were also attributed to him.

What he thought at this moment, outsiders could not know.

All people could see, with their eyes wide open, was—

Lian Que looked around with a grief-stricken expression, finally only looking at Jiang Wang and said, "Brother Jiang, I can't bear this great humiliation! I can't bear to see you humiliated either!"

He then slapped himself on the top of his head!