All around the palace, there were lights and decorations, the place enveloped in a glorious celebratory mood.

It was lunar January, and there seemed to be an endless line of guests bearing precious gifts.

Then came the Lantern Festival.

Xu Fengnian took Yu Youwei and a slew of burly guards to Valedictorian Alley to revel in the festivities.

Spring came knocking, awakening insects in hibernation.

It was noontime, and Xu Fengnian ventured alone to the lakeside, plunging into the tranquil emerald waters.

The lake water was fluid, as if having a life of its own. It reached substantial depths, and a huge Luminous Pearl lay embedded in its lakebed, illuminating its surroundings with radiance as bright as daylight.

Once they reached the center of the lake, Xu Fengnian threw down the purple-colored Tonitrusword with all his might.

A long uneventful silence followed.

Old Huang slowly stepped toward the bow of the boat and remained motionless.

It happened in a flash.

The lake waters surged with intense undulations, as if the world was about to topple over.

The great battle came to a swift end. Old Huang wielded three swords in the end, unleashing six moves in total. Surprisingly, the old ogre no longer put up a fight after that.

Back then, it was indeed Old Huang who beat that ogre down the lake bottom.

The ogre shouted at Xu Fengnian, "Hey kid, gimme some meat and booze!"

Xu Fengnian led a group of cavalry back to the palace and came to the courtyard where the old ogre was in.

On seeing Xu Fengnian, the old ogre asked, "Boy, has Swordmaster Huang left for City of the Peerless to settle with Old Wang Xianzhi?"

Xu Fengnian nodded and sat down on a stool opposite the old ogre without a word.

Xu Fengnian snapped, "Cattle-riding boy! If you hide again, I'll lead my men to destroy Serenity Palace and throw you off Lesser Lotus Peak along with the Turtleback Stele!"

The young Taoist said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

After some intriguing eye contact with Xu Fengnian, the Taoist turned around and just walked ahead, followed by Xu Fengnian and the old ogre.

The three of them went to a secluded place, where Xu Fengnian gave the Taoist a good beating.

The woman named Fan Xiaochai was the daughter of a lineage holding a grudge against Xu Xiao. Master Lin, meanwhile, was a doofus being used to bring the assassin into the palace. Taking the chance of sightseeing, Miss Fan drew a map of the palace and a portrait of Xu Fengnian, awaiting a chance of assassination.

Xu Fengnian had no mercy for those people. After all, he had learned quite a lot about the world in the three-year travel.

After Xu Fengnian woke up in the morning, Hong Shu, the eldest servant girl in Sycamore Garden, came in to help him dress.

She softly reminded him of a secret letter on the table.

Xu Fengnian freshened up. Then he gently opened the envelope, upon which was a small seal script of "Yin".

Xu Fengnian wanted to practice blade skills from the old ogre.

The old ogre asked, "Why should I teach you?"

Xu Fengnian replied, "I'll ask Xu Xiao to invite Wei Beishan, the man with the blade Horse Slayer, to Northern Liang. You can fight with him. And we'll invite one master every year till I can use a blade."

All too quickly, it was lunar January again. Today, the Grand Consul personally received two state governors, Yan Jiexi and Li Gongde. Li Hanlin was unable to sit still, so the Grand Consul waved him off with "Get out". Then Li Hanlin immediately took his best friend Yan Chiji and ran out.