The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Back then, he took an unconventional approach, and although compassion arose from his ruthlessness, he could no longer sever ties completely.

The child in front of him, upon first seeing his sword, uttered the three words "incomplete," which indeed piqued his curiosity. What exactly had this child discerned?

Bai Jianan was only eleven or twelve years old at the time, while Zang Feng was only seventeen or eighteen. One was proud and arrogant, and the other was young and impetuous. In the end, the two resolved the matter with a duel, and then Zang Feng followed him for ten years.

Zang Feng didn't understand why he would follow a child who hadn't even grown up yet so wholeheartedly. Even if it was just to keep his vow, he had already gone far beyond what he had agreed to.

Lost in thought, Zang Feng suddenly focused his attention and looked out the window. He frowned, glanced at Bai Jianan resting on the bed, thought for a moment, then went out the window, leaped up, and left the princess's residence.

The woods outside the city appeared before them in the blink of an eye. Cang Feng walked to the edge of the woods, looked at the figure that was already standing there, and smiled as he held his sword: "What brings you here so late?"

The shadowy figure turned around, revealing himself to be Chu Tianyi. He stared coldly at Zang Feng, remaining silent.

Zang Feng rubbed his ears and said, "Let me tell you, whatever you do, don't let it be about that old man. Nothing about him is my concern now. Even if he dies a violent death, don't expect me to collect his body. That's a poisonous oath he once swore."

"My sword is broken."

After Chu Tian finished speaking, Zang Feng was stunned, his eyes filled with doubt as he asked, "Are you joking with me?"

Chu Tian shook his head, raised his sword, and drew it from its sheath. Cang Feng then saw the Heartless Sword with its tip broken and exclaimed in surprise, "Really? How could this be? This thing is the old man's family heirloom, how could it be broken?"

"Someone who knew this sword broke it, and it only took two fingers."

Chu Tian looked at the sword in his hand, and his eyes filled with increasing doubt and seriousness.

"So, what exactly did you come to see me about tonight? I don't know how to repair this sword."

Zang Feng spoke calmly, but his surprise was genuine. This Heartless Sword had been passed down through generations of Valley Masters of Heartless Valley, and was several hundred years old, yet he had never heard of any Valley Master having the tip of the sword crushed while using it.

If that's the case, how profound must this person's internal strength be?

After Cang Feng finished speaking, Chu Tianyi shook his head and said, "I just want you to fight me and use the Heartless Sword Technique together."

Cang Feng suddenly smiled, raising an eyebrow and saying, "You want to get what you want by sparring with me? But have you ever thought about why this Heartless Sword is so heartless? Where did it begin?"

Zang Feng said with a smile, while Chu Tian shook his head blankly. He said, "Master said that I am inherently heartless, making me the best candidate to practice the Heartless Sword. But later, for some reason, he said that if I remain like this forever, it will be difficult for me to reach the peak."

The man who snapped the sword tip also said, "My Heartless Sword... I haven't even grasped its essence. I want to understand, what's going on? I clearly pushed the Heartless Sword to its limit."

Zang Feng approached Chu Tianyi with the sword in his arms. Seeing the blank look on his face, he suddenly smiled and said, "You are indeed the best master of this Heartless Sword, but it's a pity that you don't understand love."

Chu Tian was taken aback and asked in return, "Why should the Heartless Sword understand emotions?"

"If you don't understand feelings, how can you be ruthless? Right now, you're just indifferent, not ruthless. True ruthlessness means placing yourself in a frozen place and experiencing the pain of having your heart ripped out. Only then can you stand invincible."

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly changed, and he said regretfully, "Back then, I entered the Dao through emotion, but I never imagined that I would be unable to sever emotions again. This is why so few people can reach the peak."

Some feelings are hard to understand when you don't understand them, but once you do understand them, they are hard to let go of. The Heartless Sword is precisely meant to dig out these feelings from your heart little by little, and then fill this heart made of flesh and blood with stones bit by bit.

From this day forward, your heart and body will be born solely for the sword. You are the sword, and the sword is you. Nothing and no one can harm you. Achieving oneness with the sword is the pinnacle of the Heartless Sword.

Chu Tian fell silent for a moment. He seemed to have heard these words from his master as well, but his master did not say them like this. He said that love can be broken, but men can also be broken. As the saying goes, without breaking, there is no building; without building, there is no root.

His master's words were too profound, and he had never thought of them in terms of moving one's heart. But now, with Cang Feng pointing it out so clearly, he suddenly realized that the Heartless Sword he had been practicing was wrong from the very beginning.

But if he was wrong, why didn't his master correct him? Why is that?

Seeing the struggle and doubt in Chu Tian's eyes, Cang Feng smiled and said, "Don't think too much about it. The reason you were able to achieve this is probably because your path of practicing the Heartless Sword is different from others."

Now that you've mastered ruthlessness, if you could reach the realm of compassion, I believe your swordsmanship would reach an even higher level, doubling in skill.

"But I don't understand what affection is."

Chu Tian shook his head and fell silent. Zang Feng chuckled and said, "That's none of my business. This is something we need to develop ourselves. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. It's cold, and I'm prone to catching a cold."

Zang Feng turned to leave, but Chu Tianyi leaped forward and blocked his path.

"You haven't sparred with me yet."

Cang Feng raised an eyebrow, looking at the broken sword pointed at his nose, and suddenly sneered: "You'll use your broken sword?"

"Why not? You said it is me. If I abandon it, wouldn't I be abandoning myself as well?"

Zang Feng suddenly smiled, waved his hand and pushed the broken sword aside, saying with a laugh, "Yes, it really is you. I suppose the person who broke your sword already knew what kind of person you are. You really are just like this broken sword, stubborn and lawless."

As he spoke, he walked back the way he came, ignoring Chu Tianyi's provocation. Chu Tianyi, for the first time, used a shameless tactic, blocking Cang Feng's path again and again. Finally, after blocking Cang Feng's path for the fifth time, Cang Feng got angry and attacked Chu Tianyi with his sword without saying a word. However, he did not use the Heartless Sword.

While dodging, Chu Tianyi said, "Use the Heartless Sword."

Zang Feng sneered: "Back then, my Heartless Sword was defeated by this sword technique. Today, I'll let you have a taste of it too."

The two fought fiercely for about fifteen minutes, remaining evenly matched. However, Chu Tianyi was visibly sweating profusely, while Zang Feng still seemed quite flexible. Watching Chu Tianyi gradually become disheveled and grit his teeth, Zang Feng smiled and said, "Is this sword technique familiar?"

Chu Tian's face turned ashen, and then Cang Feng continued, "Tsk tsk, I know this sword technique is really despicable and lewd, it doesn't spare any part of the body, but it's surprisingly effective. Do you know why?"

At this point, Zang Feng and the two separated with their final move, and Zang Feng continued, "Because there is emotion in this swordsmanship."

Chu Tian was puzzled, but Cang Feng smiled and said, "It's right that you don't understand. After all, it took me ten years to figure out the secrets and essence of this sword technique. Even if you are exceptionally talented, it may take you three to five years."

As Zang Feng spoke, he sheathed his sword, then used his lightness skill to vanish without a trace.

Chu Tian stood there, stunned, repeatedly recalling every word Zang Feng had said.

Qiu Lingfeng sat in the corner of the dungeon, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the rampant rats in front of her.

She was arrested and sent to this dungeon after she pushed Jian Yue into the river. Several days have passed, but no one has come to interrogate her.

And then there's Murong Chuan. From the time she had the accident until now, he hasn't come to see her even once. It's as if Qiu Lingfeng never existed in Murong Chuan's world.

Her heart sank deeper and deeper. The tears in her eyes had dried up, and she could cry no more. The food in the prison was unbearable; she hadn't touched a single bite. For the past few days, besides going hungry, her mother, Sun, had managed to visit her through connections, but she hadn't come in the last few days. Had she, too, abandoned her, her utterly useless daughter?

Thinking of this, Qiu Lingfeng couldn't help but tremble all over, regretting why she had been bewitched and had stood in front of so many people to go against Jian Yue. Wasn't this suicide?

"You didn't starve to death even without eating, so you're doing pretty well."

A crisp sound rang out at the cell door. Qiu Lingfeng looked up and saw a woman dressed in white and wearing a bamboo hat standing there.

When the woman saw her look up, she continued, "Do you want to get out of here alive? Do you want to be with the person you love most?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingfeng suddenly sneered, "What's the use of saying all this now? I'm nothing but a prisoner now. Even if I have many dreams, what good are they?"

She never accepted her fate, but now she had to admit that without the protection of the Qiu and Sun families, she could no longer stand tall.

Upon hearing this, the woman snorted coldly and said, "If you have a dream, you must realize it. Otherwise, how can it be called a dream? Qiu Lingfeng, I can let you return to the sunlight, regain the Crown Prince's favor, and even become his favored concubine. Are you willing?"

The woman's voice was low and husky, with a hint of seduction. At first, Qiu Lingfeng really scoffed at it, but later, she suddenly realized that even if she had resisted the temptation, she would not be able to live anymore. Couldn't she just take a gamble and live for herself for once?

Thinking it over, she looked at the woman and said bluntly, "What do you want me to do?"

"Do nothing but do what you like. Qiu Lingfeng, if you want to rekindle your relationship with the Crown Prince, you must understand that your body absolutely cannot be harmed. Therefore, there is a medicine here that can make you appear as a virgin when you spend your night with the Crown Prince."

Qiu Lingfeng suddenly looked up, staring intently at the woman's hand. In that thin hand was a pink porcelain bottle. And inside this bottle was said to be a miraculous elixir that could save her.