Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

"Ying Zheng," Lin Tian's voice was not loud, but every word was like a nail, "is the only person in history who, though born a human, has risen above all others. He is a born emperor, not a king, but a monarch."

He conquered six kingdoms, unified the world, and became emperor—in five thousand years of Chinese history, only this one person deserves the title of "Emperor of the Ages."

Upon hearing this, even Wei Zhuang glanced at him sideways. He had never met Ying Zheng, but he knew Lin Tian was no fool. A person who could command such high praise from such a powerful figure was certainly no ordinary person.

Han Fei's face darkened, not because he was angry with Lin Tian, ​​but because his heart sank—as if a mountain stood before him, insurmountable and impossible to cross.

Lin Tian seemed to sense something and suddenly smiled: "However, you are not entirely without a chance. I can tell you the only path, and I can walk it for you—as long as you nod."

Han Fei's eyes lit up, and he said urgently, "Please enlighten me, Brother Lin!"

The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to Lin Tian.

He slowly put down his wine cup, his smile deepening: "I will kill Ji Wuye, eliminate the Crown Prince, and depose King Han An for you, so that you can ascend the throne; then I will follow you to Qin and personally kill Ying Zheng—only then will you have a sliver of hope."

Han Fei remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head slowly: "Brother Lin, this matter... I cannot do it."

"I know you can't do it."

Lin Tian smiled slightly after hearing Han Fei's answer, showing no surprise: "I admit you are incredibly talented, but you lack a certain ruthlessness—in this day and age, a single wrong decision can turn the tide, and decisiveness is more deadly than literary talent. If it had been Ying Zheng just now, he would have swallowed his words and agreed on the spot. That's the difference between you and him."

"Those who achieve great things are never held back by trivial matters. Indecisiveness makes it difficult to even protect oneself in this bloody world, let alone rule a country. Not to mention, your opponent is Qin Shi Huang."

Having said that, Lin Tian didn't bother to argue any further. He tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, then casually placed the porcelain cup on the table with a soft thud.

He stood up, dusted off his sleeves, and said, "Alright, you guys keep chatting. I'm going to catch up on some sleep."

He had just taken half a step out of the room when he suddenly stopped, turned back and smiled at Zi Nu: "Oh, by the way, Miss Zi Nu, next time I visit at night, I will definitely wear a decent pair of pants—I will never show my underwear."

"Pooh!"

Zi Nu glared at him, her ears instantly turning red.

After Lin Tian left, the room was so quiet that the candle wick could be heard crackling and popping. Han Fei sat frozen in place, his earlier resounding declaration, "Of the seven kingdoms, I want ninety-nine," now completely stripped of its edge by Lin Tian's few words, like a sword that had just been drawn but was now covered in dust.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "Brother Lin is right... Ying Zheng is indeed strong; and I am indeed lacking in decisiveness. But if we don't even try, how will we know if there is a road on the other side of the mountain? Brother Wei Zhuang, what do you think?" He turned his gaze to Wei Zhuang beside him.

Wei Zhuang's face was as cold as iron, and his voice was as cold as if it had been tempered by frost: "Fate never chooses anyone—the weak kneel and wait for it to make its move, while the strong overturn the chessboard themselves."

Han Fei suddenly smiled. This time, at least they weren't surrounded by enemies on all sides.

……

The night deepened, the full moon hung in the sky, its clear light like water, illuminating the blue tiles of the Purple Orchid Pavilion with a silvery glow.

Lin Tian had already fallen asleep.

But just as his breathing became even and deep, his eyes suddenly opened—his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

The killing intent has arrived.

Extremely faint and subtle, yet like an icicle piercing the air, it was caught by him just a hundred paces past the courtyard wall. In a flash, he vanished from the bed.

……

On the third floor of Zilan Pavilion, the lamp in Nongyu's room was still lit.

She was wiping the plain zither, her fingertips lightly tracing the strings, her gaze drifting into the distance, murmuring softly:

"Young Master could clearly hear the ups and downs in his heartstrings, yet he hasn't stepped into this door these past few days... I'm afraid my words were too harsh that day, hurting him." A thought flashed through her mind, and her brow furrowed slightly. "Tomorrow... I must go see him tomorrow."

"Since I'm looking forward to seeing him, I should rest early tonight." Thinking about seeing Lin Tian tomorrow, the corners of her lips quietly turned up, and her heart felt a little lighter.

She gently placed the zither on the table, and was about to get up.

She glanced at the bronze mirror—and saw a figure standing behind her! Half of his face was covered with an iron mask, and a menacing hook protruded from the bridge of his nose, resembling the beak of a vulture before it swooped down.

Having practiced footwork, Nongyu instinctively slid to the side, but her layered skirt and tight waistband caused her to hesitate for a moment.

The vulture had anticipated this moment.

A flash of sword light, swift as thunder, pierced straight through her throat!

She retreated to the corner, with nowhere left to go; she opened her mouth to shout, but it felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her throat—the long sword was already in front of her, its cold light making her eyelashes tremble.

"Am I going to die? Will the young master remember me... I can no longer pluck the strings for him." She was not afraid of death, her mind was filled with Lin Tian's smile, his voice, and the way he tilted his head slightly when listening to the zither.

At the critical moment, a figure silently stood in front of her.

"Sneaking into a young lady's boudoir in the middle of the night is not the act of a gentleman... Vulture? Ha, you should be called 'The Three Wolves Who Cut Off Their Hair'."

"Young Master!" Nongyu's eyes lit up, and she smiled before her tears even fell.

"Who are you?! How do you know my real name?!" Vulture stared at the hand that steadily held the sword tip between two fingers, veins throbbing on his forehead—not afraid of his martial arts skills, but afraid that he knew too much. If Ji Wuye found out that his identity had been exposed... he dared not think of the consequences.

"Guess?" Lin Tian's smile hadn't faded when his voice suddenly turned serious. "Is the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations truly hidden in Fire Rain Manor? Speak!"

Before the words were even finished, the Soul Control Technique had already quietly locked onto the other party's consciousness.

The Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon were one of the two great mysteries he most wanted to unravel upon entering the Qin Dynasty; the other was the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. And Fire Rain Manor was the darkest link in this mystery. The person before him clearly knew—wouldn't it be a waste not to ask, to let this delivered blade slip through his fingers?

The vulture's eyes were vacant, and his voice was dry: "I don't know. Back then, the three of us brothers seized that batch of goods from Fire Rain Manor and handed it over to Liu Yi without even opening it to check it. As for Lord Fire Rain's dying words—'The vital point of the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations is hidden inside,' I heard them very clearly."

"So you didn't even know if the box contained gold bricks or poison? And you risked your life to sneak into 'Nightfall'?" Lin Tian couldn't help but roll his eyes. For this damn treasure, this guy even dared to lick the tip of Ji Wuye's knife, but he didn't even open the treasure box.

"I don't know what it is, but as long as it's associated with the four characters 'Azure Dragon Seven Mansions,' which king or noble of any kingdom wouldn't fight tooth and nail for it?" The vulture's voice was wooden, like a burnt-out twig.

"Alright, your usefulness ends here." Before the words were even finished, the head had already rolled off the bricks.

"Nongyu, it's alright now." Lin Tian turned around and looked at the woman behind him.

"Thank you for your help, young master... If you hadn't arrived in time, Nongyu would probably be dead by your blade." Her voice was soft, but trembled slightly.

Lin Tian smiled and said, "These days, if I don't hear Nongyu pluck my heartstrings once a day, I can't even swallow my food—how could I bear to let anything happen to you?"

Nongyu was stunned, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the corner of her sleeve. Suddenly, she looked up, a clear flame igniting in her eyes: "If you do not despise me, young master, I am willing to serve you with my zither every day."

Lin Tian froze on the spot, his heart skipped a beat—this, this is…a heart being ripped out right in front of him?

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he hurriedly changed the subject: "Um... I'll go ask Miss Zi Nu to clean up the mess, otherwise, with the whole room filled with the smell of blood, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully tonight."