"Father, something terrible has happened."
Half an hour later, Miyamoto Yukiko rushed into the palace, speaking to the elder in a kimono.
"What happened?"
The elder in the kimono was already furious about Showa's premature failure. Seeing Miyamoto Yukiko's grim expression, his heart sank, and he asked.
"Father, it's like this. Half an hour ago, over three hundred mysterious individuals dressed in white and wearing masks appeared at the Sun Palace. They stormed the Sun Palace, killing indiscriminately and destroying every token they found. Not only did they steal all the antiques and cultural relics we stored there, but they also killed two hundred and eighteen of our Imperial Guards and set the Sun Palace ablaze."
Miyamoto Yukiko's face was grim as she continued, "I dispatched men to pursue them, but these individuals seemed to have meticulously planned everything. After setting the Sun Palace on fire, they quickly escaped on a cruise ship. By the time our men reached the sea, they discovered five identical cruise ships sailing in different directions. Our men intercepted one of them, only to find it was not the group we were pursuing."
"What?"
Upon hearing Miyamoto Yukiko's words, the elder in the kimono was enraged. "The Sun Palace is the spiritual homeland of us Yang people. Not only are its treasures countless, but our ancestors' memorial tablets are also enshrined there. To have it so brutally desecrated and then burned to the ground, and you couldn't even apprehend the culprits afterward? Do you realize what kind of repercussions this will cause?"
"Father, I understand the severity of this incident, but the attackers were clearly well-prepared. What we should focus on now is how to mitigate the situation and prevent it from escalating."
"You..."
Hearing Miyamoto Yukiko's words, the elder in the kimono spat out a mouthful of blood. "The Yang nation's warriors were no match for a single Shen Lang, causing our very backbone to be broken by him. Now, the Sun Palace has been ransacked, and even our spiritual sanctuary has been burned down. Why is this happening?"
"Yes, it must be because of Shen Lang. The people who ransacked the Sun Palace must be his accomplices. This was all their plan."
The elder in the kimono's face turned ashen. He said to Miyamoto Yukiko, "I command you to take three thousand Imperial Guards and hunt down Shen Lang. Spare no expense and ensure his head is brought back. This is the best way to quell public outcry, or we will be seen as incompetent and universally condemned."
"You Yang people constantly chant about martial prosperity, yet you are so dishonorable. When you can't win fairly, you resort to trickery. Can't handle a fair fight, can you?"
As the elder in the kimono's words fell silent, a woman in white suddenly appeared in the palace from an unknown time. She spoke sarcastically.
The woman in white was not old, perhaps in her early twenties. She wore two wooden swords, one long and one short, at her waist, and a heavy Xuan iron greatsword on her back.
She was beautiful, but when one looked at her, they would invariably overlook her beauty, for she was incredibly cold.
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
Seeing the woman in white appear, the elder in the kimono and Showa were both startled.
"How I got here is not important, but what I am about to say is. You must listen carefully."
The woman in white said coldly, "Shen Lang challenging Yang's martial arts is a matter of fairness. If you defeat him honorably, then so be it. But if you resort to dirty tricks, I guarantee you will all die."
"Threatening us? Who do you think you are?"
Showa, intimidated by Shen Lang and already filled with humiliation, was further provoked by the arrogance of this woman who appeared out of nowhere. Enraged, he roared and drew his katana, attacking the woman in white without a second word.
His sword was incredibly fast, so fast that it was impossible to see, and his killing intent was like a thick fog.
However, seeing Showa attack, the woman in white remained composed, her expression always calm and indifferent.
"Swish—"
Just as Showa's sword was a mere half an inch from the woman in white's forehead, he froze. A wooden sword was already at his throat, stopping him from advancing any further.
The wooden sword had no tip and no edge, yet it turned Showa's face as white as paper. Large beads of sweat began to trickle down his face, and he panted heavily.
A wooden sword might not be inherently dangerous, but in the woman in white's hands, it was the most lethal weapon. Showa could sense that if the woman in white so much as willed it, he would be dead on the spot.
"How... is this possible?"
Seeing the woman in white subdue Showa with a single stroke, Miyamoto Yukiko and the elder in the kimono's faces changed drastically.
While Showa was not as formidable as Yagyū Buta no Kami, he was still a martial arts powerhouse in the Yang nation, his cultivation reaching the peak of the Earth realm. Even an expert of the Heaven realm could not subdue him so effortlessly. How could this woman in white achieve it?
Shocked, the two felt a level of astonishment they had never experienced before, their gazes towards the woman in white instantly turning to terror.
"To subdue an Earth realm peak expert with a single sword strike... are you Dugu Jian?"
The elder in the kimono and Miyamoto Yukiko exclaimed in terror, shouting at the woman in white.
If anyone in this world possessed such a level of swordsmanship, it could only be Dugu Jian.
No one knew how fast Dugu Jian's sword was, as her swordplay was beyond description. Just like her previous move, the elder in the kimono and Miyamoto Yukiko had not seen it clearly.
"Yes, I am Dugu Jian."
The woman in white did not conceal her identity and said plainly.
"What?"
Upon hearing the woman in white personally confirm her identity, Showa shivered violently, and his sword clattered to the ground.
He could not believe that the woman before him was the Sword Dao Grandmaster Dugu Jian, and that he had dared to attack her moments ago. He was so terrified that his hair stood on end.
"Crack—"
Under the grip of fear, Showa's legs went weak, and he finally knelt before Dugu Jian.
Seeing this, Dugu Jian sneered and, without sparing Showa another glance, turned her attention to the elder in the kimono and Miyamoto Yukiko. She said, "I will say it again: you may deal with Shen Lang, but you must do so openly in a fair fight. If you dare to play dirty, you will have to answer to my sword first."