Chapter 9: First Benefit Its Tools

  As the emperor fell ill and the world was in a state of turmoil, the palace also failed to become lively, and the fifth year of Zhongping quietly passed away.

  The Spring Festival in the sixth year of Zhongping was also uneventful. Although the emperor's spirits were slightly better for these two days, he only managed to spend a very short time with his wife and children, and there was no conversation at the table. The fatigue on his face could be seen at a glance, and he didn't even finish one meal before returning to rest under the support of palace maids.

  The emperor left, leaving only Empress He and the three princes. At this time, it seemed that there was nothing good to talk about among the princes either. Empress He thought of taking her son away directly, but Liu Bian had eaten a few mouthfuls and then went over to Liu Xuan's side, laughing and chatting happily, who knows what made him so happy.

  "This child is usually taciturn, it's rare for him to be happy today, so let's just let him have his way. Looking at the Crown Prince Liu Xuan, 'I'm afraid there won't be many more opportunities like this in the future!'"

  As for the eldest son of the emperor, Empress He had always been unclear about his situation. Liu Xuan drank the poisoned wine in front of her without anything happening, which made her extremely wary. Who knew that this normally quiet and unassuming Liu Xuan had such abilities?

  She even went to ask Shidao Ren about it, how did Liu Xuan manage to be unafraid of the poisonous wine?

  That Shidao person was also quite famous, and it is said that he was well-versed in the mysterious arts. When Empress He gave birth to Liu Bian early on, because at that time the emperor had several sons in a row who all died young, she was worried and sent her son to be raised by Shidao, hoping to use his mystical powers to protect this son.

  Afterwards, the son grew up healthily, and Empress He treated Shi Daoren with increasing respect, thinking that this old Daoist was truly skilled in mysterious arts, and had protected her son. Therefore, whenever there were any strange or unusual events, Empress He would summon him to ask for his opinion.

  This time it was the same, but after listening to the Empress's description, Shi Daoren furrowed his brow and finally gave an explanation that couldn't make Empress He happy: "If not for being well-versed in mysticism and having cultivated a body immune to all poisons, then there must be some extraordinary treasure protecting her!"

  If Liu Xuan heard this, he would probably praise Shi Daoren for his true talent and learning, because he had indeed guessed the truth. But this conclusion did not make Empress He happy - either way, it made her feel anxious.

  If it's the first kind, then Liu Xuan himself must also be well-versed in that mysterious and profound method. If he used his own life to harm him with poison wine, how could he defend against this profound art? This thing is not like a knife or poison wine, those are tangible objects that can be guarded against, but this profound art...

  Fortunately, Shi Daoren heard that the person was only a young man under twenty years old, and he said affirmatively: "At such a young age, it is absolutely impossible to be a fellow practitioner who has achieved cultivation. In this case, it must be an unusual treasure protecting his body!"

  The Empress Dowager looked up and down at Liu Xuan, her heart couldn't help but be curious where this great prince had found such a treasure, who was not afraid of the huge poison in the wine?

  Perhaps sensing something, Liu Xuan turned his head to glance at her, his gaze like a sharp sword, piercing so that she unconsciously dodged and evaded.

  She then felt that as an empress, she was actually intimidated by a low-born imperial son, which was truly embarrassing. She lost her appetite for the meal and called out to her own son, and the mother-son pair left together to return to their own palace.

  Liu Xuan looked at his second brother who was still looking back at him with an unhappy expression, smiled and waved at him, then turned his head to look at his third brother who was eating slowly beside him.

  After the New Year, this third brother was only nine years old, and in his own known history, this year became the last emperor of the Han Dynasty, a little guy who wasn't even ten years old.

  At the same time, the second brother who had just left would ascend to the throne a few months later, but unfortunately, he would soon be deposed and murdered by the notorious Dong Zhuo.

  "After all, he's a brother, and he still has some respect for me, it's not good to see him die!"

  In his heart, he thought that his third brother had already finished eating and got up to bid farewell to him with a bow, returning to the palace of Empress Dowager Dong.

  In an instant, the man was gone, leaving only a few palace maids and eunuchs attending to him. However, Liu Xuan noticed that several of the palace maids looked rather impatient, without even attempting to conceal it, revealing just how unpopular this crown prince was in the palace.

  Liu Xuan didn't bother to argue with this kind of person either, stood up and left directly, went back to his own palace to rest.

  In the sixth year of Zhongping, everything seemed to have changed little.

  The old emperor still lies in bed and cannot get up, but there is also good news that is not without.

  In February, Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo presented a victory report, greatly defeating the rebel Wang Guo, and have now returned to the capital.

  The emperor, upon hearing this news, seemed to have lightened up a bit and was overjoyed, so he rewarded Dong Zhuo again - but he didn't get carried away with his illness. He took the opportunity to appoint Dong Zhuo as the governor of Bingzhou, hoping to transfer him from his hometown of Liangzhou. However, Dong Zhuo pushed back again, refusing to take up the post in Bingzhou, and this matter dragged on like this.

  With the emperor's energy, which had been restored by the great victory, also being completely consumed, he lay back in bed again. He naturally didn't have the energy to quarrel with Dong Zhuo anymore, and this matter was thus dropped.

  At this time, Liu Xuan was staying in the palace, except for practicing, he was also tempering a long knife.

  Cao Guo stood guard every day, watching the door and waiting for the wind. However, it was just a gesture. If someone came, Liu Xuan would definitely notice before him. After several days of observation, Cao Guo saw that the long knife in Liu Xuan's hand became thinner and thinner, even more so than a long sword. The blade was straight, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Your Highness is refining a long sword?"

  It was just a month ago that the Crown Prince told me to forge a long sword, and I went to the palace to fetch some high-quality steel. Since then, every day, Liu Xuan would sit on his couch, take the steel in both hands, and be surrounded by swirling smoke, lasting for about an hour each time.

  More than a month has passed, and the iron in his hand is no longer its original shape. It gradually reveals the appearance of a weapon. However, as the days of refining go by, its shape becomes clearer, and the question marks in Cao Qian's mind also increase.

  At this time, the big knife and so on, first don't mention that the blade is wide and thick, the body of the knife also has an arc! However, the gradually formed weapon in Liu Xuan's hand was quite a different style. If you take a rough look, it would seem more like a long sword - but if compared to the current long sword, it would be thinner. If not for being close enough to see that there is only one blade, Cao Jiao really thought this was a long sword.

  He didn't recognize it, and Liu Xuan wouldn't find it strange either. The long knife he had refined with the remaining true yuan in his divine soul over a decade of meticulous work was simply not something from this era.

  To put it bluntly, this is nothing special, just a Tang knife. If I were to take it back to the world where I used to live, people would scold me for being old-fashioned and lacking originality if I were to make a handle for a Tang knife.

  However, he had originally practiced for a long time but hadn't studied any combat skills. Long swords were probably not his thing, but knives were relatively easy to handle - in Liu Xuan's view, knife techniques were complex but fundamentally simple: cut the enemy to death!

  And also, chopping and slashing are easier to master than thrusting or poking techniques, so I finally chose the knife.

  Since it's going to be a knife, it has to be a relatively famous one, and because of Liu Xuan's personal hobby, it also has to be aesthetically pleasing. After some deliberation, the Tang knife was chosen.

  The Tang knife is very similar to the later long sword in terms of its blade and hilt, and with a straight blade body, it would even be mistaken for a long sword when inserted into the scabbard - of course, at this late Han period, it was unlikely to be misunderstood because the blade was too thin.

  As for durability? Liu Xuan believed that this Tang knife, which was tempered with its own true yuan, could withstand any so-called divine weapon in the world at this time without being damaged in the slightest - even if it were truly damaged, Liu Xuan could use the dragon energy of the Son of Heaven to make this Tang knife, which was tempered with dragon energy, self-recover.

  This nearly two-month tempering is not only to make the long knife strong enough and able to self-heal, but also to perfectly resonate with the internal energy in his body, so that when he uses some moves, he won't be unable to exert his due power because of the inferiority of his weapon.

  "It's likely that the old emperor's lifespan is nearing its end, and both Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo have already made their moves! Next, it won't be unexpected to see a struggle for the throne between the two sides!"

  He reached out and stroked the bright straight blade, but saw that wherever Liu Xuan's palm passed, a faint golden light flashed.

  "The palace will be in chaos for a while, especially the imperial guards and Yuan Shao's Xiyuan army will have to fight each other. At that time, if there is no handy blade, it would be inconvenient. Taking advantage of this leisure time to temper this knife in advance can also be considered as making preparations in advance!"

  He had also told Cao Jue about this, so the young eunuch who was close to him did not ask the prince why he wanted to make a weapon. What he was more curious about was how a large piece of fine steel could slowly turn into a blade in Liu Xuan's hands?

  He didn't know that if Liu Xuan still had half of his original cultivation, he could have made this long knife with just a wave of his hand. Now, however, it took nearly two months to make, and even then, it was only barely completed thanks to the help of some mysterious power from the Heavenly Dragon Qi.

  "In the past, I had many precious treasures and didn't know which one to use. Now, I can only make do with this slightly better-than-average sword!" Liu Xuan casually waved his hand, adapting for a moment: "However, with my true yuan cooperating with the Heavenly Son's dragon energy refinement, this knife is not just a temporary makeshift thing. If it can condense a thread of dragon energy within itself and connect with the national destiny, this weapon will become an excellent divine sword!"

  Although these are just speculations, Liu Xuan was after all a transcendent immortal with unparalleled cultivation, so his inferences based on his insight naturally wouldn't be far off the mark. He was quite satisfied with this long knife.

  "Now, just wait for those few big chaotic scenes to arrive!"

  "By the way, have there been any messages from Meng De these days?"

  Cao Zhen nodded immediately: "Although the Xiyuan army has not made any moves in recent days, it is loose on the outside and tight on the inside, with a posture that can be launched at any time. Moreover, General Cao often summons the Colonel of the City Gates, Yuan Shao, to discuss matters. I think something big is going to happen."