Chapter 94: Demon Sword Fragment

  Longya, Huoye, and Quanshen are known as the three great demon swords of ancient times. They were said to have been born during the reign of the infamous tyrant King Jie of Xia, who relied heavily on these three demon swords in his brutal rule.

  All of the above are some wild history and myths, although they were not recorded in the official historical books, but they have been passed down mysteriously. Liu Xuan did not know the origin of the three-handle demon knife, but there was someone on the scene who understood it, so he roughly told him about it.

  "Oh? How mysterious?"

  When Lü Bu said that when Shang Tang destroyed the Xia Dynasty, he attacked the ancestral temple and was forced to retreat by a burst of black fog from three demon knives. He even lost many soldiers and generals, and it took a lot of effort to finally destroy the Xia Dynasty's ancestral temple with the help of the legendary Xuanyuan Sword. The three demon knives were never seen again, and Liu Xuan also felt a wave of shock and doubt after hearing this.

  "Could it be that these three so-called ancient demon knives were forged by cultivators in the past?"

  He didn't think the cultivator who refined these three demon swords was still alive, because a cultivator would be most concerned about their own refined treasure. If this thing could fall into Li Jue's hands, then if that person were still alive, they would have likely found Li Jue and either killed him to take it back or used some benefit to retrieve the three demon swords.

  It can be inferred that the cultivator who made the demon sword is either dead or no longer on Earth, which is why it ended up in Li Jue's hands after a series of twists and turns.

  However, Liu Xuan does not think that the three demon knives are anything special or powerful. The so-called "demon wind and black fog" is probably exaggerated due to years of legend. Otherwise, relying solely on the three demon knives, it would be possible to have such power without even using a catalyst, so how could the Xia Dynasty have perished? And what about the Xuan Yuan sword? If there were such a heaven-defying weapon on earth that could decide the fate of a dynasty, I estimate that it would have been snatched away by people long ago.

  It's also not ruled out that there were monks who assisted when Shang Tang was established, but after all, it's been a long time and it's hard to know how it really was. What Liu Xuan is concerned about is what the three demon knives look like.

  As soon as he mentioned this, someone naturally went to fetch the three demon knives. The literary and military officials present also looked curious, wanting to see what the legendary demon knife looked like.

  Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for too long, as Li Jue's confiscated property was also being transported with the army, and the three demonic knives were naturally among them. Soon, a soldier brought the three demonic knives over and placed them in front of Liu Xuan.

  "Are these three?"

  The three-handled long knife doesn't look anything out of the ordinary, as it is sheathed, and at first glance, it's not much different from an ordinary antique long sword. It's likely that to see the difference, one would have to draw the knife out.

  He reached out his hand to grab a long knife, but unexpectedly, all the literary and military officials present shouted in unison to stop him.

  "Your Majesty, these three demonic knives are notorious, and we must be cautious not to take risks personally." This was Yang Biao. He did not want Liu Xuan to die at the hands of these mysterious long knives, rather than being killed in an assassination or power struggle, or persecuted by treacherous officials. After all, Liu Xuan's fate was still tied to the rise and fall of the Han dynasty, and Yang Biao could not help but be concerned.

  But unexpectedly, Liu Xuan burst out laughing: "The Commander-in-Chief is too cautious. I have the protection of heaven and am well-versed in all sorts of mysterious techniques. Can a mere three rusty knives harm me?"

  He said nothing and ignored Yang Biao, directly stretched out his hand to pick up a handle, took it in front of him to take a look, only to see that the knife handle was engraved with an inscription, vaguely recognizable as Tiger Wing.

  "Tiger Wing Blade?"

  The long sword was drawn out of its scabbard, and a wisp of black smoke floated out of the scabbard. A faint tiger's roar could be heard, and Liu Xuan looked intently at it. The black air drifted and swirled, finally taking on the shape of a black tiger, before dispersing and disappearing.

  Moreover, the tiger's roar shook people's minds and spirits. Liu Xuan didn't feel much after hearing it, but all the civil and military officials present felt a severe pain in their heads. After noticing this, Liu Xuan immediately activated the dragon energy inside his body. Everyone saw a flash of golden light on the emperor's body, and then all the discomfort in their bodies disappeared immediately. Although everyone was shocked, they all understood what had happened and bowed their hands to thank him.

  Liu Xuan didn't seem to mind, stood up and swung his tiger wings twice, then smiled: "It's indeed got some doorways, but the casting used many unconventional methods. Although its power is not bad, it's only effective against ordinary people. If you encounter a real cultivator, it doesn't have much power."

  He didn't say these words, let alone notice that the Tiger Wing Knife, despite being so many years old, still had no rust or stains, and its sharpness was like when it was first forged. However, due to material reasons, this knife is now just good for show; if taken out to fight against others, it's estimated that after one battle, the blade would be riddled with holes.

  "No wonder Li Jue, despite having obtained three demonic knives, never uses them."

  One was that Li Jue couldn't withstand the various evil spirits in the demon knife, and it's estimated that once he drew his sword from its scabbard, he would be extremely uncomfortable. At the same time, these three ancient demon knives were still sharp, but due to material limitations, they weren't very durable, and if they were damaged, not even repairs could fix them.

  "It's just for show!"

  If an ordinary person were to obtain these three evil swords, it would indeed only have this one effect. But Liu Xuan is no ordinary person. The various knowledge in his chest was precisely used at this time. After obtaining the three demon swords, he suddenly had a flash of insight and turned his head towards Lü Bu.

  "Feng Xian's Fang Tian Hua Ji has been damaged, and although it was repaired with the method I taught him, its power is still not strong enough. If we can infuse a part of the demon knife fragments into it, perhaps its power can be further enhanced?" From this, Liu Xuan immediately thought of the many generals under his command and their weapons.

  With this thought in mind, his face remained expressionless, and he casually tossed the three demonic knives, saying: "You have some skills, but unfortunately, that's all. As for power, it's not even comparable to this Red Sky in my hand." After speaking, he drew out the Red Sky from his waist and slashed down at the three demonic knives with a loud crash, releasing a burst of blue-purple sword energy that shattered the three ancient swords into pieces.

  All the civil and military officials saw this and said in unison: "Your Majesty's heavenly authority, how can it be compared to three ancient swords?"

  Liu Xuan smiled and waved his hand, the fragments on the ground flew up together, then clearly divided into three parts floating in front of everyone.

  Everyone saw this scene, although they felt it was magical, but they didn't feel surprised. In the past few days, they had seen too many strange and bizarre things, let alone Liu Xuan could summon thunderbolts from heaven to strike people, so this little trick wasn't anything special.

  Liu Xuan smiled and said: "Each of you choose a shard and keep it well, it will come in handy later."

  Everyone heard the words, although they had some doubts in their hearts, but still picked up a piece of debris from it. Only Lü Bu suddenly had an epiphany, carefully examined the three pieces of debris, and according to his own feelings chose a piece that didn't look very impressive.

  He had already guessed Liu Xuan's intention, which was nothing more than waiting for the future when he would have his own weapon to refine, and then fusing this demon knife fragment into it. Perhaps it would give his weapon some ability, and that's why this thing was extremely important to him as a martial general. The emperor rewarding him with these things made him happier than giving him gold, silver, or jewels.

  The rest of them, although not all understood, followed the instructions and chose one each, even Ma Teng and Yang Bo were no exception, each selecting one for themselves.

  Ma Teng didn't understand, but he knew this thing was definitely good stuff. Even if he couldn't use it himself, he could take it back for his son Ma Chao.

  Yang Biao also had similar thoughts, he himself might not be able to use it, but what about his future generations?

  After everyone had taken their share, Liu Xuan waved his hand casually, and the remaining fragments disappeared instantly. The crowd didn't ask where they went; it wasn't their place to ask such questions.

  Liu Xuan naturally put the things away - his cultivation had improved a bit now, and he could store more things in his divine sense. Moreover, these fragments didn't take up much space anyway, so he put them together with the six seals.

  He sat down and talked with the crowd, then Yang Biao suggested: "Now that Li Jue and Guo Si have been eliminated, the remaining trivial matters should be handed over to us for handling. Your Majesty should return to the capital as soon as possible to calm the hearts of the officials."

  "This suggestion is also reasonable, Liu Xuan felt that this trip was a bit boring, so he agreed: 'What Yang Taishi said is extremely correct. Tomorrow morning, Taishi and I will return to the capital. This place can be handled by Feng Xian, Zi Yang and others.'"

  Everyone had no objection and immediately began to busy themselves with the preparations for returning to Beijing.

  Leave Liu Ye, Lü Bu, Ma Teng and Han Sui here, the rest will return to the capital. At the same time, a part of the troops will be left behind to reorganize the local troops, and Lü Bu's Hu Baojun will be stationed nearby to prevent any changes.

  The rest, such as Yang Biao, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Liu Bei, Zhang Liao and others, all had to follow Liu Xuan back to the capital. This group of people was quite large, not to mention that there were also the emperor and Liu Bei, this "invalid", so they naturally had to make arrangements early on, lest something unexpected happen along the way.

  As for Liu Bei, since being drained of his dragon energy by Liu Xuan, he has been in a state of poor health, fortunately, eating and walking are not too difficult, it's just that he is weak and powerless, so no one suspects that Liu Xuan did anything.

  Moreover, after deciding on a teacher, Liu Xuan would occasionally go visit Liu Bei, so naturally no one would think in that direction.

  Liu Bei himself, having taken the medicinal pellets given by Liu Xuan and practicing the cultivation technique, also sensed that although his body was still weak and frail, it was indeed getting better day by day. On the first day of their return journey, Liu Xuan sent him three fragments and taught him the technique for refining the divine weapon.

  What's the meaning of this, Liu Bei naturally understood. He brought over three pieces of broken tiles, including his own share, and also brought those of his two brothers - more importantly, Liu Xuan didn't go to give them to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei himself, but instead had Liu Bei deliver them, which was also a way of showing consideration for Liu Bei's dignity, telling him that he hadn't stolen his thunder.

  "Thank you for your imperial kindness!"

  Liu Xuan nodded, accepted Liu Bei's courtesy, and then sat in Liu Bei's carriage to discuss the current affairs of the imperial court. He even spoke bluntly: "Liu Zhong is not young anymore, and he may not be able to stay in the imperial court for long. Fortunately, I met the Emperor's uncle, and there are also people who can be used in the imperial family."

  Zongzheng, is a very prestigious position in the imperial clan of the Han dynasty that can only be held by people with great reputation and prestige, specializing in handling imperial family affairs - even if there are vassal kings who rebel, Zongzheng has the obligation to represent the emperor to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

  At the same time, if a member of the imperial family commits a crime, it should be handled by the Zongzheng Temple and not handed over to the Tingwei Temple. Therefore, although the position of Zongzheng may not be the highest among the nine ministers, its status within the imperial household is enough to make the imperial relatives look up to it. Today, Liu Bei heard the emperor's intention and actually wanted him to take over as Zongzheng, and was shocked into a daze.

  "I have received such great favor from Your Majesty, I will certainly not disappoint your expectations."

  Liu Xuan smiled and nodded, meanwhile pondering that after this return, the positions in the imperial court should also have a conclusion.