Volume One: The Emperor’s Sword Chapter 56: The Purpose of the Sword Tassel

The fish-catching task officially began.

The disciples of the Northern Courtyard watched the water intently, holding their nets in various postures, faces tense and excited. Yun Que, gifted with sharp eyesight, swept his gaze over the clear river surface and saw no trace of silver pomfret beneath the water—only small fish and shrimp darted about. Other new disciples gradually realized there were no fish either and began to search around the wooden boat, peering curiously over the sides.

"It's not time yet. The shoal will arrive soon," said Wu Dachuan, an old hand of the Northern Courtyard who naturally knew the secret. He pointed to a distant broken cliff upstream and explained, "There’s a mechanism upstream used to trap the fish, which is activated once every half month. We just need to wait here."

So that was the reason, Yun Que understood. No wonder the four courtyards of Sword Palace rotate the fishing task every half month—it turns out the fish have been trapped for half a month already. As for why they do not fish upstream, it was a rule specially set by Sword Palace to train its disciples. Otherwise, a sturdy fishing net would suffice for the task.

While waiting for the shoal, Yun Que sat on the boat, pondering the news about Misty Mountain. On his way here, he had asked Xue Ziyi and learned that the Sword Master and two elders had returned empty-handed from Misty Mountain that day; the tree demon had vanished without a trace, leaving only a pile of white bones in the mountain’s belly. The culprit remained unknown.

White Bone Mountain had become an unsolved case, already reported to the imperial court. Recently, large groups of officials could often be seen traveling between Misty Mountain and the imperial capital.

If a powerful monster appeared in Misty Mountain, Sword Palace would certainly not sit idly by and would take action to purge it. However, deaths and murder cases were not Sword Palace’s concern; they would not expend effort to investigate. Unless it involved a notorious evil cultivator, it mattered not how many died—it was the Emperor of Yan’s headache, not Sword Palace’s.

Detached and aloof, sometimes even cold and indifferent. This was the chasm between cultivators and mortals, an unbridgeable gulf.

Sword Palace would not interfere, and Yun Que could do nothing about it. Although he had deduced from Yin Hu’s messages that the creator of White Bone Mountain was Wu Ma, hidden within Sword Palace, he still had no clue as to Wu Ma’s true identity.

Lost in thought, Yun Que felt the wooden boat beneath his feet sway lightly. The mechanism upstream had been triggered, and with a thunderous roar, the river’s current suddenly quickened.

A shower of silver dots descended from the broken cliff, splashing into the water in a spectacular display, like stars falling into the abyss.

"Spit, spit! I’m catching ten today!" Wu Dachuan spat twice into his hands, gripping his net tightly, eyes locked on the approaching shoal.

The silver pomfret were enormous, as long as a child’s arm, their bodies covered in tough silver scales—perfect for making chainmail that rendered ordinary soldiers nearly invulnerable on the battlefield.

Soon, the first wave of fish arrived, rocking the boat and bridge. Seizing the moment, Wu Dachuan plunged his net and hauled up a silver pomfret, tossing it onto the deck where it thrashed wildly. The force nearly knocked him into the river.

Expertly, Wu Dachuan grabbed a wooden mallet and struck the fish’s head three times. The fish lay still, his movements fluid and practiced.

Luo Xiaoyu stared, wide-eyed, while Yun Que was equally impressed. This fellow’s technique outmatched even the veteran fishmongers of Yanmen Town.

Wu Dachuan scratched his head, embarrassed. "I used to fish for a living, so I’m pretty skilled, hehe."

There was no shame in fishing. Yun Que smiled, unconcerned.

Luo Xiaoyu was eager to try, rolling up her sleeves to reveal her skinny arms.

"You’d better not," Yun Que advised.

"I’m not afraid of catching fish!" Luo Xiaoyu insisted.

"I’m afraid the fish will catch you," Yun Que replied.

When Wu Dachuan caught his fish, he nearly fell in. If it were Luo Xiaoyu, the big fish would surely drag her away. Then they’d have to rescue her downstream—a troublesome affair.

"Sister Luo, you just keep an eye on the fish. Brother Yun and I will handle the catching, and we’ll split the haul evenly among the three of us! Hehe, if I can catch ten more today, I can trade them for a sword tassel!"

The sword tassel Wu Dachuan mentioned was a special reward from Sword Palace, distributed according to the disciples’ task completion. For today’s fishing task, every hundred silver pomfret or ten golden pomfret caught would earn a strand of sword tassel. It could be accumulated over time, not necessarily all at once.

Wu Dachuan had accumulated ninety silver pomfret, needing just ten more for a sword tassel.

Yun Que had heard of sword tassels but had never seen one. He asked curiously, "Brother Wu, how many sword tassels do you have?"

Wu Dachuan held up nine fingers with pride. "I’ve saved up nine over the years. Maybe I’ll make it ten with today’s haul!"

"What are sword tassels for?" Luo Xiaoyu tilted her head.

"They can be exchanged for spirit stones, flying swords, or pills—but I won’t trade mine. I want to collect a hundred sword tassels!"

Wu Dachuan’s face shone with longing as he waved his pudgy fist. "I have two wishes in life. First, to have Senior Si graft a spirit root for me. Second, to collect a hundred sword tassels and see for myself how grand the Main Sect truly is!"

Yun Que could understand Wu Dachuan’s yearning for a spirit root, but he was unfamiliar with the so-called Main Sect.

"What is the Main Sect?" Luo Xiaoyu blinked her large eyes, brimming with curiosity.

Seeing Yun Que’s interested expression, Wu Dachuan cleared his throat and explained while continuing to fish.

"You’re new here, so you may not know—Sword Palace isn’t unique to Yan. There are Sword Palaces in neighboring countries, each named after their nation."

"For example, our Yan Sword Palace, Shaowu’s Sword Palace is called Wu Sword Palace, and the eastern Chixia’s is called Xia Sword Palace. There’s even rumor of one among the barbarians, called Man Sword Palace!"

"All these Sword Palaces belong to a single sect, the top cultivation faction in Yun Province. We disciples refer to it as the Main Sect; its true name is the Spirit Sword Sect!"

"To put it simply, the Sword Palaces in each nation are like the outer gates of Spirit Sword Sect, used to select disciples, gather materials, and communicate with the mortal world."

"Sword Palace has a rule: any disciple who collects a hundred sword tassels can earn the right to enter the Main Sect. That’s why I’m saving up for my hundred, so I can see the greatest sect in the world!"

As he spoke, Wu Dachuan’s expression was filled with boundless yearning, like a fervent pilgrim.

Yun Que felt his heart stir. The Yan Sword Palace alone was a colossal institution, yet it was merely an outpost of the cultivation sect. How mighty, then, must the Spirit Sword Sect be, famed as the Main Sect!

Learning about the Main Sect also resolved a doubt for Yun Que. The internal structure of Sword Palace was actually stratified. Most were mortal sword servants and Qi Refining sword disciples; disciples like Senior Sister Xue Ziyi, who had reached Foundation Establishment, were rare—each courtyard had only a few. Then there were the Core Formation elders of each courtyard. It seemed most Foundation Establishment disciples were sent to the Main Sect.

As they discussed, the river current grew even more turbulent. Amidst the falling silver from the cliff, hints of golden shadows appeared.

Ma Yong, who had triggered the mechanism upstream, rushed back and shouted from afar before he even reached them, "Careful! There are golden pomfret in the water!"