Chapter 2: The Story of the Past

Sword Dynasty

Volume 2

Chapter 2: The Story of the Past

“You were too cold to them.”

Li Daoji appeared in front of Ding Ning. He glanced at Xie Changsheng, Xie Rou, and the others in the distance. Then, he looked at Ding Ning with his usual indifference. He slowly said, “Don’t misunderstand. I mean, even if you don’t like Xie Rou’s actions, you don’t need to treat them so coldly and harshly.”

Ding Ning was silent for a moment.

Li Daoji waited patiently.

Ding Ning looked at the broken sword at his waist and slowly, in a soft voice said, “Younger Sect Uncle Li Daoji sought this remnant sword for me, you must know the story of this sword.”

Li Daoji’s brows furrowed. “You know the story of this sword?”

“Before Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne, our Qin Dynasty had a famous cultivation place called the Ba Mountain Sword Field.”

With a calm demeanor and a light voice, Ding Ning continued as if telling a story. “In many stories, the Ba Mountain Sword Field was held in a higher regard than the Min Mountain Sword Sect and the Spirit Void Sword Sect. Many cultivators who helped the Qin Dynasty conquer the three dynasties and played a crucial role in Emperor Yuanwu's ascension to the throne came from the Ba Mountain Sword Field. However, a major change occurred before Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne. Overnight, many cultivators who were once loyal to the Qin Dynasty turned rebellious, and some of them held high status. Even Emperor Yuanwu had to admit that they had a significant influence on the future of the entire Qin Dynasty. Yan Xinlan of the Ba Mountain Sword Field was one of them. Had she spoken the words Emperor Yuanwu wanted to hear and openly declared her position, she would have survived. The Ba Mountain Sword Field would have continued to exist, and even attained a higher standing than the Min Mountain Sword Sect and the Spirit Void Sword Sect today.”

“But she chose to wield her sword at the Emperor Yuanwu, demonstrating that she would rather break than bend.”

Hearing Ding Ning's words, Li Daoji's expression became unnatural.

In the end, he could not help himself. “What do young people know? Many of these events happened before you were born. Since you know some of the stories, you should know that many are unspeakable. Besides, what do these stories have to do with how you treat them now?”

“Xie Rou's personality is very similar to the master of this Last Flower Sword. I do not dislike her, I even admire her. You know my situation better than anyone.” Ding Ning looked at him straight in the eye and said, “You know that I've offended an important figure in the military. Even Prince Li Ling is targeting me. My physiological condition dictates that I need to quickly rise through the ranks in Changling. I don't know how many people I'll offend. I'll risk my life to do some things because I have a goal. But I can't drag them into doing the same as me.”

“Are you worried that Xie Rou will suffer the same fate as the master of the Last Flower Sword?” Li Daoji said disdainfully, “You're thinking too far ahead.”

Ding Ning shook his head. “If people don't think long-term, they'll inevitably worry about the short-term.”

Li Daoji stopped trying to persuade Ding Ning and turned to leave.

But after a few steps, he stopped and turned to Ding Ning. He said, “You quoted the story of the master of the Last Flower Sword… but do you know what the master of the Last Flower Sword was thinking? How do you know whether she would be happy or not? Rather than attaining a high position at an old age, she would probably be happier dying in battle with her sword broken. Not many can live without regrets, but she probably did.”

Ding Ning was silent.

In his many years in Changling, he had seen many people he normally would not pay attention to. He had seen many different kinds of people he had never seen before. Street vendors and runners, fishermen, farmers, slaves, and prisoners of war… many immigrants came from the Wei, Han, and Zhao Dynasties who gradually mixed in Changling and became the people of the Qin Dynasty. While some people remembered their country of origin, the people who were on the outskirts and the people who had completely forgotten their country wanted to attain the same status as the Changling people. Even when they achieved high positions, they remained ostracized.

He had learned much from these people, including how to see things from their perspective. He acknowledged that Li Daoji's words were true, but he was certain that if Li Daoji knew how much of a rebellious heart was beating in his chest, he would never have said what he had just said.

No matter how admirable and extraordinary the legendary First Mister Zhao of the Sword Furnace and Bai Shanshui of Cloud Water Palace were, who would encourage people to befriend such great rebels?

It was easy for later generations to see clearly and judge matters from the perspective of the past.

In the past, when the Qin Dynasty fought against the Han, Zhao, and Wei dynasties, the situation changed every moment. Tens of thousands of swordsmen would die in battle, and thousands of cultivators would perish. No one could predict the outcome.

But now that the Han, Zhao, and Wei dynasties have been destroyed, the history books that came out later largely agree on why they were defeated.

In current mainstream history, or more precisely, authoritative accounts, the Han Dynasty was destroyed primarily because of its failure to relocate its capital. The Han Dynasty, once dominating the Han Dynasty through a few pill sects, originally had its capital in Yangdi. However, the advisors of the Qin Dynasty used various methods to instill in Emperor Ai of Han the idea. They described beautiful scenery and convinced him that for the Han Dynasty to gain greater power, they should move their capital to Luoyi.

At the time, moving the capital to Luoyi seemed to bring great benefits. Luoyi had the Xiao Mountain on its left. The jade valley of the Xiao Mountain was rich in spirit energy and was considered the best place for cultivation in the world. If many sects moved to the jade valley, they could provide more powerful cultivators for the dynasty. To the right of Luoyi lay thousands of miles of fertile and abundant land of Gan and Shu.

However, many people and nobles did not migrate when the capital was moved. This move violated their interests, creating a rift with Emperor Ai of Han. After the capital was moved, many new factions emerged to divide the new capital, diminishing the dynasty's power before its eventual demise.

The downfall of the Wei dynasty occurred due to two different major events. One was the Spirit Canal Plan. Manipulated by several conspiracies, the Wei Dynasty gathered many skilled craftsmen because they wanted to build a massive man-made canal that could absorb the energies of the world. The construction of this spirit canal consumed a lot of the dynasty's resources and the country became weak. The other event was the hegemony of the Wei Cloud Water Palace. At certain times, many extremely powerful cultivators from the Cloud Water Palace appeared. Emperor Wei became more and more dependent on Cloud Water Palace and resources were leaning towards them. Ultimately, this resulted in the dominance of the Cloud Water Palace, and the decline and eventual disappearance of many cultivation sects.

The downfall of the Zhao Dynasty was a classic example of sowing discord between enemies. At a crucial moment in the war between the Qin Dynasty and the Zhao Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty successfully tricked the Zhao Emperor into believing that the Zhao Sword Furnace was conspiring with the Qin Dynasty to overthrow him. So he killed the strongest grandmaster of the Zhao Dynasty, and forged that sword of the Zhao Sword Furnace.

With their threat gone, the Qin Dynasty troops marched undaunted. They destroyed the Zhao Dynasty in less than three months.

For many in the Qin Dynasty, which ultimately won the war, the collapse of the three dynasties still holds many aspects worthy of study and reflection.

In the rapidly changing battle, no one knows how many great figures were exerting their power, how many conspiracies and schemes were unfolding simultaneously. Only the future would tell which ones were truly effective.

All dynasties were wary after the Cloud Water Palace of the Wei dynasty became dominant and caused the decline of other pill sects, which then weakened the power of the country.

At this time, Emperor Yuanwu wielded greater control than any previous emperor of the Qin Dynasty in Changling. The clique he formed, along with the empress and two prime ministers, controlled all the nobles and prominent families in the Qin Dynasty. However, the central imperial court still deliberately distanced itself from most cultivation sites, forcing them to maintain the conditions established during its founding. Aside from providing some protection and support, they simply allowed these sites to grow naturally like weeds.

The collapse of the Wei dynasty taught later generations that, regardless of how weak a sect might be, if it maintained the same state as at its founding, if it maintained its essence, then that sect might, at a certain time or because of a certain person, suddenly become stronger and more prosperous years later.

The number of cultivators produced by a powerful sect, who were invaluable to the entire dynasty, was incomparable to the sum of all the medium-sized and small sects.

Therefore, all dynasties did their best to ensure that all sects within their dynasties could survive long after the collapse of the Wei Dynasty. Events like the White Goat Cave merging with the Green Vine Sword School were actually rare.

Most sects deliberately left their original state. Therefore, the cultivators, isolated from the outside world in their mountains, only needed to reflect on their cultivation progress.

For the Green Vine Sword School, the three-day sword trial festival was like isolating themselves from Changling for three days.

So, at this moment, while the sword trial festival had concluded and the results and some events had spread, Ding Ning, as he walked along the mountain path, was unaware of the many shocking events that had occurred in Changling.

 

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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