Why do I have so many masters?

Ouyang Guiyuan's smile vanished at a visibly fast pace.

The sunlight poured through the lattice-patterned gaps in the carved windows, casting spots and shadows. The sunlight was clear and warm, a golden hue with a transparent texture, making even the dust shimmer.

The young man in front gently placed his bamboo hat on the table and smiled at him.

Under the sunlight, everything seemed as unreal as a dream.

That face was indeed very familiar, just like the last glance he took after deciding that this person must die, while placing the last piece on the chessboard. The corners of the eyes slightly angled downwards, the corners of the lips always seemed to smile, appearing completely non-threatening, forever unperturbed.

Though possessing martial prowess, lacking ambition for conflict. In this world of great contention, nothing more than a pawn, one he could easily manipulate at his whim, and once exhausted, discard, trampling it underfoot to gain favor and use as a stepping stone or a whetstone for his standing in the valley.

Afterwards, no one would care about the stone's fate, whether it crumbled into dust or transformed from a rugged shard into scattered fragments, no one would bat an eye.

An orphan, who would care?

It was supposed to be this way...

But the scene unfolding before him left his limbs cold, the stone that should have shattered into pieces was now reappearing directly in front of him in the most straightforward manner.

And instead of being the one controlling the game behind the scenes, he found himself here, gravely injured, reliant only on martial skills he was never adept at, along with a barely adequate Fourth Rank Sword Servant.

At man's mercy, I am the fish and he the knife.

The earlier joy and ambitious pride now seemed nothing more than a joke.

Ouyang Guiyuan did not resist; after a violent upheaval of emotions, he astonishingly calmed down rapidly, looking at Wang Anfeng with a fatalistic sigh and a bitter smile:

"I didn't expect it to be you."

"The chess piece and player sitting like this, the theory of fate often comes with exquisite irony; my current fallen state is perhaps my just deserts."

Wang Anfeng neither confirmed nor denied, choosing not to respond.

Ouyang Guiyuan leaned back in his chair, fiddling with the teacup, speaking proactively:

"You coming here, it shouldn't just be for revenge, right? Let me guess, you must want to ask me about certain things, like why I repeatedly attacked you, and why later on I went after Dongfang Ningxin..."

For some reason, Wang Anfeng recalled a line often spoken by antagonists in storybooks, curving his lips slightly, he replied gently:

"Talking to a clever person makes things simple..."

Ouyang Guiyuan closed his eyes briefly, seemingly making up his mind, and said:

"I will tell you."

"You've seen the people chasing me, I have completely parted ways with Sword Forging Valley now. From now on, I no longer need to follow their orders, do their bidding that goes against my heart, and I certainly don't need to protect them."

"So those things, I won't hide them, I will tell you everything."

At this point, Ouyang Guiyuan paused, as if recalling something, and deliberately halted his speech for a moment before saying:

"Your guess is correct, these two actions are related to your parents."

"The seventh ranked under heaven, the Great Qin's top General Wang Tiance, and the Dongfang Clan's designated Young Master, Dongfang Ningxin."

"The reasons are extremely complex. What Sword Forging Valley seeks involves a Divine Weapon that landed in your father's hands back then..."

Wang Anfeng repeated:

"A Divine Weapon?!"

Ouyang Guiyuan nodded and said, "Yes, a Divine Weapon."

"Sword Forging Valley, well, it was originally just a gathering of craftsmen who sought neither fame nor profit but just the famous tools under the heavens. The Tiance General does not cultivate martial arts, unable to harness the Qi mechanism, unable to wield a famous sword, but a Divine Weapon, only a Divine Weapon alone, does not fall under this restriction, and for various reasons, you should be very aware."

After a moment of silence, Wang Anfeng calmly said:

"Divine Weapon chooses its master."

Ouyang Guiyuan tapped the table and said:

"Yes, Divine Weapon chooses its master!"

"Divine Weapon possesses spirit, it chooses its master and follows, when the master dies, it hides away; even at times, when the person dies, the sword shatters, phoenix goes away, and the parasol tree withers."

"Common Martial Artists wielding a Divine Weapon have their own Qi mechanism connecting with their weapon, thus gaining great benefits but also limiting the Divine Weapon's capabilities. Ironically, because the Tiance General didn't practice martial arts, he wouldn't restrict the Divine Weapon's abilities."

"According to secret records in Sword Forging Valley, he was acknowledged as master by two Divine Weapons for a brief period, yet these two Divine Weapons had markedly different natures. One was called the Dragon Slaying Dagger, which after unifying the world, killed the Qin Crown Prince, vanished away and remained undiscovered."

"The other one is the second most renowned sword under heaven, and throughout history, the weapons recorded in Sword Forging Valley are countless, yet this sword still ranks seventh, Divine Weapon Zhan Lu, surpassing even the Qin Emperor's Tai'a Sword…"

His voice paused briefly, then Ouyang Guiyuan's tone changed as he asked:

"Do you know, Wang Anfeng, why your father was ranked as the seventh under heaven?"

Before Wang Anfeng could respond, he continued by himself:

"Don't you find it strange?"

"Even though his prestige was great, Jianghu people have always been unruly, ordinary people from the Imperial Court often get scorned as lackeys, the Chief Arrestor of Ministry of Punishment, whose reputation in contemporary times is no less than your father's, is disparaged as a lapdog; why is your father the sole person respected and feared by everyone? Even the title 'Divine Martial Tiance' accepted by Jianghu people, and allowing you to establish yourself within Jianghu without any hindrance."

Looking at Wang Anfeng with a tone of curiosity, he intrigued him further by saying:

"Anyone wishing to achieve this would need to accomplish two things. First, people from Jianghu do not loathe him, or rather are grateful to him at the same time; second, he makes this entire Jianghu submit, and within this Jianghu, there are the seven sects, the Hidden Sect, and the Sword Weaponry that establishes the rivers and mountains."