Chen Wentian and Wu Qianyu had indeed taken quite a while to do their business. By the time they returned to the main courtyard, it was almost lunchtime and the disciples were resting after their morning practice. They all sat in a loose circle beneath a shaded pavilion, nursing cups of cool jasmine tea and sampling plates of small snacks. By any measure, they were all quite spoiled but there was nobody to tell them that.

Their conversations stopped as he arrived and they all looked at him with accusatory and wronged expressions. It was as if they had all decided to give him as much silent admonishment as a group of women could produce.

“What?” He asked indignantly.

It wasn’t like he had done anything wrong!

“Master,” Zhou Ziyun said with a flat, expressionless face, “How is Sister Qianyu’s wound? Does she need any more bedrest to fully recover?”

Wu Qianyu flushed bright red.

A giggle came from one of the twins, Chen Wentian couldn’t tell which.

“Hey!” He complained loudly but he couldn’t quite find the right words to retort. After a while, he huffed and flicked a peanut at Zhou Ziyun, “Noisy, Wu Qianyu is the best swordswoman and I have to rely on her to beat up everyone at the Convocation of Swords. Of course, I had to carefully treat her wound.”

This earned him many eye rolls and head shakes. The twins were giggling uncontrollably amongst themselves and Lin Qingcheng was having difficulty holding it in.

Song Wushuang leaned over the table and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a tiny bruise that was barely red, “Master, look. I got injured too. Can you treat me? I promise it will be quick!”

“You…”

The table dissolved into laughter. Even Wu Qianyu cracked a smile as Lin Qingcheng whispered conspiratorially in her ear.

“Alright, alright.” He said as they quieted down, “I’m sorry for running off with Qianyu. I missed you all very much during my long trip. I promise. I’ll prove it to each and every one of you! Tonight!”

“Master, you can’t say that! You’re so bad!” Lin Qingcheng complained.

This caused another round of laughter amongst the disciples. They all made him the target of their teasing, letting Wu Qianyu off the hook. Her relief was evident even as she joined in the merriment.

Eventually, the conversation shifted back to training and preparations for the Convocation of Swords. It was one thing on everyone’s minds and to his surprise, they all wanted to attend.

“You understand that this is called the Convocation of Swords?” He asked, “As in, everyone uses swords.”

“Reporting to master,” Li Yuechan said, “The first stage of the Winter’s Snow Dance is the Ice Sword. It is the first ice ability we learned after reaching the Spirit Initiate Realm. To prepare for it, we used real swords in the lower realms. As such, we five sisters are all quite proficient with the sword.”

“But… will you be able to use your ice swords at the convocation?” He asked.

“Yes, master. The final rules of the convocation have arrived.” She presented a folded letter to him, “It states that all types of swords are allowed, including ones containing elemental attributes or other energies. We won’t be allowed to use any other stages of the Winter’s Snow Dance as they are either purely ice-based abilities or not related to swords. But Ice Sword will be allowed.”

“Huh… I didn’t know. I’ve never been to one of these sword meets.” He muttered. “So, you five all want to go?”

“Yes!” The other four answered together.

“So… Qianyu, Yuechan, Wushuang, Lanyi, Xue’er, Yue’er. Six participants for the convocation, sounds like a party.”

“Master…” Someone chimed in from his other side.

He turned to Zhou Ziyun, “What?”

“I would like to attend as well.” She said.

“But you use a saber though?”

“So what? It counts as a sword.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“What is a sword really? It’s just a pointy and sharp piece of metal. My Insightful Swallow Saber is also a pointy and sharp piece of metal. Why can’t it be a sword too?” She argued.

“What the heck? A sword is a sword. A saber is a saber. They are different!” He insisted.

“How are they different?”

“Yeah! One is straight and double-bladed. One is curved and single-bladed.”

“Actually, master…” Someone interrupted their argument.

Chen Wentian swiveled around to see Li Yuechan pointing to a section of the letter.

She smiled and said, “According to the convocation rules, swords come in all shapes and sizes. Sword designs are as varied as the stars in the sky. Sabers are allowed as they are considered a type of sword.”

Chen Wentian exhaled and refused to look at Zhou Ziyun’s triumphant expression. He took a sip of tea to distract himself from the defeat. How embarrassing. What was a sword? If a saber was a sword, then was everything a sword?

“Umm… master?” Lin Qingcheng’s voice took him out of his musings.

“Chengcheng?” He asked.

She looked around uncertainly before continuing, “I know that I haven’t really practiced sword arts but… can I join the convocation too?”

“Cough. Cough.” He spluttered on a mouthful of tea, “Wait a second. You don’t know a single sword art, how are you going to compete?”

She blushed, “Well, I know that. But I talked about the issue with Sister Ziyun and… Anyways, this is my sword!”

A dull gold weapon appeared in her hand. It had the length of an average sword and a similar handle. But the main body was a thick metal rod with jagged ridges that ran all along its length. It wasn’t so much a sword as a metal stick.

“That thing… is a sword?” He asked, incredulous.

Zhou Ziyun answered before Lin Qingcheng could, “Technically, this design is known as the bian or more commonly, the sword breaker. It is a weapon specifically designed for defeating other swords. It is heavy enough to deliver powerful blows but light and agile enough to be compatible with many sword techniques. Chengcheng is quite strong. She has good reaction speed and amazing endurance. Against any sword cultivator, I figure she can simply swing it around and see what happens.”

“Swing it around and see what happens?” He repeated.

His mind spun dizzily as he tried to imagine what might happen. Either Lin Qingcheng would utterly humiliate herself and him by proxy or she might just lay waste to an entire path of cultivation for countless people, making him the enemy of the subcontinent.

He looked toward Li Yuechan for help but received none.

“Master, it says here that the bian is an accepted form of the sword. Looks like Chengcheng can compete without a problem!” She said brightly.

“Yay!” Lin Qingcheng jumped up and down, clapping with excitement.

Chen Wentian face-palmed, muttering darkly. “That’s a sword too? Is everything a sword… I suppose you all have already found a loophole for Yingluo to complete even though she uses a spear?”

“Yes, master!” Bei Yingluo nodded eagerly, “There is a sword design called the pudao. It is a normal sword with an elongated handle which usually extends anywhere from the length of the blade to about twice as long. This effectively makes it a short spear. It is compatible with my Bei Family Spear as well as many sword arts.”

He shook his head and finally laughed. Since all of his disciples insisted on going, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse. In front of so many pretty smiles, he couldn’t say no even if he wanted to.

“Hahaha! Then it’s decided. Everyone can go and take part in the Convocation of Swords!”

“Thank you, master!”

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