Three days later.0

Li Yuan left Holy Tree Palace under the pretense of traveling for inspiration. As soon as he was out of sight, he slipped away by a roundabout route, changed clothes, and checked carefully to be sure no one was following him. Then he took out a pale-white compact of rouge and began to put on the eerie, ghostly makeup—his Yin disguise.0

Moments later, a poised, gallant young man stood among the trees. 0

“Walk the talk,” Li Yuan muttered to himself. “I’ll start with my Ruling Blade. If I can push the Thousand-Mile Hero concept to its peak, then let’s see how far I can go.” Taking a deep breath, he murmured lines from an ancient poem, quietly hypnotizing himself, “Ten years’ toil to hone a sword, its edge has...0