Aristotle once said that the history of humanity is, in essence, a history of war.
From the very first time those scrawny little monkeys figured out they could combine rocks and wooden sticks to hunt down creatures several times their size and terrifyingly stronger than them, the rise of humankind was already an indisputable certainty.
And throughout this process, people kept developing new things and trying out different combinations.
That’s how the four great weapons of legend came into being.
Among them, the staff, as an essential tool for making weapons, can change its size and thickness at will, transforming in countless ways. That’s why it’s honored as the ‘Ancestor of All Weapons’.
Then there’s the spear. With its advantage of “an inch longer gives an inch of strength,” it allows the weak to overcome the strong, striking unpredictably and proving invincible on the battlefield. It’s known as the ‘King of All Weapons’.
The saber hardly needs much introduction. It’s powerful, commanding, and relies on brute force to overcome skill. To master it, you don’t just need superb technique, but also unwavering courage. That’s why it’s called the ‘Marshal of All Weapons’.
As for the sword…
Although it’s less powerful than the saber, less practical than the staff, and has less reach than the spear, swinging it around looks elegant, handsome, and cool. It has a great image, which is why it was deeply loved by emperors, scholars, and artists, earning it the name the ‘Gentleman of All Weapons’.
And the process of learning swordsmanship has been romanticized and called ‘cultivating one’s heart’.
Now, as luck would have it…
Yu Huatian was someone who had flaws in his heart.
The story of The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate takes place during the Chenghua era.
Anyone a little familiar with history should know that this was, without a doubt, the most awkward period of the Ming Dynasty.
Under the leadership of the Ming Dynasty’s ‘God of War’, Zhu Qizhen, the Ming army was defeated by the Mongol-led Northern Yuan army, which resulted in Zhu Qizhen becoming the first ‘War Prisoner’ of the Ming Dynasty.
And because of this defeat, the Ming Dynasty went from prosperity to decline, plunging into unprecedented turmoil where the people had no means of survival.
Yu Huatian was born during this time.
His parents were rebels, forced into rebellion because they couldn’t make a living under the harsh conditions.
But before they could really get organized, the imperial court got wind of it, sent some troops casually, and crushed them.
Only Yu Huatian survived because he was so young. He was captured and taken to the capital.
At that time, Yu Huatian was only four years old.
People thought that since he was so young, he surely wouldn’t remember any of this.
But in reality, Yu Huatian was incredibly smart. He clearly knew what he had gone through and what he needed.
So, three years later, when the palace needed to recruit a new batch of young eunuchs, he resolutely signed up.
And he was lucky enough to be assigned to serve under Consort Wan.
But that wasn’t what Yu Huatian really cared about. The only thing he cared about was the martial art technique the court rewarded after he entered the palace—the Sword-Breaking Art.
This was a technique the Ming Emperor sought out, worried that assassins might sneak into the palace.
After obtaining this technique, Yu Huatian trained like a madman, obsessively and relentlessly.
Driven by the motivation of his deep-seated vendetta and his innate talent, his progress was astonishingly rapid—advancing by leaps and bounds.
It was so captivating that even Jiang Nian found himself completely absorbed in it.
[Advancement]
[Sword-Breaking Art “Novice” (99/100) → Sword-Breaking Art “Intermediate” (0/500)]
He didn’t know how long it had been. Then, with a notification sound from the system, the memories and emotions related to Yu Huatian receded like the tide.
Only then did Jiang Nian snap out of his state of absorption and calm his mind.
He turned his head to look at Zhang Yuxin, who was nearby, and asked, “What time is it?”
Hearing this, Zhang Yuxin pulled out her phone, glanced at it, and answered, “Almost twelve o’clock.”
“Oh.”
Jiang Nian acknowledged.
It had already been seventeen hours since Zhang Yuxin was attacked at the mall.
Jiang Nian didn’t have any scenes to shoot this morning, so he came here to practice martial arts.
He hadn’t been that far from a breakthrough anyway, and he had practiced some more after getting home last night. So, unsurprisingly, while practicing, he had fallen into the pre-breakthrough state of absorption.
He picked up his water bottle, took a sip to moisten his dry throat.
Looking at Zhang Yuxin, whose face was full of an expression trying hard to look innocent and good, Jiang Nian said with a strange look, “So, you’re telling me you just sat here watching all morning?”
“Yep,” Zhang Yuxin nodded, propping her chin on her hand, looking very cute.
Jiang Nian’s expression grew even more peculiar. “Weren’t you bored?”
Zhang Yuxin shook her head. “Bored? Why would I be bored? Watching you practice martial arts is really interesting.”
“Alright then.”
Since she put it that way, Jiang Nian didn’t have much else to say.
He just put down his water bottle and got ready to go to the bathroom.
But when he reached the bathroom door, he stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhang Yuxin’s voice came from behind him.
Jiang Nian twitched his mouth, turned around to look at her, and said speechlessly, “What do you think? I need to use the bathroom. Why are you following me?”
At first, when Jiang Nian heard Zhang Yuxin’s footsteps, he thought she was just heading the same way, so he didn’t think much of it.
When he got to the bathroom, he just figured she needed to use it too and didn’t pay it any mind.
But then, just as he was about to walk into the restroom, he noticed that Zhang Yuxin was actually walking in right behind him. At that point, Jiang Nian really couldn’t hold it together anymore.
Hearing this, Zhang Yuxin said matter-of-factly, “Well, obviously, I need you to protect me! Didn’t we agree yesterday? To prevent those people from trying to hurt me again during this period, I need you to protect me.”
“But I never agreed to that!”
“That’s why I have to stick with you.”
“Damn it.”
Jiang Nian’s face had a ‘what the hell’ expression.
In that instant, he suddenly understood what Zhang Yuxin must have felt like when that guy was harassing her before.
No, wait, what Zhang Yuxin did was probably even worse.
She even wanted to follow him into the men’s room.
“Geez, why don’t you just squat in the same toilet pit while I take a crap?” Jiang Nian muttered under his breath.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuxin heard that. She looked surprised and said, “Is that actually allowed?”
“Allowed my ass! Get lost, and don’t bother me while I’m using the bathroom.”
Jiang Nian cursed at her immediately.
Seeing him get angry, Zhang Yuxin shrank her neck and said reluctantly, “Alright, alright, fine. I won’t go in. No need to be so mean. I’ll wait for you here. Hurry up, okay?”
Jiang Nian twitched his mouth again. So, he was supposed to be thankful that she wasn’t coming in, was he?
But the urge to pee was strong now, and Jiang Nian couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any further. He quickly turned and rushed into the restroom.
The sound of running water echoed out.
A moment later, Jiang Nian washed his hands and walked out feeling refreshed.
Seeing Zhang Yuxin just standing there at the door, pouting, staring at him with a sulky expression, Jiang Nian ignored her completely. He simply brushed past her, rubbed his stomach, and headed towards the set.
He had practiced all morning, and the little bit he ate in the morning was completely digested. His stomach was totally empty now, so he needed to refuel.
Seeing him just ignore her like that, Zhang Yuxin was stunned for a moment, then grew anxious. She quickly chased after him, shouting as she ran, “Hey, Jiang Nian, wait for me! Can’t you see I’m angry? Don’t you have anything to say?”
Jiang Nian treated it like background noise.
He just found the set assistant, got three boxed lunches, and started eating while walking towards where Tsui Hark and the others were, wanting to see how the filming was going.
But before he could even get close, Tsui Hark’s signature loud cursing rang out loud and clear.
Jiang Nian grinned. ‘Another poor soul,’ he thought to himself.
So he hurried over, ready to watch the drama unfold.
