Free Six Celestial Swords by T. A. Miles

service to the Songs had never been so demanding. It continued to tax him, but he would not rest until the Song Dynasty was secure. He would certainly not have expected the late Cai Shi-meng to be of any assistance.
    And yet, not only had the Scholar General found the Spear of Heaven to begin with, but he had mentioned it in his writings.
    ‘The Song will pay for their treachery. I shall destroy those who killed my lord and all who support them. I have been given the tool necessary to exact my revenge and to restore order to the land. At last I have discovered one of the Celestial Blades that Ganzan Li had long sought. The Spear of Heaven, the blade wielded by the mighty Sun God Cheng Yu, forged in the blazing heat of the Celestial Dragons’ breath, a weapon against the chaos of the land. As the Emperor is the life essence, the scholars the mind, the warriors the armor, and the commoners the backbone, the Celestial Blades are as the sword arm of the land, cutting back all intruders and opposition. Only they can still the chaos that has been stirring since man’s first step upon the land. This blade coming to me is an order I cannot ignore, a command given to me by the gods to expel the unworthy and restore peace. I shall fulfill this task and welcome the others to it, should our paths cross. Though the blades have traveled in their time, I do not believe that I wield one alone.’
    Indeed, Cai Shi-meng had not. The sword Pearl Moon had come to Xu Liang from the quick and deadly hands of an opponent who very nearly killed him and impressed him a great deal in so doing.
    After years planning the siege of Jang Bai—a Ji stronghold annexed by none other than Xu Hong of Du—there were still imperfections. Perhaps it had something to do with the enemy being the very man who’d raised Xu Liang—who had earned no mercy for that in this instance, but who understood well just who would be opposing him. The soldier wielding Pearl Moon had found a way to penetrate Xu Liang’s frontline and the main defenses with only a small troop. He cut his way across the battlefield and struck down two of Xu Liang’s bodyguards before Xu Liang fully realized what had happened. With unforgettable resolve in his dark eyes, the warrior announced himself and struck out.
    Even with a wind barrier, the force of the blow felled Xu Liang from his mount. He saw a glimmer of blue on his way to the ground. The remaining bodyguards attacked the enemy warrior. Only two survived, and they had not been the victors that day. Xu Liang had the belated awareness of a stand of bowmen to thank for his survival. The would-be assassin fell at his feet with multiple arrows stuck in him. He relinquished the blade only after informing Xu Liang that fate had chosen him. Fate had selected Xu Liang to live and, he slowly realized, to take up the Celestial Blade that had been delivered to him, though perhaps its delivery did not turn out quite as the enemy had intended.
    Jang Bai was eventually taken, the ambitions of Du and Xu Hong were again smothered, and Pearl Moon was acquired. More than the victory, Xu Liang cherished the blade, which enabled him to further the research he had been conducting since very early into his service under the Song. It was only recently, however, that he understood its significance.
    Upon the second scroll of Cai Shi-meng, battle plans had been drawn. Xu Liang studied them with fascination, admiring the complex tactics that had earned Cai Shi-meng’s forces a stunning victory at Yan Xing; the historic battle was said to have lasted only a few weeks.
    Xu Liang had known little of swift victory. The commander Xu Hong had placed at Jang Bai held out for eight months before being overwhelmed by Ji’s larger forces, which Xu Liang had hesitated to reveal in order to lull the enemy with false hopes. What were then the Emperor’s troops had arrived in stages from the base camp hidden in the tall emerald hills overlooking the river valley and in