Two days later.
...
In the boundless snow-covered mountains and forests, a young man in a green shirt carried a bamboo box and an ancient sword. He trekked for a long distance, crossing mountains and ridges, talking to the birds in the mountains and gazing at the vast sea of snow. Along the way, Lin Zhao walked neither too fast nor too slow, his internal true qi and sword intent growing day by day. He had not yet refined the General's Gallbladder gifted by Zhang Xicheng. No rush, it felt like the time was not yet right; what was meant to come would come.
At this moment, his journey to the legendary Fusu Great Wall was less than a day away.
Regarding this Great Wall, the historical records of the Great Shang dynasty were quite detailed. In those years, millions of demons and devils marched south together, killing their way directly to the doorstep of the northern three states of the human race. When all the rulers and cultivators in the Great Shang and its vassal dynasties were helpless and could only wait for death, a long and vast city wall descended from the sky, forming a barrier to the north of the human homeland. Above the Fusu Great Wall, sword qi was dense, and martial dao fortune was rich. Although unmanned, it had still managed to scare away millions of allied demon and devil forces.
Therefore, the Fusu Great Wall held a unique place in the hearts of the many dynasties of the human race. No one knew its origin, but everyone knew it must have been the work of some sage or powerful being. Such a feat could only be accomplished by a sage.
...
As he walked, Lin Zhao suddenly felt a sense of alarm. Two auras that he found extremely hateful appeared ahead – demonic qi! Immediately afterward, a wisp of sword intent bloomed in the snow-covered forest ahead, and then the two demonic auras began to rapidly weaken.
"Hmm!?"
Lin Zhao frowned, quickly adjusted his bamboo box, and then leaped forward, as agile as a wild rabbit in the snow. In just a few breaths, he rushed up the mountain ridge and saw two corpses of demon cultivators lying hundreds of meters away. In front of the two corpses stood a handsome young man in white, holding a blood-stained long sword in his right hand and two demon cultivator heads in his left. The two demons, one male and one female, their auras had not completely disappeared.
One was at the sixth realm, the other at the seventh.
Two demon cultivators, killed in an instant just like that?
Lin Zhao was shocked. What was the realm of this human young sword cultivator? He looked to be at most at the seventh realm. How did he manage to kill two mid-fifth realm demon cultivators in an instant?
...
The young man in white was named Qin Yu. His family had lived by the Fusu Great Wall for generations, and Qin Yu was the pride of the Qin family's younger generation, known as the sole innate sword seed of the Fusu Great Wall, a natural sword immortal in the making. At only fifteen years old, he was already a seventh-realm sword cultivator, far surpassing his peers.
At this moment, Qin Yu also saw the young man in the green shirt carrying a bamboo box and an ancient sword. He couldn't help but frown. The young man was travel-worn, clearly from the north. Was he traveling, or honing his skills? His aura didn't seem strong, at most a sixth-realm martial artist. It was truly not easy to survive north of the Great Wall where various forces mingled.
So, Qin Yu glanced at Lin Zhao from afar and said, "Be careful. Don't die at the hands of demons."
"Mm, thank you for the reminder."
Lin Zhao cupped his fists.
Qin Yu nodded, carrying the demon cultivator heads, and turned to fly away on his sword.
...
Flying on his sword!
Watching him ascend into the sky on a streak of sword light, Lin Zhao was filled with envy. He was also a sword cultivator; when would he be able to achieve such a feat? He turned to look behind him. The young sixth-realm martial artist was stepping forward, one foot after another, which was rather awkward.
The biting wind was piercing, and the young man continued his journey.
Before dusk, after crossing another large mountain, Lin Zhao heard a muffled roar from afar, as if someone was shaking the mountains. Immediately afterward, a blood-soaked demon cultivator wailed and climbed onto a hill, then turned to run.
"Where do you think you're going!?"
Behind him, a rough young voice rang out, followed by a powerful figure descending from the sky. He smashed a heavy fist onto the head of the seventh-realm demon cultivator, stomped his feet, and forcefully drove the demon into the stone layer. Then the powerful young man unleashed punch after punch, and after continuous blows, the seventh-realm demon cultivator's head gradually deformed. Finally, his aura completely vanished, and he died in a pool of blood.
Another person from the Fusu Great Wall?
Lin Zhao frowned, observing the young man from afar. His aura was strong and steady, and his foundation as a seventh-realm martial artist was very solid. He seemed even stronger than Mu Zha of the ten people from the Mountain Peak Villa. How could there be such a person at the Fusu Great Wall?
Hadn't he heard before that Snow Region Heavenly Pool was the first line of defense for the human race, and that all the talented individuals in the world came from Snow Region Heavenly Pool? It seemed the rumors were false, and it was likely that the elders in the small town had added a lot of embellishment. In reality, outside of Snow Region Heavenly Pool, there were still countless geniuses in the world.
After the young man killed the demon cultivator, he took out a short knife from his waist and cut off the head, presumably to take it back to the Fusu Great Wall to record his military achievements.
As the powerful young man tucked the demon's head into his waist, he looked up at the sword-carrying young man, whom he had actually seen long ago, and smiled, "Who are you? I've never seen you at the Fusu Great Wall before. Are you here to kill demons too?"
"No..."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "I'm just passing through. I don't specifically kill demons."
"Oh..."
The powerful young man smiled. "You look like a martial artist from a poor family. That's true, cultivation is not easy. It's already quite an achievement for you to have reached the sixth realm of martial arts. Don't rush to kill demons; give yourself some time to grow. When you reach the eighth, ninth, or tenth realm of martial arts, it won't be too late to kill demons. After all, you can't get fat in one bite."
Lin Zhao felt a little awkward. This person would surely never imagine that he had once led a team to kill a ninth-realm Nascent Soul demon?
However, he did not explain, merely nodded and smiled. "You're right!"
"Alright, I'm leaving."
The powerful young man turned and left. After a few dozen steps, he turned back and smiled, "My name is Liu Xilong. I live at the Fusu Great Wall. If you also come to the Fusu Great Wall, you can look for me at the Liu family. We can spar or drink. But your realm is low, so sparring is probably out... just drinking. I'll treat you!"
This person had a straightforward personality.
Lin Zhao immediately cupped his fists and smiled. "Thank you. My name is Lin Zhao. See you at the Fusu Great Wall!"
"Good!"
...
Liu Xilong, mindful of the military achievements on his waist, quickly flew away, moving as fast as a small beast in the mountains. However, no matter how fast he was, he couldn't compare to a sword cultivator flying in the sky.
Lin Zhao quickened his pace, intending to travel some more before nightfall. This way, he should be able to reach the Fusu Great Wall pass around noon the next day. He couldn't be too late, or the Fusu Great Wall would close for the night, and he would have to camp outside the city for another night.
In the deep night, he found a cave to stay in.
After eating his fill, Lin Zhao practiced his boxing outside. He felt that the closer he got to the Fusu Great Wall, the richer the martial dao fortune became. The sword intent from the sky was also exceptionally profound and resonant. Looking up, he saw streaks of starlight passing through the sky from time to time. Those were not shooting stars, but sword cultivators flying out of the city to kill demons, vanquish evil, and destroy devils!
The Fusu Great Wall is extraordinary!
The young man frowned. No wonder Chen Yu had repeatedly urged him to spend more time cultivating at the Fusu Great Wall, to feel its killing intent and its extraordinary martial world atmosphere.
The next morning, Lin Zhao got up early, cooked a pot of meat broth, drank it, and then set off with his bamboo box and ancient sword. After traveling for so many days, the flatbreads in his bamboo box were long gone. He hadn't encountered any human inns or merchant caravans along the way, so it was time to make a large purchase at the Fusu Great Wall. After all, there was still a long road ahead from the Fusu Great Wall to Baidi City.
At noon.
A city wall tens of feet high stood on the vast, boundless wilderness. It appeared before the young man's eyes. The legendary Fusu Great Wall had arrived.
Lin Zhao stood at the edge of the snow forest. When he truly saw the Great Wall, he felt it was different from what he had imagined. It wasn't as majestic or solemn as he had expected. On the contrary, the Fusu Great Wall looked very dilapidated, like a stone wall. Its walls were covered with countless sword marks, claw marks, and traces of attacks from magical artifacts. More than anything else, there were bloodstains. After being exposed to wind and sun, the bloodstains had long turned black. The entire Fusu Great Wall was like an old sword that had been severely worn down, yet it showed no signs of rust and remained sharp.
However, the entire Fusu Great Wall was shrouded in a strong martial dao fortune. From thousands of meters away, Lin Zhao could feel the肅殺 (sù shā -肅殺 means solemn and chilling, often used to describe a killing atmosphere) aura. In addition, there was sword dao fortune. There were many martial artists and sword cultivators at the Fusu Great Wall, and naturally, there were also spiritual cultivators. In short, this was a martial city that guarded the northern gateway of the human world.
As Lin Zhao approached the Fusu Great Wall, a city gate ahead had already opened, and quite a few human cultivators emerged, chatting and laughing, but with an indescribable killing intent in their expressions. This was a demeanor honed through years of battlefield experience; these individuals would be worth ten enemies in battle.
In front of the city gate, a person in a gray-white short shirt, exuding a martial artist's aura, looked at Lin Zhao and chuckled, "Yo, you don't look older than sixteen, do you? Coming out to hone your skills so young, aren't you afraid of dying?"
Lin Zhao smiled. "I am afraid. That's why I want to become stronger, to avoid dying if possible."
"Hahahaha~~~"
The other party laughed heartily. "This spirit is suitable for staying at the Fusu Great Wall. Leave your name and hometown. If you want to stay at the Fusu Great Wall, you can. If you want to go out and kill demons, that's fine too. If you die, at least we'll know where you're from."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao picked up a pen and paper and wrote his name.
Lin Zhao, hometown Snow Region Heavenly Pool, descendant of the Great Chen Dynasty.
...
As a result, after Lin Zhao entered the city, the news spread: a young man from the Great Chen Dynasty had arrived at the Fusu Great Wall.
The Fusu Great Wall was not prosperous, but there were restaurants. So, Lin Zhao found one, ordered a table of dishes and a basin of rice, and then rapidly devoured them by himself.
"You actually came..."
Someone sat opposite him. It was Liu Xilong, the seventh-realm martial artist. He had a knowing smile on his face. "Your name is Lin Zhao, and you're a descendant of the Great Chen Dynasty?"
"Mm, why?"
"Be careful in this city."
Liu Xilong patted his shoulder and left.
...
After lunch, he booked a single room in a nearby inn, the cheapest one. It cost him a single Qingfu coin, which made the young man secretly ache. The prices at the Fusu Great Wall were truly not cheap.
In the afternoon, he planned to go up the city wall and admire the scenery above the Fusu Great Wall.
But as soon as he stepped out of the inn, several children threw stones at Lin Zhao. One of them, with snot bubbles dripping, shouted as he threw stones, "You coward from the Great Chen Dynasty, what are you doing at the Fusu Great Wall!?"
Each small stone bounced off the fist aura on Lin Zhao's body. He frowned, suppressing his anger.