The Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, thunder roared from the south.
...
The man in the green shirt spread his five fingers, the military aura flowing through him, tendrils of sword intent soaring into the sky. At this moment, it was as if all the sword dao providence in heaven and earth had converged upon him.
"Hmph..."
Beside him, the swordsman in white sneered, "Is it necessary? To use the Military Dao's Transcendent Spirit power, to reclaim your sword, and forcibly maintain a fifteenth realm? Is this dilapidated world worth it? You don't even want to be the top figure of the Military Dao ancestral court anymore? Or do you want to follow Qin Suihan, sacrificing all your cultivation to become a diminished being?"
The man in green shirt grinned, "Damn right I do, and you can't stop me!"
The swordsman in white rolled his eyes, "Fine. If you insist on drawing your sword, then draw it. I'll put in a good word for you with the old men over at the Military Dao ancestral court."
Just then, a peerless brilliant light descended from the south, manifesting as a pure white long sword in the man in green shirt's hand!
The Fusublade, ranked seventh among the ten most renowned swords under heaven!
But today, at this very moment, this Fusublade would be the undisputed number one!
The man in green shirt stood up, gazing towards the Demon Ancestor and the Demon Emperor from afar, and chuckled, "Since you two have traveled so far, why not sample one of my swords?"
"How dare you!?"
The Demon Ancestor's voice was low.
The Demon Emperor also sneered, "A fourteenth-realm Military Sage, how can you presume to slay us, who are also fourteenth-realm beings?"
"We'll know after trying."
The man in green shirt abruptly raised his sword, and a streak of sword light, straight as a line, bloomed between heaven and earth. Immediately, it was followed by a torrent of heavenly might crashing towards the Demon Ancestor to the north. As the first sword blossomed, he unleashed a second, a streak of green sword light that connected heaven and earth, accompanied by thunderous roars. With this one sword, he swept across heaven and earth, directly at the Demon Emperor!
He was not merely a fourteenth-realm Military Sage enfeoffed by heaven and earth, but the only fourteenth-realm Sword Immortal in existence!
...
"You surnamed Ding!"
The Demon Ancestor's pained howl echoed from the north. That was the strike of a fifteenth-realm Great Sword Immortal, imbued with the great momentum of the human world and fueled by the Military Dao's Transcendent Spirit power. Although the Demon Ancestor was at the fourteenth realm, he could not withstand this single blow. With a deafening explosion, the Demon Ancestor's Dharma body began to crumble, and in an instant, it was reduced to dust by the man in green shirt's sword!
With his Dharma body shattered, the Demon Ancestor's realm also plummeted. The man in green shirt's single strike reduced him to a thirteenth-realm being. Severely wounded, he hastily fled north with boundless demonic energy. Another blow would have meant certain death!
To the north-right, the Demon Emperor, clad in golden armor, also took a sword. The moment he was struck, his nine-thousand-meter-tall Dharma body trembled violently. Although the Demon Emperor was also at the fourteenth realm, his fourteenth realm was not as stable as the Demon Ancestor's. Thus, he too suffered the blow of a fifteenth-realm attack. The Demon Emperor felt even more pain; his Dharma body almost instantly disintegrated, his golden armor cleaved to tatters by the sword. His wails echoed in the distance. The fourteenth-realm Demon Emperor directly lost two realms, and when his Dharma body retreated to his true form, he was left with only the foundation of a twelfth realm!
"Phew..."
After unleashing two swords, the man in green shirt gently shook his palm, and the Fusublade vanished into the wind. The boundless spiritual energy flowed back towards the Great Wall of Fusu. At this moment, the man in green shirt spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression becoming utterly depleted, even a few white hairs appearing at his temples. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air repeatedly.
"Alas..."
The swordsman in white sighed helplessly, "Is the power of the fifteenth realm so easily attained? It comes with the backlash of the Heavenly Dao. Our Military Dao has never produced a fifteenth-realm being in all these years, and yet you're the one stepping up. Look at you now?"
The man in green shirt frowned, "Blah blah blah... I haven't fallen in realm. I'm still a magnificent fourteenth-realm being. What's there to worry about?"
The swordsman in white picked his nose, "Damn, hearing you say that, it almost sounds like I'm being a busybody!"
...
"Third Senior Brother!"
Before the man in green shirt could even get up, his junior brother had already rushed to his side.
Seeing the pale and sickly look on his third senior brother's face, Lin Zhao's heart ached terribly. He knew that his third senior brother, like his second senior sister, was a kind and gentle person, and such people should not suffer such torment.
"It's nothing, Junior Brother!"
The man in green shirt held Lin Zhao's hand, a brilliant smile on his face, "Just a minor skirmish. See... Senior Brother brought glory to our sect with two swords. One sword each, and I sent the Demon Ancestor and the Demon Emperor packing. Tsk tsk... Master will surely praise me, maybe even cook a feast for me as a reward."
Lin Zhao nodded repeatedly, "It's good that you're alright... it's good that you're alright..."
Just then, Chen Wanli of the human race, along with殿帅s Qin Yushan, Shao Shiyu, and Lu Fengxian, approached. The old Marshal Chen Wanli, leading everyone, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and said solemnly, "Our human realm... thanks the Military Sage for drawing his sword..."
"Oh, alright, alright, alright..."
The man in green shirt waved his hands urgently, "I just can't stand this kind of scene. Chen Wanli, hurry up and get your people to stand. I really can't stand this. Hurry up."
"Yes, Lord Military Sage!"
Chen Wanli rose and stood respectfully to the side.
At this moment, Chu Huaixi, Huang Tingyu, and Chen Yu also arrived. Seeing Lin Zhao supporting the man in green shirt, Chu Huaixi's heart was filled with complex emotions. Lin Zhao, what incredible fortune to have a Military Sage from the Military Dao ancestral court as a senior brother! All the way on his journey of protection, the Military Sage had shown so much care for his junior brother. Huang Tingyu, on the other hand, looked at the man in green shirt, his heart surging with excitement. Damn it, it was this man who had just unleashed a sword strike comparable to a fifteenth-realm Sword Immortal, filling the world with immense power!
Chen Yu glanced at Lin Zhao, then at the man in green shirt, feeling quite happy in her heart. With such a senior brother, perhaps Lin Zhao, who had suffered since childhood, would not be so miserable anymore.
...
"The experts from the Demon Race and the Demon Tribe have all left."
Chen Wanli glanced into the distance, "This confrontation..."
"Forget it."
Shao Shiyu frowned, "Old Marshal, don't say it..."
"Mmm!"
Chen Wanli stepped forward and checked Yan Beichen's injuries. He clasped his fists and said, "Beichen, it is our Great Shang's fault. Truly... I never expected the Demon Race to resort to such despicable and shameless tactics as breaking through realms mid-battle. I overestimated them. Your cultivation..."
"It's alright."
Yan Beichen remained polite, forcing a smile. "Old Marshal, I'm truly fine. My sword heart is just shattered. I can... slowly train it again later. Perhaps..."
"There is no 'perhaps'."
The man in green shirt, supported by Lin Zhao, stood up and looked at Yan Beichen. "Your three flying swords are all excellent, and your foundation is solid. As a sword cultivator, as long as the spirit in your heart remains, re-establishing a sword heart and regaining the twelfth realm, or even stepping into the thirteenth, is not difficult. Just don't make excuses for your cowardice."
"Mmm!"
Yan Beichen nodded heavily. While the comfort of others might have some reservations, the words of this man in green shirt carried immense weight in Yan Beichen's heart. After all, this man in green shirt was precisely the kind of person Yan Beichen aspired to be!
"That's enough talk."
The man in green shirt smiled and said, "Junior Brother, help me back. Prepare a good meal. Senior Brother is injured and needs to eat well, preferably with plenty of meat."
"Mmm, no problem!"
...
Lin Zhao supported the man in green shirt as they slowly walked along the official road towards the villa on the mountaintop. Chen Wanli, Shao Shiyu, Chu Huaixi, and the others followed at a distance. Their respect for the man in green shirt was genuine, knowing how crucial those two sword strikes were for the human race. It could be said that with the Demon Ancestor and the Demon Emperor weakened and forced into seclusion, the human race still had a chance to fight. Otherwise, with these two fourteenth-realm powerhouses poised on the front lines, no amount of armored soldiers would be anything but a futile sacrifice.
Villa on the Mountaintop.
At noon, after a sumptuous meal, the man in green shirt went to sleep.
In the evening, he woke up, craving wine and meat again. Lin Zhao once again instructed the kitchen to prepare, bringing out all the delicacies to entertain his senior brother. There was no need for stinginess.
As dinner began, a friend of his third senior brother arrived, Su Shanjun, dressed in white.
Lin Zhao also hosted him.
After a few rounds of drinks, Su Shanjun frowned and said, "Having unleashed two fifteenth-realm strikes at the cost of so much, how does it feel?"
"Exhilarating."
The man in green shirt smiled slightly and said, "I've never felt so exhilarated drawing my sword to strike at people in my life. Do you believe me?"
"I believe it."
Su Shanjun smiled slightly and said, "Back then, when I fought alongside Tang Yun, Su Xiran, and the Sword Ink Hermit, Lin Tu, it wasn't as exhilarating. Hmph... Lin Tu, Silver Fox, Fire Rat, a bunch of old cronies, where do they compare to the pleasure of fighting a fourteenth-realm Demon Ancestor and Demon Emperor, right?"
"Right, right, right!"
The man in green shirt laughed heartily, "Speaking of which, I really miss Yun'er and Xiran. I wonder how they are doing now."
"Who knows."
Su Shanjun smiled, "We are merely dreamers, how can we know the affairs of the mortal world."
Saying this, Su Shanjun glanced at Chen Yu, who was accompanying them for drinks. The princess of the Great Chen Dynasty's face was already flushed, slightly tipsy.
The man in green shirt, meanwhile, looked at his junior brother, his affection growing. If there was time and opportunity, with his junior brother's talent, he might become the only fifteenth-realm sword cultivator in heaven and earth. It was hard to say, but one could hold a little hope. After all, he had the Military Dao aura guarding his physical body, a trace of Confucian Dao aura from Qin Suihan residing in his mind, and most importantly, his heart was clear and pure. He liked who he liked, even if it was a secret crush. Such a person... was rare.
...
Deep in the night.
Su Shanjun, Chen Yu, Chu Huaixi, and the others had left.
Lin Zhao accompanied his senior brother on the pavilion in the backyard, appreciating the moon while enjoying some post-dinner tea.
"Do you want to be a Sword Immortal?" the man in green shirt asked with a smile.
"Yes..."
Lin Zhao did not hide his feelings.
"It's good that you do."
The man in green shirt, the sole fourteenth-realm Sword Immortal in the human world, smiled gently and turned to lightly place a hand on his junior brother's shoulder. "If you want to be a Sword Immortal, remember what Senior Brother has to say."
"Please, Senior Brother."
The man in green shirt raised his head, his eyes filled with pride, "For us Sword Immortals, our swords must be swift, our fists must be strong, and our bones must be hard. But above all, our hearts must be warm. Remember this, it's because Senior Brother has always kept this in mind that I achieved the realm of the only fourteenth-realm Sword Cultivator in heaven and earth."
"Understood! Senior Brother."
Lin Zhao frowned, as if remembering something. "That Su Shanjun... he seems very familiar with you. Who is he?"
"A departed soul."
The man in green shirt smiled faintly. "In other words, he was a very, very good friend of Senior Brother's. He passed away later, but lives on here as a wisp of his soul, and is Senior Brother's most cherished concern."
"Oh..."
Lin Zhao frowned. "Do those who have left think of us?"
"Yes!"
The man in green shirt said, "When we think of them, they must be thinking of us too."
Lin Zhao's nose twitched, and thinking of his father and mother, his eyes were immediately shrouded in a misty haze. "Actually, I miss Mother very much many times. I really want to see her again, but the adults in the small town say that once you're dead, you're dead. You'll never come back. Death means eternal separation."
"It's not like that."
The man in green shirt slightly bowed, extended a finger, and gently tapped Lin Zhao's chest, smiling. "Though they are gone, they live on here within us..."
Tears streamed down the young man's face.
The man in green shirt turned, his gaze fixed on the distant mountains and rivers, tears also streaming down his face.