"I was also sent flying by Yue Ling with a punch just now..."
Lin Zhao didn't look at Han Buyu, but simply smiled and said, "It's all shameful, I'll be ashamed with Old Sword Immortal Han."
Saying that, he took out a pot of wine and threw it to Han Buyu.
This kid's words were not pleasant to hear, but they did make Han Buyu's originally ashamed heart feel a little better. After taking the wine, Han Buyu tilted his head and drank several mouthfuls. He had lived for hundreds of years, and only this sip of wine could bring him a little solace.
Lin Zhao also took out a pot of wine and drank a little with him, saying, "You've never told me why you were so determined to kill demons in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. If I may say so, there are many sword cultivators in the world, but not many are willing to wait for death in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool."
"It's nothing..."
Han Buyu looked at the horizon and smiled, "Some things are not worth mentioning. Shopkeeper San, why don't you tell me why you are killing demons in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool? With your abilities, being a Military Governor in the Great Shang Dynasty would be more than enough."
"Can't help it."
Lin Zhao wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and smiled, "I was born in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. If I don't kill demons, I will be killed by demons. Moreover, my father died at the hands of demons. As a son inherits his father's legacy, I have to kill demons no matter what!"
Han Buyu laughed heartily.
After a while, Lin Zhao said in a low voice, "Actually, I think Old Sword Immortal Han has a chance to advance further and reach the Upper Five Realms."
"It's not that easy. The Upper Five Realms are as difficult as climbing to heaven!"
Han Buyu smiled, "I'm afraid there's no hope in this life~~~"
"It's still a matter of state of mind."
Lin Zhao smiled, "But the old sword immortal's inner demons can only be cut by the old sword immortal himself. I, an outsider, can't do anything about it."
"Mm."
Han Buyu smiled, "Alright, Shopkeeper San is the lord of the three armies of the Snow Domain Army. There are many things to do. There's no need to comfort an old man like me here. Go and be busy."
"Okay."
Lin Zhao left.
Han Buyu then soared into the sky and sat on the clouds, looking to the north. He was now a god of wind and rain, but in the past few decades, he had still drawn his sword to kill demons. The demon cultivators who died under his sword were no less than eight hundred, if not a thousand. This was not a good thing for a god of wind and rain, as he had incurred too much karma, but there was no other way.
He closed his eyes, and it was as if he could see his wife lying in a pool of blood, and recall the scene of his daughter's body being torn into more than ten pieces by the sharp claws of that great demon. At that time, Han Buyu, crying bitterly, lay on the ground trying to pick up his daughter's corpse. The fragments of his daughter became the inner demons in his heart.
It was true that Han Buyu wielded his sword to kill demons, but in his heart, he deeply feared the Upper Five Realms great demons. Facing the Upper Five Realms, Han Buyu almost had no courage to even draw his sword. What qualifications did such a person have to glimpse the glory of the Upper Five Realms?
He sat on the clouds, drinking wine, tears streaming down his face, "My little one, father is a useless person. I'm afraid I'll never have a chance to avenge you in this life..."
That great demon was named Lu Hai.
The great demon had come to Snow Domain Heavenly Pool three times, but Han Buyu had not drawn his sword once.
...
At the end of the mortal realm, amidst a mountain range shrouded in mist.
The ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs, with a continuous chain of palaces nestled among the white clouds. At every turn, colossal stone statues pierced the clouds, each being a statue of a sage of the School of Military Affairs from ancient times to the present.
Deep within the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs, a magnificent ancient blue palace stood tall. The killing intent and sage aura within this palace were the most concentrated in the entire ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs.
The Martial Temple, where the Four Saints, Ten Sages, and Seventy-two Generals of the School of Military Affairs were enshrined.
In front of the Martial Temple, a somewhat disheveled man, carrying a sword on his back, wearing a blue tunic, knelt before the Martial Temple. He dared not get up for a long time, and his entire body trembled.
The crime of betraying one's master and ancestors awaited only a word from the Military Sage to decide his fate.
Tang Guangjun, a sword cultivator of the twelfth realm of the School of Military Affairs, was a disciple of Li Xin, one of the Seventy-two Generals of the Martial Temple. However, not long ago, a few words spoken by Tang Guangjun had angered his master Li Xin, who in his rage had dissolved himself and departed.
Those words had spread widely throughout the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs.
"You, Li Xin, are just a doorkeeper in the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs. Who would take you, a tenth-realm cultivator, seriously? Did that great defeat at the hands of Xiang Yan really become your inner demon? You can't get out of the mere Star River Realm in this life? Look carefully, your disciple Tang Guangjun is now a twelfth-realm sword cultivator. In the entire School of Military Affairs, there are only a handful of people who can match my sword, Tang Guangjun. If you don't cut your inner demon now, when will you? Are you waiting for others to laugh at our lineage?"
As a result, Li Xin was also a man who cared about his reputation. Although he had been a capable warrior in his life, he had always been unable to cut his own inner demon, and had been stuck in the Star River Realm for many years without being able to advance further. Being provoked like this by Tang Guangjun, he spat blood in anger, and three days later, he dissolved himself and departed.
There was a rule in the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs: the ranking of disciples within the ancestral land could not surpass that of their masters.
Tang Guangjun was determined to advance. He had no choice but to send off this master.
Now, Tang Guangjun knelt outside the Martial Temple, feeling no remorse whatsoever. Why should he feel remorse? Tang Guangjun possessed extraordinary talent, becoming a twelfth-realm sword cultivator in less than two hundred years. Was that his fault? It was only because the old man was incompetent. Otherwise, Tang Guangjun would have long been ranked among the Seventy-two Generals of the Martial Temple. If he had made some more military achievements, he might have even hoped for a position among the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple. After all, those old fellows had occupied their positions for too long, and it was time for a change.
At this moment, a figure emerged from the Martial Temple, dressed in a blue tunic. With every step, he exuded a dense sword intent. Looking across the world, such a dense sword intent could only belong to one sect, a fourteenth-realm sword cultivator, the Military Sage Ding Muchen.
Beside the guest in blue was a sage of the School of Military Affairs, dressed in a gray and white tunic, known as "Mou," one of the Four Saints of the School of Military Affairs.
"Hmph!"
Sage Mou glanced at Tang Guangjun, who was kneeling outside, and sneered, "Still kneeling? Feeling guilty?"
Tang Guangjun repeatedly kowtowed, "Guilty, guilty... infinitely guilty in my heart..."
"Then why don't you find a harder mountain peak and dash your head against it?"
"Sage Mou..."
Tang Guangjun gritted his teeth, suppressing the arrogance within him. He didn't dare to think ill of Sage Mou, otherwise, he would have cursed all the people with the surname Zhang in the world. He frowned, "Tang Guangjun requests to be punished!"
"Hmph!"
Sage Mou sneered, "The ancestral land is not my domain to command. How could I have the authority to punish you, the great sword immortal Tang!"
Tang Guangjun's scalp tingled. In the entire ancestral land, he disliked talking to Sage Mou the most. Logically speaking, Sage Mou's planning of dynastic changes back then had avenged Tang Guangjun's lineage. However, he really couldn't talk to him. Every word was laced with sarcasm. Thus, Tang Guangjun looked at the head of the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs, the fourteenth-realm Military Sage.
"Sect Leader, I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong."
"You know nothing."
The guest in blue grinned, "You're probably thinking that now that the old man is dead, you have a chance to replace him and be ranked among the Seventy-two Generals of the Martial Temple, right? I'm telling you, there's no chance. As long as I, Ding Muchen, am in charge of the ancestral land, you'll have no chance."
Tang Guangjun's heart was shocked, "Then... how does the Sect Leader intend to punish me?"
"I'll choose a better place for you."
The guest in blue smiled, "The ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs is located in the crevice between the upper and lower realms, almost completely isolated from the mortal world. Since you, Tang Guangjun, think you're so great and can't stay in the ancestral land of the School of Military Affairs any longer, why don't you go to the mortal world? Experience the suffering of all beings, feel the fireworks of the mortal world, and temper your arrogant and ungrounded nature."
"The Sect Leader means..."
Before he could finish speaking, the guest in blue stepped forward and sent a strand of majestic sword intent into Tang Guangjun's heavenly spirit with his index and middle fingers together. Tang Guangjun, despite being a twelfth-realm sword cultivator, was unable to resist, and was even immobilized by the opponent's sword intent. He could only watch helplessly as the strand of majestic sword energy was sent into his skull, transforming into a golden imprint.
"Sect Leader, you..."
Tang Guangjun was greatly alarmed.
The guest in blue smiled faintly, "To temper your nature, of course, you need to wear a restraining spell. I order you to go to the mortal world and serve as the gatekeeper of Snow Domain Heavenly Pool for ten years, with no disobedience allowed. Naturally, I have planted a Sword Heart imprint on you. It would only take a thought to kill you from the ancestral land!"
"Sect Leader..."
Tang Guangjun was drenched in sweat, and repeatedly kowtowed, "I would never dare to disobey in the slightest!"
The guest in blue smiled, "Lin Zhao, who is now in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, is my junior disciple. Go, be his gatekeeper for ten years. You must obey his every word, learn how to be a person from him, respect him as your master, and show no disrespect. If you dare to spit behind my junior disciple's back, you will die! Also, the School of Military Affairs kills without incurring karma. You should know what to do, and what not to do."
Tang Guangjun was sweating profusely and retreated on his knees. Where was this person the Military Sage? With his fourteenth-realm sword cultivator cultivation and his conduct, this was simply a nightmare for Tang Guangjun!
However, he was actually quite good to that junior disciple...
Sage Mou narrowed his eyes. This move was still somewhat impressive.
...
Evening.
Lin Zhao rode his horse to the south side of Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, observed the construction progress of the Mountain Lord Shrine, which was proceeding smoothly, then got on his horse and ascended a hill, gazing into the distance to the south. There were many people he cared about there. In Fusu Great Wall, there were Lin Wanhua, Liu Xilong, Ye Lin, Qin Yu, and Qin Yu's troublesome son, Qin Ran. Further south, in Shanhaiguan, there was Han Yetang, followed by Tianji City, where Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Luo Man, and a group of people important to him resided. Further south, in the city of Changle, there was a girl who liked him, named Leng.
Actually, Lin Zhao also liked Leng, but he felt he was not worthy.
He sighed. No matter what, he couldn't be a kept man, could he? His stomach was actually quite good, so he had to work harder. A man born in troubled times, cultivate himself, manage his family, govern the country, and pacify the world. None of these could be lacking. Only when all these qualities were possessed could he be worthy of the most exceptional Leng.
He looked up at the south again. Countless mountain peaks. He didn't know which mountain was Changming Mountain. Now, the mountain lord of Changming Mountain was his little Jiu'er. He wondered when she would come to Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. When they met again, would Jiu'er have become a twelfth-realm Great Sword Immortal Su Qingjiu? What would that scene be like? Jiu'er was cute when she was a child, and she should be a beautiful girl when she grew up, right?
The thought of seeing Jiu'er made him smile again.
However, there was no news from the young soldiers of the Prime Minister's mansion back then. He wondered how Xiao Shitout was doing.
...
As he was thinking about Xiao Shitout, a disheveled man with an ancient, clumsy long sword on his back ascended the mountain, leaning on a walking stick, panting, with a sallow complexion. He cupped his fists towards Lin Zhao and grinned, "This humble one, Tang Guangjun, may I ask if you are the lord of Heavenly Pool Mountain?"