In the early morning, the entire Snow Region Heavenly Pond was shrouded in a mist, obscuring visibility beyond a few dozen steps.
North Mountain Cliff.
A group of core members of the Crimson Moon Knights' Guild had arrived, and Lin Zhao was among them.
Shen Xingchen sat on the edge of the cliff, letting the spring breeze caress her beautiful face. She said, "The human armies have been slowly retreating these past few days, with the six town marshals successively withdrawing from the Snow Region Heavenly Pond. This has opened up a considerably large leveling map for players. The forces of the Demon, Devil, and Ghost races are still entrenched in the north, with scattered high-level monsters spawning around the edges of the military encampments, more than enough for players to gain experience."
Chen Xue nodded. "For the next period, the 100+ level players of our Crimson Moon Knights' Guild will focus on leveling in the Jiuzhangyuan area. With the Snow Region Heavenly Pond at our backs, we can advance or retreat as needed. We can also receive quests of varying levels from the NPC camp."
Ding Chi frowned, looking at Lin Zhao, and asked, "The demon race hasn't even begun a large-scale retreat yet, so why are the human armies withdrawing first?"
"Supply lines are failing."
Lin Zhao looked south. "The several large bridges on the Washing Sword River were destroyed in the last battle. The human supply of grain, fodder, and equipment via land routes to the north has been almost completely severed. It's impossible to maintain an army of over a million troops in the Snow Region Heavenly Pond. Moreover, the four northern races are unlikely to push south anytime soon; they are waiting."
"Waiting?"
Shen Xingchen's lips parted slightly. "Waiting for what?"
"Humanity's countermeasure."
Lin Zhao said calmly, "The demon race deployed two peak thirteenth-realm great demons and played a 'water and fire' strategy, inflicting such heavy casualties on humanity. As a courtesy, humanity's response shouldn't be far off."
"Mm."
Chen Xue nodded. "That makes sense. We players are not deeply involved, so our information is naturally not as comprehensive as yours. As the guild leader, you should indeed have an overall grasp of the situation. Although you can't be present at the guild's headquarters, you can still provide direction."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao smiled. "It's alright. Just go down the mountain to level up with peace of mind during this period. Everything will be fine."
"That's good then."
Shen Xingchen stood up and smiled. "The morning is the key to the day. Enough talk, let's head down the mountain to level up and continue to widen the gap in levels and equipment with other guilds."
"Brother."
Luo Man blinked her eyes. "Are you coming down the mountain to level with us?"
"No."
Lin Zhao smiled warmly at Luo Man. "You all go. I have something to think about up here."
"Mm!"
Luo Man didn't say anything more, turned, sword in hand, and walked down the mountain alongside Mo Chenxue.
...
Afternoon.
Lin Zhao was sitting by the lotus pond in front of the Natural Dwelling, fishing. Suddenly, the entire world went dark. He quickly stood up and looked to the east. In the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see, a beam of pure white light shot upwards, illuminating the entire human world, which had been dimmed. That radiant glow seemed to be a divine sword, ascending into the heavens, carrying the rumbling sound of the Great Dao!
Even the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently. In the sky, wisps of golden light all streamed eastward, as if the entire realm's sword qi fortune had been drawn towards it. Even a sword mountain behind the Snow Region Heavenly Pond seemed to have temporarily lost its divine charm.
"Buzz buzz buzz~~~"
Behind Lin Zhao, the Dragon Slaying Sword remained silent and unresponsive. However, another sword, the Sweet Spring, vibrated and hummed, as if feeling an urge to bow to the power from the east, almost unsheathing itself!
"You're pathetic."
Lin Zhao suddenly raised his hand and lightly pressed down on the hilt of the Sweet Spring. His entire body flowed with sword intent, calming it slightly. The Sweet Spring immediately quieted down.
A white-clad figure descended. Shu Zhi stood beside Lin Zhao and asked, "My lord, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Lin Zhao looked eastward. That single spark was rising into the sky, stirring the sword qi fortune of the entire world. In the distance, the swords of the Snow Region cavalry on the Snow Region Heavenly Pond were unsheathed, hovering dozens of feet in the air, their tips pointing east, as if paying homage to the person in that direction. These were merely the swords of warriors, not even sword cultivators, which demonstrated what that person meant to the world's swordsmanship.
"Finally..."
Shu Zhi pursed her red lips. Even her eyes were filled with deep admiration. "Another fourteenth-realm sword cultivator has emerged in the human world..."
"Indeed."
Lin Zhao frowned. "The commotion is a bit too grand."
He turned to look south. Above the dim sky of the human world, countless sword lights flickered, originating from sword sects, mountain gates, and the like in the mountains. For anyone carrying a sword below the fifth realm, their swords almost uncontrollably bowed eastward. Even in places Lin Zhao couldn't see, it was the same.
Fusu Great Wall.
Qin Yu stood on the wind-whipped battlements, his sword humming. He frowned slightly, and his sword intent enveloped it, causing the sword to cease its ringing. But behind Qin Yu, sword lights rose from within the city. The swords of sword cultivators below the fifth realm in the city had all ascended, each carrying a wisp of sword qi fortune, all being drawn towards the person in the East Sea.
The ancient city walls of the Fusu Great Wall, however, were utterly silent.
Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "Hmph, that brat is still sensible. The spiritual manifestation of the Fusu Great Wall is the Sword Saint's sword, Fusu Sword, rich in sword qi fortune. That brat didn't dare to siphon any of the Fusu Great Wall's fortune. Otherwise, if he were to absorb all the sword intent and sword qi contained within the Fusu Sword, his fourteenth realm would likely be even more stable."
But he clearly hadn't done so. After all, the Sword Saint, Ding Muchen, was also a fourteenth-realm sword cultivator, and moreover, he was from the military. For so many years, Ding Muchen hadn't descended, not even after Lin Zhao, the junior disciple, was reborn. One reason was that Ding Muchen had his own affairs to attend to in the Outer Heavens. Secondly, Ding Muchen was essentially paving the way for that person. After all, if Ding Muchen wasn't willing to yield the sword qi fortune of this world, that person would probably never even touch the threshold of the fourteenth realm.
Human cultivators had always been like this. Even in the military, Ding Muchen was an extremely reasonable person. Cultivation is personal, but the world is shared. Such individuals are called the backbone.
White Emperor City.
Sword lights ascended into the sky, and the daytime instantly turned into night. Consequently, many sword users who had been in seclusion and cultivating in White Emperor City emerged from their residences, looking up at the wondrous spectacle in the east.
On the top floor of the Listening Rain Tower, Cao Ying, who was in secluded cultivation to heal her injuries, couldn't help but feel a jolt in her heart. She had been nourishing her sword intent and absorbing the rich sword qi fortune within White Emperor City, but now she could no longer sense any sword qi fortune around her. The sword qi fortune of the human world seemed to have been completely depleted. She slowly stood up, drew her sword, and walked to the edge of the balcony, looking east with a slight frown.
There, a peak thirteenth-realm cultivator was breaking through. This fourteenth-realm cultivator would swallow a significant portion of the sword qi fortune accumulated by the human world over the past century. There was no way around it; the world was only so large, and fortune was limited. To put it bluntly, the human world could only support one fourteenth-realm cultivator, no more. Therefore, when this fourteenth-realm cultivator emerged and who would fill that role was as meticulously planned as a move on a chessboard.
Across the vast expanse of the human world, spanning tens of thousands of miles, various sword sects and mountain gates all craned their necks eastward. At this moment, the gaze of the entire human world was focused on the depths of the East Sea, all anticipating the birth of a human fourteenth-realm cultivator.
...
Demon Race, Ancestral Mountain.
At the summit of the mountains stood three figures. One was an old man in a grey long robe, the fourteenth-realm Demon Ancestor, the true epitome of the Great Dao for the entire demon race. Behind him were his two most trusted disciples: Man Yuan and Liu Bai. One had drained the demonic energy of the demon world, and the other had refined an entire river, the Ku Song River, and officially merged his Dao with its vast water fortune.
"It has begun."
The Demon Ancestor narrowed his eyes, looking at the sword light rising from the distant East Sea. He smiled and said, "What do you two think of this beam of sword light?"
"Very strong."
Man Yuan leaned on his Sun-Moon Water-Fire Staff, his eyes filled with untamed arrogance. He smiled and said, "But it's not as if he cannot be killed!"
Liu Bai's lips curled upwards. "Master, should Man Yuan and I go to the East Sea immediately and kill that brat, regardless of whether he has successfully broken through or not?"
"No rush."
The Demon Ancestor slowly waved his hand and smiled. "There might be human arrangements in the East Sea, and Man Yuan's injuries are severe and require time to heal. It will take time for that person to break through and come to the demon world. During this period, you two should diligently cultivate your demonic energy. I want you to face him in your strongest state. Preferably... lure him into the demon world and kill him. Even if half the demon world is destroyed, at least this hard-won sword qi fortune can be kept within the demon race. Then... perhaps I can deceive heaven and earth and cultivate a fourteenth-realm sword cultivator for the demon race."
"Yes, Master!"
The two disciples nodded in unison, but as they looked towards the east, their eyes were filled with intense fighting spirit and killing intent. In this world, the only ones truly worthy of being called their opponents, besides Ding Muchen of the Upper Realm, were likely the one in the East Sea.
...
"Boom—"
A thunderous explosion echoed across the East Sea. Countless wisps of sword qi fortune, which had transformed into clouds and mist, continuously descended, eventually forming a stream of colorful energy that was absorbed by a young, handsome sword cultivator on a lone island. After refining this potent sword qi fortune, his body rumbled, and he finally opened his fifth Sword Containing Lake. However... there was no time to refine a fifth natal flying sword, nor was it particularly necessary.
The human world was on the brink of upheaval. Almost everyone was waiting for his appearance; he couldn't keep them waiting too long.
He looked back. In the small wooden house, there were still many of his bottles and jars, iron pots, spoons, and porcelain bowls. They had accompanied him for so many years, and he felt a pang of reluctance!
Never mind, he'd fight first. If there was a chance later, he'd return to seclusion. After all, Yan Beichen wasn't someone who liked crowds.
...
As he stood up and rode a flying sword westward, trailing behind him was a vast sea of sword qi-like tide, carving a deep trench across the East Sea. He had become a true fourteenth-realm sword cultivator of the human world.