Chapter 73 : Comprehension, Transformation of the Sword Heart

Chapter 73: Comprehension, Transformation of the Sword Heart

The moment those words fell, the entire Qingzhou City once again sank into dead silence.

Countless people revealed expressions of despair.

Three Demon Kings—no matter how strong the Sword Saint was, it was impossible for him to withstand them.

And in all of Qingzhou, there was only one Profound Realm Grandmaster—the Sword Saint. It was simply impossible to stop three Demon Kings from wreaking havoc.

This was an unsolvable dead end. Once the three Demon Kings erupted, everyone would die.

“The son of the Three-Headed Profound Serpent?”

The Sword Saint of Cangshan suddenly recalled the demon he had casually slain a few days ago—one of them had indeed been a small snake.

However, he felt no regret.

Since it dared to infiltrate a human city, its death was its own doing.

Moreover, for humans to kill demons was only natural.

Just as demons treated humans as food, peaceful coexistence was impossible.

“If I fight to the death, I can kill one of you—and severely wound another!”

“You… which one will die first?”

The Sword Saint spoke, his aura surging ever more violently, murderous intent reaching the heavens.

His entire being seemed to transform into a towering sword, its sharpness shaking the world.

With those words, Qingzhou City fell silent for an instant. A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the eyes of countless soldiers, as battle intent began to gather.

Who was the Sword Saint?

For twenty years, he had slain demons and never once spoken empty boasts.

Since he said it, he could certainly do it—Qingzhou still had a chance.

Hearing his words, the three Demon Kings fell silent, their eyes widening as they stared directly at him.

The Sword Saint had guarded Great Azure Mountain for twenty years, slaughtering demons—how could they not know his strength?

Even at the peak of the Qi Realm, he had dared to fight the Three-Headed Profound Serpent and had even injured it.

That was crossing realms to fight—his strength was beyond doubt.

Now that he had broken through and become a Profound Realm Grandmaster, he would only be more terrifying.

“No need to fight to the death!”

“We can exhaust him to death!”

“Let the demons attack the city first—let him watch Qingzhou fall with his own eyes!”

The Three-Headed Profound Serpent spoke, its voice like thunder, instantly steadying the other two Demon Kings.

As long as they did not fight him head-on, could three Demon Kings not wear down a single human?

By then, everyone in this city would become their food—and their opportunity to grow stronger.

At that moment, all three Demon Kings were stirred, with no intention of retreating.

They had come to devour humans and increase their strength. Now that victory was almost certain, who would choose to withdraw?

Seeing this, the Sword Saint fell silent.

Indeed—he could fulfill his words if he fought to the death. But if the three Demon Kings refused to engage directly and only sought to exhaust him—

Even risking his life, he would not be able to kill them.

And across Qingzhou City, the battle intent that had just begun to gather among the soldiers instantly fell to the bottom once more.

With three Demon Kings acting together like this, even without directly attacking, the hundreds of thousands of demons alone would plunge Qingzhou into a bitter struggle.

The destruction of Qingzhou was no empty claim.

Even worse, with such delay, even the Sword Saint might fall here.

“Fate… and destiny!”

On Mingxin Lake, Old Master Qin sighed softly, his gaze calm as he looked toward his descendants.

“Today is my one hundred and twentieth birthday.”

“I thought I would pass away quietly after this.”

“But now, the timing is just right—let this old body of mine fight one last battle for the Qin Family and for Qingzhou!”

As he spoke, Old Master Qin stepped forward. Around him, it seemed as though ancient trees rose into existence.

Perfected Azure Wood Intent erupted completely at this moment.

And because of his state of mind, he faintly touched upon the level of ‘Momentum’.

“Ancestor!”

The Qin Family descendants cried out in unison, grief filling their eyes—they clearly understood his intention.

The lifespan limit of the Qi Realm was one hundred and twenty years. Even though the ancestor was powerful, he could not break that limit.

Without this event, after his birthday, he would likely pass away soon.

But now, with demons attacking the city—this was an opportunity.

Using his remaining body to exchange for a sliver of survival for Qingzhou—if successful, the Qin Family would rise again.

At this moment, the others present all grew solemn.

“Heaven does not forsake the Qin Family!”

The Zhou Family’s elder’s eyes flickered, yet no one moved to stop him.

“Buzz!”

Old Master Qin’s body trembled slightly. The ground beneath him cracked, and he rose into the air.

His lips moved. His aged voice, wrapped in True Qi, reached the Sword Saint:

“Sword Saint senior, I can hold the three Demon Kings for a moment—please give it your all!”

The moment he finished speaking, Old Master Qin roared, his voice resounding through Qingzhou City.

“Humans and demons cannot coexist!”

“If we are to die, then we will drag the demons down with us!”

“My human race has no cowards!”

With those words, countless gazes turned from all directions toward the sky.

Even the silent Sword Saint instinctively turned his head.

All saw Old Master Qin’s aura boil over, his blood and vitality surging, all transforming into True Qi.

In an instant, his body withered like dried wood.

Yet his Azure Wood Intent, fueled by the surging True Qi, erupted violently.

It was as if countless green vines, each as thick as a human waist, shot into the sky, charging straight toward the three Demon Kings.

“Qin Family’s Azure Wood Art—desperate secret technique!”

Seeing this, everyone understood what he intended to do.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…”

Though the intent was intangible, at this moment it seemed to take form. Vines shot upward, binding toward the three Demon Kings.

It even faintly drew upon a trace of the momentum of heaven and earth.

“Hahaha… so this is Momentum!”

Old Master Qin laughed loudly, with the joy of hearing the Dao in the morning and dying without regret.

After that laughter, life left his body. Like a stone, he fell toward the ground.

But the vines filling the sky seemed to gain life.

In an instant, they wrapped around the three Demon Kings like a massive cage, rapidly tightening.

Yet under the immense strength of the Demon Kings, they began to snap and collapse.

Without reaching the Profound Realm, to restrain three Demon Kings even for a moment was already beyond imagination.

“Clang!”

At that moment, the Sword Saint of Cangshan moved.

Grasping the opportunity, the longsword in his hand slashed out.

At that instant, everyone seemed to see an endless mountain range merging with boundless sword light.

With an unstoppable momentum—advancing without retreat even unto shattering—it burst forth.

Endless True Qi surged as a sword light, like the splitting of heaven and earth, erupted with infinite brilliance.

It shone brighter than the sun, tearing the sky apart.

Everyone saw the void itself split like soft tofu beneath that radiant sword light.

“Puchi…”

The sword light flashed past, piercing through the position of the three Demon Kings and disappearing into the void.

In that instant, a rain of blood poured from the sky.

Then came three terrified roars, like thunder tearing through the heavens, unleashing violent winds.

“Boom!”

As the dust dispersed, terrifying wounds appeared on all three Demon Kings—bones shattered, internal organs nearly exposed.

One of the Three-Headed Profound Serpent’s heads had even been nearly severed.

Only half remained, hanging by flesh and sinew from its neck.

“As expected… not enough to kill them?”

The Sword Saint stood with his sword, his body swaying slightly, his aura rapidly declining—yet he showed no sign of weakness.

His murderous intent still soared to the heavens.

A single strike against three Demon Kings could not kill them—only severely wound them.

If he had targeted only one, he could have killed it outright. But with three present, wounding all three was more effective.

Only in this way could he deter them.

Otherwise, after that strike, he would have no strength to stop them—and the Demon Kings would devour all of Qingzhou.

“Rumble…”

The three Demon Kings retreated in shock, winds and clouds churning as blood rained down.

Only after retreating beyond the city did they stop, staring in disbelief at the Sword Saint still standing in the sky.

At that moment, the entire Qingzhou City erupted in thunderous cheers, as boundless battle intent gathered once more.

“If we must die, then we will drag the demons down with us!”

“We fight to the death without retreat!”

“The demons are not invincible!”

“The opportunity bought with City Lord Qin’s life—we must not waste it!”

Roars shook the heavens, battle intent surging as they faced the hundreds of thousands of demons.

The retreat of the Demon Kings brought hope to the entire city.

And Old Master Qin’s sacrifice completely ignited the blood and fighting spirit of all.

Seeing this, the Sword Saint and the various great families all let out slight sighs of relief.

Looking at Old Master Qin’s lifeless, withered body, they all lowered their heads slightly.

These successive events also brought faint realization to Li Yunqing.

Old Master Qin had stepped forward for the Qin Family, and to ignite the spirit of the entire city.

After this battle, the Qin Family’s prestige would undoubtedly rise further.

They might even receive imperial rewards from the Great Yu Imperial Dynasty.

With a body near the end of its lifespan, he exchanged his death for the family’s future glory, for the battle spirit of the entire city, and even for a sliver of survival.

Such actions would elevate the Qin Family to greater heights.

“For a family to prosper—it is never without reason.”

Li Yunqing sighed inwardly, her heart stirred.

In the past, she had felt dissatisfaction toward great families and clans.

But at the root of it—perhaps it was only because she was not part of one.

Was the rise of these great families truly just luck?

No. It was opportunities fought for, generation after generation, with their lives.

She suddenly understood why her father had wanted her to marry into a great family—it too was for an opportunity.

Even at this birthday banquet, the daughters of smaller families, like herself, had all dressed elaborately.

Was it not also to climb into great families?

Even knowing their families raised them only to “sell” them for a good price, they still accepted it.

“Survival of the fittest—this entire era is climbing upward!”

Understanding all this, endless thoughts and realizations surged through Li Yunqing’s mind.

The war between humans and demons, the struggle against evil gods—was it not also survival of the fittest between races?

The conflicts between individuals, small families, and great clans were the same.

Only with sufficient power and influence could one obtain more resources to nurture future generations.

To gain more talented women, to produce stronger descendants, to make the strong even stronger.

And for women—to be more beautiful, to marry better husbands—was that not also survival of the fittest?

“Such is the world… if you do not advance, you die.”

“And if I do not wish to follow this path, then I can only go against it—against heaven and earth themselves.”

“It is not only about slaughter and destruction—but about breaking the invisible order of this world!”

“My sword is not yet sharp enough!”

“I have compromised before… my conviction is not yet firm enough!”

Her gaze fell upon Old Master Qin’s withered corpse, and in that instant, she understood.

If one wished to succeed, there could be no retreat—one must risk everything.

“If others can gamble, why can’t I?”

“To live in this era—if I do not wish to marry, do not wish to be touched—then I must carry the resolve to live toward death with my sword.”

“Under my sword, all beings are equal—and even the rules and order of this world must be made equal!”

“With one strike, all things under heaven shall be destroyed!”

“Even the laws of order must be destroyed!”

“All things must give way to my will!”

“This… is the Sword Heart of Destruction!”

Li Yunqing slowly closed her eyes.

All her past experiences, along with everything she had seen today, transformed into endless thoughts and insights, converging together.

The Sword Heart within her brow trembled slightly, humming as strands of seven-colored light began to shine.

Along with it, her mind and spiritual will underwent transformation.

Before her eyes, a line of text appeared:

“Your Sword Heart has undergone transformation.”

“Frost Sword Intent: Mastery (25% → 50%)”

“Yin Spirit: Minor Completion (92% → 100%)”

“Yin Spirit has reached Mastery.”