The windswept snow in the vast sky was fierce. Across the Myriad Mile Territory, everyone from noble families to common peddlers was shaken, and an uproar of disbelief swept the land. This was especially true for the major royal families and the Elders' Court.
No one could have imagined witnessing such a thing in their lifetime: a young man, not yet thirty, reaching sanctity in seven steps. First, he swept through the Chen Family, and then he shattered more than two thousand heavily armored elite soldiers with a single sword. He was like a fierce general on the battlefield, his sword sweeping in all directions, his momentum unstoppable.
Indeed, he was the Supreme Martial Commander, the War God of the State!
Were the glorious victories at Night Quiet Valley, Hundred Flowers Valley, and the recent decisive battle against the Barbarians not all achieved under his leadership, manifesting the might of Tianwu?
「Meanwhile, inside the Elders' Court.」
Luo Yunhai, who was always unflappable, could no longer maintain his usual composure. He paced back and forth in the courtyard, his face grim.
"To reach sanctity… what an unprecedentedly monstrous talent," he muttered.
Luo Yunhai's eyes were cold, his heart churning with unease. He knew that the higher Chen Yang's reputation rose, the more unstable his own position as Great Elder would become.
"Great Elder, in my opinion, there is no need to worry. Under the siege of the three major royal clans, he is bound to die today," a subordinate said in a sinister tone.
Huo Chuan stood to one side, remaining silent.
But what good would the death of such an unparalleled National Scholar do for the Martial Department or this land? With war approaching, we should recall him and restore his position as Supreme Martial Commander. If this Commander were here, the morale of the Martial Department would be completely renewed.
What a pity…
Huo Chuan shook his head inwardly. He knew Luo Yunhai would never allow it.
"Once he dies, his prestige will only soar. When that happens, will there be any room left for me, the Great Elder, in the eyes of these commoners? Or for Chen Jian, who is about to assume the role of Supreme Martial Commander?"
Luo Yunhai was keenly aware of the stakes. Chen Yang was a great mountain pressing down on them. If they didn't overcome it, they would forever be suppressed.
"Thus…" After a moment of contemplation, Luo Yunhai said, "Time this perfectly. As soon as the battle at the Qingyuan River ends, immediately release the news that conflict has broken out again in Hanyun Valley. Claim that the Mountain-backed King, Chen Jian, led his forces into battle, crushed the Barbarian Martial Guards, and slew over thirty thousand enemies in a great victory!
"Then, the Elders' Court will announce an on-the-spot battlefield promotion, appointing the Mountain-backed King, Chen Jian, as the new Supreme Martial Commander. He will lead the five armies and launch a full-scale counteroffensive!"
"As you command!"
The subordinate, Zhao Hui, saluted and then chuckled. "A brilliant move, Great Elder! This will not only diminish Chen Yang's influence to its lowest point but also make the Mountain-backed King's ascension seem perfectly natural."
"But, Great Elder," Huo Chuan interjected, "there is no battle in Hanyun Valley yet. Is such a fabrication appropriate?"
"What is inappropriate about it?" Before Luo Yunhai could speak, Zhao Hui rebuked coldly, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! War is upon us, and the Martial Department cannot be without a commander for a single day!
"Besides, is anything more important than the unity of the Martial Department?"
Huo Chuan fell silent, sighing to himself. How could the Great Elder of the Martial Department act so recklessly?
"Just do it," Luo Yunhai said coolly, giving Huo Chuan one last, deep look before turning to leave.
"Yes, Great Elder!"
***
At this moment, the sky, laden with rushing winds and snow under oppressive, dark clouds, was heavy with gloom. Over the Qingyuan River, the biting cold wind howled like a knife.
Like a swift arrow, Chen Yang crossed the eight-hundred-meter-wide Qingyuan River under the watchful eyes of all, continuing until he reached its center.
There, an old man stood on a piece of driftwood. Wearing a conical hat and a straw rain cape, he looked like a fisherman, yet he was carefully wiping a long spear with a piece of silk. It was a broken spear, its tip riddled with notches, yet it shone with a starlight brilliance, as if recounting glorious battles of the past. Beneath the rain cape, he wore a set of aged blue robes. The words "Tang Imperial Family" were faintly visible on the chest.
A liquor flask hung from the old man's waist. After wiping the spear for a time, he raised the flask and began to drink leisurely. After taking three sips, he slowly raised his head to gaze at the darkened sky, allowing the wind and snow to lash his face, which resembled dried orange peel. His wizened eyes were as deep as an abyss.
He raised the liquor flask once more, but before he could take a sip, it silently exploded in his hands.
The old man lowered his eyelids, his gaze narrowing as he looked out across the river. Several hundred meters away, a figure was advancing by stepping on reeds, breaking through the waves so swiftly that a vast mist rose behind him, like a tempestuous dragon crossing the river.
Chen Yang slowed his pace, his gaze fixed.
When the distance between them shrank to less than a hundred meters, the old man spoke, his voice indifferent. "I am Tang Renli. I have been wandering for years. I heard that my brother, Tang Renfeng, died at your hands, so I came here today.
"It is said that noble families are as deep as the ocean. In the vast Tang Family, only my brother, Tang Renfeng, ever treated me with genuine kindness. But you killed him."
The old man, Tang Renli, slowly straightened his back. Holding the broken spear, he said unhurriedly, "Therefore, today I must kill you."
"You can't kill me."
A detached smile touched Tang Renli's lips, his withered eyes seeming to see through the mortal world. "How would we know without a fight?"
Chen Yang nodded. Holding his sword in one hand, he quietly regarded this old man who had long ago reached sanctity, a hint of complexity in his eyes.
BOOM!
A moment later, two white wakes were drawn across the churning surface of the river as the distance between them shortened rapidly. A sword and a spear, like arrows shooting across the sky, tore through the wind and snow.
Twenty meters. Ten meters.
At five meters, Chen Yang twisted his wrist, and a faint golden sword light suddenly flashed. Before Tang Renli could react, another sharp aura ripped through the air, rapidly closing in.
HISS!
Tang Renli gasped. Just as he thrust out the broken spear, the body of the Traveling Dragon Sword surged forward and slapped against his chest.
BANG!
In that same instant, Chen Yang brushed past him.
Tang Renli's ribs broke, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. As he gripped the long spear to change its direction, a sword's edge grazed his cheek with a whistling roar.
"This…"
He staggered back several steps, his face ashen. The moment he lifted his head, he saw Chen Yang's speed was unabated as he shattered the wind and snow. The next moment, sword pointed toward the southern sky, he grew ever more distant.
Tang Renli stood stunned, reaching up to touch his cheek. A trickle of blood seeped out. If that had been off by just a few millimeters… would my head have been split in two?
"You… you actually spared me. Are you pitying me?"
Still trembling from his narrow escape, Tang Renli gave a bitter laugh. His entire being visibly slumped. He sat down cross-legged on the driftwood, propping himself up with the broken spear as he drifted with the current.
「On the other side of the Qingyuan River.」
With one hand behind his back and the other clutching a saber dripping with blood, Dugu Hanxiao advised, "Chen Hua, I urge you not to persist in your folly."
Chen Hua stood up ramrod straight, his body tense. As his right hand gripped his spear, a palpable killing aura instantly suffused the sky.
"If you didn't have skeletons in your closet, why would you fear Chen Yang's rise?" Chen Hua's eyebrows twitched as he swept out with his war spear. "FIGHT!"
"Since you insist, I'll kill you before I cross the river."
As the distance between them closed to less than a hundred meters, Dugu Hanxiao struck.
BOOM!
A peal of thunder echoed across the sky. Immediately after, a flash of blade-light sliced through the air above the eight-hundred-meter-wide Qingyuan River, carving a deep chasm in the water below.
One slash.
The eight-hundred-meter-wide Qingyuan River was cleaved in two.