The call to arms for the Human Race's counterattack has been sounded.
This great war was inevitable, and death became the norm.
Dawn Pass, Dawn City.
Despite its name, the place is extremely dilapidated, with collapsed houses, shops set up with tents, and no roads. People can only walk on paths made of pebbles.
Li Chen had imagined himself coming here, because this was the place where his parents had died. Now he had traversed Four Passes and knew the horrors and rules of each one, but he had never imagined coming here in this way.
Suspended directly below the pass, Li Chen leaped to the top of Dawn Pass, where two people were already waiting for him.
Jianping, dressed in a red robe, stood in the windy spot, quietly watching Li Chen, as if all the words he wanted to say had been swallowed back down.
Calm... there is only calm.
At this moment, the woman beside her said in a deep voice, "Eerie Lord Li Chen... no, let's just call you 'Li Chen'."
"Did you really do what happened in Huizhou City?"
Li Chen remained silent for a few seconds, then said in an unusually cold tone, "So what if it is, so what if it isn't? The whole world already knows the answer you want, and I don't need to answer it."
That is the truth.
The woman was about to speak again when Jianping interrupted her, his tone flat and emotionless. "Mu Ziyu, listen to my command. Return to Sword Mountain now. Nothing that happened here today has occurred."
Mu Ziyu bit her lip, somewhat unwilling, but still turned around and jumped off the hundred-zhang-high pass.
Now only two people remain.
There was a long silence... until a gust of wind blew, splashing red and black robes.
Their Demon Blades clashed.
Black thunder surged through the air.
The clouds in the sky were churning upwards.
Many people below noticed this scene and assumed it was another contest between powerful individuals.
Unlike other passes, Dawn Pass only believes in the rule of the strong, and whether they are bounty hunters or Sequence User, they all follow this rule.
Below, spittle was flying everywhere, and there was a great deal of discussion.
"Holy crap, which big shots are fighting in the gates again?"
"This place just won't let up for a single day!"
"Does it mean they want Dawn Pass to be destroyed like those two other passes?"
"Eh..."
A very small number of people viewed the situation rationally, but some were fearless and wanted to go up to observe, only to be stopped by a man wearing a half-face red mask wielding two swords.
"Hey, even Jian En wouldn't treat someone like this, would he?"
"We just want to go up and watch the show; we're not going to get involved. Is that a problem?"
"No..." Jian En took a step forward, and in an instant, the world changed color, as if the whole world began to flicker with red light.
Upon seeing this, the men's expressions changed drastically. They muttered a few curses under their breath and quickly scrambled away.
Jian En didn't give chase. A barely perceptible glint of expectation flashed in his eyes as he slowly looked up at the pass above, murmuring, "Let go of the past; it will only obscure the future."
"Whether in the past or now, only by severing everything can one possibly become a master of the supreme Sword Dao."
"Countless people spend their entire lives only reaching the Withered Sea Realm because their hearts are not strong enough. Only those with strong hearts can become powerful. Mental state is the most crucial step to stepping into the Calamity Realm, but it is also the most difficult step."
"The raging wind guides your junior brother; the sword's power grows ever stronger with each strike."
The battle above continues.
Jianping's Demon Blade attacked Li Chen like a blur, each step a deadly move, but it was precisely this that made his attacks so decisive and swift.
"It's been a long time, indeed a long time." Li Chen casually deflected his attack.
The two are now at completely different levels. He has climbed to the peak of the Calamity Realm by absorbing a large number of Forbidden realms, while Jianping is at the Withered Sea Realm. This is because he needs to hone his Sword Dao, unlike Li Chen and Su Zhe who cultivate through energy. It can be said that sword cultivators, those who use cold weapons, have been stuck at the Withered Sea Realm for a long time.
Once you step into the Withered Sea Realm, you can almost crush Sequence User of the same level under your feet, provided, of course, that the cultivator has the perseverance to do so.
Jianping was the most hardworking member of their group, because his talent was never strong, only at the C-level Comprehension, but it was exceptionally good in him. While others were eating, drinking and having fun, he was observing Sword Dao; while others were working hard, he was also working hard.
This is Jianping. Although he doesn't have great talent, his perseverance is what sword cultivators need most.
"It has indeed been a long time." Jianping stared into Li Chen's deep, ink-black eyes and replied softly, "But when we first met, an invisible chasm had already been drawn between us."
"I once thought that when I was strong enough, I could protect everything I cherished, but I gradually realized that Fate is unchangeable, and you may be the obstacle destined for me."
"When Master insisted on sending me to Canglan, I had questions and doubts. But then I saw you, saw your growth, saw you step by step walking into the abyss, into the opposite side of the world. I knew I couldn't stop you; I could only silently observe everything."
"Because we're fundamentally different people."
Li Chen fell silent...
He's right. Perhaps their meeting was an accident. If he hadn't chosen Canglan and hadn't met Jianping, perhaps he wouldn't be talking about the past like this now. There are too many people in this world who are not in control of their own lives, and they are naturally one of them.
My stance changed after I took that step.
They are human, while I am a half-human, half-monster being, an existence that the Human Race cannot tolerate. Perhaps I have already changed.
Swords flashed and shadows danced, sword energy flew everywhere.
Li Chen had never fought Jianping before, and Jianping had never fought so seriously before.
The fighting intensified.
Many of Jianping's sword energies even spilled into the city, causing many people to gasp and scream.
It hasn't stopped yet.
Li Chen's deep eyes surveyed everything, his voice slightly hoarse as he said, "Friends, family, brothers—what wonderful words... But these belong to you. The world calls me the Fallen, the Eerie Lord, the Source of All Evil, the Eerie Monsters, but who knows that my parents perished here at Dawn Pass, sacrificing their lives for Human Race..."
"Of course I regret it, but I accept my Fate. I think I should die on the road to pursuing freedom, rather than dying amidst the curses and slander of the world."
"The world deceives us of the truth, I will seek the truth, I will break free of the cage, I will defeat those unknown beings, I will be the only one, I am who I am, I am the Eerie Lord."