They had lost!
For a time, nearly everyone who heard the news fell silent.
Countless people were so shaken by the news that they did not know what to say.
The clash between blade and spear.
In this world, it held extraordinary meaning.
It was a battle between true peak figures.
One blade, one spear—one was the greatest under heaven, and the other was the second greatest under heaven.
They occupied the top ranks of the Cloud Top Weapon Compendium.
In truth, the battle between the two was a struggle for the position of the greatest under heaven.
But there was another, deeper reason: the blade belonged to the Guardians.
And the spear belonged to the Sole True Sect! For countless years, the blade had always suppressed the spear. That was also the source of confidence for all orthodox martial artists across the continent.
But now, the blade had lost by a move.
The news was practically the collapse of the heavens!...
The Cloud Top Weapon Compendium's number one: the Emotion Severing Blade.
The blade of the Mortal World Dream within dreams and beyond dreams, severing emotion and breaking intent, never carefree; who suffers from the tears in the wind, while atop the clouds, the heartless snow plays its flute.—the Emotion Severing Blade, Xue Fuxiao.
The Cloud Top Weapon Compendium's White Bone Dream Shattering Spear. Ranked second! The White Bone Spear on a lonely boat in a sea of blood, cutting off the setting sun amid bitter winds and rain; piercing through the mortal world's myriad dreams, shattering them into a single fragrant petal on the spear tip.—the Dream Shattering Spear, Duan Xiyang.
It was said that this time, the White Bone Spear, Duan Xiyang, had first issued a challenge at Purple Moon Peak.
Xue Fuxiao refused to accept the challenge.
So the White Bone Spear, Duan Xiyang, suddenly attacked. Within three days, he slaughtered three border cities in succession, killing more than two million civilians!
"Xue Fuxiao, for every day you refuse to act, I will slaughter one city!"
Xue Fuxiao angrily accepted the challenge.
The two sides set the terms of the battle: if Duan Xiyang won, the Sole True Sect would establish a nation, and the Guardians would not interfere.
If Xue Fuxiao won, the Sole True Sect would lie low for five hundred years.
For five hundred years, they could only operate in secret. They could hold no sacrifices, slaughter no civilians, and carry out no acts of terror on the continent.
This agreement left Xue Fuxiao no way to retreat!...
The Sole True Sect had plotted to establish a nation countless times, infiltrating the various countries across the continent again and again, and had even established an army long ago.
But each time, they had been crushed by the Guardians.
The Emotion Severing Blade, Xue Fuxiao, stood high above the clouds in first place, looking down upon the world and suppressing all who refused to submit! That included the White Bone Spear, Duan Xiyang!
Four hundred years ago, the Sole True Sect had planned to establish a nation and overthrown the Great Yong Dynasty. But the Guardians had been prepared long in advance, gathering countless experts to dismantle the Sole True Sect's plan to found a nation.
They had then taken advantage of the momentum to establish the Great Zhao Dynasty.
They had extended the national destiny that originally belonged to the Great Yong Dynasty into the Great Zhao.
The continent's three great empires and nine great dynasties all belonged to the Guardians.
Although the Sole True Sect was powerful, it was ultimately not the legitimate orthodoxy recognized by the world.
Without national destiny to suppress them, they would always be a loose mob.—only another regime could contend for control of political power.
If you did not even possess a regime, then no matter how great your strength, you were still nothing more than bandits!
That was the logic of it.
Thus, what the Sole True Sect lacked was precisely this: legitimacy!
For so many years, they had fought desperately for it.
At last, this time, they had found their opportunity.
Xue Fuxiao accepted Duan Xiyang's challenge at Purple Moon Mountain.
The two sides fought for an entire day and night.
Xue Fuxiao was horrified to discover that Duan Xiyang was no longer what he had been. This old rival, whom he had suppressed for countless years, now possessed strength that surpassed his own!
In truth, over all these years, every time they exchanged blows, Xue Fuxiao had felt Duan Xiyang catch up by another great stretch.
Each time, he had improved.
Until their last battle, eighty years ago, when Xue Fuxiao had already won by the skin of his teeth.
That was also why he had refused to fight: if he did not battle, he would remain the greatest under heaven. Then the mountain in the hearts of countless martial artists would not collapse! Their faith would not crumble! But Duan Xiyang slaughtered one city a day, forcing Xue Fuxiao into a corner with no way out. He could only fight! And this battle was exactly as expected.
When the battle reached its end, even after Xue Fuxiao had unleashed his full strength, he still lost by a move! The White Bone Dream Shattering Spear pierced through his shoulder.
Xue Fuxiao sighed in desolation. Feeling the pain of the White Bone Spear piercing his body, he found it could not compare with the pain in his heart.
Because he knew that from this day onward, the heavens had collapsed! Duan Xiyang slowly withdrew his spear and said indifferently, "You lost. I'll repay you for sparing my life that time!"
Xue Fuxiao gave a bitter smile.
"Back then, I didn't spare your life because I was showing mercy. I had my own concerns, so you owe me nothing."
"A debt is a debt."
Duan Xiyang turned and left. "Sooner or later, you will die beneath my spear, because the methods we can use are methods you cannot use. And you never will!"
Xue Fuxiao said, "If I acted as you do, wouldn't I become one of your kind? Then what would there be left to fight for?"
Duan Xiyang's faint laughter drifted back from afar. "You have a point."
Xue Fuxiao had lost.
The world was shaken!
The first position on the Cloud Top Weapon Compendium had changed hands.
From this day onward, the White Bone Dream Shattering Spear stood first on the Cloud Top Weapon Compendium!
Suppressing the world!
The fourth day.
The thirty-six sects under the Sole True Sect, along with countless other organizations, offered sacrifices to the heavens and gods simultaneously across every part of the continent.
The Heavenly Centipede God! On this day.
The twenty-seventh day of the seventh month.
It was known as the continent's Day of Blood.
Because on that same day, horrifying massacres took place in nineteen major cities—and every one of them was a metropolis with a population exceeding ten million!
They belonged to different countries and different dynasties.
One thousand elderly couples, one thousand middle-aged couples, one thousand young couples, and one thousand pairs of virgin boys and girls.
Every city was the same.
Eight thousand people knelt before a statue of the Heavenly Centipede God in a secret location, where their throats were slit.
Their blood was left to flow.
A river of blood spread for dozens of miles.
It was a horrifying sight. On that day, the heavens grieved and the earth mourned, while baleful winds howled!
The fifteen supercities alone accounted for one hundred and fifty-two thousand people who died unnatural deaths!
And in countless other places, the same sacrifices took place on a much smaller scale, all at the same time.
On that day, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost.
This was the Sole True Sect offering sacrifices to its god!
The entire continent trembled.
The twenty-ninth day of the seventh month.
The Great Xuan Empire, originally belonging to the Guardians, suddenly erupted into war. Within a single day, blood flowed for a thousand miles.
Everyone beneath the emperor was beheaded.
Chancellor Wang Zichen led more than a thousand civil officials to kneel outside the city gates and welcome the new emperor's ascension.
Within the city, more than ten thousand civil and military officials, along with scholars, committed suicide to die with their country.
White Banners filled the city.
The sound of weeping shook the heavens.
The commanders and senior generals guarding the borders were assassinated one after another. The old marshal of the military, Yang Tie Feng, led the remaining troops in a desperate battle. In the end, surrounded at the imperial mausoleum, he fought until the last soldier fell. The old marshal knelt before the tombs of the successive emperors of Great Xuan and killed himself with his sword.
The Sole True Sect's iron cavalry entered the Great Xuan capital, Xuanwu City.
The new emperor, Chu Wuji, ascended the throne and announced to the world that the country's name would be changed to New Chu! He entrusted surrendered officials with important posts, granted a general amnesty, and began recuperating and rebuilding.
Rebellions broke out one after another along New Chu's borders. But experts from the Sole True Sect moved out in all directions, suppressing them in an extremely short time.
The beacon fires across the land gradually died down, and New Chu submitted peace documents to several neighboring countries, making it seem as though peace had returned to the world.
But everyone under heaven knew.
This world had changed!
Dark tides were surging.
At some unknown moment, a war between nations would erupt. Once it began, the flames of war would spread across the entire continent in an instant.
Nowhere could escape!
No one could escape! Because the Sole True Sect had spent tens of thousands of years planning this, and they had succeeded! They had established their own country.
Although it was only the first country, the first dynasty, they now possessed national destiny!
That was... legitimacy! All disciples of the Sole True Sect celebrated throughout the land.
But in the countries belonging to the Guardians, everyone was terrified and shaken to the core.
Before this, everyone had known that the Sole True Sect intended to establish a nation. But everyone had also assumed that even if they succeeded, it would probably be some remote little country.
No one had expected that the Great Xuan Empire, one of the three great empires, would simply change its flag and allegiance!
The dynasty had changed hands so easily! And now, one of New Chu's neighboring countries was the Great Zhao! War was practically ready to ignite at the slightest spark.
White Cloud Continent.
White Cloud Martial Academy.
August second.
The New Student Competition began as scheduled.
On the academy's Great Training Field, tens of thousands of teachers and students stood in orderly ranks! On the High Platform.
Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu stood tall, his voice like thunder rolling over the sky above the Great Training Field.
He looked at the students below, whose faces were solemn. His voice was calm, yet it carried clearly into every person's ears.
"...I believe everyone has heard the news. Snow Master fought Duan Xiyang and lost by a move. The Sole True Sect, which had been unable to step onto the stage after hiding in the shadows for millions of years, has now officially established a dynasty and gained national destiny."
"I know how heavy your hearts are!"
"And I understand the crisis that lies ahead!"
The students below grew even more solemn.
Suddenly, Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu raised his voice, and it exploded like a thunderclap.
"But those matters have nothing to do with us! Nothing to do with you!"
"You could worry yourselves to death, but what has happened has already happened."
"And now, six million troops stand ready along the borders. The Guardians suppress the world, the Guardians organize the world, the various levels of government protect the people, and the garrisons everywhere defend the peace!"
"All of this is what allows you to stand here now!"
"Your current worry and heaviness will accomplish nothing! Only by deepening your cultivation and raising your martial strength will you have the ability to face every situation in the future!"
"Even your distraction now would betray the protection our predecessors are providing!"
"Here, as the head of this academy, I will give you one sentence!"
Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu's voice transformed into a thunderbolt on a clear day, bursting forth with the power of enlightenment!
He had poured in all his blood, all his strength, and all his spirit.
He yearned more than anything to carve these words into the hearts of the tens of thousands of children below.
"Do not let the blood of our predecessors flow into the eastern sea for nothing. Do not let the splendor of youth turn into sighs! Do not let the mortal world become the Demonic Realm!"
All the students below raised their arms and shouted at the same time.
"Do not let the blood of our predecessors flow into the eastern sea for nothing. Do not let the splendor of youth turn into sighs! Do not let the mortal world become the Demonic Realm!"
Tens of thousands shouted as one. Their might was immense, like the thunder of the Nine Heavens, shaking the entire White Cloud Continent!
Like a young tiger roaring in the valley, startling every beast! Their voices reached everywhere, and all heard the students' furious cries!
A moment later.
"The top one hundred new students—the competition begins."
"Now, when I call your names, come up to the front platform."
Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu announced loudly, "First place, two hundred and ninety-nine points, Fang Che!"
Below.
In the area where the second-year students stood, a small group erupted in astonishment.
There were both boys and girls.
They were Fang Qingyun's classmates and friends.
No one had imagined that her cousin would actually rank first in points! Their eyes lit up despite themselves.
Fang Qingyun stood there dumbfounded.
He suddenly remembered his own ranking: there were seven thousand five hundred students in his year, and he ranked seven thousand four hundred seventy-sixth! A pang of bitterness suddenly welled up.
A wave of misery.
A sudden urge to go over and beat up his cousin rose within him.
You're actually first place! How am I supposed to live? Just tell me, how am I supposed to live? When I go home this time, if your Maternal Uncle doesn't beat me to death, that will already count as paternal love as steady as a mountain!
Under everyone's watchful eyes.
Fang Che wore black from head to toe. Tall and graceful, with a golden crown and jade hairpin, his hair fluttering in the breeze, he was heroic and handsome as he walked up calmly.
Step by step, he came forward.
He came swaggering from the Jade Pool Immortal Palace, amid jade halls and jeweled towers, trailing a sky full of radiant clouds.
Step by step, he walked onto the stage; step by step, he entered everyone's sight; and step by step, he walked into everyone's hearts!
Amid his carefree composure, his face had gentle lines yet distinct features. His brows and eyes were sharp, carrying a hint of cold, ascetic restraint.
"Wow..."
Below, a spontaneous cry suddenly rang out.
Smack!
A senior student whose looks were not exactly easy on the eyes slapped himself across the face and muttered, "I... I'm going home to find my parents!"
A burst of laughter erupted beside him.
Fang Che had already reached the stage. Alone, facing tens of thousands of focused gazes, he remained suave and at ease, without the slightest trace of the constraint young people usually felt when suddenly standing before a vast crowd.
His expression was as calm as drifting clouds and fading wind; his entire bearing was composed and unhurried.
He stood tall, his sleeves fluttering in the breeze. Although he was not wearing his signature black cloak with its subtle golden patterns, he still possessed an otherworldly, refined elegance.
On the dais, Vice President Huang Yifan watched Fang Che. His eyes held confusion, regret, and endless uncertainty.
This Fang Che—just which side was he on?
Each chapter has too many words. There are only a little over thirty chapters, yet the total has already passed 120,000 words. Someone reminded me today that I had been posting two-thousand-word chapters, and only then did I realize it. But changing it now would damage my reputation too much, so I can only ask everyone to give me a few more votes and add the book to your collection, to ease my mind a little.
This is mainly because it's my first time writing a book, and I truly have far too little experience. Sigh.
Before you continue