"Who cares? I'll give it a try. Worst case, I'll sweep through every demon in Green Province."
Lin Changqing pushed the Green Peak Sword's hilt with his thumb, and the blade rang as it left its sheath.
"Go."
The Green Peak Sword hovered in midair, its blade humming faintly.
The next instant.
The Green Peak Sword became a streak of green light and tore through the air!
It flew so fast that it left a long trail across the sky.
A sonic boom exploded, splitting the clouds in two.
The flying sword crossed the sky with a green blade glow trailing behind it like a swimming dragon. Its vast Sword Qi poured out without restraint.
Eight hundred li away.
Amid the demon army.
A Sixth-tier Demon, three zhang tall and covered in black scales, threw its head back and laughed.
Corpses were piled like mountains beneath its feet, soldiers and demons alike.
Several hundred zhang ahead, a human army struggled to hold its ground.
At its head stood Zhou Zheng, Garrison Commander of the Demon Suppressing Division's Qingzhou Branch and a Sixth-Rank Early-Stage Martial Artist.
He was drenched in blood, and his long saber had several notches in its edge.
He had tried several times to charge the Sixth-tier Demon, only to be blocked by the demon army surging toward him like a tide.
"Hahaha! Humans! Is that all you've got?"
The Sixth-tier Demon stood on high ground with its arms folded, mockery plain on its face.
Zhou Zheng clenched his teeth and cut down three demons with one swing. His chest heaved.
This Sixth-tier Demon was too cunning.
It kept hiding behind the demon army and refused to face him head-on.
The demons that seemed impossible to kill off had already driven him to exhaustion.
The Sixth-tier Demon licked its lips, bloodlust gleaming in its eyes. "What's wrong? Angry? I hear there are tens of thousands of humans in that county town. Heh heh heh..."
"I'm going to take them one by one..."
It never finished speaking.
The Sixth-tier Demon suddenly went rigid.
An indescribably terrifying presence came from afar and locked onto it. Every scale on its body stood on end!
Fear rose from the depths of its soul!
It jerked its head toward the western sky. A point of green light was growing rapidly larger.
It was moving too fast for the demon to react!
"What... is that—"
Boom!!!
The streak of green light plunged from the sky and pierced straight through its chest.
The Sixth-tier Demon's body froze.
It looked down at the huge hole in its chest, its eyes filled with disbelief.
Then it knew nothing more.
The Green Peak Sword flew on without slowing and plunged straight into the ground.
Rumble!
Violent Sword Qi erupted from the point of impact, ravaging everything around it.
A green shockwave spread outward in an arc, and swathes of the surrounding demon army fell.
Wherever the Sword Qi reached, demons were torn to pieces.
But strangely...
The human soldiers were standing right beside them.
The Sword Qi swept over their bodies like a gentle breeze, without harming so much as a hair.
The power had been controlled to perfection. Not a shred had spilled beyond its mark.
A vast empty space appeared on the battlefield.
Every demon within several hundred zhang of the Green Peak Sword was dead.
All that remained was a green longsword embedded in the ground, its blade still trembling faintly.
The entire demon army fell into chaos. The demons shrieked in terror and scattered in every direction.
"This..."
Zhou Zheng stood stunned.
He remained where he was, gripping his saber, his eyes wide.
The soldiers around him were just as stunned, standing like wooden statues.
Only when that terrifying pressure swept past them did Zhou Zheng snap back to his senses.
He felt the lingering trace of that presence, and his heart trembled.
That pressure...
Far beyond a Seventh-Rank Grandmaster. Far beyond an Eighth-Rank Grandmaster!
While reporting for duty in the Capital City, he had once been fortunate enough to glimpse a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint from afar.
The feeling that made his very soul tremble was exactly the same!
Perhaps even stronger!
"A Martial Saint! A Ninth-Rank Martial Saint! A Martial Saint has come to our aid!"
Zhou Zheng shook all over with excitement.
He seized the Deputy General by the shoulder, his voice rising out of control.
"Did you see that? A Martial Saint! A Ninth-Rank Martial Saint!"
"Only a Martial Saint could control their power so precisely! The demons were slain, but not one of us was harmed!"
The soldiers around him finally understood.
Of course!
The Sword Qi had swept right past them, yet they were completely unscathed.
Only the legendary Martial Saints who stood at the pinnacle of the continent could wield power with such control!
Zhou Zheng took a deep breath, turned toward the direction the Green Peak Sword had come from, and bowed deeply.
Emotion caught in his voice.
"I am Zhou Zheng, Garrison Commander of the Qingzhou Branch. Thank you for coming to our aid, senior!"
"With one strike, you slew the Demon Chief and saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers of the Demon Suppressing Division! From top to bottom, the Demon Suppressing Division will never forget this great kindness!"
His voice rang across the battlefield.
Every soldier of the Demon Suppressing Division turned toward the west, their expressions filled with utmost respect.
The Green Peak Sword, still embedded in the center of the battlefield, trembled lightly.
Then it pulled itself from the ground, turned, and became a streak of green light flying back the way it had come.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished beyond the horizon.
Only a green sword trail remained, stretching across the sky and refusing to fade.
Zhou Zheng watched the streak of light disappear, unable to calm himself for a long time.
He drew a deep breath and turned to face the remaining demon army, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.
"Brothers!"
"The Martial Saint has dealt with the hardest foe for us! Don't let a single one of these vermin escape!"
"Kill!"
The soldiers of the Demon Suppressing Division surged forward with renewed morale, roaring as they charged the scattered demon army.
As the Green Peak Sword flew away, Zhou Zheng glanced once more in the direction its light had vanished.
That direction... Qingshi County.
His heart tightened.
Wasn't Qingshi County surrounded?
Could that Martial Saint have gone there specifically to break the siege?
He immediately ordered the Deputy General beside him, "Qingshi County is besieged by demons. Once we drive these ones back, we'll head there to reinforce it!"
The Deputy General nodded firmly. "Yes!"
They had no idea that the demon army besieging Qingshi County had already been reduced to ashes by a single thought from that Martial Saint.
Meanwhile.
The Green Peak Sword cut through the air on its return, green light flowing over its blade. Not a trace of blood stained it.
It flew back to Lin Changqing and slipped into its sheath on its own.
A crisp click rang out.
Everyone on the city wall stared in disbelief. The general's legs, which had only just carried him upright, went weak again.
Good heavens... what had the Saint Venerable just done?
He had thrown his sword, and it had flown back by itself. Had it gone after demons that had managed to escape?
Lin Changqing paid no attention to their shock, because the system's voice sounded in his mind once more.
[Ding! Random mission complete: Kill the true culprit behind this demon siege (1/1).] [Reward: Complete mastery of the Ninth-tier Supreme Grade Heavenly Saint Profound Art!] [Heavenly Saint Profound Art: A Ninth-tier Supreme Grade Cultivation Technique drawn from the righteous energy of heaven and earth. Unrivaled in its might, it refines spiritual energy far faster than Cultivation Techniques of the same grade and combines offense with defense. Practicing it draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper the body, greatly increasing both physical strength and the depth of Spiritual Power.] [Claim reward now?]
"Claim it."
Lin Changqing answered silently.
Memories of the Cultivation Technique flooded his mind and spread through every part of his body.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered around him on its own, surging through his meridians like rivers. Every punch and kick now carried greater power.
Before you continue