Side Story 3

Upon the Sky-Walking Pagoda, two strikingly conspicuous figures stood in confrontation: one in black robes, the other in white; Heaven-Defying and Sky-Walking; darkness and light... father and son!

Beneath the pagoda, black-armored cavalry and half-orcs were being slaughtered like chopped vegetables by a colossal red fox. With a flick of its tail, the earth shook violently and mountains cleaved, sending the minions of darkness tumbling into subterranean magma like dumplings dropping into a pot. The battle ended almost as soon as it began. The fox was none of other than the Nine-Tailed Flaming Fiend Vixen, once one of the Four Great Fiend Kings of the Demon Clan. Sealed within Jiuyun twenty-one years ago, she had now become his devoted mate—a wondrous bond of fate indeed.

"Father, since antiquity, righteousness has always prevailed over evil. Siding with Heaven-Defying will bring you no good end. Look around you; this land is already scarred and riddled with devastation, its living souls plunged into misery. Are you truly so cold-blooded?" Jiuyun pleaded earnestly, trying his utmost to persuade the black-robed man before him to forsake the dark and return to the light.

"Foolishness! In the eyes of the strong, what are mere billions of lives? They are nothing more than a herd of beasts. Do you think anyone feels a pang of heartache when slaughtering a beast? Since killing one causes no pain, what difference does it make to kill a few more!" The Monarch of Heaven-Defying sneered.

"You..." Jiuyun clenched his fists tightly, his brows furrowing in frustration as he was momentarily rendered speechless with indignation.

"Is he truly my father? How can he utter such heartless and unfeeling words? Sky-Walking Swordsmen have always taken the protection of all living beings as their sacred duty, and Father was once the most brilliant expert among them all. How could he have fallen to this extent, viewing the common people as mere livestock to be slaughtered at will?" A turbulent storm raged within Jiuyun's heart, leaving him with a profound and crushing sense of despair.

"Yang Jiuyun, as the son of Yang Xuanxiao, you should stand by your father's side. Sky-Walking Swordsmen are nothing more than a pack of self-righteous hypocrites who stand by and watch others die. The Yang Xuanxiao who was once a Sky-Walking Swordsman died long ago—he died completely twenty-one years ago!" The black-robed man gripped his blood-red mysterious light sword in his right hand, his voice brooking no argument.

"Tell me, how did my mother die? And why did you betray Sky-Walking to join Heaven-Defying?" Jiuyun suddenly demanded.

Hum!

The blood-red mysterious light sword trembled violently, almost slipping from the black-robed man's grasp.

This was the first time since twenty-one years ago that the Monarch of Heaven-Defying had experienced such a massive emotional fluctuation!

"Your mother... I failed her!" The black-robed man's lips were trembling.

"Yet everything that caused your mother's death was Sky-Walking's fault! Back then, when Otzma was carrying you, she was possessed by the Flaming Fiend Vixen. Sky-Walking's creed strictly forbade Sky-Walking Swordsmen from marrying. But to save your mother, I disregarded the rules and begged the Elder Council of the Sky-Walking Pagoda to save Otzma. Yet those elders stood by and refused to help, insisting that only your mother's death could force the fiend to reveal itself. Those hypocrites cared only for their so-called eradication of demons and upholding of the Dao, never sparing a thought for anyone else's feelings. They even forced me to watch helplessly as your mother gave birth to you and perished from exhaustion. And then, those beasts actually plotted to use your body as a vessel to seal the vixen! I was such a complete failure as a father; it was then that I realized how utterly ridiculous I had been!"

"Ridiculous of me to have thought that my great Daya Que was the only renowned sword in the world, and that I, Yang Xuanxiao, was the only swordsman! Ridiculous of me to have believed the deceitful lies of those bastard elders that I could become the ninth Sky-Walking Sword God! Ridiculous that I could not save my wife even as she died, and ridiculous that my son was treated as a vessel by those beasts!"

"Ridiculous was my utter incompetence!"

An overwhelming aura emanated from the Monarch of Heaven-Defying, pressing down upon space itself and causing sand and stones across the ground to levitate into the air...

"Is this why you defected to Heaven-Defying, Father?" Jiuyun asked in a soft voice, able to feel the profound anguish the man before him carried as he spoke those words.

"Precisely. I want vengeance, I want to slaughter Sky-Walking, I want to drive the Sky-Walking Swordsmen to extinction, I want to cleanse all the sins of this world, and I want to recreate heaven and earth!" The Monarch of Heaven-Defying spoke as though possessed, turning terrifyingly tyrannical and savage. His voice possessed immense penetrating power, audible for a thousand miles around.

It sounded like a deity casting a curse upon the mortal realm!

"Father, do not persist in your error. Mother's death cannot be blamed on the Sky-Walking elders, nor on the Flame Maiden. It was all a conspiracy by the Great Emperor of Heaven-Defying! He was the one who drove the Flame Maiden into a violent frenzy, then used her to control Mother and blackmail you into defecting to the dark side. He knew that Mother and I were your only vulnerabilities, which is why he devised such a venomous scheme. Do you still not understand? If you and I go to war now, the ultimate beneficiary will still be the Great Emperor of Heaven-Defying! Wake up, Father! You must trust me; I am your only remaining kin and I would never deceive you." Jiuyun revealed the truth, hoping to bring his father back to the light.

"No, it must be Sky-Walking using you as bait. Child, you have fallen into their trap. There is not a single good soul in Sky-Walking. Ever since I was chosen and brought into the Sky-Walking Pagoda as a child to become a Sky-Walking Swordsman, those hypocrites who prided themselves on righteousness never treated me as a human being. In their eyes, a Sky-Walking Swordsman's sole purpose was to subdue demons, vanquish devils, cast out evil, and purge all mortal passions to become unfeeling and emotionless. In the eyes of the common people, they were deities, while in their eyes, the common people were merely pitiful wretches waiting for their salvation. With my own eyes, I witnessed your mother die beneath the cold gazes of the Sky-Walking Pagoda's Elder Council—gazes devoid of a single shred of humanity. I will never return to Sky-Walking. I am going to create a new world, and you must not stand in my way, or I shall strip away your profound strength." Yang Xuanxiao flatly refused, utterly disbelieving the truth spoken by his son.

"Very well. If that is how it is, then you shall have to step over my dead body. Since you refuse to believe your own son, I have nothing more to say." Jiuyun's expression darkened into one of utter despair.

"Rebellious son!" Yang Xuanxiao closed his eyes, then opened them in an instant as his hand tightened around his mysterious light sword once more.

Resigned, Jiuyun drew the most celebrated blade of bygone days—the great Daya Que Sword!

Hum!

Hum!

In the next instant, both mysterious light swords slashed out simultaneously. The air let out a humming cry as it collided with the beams of profound energy, sending ripple-like fluctuations spreading from the blades. In a split second, the air detonated in a massive explosion.

Bang! The two swords clashed, the dazzling beams of profound energy blinding to the eye. Brilliant light burst forth like fireworks, accompanied by a deafening, thunderous roar.

***

With a single exchange, both figures retreated, soaring high into the sky. The Monarch of Heaven-Defying, Yang Xuanxiao, said in a cold voice, "Let me see just how much power the great Daya Que can unleash in your hands!"

"Do not you wish to drive Sky-Walking to extinction? I am the very last Sky-Walking Swordsman; kill me and you will have your wish. Come on!" Jiuyun gritted his teeth, filled with bitter resentment that his biological father was so hopelessly deluded.

"A tiger will not eat its own cubs. I will not kill you, but do not even think about remaining a Sky-Walking Swordsman either. As your father, I shall strip away every last bit of your profound strength." Yang Xuanxiao's black robes snapped violently in the wind as he soared like an eagle striking the vast sky. His blood-red longsword slipped from his hand and flew forth, slashing horizontally toward Jiuyun.

This sword strike was nothing short of astonishing, resembling a comet piercing through the stars, or a crimson dragon spiraling forward, faintly achieving a realm where it was as traceless as an antelope hanging its horns by its-horns-in-a-tree.

Simply put, this sword was inescapable!

"Sword-Driving Art?!" Jiuyun's heart leapt in shock as he instantly recognized that his father was employing the profound art of manipulating a mysterious light sword with his profound strength. It made the blade move with impossible speed, and with the ability to alter its trajectory at will, it was practically a guaranteed fatal strike.

"Since I cannot dodge it, I simply won't dodge at all." Jiuyun muttered to himself.

The golden Daya Que Sword was engraved with dragon and sparrow patterns along its entire length, appearing immensely noble and luxurious. This sword possessed a profound background and a long history, and every single one of its previous masters had been a brilliantly talented swordsman. At this moment, the blade emitted a ringing, metallic clang that sounded like the singing of dragons and the calling of phoenixes. Golden light flooded the heavens as countless golden sword shadows emerged from the blade, filling the void and anchoring themselves between heaven and earth.

Jiuyun assumed a forward-thrusting posture, and instantly, sword shadows filled the sky, roaring forward to intercept and crush the blood-red longsword.

In that instant, the sword Qi underwent a thousand illusions, reeking of a murderous aura. Ten thousand layers of sword shadows choked the sky to block Yang Xuanxiao's controlled blade, resulting in continuous explosions—the mournful, shattering cries of fragmented golden Qi swords.

In a mere five breaths of time, all the Qi swords were shattered, yet the blood-red flying sword surged forward with even greater ferocity than before, closing to within ten meters of Jiuyun.

"Assemble!"

Jiuyun let out a sharp roar, and the previously shattered Qi swords unexpectedly converged once more, forming a gigantic longsword—resembling an oversized, magnified version of the great Daya Que.

The colossal longsword hovered motionless before Jiuyun until it was heavily struck by the blood-red flying sword, shattering it inch by inch with a crackling sound like cracking ice that threatened to puncture the eardrums.

Hum hum!

Before the sound could fade, Jiuyun brought his hand down with his sword, using the great Daya Que to horizontally intercept the blood-red blade, directly hacking down the flying sword that had closed in right before his eyes after smashing through the giant construct.

Yang Xuanxiao curled his fingers into a claw, and the flying sword returned to his grip. In this clash, Jiuyun had ultimately won by a narrow margin!

"A splendid display of defeating a thousand pounds with four ounces. I certainly didn't expect you to use such a method to crack my Sword-Driving Art." Yang Xuanxiao laughed instead of angering.

Jiuyun's sword-wielding hand trembled incessantly. He offered a bitter smile and said, "Father's Sword-Driving Art is indestructible; it is truly admirable!"

"Since you have broken this Sword-Driving Art that slays men a thousand miles away, it proves that you are indeed qualified and possess the capability to fight me. However, from here on out, you will have no opportunity to gather momentum; every single sword strike will drive you toward a desperate end!"

No sooner had Yang Xuanxiao finished speaking than Jiuyun saw that flash of crimson light ignite once more, arriving right before him in the blink of an eye.

Like a sudden clap of thunder, the space where Jiuyun stood was instantly swallowed by sword light. Lightning-like beams of profound strength intertwined, and even from a thousand miles away, one could hear the thunderous, ringing clangs of the swords.

Today, this father and son had drawn their swords against one another. The intensity of their battle was jaw-dropping, transcending the imagination of ordinary mortals. Their contest of profound strength was utterly fantastical; within just a few breaths, the two had clashed hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Golden light and crimson light entangled, swapping the dominance of light and dark profound strength.

The battlefield expanded to encompass the entire Sky-Walking Province, including its boundless firmament. The pair fought from the southern skies to the northern earth, from the northern earth to the eastern heavens, and from the eastern heavens back to the southern earth... In short, the battle shifted in the blink of an eye, and the ensuing sword Qi swept across the four directions. Everyone witnessed the two lightning-fast, thunder-swift figures, their combat locations shifting almost with every blink of the eye.

Yang Xuanxiao sought victory through speed, combating Jiuyun with a peak-speed swordsmanship. Initially, Jiuyun was suppressed and beaten, but as the battle reached a white-hot fervor, he faintly felt a sensation of "stealing the craft." Without realizing it, his own swordsmanship grew faster and faster, while the profound strength within his body surged frantically, capable of completing a single circulation across thousands of miles—far surpassing the breathing speed of ordinary swordsmen.

The so-called circulation of Qi within cultivation allowed one, once the Qi was thoroughly unblocked, to run unimpeded throughout the body. The circulation of internal Qi across the entire body accelerated the generation of profound strength; a minor heavenly cycle spanned forty-nine miles, while a major heavenly cycle spanned eighty-one miles. Ordinary experts could manage to circulate their internal Qi for at least one major cycle, and those who could manage a thousand miles were truly master-level figures. Yet today, Jiuyun and Yang Xuanxiao were capable of circulating their internal Qi across several thousand miles—a truly terrifying feat.

Was this even the level of a Sky-Walking Swordsman? This was clearly the realm of a Sword God!

Since antiquity, the Sky-Walking Pagoda had cultivated Sky-Walking Swordsmen, producing a total of eight invincible swordsmen worthy of the title of Sword God. A single person with a single sword could challenge the siege of hundreds of experts across the continent, contend against an army of thousands and the military might of an entire nation, and split rivers, shatter torrents, move mountains, and fill seas...

***

"My hubby truly is blessed with exceptional talent! In such a short span of time, he can imperceptibly memorize all of his opponent's moves and continuously accelerate his internal Qi circulation during battle. Judging by this pace, will he really break through to circulate ten thousand miles in a single breath? If so, even I would no longer be a match for him. It seems the Great Emperor of Heaven-Defying's conspiracy is doomed to fail; that demon could never have dreamed that someone could likewise shatter this chasm that has plagued the continent's powerhouses for thousands of years." Upon the Sky-Walking Pagoda, a youthful maiden lay reclined, gazing up at the sky with a lazy demeanor and a frivolous, casual posture. Her perfect, alluring physique was wrapped in red robes, and her stunning facial features bloomed with a bright smile.

Who could have imagined that this once overwhelmingly tyrannical, man-eating fiend vixen had now transformed into a human's wife, spending her days overflowing with romantic sentiment, acting spoiled and cute toward a young man, and calling him "hubby, hubby" without stop?

"To be able to marry such a handsome, formidable, and genius of a hubby—I feel so blessed! This little one is the luckiest vixen in all the world, hee hee hee..."

Thud!

Two figures plunged rapidly from the high altitude, landing simultaneously and smashing a massive crater into the earth.

"Cough cough... I never expected your learning capability to be so formidable, growing from an initial circulation of a thousand miles to four thousand miles in a single breath. I can tell that you weren't intentionally hiding your strength, but improving right in the midst of battle—and the speed of that improvement is jaw-dropping."

The two figures stood to the left and right, each gripping a sword and once again maintaining that exact distance of two meters apart. Yang Xuanxiao coughed up blood, his complexion flushed, whereas Jiuyun, though his clothes were tattered and torn, appeared increasingly spirited, his internal aura steady and orderly.

"A circulation of a thousand miles makes one a grandmaster of swordsmanship; two thousand miles makes one a sword supreme; and only upwards of three thousand miles can one be called a Sword God. Back in the day, every single Sky-Walking Swordsman cultivated desperately hoping to become that peerless ninth Sky-Walking Sword God. Yet today, though I am long since qualified to be called a Sword God, I feel not a shred of joy. In fact, I would much rather call myself—a Sword Fiend! For I am going to slaughter the gods, contend with the heavens, fight destiny to the death, and take back everything I have lost."

In the end, the Monarch of Heaven-Defying could only scream hysterically. With a loud pop, the black robes on his body shattered completely, revealing Yang Xuanxiao's true appearance.

His long black hair draped loosely over his shoulders down to his waist. His exposed upper body was a crisscross of muscles covered in scars, bearing true testimony to someone tempered through seas of blades and fires of hell. On his lower body, he wore a pair of black cotton trousers. His facial features bore a seven to eight-tenths resemblance to Jiuyun's and should have been exceptionally handsome, but several knife scars marred his aesthetic appeal. In particular, his right eye was actually a mechanical prosthesis, suggesting it had been gouged out in his early years.

"Father..." Gazing at his father in this state, Jiuyun called out in heartache, naturally able to empathize with the boundless grief and indignation residing within the man before him.

"The slaughter begins in the Sky-Walking Province, and all living souls shall descend into hell!"

Yang Xuanxiao's cold voice echoed across heaven and earth, sounding like a decree carrying the mandate of heaven itself. The entire firmament trembled as he raised his longsword high above his head, and a crimson lightning bolt, like a coiling dragon, surged straight up along the blade into the firmament.

How terrifying was this sight! A single person was actually employing their own profound strength to unleash the might of heaven, declaring war upon the skies.

That streak of crimson lightning reached straight into the clouds, and within the blink of an eye, the lightning discharge detonated the dim firmament. It acted like a fuse, setting the sky ablaze as the dark heavens were replaced by a firmament of blood-red thunder!

"Fall!" A cold, emotionless word escaped Yang Xuanxiao's lips.

Whether it was Jiuyun, the Flame Maiden, the countless common people upon the earth, or the airship desperately fleeing the Sky-Walking Province in the sky, all beheld the scalp-tingling blood-red lightning pouring down overhead like a waterfall.

Without the slightest reservation, without a single gap, it was as though the heavens above the Sky-Walking Province were suffering a collapse, and this waterfall of blood-red lightning was about to cleanse the entire province.

An apocalyptic doom for humanity!

***

This was a life-bearing planet possessing a vast expanse of land. In the eastern hemisphere of the planet, two golden stellar bodies orbited one another—the famous celestial anomaly known in the universe as the Twin Sun!

The life-bearing planet featured only a single massive continent, while the rest was an endless ocean. Occasionally, a few islands no more than a thousand miles in circumference could be seen dotting the surface of the sea, but compared to that continent, they were truly insignificant.

The continent was named Twin Suns because the living beings upon it worshipped the two eternally unchanging, dazzling suns hanging high in the sky for billions of years. They even believed those were deities—the eyes of the Creator, gazing down upon everything in the mortal realm.

The Sky-Walking Province was the most vital and central hub of the Twin Sun Continent. Its vast landmass was measured in millions of square miles. The province had become famous decades ago because of the Sky-Walking Swordsmen and the Sky-Walking Pagoda, serving as a place of pilgrimage for countless living beings simply because the Sky-Walking Swordsmen were regarded as the messengers of the gods in people's hearts, existing forever as the protective deities of the continent. Yet what no one could have anticipated was that, years ago, a major traitor within Sky-Walking led the Great Emperor of Heaven-Defying to rekindle the flames of war, gradually dismantling and defeating the continent's most ancient heritage from within.

Now, that former glory no longer existed, and even the Sky-Walking Pagoda—the symbol of countless honors for the Sky-Walking Swordsmen—had been snapped in half and lay collapsed upon the earth. The two "eyes of the gods" in the firmament no longer opened either; to be precise, they were blocked from view. At first it had been leaden clouds and thick mists, but now it had transformed into an endless ocean of lightning.

The entire Sky-Walking Province, a magnificent expanse of land stretching across millions of miles, had at this moment been reduced to a barren wasteland, for the entire firmament was blanketed by blood-red lightning, dense and thick to the exclusion of all else.

Yet all of this had been brought about by human might—or rather, by the profound strength of a single man!